2026 Theses Doctoral

Aged to Perfection: Performing Old Age and the Elderly Actor in Noh Theater

Miyazaki, Maho

This dissertation explores the ways in which the old age of the performed body (characters) and the performing body (actors) intertwine, in particular in rōjomono performances of Japanese noh theater. Rōjomono, or “elderly woman plays,” are considered a prestigious set of works that only veteran actors are allowed to play the role of elderly female protagonists. I discuss the cultural implications given to the aged body and how noh changed those values, with particular attention to female old age. Chapter One provides a literary analysis of how views of the aged body were differentiated by gender in early Japan. While elderly male characters and their unclean bodies could embody both marginalization and sanctification, elderly female characters were cast in a constant negative light because of the fixation on their “grotesque” bodies.

Chapter Two turns to theatrical depictions of the aged body before noh. Compared to earlier genres in which the infirm bodies of the elderly were foregrounded with derision, the audience in the early medieval period harbored more sympathy and respect toward performers who were no longer young. I argue that the audience’s close interaction with the aged performers contributed to a more positive appraisal of them.

Chapter Three covers the plays and treatises of Zeami (1363?-1443?). His writings highlighted the nuanced mental and physical states of elderly characters and actors, and his validation of the aged infirm body undergirds the valorization of rōjomono.

Chapter Four approaches four rōjomono plays: Sotoba Komachi, Sekidera Komachi, Higaki, and Obasute. The gradual departure from the famous literary trope of the elderly “fallen” Ono no Komachi character resulted in the de-corporealization of the aged female body; the protagonists’ aestheticization occurs in tandem with the reduced emphasis on their aged physical states.

Chapter Five follows the stage practices of rōjomono after the age of Zeami. Through the discussion of treatises and katatsuke choreographic notations, I examine what actions or scenes were considered most effective in representing the aged female protagonists. Specifically, the choreographic “rest” indicates that the delicate balance is a norm for elderly actors; they avoid mimicry of the performed (female) bodies, while also demonstrate the reality of their own aged performing bodies.

The Epilogue addresses trends and changes in contemporary Japan, in particular the increasing opportunities of staging rōjomono, and the multiple reproductions of Goō, another play with an elderly female protagonist. In doing so, I demonstrate how, even today, rōjomono performances are a vital aspect of noh, existing in flux even within strict stage conventions.