Noh Drama and The Tale of the Genji: The Art of Allusion in Fifteen Classical Plays [Course Book ed.] 9781400861811

Table of contents :
Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources and Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Reception of the Genji in the Middle Ages
Chapter 2. Noh Dramaturgy and the Literary World
Chapter 3. The Genji and the Noh
Chapter 4. Medieval Sources of the Genji Plays
Chapter 5. Plays about Utsusemi
Chapter 6. Plays about Yugao and Her Daughter Tamakazura
Chapter 7. Plays about Lady Rokujō
Chapter 8. Plays about Genji and the Akashi Lady
Chapter 9. Plays about Princess Ochiba
Chapter 10. Plays about Ukifune
Chapter 11. Praying for Genji
Appendix A. Genii Chapter Titles
Appendix B. A Note on the Translations
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

Noh Diama and The Tale of Genji

PRINCETON ASIAN

LIBRARY

OF

TRANSLATIONS

Noh Drama and The Tale of Genji THE ART OF ALLUSION IN FIFTEEN CLASSICAL PLAYS

JANET

GOFF

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

PRESS

Copyright © 1991 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Oxford All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Goff, Janet Emily. Noh drama and The tale of Genji : the art of allusion in fifteen classical plays / Janet Goff. p. cm.—(Princeton library of Asian translations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-691-06835-6—ISBN 0 - 6 9 1 - 0 1 4 7 6 - 0 (pbk|

i. No plays—History and criticism. 2. Murasaki Shikibu, b. 978? Genji monogatan. 3. Murasaki Shikibu, b. 978?—Influence. 4. Japanese drama—1185-1600—History and criticism. I. Title. PL735.G58 1991 89 5.6'2009—dc20 90-8960 Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Japan Foundation This book has been composed in Lmotron Trump Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1 3 5 7 9 (Pbk.) 1 3 5 7 9

10 10

8 6 4 2 8 6 4 2

To a wondeiful mentor

Contents Illustrations

ix

Acknowledgments

xi

A N o t e o n Sources and Abbreviations Introduction

xiii 3

C h a p t e r i . T h e Reception of t h e Genji in t h e Middle Ages

14

C h a p t e r 2. N o h D r a m a t u r g y and the Literary World

30

Chapter 3. T h e Genji and t h e N o h

45

Chapter 4. Medieval Sources of the Genji Plays

62

Chapter 5. Plays about U t s u s e m i

87

Utsusemi (The Cicada's Shell) Go (A Game of Go) Chapter 6. Plays about Yugao and Her Daughter T a m a k a z u r a

92 96 102

Hajitomi (The Lattice Shutter) Yugao (Evening Faces) Tamakazura (The Jeweled Chaplet)

in 115 120

Chapter 7. Plays about Lady Rokujo

125

Aoi no ue (Lady Aoi) Nonomiya (The Shrine in the Fields) Shikimi tengu (Goblins among the Flowers)

134 140 146

Chapter 8. Plays about Genji and the Akashi Lady

150

Suma Genji (Genji at Suma Bay) Sumiyoshi mode (The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi)

155 160

Chapter 9. Plays about Princess Ochiba Ochiba (Fallen Leaves) Daiani Ochiba (The Magic Spell and the Fallen Leaves) Chapter 10. Plays about Ukifune Ukifune (A Drifting Boat) Kodama Ukifune (The Wood Spirit Ukifune) Chapter 11. Praying for Genji Genji kuyo (A Memorial Service for Genji)

166 171 176 182 188 193 198 203

CONTENTS

Appendix A. Genii Chapter Titles

211

Appendix B. A Note on the Translations

212

Notes

217

Glossary

279

Bibliography

283

Index

291

viii

Illustrations Figure ι. Plan of noh stage Figure 2. Patters of word association in medieval linked verse echoed in Yugao. Compiled from a fifteenth-century poetry handbook. Figure 3. Shrine in the Fields at the beginning of the "Sakaki" chapter; from a 1654 woodcut edition of Genji monogatari by Yamamoto Shunsho. Courtesy of the East Asiatic Library, University of California at Berkeley Figure 4. Shite sings "Genji looked intently at i t " during kuse in Hajitomi. Stage prop represents Yugao's dwelling. Photograph by Yoshikoshi Tatsuo Figure 5. Revival of an old-style performances of Aoi no ue, with carriage and attendant. Courtesy of Nagashima Tadashi Figure 6. Scene from Nonomiya with toiii gate and brushwood fence, common motifs in medieval art and poetry. Photograph by Yoshikoshi Tatsuo Figure 7. Figure of tengu, or long-nosed goblin, from a 1587 illustrated scroll. Courtesy of Spencer Collection, The New York Public Library; Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Figure 8. In the first part of Ukifune and Tamakazuia, the shite enters disguised as a local woman poling a boat. Photograph by Yoshikoshi Tatsuo Figure 9. Murasaki Shikibu in the second part of Genji kuyo. Photograph by Yoshikoshi Tatsuo

47 68

85

104 127

128

131

185 200

Acknowledgments T H E STUDY OF Genji monogataii as a source of the noh involves the finest flowering of Japanese court literature, for Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century masterpiece was itself steeped in the tradition of waka, or court poetry, the dominant literary form in premodern Japan. The idea for this book was inspired by my joint study of the Genji and waka under leading experts at the University of Michigan, Edward G. Seidensticker and the late Robert H. Brower. As my dissertation advisor, Professor Brower especially provided a model of rigorous scholarship while instilling a love for Japanese poetry and poetics. The initial research for this project was conducted under a Japan Foundation dissertation fellowship from September 1976 to February 1978. During my stay in Japan, I studied the Genji under Uesaka Nobuo of Waseda University and then began a long period of involvement with the noh as a research student under Koyama Hiroshi at the University of Tokyo. A 1983-1984 National Endowment for the Humanities translation grant enabled me to come to Japan to do research on, and select, the texts used in the translations and funded my work on the translations in Berkeley, California. A 1984-1985 Japan Foundation postdoctoral fellowship gave me the opportunity to study performance aspects of the noh in Tokyo. I would like to express deep thanks to the Japan Foundation and to the Translations Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent Federal agency, for their generous support, without which this study would not have been possible. I also wish to thank the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California at Berkeley for allowing me to become a research associate and for helping in other ways during my stay in Berkeley. I am especially indebted to Koyama Hiroshi, whose encouragement and advice over the years have been a major sustaining force, both while he was on the University of Tokyo faculty and since then during his tenure as head of the National Institute of Japanese Literature. I am also grateful to him for introducing me to his student Matsuoka Shinpei, now an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo, who helped me gather material for my dissertation, explained technical Go terms, and continues to provide valuable information and advice. I am particularly indebted to Professor Matsuoka for introducing me to his noh teacher, Nagashima Tadashi, a member of the Kanze school, whose patience and skill as a teacher, and insights as an actor, have opened up a whole new world. Xl

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Marian Ury and Karen Brazell kindly read the manuscript and offered many helpful comments and suggestions, which have greatly improved the book. I have also benefited from Earl Miner's help and encouragement as the project developed. Above all, I wish to thank Michael Cooper, whose generous advice and support, including the use of Aloysius, made the long process more bearable. Thanks also go to Cathie Brettschneider at Princeton University Press for her meticulous editing. An earlier version of the sections on Yugao and Hajitomi, including the translations, was first published in "The Tale of Genji as a Source of the No: Yugao and Hajitomi," in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 42, no. 1 (June 1982): 177-229. The translation of Genji kuyo was first published in Karen Brazell, ed., Twelve Plays of the Noh and Kyogen Theaters, Cornell University East Asia Papers, no. 50 (Ithaca, N.Y.: East Asia Program, Cornell University, 1988). I am grateful to the editors for permission to use the material. Finally, I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their help in obtaining illustrations: Koyama Hiroshi, Head of the National Institute of Japanese Literature, Tokyo; Donald Shively, Curator, East Asiatic Library, University of California at Berkeley; and Roberta Waddell, Curator of Prints, The New York Public Library.

XIl

A Note on Sources and Abbreviations C I T A T I O N S TO Genji monogatari are to the six-volume edition by Abe Akio, Akiyama Ken, and Imai Gen'e (vols. 12-17 of NKBZ). In the text, the Japanese volume and page number are followed by the page number of Edward G. Seidensticker's English translation (indicated by an "S"). Unless otherwise specified, all translations are mine. Citations to Zeami Motokiyo's treatises are from Omote Akira and Kato Shuichi, eds., Zeami, Zenchiku, abbreviated zz (vol. 24 of Nihon shiso taikei). The following abbreviations have been used for multivolume series and collections:

NKBT NKBZ Ito Koyama Taikan

YKS

Nihon koten bungaku taikei (Iwanami Shoten) Nihon koten bungaku zenshu (Shogakkan) Ito Masayoshi, Yokyoku shu, 3 vols. In Shincho Nihon koten shusei (Shinchosha) Koyama Hiroshi, Sato Kikuo, and Sato Ken'ichiro, eds., Yokyoku shu, 2 vols. (vols. 33 and 34 of NKBZ) Sanari Kentaro, ed., Yokyoku taikan, 5 vols., in addition to an introductory and a supplementary volume (Meiji Shoin) Yokomichi Mario and Omote Akira, eds., Yokyoku shii, 2 vols. (vols. 40 and 41 of NKBT)

Except where otherwise noted, the place of publication for Japanese works is Tokyo.

Noh Drama and The Tale of Genji

Introduction FROM A dramaturgical point of view, the use of a well-known source offers unmistakable advantages, inasmuch as it absolves the playwright of the need to expend valuable time establishing the identity of a character and that character's legitimacy as a subject. It also facilitates the creation of a dramatic world on the stage, since immediate recognition of essential elements of that world through the use of familiar material makes what is represented on stage more accessible to an audience, leaving spectators free to turn their attention to other aspects of the performance. What happens, then, when 600 years separate the world of the audience from that of the playwright? Japanese noh drama, for instance, boasts a rich, continuous history dating back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573) when virtually all the 240 or so plays still in the repertoire were first written and performed. Moreover, four of the five schools of noh actors today are descended directly from troupes active in the Nara area around 1400, and even the newest school has been in existence for more than 350 years. The avid following that the noh still enjoys in some Japanese circles today suggests that this venerable art form possesses a timeless quality that transcends a particular historical era or place. Even so, audiences obviously do not share the same cultural values and assumptions of earlier times. The dependence on utaibon, or libretti, at performances is only one sign, a very visible one, of the distance separating the noh today from the world in which it was created. Linguistically, the noh is less accessible than other classical Japanese theater forms such as kabuki and bunraku, which were written for a popular audience during the Edo period (1603-1867). The opacity of the texts, their resistance to interpretation, cannot be ascribed solely to the inherent ambiguity of language. Nor is this opacity simply an outward sign of deeper aesthetic concerns; it derives to a great extent from the fact that the texts are divorced from the cultural matrix in which they were produced. In drama, references to the world of the audience or the literary tradition assume a common body of knowledge concerning semantic and cultural codes. The noh plays are no exception. It is estimated that at least a thousand plays were written in the Muromachi period, of which about 600 survive. Drawing upon well-known sources such as warrior tales, religious texts, and the classics of court literature, the plays are a treasure trove of the knowledge and beliefs that prevailed during that period. As the world that produced the plays receded into the past, how3

INTRODUCTION

ever, many plays lost their appeal and ceased to be performed. In the course of time, semantic and epistemological problems intruded, and the interrelatedness of the texts as the product of a single age became obscured. If a demand for commentaries is any indication, the process had already begun by the late sixteenth century when the first commentary, Utaisho, was compiled. This question of text and context, of shifting cultural codes, is explored here in terms of the noh plays inspired by Genji monogatari, Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century classic of court literature. My work was inspired by the comment by the great noh actor and playwright Zeami Motokiyo (i363-1443) in a 1423 treatise on writing noh plays called Sando, or "The Three Paths," in which he extolled the merits of female characters from the Genji as a source of material. The fifteen plays dealt with here all cast a Genji character or the author as the principal actor, or shite. Most of the plays draw upon well-known episodes from the Genji and upon settings closely associated with the character. They also abound with allusions and references to the tale and include some of the finest, best-loved plays in the repertoire. The plays assume an audience well versed in both the Genji and the noh, and the boundless allusions woven into the text are difficult, if not impossible, to catch without the use of commentaries. Was this always the case? To this question can be added a related one about how the Genji was understood and appreciated during the period in which the plays were written. Although modern readers of the Genji may attempt imaginatively to identify with the world of the Genji a thousand years ago, we are nonetheless bound by the outlook and concerns of our own time, including an array of commentaries, dictionaries, and other exegetical tools. There is no reason, however, to assume the same access to, or outlook on, the Genji on the part of audiences in the playwrights' day. In other words, the metamorphosis of the Genji in the noh cannot be ascribed solely to a difference in genre. To grasp fully the nature and scope of the interaction between the novel and its theatrical transformation, we must also take into consideration the age in which the noh repertoire was formed, for a major shaping force—both in the creation of the noh and in the treatment of the Genji—was the cultural context in which the plays were written. Although it is obviously impossible to "recover" completely the ethos and attitudes of the Muromachi period, the effort to approach an understanding throws new light on the nature of the noh and the Genji plays. It also helps us to understand a vital link in the transmission of the world of the Genji from the inception of the work to our own time and shows how that world was significantly altered in the process of transmission. 4

INTRODUCTION

The Context The noh attained its present form during an age when Japanese literature and the society that produced it were undergoing radical change. The Muromachi period as a whole can be summed up as a time of chronic warfare in which the chaos and destruction were offset by a remarkable burst of cultural activity that led to major advances in a variety of areas. During this period, for instance, many of what we now consider Japan's traditional arts—including the tea ceremony, flower arranging, and the noh—took shape. The period began with the attempt by an emperor, Go-Daigo, to reassert the authority of the throne. Although the short-lived imperial restoration brought about the downfall of the Kamakura shogunate, which had wrested political control from the hands of the court in Kyoto in 1185, ultimately it succeeded only in creating a divided court, with one claimant to the throne in Kyoto and the other in the Yoshino hills, south of the capital. The schism has led to the use of the term Nambokucho, or Northern and Southern Courts, to denote the first part of the period. The decision by Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), the founder of the new shogunate, to establish his headquarters in Kyoto instead of Kamakura had far-reaching implications, for the reunification of the political and cultural centers of the country after a hiatus of 150 years led to a fusion of the culture of the court with that of the military elite. Takauji's decision, however, had less to do with any long-range strategy than with the need to keep a close watch over the unstable political situation in the region around the capital, owing to the constant threat of an uprising by forces loyal to the Southern Court in Yoshino. Inasmuch as their claim to legitimacy rested on recognition by the northern branch of the imperial family, the fortunes of the Ashikaga shoguns were closely bound to the court in Kyoto. The culture that formed around the rulers was likewise marked by a yearning for the artistic heritage of the court during the Heian period (794—1185), when the aristocracy was at its zenith. 1 The Ashikagas' outlook was epitomized by Takauji's grandson Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), who married a member of the ancient Fujiwara clan and was the first military ruler to acquire the highest rank in the court hierarchy. In 1392 he managed to reunify the rival courts, and though he did not initiate the practice of shogunal involvement in the arts, he carried it to unprecedented heights. The surge of interest in cultural matters displayed by the warrior class and newly created gentry is one of the hallmarks of the age. In itself, warrior involvement in the arts was nothing new; what distin5

INTRODUCTION

guished the culture of the Muromachi period was the extent to which the military elite participated in its formation. The period was also characterized by the dissemination of knowledge on a scale never seen before in Japan. As the period progressed, learning spread down through different layers of the society as well as outward from the center to the periphery. The shogunal policy requiring most provincial military governors {shugo daimyo) to reside in Kyoto served as a catalyst. 2 Following the example of the shoguns, daimyo avidly pursued the arts, including traditional courtly accomplishments as well as the latest fashions. Through their ties with the countryside, the daimyo formed a major conduit for the spread of culture into the provinces. An important role was also played by individuals who became priests or assumed a priestly guise and devoted their lives to the arts. Known as tonseisha (literally, "one who has abandoned the world"), they typically came from an obscure background and included a class of skilled artists and entertainers called doboshu employed by the shoguns. The division of the court in the fourteenth century spelled the end of the aristocracy as a viable political force in the country, while the transfer of the military government from Kamakura to Kyoto encouraged direct intervention by the shoguns in the affairs of the court. By the end of the Muromachi period, only a fraction of the courtier class remained, and the decline of the shogunate itself left the emperor in a precarious financial position. With the waning of the court, the aristocracy began to lose its long-standing monopoly over the classical tradition—the corpus of literature produced in the Heian period when the court was at its height. Through the centuries, knowledge of the canon of court poetry, or waka, was considered the mark of a cultured person, and Japanese poets turned to it as a source of inspiration and allusion in the same way that their European counterparts drew upon classical antiquity and the Bible. The complex body of rules and conventions that evolved over the centuries regarding the proper handling of poetic material, however, required years of training and personally transmitted knowledge, and the rise of the warrior class created a new literary public that sought more accessible literary forms. In the process, waka lost ground to newer modes, such as ienga, or linked verse, and the noh, which were more responsive to the needs of the day. An outgrowth of waka, ienga consisted of sequences of 5-7-5 and 7— 7 syllables, the basic waka form, composed by a group of poets rather than a single individual. During the middle ages, ienga developed into a craze that swept through all levels of society. In the fifteenth century, the complex rules governing linked verse brought about the emergence of poetry experts who presided at ienga sessions. As literati or poet6

INTRODUCTION

priests sponsored by regional warlords, the renga masters were instrumental in disseminating the culture of the capital. In their capacity as scholars, they performed a crucial role in preserving and transmitting court classics such as the Genji during a troubled age. Despite the overwhelming popularity of renga, however, waka remained the dominant form in terms of prestige. Members of the warrior elite and commoners, striving for cultural legitimacy, eagerly sought access to it, and imperial anthologies continued to be compiled until 1439, under shogunal sponsorship. Moreover, renga masters were invariably practicing waka poets, although the reverse was not necessarily true, and waka thrives today under the name of tanka, whereas renga is virtually extinct. Renga is only one example of the indebtedness of newer art forms to the language and techniques of waka. As a work of prose containing 795 poems and countless poetic allusions, the Genji drew heavily on the waka tradition. In the fictional world of the hero, Hikaru ("Radiant") Genji, the joys and sorrows of human existence are conveyed by one character to another through waka. The idealized view of court life depicted by Murasaki Shikibu reflected the real world of the Heian court, where waka was not simply a form of literary expression but an important means of communication, especially between the sexes. Although the Genji has never failed to delight readers, its appeal as a source of inspiration and allusion was perhaps greatest during the middle ages, that is, from the late twelfth to the sixteenth century, when the court was in an advanced state of decline. Writers and critics living in a chaotic world cherished the Genji because, to them, it epitomized the ideal, aristocratic way of life for which they yearned. As the overview of Genji appreciation in Chapter 1 shows, the reception of the work in the middle ages was inextricably tied to its poetic nature. The standard was set by waka poets, who considered the Genji an indispensable guide in composing poetry. This attitude, which was inherited by renga poets, along with other aspects of waka, fostered the spread of poetic manuals and guides on the Genji to assist poets. Chapter 2 analyzes the views on composing noh plays set forth by Zeami Motokiyo, a key figure in the formation of the noh repertoire. The discussion underscores the indebtedness of the noh to waka, particularly in the work of Zeami, who, like his counterparts in renga, sought to elevate the noh as an art form by placing it squarely in the waka tradition. The second part of the chapter shows how developments in the noh paralleled the situation in the literary world described in Chapter 1. Chapter 3 offers an overview of the Genji plays, beginning with their place in the repertoire today. The discussion shows how Genji play7

