is a

Noh play 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 ' ...

in the

first category In the Mathematics, mathematical field of general topology, a meagre set (also called a meager set or a set of first category) is a subset of a topological space that is small or Negligible set, negligible in a precise sense detailed below. A set ...

Zeami Motokiyo (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 skill ...

, about the Japanese god of poetry repelling the Chinese poet

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

(or Po Chü-i) from Japan 500 years earlier, in defiance of the (perceived) challenge from China to the autonomy of

Japanese poetry Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...

Historical background

While Bai did not in fact ever travel to Japan, his ''influence'' there was enormous in the 9th century: the work of the leading Japanese poet,

Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology ''Hyakunin Isshu'', he is known ...

, was so under Bai's spell as to be described by

Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were th ...

as "an unparalleled example of literary prostration". A similar challenge to indigenous arts from the prestige of Chinese culture had emerged in the 14th century, something that fuelled the strong element of cultural resistance to be found in Zeami's play.

Plot

The poet Bai is sent by the emperor of China to test the Japanese, and meets two fishermen on his arrival. The elder of the fishermen explains to him the nature of Japanese poetry, Yamato Uta, suggesting that it is something shared both by men and by the birds, insects, and frogs of the land. Gradually the fisherman is revealed to be Sumiyoshi no Kami, the Japanese god of poetry himself. He launches into a series of dances that summon a

divine wind , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

, blowing a defeated Bai back to China.

Borrowings and reception

The opening '' Jo'' section sees the ''

waki WAKI (1230 AM) is a radio station licensed to McMinnville, Tennessee McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census. It was named for Governor Jos ...

'' (Haku Rakuten) and ''waki-tsure'' sing of the lands of the rising sun and of the setting sun, seemingly a reference to

Shōtoku Taishi Shōtoku may refer to: * Prince Shōtoku (574-622), a politician of the Asuka period * Empress Kōken, or Empress Shōtoku (718-770), the 48th imperial ruler of Japan * Shōtoku (era) was a after ''Hōei'' and before '' Kyōhō.'' This period ...

's famous letter

sent Sent is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japan ...

Emperor Yang of Sui Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui () during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor of ...

. In the ensuing '' Ha'' section, the '' shite'' (an old fisherman) acknowledges the status of Chinese poetic ''

shi Shi or SHI may refer to: Language * ''Shi'', a Japanese titles#Shi, Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun * ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun * Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries * Shi language * ''Shī'', transliteration of ...

'' and '' fu'', together with that of the Buddhist scriptures from India, but suggests that rather than servile imitation the Japanese poetic tradition "blends", develops, and transcends its inheritance; his proposition, as above, that the birds and the beasts share in the creation of Japanese poetry and song, draws on

Ki no Tsurayuki was a Japanese author, poet and court noble of the Heian period. He is best known as the principal compiler of the ''Kokin Wakashū'', also writing its Japanese Preface, and as a possible author of the ''Tosa Diary'', although this was publishe ...

's preface to the '' Kokinshū''. In turn, the noh play has inspired works including folding screens by

Ogata Kōrin Ogata Kōrin ( ja, 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School. Kōrin is best known for his ''byōbu'' folding screens, such as '' Irises'' and ' ...

, and

woodblock prints Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...

Suzuki Harunobu Suzuki Harunobu ( ja, 鈴木春信; ) was a Japanese designer of woodblock print art in the style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints () in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints. Haru ...

and

Kōgyo Tsukioka , sometimes called , (April 18, 1869 – February 25, 1927) was a Japanese artist of the Meiji period. He was a student and adopted son of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, and also studied with Ogata Gekkō. Although Kōgyo sometimes painted other subjects ...

Related images

Haku Rakuten byōbu by Ogata Kōrin (Nezu Museum).jpg, ''Haku Rakuten byōbu'' by

(

Nezu Museum Nezu may refer to: *Nezu Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan *Nezu Station, a railway station in Tokyo * Nezu (''My Hero Academia''), a character in the manga series ''My Hero Academia'' * Nezu, a character in the manga series ''Akira'' Peopl ...

) Haku Rakuten byōbu by Ogata Kōrin.jpg, ''Haku Rakuten byōbu'' by Ogata Kōrin (private collection) Nô Hakurakuten Szene.jpg, Scene from ''Haku Rakuten'', from the series ''Pictures of Noh Plays'' by

Haku Rakuten.jpg, Sumiyoshi Myōjin dances before

Haku Rakuten is a Noh play in the first category by Zeami Motokiyo, about the Japanese god of poetry repelling the Chinese poet Bai Juyi (or Po Chü-i) from Japan 500 years earlier, in defiance of the (perceived) challenge from China to the autonomy of J ...

and his two attendants, from ''Nōga taikan'' by Kōgyo Tsukioka

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links