Chapter Iv. Note On Ukai : p. 127 NOTE ON UKAI. SEAMI tells us ("Works", p. 246) that this play was written by Enami no Sayemon. "But as I removed bad passages and added good ones, I consider the play to be really my work"--(p. 247). On p. 245 he points out that the same play on words occurs in Ukai three times...
Chapter V. Note On Kantan : p. 155 NOTE ON KANTAN. A YOUNG man, going into the world to make his fortune, stops at an inn on the road and there meets with a sage, who lends him a pillow. While the inn-servant is heating up the millet, the young man dozes on the pillow and dreams that he enters public life, is promoted...
Chapter Viii. Kyogen. Chapter Viii. Kyogen : p. 253 p. 254 p. 255 CHAPTER VIII KYGEN (FARCICAL INTERLUDE) THE BIRD-CATCHER IN HELL 1 (ESASHI J) PERSONS YAMA, KING OF HELL. DEMONS. KIYOYORI, THE BIRD-CATCHER. CHORUS. YAMA. Yama the King of Hell comes forth to stand At the Meeting of the Way, 2 ("Shouting".) Yai, yai. Where are my minions...
Chapter Ii. Kumasaka : p. 60 KUMASAKA BY ZENCHIKU UJINOBU (1414-1499?) PERSONS A PRIEST FROM THE CAPITAL. A PRIEST OF AKASAKA (really the ghost of the robber KUMASAKA NO CHOHAN). CHORUS. PRIEST. These weary feet that found the World Too sad to walk in, whither Oh whither shall wandering lead them? I am a priest...
Chapter Vi. Taniko : p. 190 TANIK (THE VALLEY-HURLING) PART I By ZENCHIKU PERSONS A TEACHER. A YOUNG BOY. THE BOY'S MOTHER. LEADER OF THE PILGRIMS. PILGRIMS. CHORUS. TEACHER. I am a teacher. I keep a school at one of the temples in the City. I have a pupil whose father is dead; he has only his mother to look after him...
Chapter Iv. Aya No Tsuzumi : p. 134 AYA NO TSUZUMI (THE DAMASK DRUM) ATTRIBUTED TO SEAMI, BUT PERHAPS EARLIER. PERSONS A COURTIER. AN OLD GARDENER. THE PRINCESS. COURTIER. I am a courtier at the Palace of Kinomaru in the country of Chikuzen. You must know that in this place there is a famous pond called the Laurel Pond, where...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Yuya : YUYA TAIRA NO MUNEMORI had long detained at the Capital his mistress Yuya, whose aged mother continually besought him to send back her daughter to her for a little while, that she might see her before she died. In the illustration she is shown reading a letter in which her mother begs her...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Hotoke No Hara : p. 248 HOTOKE NO HARA By SEAMI GIO was the mistress of Kiyomori (1118-1181), the greatest of the Tairas. One day there arrived at his camp a famous dancing-.girl called Hotoke. Kiyomori was for sending her away; but Gi, who had heard wonderful stories of Hotoke's beauty, was anxious to see her...
Plan Ii : p. 14 KEY TO PLAN II MODERN STAGE A The Stage. B The "shite's" Pillar. C "Shite's" seat, also called "Name-saying seat." D "Metsuke-bashira", Pillar on which the actor fixes his eye. E "Sumi", the corner. F "Waki's" Pillar, also called the Prime Minister's Pillar. G "Waki's" seat. H "Waki's"...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Yamauba : p. 247 YAMAUBA (THE DAME OF THE MOUNTAINS) REVISED BY KOMPARU ZENCHIKU UJINOBU FROM AN ORIGINAL BY SEAMI YAMAUBA is the fairy of the mountains, which have been under her care since the world began. She decks them with snow in winter, with blossoms in spring; her task carrying her eternally...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Take No Yuki : p. 237 TAKE NO YUKI (SNOW ON THE BAMBOOS) By SEAMI PERSONS TONO-I. TSUKIWAKA (his son by the first wife). HIS FIRST WIFE. TSUKIWAKA'S SISTER. HIS SECOND WIFE. A SERVANT. CHORUS. TONO-I. My name is Tono-i. I live in the land of Echigo. I had a wife; but for a trifling reason I parted from her...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Toru : TRU BY KWANAMI OR SEAMI TRU was a prince who built a great palace at Rokuj-kawara, near Kyto. In its grounds was a counterfeit of the bay of Naniwa, which was filled and emptied twice a day in imitation of the tides. Labourers toiled up from the sea-shore, which was many miles distant, carrying...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Ominameshi : p. 224 OMINAMESHI By SEAMI THE play is written round a story and a poem. A man came to the capital and was the lover of a woman there. Suddenly he vanished and she, in great distress, set out to look for him in the country he came from. She found his house, and asked his servants where he w...
