' 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 an unknown author. A popular noh play centered around the creation of a sacred sword and the ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' ''

Inari Inari may refer to: Shinto * Inari Ōkami, a Shinto spirit ** Mount Inari in Japan, site of Fushimi Inari-taisha, the main Shinto shrine to Inari ** Inari Shrine, shrines to the Shinto god Inari * Inari-zushi, a type of sushi Places * Inari, ...

'', it has influenced other works of art, including several

bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteers ...

and

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

plays. It belongs to the fifth category. It has been praised as a piece whose "sharp movements and invigorating chants never allow the audience to become bored".

Plot

Emperor Ichijo An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

(980-1011) receives a message from the

s in his dreams, telling him to commission a special sword from Sanjō no Kokaji Munechika. He sends Tachibana no Michinari, an imperial messenger, to deliver this order to Munechika. Munechika receives the messenger, but he is hesitant to accept the request, as he has no smithing partner at his own level. After reluctantly accepting the order, he heads to the Inari shrine

Fushimi Inari-taisha is the head shrine of the ''kami'' Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines ...

to pray for divine help in order to fulfill the request from the emperor. There he meets a mysterious boy that already knows about the commission of the sword. The boy recounts several episodes from Chinese and Japanese history and mythology related to swords. He then tells Munechika to trust him and starts making the preparations for forging the sword, and disappears. As Munechika finishes the ritual preparations,

appears in his divine form and helps Munechika forge the sacred sword. After presenting it to the imperial messenger, Inari mounts on a cloud and returns to Mount Inari.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Kokaji''. A No Play in Two Acts
(translation)
''Kokaji'' at noh-kyogen.com
(archived pamphlet)

Noh plays Works of unknown authorship