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""No drama, a form that combines dance, song, and dialogue, gained widespread popularity in 14th century Japan. Fierce competition between troupes, both for popular acclaim and for the patronage of aristocrats, led to a period of intense innovation. Zeami (1363?-1443?) was at the forefront of this innovation, constantly writing new plays and adding new elements to his troupe's performance in order to maintain the favor of the shogun. His plays remain some of the most performed to this day. The volume consists of an introduction, 19 No plays, 2 essays, and some source text information in an appendix. 13 plays are by Zeami, one may be by Zeami's son-in-law Zenchiku (1405-1468?), and the remaining 5 are anonymous. The difficulty of translating No plays well is extreme, especially with respect to their poetry (the sung passages). Word plays, double meanings, fleeting allusions to classic poems-such devices and more are challenging enough to convey even in a wordy, explanatory way (explaining the joke, so to speak). It is much harder to make them "work" in English, or to adapt them so as to obtain a compatible effect. Royall Tyler is the preeminent translator of No theater working today, and this volume gives the Anglophone student and enthusiast access to revised translations of classics plays as well as new translations of plays hitherto unavailable in an authoritative edition in English.""-- Joy, Despair, Illusion, Dreams presents a selection of NÅ plays, magnificently rendered in English by Royall Tyler, an eminent scholar and translator of classical Japanese literature
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