was a form of

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

popular in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

during the 11th to 14th centuries. One of its predecessors was a , a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

, consisting mostly of

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

, and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, sometimes combined with drum dancing. Sarugaku came from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to Japan in the 8th century and there mingled with indigenous traditions, particularly the harvest celebrations of dengaku. In the 11th century, the form began to favor comic sketches while other elements faded away. By the late 12th century, the term "sarugaku" had come to include comic dialogues based on word play ( toben), improvised comic party dances ('' ranbu''), short plays involving several actors, and musical arrangements based on courtesan traditions. During the 13th century, there was increased standardization of words, gestures, musical arrangements, and program combinations; as well as the adoption of the guild (''za'') system to which all present-day Noh schools can be traced. ''

Kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside '' Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; there ...

'' also developed from sarugaku. Of particular significance is the development of sarugaku troupes in

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

around

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

and

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

during the

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

and early

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

s. In particular, the sarugaku Noh troupe Yuzaki, led by Kan'ami, performed in 1374 before the young ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The success of this one performance and the resultant shogunal patronage lifted the artform permanently out of the mists of its plebeian past. From then, the term sarugaku gave way to the current nomenclature, noh. The Japanese term "Sarugaku" is also used in other contexts to refer to a job or profession that seems to debase the employee or to treat him or her as a source of entertainment rather than as a professional. According to William Scott Wilson, Saragaku translates to "monkey music", is an ancient form of drama, and is the predecessor to Noh. Takuan Sōhō states as fact that "the emperor's recitation is given like Sarugaku".Takuan Soho, translated by William Scott Wilson, "The Unfettered Mind – Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master", p. 20.

References

*'' Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD'', article- "sarugaku" *BigDaikon.com, message board post with use of "sarugaku" in modern contex

(accessed May 14, 2006) *''Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia'', Kodansha Ltd. 1993 Theatre of Japan Noh {{theat-stub