''Sanemori'' ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ) 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 ' ...

by Zeami Motokiyo about a troubled warrior spirit, unusual because of the great age of the warrior in question.

Theme

was a samurai warrior who fought in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

, and died at the

Battle of Shinohara The Battle of Shinohara occurred in 1183 during the Genpei War in Japan, in what is now Kaga city, Ishikawa prefecture. History Following the Battle of Kurikara, Minamoto no Yoshinaka caught up with the retreating Taira no Munemori. An arch ...

when he was seventy-three years old. In Zeami’s play, a travelling monk encounters a ghost who reveals himself to be Sanemori, having spent the two centuries since his death dwelling “among the Asuras/ Enduring pains too horrible to tell”. Redeemed by prayers to

Amida Buddha Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of : ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Roma ...

, the ghost then tells the story of his last fight, and how the dyed locks on his severed head moved his adversaries to respect and awe at his courage in fighting despite his advanced age: “Alas for the old warrior! Utterly spent with fighting, Like a dying tree storm-smitten...”

Later echoes

Bashō wittily quoted from the Noh play in an early haiku – “The old-lady cherry / Is blossoming, a remembrance / Of years ago – where the closing phrase is taken directly from the drama. Later, at the very site where Sanemori’s helmet was kept, he wrote a more deeply felt haiku – “How pitiful! / Underneath the helmet / A cricket chirping” – taking his first line directly from the play.Makoto Ueda, ''Matsuo Bashō'' (1982) p. 141

References

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External links

''Sanemori'': Synopsis
Noh plays Buddhist plays

Theme

Later echoes

See also

References

External links