kyogen means A form of traditional Japanese theatre, once performed alongside noh as a comic intermission. Lexicurio rates it Distinctive — a strength score of 66 out of 100.
Why this word is great
KYOGEN — [Noun] A traditional Japanese comic theater, performed as a farcical interlude between the austere acts of a Noh drama. Borrowed from Japanese 狂言 (kyōgen), from Middle Chinese 狂言 ("crazed ramblings"), combining 狂 ("crazy, mad") + 言 ("speech"). Unlike the sacred, symbolic intensity of *noh*, which plumbs a world of ghosts and tragic ideals, or the spectacular, urban clamor of *kabuki*, kyogen is a deliberate, earthy puncture of solemnity. It is the servant’s sly mockery of his master, the sharp slapstick of sandals on bare wood, and the god revealed as a drunken fraud—a necessary, cathartic breath of laughter in the solemn ritual of existence, its "crazed speech" a reminder that the divine comedy is often simply human.
noun
- A form of traditional Japanese theatre, once performed alongside noh as a comic intermission.
- A work in this genre.“Many kyogen include komai, small comic dances and songs which enhance the sense of fun or absurdity of a play.”