INTRODUCTION

wrights drew heavily upon waka from the Genji, following Zeami's advice to use poetic material. It also shows how Genji material is transformed in a dramatic context, especially one such as the noh that centers on song and dance. Here, and throughout the study, in analyzing the Genji as a source of material, a general distinction is made between story and discourse, with "story" referring to narrative elements (agent, action, time, and place) and "discourse," the verbal means by which the story is conveyed.3 An eclectic theatrical form that encompasses dialogue, poetry, narrative, song, and dance, the noh avidly absorbed elements of other genres. This aspect of the noh is underscored in Chapter 4, which examines the relationship between the Genji and the noh in light of the medieval poetic sources of the Genji discussed in Chapter 1. The analysis shows how Muromachi-period attitudes toward the Genji affected the way in which the plays were composed and appreciated. It also shows how the plays referred outward to other works in the repertoire as part of a larger text that embodied the underlying values and concerns of the age, whereas today the plays tend to be treated as discrete, self-contained entities. The unusual value of the Genji plays in exploring these issues owes much to the popularity of ienga during the period in which the plays were written. The need for aspiring poets to respond quickly and appropriately in a public setting sparked a demand for handbooks designed to cultivate poetic skill. These manuals in turn have left behind a record of how "contemporary" texts, including the Genji, were perceived. On a scholarly level, this sort of material aids in the production of commentaries by pointing to allusions and clarifying obscure terms. Examination of the Genji plays in light of these sources, in turn, offers new insight into the nature and function of allusion as a form of shared knowledge. Chapters 5 through 11 consist of translations of the plays, arranged according to the character or story treated in the plays. Each chapter begins with an essay describing the plays contained therein and their relationship to the Genji. To make the connection with the Genji easier to follow, the order of the plays corresponds as closely as possible to that of the character's story in the Genji. To avoid having to create a separate chapter, however, Tamakazura has been included in Chapter 6 along with the plays about Tamakazura's mother Yugao, although in the Genji Tamakazura's story follows that of the Akashi lady dealt with in Sumiyoshi mode. Chapter 11 brings the book to a close with Genji kuyo, a play about Murasaki Shikibu rather than one of the characters. The following list gives the Japanese and English titles of the plays and, in parentheses, the character on whom each play focuses: 8

INTRODUCTION

The Cicada's Shell A Game of Go The Lattice Shutter Evening Faces The Jeweled Chaplet Lady Aoi The Shrine in the Fields Goblins among the Flowers Suma Genji Genji at Suma Bay The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi mode Sumiyoshi Ochiba Fallen Leaves "Daiani Ochiba The Magic Spell and the Fallen Leaves Ukifune A Drifting Boat 'Kodama Ukifune The Wood Spirit Ukifune A Memorial Service for Genji kuyo Genji

* Utsusemi "Go Hajitomi Yugao Tamakazuia Aoi no ue Nonomiya 'Shikimi tengu

(Utsusemi) (Utsusemi) (Yugao) (Yugao) (Tamakazura) (Lady Rokujo) (Lady Rokujo) (Lady Rokujo) (Genji) (Akashi lady) (Princess Ochiba) (Kumoi-no-kari) (Ukifune) (Ukifune) (Murasaki Shikibu)

To provide a more complete picture of the treatment of the Genji in the noh, I have included several plays (marked by an asterisk above) that have been dropped from the repertoire over the centuries. To have restricted the scope to the ten or so plays still performed would have implicitly reflected the bias of audiences in the Edo period and modern times, when the size of the repertoire was sharply reduced. In short, I approach the noh, like the Genji, from the perspective of the Muromachi period, seeking to understand what the venerable theatrical form was like when it first developed roughly halfway between the time when the Genji was written and our own age. Since its emergence around 1400, the noh has enjoyed a long, uninterrupted history. The transmission of the art from generation to generation in hereditary acting families has ensured a remarkable degree of continuity regarding performance, at least since the Edo period. But changes have taken place over the centuries in staging the plays as well as in the size of the repertoire. Although, with few exceptions, information about performance goes back no further than the second half of the sixteenth century, more than a century after Zeami's death, the evidence suggests a movement toward standardization and abstraction, characteristics of the art today, in the sixteenth century. Except for isolated instances noted in the discussion of the individual plays, comments about performance must perforce rely upon modern practice and may well be 9

INTRODUCTION

anachronistic from the point of view of the Muromachi period. The observations about modern performances included in the discussion, therefore, are offered simply to suggest the possibilities inherent in the text. The Translations In keeping with the historical approach of this study, the translations have been based as far as possible on early utaibon, the form in which noh texts have traditionally been handed down. As is the case with most of the repertoire, manuscripts of the Genji plays, regrettably, do not date back further than the sixteenth century, the end of the formative period of the noh. Texts from the 1500s and 1600s, however, are thought to reflect the early form of the plays, particularly regarding sung passages, whereas later Edo libretti and modern editions before the 1950s are considered less faithful to the original. Accordingly, I have based the translations, wherever possible, on manuscripts from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, or modern printed editions thereof, and have relied upon modern libretti only when good early texts were unavailable. Detailed information about the texts used in the translations can be found in Appendix B. In terms of language and musical notations, noh libretti fall under two general categories: kamigakari texts belonging to the Kanze and Hosho schools; and shimogakari texts connected with the Komparu and Kongo schools as well as the Kita school, which was founded by a Kongo actor in the early seventeenth century. In translating the plays, I have compared the two basic textual lines, and in the notes to the translations have drawn the reader's attention to major differences. The libretti from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are not performance transcripts but rather texts designed for singing and therefore contain little information about staging. Owing to the lack of information about plays that are no longer performed, and the anachronistic implications of modern performance practice, I have kept stage notations to a minimum, providing them only where the meaning of the text is otherwise obscure, or to avoid confusion: for instance, to indicate the entrance of the shite. Modern performances of most of the plays include the role of an aikyogen actor during the interlude, or nakaiii, when the shite leaves the stage temporarily to change costumes. The aikyogen, typically cast as a local person, recounts the story of the character represented by the shite. Noh libretti mark the shite's exit but do not include the aikyogen role, which is transmitted separately by aikyogen actors. Since the speeches have undergone considerable modification over the centuries 10

INTRODUCTION

and since the earliest extant transcripts date back no further than the seventeenth century, I have omitted this part. When the aikyogen's role is woven into the plot proper, however, as in Aoi no ue and Sumiyoshi mode, I have inserted dialogue used in modern performances. Notations for the different types of songs, such as the kuse, have been used sparingly in the translations, reflecting the practice in early manuscripts and the nature of this book as a literary study, not a work on performance. For the sake of consistency, I have identified the waki's michiyuki ("travel song") and machiutai ("waiting song") throughout by song type, namely, ageuta. Songs such as the ageuta that form a clearly defined musical unit are followed by a line space when the end of the song is otherwise unclear from the translation. The basic distinction between spoken and sung speeches in noh libretti is preserved in translation by indenting sung lines. In the noh, sung passages are further broken down into regular poetic meter, broken meter, and ametrical patterns, a distinction impossible to preserve in translation. Some types of songs such as ageuta and kuse are characterized by convoluted, elliptical, and highly figurative language with few final grammatical breaks until the end of the unit. To suggest the flow of the original language and allow more flexibility in arranging lines, the beginning of each verse has not automatically been capitalized. A "standard" verse consists of twelve syllables, a combination of seven and five syllables inherited from waka. In practice, the length of a line may vary from two to eighteen syllables; in translation, it has been possible only to reflect extreme cases by creating very short lines or lines that run over. An effort has been made to retain the same number of lines of verse in English on the assumption that the more a line was expanded to explain and gloss the meaning of the original, the more its flavor was likely to be lost. I have tried to strike a balance between conveying the full import of the original text and preserving a sense of the poetic rhythm and tone. And so, instead of paraphrasing or overloading the text with explanations and interpolations, a commentary has been provided. The notes are designed to provide background material and especially to explain allusions and figures of speech. Ideally, one would like to do away with such apparatus altogether, but the nature of the plays and their source is such that full justice could not be done to the richness and complexity of either without some sort of commentary. The radical difference between Japanese and English grammar and syntax poses special difficulties for translators. The most pervasive problem derives from the nature of Japanese sentence structure, which permits the omission of the subject of a verb, an aspect of the language 11

INTRODUCTION

that is brilliantly exploited in the hands of skillful playwrights. This same feature also permits the unobtrusive insertion of an entire thirtyone-syllable waka in a play. In English, the necessity of specifying the subject of a verb where none is expressed in the original inevitably makes the translations more specific. Another persistent problem concerns characters' names. Although a general distinction has been made between story and discourse in analyzing the relationship between the Genji and the noh, in practice the distinction often breaks down, since elements of the story may function simultaneously as part of the discourse. Genji names are particularly problematical since relatively few characters are assigned specific names but are referred to instead by their title or rank, which changed over time. It was later readers who provided the names by which most of the characters are conventionally known. For instance, Tamakazura's name originated in a poem in which Genji alludes to her as a tamakazuia ("jeweled chaplet"), although she is never referred to that way elsewhere in the tale. Moreover, classical Japanese does not distinguish orthographically between proper nouns and ordinary words, so that tamakazuia could refer to the title of chapter 22 of the Genji, the character, the image, or even the title of the noh play, whereas English orthography demands a clear-cut choice. Other characters featured in the Genji plays whose names derive from Genji poems include Utsusemi ("cicada's shell"), Yugao ("evening faces"), Yugiri ("evening mist"), Ochiba ("fallen leaf"), and Ukifune ("drifting boat"). The poetic origin of their names facilitated inclusion in a new context imbued with the language and techniques of waka, and throughout this study it should be borne in mind that these appellations may function simultaneously as a proper name and as a poetic image. A word should also be said about the handling of poetic devices inherited from the waka tradition. Kakekotoba, pivot words or puns, depend for their effect on the Japanese word order and sound system, and thus are particularly difficult to translate. Generally speaking, it was impossible to render them in English without treating the various meanings separately rather than as a single entity, and I have relied extensively upon notes to point them out to the reader. Makuza kotoba, or pillow-words, have been translated the same throughout and indicated with a note. Engo, or related words, developed over the centuries into a highly elaborate system. Associations such as "tears" and "dew" that seem natural even to readers unfamiliar with the conventions of classical Japanese poetry are not usually noted. Where they are an outgrowth of a long-standing tradition of poetic allusion—for example, where the association originated in a play on words—their presence is indicated in the notes. 12

INTRODUCTION

To underscore the importance of Genji allusions in the plays, prose and poetry from the Genji have been placed in italics, whereas allusions to other sources are simply embedded in the text. In both cases, the source is cited and explained in the notes. In tracing Genji allusions, I have consulted noh commentaries and medieval handbooks as well as Genji monogatari taisei and Genji monogatari yogo sakuin, indexes edited by Ikeda Kikan and Kinoshita Masao, respectively. Genji references are keyed to the Nihon koten bungaku zenshu (NKBZ) edition and to the Seidensticker translation. This is not meant to suggest that playwrights used the same text but is merely a scholarly convenience, leaving open the possibility that allusions to a text not collated in the above indexes have been overlooked. As a rule, proper names have not been italicized, even though they too represent allusions. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from the Genji are mine. A list of the Genji chapter titles is provided in Appendix A. I have followed Seidensticker's rendering of the titles with the exception of utsusemi, which I have translated as "The Cicada's Shell" instead of "The Shell of the Locust," and ukifane, which I have translated as "A Drifting Boat" instead of "A Boat upon the Waters." In the translations, English syntax has occasionally necessitated changing other titles as well. Regarding characters' names, I have generally followed Seidensticker's example but for the sake of clarity have retained playwrights' use of Nokiba-no-ogi, Yugao, and Princess Ochiba, whom Seidensticker, taking his cue from the Genji, refers to as Utsusemi's stepdaughter, the Lady of the Evening Faces, and the Second Princess, respectively. Japanese names are written with the surname first; upon subsequent mention, well-known historical and literary figures are referred to by their "given" name. Excluding quotations from the noh, the transliteration of Japanese words in this study follows modern Japanese pronunciation. The preservation of medieval pronunciation in the noh has thus produced some discrepancies, especially regarding Genji material. Although trying to remain faithful to the original, I have made some adjustments to avoid confusion. A glossary of technical Japanese terms, including the musical notations in the translations of the plays, is provided at the end of the book.

13

O N E

The Reception of the Genji in the Middle Ages FEW LITERARY works have been as widely revered as Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century masterpiece, Genji monogatari. The author's position as a member of an empress's entourage enabled her to observe firsthand the workings of the court during its heyday. And even now, the Genji allows us a fascinating glimpse of that world, side by side with Murasaki's brilliant insights into the workings of human nature. The tale begins with the birth of "Radiant" Genji, the son of an emperor by a low-ranking consort. To obtain political backing, he is married at age twelve to the daughter of a high-ranking court official but fails to get along with his aloof, aristocratic wife, and, living in a polygamous society, he seeks love and companionship elsewhere. The romantic adventures recounted in the early chapters of the Genji include his unsuccessful pursuit of a married woman named Utsusemi; his affair with the mysterious Yugao, whom he encounters one summer evening in the Fifth Ward; and his discovery of a young girl named Murasaki, who becomes his lifelong companion. Eventually, Genji's amorous ways prove his undoing. His wife, Lady Aoi, is possessed by the jealous spirit of his proud mistress, Lady Rokujo, and dies after giving birth to a son, Yugiri. Genji is then forced into exile at Suma when his affair with the current emperor's favorite consort, Oborozukiyo, becomes known. His lonely existence takes a turn for the better when he moves across the bay to Akashi, where he meets a young lady who is destined to bear his only daughter. After three years in exile, he is recalled to the capital and showered with the highest ranks and honors. The sudden appearance of Yugao's daughter Tamakazura on the scene adds a new dimension to the plot before the installation of Genji's daughter as empress brings the first part of the work (chapters 1-33) to a close. The middle section begins auspiciously with plans to celebrate Genji's fortieth birthday. His reluctant agreement to marry the third daughter of the Suzaku emperor, however, unleashes a disastrous train of events when Kashiwagi, an unsuccessful suitor, proves unable to forget the Third Princess. Kashiwagi's obsession culminates in a single meeting that leads to the birth of Genji's putative son Kaoru. Going into a 14

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

fatal decline, the guilt-stricken courtier leaves his wife in the care of Yugiri, who becomes infatuated with his friend's widow, Princess Ochiba, arousing the jealousy of his own wife. The second part of the work (chapters 34—41) draws to an end with a close-up of Genji mourning the death of his beloved Murasaki. The last part of the Genji opens with the announcement that Genji is dead. His place is taken by Kaoru, whom the world regards as his son, and Prince Niou, his grandson. As the final chapters (45-54) take place largely in Uji a few miles from Kyoto, where Genji's younger brother, the Eighth Prince, lives with two daughters, this section of the work is commonly known as the Uji jujo, or "the ten Uji chapters." Kaoru is drawn to Uji by word of the prince's saintliness and ends up falling in love with the older daughter, Oigimi, who rejects Kaoru's advances and dies. The grieving courtier is delighted to learn of the existence of an unrecognized daughter of the prince, Ukifune, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Oigimi. Ukifune is also pursued by Niou, and, unable to choose between the two suitors, she tries to drown herself in the Uji River; she is found lying beneath a tree and taken to live in Ono, where she attempts to enter the religious life. The long tale ends with her future in doubt. In addition to being a remarkable achievement in its own right, the Genji has inspired countless generations of storytellers, artists, playwrights, and the like. During the middle ages, it was arguably in the realm of poetry that the work engendered the greatest interest and creativity. First in waka, and then in ienga, poets turned to it as a source of inspiration and allusion. When a need arose for collated texts and commentaries, poets produced them, and when the demand for knowledge of the Genji in a more digestible form led to the compilation of handbooks and manuals, poets again played a key role. A major reason lies in the nature of the Genji itself. The Genji and the Poetic Tradition Although classified as a work of prose, the Genji contains 795 waka and hundreds of allusions to earlier poems. The waka were written as private reflections, as poetry exchanges between characters, or as poems composed for public occasions rather than for a specific individual. Three-quarters of the poems fall under the category of poetry exchanges, a reflection of the role of poetry as a form of social intercourse in the real world of the Heian court, especially in the realm of love, where waka served as an important means of communication between the sexes.1 As part of the Genji narrative, the waka and countless po15

CHAPTER 1 etic allusions scattered through the text help to establish setting and tone and delineate character, as well as furthering the plot. Around 1200, an essay on Japanese monogatari, or fiction, expressed wonder that a work as brilliant as the Genji could have come into ex­ istence without any apparent antecedent and concluded that it must have been divinely inspired. In truth, one can scarcely imagine this masterpiece being written in its present form without the prior exis­ tence of the first imperial anthology of waka, the Kokinshu (ca. 905). In addition to supplying a lexicon and innumerable allusions, the col­ lection suggested ideas for the story and provided stylistic devices such as engo, or related words, and kakekotoba, pivot words or puns. Before long, the Genji itself came to be reversed as a source of inspi­ ration and allusion for poets. This attitude reached a peak in the age of the eighth imperial anthology, the Shinkokinshu (ca. 1205), when a neoclassical style of poetry predominated. The spirit of the age is ex­ emplified by the popularity of the technique of honkadoii, or "allusive variation," whereby poets drew upon the language or ideas of older po­ ems in creating new ones. Language rich in associations taken from the classical tradition gave a poem a graceful, elegant effect, while the as­ sociations added depth or produced subtle overtones that enlarged the world created by the new work. 1 Though opinions varied, it was gen­ erally held that at least one line and fewer than three full lines of an earlier poem could be used. Japanese and Chinese prose classics could also serve as a source and were known as honzetsu. The Genji was held in particularly high es­ teem, for it was thought to embody the essence of Heian court culture, while its nearly 800 poems offered an invaluable guide to proper poetic expression in a wide range of circumstances. The attitude toward the Genji that prevailed is illustrated by the famous remark by Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114—1204) in a judgment for the Roppyakuban utaawase (Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds; 1193), in which the great poet and critic declared that poets who had not read the Genji were to be deplored.3 In the following centuries, poets played a key role in the transmission and appreciation of the Genji. Shunzei's son Teika (1162-1241), a re­ nowned poet and classical scholar, established one of two main textual lines of the Genji, the Aobyoshi recension. The second one, known as the Kawachi recension, was begun by Minamoto no Mitsuyuki ( Π 6 3 1244), a student of waka and the Genji under Shunzei. The project was continued by Mitsuyuki's son, who completed it around 1255. This textual line remained the principal one in circulation during much of the middle ages. Although the differences between the two traditions are not overwhelming, the Kawachi recension tends to compensate for 16

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

obscurities by weaving explanations into the text, whereas the more literary Aobyoshi recension is thought to be closer to the original. Numerous variant texts, called betsubon, also circulated; the Aobyoshi recension, on the other hand, does not seem to have been widely available until the fifteenth century, when the apotheosis of Teika as a poet led to its elevation as the definitive text, a position that it continues to hold today. Mitsuyuki and his successors were closely involved in the production of commentaries, which when compared with Teika's poetic approach showed a strong exegetical, if not pedantic, bent in defining difficult words, explaining court customs and practices, and citing literary and historical precedents. Meanwhile, Teika's heirs set up rival poetic houses that dominated the world of court poetry until well into the fourteenth century. Along with copies of the Heian classics, poetic treatises, diaries, and the like, they inherited Shunzei's and Teika's reverence for the Genji. During this period, Genji appreciation was colored by an obsession with secret, privately transmitted knowledge about obscure passages. Like the compilation of commentaries, the accumulation of secret lore reflected the increasing remoteness of the Genji language and a growing unfamiliarity with the court customs and rituals depicted in the tale. In an age when knowledge was handed down orally or by means of painstakingly copied manuscripts, the transmission of secret information represented an effort to confer authority on the owner and establish a monopoly over Genji studies. 4 Like the formation of hereditary poetic houses, this phenomenon occurred at a time when the aristocracy that had produced the splendid culture of the Heian court was in eclipse, having ceded power to the military at the end of the twelfth century. Although the aristocracy clung tenaciously to its privileged position regarding knowledge of the court, the last bastion of courtier supremacy, by the fourteenth century waka—the symbol of that culture—was stumbling under the weight of its own tradition. To be sure, imperial anthologies continued to be compiled until 1439 with the backing of the shogunate, but the restricted vocabulary and traditional ways of handling poetic material that demanded years of personal instruction to master had robbed the venerable art form of vitality. The attenuation of waka was offset by the sudden efflorescence of ienga (and the noh), which in less than two centuries produced some of the greatest artists and masterpieces in Japanese literature. The surge of creative energy reflected a demand for genres that were more attuned to the needs and interests of the day. It also signaled a fundamental change in the nature of the literary world, for once the position of the courtier class as guard17

CHAPTER 1

ian of the classical tradition was called into question, participants from all ranks of society began to play a more active part. In the beginning, renga was little more than a waka poem created by two people, with one person composing the first seventeen syllables and the other the last fourteen. The practice of linking verses eventually evolved into a highly complex art form in which sequences—typically a hundred verses—were composed extemporaneously by a group of poets in turn following fixed rules of composition and linkage. It is not known when ienga first became popular among commoners, although Teika's diary shows that the pastime had spread beyond the ranks of the courtiers in Kyoto by the first quarter of the thirteenth century. 5 The transformation of renga into a serious art rivaling waka in the fourteenth century was accomplished by combining the freshness and vigor of commoners' ienga with the aesthetic ideals of waka. During the Muromachi period, ienga became a veritable craze encompassing all levels of society. It had a major impact on newer art forms such as the noh and profoundly affected the way in which the Genji was understood and appreciated.

