''Eguchi'' (江口) is a

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 of the third category, written by

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

, around a fragment (the courtesan’s sermon) by

Kan'ami was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by and . He is the father of the well-known playwright . Theater Kan'ami's career began in Obata, Nabari-shi, Mie when he fo ...

. The play combines two legends, one related of the holy man Shōkū (concerning the identity of the courtesan of Mura with the bodhisattva Fugen) and the other related of the monk Saigyō: (the admonishment of the courtesan of Eguchi).

Plot summary

A travelling monk arrives by night at the port of Eguchi. Seeing a cairn, he enquires about its origin and is told that it commemorates the Lady of Eguchi, a former courtesan and poetess, who was subsequently considered to be a manifestation of a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, specifically Fugen Bosatsu, Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue. During a rainstorm, the 12th-century monk

Saigyō was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Biography Born in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of ...

had asked for shelter at her house, but was refused entry. He reproached her with an impromptu poem, complaining that “you are stingy/even with the night I ask of you,/a place in your soon-left inn” Her devastating reply hinged on a Buddhist interpretation of the words "a moment's refuge": “It’s because I heard/you’re no longer bound to life/as a householder/that I’m loath to let you get attached/to this inn of brief, bought stays”. She then admitted him, and engaged in a long conversation. In ''

The Unfettered Mind is a three-part treatise on Buddhist philosophy and martial arts written in the 17th century by Takuan Sōhō, a Japanese monk of the Rinzai sect. The title translates roughly to "The Mysterious Records of Immovable Wisdom". The book is a series ...

'', ''Z''en Buddhist monk

Takuan Sōhō was a Japanese Buddhist prelate during the Sengoku and early Edo Periods of Japanese history. He was a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Noted for his calligraphy, poetry, tea ceremony, he is also popularly credited with the ...

cites this encounter to illustrate the importance that the "mind not be detained". The travelling monk thoughtfully recites Saigyō's poem to himself, and is overheard by a passing woman, who asks him to follow it with the courtesan’s reply. She tells the monk not to believe the gossip about her; when she vanishes they realise that she is, in fact, the ghost of the courtesan of Eguchi. A villager then tells them the story of Shōkū, who longed to worship the living Fugen, and was directed in a dream to seek the Lady of Eguchi. Fascinated, the monk begins to repeat a sutra by her grave. A boat, brightly moonlit, appears, bearing the Lady along with two singing girls. They sing of the unhappiness of mortals ensnared in illusion and condemned to be reborn. In conclusion, they remind the monk that "all things are a moment's refuge"; the Lady reveals her identity as Fugen, and ascends into the clouds.

Later references

* Basho’s haiku on sleeping under the same roof as a pair of concubines is thought to refer back to Saigyō's

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short p ...

, and to the play built around it.Matsuo Basho, ''Basho’s Narrow Road'' (1998) p. 149

References

{{Reflist, 2}

External links

Saigyo_in_three_Japanese_No_play Noh_plays
Buddhist_plays.html" ;"title="Noh plays">Saigyo in three Japanese No play Noh plays
Buddhist plays">Noh plays">Saigyo in three Japanese No play Noh plays
Buddhist plays Plays set in the 12th century

Plot summary

Later references

See also

References

Further reading

External links