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 that is no longer part of the current repertoire.
[Plays outside the current repertoire and that are no longer performed are referred to as . The noh play ''Mari'' is distinct from the ]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 ...
or comic Noh interlude . A Japanese text of ''Mari'' may be found in ''Kōchū Yōkyoku sōsho'' 校註謡曲叢書 第３巻 補遺 3–6, by Haga and Sakaki 芳賀矢一, 佐佐木信綱.
Background
The Mari was the football in the ancient Japanese game of
Kemari
is an athletic game that was popular in Japan during the Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura period (1185–1333). It resembles a game of football or hacky sack. The game was popular in Kyoto, the capital, and the surrounding Kinki (Kansai r ...
, a non-competitive form of
Keepie uppie
Keepie uppie, keep-ups or kick-ups is the skill of juggling with an association football using feet, lower legs, knees, chest, shoulders, and head, without allowing the ball to hit the ground. It is similar to Kemari, a game formerly practiced in ...
popular in the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
. The object of the game was to keep the deerskin ball aloft as long as possible without using one's hands. The game was popular among samurai, the youthful
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 ...
, for example, being an expert player.
Plot
The death of a prominent footballer drives his widow mad, and she prepares a kind of kemari funeral-service for him: the eight football players are taken as equivalent to the eight chapters of the
Hokke Scripture; with the four posts added, they correspond to the
Twelvefold chain of causation.
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 ...
states that "The play ends with a 'football ballet'".
[A Waley, ''The Noh Plays of Japan'' (1976) p. 231]
See also
*
Fujiwara no Narimichi Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include:
; Families
* The Fujiwara clan and its members
** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...
*
Temari
*
The Tale of Genji
Notes
References
{{Reflist, 2
Noh
Noh plays