The Reception of the Genji in the Muromachi Period The person most responsible for the metamorphosis of ienga was a courtier, Nijo Yoshimoto (1320—1388). The scion of one of five houses in the ancient Fujiwara clan qualified by birth to serve as regent for the emperor, Yoshimoto stood at the apex of the court hierarchy. As a representative of the courtier class, advisor on court matters to members of the warrior elite, and patron of ienga poets from the ranks of commoners, he occupied a key place in the new society that was emerging. An experienced, if undistinguished, waka poet, Yoshimoto sponsored many poetry gatherings and wrote influential treatises on the art. A treatise composed jointly with his waka teacher in 1363 displays the typical interest of a poet in the Genji as a source of allusion. For instance, he notes: As far as alluding to an earlier source [honzetsu] is concerned, a person may compose a poem based on the spirit of a Chinese poem. The same is of course true of Chinese prose. Is there any obstacle, then, regarding prose from the Genji or Sagoiomo monogataiil In a decision in the Roppyakuban utaawase, Lord Shunzei declared that any poet who had not read the Genji was to be deplored. In that case, may one allude in poetry to Genji language that is imbued with elegance and grace [yugen]?6 18

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

His remarks drew the following response from his teacher, the poetpriest Ton'a:? With respect to an earlier source or text, I was taught that one should use restraint in incorporating the spirit of a Chinese poem or Japanese fiction [monogatari], and yet it seems to be done all the time. The idea conveyed by the words "beneath the wormwood" [yomogiu no moto] in the Genji poem or "fields of grass" [kusa no haia] in Sagoromo monogatari, to be sure, is often encountered. But I was taught that in the case of the Genji it is better to allude to the prose than to the poetry.8 The fondness for allusions to the Genji in Yoshimoto's writings and references to him in other medieval sources point as well to his deep knowledge of the work, but whom he studied under is not known. Nor did he leave behind any treatises on the Genji as his grandson Ichijo Kanera (1402—1481) would do. Today Yoshimoto is best remembered for his contributions to the art of renga. He compiled the first anthology of linked verse, Tsukubashu (1356), with the help of the foremost zenga poet of the day, Gusai (or Kyusei), who came from the ranks of commoners. The anthology was modeled after imperial waka collections and, like them, was officially recognized by the emperor, an honor that did much to enhance the status of renga in the eyes of the world. Yoshimoto also compiled a set of rules for composing renga called Oan shinshiki (New Rules for the Oan Era; 1372). The rules covered the number of times and manner in which lexical items could be used in a hundred-verse sequence. The code was not the first of its kind: its significance lies in Yoshimoto's attempt to supplant the conflicting sets of rules in circulation and establish a universal standard.» In addition, he wrote a series of treatises for high-ranking members of the court and military aristocracies, in which he expounds upon the technique of linking verses and more practical matters such as the correct procedures to follow at renga sessions. The goal of renga was to entertain an assembled group, and, like music or drama, linked verse in its purest form lasted only as long as the event itself. It therefore demanded an ability to produce fresh and interesting verses swiftly rather than trying to create masterpieces worthy of an imperial anthology. But renga had a deplorable tendency to degenerate into frivolity because poets regarded it as nothing but a game. The effort to counteract this trend by infusing renga with the techniques and spirit of waka forms a major theme in Yoshimoto's writings. The importance that Yoshimoto attached to the classical tradition may be glimpsed from the following remarks in Tsukuba mondo (ca. 1372) regarding works essential for renga training: 19

CHAPTER 1

Recently, the Man'yoshu has become popular. Inasmuch as it is the original source of poetry, one should study it carefully. The Chron­ icles of Japan [Nihongi] and topographies [fudoki] discuss the origin of famous places, and so people who aspire to deep knowledge of poetic composition should study them too. One should also look constantly at Genji monogatari, Ise monogataii, the Kokinshu and later imperial anthologies, as well as lists of famous places and other such guides. 10 From this it is clear that Yoshimoto carried over into ienga the fond­ ness of waka poets for the Genji. Yoshimoto's treatises devote considerable space to the practice of linking verses through conventional associations called yoiiai, whose popularity constitutes one of the most distinctive aspects of ienga in the fourteenth century. The technique derived from the waka tradition, with much of the material originating in the allusions to poetry and prose recognized by poets in the age of the Shinkokinshu. An early guide to yoiiai called Renshoshu gives as an example the expressions fukaki yo ("deep in the night") and oboioke naianu ("is not veiled") from the Genji. The phrases come from a poem composed by Genji on hearing an unknown lady admire the late-night moon in the "Hana no e n " chapter: fukaki yo no aware ο shiru mo iru tsuki no oboioke naianu chigiri to zo omou

The feelings aroused deep in the night, reveal a bond that is not veiled like the misty setting moon. 1 1 (1:426; S: ι s2; italics mine)

The guidebook quotes the poems and then gives a pair of ienga verses as an illustration. The first verse oboioke naianu

Amid the scent of flowers

hana no nioi ni

that is not veiled

is followed, or linked, by kasumu yo zo on a hazy night, aware mo fukaki deep are the feelings haru no tsuki beneath the spring moon. Associations such as this that drew upon the canon of Japanese and Chinese poetry and prose gave a verse rich overtones and strengthened the bond between verses. In Kyushu mondo (1376), Yoshimoto explains the technique of yoiiai 20

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

using an example from the Genji prose: "If 'mountain huts at Suma' [suma no yamazato] is mentioned in one verse, the following verse can be linked to it using 'what is known as brushwood' [shiba to iu mono]."11 The phrases come from different passages in the "Suma" chapter describing Genji's place of exile. Later in the same treatise Yoshimoto singles out yoiiai from the Genji for special praise: For learning yoiiai and using words in a variety of situations, nothing can match the Man'yoshu. However, when people show too great a fondness for this source and use it constantly, the effect of their ienga becomes crude and rough. One should allude to the Man'yoshu sparingly and only at important times. The language of the first three imperial anthologies beginning with the Kokinshii seems enervated. Nothing surpasses yoiiai based on the Genji. It is clear from Kyushu mondo that Yoshimoto was directly or indirectly involved in compiling yoiiai from the Genji as well as from the Chinese classics, imperial anthologies of poetry, and the eighth-century Man'yoshu, the oldest collection of Japanese verse. In fact, his name is linked to two early ienga handbooks devoted to the Genji. The first one, Hikaru Genji ichibu ienga yoiiai (1365), consists of a list of key words and phrases, and occasionally a poem, from the Genji arranged by chapter. The second, undated treatise, Hikaiu Genji ichibu ienga yoiiai no koto, offers a synopsis of the Genji, interspersed with lists of linking words.13 (To avoid confusion, the first treatise is referred to hereafter as Ichibu ienga yoiiai.) Although the Genji material in ienga evolved from the waka tradition, these handbooks reflect a marked increase in the use of Genji prose during the fourteenth century, whereas waka poets had shown a preference for Genji poetry.1* Yoshimoto's effort to elevate ienga as an art form is manifested above all in his emphasis on the aesthetic ideal of yugen, or elegance and grace. His attitude toward the Genji in this respect has already been evinced in the question he asked Ton'a about handling Genji material in waka. The qualities of loveliness and grace he associated with the word had been referred to as yuen by Fujiwara no Shunzei, who regarded yugen in the sense of "mystery and profound depth." By the middle of the thirteenth century, however, yugen had come to denote "elegance and grace" (Shunzei's yuen). The view that the Genji embodied yugen predominated in Genji studies later in the middle ages.15 In Yoshimoto's treatises, yugen appears in a wide range of contexts, from diction and the overall configuration or effect of a poem (sugata) to conception [fuzei) and atmosphere [omokage). This breadth represents a departure from the narrower use of the term in waka poetics before his time, where it tended to be applied to particular styles, or 21

CHAPTER 1

connoted lyrical overtones.16 But Yoshimoto was not such a singleminded advocate of yugen that he failed to see the danger posed by a preoccupation with it. If roughness and vulgarity were to be avoided, so too was an excess of yugen, for it deprived poetic language of vitality and led to the enervation of renga as an art form. Consequently, he recognized the need for a tsuyoki, or kowaki, element, that is to say, strength and vitality. In his opinion, the first three imperial anthologies, which had long set the standard for poetic diction, lacked the freshness demanded of renga. He considered the language of the Genji ideal because it was closer to the everyday life of the age in which it was written, yet its elegant aura provided the right aristocratic tone. 17 Yoshimoto wrote Kyushu mondd for Imagawa Ryoshun (1326—ca. 1418), a high-ranking warrior official whose literary interests epitomized the growing participation of the warrior elite in the arts. This trend, a hallmark of Muromachi culture, was encouraged by the shogunal policy compelling most shugo daimyo, or provincial lords, to live in Kyoto under the watchful eyes of the Ashikaga rulers. Ryoshun had studied waka for decades before beginning to receive instruction on renga from Yoshimoto in the 1360s. He was sent to Kyushu as governor general in 1371 and, during his long stay there trying to subdue the region (he was not removed from the post until 1395), he played an important role in spreading the culture of the capital. Kyushu mondo is a product of that period, hence its name, "Kyushu Dialogues." Later, in retirement, Ryoshun wrote a series of waka treatises that bespeak his deep-seated interest as a poet in the Heian classics, including the Genji.18 Ryoshun embodies the medieval ideal set forth in a fourteenth-century treatise on the way of the warrior, which advocated the study not only of the martial arts (bu) but of classics [bun) such as the Genji and Makura no soshi (Pillow Book,- 996), a collection of brief essays by Murasaki Shikibu's contemporary, Sei Shonagon, as well. "These works," the warrior treatise argues, "above all teach about human behavior and the difference between noble and base natures. By reading them, one can learn what a man of sensibility is like." 19 Although no other warrior in the period attained Ryoshun's literary stature, many followed in his footsteps, including his great-nephew Norimasa (1364—1433), who wrote a handbook on the Genji called Genji monogatari teiyo, discussed below. In time, the rules governing renga became so complicated that a need arose for experts to supervise poetry sessions. These specialists evolved into professional masters who came to play a central role in the study and transmission of the classics, including the Genji. Early evidence of the ties between Genji scholarship and renga can already be seen in the 22

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

work of Yoshimoto's colleague, Yotsutsuji Yoshinari (1326—1402). The leading Genji scholar of the day and author of a major medieval commentary called the Kakaisho (ca. 1367), Yoshinari lectured on the Genji, both at court and at Yoshimoto's mansion. Notes on the sessions from 1386 to 1388 kept by a member of the audience provide us with our earliest glimpse of a Genji lecture. The emphasis on definitions of words and phrases shows that Yoshinari's remarks were aimed at a general audience, while the extensive advice about Genji terms used in renga tells us something about the attitude toward the Heian classic on the part of Yoshinari and his listeners. 20 The contours of the renga master as a literary type come into focus in the person of Sozei (d. 1455), a former warrior who embodied a common pattern as a poet-priest practicing his art in a hermitage. 21 Like the other major renga masters of his day, Sozei studied the Genji and waka under Ryoshun's disciple, the poet-priest Shotetsu (1381—1459). In 1444 Sozei and his teacher attended lectures on the Genji conducted by a rising scholar, Ichijo Kanera, whose contributions to Genji studies as a teacher and scholar form a special chapter in the history of the work's reception. A man of prodigious learning who compiled treatises on court customs for members of the military aristocracy and wrote influential treatises on the classics, including waka, Kanera lectured on the Genji at his mansion, as well as before the emperor and shogun. As the teacher of illustrious renga masters who studied the Genji under him and eventually produced works of their own on it, he played an important role in training the next generation of classical scholars. Kanera's crowning achievement was Kacho yosei (or Kacho yojo), a Genji commentary dating from the 1470s. The culmination of decades of study, the commentary incorporated his earlier work on the chronology of the long, complicated Genji plot, which inaugurated a new field of research. Kanera's position as titular head of the ancient Fujiwara clan and his experience as a high-ranking court official gave the notes on court customs and practices a special cachet. Like his grandfather Nijo Yoshimoto, Kanera also left his mark on the field of renga. In addition to revising Yoshimoto's code of rules with the help of Sozei, he wrote an important renga manual on yoriai for beginners called Renju gappeki shu (ca. 1476)." The work contains roughly 900 entries arranged under conventional renga categories such as "love" and "celestial phenomena"; each item is followed by a list of words and phrases conventionally associated with it. Kanera's practice of noting the literary origin of the linking words reveals a predilection for the Genji. It also makes Renju gappeki shu an invaluable guide to renga linking in his day. 23

CHAPTER 1

Following Yoshimoto's example, Kanera even compiled a renga anthology. The collection unfortunately was destroyed during the Onin War (1467-1477), a conflict triggered by a breakdown in the delicate balance of power between the shogunate and the provincial warlords. The war, which ravaged Kyoto, obliged residents to seek refuge in the countryside,· among them was Kanera, who spent ten years in Nara after losing his mansion and priceless library in the first year of the conflict. The cessation of hostilities ushered in a renaissance in court culture led by an outpouring of interest in copying and collating manuscripts, especially the Genji, following the widespread destruction of records and cultural artifacts during the war. An important driving force was provided by members of the warrior class ensconced in the countryside who sought to acquire knowledge of the literature and customs of the Heian court. The restructuring in the literary world that accompanied the turmoil is epitomized by the rise of Sogi (1421-1502), a poet-priest from an obscure background who became the leading authority on the classics after Kanera's death. Unlike earlier ienga masters, Sogi was both a classical scholar and a ienga poet; as such, he traveled all over the country, providing an important link between the capital and the daimyo and gentry in the provinces. During Kanera's lifetime, Sogi sought the courtier's advice on court customs and practices. He began giving lectures on the Genji around 1475 and carried on Kanera's work on the chronology and thematic aspects of the tale. His attitude toward the Genji as a poetic source is expressed in numerous treatises, beginning with Choiokubumi (1466), which quotes Fujiwara no Shunzei's famous remark deploring poets who were unfamiliar with the Genji and says that the remark applied to ienga as well.23 The last major scholar of the period, Sanjonishi Sanetaka (1455— 1537), turned to Sogi for advice about the Genji and waka. The reversal of roles, a commoner imparting knowledge on the classics to a courtier, shows how much the world had changed since Nijo Yoshimoto's day. Although not a renga master, Sanetaka studied linked verse under Sogi and helped him compile a quasi-imperial anthology of ienga emulating Yoshimoto's Tsukubashu.** Sanetaka, backed by ienga masters trained by Sogi, played a key role in transmitting the classics during a critical period. In 1501 he acceded to the request of a provincial warrior official to lecture on the Genji, an activity that continued for several years. In the meantime, he began working on a commentary called Rokasho (1504), based on notes to Kanera's and Sogi's Genji lectures recorded by one of Sogi's disciples.2S After completing the commentary, Sanetaka went on making revisions 24

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

as he lectured, producing a second version. The process of lecturing and compiling commentaries was continued by Sanetaka's son and grandson, resulting in a number of closely related commentaries with a complicated textual history. For our purposes, the story of Genji appreciation in the middle ages comes to an end with Sanetaka, for all the Genji plays in the present study, with the possible exception of Sumiyoshi mode and Daiani Ochiba, were written by 1537 when he died. Medieval Sources of the Genji The upsurge of interest in the Genji during the Muromachi period was closely tied to the popularity of zenga, for the custom of alluding to the classic in linked verse led to an expectation that aspiring poets possess some knowledge about the work or risk embarrassment at renga sessions. In Choiokubwni, S6gi notes the ubiquitousness of allusions to the Genji in renga, though he adds that poets were often misinformed about the work, or failed to realize that it had already been alluded to in three consecutive verses, the limit in a hundred-verse sequence. 26 The chief stumbling block to learning about the Genji was the Genji itself. The long work (about a thousand pages in English translation) had hundreds of characters and spanned several generations. Moreover, it was available only in manuscript form, and prospective readers who overcame the formidable obstacle of transcribing it, or had the means to borrow or buy a copy, still faced the problem of understanding the remote language. In short, the fact that the Genji was revered does not necessarily mean that it was read. On the other hand, renga did not demand deep knowledge of the Genji so much as shared knowledge, in other words, the capacity to make and recognize allusions. Accordingly, the need to acquire at least a rudimentary grasp of the work sparked a demand for manuals and digests that made it available in a simpler, more convenient form. The participation of Nijo Yoshimoto and Ichijo Kanera in this sort of activity shows that it was not limited to the fringes of the literary world. The following summary of Genji handbooks from the Muromachi period is intended to convey an idea of the kind of material that was available rather than providing exhaustive coverage of the subject. It is also designed to serve as a background to the discussion of the Genji plays in the following chapters. The handbooks fall under two general categories: (1) lists of words for renga linking and (2) plot summaries and digests. The first type was a direct outgrowth of the practice of linking renga verses by means of conventional associations between words or ideas, in other words, the technique of yoriai discussed above. Although works of a general na25

CHAPTER 1

ture predominated, this type of guide included one of the works attributed to Nijo Yoshimoto: Ichibu renga yoiiai, the earliest handbook devoted exclusively to the Genji and one of the earliest extant renga handbooks. The amount of material from each chapter varies considerably, suggesting that poets at the time had an affinity for certain parts of the Genji more than for others. For instance, the section on "Suma" contains about seventy-five items, that on "Aoi" only eleven. Compendia of linking words from later in the period draw upon the Genji as just one of a number of sources. The following example, an entry on yugao ("moonflower"; literally, "evening faces"), comes from a section on "plants" in Ichijo Kanera's Renju gappeki shii: Items that may be linked to "evening faces": dwelling, lattice shutter {Genji), smiling to itself (ditto), the person over yonder (ditto), charming gate (ditto), fan tinged with incense (ditto), humble abode "I think that I can guess whose it is—the evening face radiant in the dew." "If you picked it, then you would know if it is indeed the flowering evening face dimly seen in the twilight."27 In this particular case all the items, including the linking words placed in italics in the two poems at the end, come from the "Yugao" chapter of the Genji. The scope of Renju gappeki shu and Kanera's habit of noting the literary origin of the linking words make the work a trove of information. Since the source is not necessarily noted for every item in a series, and since some items seem to have been used so frequently that the original source was either forgotten or considered common knowledge, it is difficult to determine the exact number of words from the Genji. Even so, the tale is by far the largest source of linking words, and more poems from it (41) are included than from any other work except the Shinkokinshii (with 47). The second major type of handbook consists of works devoted entirely to the Genji that provide a general outline of the principal characters, episodes, and poems, arranged by chapter. Within this framework, there are significant variations, including the number of poems handled and presence or absence of information about renga linking. The extensive space devoted to advice about the use of Genji diction for renga purposes in some works leaves no doubt as to their being designed for renga poets. Other works contain little or no information of this sort and may have served as guides to poetry composition in general, thereby rendering the distinction between waka and renga use impossible to ascertain. It is also conceivable that some works served as a substitute for reading the Genji rather than for study or reference. 26

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

The most widely disseminated handbook on the tale, and one of the earliest, was Genji kokagami. Although neither the author nor the exact date of the work is known, it clearly circulated, if it did not originate, in the highest circles, for an early text contains a note stating that it was presented to the fourth Ashikaga shogun Yoshimochi (13861428) by Koun (Fujiwara no Nagachika), a Zen priest who came from a court family with a tradition of Genji studies. The note establishes 1428, the year the shogun died, as the latest date by which the handbook could have been written. Similarities between linking words in it and zenga works from the mid-fourteenth century—namely, Ichibu ienga yoiiai and Tsukubashu—however, suggest that the Kokagami dates from around the same time. 28 Culling words and phrases from the Genji, the Kokagami explains the provenance of each chapter title, with special attention to the poem (or poems) from which the title derives, and describes the main characters and events. The work is not comprehensive but focuses on the most famous episodes and poems. It was based on the Kawachi recension and originally included about n o poems; as time passed, more poems were included and the material was revised to correspond to the Aobyoshi recension. The large number of Kokagami texts and related handbooks reflects the great demand for the kind of information the work contained, a demand that continued into the Edo period, judging from the number of printed editions that exist. 2 ' Hikaiu Genji ichibu ienga yoiiai no koto, the undated digest attributed to Nij5 Yoshimoto, is closely related to the Kokagami in terms of its overall design and language: in fact, whole passages are identical. The inclusion of additional linking words and poems traditionally ascribed to Fujiwara no Teika that weave in the chapter titles suggests that it was compiled later.30 The influence of the Kokagami on other works is exemplified by Hikaiu Genji ichibu uta, a digest compiled in 1453 by a nun called Yurin, who gave readings on the Genji in Kyoto around the same time. The handbook retains certain features of the Kokagami while covering the tale more fully in the manner of Genji okagami below.31 A few years earlier, Yurin also wrote a commentary on the above-mentioned poems attributed to Teika. A statement in the preface that the work was designed for use in ienga reveals her own interest in the art; in fact, comments about ienga linking are scattered through Hikaiu Genji ichibu uta. Genji okagami belongs to a group of handbooks that differs from the above works in two important respects: all the Genji poems are included, and ienga matters are seldom touched upon, if at all.32 The unknown compiler's interest focuses on the poems and the circumstances 27

