Within the no theater repertoire there exists a significant number of dramas concerning the nature and deeds of animals. Most of the nonhuman heroes are supernatural beings, the representative example might be the mythological lion shishi – the hero of the play Shakkyo (the stone bridge) by an unknown author. While the shishi has some realistic counterpart in the body of an actual lion, some other beasts seem to be purely fantastic, the example might be the chimera like, fearsome, creature called nue – the hero of the play Nue (monster nue) by Zeami (1363?-1443?). The author of the paper shall examine the anthrozoological discourse that exists within the no theater. A close look will be taken at the acting techniques (kata), costumes, masks and wigs used by the shite actors in the process of creating the animal heroes onstage. Part of the author’s insights into no are his own performing activities and fieldwork conducted in cooperation with no actors and troupes, including Tessenkai No Theater.
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