French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Sekoguchi, Zeami's Imprint on Japanese Art
Theatre and Performance

Aya Sekoguchi, Zeami's Imprint on Japanese Art - The Flower and Nothingness

Preface by Augustin Berque.

Paris: L'Harmattan, "L'Univers esthétique" series, 2016.

266 p.

EAN 9782343084503

27.00 EUR

Publisher's Description:

“How to attract and captivate the audience?”: this is the key question that Zeami (1363?–1443?), the creator of Noh theater, sought to answer in his treatises. His thought has left a legacy of concepts such as kata, an anonymous and pre-personal form, and ma, the aesthetics of minimalism, which constitute the essential characteristics of Japanese culture and have permeated all of its arts. In contrast to the Western perspective, this research highlights that of traditional Japanese arts, which offer a path to access a broader and deeper field of consciousness.

Traditional Japanese arts developed distinctive aesthetic vocabularies over centuries, emphasizing spatial awareness and physical discipline through practices often rooted in classical performance traditions. The treatises of Zeami remain central to this intellectual and artistic heritage, offering foundational reflections on theatrical creation, audience reception, and the relationship between the performer and the spectator. These writings articulate principles that continue to inform various forms of traditional and contemporary Japanese cultural expression.

Readers interested in Japanese aesthetics, the history of Noh theater, and cross-cultural artistic traditions may find this study relevant. Aya Sekoguchi examines how traditional Japanese arts offer alternative perspectives on consciousness and artistic creation compared to Western frameworks, drawing on concepts such as the mind-body union and the significance of the performance space.

Aya Sekoguchi defended her thesis at the EHESS in 2007: “The Field (basho) in Traditional Japanese Arts”: On the Mind-Body Union and the Relationship Between Artist and Audience in Zeami.