CHAPTER 1

under which they were composed. As in the case of the Kokagami, the compiler quotes heavily from the Genji, using the Kawachi recension or variant texts to explain the story. The most widely disseminated handbook after the Kokagami, Genji okagami is also believed to date from the fourteenth century. Although fragmentary evidence of this kind of digest remains from earlier times, it is the first full-length work of this type. Genji monogataii teiyo (1432) likewise covers all the Genji poems but adopts a different approach in trying to explain the meaning of the poems rather than simply describing the circumstances of composition. It was compiled by Imagawa Ryoshun's great-nephew, Norimasa, a shugo daimyo who was an avid collator of waka anthologies and treatises as well as something of a poet. His work drew on many of the same commentaries, some no longer extant, as Ichijo Kanera's Kacho yosei.3i The handbook reflects a new trend in its effort to explain Genji prose and poetry in simpler language. Norimasa's desire to make the Genji more accessible to readers can be glimpsed from the afterword, where he notes: I have had by me as a companion in my old age the daughter of someone from the same clan, whom I have looked after since she was little. One day she said, "There are many reference books on Genji monogataii, but often the language is remote or things are left out. I wish that you would write down the interesting passages from the different chapters, and the poems, and indicate the characters' names." She spoke so earnestly that I followed her wishes and in everyday language compiled a digest of the various episodes. Inasmuch as they contain little or no information about renga, works such as Genji monogataii teiyo and Genji okagami may have served as guides for poetry composition in general, thereby blurring the distinction between handbooks for renga and waka use. Indeed, they may have functioned as a substitute for the Genji rather than as a supplement. Genji monogataii teiyo influenced a group of widely circulating, and closely related, handbooks, known variously as Genji ozuna (or taiko), Genji taigai shimpisho, and so forth, which display even more simplified language and do not include all the Genji poems or explain their meaning. 34 They also contain gross inaccuracies regarding the story and weave extraneous material into the discussion of the plot, asserting, for instance, that Yiigao's body was found by Koremitsu beneath a verandah. The handbooks were designed to reduce the Genji to a more manageable size and make its increasingly remote language more accessible to 28

THE RECEPTION OF THE

GENJI

contemporary audiences. Works considered relatively early, such as Genji kokagami, quote extensively from the Genji, whereas works known or thought to date from the fifteenth century or later tend toward a greater simplification of language—paraphrasing rather than directly quoting. Imagawa Norimasa's comment in Genji monogataii teiyo is indicative of the situation that prevailed in the fifteenth century, when explication of the prose and poetry in the Genji begins to take precedence over the presentation of supplementary information. 35 Conclusion The central role played by waka poets in appreciating and transmitting the Genji was a measure of the importance of waka in it. Renga poets inherited the same attitude toward the Genji, although the spread of renga was attended by fundamental changes in the way the work was perceived. On one level, a growing effort was made to appreciate the Genji as a literary text in its own right rather than being blinded by the quest for secondary information and secret lore about it, or using the work to cultivate poetic skill. On another level, the need for aspiring poets to have at least rudimentary knowledge of the Genji fostered a demand for handbooks and manuals that made the work available in a simpler form. These developments were accompanied by deep-seated changes in the world of letters. The decline of the courtier class, for centuries the dominant literary force in the country, was offset by the growing prominence of commoners, notably renga poets, in the transmission and study of the classics. An important impetus was also provided by members of the warrior elite, who in increasing numbers sought to acquire the literary habits and tastes of the aristocracy. In spite of the decline of waka, one must not lose sight of the fact that it remained the dominant literary mode in terms of prestige. As Nijo Yoshimoto's treatises show, linked verse was heavily indebted to the aesthetic ideals and practice of waka. Moreover, all the renga poets mentioned in the present chapter were practicing waka poets as well. The continued prestige of waka also had a deep impact on newer art forms such as the noh, as Zeami Motokiyo's views on the art of writing noh plays in the following chapter show.

29

T W O

Noh Dramaturgy and the Literary World the 240 or so plays in the noh repertoire today were written between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the noh attained its present form. No one had more influence on the creation of the repertoire than Zeami, who, by a conservative estimate, wrote nearly forty plays and revised or set to music at least a dozen more, providing a model for later playwrights. Like the other troupes in the Yamato (Nara) area from which the modern noh schools are descended, Zeami's troupe faced stiff competition from companies in other regions and from rival performing arts, such as dengaku, which later died out. He considered the ability to write plays a key to success, and even used a military metaphor to suggest its importance, saying that an actor without his own plays was like a mighty warrior without weapons. 1 His desire to devote an entire treatise called Sando (The Three Paths) to the art of writing plays is ample proof of the value he attached to the task. The treatise, which was written for his son Motoyoshi in 1423, provides a convenient starting point for analyzing the Genji plays. Like other great playwrights from Aesdhylus to Brecht, Zeami was not simply a dramatist but an active man of the theater. As a professional actor, he was closely attuned to the interests and tastes of his audience, without whose constantly reaffirmed support the noh, whatever its intrinsic worth, could not have survived. His writings, consequently, raise important questions about the relationship between playwrights and their audiences, a subject explored in the second part of this chapter in terms of the interaction of Zeami and his successors with the literary leaders introduced in Chapter 1. Zeami began Sando by dividing the task of writing plays into three steps: selecting the kernel (shu; literally, "seed"), deciding the structure (saku), and composing the words and music [sho-, zz 134). The kernel refers to the character around whom a play is constructed. Zeami recommended using characters with an affinity for song and dance, the main components, or "heart," of the noh. He offered numerous examples, including literary and historical figures such as the hero of the Genji and the Heian court poet Ariwara no Narihira, as well as major N E A R L Y ALL

30

NOH DRAMATURGY

woman poets from the same period and professional entertainers from recent times. The next task was to determine the structure of the play in terms of an introduction (jo), development [ha), and finale [kyu). At the begin­ ning of the play, the first actor (usually the waki, who plays a secondary role) enters, identifies himself, and performs a sequence of songs. In the developmental section, the shite, or main actor, appears and sings sev­ eral songs, followed by dialogue [mondo) with the first actor and a song sung in chorus. 2 The developmental section ends with a rhythmical song [kusemai) or a regular melodic song [tadautai) consisting of se­ quences of 7 and 5 syllables. The final section contains a dance [mai) or vigorous movements accompanied by instrumental music [hataiaki). It might also feature action performed to a special rhythm. 3 Altogether, a play consists of five segments, or dan, one in the introductory and con­ cluding sections, and three in the developmental section. Depending on the source, however, a play might contain six segments, or four (zz 135). After determining the structure, the playwright decided the number of verses in the songs and then wrote the words and music. The art of writing noh songs drew heavily on the waka tradition. As Zeami noted elsewhere, "A cardinal principle in writing noh songs is to bring to­ gether words from waka." He went on to say that the basic meter of the noh consists of units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, an offshoot of the waka form. 4 Noh plays, especially Zeami's, draw heavily on rhetorical devices in­ herited from waka, such as engo and kakekotoba. He touches upon the dramatic effect of kakekotoba, a hallmark of his style, during a discus­ sion of the device in Sarugaku dangi (Conversations on Sarugaku), a collection of his observations on the noh set down in writing by his son Motoyoshi in 1430. Advising against the repeated use of the same pun in a play, Zeami recommended placing pivot words at "a high point where the ears of the audience are opened"; that is, in the ha or kyu section when the audience should be moved by the combined effect of the words and music. Although the syntactical incongruity or disloca­ tion caused by a pivot word will usually arrest an audience's attention, Zeami suggested setting it up, especially where it is central to a play, for instance, where it involves the title or main character's name, to ensure that it will not be overlooked. He offered as an example Yoshitsune no ukiyo no in Yashima, a play about the famed twelfth-century warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The phrase puns on the warrior's name and tsune no ukiyo ("ever wretched world"). No one will miss the pun, said Zeami, if it is preceded by sono na ο kataritamae ya, I waga na ο nani ("Tell me your name." I "My name. . . ." ; zz 290). 31

CHAPTER 2

Honzetsu, the term used by Zeami to refer to source material, comes from waka and ienga poetics, where it denoted Japanese and Chinese prose, as well as Chinese poems, treated allusively in poetry. While acknowledging the feasibility of composing plays about new subjects [tsukuii no), Zeami maintained that such plays required consummate skill on the part of a playwright, and he advocated using a famous place or historical site and well-known poems about it to compensate for the lack of an established source. He recommended weaving the gist of the story into the part of the play designed to open the ears of the audience, namely, in the ha or kyu section (zz 141). This material is typically found in the kuse. 'Zeami advocated setting plays in a place determined by the source: no ni wa honzetsu no zaisho aiu beshi (zz 135). He also recommended that "in plays dealing with famous places and historical sites, one should put expressions from famous poems about the setting at a high point in the developmental section." He added that important expressions should be reserved for the shite (zz 135—36). In various treatises, Zeami stressed the importance of using poetry familiar to audiences: to be effective, poetic allusions first of all had to be recognized.5 He warned against the use of overly subtle or intricate language, saying that such material might be interesting in written works (soshi) but would not be noticed by an audience. Though discouraging the pursuit of other arts, he advised actors to study poetry so as to impart a feeling of elegance and grace [yugen) to their delivery. In performance, refined and gentle language helps to create an effect of yugen, as Zeami pointed out in his earliest treatise, Fushikaden (The Transmission of Acting Forms and the Flower): "One should choose Chinese and Japanese poetry that is gentle sounding and easy to understand. When the movements of the shite are combined with gentle, refined language, the figure portrayed will naturally seem elegant and graceful" (zz 47). Zeami considered the most important elements in a good play to be the use of an established source {honzetsu tadashi), a fresh performance, the creation of high points, and an elegant effect (kakaii yugen).6 Sando goes on to examine the composition of plays in terms of three principal role types: old persons, women, and warriors. The first type occurs mainly in plays that begin a day's program, namely, felicitous pieces dealing with gods [kami no). The different parts of a play are discussed in more detail at this point, including recommendations about the length of the sung and spoken sections. Stressing that song and dance are the key elements in plays in which the main actor depicts a woman, Zeami cited various types of roles, 32

NOH D R A M A T U R G Y

from aristocratic ladies and professional entertainers to madwomen. He singled out female characters from the Genji for special praise: The visual aspect will naturally be superior in some cases: for instance, aristocratic women such as high-ranking ladies-in-waiting, ladies of the wardrobe, Lady Aoi, Yugao, and Ukifune. Plays should be written bearing in mind their graceful figures and distinguished manner and appearance. Care should be taken so that the songs do not resemble those of professional kusemai entertainers. The character's refined figure must be beautiful and embody the highest level of elegance and grace; the music must be exquisite, and the movements and bearing of the actor unsurpassed. Nothing should be lacking, (zz 137) Zeami called this kind of source a "jewel among jewels." His next remark is a telling indication of the value of the Genji as a source: "In addition to the ineffable beauty of such court ladies visually, Lady Rokujo's possession of Lady Aoi, Yugao's possession by an evil spirit, and the spirit haunting Ukifune provide an elegant source, while at the same time serving as a means for creating the high point in a play. One rarely comes upon such a valuable source" (zz 137-38). The section on warrior roles included derivative forms such as hoka (male entertainers in priestly attire) and demons with a human heart. Zeami advised playwrights to adhere faithfully to Heike monogataii, an epic about the late twelfth-century Gempei War, when writing about famous warriors from the Taira and Minamoto clans who fought in that war (zz 138). Indeed, Zeami almost single-handedly created the corpus of warrior plays known as shuia no. A classic example is Tadanoii, which features a Taira general's attachment to the world of poetry, following Zeami's advice in Fushikaden (zz 24) to endow famous warriors from the war with an elegant aspect. Zeami mentioned thirty plays that could serve as a model for new ones; the list includes a Genji play, Ukifune. Stressing the importance of writing works that, in terms of language and music, provide a vehicle for the flowering of yugen, he cited several actors, including his father and a performer from Omi named Inuo Doami (d. 1413), who, he said, were renowned in the capital and the countryside because their singing and dancing embodied yugen. Emphasizing the versatility of these actors, who had mastered all three role types and were not simply adepts at vigorous martial or demon roles, he brought the treatise to a close by advocating plays based on the aesthetic ideal of yugen. Zeami's most extended discussion of yugen occurs in Kakyo (Mirror of the Flower), a treatise completed shortly after Sando. Calling yugen 33

CHAPTER 2

the highest form of aesthetic expression in the noh and an important ideal in the arts as a whole, he said: Where is the realm of yugen truly to be found? To take an example from the everyday world, the refined behavior and distinguished appearance of the courtiers may be considered at the level of yugen. From this, it can be seen that beauty and gentleness form the essence of yugen. A graceful, composed air endows a figure with yugen, while the yugen of discourse lies in using refined language and studying the everyday speech of the nobility so that even the slightest utterance will be refined, (zz 97) As the passage shows, Zeami equated the aesthetic ideal with the lives of the aristocrats, whose appearance and demeanor embodied gentleness and grace. Likewise, he considered the language of the courtiers— namely, waka—the ultimate expression of yugen in discourse. For that very reason he encouraged actors to study poetry and stressed it so much with regard to writing plays. Zeami's view of the Genji as the embodiment of elegance and grace echoed medieval poetics. But, unlike his counterparts in waka and renga, he did not specifically equate the language of the Genji with this ideal even though he considered waka an important vehicle for expressing yugen. Given the appeal of the Genji as a poetic source in his day, perhaps it would have merely been stating the obvious; in any event, the suitability of the work for treatment in the noh is discussed instead in terms of the story. From Zeami's point of view, the possession of Lady Aoi, Yugao, and Ukifune by an evil spirit, or mono no ke, constituted a unique source of material because the quality of yugen ensured by the characters' place in the aristocratic world of the Genji, combined with their intense emotional suffering, provided the perfect sort of dramatic, or aesthetic, tension. One of the most innovative aspects of Zeami's writings concerns his recognition of the role played by spectators in the noh as a performing art. In Fushikaden he wrote: It is important to bear in mind that the audience is the foundation of this art. One should adhere to current tastes, and when performing in front of an audience that favors yugen lean toward the use of elegance and grace in depicting what is strong and vigorous, even if it is somewhat out of keeping with the role. Playwrights should also take this point into consideration and use characters who embody yugen as the centerpiece of their plays; both the ideas and language should be expressed in such a way as to create a graceful effect, (zz 51) 34

NOH D R A M A T U R G Y

The following section explores the implications of these remarks in terms of Zeami's ties with the literary elite. Zeami's World Zeami's stress on the courtly value of yugen mirrored the tastes of aristocratic patrons from court and warrior circles. This is nowhere more apparent than in his portrayal of warriors, which marked a major shift away from a crudely realistic treatment to a synthesis of martial and courtly values. It is surely no coincidence that the transformation took place in the age of the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who, as the leading patron of the arts, was a major force behind the formation of Muromachi culture in the last quarter of the fourteenth century. Yoshimitsu's ties with the literary lion Nijo Yoshimoto are thought to date from the mid-13 70s, when he began conspicuously acquiring court ranks to match his military titles. Contemporary records suggest that Yoshimoto's position as an authority on court customs and practices loomed large in their relationship, but by 1378 Yoshimoto had also begun instructing the shogun on zenga and not long afterwards wrote a renga treatise on his behalf.7 Yoshimitsu was not the first Ashikaga ruler to partake in and promote the culture of the court; the difference was that, under him, involvement in the arts became a way of life.8 Arguably, the shogun's most lasting contribution was his discovery of the noh. His first, momentous visit to the nob. occurred in 1375, or perhaps the preceding year, when he attended a performance by Zeami and the twelve-year-old actor's father Kan'ami at Imagumano Shrine in Kyoto. Yoshimitsu's subsequent patronage radically altered the fortunes of the noh. Insightful comments attributed to him in Zeami's writings show that his involvement in the noh was not simply a matter of largesse. A treatise by Zeami's son-in-law Zenchiku (1405-21468) attests to the influence on the noh exerted by Yoshimitsu and his successors: "The art has flourished since the rule of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Members of the shoguns' circle watched Omi and Yamato actors with a discriminating eye, eschewing vulgarity and demanding yugen-, they criticized actors' good and bad points and let their opinions be clearly known." 9 Yoshimitsu's fondness for the aesthetic ideal of yugen, so vividly reflected in his own aspirations to court life, is manifested in his long-term support of Doami, the noh actor from the Omi area east of Kyoto idolized by Zeami as one of three great masters of yugen.10 Zeami's development as an artist was radically altered by his contact with the shogun, who provided not only financial backing and advice but access to the world of the court. Through him, Zeami met Nijo Yoshimoto, who followed the shogun's lead in singling out the young 35

CHAPTER 2

actor for special notice. Not long after being discovered by the shogun, Zeami visited Yoshimoto's mansion, at which time the courtier bestowed the name Fujiwaka on him. A letter by Yoshimoto dating from 1375 effusively praises the young actor's beauty, using language from the Genii, and admires his skill at renga and court football as well as the noh." The striking similarities between Zeami's and Yoshimoto's aesthetics and critical vocabulary suggest the courtier's direct influence on the young actor. To begin with, Zeami, like Yoshimoto, theorized about his art in terms of the jo-ha-kyu principle underlying court music, which was structured around a prelude (/0), development [ha], and finale [kyu). In renga, the principle governed the formal ordering of a composition, that is, the type of language and tempo appropriate in different parts of an overall sequence.12 In the noh, it affected everything from the musical structure and tempo of a play to elocution. Both art forms, at least for Yoshimoto and Zeami, were strongly neoclassical in outlook and placed a high value on the use of the literary tradition, especially as established and defined by waka. The metrical structure of both was indebted to waka, although in practice the noh allowed considerable leeway. In addition to songs written in regular 7— 5 meter, such as ageuta and sageuta, noh texts include spoken dialogue [kotoba) and songs with lines of markedly uneven length. Moreover, the inclusion of entire waka was formally possible and, in fact, widely practiced in the noh, whereas ienga and waka permitted allusions to only part of an earlier poem. Like Yoshimoto, Zeami used many critical terms inherited from waka, salient examples being honzetsu and meisho ("famous places"). In linked verse, strict rules governed the frequency of appearance and location of a word or category,· hence honzetsu functioned simply as one of many topoi, with allusions to an earlier work usually not allowed to extend beyond two consecutive verses in a hundred-verse sequence. 13 Thus, no dominant theme or narrative emerges in these long chains of verse. In the noh, however, the choice of a source [honzetsu) was a major consideration, since it determined the identity of the principal character and setting and had a bearing on the language. Zeami's advice to choose a setting with literary associations also had a precedent in renga. The use of famous places, or meisho, for their rich associations and semimetaphorical function goes far back in the history of court poetry; even the Genji draws heavily on this tradition. Meisho was just one of many topoi in renga that originated in waka-, others included seasons, travel, and love. The high value attached to balance and diversity and to an uninterrupted flow of images in renga compositions imposed limitations on the manner in which a topic was 36

NOH DRAMATURGY

treated, and Yoshimoto recommended using famous places sparingly because of the strong impression they created.14 Accordingly, meisho, like honzetsu, had only a limited, local effect in ienga, whereas in the noh famous places provided the setting for an entire play or scene and, depending on the playwright, suggested theme and mood. They even helped to identify the shite. The aesthetic concerns of the noh also resembled those of renga. Yoshimoto, for instance, used the image of a flower [hana) to suggest the appeal of a verse and the freshness of its effect. A major theme in Zeami's writings, hana figures in the titles of six treatises. In Fushikaden Zeami equated it with charm [omoshiiosa) and freshness (mezurashisa), saying: The Flower embodies the same idea as "charm" and "freshness." What flower blooms forever? It is precisely because blossoms scatter that the season comes around for them to bloom again, hence the feeling of freshness. In the noh, it is vital to realize that the Flower blooms when stagnation is avoided. Freshness is achieved by changing styles and not being limited to just one mode of artistic expression, (zz 5 5) Using hana as a metaphor for the appeal of a performance and the effect of an actor on the audience, Zeami speaks of the kind of flower an actor should aspire to, how an actor acquires it, and how to make the flower of an actor's performance bloom.15 The correspondence between Yoshimoto's and Zeami's critical vocabulary is most apparent in the concept of yugen. Both writers equated it with elegant beauty, especially of the kind associated with lovely young court ladies, and both viewed it in terms of the Gen/2.16 Zeami's use of the term is thought to derive directly from renga rather than waka, although he regarded it in broader terms than did Yoshimoto, applying it to every conceivable aspect of the noh and noh performance. 17 Nevertheless, they shared the same desire to maintain vitality and freshness in their art and cautioned that an excess of yugen could easily lead to weakness just as a tsuyoki, or vigorous, element could degenerate into crudeness and vulgarity. Like Yoshimoto, Zeami linked yugen with kakari ("artistic effect"), a new critical term in the middle ages. Yoshimoto was the first to treat kakari in the sense of sugata, or "configuration," in waka. In his writings, it signified the flow of language, and hence the overall configuration of a verse. Of particular interest is his use of the term to describe the voice of the referee, or shuhitsu, who reads each verse aloud at renga sessions before recording it.18 Yoshimoto's coupling of yugen with kakari represented an innovation; together, the terms signified a 37

