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Roles
There are four major categories of Noh performers: shite, waki, kyōgen, and
hayashi.
* The shite (シテ), literally "doers" are the most common roles in Noh
o Shite (primary actor). In plays where the shite appears first as a human and
then as a ghost, the first role is known as the maeshite and the later as the
nochijite
o Tsure (連れ) The shite's companion
* The waki (脇,ワキ) performs the role that is the counterpart or foil of the shite
* The wakizure (ワキ連れ) is the companion of the waki
* The kyōgen (狂言) perform the aikyogen interludes during plays. Kyōgen actors
also perform in separate plays between individual noh plays
* The hayashi or hayashi-kata are the instrumentalists who play the four
instruments used in Noh theater: the transverse flute (fue), hip drum (okawa or
ōtsuzumi), the shoulder-drum (kotsuzumi), and the stick-drum (taiko).
* The jiutai (地謡) is the chorus, usually comprising six to eight people
* Kōken are stage hands, usually one to three people
A typical Noh play will involve four or five categories of actors and usually
takes 30-120 minutes. Noh actors were almost exclusively male.
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