Chapter Ii. Chapter Ii : p. 59 CHAPTER II KUMASAKA EBOSHI-ORI BENKEI ON THE BRIDGE THESE three plays deal with the boyhood of the hero Yoshitsune, whose child-name was Ushiwaka. Eboshi-ori is a "genzai-mono", that is to say a play which describes events actually in progress. In "Kumasaka" these same events are rehearsed...
Chapter Iii. Sotoba Komachi : p. 114 SOTOBA KOMACHI By KWANAMI PERSONS A PRIEST OF THE KYASAN. SECOND PRIEST. ONO NO KOMACHI. CHORUS. PRIEST. We who on shallow hills 1 have built our home In the heart's deep recess seek solitude. ("Turning to the audience".) I am a priest of the Kyasan. I am minded to go up to the Capital...
Chapter I. Ikuta : p. 45 IKUTA BY ZEMB MOTOYASU (1453-1532) PERSONS PRIEST (a follower of "Hnen Shnin"). 1 ATSUMORI'S CHILD. ATSUMORI. CHORUS. PRIEST. I am one that serves Hnen Shnin of Kurodani; and as for this child here,--once when Hnen was on a visit to the Temple of Kamo he saw a box lying under a trailing...
Mystery Science Theater 819. No Theater : NOH THEATER Mystery Science Theater 3000, sketch during "Invasion of the Neptune Men" (MSTK #819). DRAMATIS PERSON MIKE NELSON CROW T. ROBOT, A 'BOT TOM SERVO, A 'BOT GYPSY, A 'BOT Location: Bridge of the Satellite of Love. CROW Hello and.... BOTS Konnichi wa! SERVO Tonight we present a traditional...
Chapter Ii. Benkei On The Bridge : p. 81 BENKEI ON THE BRIDGE (HASHI-BENKEI) By HIYOSHI SA-AMI YASUKIYO ("Date unknown, probably first half of the fifteenth century".) PERSONS BENKEI. FOLLOWER. USHIWAKA. CHORUS. BENKEI. I am one who lives near the Western Pagoda. My name is Musashib Benkei. In fulfillment of a certain vow I have...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Matsukaze : p. 226 MATSUKAZE By KWANAMI; REVISED BY SEAMI LORD YUKIHIRA, brother of Narihira, was banished to the lonely shore of Suma. While he lived there he amused himself by helping two fisher-girls to carry salt water from the sea to the salt-kilns on the shore. Their names were Matsukaze and Murasame...
Chapter V. The Hoka Priests : p. 165 THE HKA PRIESTS (HKAZ) By ZENCHIKU UJINOBU (1414-1499) PERSONS MAKINO. NOBUTOSHI (their father's murderer). HIS BROTHER. NOBUTOSHI'S SERVANT. MAKINO. My name is Kojir; I am the son of one Makino no Sayemon who lived in the land of Shimotsuke. You must know that my father had a quarrel with...
Chapter Viii. Kyogen. Short Bibliography : p. 260 SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY EUROPEAN B. H. Chamberlain: "The Classical Poetry of the Japanese", 1880 (Rhymed paraphrases of "Sesshseki", "Kantan", "Nakamitsu" and part of "Hagoromo"; translations of the farces "Honekawa" and "Zazen"). The Chrysanthemum, 1882, Translation of "Hachi no Ki". F. W. K...
