ABSTRACT
This class of Noh occupies a very significant position between Noh such as we have been considering and Kyogen or light comedy. It is conspicuous for its human interest and more evident dramatic quality. Its characters are often of a nature which permits comic as well as tragic treatment, as is shown conclusively by the fact that many of the stories utilized in Genzai Mono Noh appear, only slightly modified, in Kyogen and Kabuki. The proportion of conversational prose to poetry is far greater than in other forms of Noh; characters of general utility and light nature are frequently called Kyogen; and even leading characters are often designated by name, as is generally the case in Kyogen, instead of by conventional titles as in most other forms of Noh. Thus we have in Genzai Mono Noh what is apparently a surviving link which united earlier Sarugaku with later Noh and Kyogen, now recognized as distinct but practically inseparable art forms.
