QUANTITATIVE METRE IN NŌ.

Th e hiranori rhythm, unique for the nō drama, combines the asymetrical (7-5) syllabic metre of the Japanese poetry with a symetrical 8-beat rhythm of the nō melodic singing (fushi). Th e study discloses its resemblance with the Greek quantitative metre of hexameter and seeks to explain the presence of quantitative prosody, otherwise atypical for Japan, through tracing back the origin of the hiranori rhythm on the Japanese soil and in the Buddhist chanting practice which, the study hypothesizes, might show a historical link with the Hellenistic cultures of Central Asia and their Greek heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]