English: Illustration from page 270 of A NO-DANCE..
Caption: "A NO-DANCE. Quote: Of the various forms of public entertainment in Japan, the oldest and peculiarly Japanese is the no-dance. It is a posture-dance performed to the accompaniment of flutes and drums, while a ballad is sung at the same time to explain the movements. It was developed from the ancient religious dances and first came into vogue in the sixteenth century. The ballad, which is known as utai, is written in a mixture of the Chinese and old Japanese styles and cannot be readily comprehended by those who are not versed in these styles. The dance is slow and stately, though sometimes there are quick movements in it; it is performed by men with masks and in robes which were worn in ancient times; the actors on the stage at a time are few; and the stage itself has, except in rare cases, little setting. It is not, therefore, everybody that can appreciate a no-performance; indeed, the fact that it is caviare to the general and its superiority in point of refinement to the common dances of the people have won for it great popularity among the upper and middle classes; and the performances are largely attended. Many people also practise singing the utai; it has the advantage over other ballads, when it is unaccompanied by a dance, of being sung without any musical instrument. The utai ballads are comparatively short, and in a single performance several of them are sung and danced.
The same no-dance is seldom repeated in a run. The programme is changed every day, because popular as the no is in a sense, its patrons are yet too few to justify a run of the same dance."