In Kyogen, women usually hold a lot of the negative characteristics seen within chapter 2 of Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji. Usually, the women in Kyogen do not hold up to the ideal standards seen within the chapter. This notion can be seen in chapter 2 of The Tale of Genji, when talking about how women should show their anger and says that “They should always be tactful, hinting when she has cause to be angry with him, that, yes, she knows, and bringing up the issue gently when she might well quarrel with him instead, because that will only make him like her better” (Genji 26). This is different than that of Kyogen women, who outwardly and unabashedly display their anger at a moment’s notice with little regard for how the man will think of her. Some negative qualities seen within chapter 2 of The Tale of Genji that do not apply to Kyogen women would be the over-eagerness to please. Kyogen women do not typically have this trait due to their character archetypes being that of an independent and dominant rather than a submissive pleaser reliant on the man’s …show more content…
Women in Kyogen express their anger in a variety of methods, though usually in an upfront and bold manner. This is different to how anger is usually portrayed by women in Noh plays, as they mostly try to be subtle or not being attention to it. These notions can both be seen by Rokujo in two different Noh plays. In Aoi no Ue Rokujo displays her anger similarly to that of a Kyogen woman in that she does not hide her anger and outwardly expresses it. This can be seen throughout most of the play, especially when she says “Oh, how I hate you! I will punish you…Say what you will, I must striker her now” (Traditional Japanese Literature 931). Showing both the anger and forwardness seen within Kyogen women. In Nonomiya however, Rokujo is more subtle about her anger and who she is. This is seen when she says “I have no wish to vex you with my name, unworthy as I am. I am ashamed! Yet word no doubt will leak out in the end” (Nonomiya 211). Thus displaying the opposite of how women within Kyogen are usually