CHAPTER 2

gentle flow of words, a beauty of tone, that suited the nature of renga as a kind of performing art. 1 9 Indeed, renga has been described as a "symphony of images" by the well-known scholar Konishi Jin'ichi, one of the few modern practitioners of linked verse. The expression is par­ ticularly apt when one considers that Yoshimoto borrowed a musical concept—jo-ha-kyu—to describe the structure of a renga sequence. Given the nature of the noh as a performing art, it is not surprising to find that Zeami applied kakari to an actor's technique and outward ap­ pearance, to chanting and dance, and to the forms and actions created through the art of monomane, or imitation. 2 0 Zeami's treatises almost never mention renga-, perhaps it was only natural for him, like Nijo Yoshimoto, to invoke the most prestigious poetic form of all. Then, too, he may simply have assumed that his remarks about waka applied to renga as well if, as Yoshimoto claimed, linked verse was a form of waka." In any event, further signs of the proximity between the two men may be found in Zeami's plays, which abound in material and techniques typical of renga, a subject explored more fully in Chapter 4.2* Too much emphasis, however, is often attached to Yoshimoto's influ­ ence on Zeami's renga-hke style, ignoring the implications behind the courtier's reference to Zeami's skill at renga after their first meeting: namely, that the actor had already begun studying the art before they met.* 3 Overstating Yoshimoto's influence undervalues the significance of Zeami's ties with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and his associates. Sarugaku dangi, for instance, notes that Zeami heard about the artistry of the great dengaku actor Itchu from Sasaki Doyo and Ebina no Naami, pa­ trons of his father who were in the shogun's service. A high-ranking Ashikaga official with an avid interest in the arts, including the noh, Doyo (1306—1373) occupied a prominent place in fourteenth-century renga circles alongside Nijo Yoshimoto. In addition to sponsoring major renga events of the day, he is thought to have been instrumental in getting the Tsukubashu designated as a quasi-imperial anthology. In­ asmuch as he died in τ373, Zeami's contact with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's world clearly predated his actual ties with the ruler. Naami (d. 1381) seems to have served as an intermediary prior to the shogun's first visit to the noh at Imagumano Shrine, for Sarugaku dangi (zz 293) states that he had advised assigning the role of the old man in Okina to Kan'ami instead of leaving it to the oldest member of the troupe, as was the custom. Naami acquired a reputation in noh circles for his gift for melody. He wrote the music to two kusemai, a popular song form whose incorporation into the noh, one of Kan'ami's greatest contributions to the art, gave the noh greater rhythmical variety and interest. The first piece that Naami set to music, "Togoku kudari" 38

NOH D R A M A T U R G Y

(Journey to the Eastern Provinces; zz 226-28), depicts the journey of a captured Taira warrior from Kyoto to Kamakura to face execution. The second song, "Jigoku no kusemai" (Song of Hell; zz 225-26), is now part of the noh play Utaura (The Soothsayer).25 scatter the dew and tears, and like the autumn leaves, let me fade into oblivion. How hateful! Hatred for neither the world of love nor men, hatred for neither the world of love nor men must I feel, though I might wish otherwise, it is for my own sins alone that I am punished. Behold a figure repenting for all the scandal, the uncontrolled passion welling up inside like water bursting forth between the rocks,1"6 or burning so with desire that my soul seemed to wander Off— ">7

though carefully concealed, a jewel revealed, in a turmoil over fireflies.Io8 Disgraceful, shameful, is the image thus revealed. Casting off the thrall of delusion, Tamakazura's soul attains the jewel of Truth, Tamakazura's soul attains the jewel of Truth, and the long dream came to an end.109

124

S E V E N

Plays about Lady Rokujo the Genji have long presumed that Yugao's death was caused by Genji's mistress Lady Rokujo, whose story inspired the next three plays. The first two are still part of the repertoire of all five noh schools, whereas Shikimi tengu is no longer performed. Aoi no ue would ordinarily follow Nonomiya in a day-long program of noh, but it is presented first here because the events it describes provide the background for Nonomiya. An old play thought to have been revised by Zeami, Aoi no ue reenacts the story of Lady Rokujo's possession of Genji's wife Lady Aoi in chapter 9 of the Genji. The tale depicts Lady Rokujo as a beautiful, cultivated woman of high birth whose fatal flaw, uncontrolled jealousy, leads to her own unhappiness and the destruction of others. Her possession of Genji's wife was triggered by the humiliation she suffered during the lustration ceremony for the new High Priestess of Kamo Shrine. Torn between a desire to see Genji in the procession and the pain caused by his waning affection, she finally decides to attend, hoping the distraction will help; but she compromises by riding in an inconspicuous carriage so as not to attract attention. When the carriages of her rival suddenly arrive and push aside those of lesser mortals, including hers, which Lady Aoi's men recognize, she is prevented from seeing the procession; far worse, her sensitive pride is wounded. Her troubled spirit later wanders from her and takes possession of the pregnant Lady Aoi. Efforts to exorcise the evil spirits prove unsuccessful, and Lady Aoi dies after giving birth to a son, Yugiri. READERS OF

Close identification of Aoi no ue with the Genji is achieved by means of a surprisingly small amount of material compared with other plays in this study. The main exceptions are a handful of chapter titles woven into the text in a manner reminiscent of Go and Genji kuyo and various story elements involving the effort to subdue the evil spirits possessing Lady Aoi. In borrowing the kernel of the story, Aoi no ue expands and reshapes certain elements for dramatic ends. Characters such as the courtier serving the Shujakuin emperor (Suzaku in the Genji) and the sorceress have been invented and greater prominence given to the role of exorcism. Whereas the Genji speaks of numerous priests performing incantations and exorcisms, intimating that they are ineffectual, the play introduces a single figure, the holy man [kohijiri) of Yokawa, who 125

CHAPTER 7

confronts the shite directly. Instead of presenting the possession through Genji's eyes, the play focuses entirely on Lady Rokujo. Genji never actually appears, and Lady Aoi is represented merely by a folded robe at the front of the stage over which the holy man and Lady Rokujo's vengeful spirit battle. Perhaps the greatest difference lies in the celebration of the triumph of the Buddha's Law over malign forces, for the play ends with the subjugation of Lady Rokujo, whereas Lady Aoi dies in the Genji. Even if the carriage fight is not mentioned directly in Aoi no ue, let alone reenacted on stage, the image of the carriage lies at the heart of the play. The shite's opening speech links the carriage with key Buddhist images: the "three vehicles" that enable the unenlightened to escape this illusory world; and the Wheel of the Law, a metaphor for the endless cycle of rebirth suffered by those who fail to attain Buddhahood. The shite's obsessive repetition of the word "carriage" in the first part of the play is indicative of her mental state. Today, no carriage is usually brought on stage, but the sorceress describes the shite's appearance in a broken-down carriage [yaiegumma), and Sarugaku dangi, offering a rare glimpse of an early noh performance, shows that a carriage was in fact used as a prop in Zeami's day: Inuo represented the highest flowering of the art. He never sank even to the top of the middle level or had any awareness of the middle or lowest levels of attainment. His singing perhaps might be considered at the top of the middle level. In the noh Aoi no ue, he rode in a carriage and wore a long robe with a willow-green lining that hid his feet. His female attendant, played by Iwamatsu, clung to a carriage shaft. Inuo sang the issei on the bridge: In the Three Vehicles on the Road of the Law, one may leave the Gate of the Burning House. A carriage in disrepair like Yugao's dwelling, unhappily, cannot drive away despair. He began to advance, the words flowing smoothly. In the shidai, "Like wheels of an ox-drawn carriage, the wretched world I like wheels of an ox-drawn carriage, the wretched world I goes round and round in retribution," he sang the last two syllables of oguruma ["carriage"] gently and in a high pitch. At the end of the speech he stamped his feet firmly. When he appeared later as a spirit and was subjected to the prayers of the mountain priest, played by Iyo, the way he looked back at him and held the kosode robe was indescribable, (zz 263) The passage indicates that the play goes back at least to 1413, when Inuo Doami died. Records show that the deletion of the carriage and 126

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

the attendant from performances took place during the Muromachi period. The text of Aoi no ue, however, has not changed, and it is assumed that some speeches now delivered by the sorceress, such as "Though standing at the door of the eastern cottage," were originally spoken by the attendant. The carriage and the attendant have recently been reintroduced, following the account in Sarugaku dangi, and are now recognized as a variant style of performance (see Figure 5). In the Genji, Lady Rokujo's misery deepened in the face of rumors that she caused the death of Genji's wife, and she became more determined than ever to accompany her daughter, the High Priestess, to Ise Shrine. At the beginning of "Sakaki" (chapter 10), Genji paid a farewell visit at the temporary shrine in the fields of Saga (on the northwestern outskirts of Kyoto) where she was undergoing purification with her daughter. His journey across the fields and meeting with her inspired Nonomiya, a play often ascribed to Zeami, though it is never mentioned in his treatises and does not surface in Muromachi records until 1465, when the title appears in Chikamoto nikki, a shogunal official's diary, along with a Yugao play. The structure of Nonomiya closely resembles Zeami's masterpiece Izutsu, but the beautiful text has been created without the complex layers of puns and allusions found in the latter play.1

Figure 5. Revival of an old-style performance of Aoi no ue, with carriage and attendant 127

CHAPTER 7

Unlike Aoi no ue, Nonomiya draws heavily on Genji prose and poetry to establish the setting and convey underlying themes. The close correspondence between the material in Nonomiya and medieval poetry and art manuals on the Genji has already been observed in Chapter 4. As a theater form that seeks to maximize effect through a minimum of expression, the noh, on stage, reduces the traditional motifs to a "rough-hewn wooden toiii " and "low brushwood fence" (see Figure 6). With the original observer—Genji—removed from the scene, the description of the Saga fields and shrine takes on a much more abstract quality. Whereas the earlier setting served a dual purpose, to reflect Genji's heightened feelings and suggest the cool elegant beauty of a woman past her prime, the beautiful landscape of late autumn here belongs to Lady Rokujo. The transformation of Genji material is exemplified by the handling of the image of the fire hut, which has been turned into a metaphor for Lady Rokujo's passion, secretly burning beneath the sere surface of the setting. The images of late autumn—the fading flowers and withered grasses—at once evoke an aura of melancholy beauty and suggest the fate of the lady herself. In a larger sense, the longing for the past that pervades the play may be seen as an expression

Figure 6. Scene from Nonomiya with toiii gate and brushwood fence, common motifs in medieval art and poetry 128

PLAYS A B O U T LADY

ROKUJO

of a general yearning for the idealized world of the Heian court in the Muromachi period, an age plagued by warfare and destruction. The second part of Nonomiya goes further back in time to the car­ riage fight in the "Aoi" chapter. Lady Rokujo (the shite) reappears in her original form in a flower-covered wicker carriage with lowered blinds, suggesting her aristocratic status, her days of glory, and above all the humiliating fight. Muromachi records indicate the use of a car­ riage as a prop in the second part of the play.1 By the seventeenth cen­ tury, however, it was employed only in a variant style of performance, a situation that prevails in the Hosho, Kongo, and Kita schools today. The restrained treatment of the carriage incident contrasts sharply with Lady Rokujo's depiction as a vengeful spirit in Aoi no ue; indeed, the play offers a more sympathetic view of the lady than the Genji does. Still, the carriage serves as a sign of the deep-seated obsession prevent­ ing her from escaping the bonds of transmigration in later lives. The trauma caused by the incident is obliquely expressed by the perfor­ mance of a ha no mai, a brief dance that does not usually follow a jo no mai unless the latter is accompanied by a stick drum; the only excep­ tions are in Nonomiya and Ochiba. The handling of Lady Rokujo's poem about the sakaki, or "sacred tree," a low evergreen tree used to decorate Shinto altars, exemplifies the kind of transformation that takes place in the noh in a setting charged with longing for the past. At the beginning of the play, a priest comes upon a woman at the shrine, who tells him that she purifies it every year on the seventh day of the Ninth Month. She explains about Genji's visit to the shrine and the branch of sakaki he gave Lady Rokujo as a token of his undying affection, and then she recites Lady Rokujo's poem rebuffing Genji: kamigaki wa shirushi no sugi mo naki mono ο ika ni magaete oreru sakaki zo

What mistakenly led you to break off a branch of the sacred tree when no beckoning cedar lies inside the sacred fence?

When the waki remarks upon the branch of the sacred tree that she holds, its color the same as long ago, the shite retorts that only the color of the branch remains the same. Employing images of loneliness and decay from the "Sakaki" chapter, the chorus describes the setting at the shrine. The omission of Genji's response to Lady Rokujo's poem narrows the focus; it also underscores the shite's one-sided attachment, an important theme in the play. The foregrounding of Lady Rokujo's poem, a function of its placement before the description of the fields of 3 Saga, heightens its effect as a sign of her attachment. 129

CHAPTER 7

The temporal distance separating the world of the play from the original story and the presentation of the episode from Lady Rokujo's perspective, in turn, have altered the significance of the sakaki. As Genji foresaw long ago, its color did not change. But everything else, the grasses and trees and he himself had—everything, that is, except Lady Rokujo's lingering attachment. The original referent, Genji's constancy, has been replaced by Lady Rokujo's attachment to the sakaki because of the memories it holds. The symbolic value of the branch is fully realized choreographically by the shite's appearance on stage holding a sakaki branch, just as distraught women in the noh conventionally carry bamboo or a flower. Upon returning to Kyoto from Ise a few years later, Lady Rokujo immersed herself in religious activities to atone for having lived outside the Buddhist sphere while at Ise Shrine. The third play, Shikimi tengu, draws loosely on this aspect of her story in depicting her as an aristocratic lady who is led astray by vanity about her beauty and unseemly pride in her devotion to the Lotus Sutra. The play begins with the visit of a priest to Shikimi Field northwest of Kyoto, where he suddenly encounters a lovely unattended woman gathering shikimi (Japanese star anise) to place on a Buddhist altar. It turns out that she is Lady Rokujo and that she is punished by tengu, or long-nosed goblins, because of her pride. During the interlude, an aikyogen actor representing a konoha tengu, a minor goblin dwelling in Shikimi Field, calls upon fellow goblins to gather at the Rokujo-in mansion to witness her sufferings. The second part of the play depicts her punishment at the hands of a goblin chief called Tarobo (the shite). Imaginary creatures with the head and body of a human being and the beak-like nose, feet, and wings of a bird (see Figure 7), tengu were variously depicted in the middle ages as deities who defended or impeded the Buddhist faith and as humans, particularly priests, who suffered from pride or arrogance. Tengu were thought to dwell in the mountains and thus became closely identified with yamabushi, or mountain priests, members of an ascetic sect of Buddhism who practiced austerities there. This connection explains the casting of the waki in Shikimi tengu as a priest from Kumano Shrine, a mountain complex associated with that sect. Shikimi tengu bears little apparent resemblance to the Genji, since neither the setting in the first part of the play nor the story has any precedent in the tale. Shikimi Field doubtless was chosen as a setting because of its association with nearby Atago Mountain, a favorite haunt of tengu-, it also lay close to Saga, the site of Genji's visit to the Shrine in the Fields. Moreover, the image of Lady Rokujo picking flow130

PLAYS ABOUT LADY ROKUJO

Figure 7. Figure of tengu, or long-nosed goblin, from a 1587 illustrated scroll

ers in t h e field suggests t h e time-honored motif of maidens picking flowers or y o u n g herbs in a field. Since t h e setting has n o connection w i t h t h e Genji and n o effort is m a d e to weave Lady Rokujo's story into t h e plot; t h e aikyogen actor's speech during t h e interlude (preserved in a n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y text) is 131

CHAPTER 7

an important factor in identifying her. Even so, she is difficult to rec­ ognize in the description of a beautiful, gentle woman loved by Genji. Nor was the Rokujo-in her former home, as the play suggests, but rather Genji's mansion, which he built partly on the estate she left her daughter. Still, the proper names from the Genji help to fix her in the mind of the audience, as do the attributes of aristocratic pride and suf­ fering, which have a precedent in the Genji. It will be recalled that when Lady Rokujo attacks Genji's wife Murasaki after death in the sec­ ond "Wakana" chapter, she is described as being in a frenzied state, her hair in disarray, and her angry spirit complains about the rituals and sutra readings causing her to be enveloped in flames.4 In contrast to its vague ties with the Genji, Shikimi tengu shares many of the beliefs expressed in plays still in the repertoire, a sign of common historical roots. The torments inflicted on Lady Rokujo, for instance, are similar to ones mentioned in Utauia, a play about a shrine official who returns to life after being dead for three days and performs a hell dance {jigoku no mai).s The structure of Shikimi tengu also re­ sembles Motomezuka (The Sought-for Grave), an early play in which the shite appears first as a lovely maiden picking young herbs in the fields of Ikuta and then as someone suffering in hell. 6 The presence in the noh repertoire of a half-dozen plays about tengu is a reminder of the widespread belief in these supernatural creatures in the middle ages. Some of the material in the plays overlaps with that found in Shikimi tengu. For instance, the fields of Saga provide the set­ ting for Kuiuma ζό (The Carriage Priest), a play about the subjugation of a tengu—none other than Tarobo of Atago Mountain, the shite in Shikimi tengu—who tries to corrupt a priest (the waki). Tarobo first appears in the guise of a mountain priest and then reappears singing the poem about gathering flowers in Shikimi Field that Lady Rokujo recites in the first part of Shikimi tengu.7 Tarobo is mentioned in other plays as well as in Tengu soshi, a series of late-Kamakura illustrated scrolls that parody the behavior of priests by means of tengu. Shikimi tengu is mentioned twice in fifteenth-century records: Komparu Zenchiku's son S5in describes it as a play containing a true oni ("demon") role, and Chikamoto nikki mentions a performance in 8 1483. The inclusion of the second ageuta ("Nothing at all. ..") in Kanginshu, a collection of songs from 1518, reflects another aspect of the play's appreciation in the Muromachi period. Bugei rokuiin shidai, a seventeenth-century treatise on noh cos­ tumes based, it is thought, on late Muromachi performances, describes the shite as wearing a red wig and beshimi or akujo mask and carrying a sakaki branch. On his feet are kegaii-ha, feather-covered footwear 9 typical of demon roles until the end of the Muromachi period. The 132

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

inclusion of Shikimi tengu in a program at the shogun's castle in 1707 shows that it was still performed in the Edo period. In an official list of the repertoires of the noh schools submitted to the shogunate in 1721, however, the Kanze and Komparu schools classified it as a play that they did not perform.10 The intrinsic interest of Shikimi tengu naturally raises the question as to why it was dropped from the repertoire. Though little more than conjecture is possible at this point, the nature of the roles may have posed a problem in the Edo period, when the noh became increasingly stylized. Whereas pre-Edo texts, including the one on which the translation in this study is based, and early accounts of the play such as Bugei rokurin shidai treat the tengu as the shite and Lady Rokujo as the tsure, later texts reverse the roles. The analysis of the role of Lady Rokujo as the shite in an extended discussion of the play published in the 1930s reflects a general bias in favor of siite-centered women's plays in recent times. 11 The nature of the roles makes Shikimi tengu difficult to categorize according to the five-part system formulated in the Edo period. Whereas plays in the repertoire that cast a tengu as the shite are classified as fifth-category demon plays, the sufferings of Lady Rokujo suggest a fourth-category play. The part of the taiko drum would have affected the placement of the play in the repertoire; unfortunately, information about musical aspects of the play is lost. The problem of classifying Shikimi tengu can be traced in part to the playwright's decision to present on stage the agent who punishes Lady Rokujo, whereas Utauia and Motomezuka, for instance, depict the torments of hell by means of the sufferer alone. Great skill would have been required to express forceful action without upsetting the delicate balance between the tengu and Lady Rokujo or creating an awkward effect that undermined the aura of yugen in the first part of the play. During the Edo period, dependence on shogunal and daimyo support left the noh schools at the mercy of autocratic patrons. Eccentric enthusiasts such as the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi may have encouraged the performance of unusual plays, but the situation was more likely to encourage orthodoxy. When it came to Shikimi tengu, two outstanding plays closely associated with Lady Rokujo's story and several more dealing with tengu were already close at hand.

