Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 3.djvu/49

Rh reached a high level of art. It is, indeed, more than doubtful whether any other people ever developed such an expressive vocabulary of motion, such impressive eloquence of gesture. These masked dancers of the Nô, deprived of the important assistance of facial expression, and limited to a narrow range of cadence, nevertheless succeeded in investing their performance with a character of noble dignity and profound intensity of sentiment. Very soon the Nô obtained extraordinary vogue. With the sole exception of the Emperor himself, every great personage took part in the performance; a stage was erected within the precincts of the Palace; costumes of the costliest and most beautiful materials were provided, and a collection of such garments as well as of masks and other accessories for the Nô, was counted an essential part of every aristocratic mansion's furniture. By degrees the practice of the art became a profession, but princes, nobles, and high officials did not cease to study it assiduously, and were prepared at any moment to organise performances or to take part in them. It need scarcely be said that various schools came into existence. At first, although Buddhist priests had taken such a large share in developing the Nô, Shintō shrines continued to be the principal scenes of its performance, the dance being then a ceremony of worship. But from the days of the Ashikaga Shōgun Yoshimitsu (1368–1394) it