Kyōgen (狂言, literally "mad words" or "wild speech") is a form of traditional Japanese theater. It developed alongside noh, was performed along with noh as an intermission of sorts between noh acts, and retains close links to noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated noh-kyōgen. However, its content is not at all similar to the formal, symbolic, and solemn noh theater; kyōgen is a comical form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh.

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.^[1]

In modern Japan, kyōgen is performed both separately and as a part of noh. Its traditions are maintained primarily by family groups, especially the Izumi and Okura schools.

As with noh and kabuki, all kyōgen actors, including those in female roles, are men. Kyōgen plays are invariably brief, and often contain only two or three roles, which are often stock characters.

Movements and dialogue in kyōgen are typically very exaggerated, making the action of the play easy to understand. Elements of slapstick or satire are present in most kyōgen plays. Some plays are parodies of actual Buddhist or Shinto religious rituals; others are shorter, more lively, simplified versions of noh plays, many of which are derived from folktales.

Kyōgen is performed to the accompaniment of music, especially the flute, drums, and gong. However, the emphasis of kyōgen is on dialogue and action, rather than on music or dance.

Actors in kyōgen, unlike those in noh, typically do not wear masks, unless the role is that of an animal (such as a tanuki or kitsune), or that of a god. Consequently, the masks of kyōgen are less numerous in variety than noh masks. Both masks and costumes are simpler than those characteristic of noh. Few props are used, and minimal or no stage sets.

Kyogen is a concept addressed in xxxHolic, and is the title for the second episode of the anime. The English alternative used is 'Falsehood'.

• Brandon, James R. Nō and Kyōgen in the Contemporary World. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.
• Kenny, Don (compiler) (1989). The Kyogen book : an anthology of Japanese classical comedies. Tokyo: Japan Times. ISBN 4-7890-0459-7.
• Richie, Donald (1972). Three modern Kyogen. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-1038-9.
• Sakanishi, Shiho (1938). Kyôgen; comic interludes of Japan. Boston: Marshall Jones Company.
• Takeda, Sharon Sadako (2002). Miracles & mischief : Noh and Kyōgen theater in Japan. Los Angeles: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. ISBN 0-8758-7188-7.

• Noh & Kyogen — An Introduction