133

Aoi no ue (Lady Aoi) W A K I : The holy man of Yokawa W A K I Z U R E : A court official SHITE:

TSURE: Teruhi the Sorceress The vengeful spirit of Lady Rokujo AIKYOGEN: A messenger

[A folded robe representing Lady Aoi is placed at stage front.] WAKIZURE:

TSURE:

I am an official at the court of the Shujakuin emperor. The evil spirit possessing the Minister of the Left's daughter Lady Aoi cannot be controlled, so the Minister has summoned priests of high rank and great virtue to conduct secret incantations and cures, all to no avail. There is someone here called Teruhi the Sorceress, an adept at the catalpa bow. I shall summon her and have her divine by means of her bow whether the spirit is that of someone living or dead. Is someone there? Summon Teruhi the Sorceress. Pure is Heaven, pure is Earth, pure within and without, pure the six senses. The spirit invoked now approaches lightly holding the reins of a steed the color of reeds along the shore."

SHITE:

issei

shidai

sashi

In the Three Vehicles on the Road of the Law, one may leave the Gate of the Burning House. 13 A carriage in disrepair like Yugao's dwelling, unhappily, cannot drive away despair.14 Like wheels of an ox-drawn carriage the wretched world, like wheels of an ox-drawn carriage the wretched world goes round and round in retribution. 15 The cycle of life and death is like a carriage wheel: no one escapes the Six Realms and Four Births.16 Like a banana plant or foam on water, man's life lacks permanence: 17 134

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

sageuta ageuta

TSURE:

WAKIZURE: SHITE:

how foolish it is not to see that yesterday's flower is today's dream. The hatred I bear another adds to my misery. If only to ease for a while the troubled thoughts that do not cease, I appear here now as an angry spirit in response to the catalpa bow. How shameful to appear once more in a secret carriage.18 Though I may gaze at the moon 'til dawn, though I may gaze at the moon 'til dawn, I cannot be seen by its light: gossamer-like, the upper notch of the catalpa bow I approach to tell of my suffering, I approach to tell of my suffering.1? Whence comes the sound of the catalpa bow? Whence comes the sound of the catalpa bow?2° Though standing at the door of the eastern cottage I have no form, so no one questions me. How strange! Who it is I cannot tell, but a lady is riding in a broken carriage, while someone, a handmaiden it seems, weeps profusely as she clings to the shaft of a carriage drawn by no oxen. A pitiful sight indeed. Might this be the one? I think I know. Reveal who you are, hiding nothing. In this mortal world ephemeral as lightning, I should hate nobody, nor should my life be one of sorrow. When ever did my spirit begin to wander? Who do you think this person is who appears before you now drawn by the sound of the catalpa bow? I am the vengeful spirit of Lady Rokujo. Long ago when I was part of the world, flower feasts above the clouds I enjoyed, and music gatherings on spring mornings; amid crimson leaves at the Immortal's Cave on autumn nights 11 I delighted in the moon ; 135

CHAPTER 7

steeped i n fragrance and bright colors, I flourished only t o fade away 22 like a morning glory awaiting t h e sunlight. M y suffering began t o spread like early ferns 23 sprouting i n a w r e t c h e d field. Hoping t o dispel t h e r e s e n t m e n t lodged like dew w i t h i n m y t h o u g h t s , I appear before you now. CHORUS:

sageuta ageuta

D o y o u n o t k n o w t h a t i n t h i s world k i n d n e s s is n o t for t h e sake of others? If y o u are heartless toward others, if y o u are heartless toward others, r e t r i b u t i o n is bound to follow. Why do y o u lament? M y r e s e n t m e n t will never end, m y r e s e n t m e n t will never end. 2 4

mondo SHITE: TSURE:

SHITE:

TSURE: SHITE: TSURE: SHITE:

C Η ο R υ s:

O h h o w hateful! I c a n n o t rest in peace u n l e s s I strike h e r now. H o w dreadful! For one of Lady Rokujo's station to strike a later wife—how can such behavior be allowed? Stop at once. 2 5 Regardless of w h a t you say, I shall n o t be satisfied u n ­ less I strike; she approached t h e pillow and just as she struck if y o u do n o t stop, I will draw nearer and m a k e y o u suffer at t h e other end. T h i s h a t r e d is i n revenge for t h e p a s t — flames of anger c o n s u m e m e . 2 6 D o you n o t know? Know t h e n h o w hateful you are, oh h o w hateful you are. T h i s h a t r e d of m i n e r u n s deep; t h o u g h y o u m a y cry o u t i n anguish as long as y o u live in t h i s world y o u will r e m a i n wedded to the one m o r e radiant t h a n fireflies in a darkened m a r s h . 2 7 136

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

SHITE: CHORUS:

Unlike the wormwood, I have lost the place I occupied before-, and then to vanish like dew at the end of a leaf—the very thought is hateful.28 Not even in dreams renewed, the bond between us has become a tale of long ago, and so my suffering only deepens— shameful the figure that is clearly mirrored.29 Into the broken carriage by the pillow I shall place her and take her secretly away, I shall place her and take her secretly away. [Holding her outer robe over her head, the shite approaches the folded robe at stage front and then retires to the rear of the stage.]

WAKIZURE: AIKYOGEN: WAKIZURE : AIKYOGEN:

WAKI:

AIKYOGEN:

WAKI :

AIKYOGEN:

Is anyone there? [Enters.] I am here before you. The evil spirit possessing Lady Aoi cannot be controlled, so please summon the holy man of Yokawa. Yes, sir. . . . [He goes to the shite position.] How dreadful! I was under the impression that Lady Aoi was recovering from the spirit possession, but I have been told to summon the holy man of Yokawa because the spirit cannot be controlled. I shall go now. .. . [He goes to the first pine and faces the curtain.] I wish to convey a message. Before the window of Nine Cognitions seated near the Ten Modes of Contemplation I am immersed in yoga's holy waters illumined by the Moon of Three Mysteries.30 Who addresses me at such a time? I come bearing a message. The spirit possessing Lady Aoi cannot be controlled, so I have been instructed by the Minister to ask you to go there quickly to perform prayers. I am in the midst of special services and remain in seclusion, but since you have been sent by the Minister, I will go at once. It is very kind of you. .. . [He comes on stage and faces the wakizure.] The holy man is on his way. [After the wakizure notes his approval, the aikyogen turns to the waki who has come on stage.] Please come this way. 137

CHAPTER 7

[The aikyogen retires to the bridge and later exits quietly through the small door at the side of the stage.] mondo WAKIZURE: WAKI:

WAKIZURE: WAKI:

I am much obliged to you for coming. You are very kind. Where is the person who is ill? [The wakizure indicates the place.] Very well, I shall perform the prayers at once. Please do so. The ascetic who comes to exorcise follows in the steps of En the Ascetic, 31 crossing the peaks of the Womb and Diamond Worlds' 1 in a mantle that dispels the jeweled dew.33 Wearing a cloak of forgiveness free of impurity, I gently, gently turned the russet wooden beads of the rosary and recited a prayer: namaku samanda basarada.34 [The shite returns to center stage.] [inori]

SHITE: WAKI:

CHORUS: WAKI: CHORUS: WAKI: CHORUS:

SHITE: CHORUS:

You ascetic, quickly go away. If you fail to do so, you will only regret it. However vengeful the spirit may be, the ascetic's powers cannot be exhausted. Again I rub the beads together. In the East, Gozanze Myoo,3S in the East, Gozanze Myoo, in the South, Gundari Yasha in the West, Daiitoku Myoo in the North, Kongo Yasha Myoo in the Center, the Most Holy Fudo Myoo the immovable, namaku samanda basarada senda makaroshana sowatayauntara takamman. "He who heeds my sermon attains great wisdom; he who knows my mind attains the Buddha form." 36 Frightening is the voice of Perfect Wisdom. This angry spirit will never come back again. At the sound of the incantation, at the sound of the incantation, the demon heart is quelled; 138

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

in the form of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion, the welcoming bodhisattvas descend.' 7 Salvation and spiritual release are received with the deepest gratitude, are received with the deepest gratitude.

139

Nonomiya (The Shrine in the Fields) WAKI: A traveling priest S H I T E : A woman at the Shrine in the Fields LATER S H I T E : The ghost of Lady Rokujo WAKI:

sashi

sageuta

I am a priest traveling around the country. I have just been to the capital and visited all the famous places and ancient sites there. Since it is now late autumn, I am eager to see the fields of Saga; I think I'll go there and look around. Inquiring about this place, I am told that it was the site long ago of the Shrine in the Fields. Though only a passerby, I think I'll take a look. On coming to this forest, I see a rough-hewn wooden torii and a low brushwood fence, which look the same as long ago.38 I wonder what this could mean. I am grateful to have a chance to come and worship at such a time. Ise's sacred fence forms no barrier. Like the true path of the Law, straight is the road I have followed here. At the site of the shrine, my heart is serene in the early evening, my heart is serene in the early evening.39 [The shite enters.]

SHITE:

shidai

sashi

sageuta ageuta

At the Shrine in the Fields that flowered so long, at the Shrine in the Fields that flowered so long, what will follow the end of autumn?+0 It is that very time as lonely autumn wanes when sleeves wilt more than ever from the dew ; in the heart-rending evening twilight the glow in my heart fades like the flowers on myriad grasses: to decline is the lot of mankind. 41 No one knows that on this day each year I come back to the site of long ago. At the Shrine in the Fields a sharp wind blows in the forest as autumn deepens, a sharp wind blows in the forest as autumn deepens, and the colors once as keenly felt have vanished.4* 140

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

Why, then, yearning for the past, wrapped in memories like a robe of shinobu grass do I vainly come back to this transitory world?43 How hateful it is to keep returning, how hateful it is to keep returning. mondo WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: CHORUS

ageuta

As I sit in the shadows of this forest thinking of the past, my mind full of serenity, a lovely woman has suddenly appeared. Who is this person who comes before me? You ask who I am ; I should like to know who you are. This is the Shrine in the Fields, the temporary home of the person appointed High Priestess of Ise Shrine long ago. Although the custom later ended, on this day, the seventh day of the Ninth Month,** year after year in memory of the past unknown to anyone I sweep out the shrine and perform the sacred rites. It is improper for you, an utter stranger, to come here while I am doing so. You must leave this place at once. You need not worry about me, for I am one of those who have left behind this world of uncertainty where man's very future is in doubt. This is an ancient place, yet you think of the past on this day each year. What is the reason, I wonder? Radiant Genji's visit to this place fell on the seventh day of the Ninth Month, today. Inside the sacred fence, he placed the small branch of the sacred tree that he held, whereupon the lady at once responded: What mistakenly led you to break off a branch of the sacred tree when no beckoning cedar lies inside the sacred fence2. It was on this day that she composed the poem.4S What an interesting poem, indeed. The branch of the sacred tree you now hold is the same color as long ago.46 "The same color as long ago"—clever words, indeed. Only the shade of the sacred tree remains the same: on the path beneath the trees, autumn wanes, the brilliant leaves scatter; on the reed-covered fields withered leaves47 lie in the ruined fields around the shrine, 141

CHAPTER 7

WAKI

:

lie in the ruined fields around the shrine: to this place so full of memories the seventh day of the Ninth Month has returned once more today. How simple the low brushwood fence,48 and impermanent the dwelling; 4 ' the light from the fire hut shining faintly even now is an outward sign, it seems, of thoughts that burn within. 50 How lonely the shrine is, how lonely this shrine is. Please tell me the story of the imperial consort.

kuri CHORUS:

Well, then, the lady known as the imperial consort was married to the former crown prince, the Kiritsubo emperor's younger brother, who flourished like a flower in full bloom. Deep was the bond between husband and wife, yet

sashi SHITE : CHORUS:

by nature all who meet must part: who has not awakened to the world of dreams? And before too long she was left behind. SHITE: Life could not remain that way, filled with dew,SI C H O R U S : when Radiant Genji was so bent on coming secretly, secretly to visit. SHITE: In the end somehow his feelings C H O R U S : changed, their ties were broken and yet kuse CHORUS:

he did not dismiss her

completely as a heartless person in the end. As he made his way to the shrine across the distant fields his feelings were deeply stirred-, the autumn flowers had all faded and the insects' voices were faint: even the wind blowing in the pines sounded lonely on that journey in which the sadness of autumn knew no bounds. 52 Thus did he come here to visit and, with deep compassion, in diverse ways through leaves of words like dew express the tender feelings in his heart. 53 142

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO SHITE: CHORUS:

Later, during the Katsura lustration a sacred branch was cast upon the waves,· and, like a drifting weed without a haven, she was swept on a tide of despair to her destination. Who will think of Ise far away and wonder if I am dampened or not by the many rapids on Suzuka RiverV* Behind the poem lay bitterness at setting out with her daughter on the road to the Take palace in Ise, a journey no mother had undertaken before.ss

rongi

CHORUS:

It is apparent from your story that you are no ordinary person. Please tell me who you are. If a worthless person such as I were to reveal who I am, my shame would spread like the forest by that name, 56 so kindly pray for the soul of an unknown person who is dead. A dead person you say; how strange! From this world, then, I have long since departed, leaving only a name behind. The imperial consort

SHITE:

is who I am,

CHORUS:

SHITE:

CHORUS: SHITE:

she

C H O R U S : said.57 In the autumn breeze at nightfall the evening moon shone faintly through the forest, as she stepped behind the rough-hewn wooden torii beneath the shadowed trees and vanished out of sight; and vanished completely out of sight. [INTERLUDE] WAKI:

ageuta

I shall spread my humble robe, like moss beneath a tree, my humble robe, like moss beneath a tree, on a grassy mat the selfsame color, and, thinking of long ago, throughout the night 143

CHAPTER 7

I shall pray on behalf of her soul, I shall pray on behalf of her soul. 58 [The shite reenters.] SHITE:

In a flowery carriage adorned with myriad autumn grasses at the Shrine in the Fields, I too have returned to the past. 59 WAKI: How strange! Dimly in the moonlight I hear the sound of an approaching carriage. It is a wicker carriage enclosed by curtains, an unexpected sight, indeed. 60 There can be no doubt about it: you must be the imperial consort. What kind of carriage is that, I wonder. S H I T E : When you ask what kind of carriage it is, I recall long ago the carriage fight at the Kamo festival.61 Who the owners were, it was impossible to know WAKI : so thick was the throng SHITE: of sightseers' carriages, among them that of Lady Aoi in all her splendor: WAKI: "Make way for the lady's carriage" came the cry, clearing people away. In the turmoil, SHITE: one person responded, "There is no other place for this small carriage," and left it there. WAKI: Around the carriage S Ηιτ Ε : men suddenly gathered, CHORUS:

ageuta

SHITE: CHORUS:

seizing the shafts; 61 pushed behind those of Aoi's attendants, the sightseer's carriage was as useless as my situation. But, then, nothing ever escapes the bonds of retribution. Even now my lot is wretched: in an ox-drawn carriage 63 I go round and round; how long will it last? Please dispel this blind attachment, please dispel this blind attachment. Yearning for the past, flowery sleeves turn in the moonlight as if to bring it back. [jo no mai] 144

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

waka SHITE:

At the C H O R U S : Its the the

the Shrine in the Fields moon too seems to yearn for the past. lonely beams stream through forest onto the dew below, forest onto the dew below. 64

SHITE:

The place where I stayed long ago has not changed; C H O R U S : the garden setting6* SΗιτ Ε : is unlike any C H O R U S : other; impermanent SHITE : is the low brushwood fence C H O R U S : from which he wiped away the dew. I, whom he visited, and he himself belong to a world of dreams that has long since passed; the pine crickets cry rin, rin: for whom do they yearn? 66 The wind rustles in the fields on a night at the Shrine in the Fields that brings back deep memories. [ha no mai] This place is dedicated to august Ise of the divine wind: 6 7 the figure going in and out the torii gate wanders on the paths of life and death. The deity seems to pay no heed, for she climbs into the carriage once again. Has she left the Gate of the Burning House? 68 The Gate of the Burning House?

145

Shikimi tengu (Goblins among the Flowers) W A K I : A mountain priest SHITE: A tengu TSURE:

Lady Rokujo

WAKI:

shidai

ageuta

Through the field of shikimi, through the field of shikimi to Atago Mountain I go. 6 ' I am a mountain priest from Kumano Shrine.70 I have never crossed Shikimi Field by Atago Mountain and have resolved to do so now. In the western hills the rude wind sounds cold in the fields of Saga, the rude wind sounds cold in the fields of Saga; dim, too, is the sound on Ogura; following the peaks I head toward my destination 'til lofty Atago Mountain of boundless fame and the field of shikimi I have reached, and the field of shikimi I have reached.71 How distressing! It has suddenly begun to snow. If only it would clear for a while. [The tsure enters.]

TSURE:

issei

sashi

WAKI:

TSURE:

On Atago Mountain flowing sleeves gather flowers amid the snow in the field of shikimi. 72 Shattering their bones in cold woods the souls of the dead, weeping, lament their deeds in former lives; offering flowers in the fields denizens of heaven rejoice at their good deeds.73 I shall climb the mountainside and pick shikimi as usual. Although engaged in a pious act as I am, it is very strange for you to be picking flowers on bleak Atago Mountain, especially since you are a woman. Does concern about the next life differ between men and women, high and low? Since the flowers are for the Buddha, 146

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUJO

WAKI:

TSURE:

what is so strange about my picking shikimi on the mountain? To be sure, there is nothing strange about your picking flowers. But it is strange for someone who looks like a court lady to be picking flowers all alone on this mountain without any attendants. Please tell me your name. You seem to take me for an aristocratic lady by the way I look. Someone long ago composed a poem about such matters: He who tells tales as tall as Mount Takao must dwell on Atago, the peak of enemies. 74

CHORUS:

sageuta

ageuta

Just as this poem says, anyone who says such things about me is an enemy of mine, you mountain priest on Atago. Do not speak of things you do not know. Nothing at all do I intend to say or hear; on the snow, do I intend to say or hear; on the snowcovered coat of the traveler pure white are the sleeves!7' I shall gather petals of snow falling on the field of shikimi. Are these the "flowers picked at the end," though not crimson like the shimmering evening sun? 76 When spring comes round again, I'll gather young herbs in the fields of the capital, young herbs in the fields of the capital.

mondo WAKI:

TSURE

strange! It is odd for a person like yourself to pick flowers all alone after dark on the mountainside. You must be some kind of spirit. : Why hide it now? I am Lady Rokujo. A mere speck of the universe, I became insufferably proud of my celebrated beauty. Nor did I even for a moment neglect the Lotus Sutra, and this too became instead a source of pride. Because of these two defects of the soul I have been cast into the realm of demons,seized by tengu, I make Atago Mountain my home. 77 HOW

147

CHAPTER 7 CHORUS:

ageuta

Ah, the time has arrived once more, ah, the time has arrived once more. A wave of clouds, a wave of hills, seems to advance in her direction; seized by tengu on Atago Mountain Lady Rokujo disappeared from sight. Though she was once known as a "gentlewoman," the lady bears no gentle fate.78 Behold her torments in the realm of demons. Behold her torments in the realm of demons. [INTERLUDE]7' ENTRANCE MUSIC*1

SHITE:

TSURE:

SHITE:

TSURE:

As I look all around me, as I look all around me, the heavens are clear in all directions; the cloud carriage flying through the air offers a splendid view of the sky, offers a splendid view of the sky. Full of renown, full of renown, Tarobo, tengu of Atago Mountain, Jirobo, tengu of Hirano Peak, famous Hiei's lofty peak, and Yokawa's cedar groves.81 Like the tide in Hira Harbor the rude wind in the pines returns, and we return once more. 82 This is the mansion in the Sixth Ward, your former home in the flowery capital. Set down the carriage and rest a while. Hateful is my lot. In retribution for what sins have I been cast into the realm of demons? How long must I wander over distant mountain paths? Why do you complain? Overweening pride was your own doing. Do you not see that it originates inside your heart? Quickly enter a frenzied state. Alas! "Enter a frenzied state," you say; has the hour of madness returned? 148

PLAYS A B O U T LADY ROKUjO

SHITE:

The suffering that now begins: for food three times a day, a molten metal brew and a burning ball Ts υ RE : I swallow and am consumed by fire. SHITE : It is painful to see you burn. TSURE: When I try to scream, no sound emerges. SHITE: Body and soul are consumed at once by flames. TSURE:

Her body

SΗι τ Ε : CHORUS:

in the smoke from a huge flaming lotus red as blood grows fainter and fainter. Her form takes on the fiery glow of embers in a charcoal kiln. Behold repentance incarnate! A minor tengu approaches, a minor tengu approaches and rubs her fiery body so that she again assumes a human form. As she fleetingly takes a mortal shape, the great tengu draws beside her and wraps her hair around his hand. He raises his iron rod and though it seemed but a blow or two her body shatters into specks of dust that, like leaves on a tree blown by the mountain wind, suddenly seemed to scatter. The sound of voices rang out in the universe, there was a roar of laughter, and in the same shikimi field of Atago, like a shadow, the lady in the Sixth Ward, like a shadow, the lady in the Sixth Ward was nothing but a phantom in a dream.