Chapter Viii. Kyogen. Appendix I : p. 262 APPENDIX I MODERN N LETTERS FROM JAPAN THE fact that N did not disappear with the overthrow of the Shgun in 1868 was almost solely due to the efforts of Umewaka Minoru (1828-1909), whose ancestors had for generations played "tsure" parts in the Kwanze theatre. When the Mikado was restored...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Shunkwan : p. 229 SHUNKWAN By SEAMI THE priest Shunkwan, together with Naritsune and Yasuyori, had plotted the overthrow of the Tairas. They were arrested and banished to Devil's Island on the shore of Satsuma. Naritsune and Yasuyori were worshippers of the Gods of Kumano. They brought this worship with them...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Mari : MARI (THE FOOTBALL) A FOOTBALLER died at the Capital. When the news was brought to his wife, she became demented and performed a sort of football-mass for his soul. "The eight players in a game of football," she declared, "represent the eight chapters in the Hokke Scripture. If the four goal-posts...
Chapter I. Atsumori : p. 36 ATSUMORI BY SEAMI PERSONS THE PRIEST RENSEI (formerly the warrior Kumagai). A YOUNG REAPER, who turns out to be the ghost of Atsumori. HIS COMPANION. CHORUS. PRIEST. Life is a lying dream, he only wakes Who casts the World aside. I am Kumagai no Naozane, a man of the country of Musashi. I...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Chapter Vii. Summaries : IZUTSU p. 217 CHAPTER VII SUMMARIES IZUTSU KAKITSUBATA HANAKATAMI OMINAMESHI MATSUKAZE SHUNKWAN AMA TAKE NO YUKI TORI-OI YUYA TANGO-MONOGURUI IKKAKU SENNIN YAMAUBA HOTOKE NO HARA MARI TRU MAI-GURUMA p. 219 SUMMARIES OF the plays which are founded on the Ise Monogatari 1 the best known are "Izutsu"...
Chapter Iii. Kagekiyo : p. 89 KAGEKIYO By SEAMI PERSONS A GIRL (Kagekiyo's daughter). HER ATTENDANT. KAGEKIYO THE PASSIONATE. A VILLAGER. CHORUS. GIRL and ATTENDANT. Late dewdrops are our lives that only wait Till the wind blows, the wind of morning blows. GIRL. I am Hitomaru. I live in the valley of Kamegaye. My father...
Chapter V. Note On Hagoromo : p. 176 "HAGOROMO"."> THE ANGEL IN "HAGOROMO". p. 177 NOTE ON HAGOROMO. THE story of the mortal who stole an angel's cloak and so prevented her return to heaven is very widely spread. It exists, with variations and complications, in India, China, Japan, the Liu Chiu Islands and Sweden. The story...
Chapter Iii. Hachi No Ki : p. 100 HACHI NO KI By SEAMI PERSONS THE PRIEST (Lord Tokiyori disguised). TSUNEYO GENZAYEMON (a former retainer of Tokiyori). GENZAYEMON'S WIFE. TOKIYORI'S MINISTER, and followers. CHORUS. PRIEST. No whence nor whither know I, only onward, Onward my way. I am a holy man of no fixed abode. I have...
Note On Buddhism : p. 30 p. 31 NOTE ON BUDDHISM The Buddhism of the N plays is of the kind called the "Greater Vehicle," which prevails in China, Japan and Tibet. Primitive Buddhism (the "Lesser Vehicle"), which survives in Ceylon and Burma, centres round the person of Shkyamuni the historical Buddha and uses Pli...
Chapter Iv. Aoi No Uye : p. 145 AOI NO UYE (PRINCESS HOLLYHOCK) REVISED BY ZENCHIKU UJINOBU (1414-1499?) PERSONS COURTIER. THE SAINT OF YOKAWA. WITCH. MESSENGER. PRINCESS ROKUJ. CHORUS. ("A folded cloak laid in front of the stage symbolizes the sickbed of Aoi".) COURTIER. I am a courtier in the service of the Emper...
Introduction : p. 17 INTRODUCTION The theatre of the West is the last stronghold of realism. No one treats painting or music as mere transcripts of life. But even pioneers of stage-reform in France and Germany appear to regard the theatre as belonging to life and not to art. The play is an organized piece...
