Lecture by
Richard J. Smethurst
Proessor of History, University of Pittsburgh
The Japanese noh theater, intimately connected with the late feudal order of the Edo Period, fell on hard times after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. By the end of the century, noh had begun to recover its position as Japan's premier classical theater. As noh was making its comeback, the artist Kogyo undertook to produce three major sets of woodblock prints (over 500 images), more than 60 paintings and hundreds of magazine illustrations showing noh performances. His works received widespread recognition - the empress even purchased several of his paintings. This paper will place Kogyo's work in the broader context of the modern revival of noh.
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