Abstract
The preciousness and the aesthetic value of Noh are usually attributed to the masterly work of the actor protagonist, the shite. The central role of the shite, however, is the result of an ensemble of relations that involves the other artists on stage, in particular the waki, who spends the greater part of his time immobile and in silence on the extreme margins of the scenic space. The waki’s lateral position, both real and metaphoric, offers a peculiar point of view on Noh that the article adopts to rediscuss, with inevitable reference to Buddhism, the relationship between shite and waki. On the one hand, lateral vision removes the possibility of creating differences of value between the two roles as different manifestations of a unique and ideal scenic body. On the other hand, the shift of the point of observation renders available the force of the theatrical relations that Noh knows how to institute with its public, and the complexity of the levels of reading and interpretation.