Noh can be described as a theater of revelation, as when the character of an old man turns out to be the ghost of a prominent warrior, but this is what Paul Atkins calls “transformation,” and he finds it typical of Zeami's plays. The identities revealed in the works of Komparu Zenchiku may be obscured by temporary veils, but the characters do not change much in the plays. The enlightened and deluded remain so.

In the introduction, Atkins defines his mission to explicate the major plays of Zenchiku. He offers a few details of the social upheavals during Zenchiku's life and notes the importance of his relationship with Zeami, who took Zenchiku as a protégé, although he was from a different troupe. Atkins describes Zenchiku's playwriting in contrast with that of Zeami (who preferred happy endings) and, to a lesser extent, with that of Zeami's son, Motomasa (who invented the...

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