Title Page : THE N PLAYS OF JAPAN BY ARTHUR WALEY Unwin, London [1921] TO DAMI Scanned , October 2003, J. B. Hare, Redactor. This Text Is In The Public Domain In The United States Because It Was Published Prior To 1922. These Files May Be Used For Any Non-commercial Purpose, Provided This Notice Of Attributi...
Chapter Iv. Ukai : p. 128 UKAI (THE CORMORANT-FISHER) By ENAMI NO SAYEMON (c.1400). PERSONS PRIEST. FISHER. SECOND PRIEST. YAMA, KING OF HELL. CHORUS. PRIEST. I am a priest from Kiyosumi in Awa. I have never yet seen the country of Kai, so now I am minded to go there on pilgrimage. ("Describing the journey".)...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Tango Monogurui : p. 241 TANGO-MONOGURUI By I-AMI THERE are several plays which describe the fatal anger of a father on discovering that his child has no aptitude for learning. One of these, "Nakamitsu" or "Manj", has been translated by Chamberlain. The "Tango-Monogurui", a similar play, has usually been ascribed...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Ama : p. 236 AMA (THE FISHER-GIRL) By SEAMI FUJIWARA NO FUSAZAKI was the child of a fisher-girl. He was taken from her in infancy and reared at the Capital. When he grew to be a man he went to Shido to look for her. On the shore he met with a fisher-girl who, after speaking for some while with him, gave...
Plan I : p. 12 KEY TO PLAN I THEATRE SET UP IN THE RIVER-BED AT KYTO IN 1464; ONAMI'S TROUPE ACTED ON IT FOR THREE DAYS "WITH IMMENSE SUCCESS." A The Shgun. B His attendants. C His litter. D His wife. E Her ladies. F Her litter. G Auditorium. H Stage. I Musicians. J "Hashigakari". K "Gakuya", served...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Mai Guruma : p. 250 MAI-GURUMA 1 (THE DANCE WAGGONS) By MIYAMASU (DATE UNKNOWN) A MAN of Kamakura went for a year to the Capital and fell in love with a girl there. When it was time for him to return to Kamakura he took her with him. But his parents did not like her, and one day when he was not at home, they...
Chapter V. Hagoromo : p. 178 HAGOROMO By SEAMI PERSONS HAKURY (a Fisherman). ANOTHER FISHERMAN. ANGEL. CHORUS. FISHERMAN. Loud the rowers' cry Who through the storm-swept paths of Mio Bay Ride to the rising sea. HAKURY. I am Hakury, a fisherman whose home is by the pine-woods of Mio. BOTH. "On a thousand leagues...
Chapter I. Chapter I : p. 35 CHAPTER I. ATSUMORI, IKUTA, AND TSUNEMASA. IN the eleventh century two powerful clans, the Taira and the Minamoto, contended for mastery. In 1181 Kiyomori the chief of the Tairas died, and from that time their fortunes declined. In 1183 they were forced to flee from Kyto, carrying with them...
Chapter Vi. Haku Rakuten : HAKU RAKUTEN By SEAMI INTRODUCTION THE Chinese poet Po Ch-i, whom the Japanese call Haku Rakuten, was horn in 772 A. D. and died in 847. His works enjoyed immense contemporary popularity in China, Korea and Japan. In the second half of the ninth century the composition of Chinese verse became...
Untitled : N (also spelled Noh) drama incorporates folk-tales, poetry, and dance in an exquisite, very formalized setting. These works are of interest beyond their artistic appeal, because they are interwoven with Buddhist (and to a lesser extent, Shinto) traditions and beliefs, and provide deep insight...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Tori Oi : p. 240 TORI-OI BY KONG YAGOR Bears a strong resemblance to "Take no Yuki". The date of the author is unknown. A CERTAIN lord goes up to the city to settle a lawsuit, leaving his steward in charge of his estate. In his absence the steward grows overbearing in his manner towards his mistress and her...