149

EIGHT

Plays about Genji and the Akashi Lady the Genji appears in only two plays, both of which are connected with Suma, where Genji was exiled after having an affair with Oborozukiyo, a favorite of the emperor and sister of Genji's enemy at court. In Suma Genji, Genji first appears in disguise as an aged woodcutter at Suma and then descends from heaven in his true form as a graceful young courtier and performs a dance echoing his celebrated court dance "Waves of the Blue Sea" in the "Momiji no ga" chapter. The second play, Sumiyoshi mode, features the Akashi lady, whom Genji met after moving his place of exile across the bay to Akashi. Suma Genji depicts Genji as dwelling in the Tusita heaven, the fourth heaven in the world of desires, presided over by Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. Theoretically, inhabitants of this realm have not yet attained enlightenment, but, in the world of the play, Genji is treated like a bodhisattva. In the second part of the play, we are told that he has descended from heaven "to protect sinners," and his descent is described as a yoga, a term reserved for deities. In keeping with this approach, the waki is cast as a Shinto official rather than a Buddhist priest whose prayers are sought to enable a character to end his, or her, attachment to the world and attain enlightenment. The difference can be appreciated by looking at Ukifune, which depicts Ukifune rejoicing in the end at the possibility of being bom in the Tusita heaven after she is freed from her attachment through a priest's prayers. The treatment of Genji also contrasts with that of his creator, Murasaki Shikibu, who is depicted in the middle ages as going to hell for the sin of writing fiction, and who appears in Genji kuyo below seeking prayers on Genji's behalf. Suma Genji follows a common pattern in Zeami's dream plays in which the shite appears first as an old man. Indeed, Genji's appearance as an aged woodcutter at Suma echoes the role of the warrior Tadanori in the first part of Tadanori. The play also resembles Torn, Zeami's masterpiece about a real Heian-period aristocrat, Minamoto no Toru, who appears as an old man gathering brine in the capital and then as an elegant courtier. Like Genji, T5ru returns in the moonlight and performs a hayamai dance that is associated with fifth-category plays T H E HERO OF

150

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI

about the ghosts of aristocrats as well as women who have attained Nirvana. 1 The setting in Suma Genji is established through the use of famous words and phrases from the "Suma" chapter found in Tadanoii and other plays discussed in Chapter 4. The items include "young cherry tree" [wakaki no sakura), "what is known as brushwood" (shiba to iu mono), "bills behind" and "mountain huts" (ushixo no yamazato), "close by . . . the waves" [nami kokomoto wa), and "the wind blowing all around" (yomo no aiashi). The key image is the young cherry tree, which Genji planted during his exile. A famous landmark in the middle ages, the tree developed into a ienga linking word closely associated with Genji's place of exile. By connecting the long-ago world of the Genji with the present, represented by the waki, it ties the play together on a temporal level. On an imagistic level, it connects Genji, through his role as a woodcutter, with a cluster of images connected with wood such as "brushwood" [shiba), "gathering brushwood" (shiba tori), and "pine" (matsu), which are traditionally associated with Suma in court poetry. By denying Genji's former loneliness and suffering in a place famous for those qualities, the auspicious nature of the play precludes the use of poems from the "Suma" chapter, which reflect his unhappy life there. If the imaginary dream world created in the play prevents Genji's heavenly descent from seeming altogether incongruous, it thrusts the world of the Genji into the background and reduces his story to a tale of long ago in the kuri-sashi-ageuta section. The summary of Genji's life in the sequence culls material from a wide range of chapters, including prose and poetry fragments and chapter titles. Altogether, the play weaves in a dozen chapter titles, as well as the title of a chapter for which no text exists, "Kumogakure" (Hidden among the Clouds). Suma Genji has been criticized for its lack of imagistic unity, an argument reinforced by a comparison with the skillful handling of the image of the young cherry tree in Tadanoii, which displays the unified imagery characteristic of Zeami's style. 2 In Suma Genji, the image does not form part of any unified structure tying the whole play together; instead, it disappears before the kuii-sashi-ageuta sequence, to be replaced by the moon, whose significance is never made clear. In a sense, however, the tree and moon are linked on both a temporal and a spatial level, especially in view of the waki's persistent, yet blind, questions about Genji's home. The waki is keenly interested in the tree because of its association with Genji's earthly home, but as a confused and unenlightened mortal he does not perceive the significance of the moon, which suggests Genji's spiritual enlightenment. The waki's inquiry about the young cherry tree leads to others about the site where 151

CHAPTER 8

Genji lived, which are turned aside by the shite, whose only concern is where Genji now resides spiritually. Imagistically, Genji's epithet "ra­ diant" strengthens the bond between him and the moon. The following remark in Sarugaku dangi suggests that Suma Genji ranks among the earliest Genji plays: 3 "In 'Hikaru Genji to na ο yobaiu' ['known as Radiant Genji'], 'to' should be sung in a soft raised pitch. It should not be sung in the same manner as the rest. Naami found the melody interesting" (zz 279). If the line does indeed come from the play itself rather than an earlier song, then Suma Genji must go back at least to 1381, when Naami, one of Kan'ami's patrons, died. A list of thirty-five plays presented to Zenchiku by Zeami includes "Hi­ karu Genji," the apparent title of the play at the time. The phrase "Radiant Genji" quoted above comes from the recapitu­ lation of Genji's life in the ageuta corresponding to what is now usually called a kuse. The archaic ageuta notation, which is found in old manu­ scripts, may be another sign of the play's age. By the same token, the distinctive style of the kuri-sashi-ageuta sequence raises the possibility that the section was originally an independent song. Recent research has shown that the sequence, like songs in several other plays, bears traces of an earlier melodic style characteristic of dengaku, a rival the­ atrical form that flourished in Zeami's day.4 This would explain why the section is not integrated into the imagistic structure of Suma Genji, a characteristic of Zeami's style, even though Zeami is generally be­ lieved to have figured in the composition of the play as it now stands. The translation below is based upon a script whose musical notations were transcribed by a sixteenth-century Kanze actor. The play is per­ formed today by the Kanze, H5sho, and Kongo schools. The second play, Sumiyoshi mode, unfolds in the manner of a narra­ tive scroll as it depicts Genji's visit to the Sumiyoshi Shrine to cele­ brate his triumphant return to the capital and "reenacts" his chance meeting at the shrine with the Akashi lady. In actuality, no meeting takes place in the "Miotsukushi" chapter, because the Akashi lady, who has inadvertently chosen the same day to make a pilgrimage, is painfully reminded of her lowly station by the sight of the grand cele­ bration and slips away unnoticed by Genji. Like Suma Genji, Sumi­ yoshi mode diverges from the other Genji plays in depicting the waki as a Shinto official rather than a Buddhist priest. Behind this casting lies a romantic medieval view of the Akashi lady as someone basking in glory because of her ties with Genji.' It also reflects the role of the God of Sumiyoshi in forging the bond between the couple, an important motif in the Genji. Evidence that the relationship between Genji and the Akashi lady was divinely sanctioned abounds in the "Suma," "Akashi," and "Mio152

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI

tsukushi" chapters. After Genji's father, the Kiritsubo emperor, appears before him in a dream advising him to leave Suma, the God of Sumiyoshi intervenes directly to bring Genji and the Akashi lady together. During a violent storm at Suma, Genji prays to the god for deliverance, and shortly thereafter the Akashi lay priest, obeying instructions transmitted in a dream, arrives in a boat to invite Genji to move across the bay. At Akashi, the ambitious lay priest requires no prompting to tell Genji about his daughter, whom he has taken to Sumiyoshi Shrine twice a year to pray, hoping to secure an advantageous marriage for her (2:234-35; S:256). When an ominous eye ailment and various signs and portents in the capital induce the emperor, Suzaku, to pardon Genji, the courtier returns to Kyoto after nearly three years in exile, leaving behind the Akashi lady, who is pregnant with his only daughter. Their near meeting in "Miotsukushi" was occasioned by her journey to the Sumiyoshi Shrine to apologize to the god for the hiatus in her visits caused by the birth of her child (2:292; S:28i). Sumiyoshi mode casts the Akashi lady as the shite, while Genji is played by either a tsuie or kokata (a child actor), depending on the school. 6 The large number of actors in the play and use of a carriage and covered boat as properties enhance the effect noted above of an illustrated scroll or tableau. As a one-act, contemporary piece, or genzai mono, that uses "real" dramatic time and assigns a part to the object of the character's affection, Sumiyoshi mode differs markedly from the other plays about women in this study. In celebrating the glory of the shrine and the meeting between Genji and the Akashi lady, it also formally expands the subject matter presented on stage in contrast to the tendency of other Genji plays to condense, a difference underscored by the size of the cast. Despite the Akashi lady's importance as the mother of Genji's only daughter, her inferior status as a member of the provincial governor's class caused much suffering over the years. Even in the play, her joyful reunion with Genji is tempered by a renewed sense of her lowly position and the pain of knowing that another separation is imminent. The need for the shite to convey the bittersweet nature of the encounter amid the gaiety is said to make the role a difficult one to perform.7 Although the author and date of Sumiyoshi mode are not known, its pageantry suggests a work of the late Muromachi period, when the plays of Kanze Nagatoshi and Nobumitsu, with their predilection for lavish display, were written. The large number of poems and lengthy quotations from the Genji prose also contrast with the lenga-like influence in plays known to be from earlier in the period. Evidence suggesting that the play existed in late Muromachi times can be found in Yoza yakusha mokuioku, a seventeenth-century catalogue of noh actors, 153

CHAPTER 8

which notes that the play was performed by Miyao D5san, an actor and well-known tea man who studied under the great tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591). Indeed, the play's lavishness brings to mind the flamboyance that characterized the age of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Sumiyoshi mode is linked most closely to the Kongo school historically. An eighteenth-century collection of anecdotes by Tokuda Rinchu, a Kanze-school noh actor attached to a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan, describes the play as a Kongo piece and notes that a child actor performed a dance from the play Dojoji.* A transcription of Sumiyoshi mode from the preceding century does in fact call for a ianbyoshi instead of a chu no mai dance. Although Dojoji is the only work today containing this unusual dance in which the shite moves his feet in time to the kotsuzumi shoulder drum, the Kongo school continues to list it as a variant way of performing Sumiyoshi mode. A noh program presented before the shogun Tsunayoshi at the residence of his grand chamberlain, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, in 1694 included Sumiyoshi mode, in those days a rarely performed work that satisfied the shogun's taste for unusual plays. The official lists of the repertoires of the noh schools submitted to the shogunate in 1721 indicate that the play was performed only by the Kongo school. It began to appear in Kanze-school collections of libretti in the mid-eighteenth century, and by the end of the Edo period it was performed by all except the Komparu school. It is still performed by the Kanze, Kongo, and Kita schools. Given the long-standing connection between the Kongo school and Sumiyoshi mode, the translation and stage directions follow the libretto of that school.

154

Suma Genji (Genji at Suma Bay) WAKI: Fujiwara no Okinori, a shrine official SHITE: An aged woodcutter at Suma Bay LATER S H I T E : The spirit of Radiant Genji WAKI:

shidai

ageuta

WAKI :

Across the vast sea lane unfolding beneath the heavens, Across the vast sea lane unfolding beneath the heavens, where does the ninefold gate of the palace lie? 9 I am an official of Miyazaki Shrine in Hyuga province, Kyu­ shu, my name Fujiwara no Okinori. Living in the countryside far away, I have never been to the Great Shrine at Ise and have decided to visit it now. Donning a traveler's robe I vowed to set out in the morning mist, I vowed to set out in the morning mist, 1 0 in the middle of the Third Month11 bathed by the gentle sun the boat passes from bay to bay far away; yonder I see Awa province across the waves, ια and now I have arrived at Suma Bay, and now I have arrived at Suma Bay. Traveling swiftly, I have finally arrived at Suma Bay in Settsu province. This is the place where Genji, Captain of the Guards, is said to have lived. I have also heard that there is a young cherry tree. A person from the hills has appeared as I gaze over yonder. I shall wait here and inquire. 1 3 [The shite enters.]

SHITE:

Though weary of the deeds of the floating world, the task of cutting wood for salt at Suma never ends. 1 4 ni no ku There are no pine trees, yet I see smoke: these must be the hills for gathering brushwood, sashi At Suma Bay in Settsu I fish at dawn and dusk,when not making salt I carry firewood, and thus I make my way in the floating world. In the shadow of the hills at Suma stands a flowering tree. It must be the famous young cherry tree. issei

155

CHAPTER 8

sageuta ageuta

The site of Radiant Genji's dwelling long ago, then, must have been here too. Though I am a man of humble station that story of the rainy night1* dampens my sleeves when it is told, dampens my sleeves when it is told. Added to the weight of the mountain wood are sprigs of shikimi that I pick from time to time in memory of the past and place upon his grave as an offering; in this way my feelings are conveyed, in this way my feelings are conveyed.16 I think I'll set down the brushwood for a while and gaze at the flowers.

mondo WAKI: SHITE: WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

Say, old man.. .. What do you want? Though a lowly mountain rustic, you seem lost in contemplation of these flowers, completely forgetting that you are homeward bound. Do these flowers have a special meaning? 17 You call me a lowly mountain rustic, but, if I may be so bold, you act like a country bumpkin. You should not even have to ask whether the young cherry tree at Suma is the famous one. This is the young cherry tree of Suma? This mountain cherry tree is indeed the famous young cherry tree of Suma. I have made my way from afar especially to see it. The sun has already set; at Suma Bay instead of staying in the village across the fields to these hills you have come:

CHORUS

ageuta

WAKI :

more than the barrier is it the flowers for which you stop at Suma Bay? Is it the flowers for which you stop at Suma Bay? The varied tasks include gathering what is known as brushwood, one of many famous things in the hills close behind by the mountain huts. Do not despise me as an unfeeling Suma person. Do not despise me as an unfeeling Suma person.18 Say, old man.

. .. 156

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI SHITE: WAKI:

What do you want? As an old man who has seen many years, you must know the tale of Genji. Please tell me the story. 1 '

kuri CHORUS:

If I tell the story of a time long since forgotten, my sleeves will surely wilt from tears. Recalling that world empty as a cicada's shell, I weep to think of Kiritsubo, who vanished in the evening smoke. 20

sashi SHITE: CHORUS:

Amid the low reeds filled with the sound of crying insects at the dew-covered cottage, lonely was the life of the young bush clover.21 Nurtured by his august father,

ageuta CHORUS:

rongi CHORUS:

through an imperial decree, through an imperial decree, he donned a courtier's cap at twelve-, following the Korean soothsayer's example he was known as Radiant Genii.22 In the "Broom Tree" chapter, he became Middle Captain, and attained Senior Third Rank in the "Autumn Excursion" chapter. 2 ' On a spring evening in the "Festival of Cherry Blossoms," the misty moon setting in an unknown place did not veil the lovers' bond,1* for which when he reached the age of twenty-five he would bear the unhappy lot of fisherfolk at Suma Bay.25 The following spring across the bay at Akashi in the land of Harima 26 he had no one to whom he could confide about the dream that was revealed.27 And then a wondrous oracle was made known in the world, whereupon he was recalled to the capital and made a special major counselor.29 Thereafter in succession in "Channel Buoys" Minister,2* in the "Maiden" chapter Chancellor, in "Wisteria Leaves" the status of retired emperor: his every wish fulfilled, he was known as the radiant one.*° Well, then, where exactly is the site of Genji's former dwelling, 157

CHAPTER 8

SHITE:

CHORUS: SHITE: CHORUS: SHITE: CHORUS:

the site of Genji's former dwelling? Please tell me all about it. Where it was I do not know. The place close by the cresting waves is said to lie all around here. 31 If you wait for the moon tonight, you will witness a miracle. You speak of seeing a miracle; what do I wait for in the moonlight? Radiant Genji's abode was Suma long ago: now the Tusita heaven' 1 is where he lives,· by the light of the moon palace he will descend from heaven and appear on the sea. The old man who speaks this way bears the name of the Genji chapters, a tale composed of many stories: hidden among the clouds he disappeared, hidden among the clouds he disappeared." [INTERLUDE]

WAKI:

ageuta

Did Genji, Captain of the Guards, briefly appear in human form and converse with me? I shall sleep here tonight and behold the miracle. At Suma Bay amid the moonlit hills and fields I sleep, amid the moonlit hills and fields I sleep, on my pillow serene amid the rocks music mingles with the murmur of the waves: wondrous is the sound I hear, wondrous is the sound I hear. [The shite reenters.]

SHITE:

sashi

Delightful is the outstretched sea. Long ago I was known as Radiant Genji; though now dwelling in the Tusita realm, heaven for my home, I have descended in the moonlight to the world below—the place, Suma Bay. Drawn by the music of the waves of the blue sea in the evening tide beneath the moon, 34 158

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI

issei SHITE: CHORUS: SHITE:

I wave sleeves white as the flowers scattered on the sea.35 Pure are the tones of the precious flute; reed pipe and lute, zither, and harp echo from a solitary cloud on high· 3 6 Heaven too is reflected on Suma Bay as wind and waves traverse the blue sea. 37 [hayamai]

rongi CHORUS:

In the form of a cloud or rain, in the form of a cloud or rain: dream cannot be distinguished from reality. 38 Surrounded by rays of light streaming down from heaven above, a wondrous youth has appeared! Is it indeed the exalted spirit of Radiant Genji of great renown? SHITE: TO this place, my former home, I have come back from the Tusita heaven to protect sinners.3» C H O R U S : This is truly a miracle. The place is Suma Bay: SHITE: the wind blowing all around has abated; C H O R U S : a rack of cloud lies suspended 40 SΗιτ Ε : in the spring sky. C H O R U S : Brahma, Indra, and the four kings might have descended to the world of man. 4 1 Like a mountain rustic it once was said because of the place, over an unrestricted color with a yellow hue, he gracefully wears a hunting robe of greenish-gray.42 The sleeves wave in the Suma breeze and waves of the blue sea softly sound upon the shore like bells on the post road announcing the break of day beyond the hills, the break of day beyond the hills. 43

159

Sumiyoshi mode (The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi) WAKI: The priest of Sumiyoshi Shrine shrine

A I K Y O G E N : A subordinate at the T S U R E : Radiant Genji KOKATA: A page

TSURE: Genji's attendant Koremitsu T S U R E : Two other attendants S H I T E : The Akashi lady T S U R E : TWO female attendants WAKI:

AIKYOGEN: WAKI: AIKYOGEN:

I am the priest of Sumiyoshi Shrine in the province of Settsu; my name is Kikuzono. Radiant Genji of unsurpassed renown at Court today has announced a pilgrimage to the shrine in keeping with the vows he made. 44 I shall order everyone to prepare the shrine. Is anyone there?4* I am here before you. Radiant Genji has announced a visit to the shrine. Tell everyone to present themselves and make it ready. Yes sir. Listen, everyone. Radiant Genji has announced a visit to the shrine. Everybody must gather to prepare it. Take heed! Take heed! [Aftei a carriage is placed at stage front, Genji, the page, attendants, and Koremitsu enter; Genji stands inside the carriage, the others beside it.]

