' is a Japanese

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

play by

Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese Aesthetics, aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan ...

which focuses on

Taira no Atsumori (1169–1184) was a ''samurai'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He was a member of the Taira clan. He fought in the Genpei War against the Minamoto. Career Atsumori was a warrior during the Genpei War. He is famous for his early death ...

, a young samurai who was killed in the Genpei War, and his killer,

Kumagai Naozane (March 24, 1141 – September 27, 1207/October 25, 1208) was a famous soldier who served the Genji (Minamoto) clan during the Heian period of Japanese history. Kumagai is particularly known for his exploits during the Genpei War, specifically for ...

. Atsumori's death is portrayed tragically in the ''

Heike monogatari is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on'yo ...

'' (''Tale of the Heike''), from which this and many other works stem.

Background

Atsumori, roughly 16 years old at the time of the battle of Ichi-no-Tani (1184), was killed by the

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...

warrior Kumagai Naozane. In the ''Heike monogatari'' and many works derived from it, this is focused upon as a particularly tragic episode. Atsumori is also, like many of his

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

brethren, portrayed as a courtier and poet, not truly prepared for battle. He is said to have carried a flute into battle, evidence of his peaceful, courtly nature as well as his youth and naïveté. Kumagai also notes that none of his fellow Genji (

) warriors were cultivated to a point where they would ride into battle with a flute. Royall Tyler's analysis, preceding his translation of the play, focuses on the contrasts between Atsumori, the young, peaceful courtier and flute player, and Kumagai, the older seasoned warrior.

Plot

The Noh play takes place some years after the end of the Genpei War. It is an example of the

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

or ''mugen'' genre of Noh, although it differs slightly in that the ghost is usually unrelated to the person who sees it. The ghost of Atsumori, disguised as a grass cutter, is the ''shite'' role, and Kumagai, having become a monk and changed his name to Renshō (or Rensei), is played by the '' waki''. The play begins with Renshō's arrival at Ichi-no-Tani, also known as

Suma Suma may refer to: Places * Suma, Azerbaijan, a village * Suma, East Azerbaijan, a village in Iran * Sowmaeh, Ardabil, also known as Şūmā, a village in Iran * Suma-ku, Kobe, one of nine wards of Kobe City in Japan ** Suma Station, a rai ...

, a location which features prominently in a number of classic texts, and thus has many layers of significance within the Noh; references are made throughout the play to other events that took place there, in particular those of the '' Genji monogatari'' and ''

Ise monogatari is a Japanese ''uta monogatari'', or collection of ''waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most versions ...

''. The monk seeks to ask forgiveness from Atsumori, and to calm his spirit. There he meets a flute-playing youth and his companions; he speaks with them briefly about fluting and about Atsumori before the youth reveals that he has a connection to Atsumori, and the first act ends. Between the two acts, there is a ''

kyōgen 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 stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; therefo ...

'' interlude, as is quite common and traditional in Noh. A ''kyōgen'' performer, playing an anonymous villager, speaks with Renshō and relates to the audience the background of the story of Atsumori, Kumagai and the battle of Ichi-no-tani. The second act begins as the first one ended, with Renshō reciting prayers for Atsumori, who now makes his appearance. The actor who played the youth in the first act has now changed costume and plays Atsumori; this is a very common device in the most standard Noh plays, and it is implied that the youth earlier was Atsumori's ghost in disguise. Atsumori (along with the chorus chanting for him) relates his tragic story from his perspective, re-enacting it in dance form. The play then ends with Renshō refusing to re-enact his role in Atsumori's death; the ghost declares that Renshō is not his enemy, and asks that the monk pray for his release. (Tied to the mortal realm by the emotional power of his death, Atsumori's ghost has been unable to move on.)

Famous verse

The Noh play contains the following verse: It is a very famous verse known to be often sung by Oda Nobunaga. Geten (, Gerakuten , or Nirmaannarati) is an imaginary world of greed and desire in Buddhism. According to scriptures, a day in Geten is equal to a year in our world and an inhabitant of Geten lives 8,000 years.

References

* Tyler, Royall (ed. & trans.)(1992). "Japanese Nō Dramas." London:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Noh plays 15th-century plays Buddhist plays Plays set in the 12th century

Background

Plot

Famous verse

See also

References