{{nihongo, ''Sekidera Komachi'', 関寺小町, Komachi at Sekidera is a famous
Noh play
is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...
Zeami Motokiyo
, 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 skilled in acting and formed a ...
. Its central character is a real life figure, the great 9th-century poet
Ono no Komachi
was a Japanese waka poet, one of the '' Rokkasen''—the six best waka poets of the early Heian period. She was renowned for her unusual beauty, and ''Komachi'' is today a synonym for feminine beauty in Japan. She also counts among the Thirt ...
, who was also famed for her beauty.
The play depicts Komachi at the end of her life, when her beauty has faded and she is living in great poverty. On the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month, during the Festival of Stars, the
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of Sekidera visits her in her hut, taking two priests and a child, so that they can hear her talk about poetry. During the course of their conversation, the abbot realizes her identity and is astonished and delighted. He invites her to come with them to the festival, but she declines.
The child dances part of a ''
gagaku
is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) arou ...
'' dance for her, the ''Manzairaku''. Inspired, she starts to dance herself, and continues to do so until dawn. In the dawn light she ponders the transience of life, and her irrational shame at what she has become, which Zeami tragically underscores by setting the action during the
Tanabata
, also known as the , is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milk ...
festival, which celebrates two young lovers.
The temple of Sekidera still exists; it is now called Chōanji, and can be found in the city of Ōtsu, Shiga.