Seki Kobayashi (1928–2018) was a Japanese scholar of Noh and Kyogen and professor emeritus at Musashino University. After studying Japanese literature at Waseda University, he trained under Kyogen performer Nomura Mansaku from the 1950s and combined an understanding of stage practice with historical research and efforts to promote the art. Alongside his teaching at Musashino University, he served as an instructor for the National Noh Theatre’s training program and as a specialist on cultural-property advisory committees. He received the Tanabe Hisao Prize for “Kyogen Jiten: Shiryo-hen” and the Kanze Hisao Memorial Hosei University Noh Theatre Award in 2004. His representative work, “Nogaku Daijiten,” coauthored with Tetsuo Nishi and Hisashi Hata, systematically organizes information on Noh and Kyogen plays, performers, schools, staging practices, masks, costumes, and terminology for use by both theatergoers and researchers.