Chapter Vi. Note On Taniko And Ikeniye : p. 189 NOTE ON TANIK AND IKENIYE. BOTH of these plays deal with the ruthless exactions of religion; in each the first part lends itself better to translation than the second. "Tanik" is still played; but "Ikeniye", though printed by both Owada and Haga, has probably not been staged for many...
Chapter Iii. Note On Komachi : p. 113 NOTE ON KOMACHI. THE legend of Komachi is that she had many lovers when she was young, but was cruel and mocked at their pain. Among them was one, Shii no Shsh, who came a long way to court her. She told him that she would not listen to him till he had come on a hundred nights from his...
Chapter Ii. Eboshi Ori : p. 69 EBOSHI-ORI BY MIYAMASU (SIXTEENTH CENTURY?) PERSONS KICHIJI and HIS BROTHER KICHIROKU Gold-merchants. USHIWAKA. MESSENGER. HATMAKER. HATMAKER'S WIFE. INNKEEPER. KUMASAKA. BRIGANDS. CHORUS. KICHIJI. We as travellers dressed-- Our weary feet upon the Eastern road For many days must speed. I am...
Chapter I. Tsunemasa : p. 51 TSUNEMASA BY SEAMI PERSONS THE PRIEST GYKEI. THE GHOST OF TAIRA NO TSUNEMASA. CHORUS. GYKEI. I am Gykei, priest of the imperial temple Ninnaji. You must know that there was a certain prince of the House of Taira named Tsunemasa, Lord of Tajima, who since his boyhood has enjoyed beyond all...
Chapter Viii. Kyogen. Appendix Ii : p. 270 APPENDIX II SOME of the facts brought to light by the discovery of Seami's "Works":-- (1) It had long been suspected that the current "Kwadensho" was not the work of Seami. The discovery of the real "Kwadensho" has made this certain. (2) Traditional dates of Kwanami and Seami corrected. (3)...
Chapter Iv. Note On Aoi No Uye : p. 142 p. 143 NOTE ON AOI NO UYE. AT the age of twelve Prince Genji went through the ceremony of marriage with Aoi no Uye (Princess Hollyhock), the Prime Minister's daughter. She continued to live at her father's house and Genji at his palace. When he was about sixteen he fell in love with...
Chapter V. Kantan : p. 156 KANTAN PERSONS HOSTESS. TWO LITTER BEARERS. ROSEI. BOY DANCER. ENVOY. TWO COURTIERS. CHORUS. HOSTESS I who now stand before you am a woman of the village of Kantan in China. A long while ago I gave lodging to one who practised the arts of wizardry; and as payment be left here a famous...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Ikkaku Sennin : p. 245 IKKAKU SENNIN (THE ONE-HORNED RISHI) A RISHI lived in the hills near Benares. Under strange circumstances 1 a roe bore him a son whose form was human, save that a single horn grew on his forehead, and that he had stag's hoofs instead of feet. He was given the name "Ekashringa", "One-horn."...
Chapter Vi. Hatsuyuki : p. 203 HATSUYUKI (EARLY SNOW) By KOPARU ZEMB MOTOYASU(1453-1532). PERSONS EVENING MIST, a servant girl. A LADY, the Abbot's daughter. TWO NOBLE LADIES. THE SOUL OF THE BIRD HATSUYUKI ("Early Snow"). CHORUS. SCENE: "The Great Temple at Izumo". SERVANT. I am a servant at the Nyoroku Shrine...
Chapter Vii. Summaries. Hanakatami The Flower : p. 221 HANAKATAMI (THE FLOWER BASKET) By KWANAMI; REVISED BY SEAMI BEFORE he came to the throne, the Emperor Keitai 1 loved the Lady Teruhi. On his accession he sent her a letter of farewell and a basket of flowers. In the play the messenger meets her On the road to her home; she reads the letter...
Chapter Vi. Ikeniye : p. 196 IKENIYE (THE POOL-SACRIFICE) PART I By SEAMI 1 PERSONS THE TRAVELLER. THE INNKEEPER. HIS WIFE. THE PRIEST. HIS DAUGHTER. THE ACOLYTE. CHORUS. TRAVELLER. I am a man who lives in the Capital. Maybe because of some great wrong I did in a former life... I have fallen into trouble and cannot go...