Kyōgen

Kyōgen (狂言^?, "mad words" or "wild speech") is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen. Its contents are nevertheless not at all similar to the formal, symbolic, and solemn Noh theater; kyōgen is a comic form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh.

Kyōgen is sometimes compared to the Italian comic form of commedia dell'arte, which developed around the same period (14th century) and likewise features . It also has parallels with the Greek satyr play, a short, comical play performed between tragedies.

Kyōgen is thought to derive from a form of Chinese entertainment that was brought to Japan around the 8th century. This entertainment form became known as sarugaku and initially encompassed both serious drama and comedy. By the 14th century, these forms of sarugaku had become known as Noh and kyōgen, respectively.

Kyōgen provided a major influence on the later development of kabuki theater. After the earlier, more ribald forms of kabuki had been outlawed in the mid-17th century, the government permitted the establishment of the new yarō-kabuki (men's kabuki) only on the grounds that it refrain from the previous kabuki forms' lewdness and instead model itself after kyōgen.

Noh had been the official entertainment form of the Edo period, and was therefore subsidized by the government. Kyōgen, performed in conjunction with Noh, also received the patronage of the government and the upper class during this time. Following the Meiji Restoration, however, this support ceased. Without government support, Noh and kyōgen went into decline, as many Japanese citizens gravitated toward the more "modern" Western art forms. In 1879, however, then-former US President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, while touring Japan, expressed an interest in the traditional art of Noh. They became the first Americans to witness Noh and kyōgen plays and are said to have enjoyed the performance. Their approval is believed to have sparked a revival of interest in these forms.

...
Wikipedia