KOREMITSU

et al: issei

The carriage shafts stretch out along the Imperial road, straight as the peaceful age in which we live.

sashi KOREMITSU:

I announce Radiant Genji of unsurpassed renown, whose glory none o'ershadow in the Kiritsubo emperor's reign.46

KOREMITSU

et al:

Fulfilling his prayers to the God of Sumiyoshi, our lord has resolved today to don a traveler's robe 160

PLAYS A B O U T GENJl

sageuta ageuta

KOREMITSU:

light as the sunshine streaming down; past Lovers' Knoll in Toba and Autumn Hill we go; at Yamazaki, the hills hide even more the moon above the capital, and then the inn at Sekido is left behind.47 We cross muddy Akuta River that gathers dirt and Ina's fields of bamboo grass.48 Gazing around, past the veil of mist across the way, past the veil of mist across the way are clusters of faintly tinted autumn leaves. 4 ' Were these the blossoms beheld in spring while hunting all day long at Katano?50 Before us lies the Watanabe ford; approaching the inlet of Oe, waves strike the shore and retreat clear as the sound of Sumiyoshi, SI whose shores now are not far away, whose shores now are not far away. Traveling swiftly, we have arrived in Sumiyoshi. [Genji sits at the waki position, his retinue beside him. After the carnage is removed, he goes to stage front and prays to the God.]

GENJI:

sashi

Even more exalted than I had heard is the sacred vow of the God. May He protect our sovereign's rule as long as the sacred fence stands by the pure waters of the bay.52

CHORUS:

ageuta

In the land of the rising sun the vow of the gods is universal, the vow of the gods is universal: to dim their light in the dust of man marks the beginning of the bond,ending with the eightfold aspects leading to enlightenment, the realm is endlessly enriched.S3 The compassion bestowed upon the people is regarded by one and all with awe, is regarded by one and all with awe. 161

CHAPTER 8 GENJI: KOREMITSU: GENJI: KOREMITSU: WAKI: KOREMITSU: WAKI:

Is anyone there? I am here before you. Summon the shrine priest Kikuzono and have a Shinto prayer performed. Certainly. Is the shrine priest Kikuzono present? I am here before you. Perform a Shinto prayer at once. Certainly. notto

CHORUS:

I shall now intone a Shinto prayer, he said; whereupon, waving a purification wand, the priest quickly recited the prayer.»* I reverently announce the performance of sacred music for the pleasure of the god. Eight dancing maidens and five male musicians. To the jingling of the bells, and sound of beating drums, the sacred song about sakaki leaves is sung. ss Bestow peace on heaven and earth through the ages, and bless mankind with long life and happiness. For the fulfillment of the prayers that have been offered, we express deep gratitude. To the thanks for previous prayers, still more are added, for previous prayers, still more are added with reverence, which will surely win the favor of the god: heartfelt tears are shed in gratitude. 56 Amid the growing merriment, a cup of wine is offered to the priest, whereupon a page presented by the palace following the Kawara Minister's example" arises from Genji's retinue to serve wine and for their diversion sing songs of the day and couplets. [The page serves wine to the priest.]

KOKATA: CHORUS:

"Whether in the shade of a tree or by a stream, all ties are formed in other lives," he sings, performing a shirabyoshi.58 [The page performs a chu no mai dance.]" 162

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI

waka Ko ΚΑΤΆ : CHORUS:

Many years have passed since I first beheld them: by the shores of Sumiyoshi how many ages have the august pines stood? 60 In the dance of a thousand, ten thousand ages, in the dance of a thousand, ten thousand ages, the sleeves go round, like the wine cup passed beneath the moon; at daybreak the boats on the bay are dim in the spreading light. 61 Beyond Sumiyoshi Bay—far off the mountain on Awaji Island: 62 Never ending is the lovely view that is beheld, never ending is the lovely view that is beheld. [A boat with a roof is brought out and placed on the bridge near the first pine tree. The shite enters with her attendants and stands inside it]

S H I T E and TSURE:

issei

From Akashi in the awaited moon's direction the boat traverses the quiet waves across the bay.6^

CHORUS:

ageuta

After the boat departed a rough wind from the hills behind, a rough wind from the hills behind blows past the barrier 'til suddenly 64 Suma Bay is left with lingering regrets. Ah, sunlit Naniwa! Approaching the channel, waves crest like drifts of fallen snow,· we have arrived at Tsumori Bay, 65 we have arrived at Tsumori Bay.

SHITE:

sashi

KOREMITSU:

Amid the deep green shadows in the grove of pines like scattered blossoms and autumn-tinted leaves outer robes of many hues adorn the noisy throng of visitors to the shrine-, 66 who, I wonder, might they be? The Palace Minister, of great renown in the capital, has come to fulfill the vows he made; 67 I am amazed that someone does not know. 163

CHAPTER 8 SHITE:

KOREMITSU: SHITE: S H I T E and KOREMITSU: CHORUS:

ageuta

How ashamed I am! Learning it is Radiant Genji, my feelings are in a turmoil, and my heart is beating fast. There are other days and months·, that on this very day68 he would come to visit the shrine I never imagined. Lustrous as dew69 like a jeweled cord our bond once fastened cannot come untied; I know it to be so and yet, and yet, it is shameful to be seen this way by others.70 Still, for us to return in vain with the waves across the bay would be disheartening, so let us bring the boat into the bay of Naniwa and perform lustrations there at least; let us bring the boat into the wave-filled inlet. 71 [The shite enters the stage with her attendants, and the boat is removed.]

rongi CHORUS:

SHITE:

GENJI:

CHORUS: SHITE: S H I T E and GENJI: CHORUS:

How strange! Amid the waves from Akashi of yore a form seems to waver without departing or approaching. In the shadow of the boat who hides like figures in shinobu cloth?7* Who? you ask in a distant tone. Before the middle string changes tune we will meet again:7* your promise soon resembled the grass that is said to grow on Sumiyoshi's shore.74 Forgetting-grass, forgetting-grass: had there been a chance that it would grow I never would have made that vow. A promise lightly offered with the zither, the words already—75 if the deep vows form a lasting bond— mean another meeting cannot be far away,· reflecting their unchanged feelings, the wine cup was filled again and again, and Koremitsu, too, 164

PLAYS A B O U T GENJI SHITE: CHORUS:

the son of Genji's nurse, too, serves wine. A joyful dance merry with wine,· shyly, she joins him in a dance. [The shite and Genji perform a jo no mai dance together.]

waka S H I T E and GENJI: CHORUS:

SHITE:

S H I T E and GENJI: CHORUS:

The channel buoys mark a love that is all encompassing; deep as the waters of the bay is the bond that led us here.76 For a lowly person such as I, talk ofNaniwa is but an empty shell: why did I throw myself like a channel buoy into the sea of love risking all?77 As they share their feelings, the evening tide comes in, as they share their feelings, the evening tide comes in and the cranes in the inlet cry unrestrained at a poignant hour that fosters a longing to meet without regard for others7* but already the boat is rowing away— dew-drenched are the sleeves of the traveler's robe like long ago as the Raincoat Isle, too, grows distant. 7 ' Entering the ox-drawn carriage regretfully, he goes to the capital and she goes the other way, like the famous rice boats of old.8° On Akashi Bay dim at the break of day the shadow of the boat is followed by sad thoughts on parting. 81

165

N I N E

Plays about Princess Ochiba IN THE FIRST "Wakana" chapter, the aging Genji is persuaded to marry the third daughter of the retired emperor Suzaku. The retired emperor sought the marriage as a means of providing for his favorite daughter before taking religious vows, but the marriage has unforeseen conse­ quences when Kashiwagi, a rejected suitor, proves unable to forget the princess and several years later succeeds in spending a night with her while Genji is away. Ochiba centers around the Third Princess's older sister Princess Ochiba, whom Kashiwagi had married on the rebound. The title of the play and the name by which Princess Ochiba is conventionally known derive from a poem he composed after his illicit union with the Third Princess: morokazura ochiba ο nani ni hiroiken na wa mutsumashiki kazashi naredomo

A sprig of laurel linked with one of heartvine: whatever led me to pick up the leaf that fell, though the names are closely tied? (4:224; S:6i6 ; italics mine)

The poem likens the two sisters to sprigs of laurel and heartvine that served as decorations at the Kamo festival held on the day he composed the poem. Learning that the Third Princess has become pregnant, Kashiwagi goes into a fatal decline, overcome by his desire for her and fear of Genji. On his deathbed, he entreats his staid friend Yugiri to look after Princess Ochiba. Yugiri's feelings, however, soon take an amorous turn, and, in the "Yugiri" (Evening Mist) chapter, when Princess Ochiba moves to Ono with her mother, he pursues her there under the pretext of inquiring after her mother, who is suffering from spirit possession. Like the following play, Daiani Ochiba, which focuses on the illicit meeting between Kashiwagi and the Third Princess, Ochiba takes place at Ono. A traveling priest comes upon a woman there, who turns out to be the ghost of Princess Ochiba. At his request, she leads him to the place where the princess's villa once stood and, confessing that she suf­ fers from a deep-seated passion, disappears. In the second part of the play, she reappears in response to the priest's prayers and recounts Prin166

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA

cess Ochiba's story, whereupon she performs a dance and then disappears once more. A time-honored poetic place-name often prefaced by the pillow-word asajiu no ("reed-covered"), Ono was taken up in renga, along with other motifs from the waka tradition such as charcoal kilns, the cry of deer, and mountain rice fields. Owing to its proximity to the great Buddhist center on Mount Hiei northeast of the capital, Ono was also a popular religious retreat in the Heian period. Ariwara no Narihira's poem in the first part of Ochiba, for instance, was composed during a visit to his former patron who had taken vows and retired to Ono. Religious as well as poetic considerations made the place an appropriate setting for Yugiri's courtship of Princess Ochiba, for the princess's mother sought spiritual relief there while ill. Later in the Genji Ono provides the backdrop for Ukifune's effort to enter the religious life after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and, like Ochiba and Darani Ochiba, both plays about Ukifune in Chapter 10 draw upon Ono as a setting. The use of Narihira's poem and other famous autumn verses to suggest the season and melancholy setting in the first part of Ochiba departs from the practice in other plays of incorporating Genji material connected with the character's story. This approach robs the play of depth, since the use of Genji material to depict the setting simultaneously helps to identify a shite-, even so, the poems convey an aura of loneliness and longing that is consonant with the lyrical "Yugiri" chapter, which provides the background for the second part of the play. Moreover, medieval poetic practice gave the setting greater particularity than the proper nouns "Ono" and "Princess Ochiba" alone might suggest, for the term ono no yamazato ("mountain home in Ono") was closely identified in ienga with the image of the "evening mist" and the "Yugiri" chapter.1 The expression "evening mist" was so rare in imperial anthologies prior to Murasaki's time that she has been credited with rediscovering the term. 2 The Genji accentuates the connection between "mountain home in Ono" and "evening mist" by describing Ukifune's residence in "Tenarai" as being a little deeper in the hills than "the mountain home [villa] where Princess Ochiba's mother had lived amid the evening mist." 3 Moreover, the ienga handbook Genji kokagami advises poets to bear in mind when linking stanzas that the princess was known as the "fallen-leaf princess of Ono" on account of having lived there. 4 If the setting is established in an unconventional manner compared with other Genji plays, the treatment of Genji material in the second part of Ochiba follows a common pattern by weaving in three poems that epitomize Princess Ochiba's unhappy lot. Kashiwagi's poem in the 167

CHAPTER 9

kuse regretting his marriage to her is followed by one on evening mist composed by Yugiri as he reluctantly left the princess's villa at Ono: yamazato no aware ο souru yugiri ni tachiiden sora mo naki kokochi shite

Into the evening mist that adds to the sadness of the mountain home I must set forth: my spirit falters at the very thought. (4:390; S:679)

The source of Yugiri's name, the poem suggests his blindness in forcing his attentions on Princess Ochiba while her mother was gravely ill. The third poem was composed by Yugiri after Princess Ochiba's mother gave him Kashiwagi's flute as a keepsake in the "Yokobue" chapter: yokobue no shirabe wa koto ni kawaranu ο munashiku narishi ne koso tsukisene

The tuning of the flute has not really changed, but now that he is gone the sound of weeping never ends. (4:345; S:662)

The ambiguity of the poem has prompted conflicting interpretations, with some scholars holding that munashiku naiishi ne ("now that he is gone / the sound") refers to Kashiwagi's mourners, while others argue that it signifies his flute [yokobue). The juxtaposition of the poem next to the jo no mai dance in Ochiba without any introduction only invites further reinterpretation, and audiences lacking prior knowledge of the story or an explanation by the aikyogen actor during the interlude could easily take it for a generalized statement of loss or a reference to Yugiri. Like many other plays in this study, Ochiba poses a problem in translation because of its handling of characters' names. In addition to quoting in full the poems from which Princess Ochiba's and Yugiri's names, attached by later readers, derive, the playwright has carefully woven the key images—fallen leaves and evening mist—into the text, so that "ochiba" may denote the lady and fallen leaves, just as "ochiba no miya" could refer to her or the villa long ago. The term "yugiri" signifies Genji's son and evening mist, and both Ochiba and Daiani Ochiba invest it with religious overtones as a metaphor for delusion caused by attachment to the world of love. Ochiba may date back at least to 1524, when the title appears in Nohon sakusha chumon, a catalogue of noh plays, under Zeami's name. Attribution, however, is hampered by the widespread use of the same title to refer to Daiani Ochiba. The lyrical quality of Ochiba, 168

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA

especially the manner in which Kashiwagi's uncharitable poem about the fallen leaf is woven into the structure, resembles Zeami's style more than Daiani Ochiba does, but no corroborating evidence has been found and the adulation surrounding Zeami at the time the catalogue was compiled makes such attributions suspect. Hence the reference to Ochiba no miya, another name for Ochiba, in a courtier's diary in 1532 constitutes the first clear-cut record regarding the play.5 Since the Edo period, Ochiba has been performed only by the Kongo school. In Daiani Ochiba, & priest on his way to Kyoto meets a woman at Ono who agrees to tell him the story of Princess Ochiba. The following kuri-sashi-kuse section, however, focuses on Kashiwagi's pursuit of the Third Princess earlier in the Genji rather than Yugiri's courtship of Princess Ochiba at Ono. Drawing heavily on Genji prose, the kuse describes the famous scene in the first "Wakana" chapter in which a cat caught its leash in a screen as it fled from the ladies' quarters during a game of court football at Genji's Rokujo-in mansion. The raised screen offered Kashiwagi a glimpse of the Third Princess secretly watching the game with her ladies and fanned his passion. The account of his longsought meeting with the Third Princess interweaves their next-morning poems and phrases from the Genji describing his departure. The song ends with his death and the remorse of the Third Princess. Or so it would seem. Given the setting and the way the story is handled, it comes as a surprise when the shite is identified as neither Princess Ochiba nor the Third Princess at the end of the first part of the play. Instead, she likens herself to a wild goose in heaven [kumoi no kaii), the nickname for Yugiri's first wife, whose jealousy was aroused by his courtship of Princess Ochiba. It is left to the reader to decide whether the identification of Kumoi-no-kari as the shite represents a bold departure or a misunderstanding on the part of the playwright. Did the playwright intend it as a variation on the theme of spirit possession, or was the troublesome passage simply a rhetorical flourish that was not meant to suggest that the shite was Kumoi-no-kari? Was the playwright's source of information faulty, or was the shite supposed to represent different characters in the two parts of the play? The otherwise well-written text and extensive knowledge of the Genji only add to the puzzle, while the practice of designating speeches in the noh by role type, such as "shite" or "woman," rather than name deprives us of an important clue. In the second part of the play, the shite reappears and thanks the priest for his prayers. The story centers around the scene at Ono in which Yugiri heard a priest recite a dharani [daiani), that is, a Sanskrit incantation, for Princess Ochiba's mother. The word daiani in the title 169

CHAPTER 9

of the play comes from this passage and may have been added later to distinguish the play from Ochiba. Daiani Ochiba unquestionably lacks the impact of the famous twelfth-century Genii monogatari emaki illustrated scroll, which vividly depicts Kumoi-no-kari trying to snatch a letter from Princess Ochiba's mother out of Yugiri's hand. 6 In a review of a recent performance of Ochiba, however, a Tokyo theater critic contended that Daiani Ochiba dramatically is the superior play. The survival of a script from late Muromachi times indicates that the play goes back at least to the latter half of the sixteenth century. During the Edo period, it was part of the repertoire of the Hosho and Kita schools but is not currently performed.

170

Ochiba (Fallen Leaves)

LATER

WAKI: A traveling priest S H I T E : A woman at Ono S H I T E : The ghost of Princess Ochiba

WAKI:

shidai

ageuta

Waves may take the place of grass, waves may take the place of grass, but the pillow feels the same. I am a priest wandering around the country. I have just been to the northern provinces and think that I will now head for the capital before snow piles high on the northern road. On a pillow of grass night after night the traveler's robe, night after night the traveler's robe is spread with dew on the hills and fields,· as I seek the journey's end, autumn wanes and the days pass amid cold rain. Near the capital lie the reed-covered fields of Ono, whose mountain road I now have reached, whose mountain road I now have reached.7 Long ago, while on a pilgrimage to Hatsuse a person called the Ono nun met someone named Ukifune at Uji and invited her to live here. While staying here, Ukifune was known as the wiiting-piactice lady. How distressing to think that such a high-born person should have dwelt in a mountain place like this because of the fickle world of love. May she attain salvation and spiritual release. [The shite calls out to the waki from behind the curtain and then enters.]

mondo If I may, does this priest pray only for the writing-practice lady? WAKI : That's right. Reminded of her story by the scene before me, I pray on her behalf. S H I T E : How unkind. In the same tale, the princess of the fallen leaves also lived in this place; why do you pass by without praying for her? SHITE:

171

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Indeed, I have heard of Princess Ochiba too. Where did she live? SHITE: Please come this way, she said. C H O R U S : In the shadow of the steep mountainside hidden by rocks and trees, the path is buried so under fallen leaves that not a trace remains. ageuta Even on a rare visit at night the wind in the pines is sad, at night the wind in the pines is sad: is there no respite from the sound beneath the moss? 8 The loneliness of the ancient villa does not display a special hue: late autumn amid hills of evergreen.9 Deep in the hills a stag calls out as it treads across the autumn leaves.10 It is distressing to hear the plaintive sound. Desolate is the evening hour. Desolate indeed is the evening hour. mondo S H I T E : I would like to explain that this place is the site of Princess Ochiba's villa. WAKI: Indeed, the ancient villa aging with the years has a special aura. Where around here was Prince Koretaka's villa? S H I T E : The villa belonging to Prince Koretaka, the oldest son of Emperor Montoku, lay to the north where you see that tall grove of pine trees. Ariwara no Narihira once came to visit. "When I forget, it seems like a dream. Little did I think that one day I would tread across the snow to see my lord," he said in a poem at this place.11 The site is a deeply moving one,· do not gaze upon it lightly. WAKI: Also, to the east is a mountain with a grove of cedars . . . S H I T E : the subject of the poem "the eightfold layers of cloud surpass the capital," that is the mountain peak of Yokawa.12 WAKI: HOW interesting! In this famous place even deeper along the narrow path SHITE: we make our way 'til no trace remains. WAKI: The smoke faintly rising in the sky SHITE: is not from a person's dwelling, WAKI:

WAKI :

nor is it

SHITE:

pine trees. 172

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA CHORUS:

ageuta

For the charcoal kilns, at nightfall gathering wood to burn, at nightfall gathering wood to burn: a fire smolders untended within from the passion that consumes m e . " Beckoned by the sharp autumn wind, a fallen leaf am I, Princess Ochiba, she said; fading in the evening frost she vanished like a leaf out of sight, she vanished like a leaf out of sight. [INTERLUDE]

WAKI:

ageuta

Autumn deepens in Ono's bamboo groves, autumn deepens in Ono's bamboo groves.1* At the ancient villa chilled by dew, as I pray for the soul of the princess long ago the moon brings back the past with tears, the moon brings back the past with tears. [The shite reenters.]

SHITE:

issei

WAKI:

SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

Lonely is the autumn night deep in the hills. An owl cries amid pine and cassia branches; a fox hides amid orchid and chrysanthemum leaves: the desolation deepens like the moonlight. 15 How strange! I detect a hint of incense and hear the rustle of a robe: has the fallen leaf princess with deeply tinted sleeves appeared again? Alas, like frost upon a fallen leaf I have aged and yet the attachment to the evening mist will not go away: from the cruel seas and mountains, the paths of life and death, release me.

CHORUS:

shidai

Like leaves, sweep away the sins amassed, like leaves, sweep away the sins amassed by Ochiba and turn them into dust. 173

CHAPTER 9

kuri CHORUS:

In the spring breeze, peach and damson trees blossom,in the autumn dew, leaves fall from the phoenix tree. 16

sashi SHITE:

CHORUS:

Ochiba, "the princess of the fallen leaves," shared the same branch of the family tree with the Third Princess, her younger sister. In those days flourished a man called Kashiwagi, Commander of the Guards at the Palace Gates, who invested the fallen leaf with dew though yearning for the Third Princess.17 That cruel person in leaves of words lamented:

kuse CHORUS:

SHITE: CHORUS:

A sprig of laurel linked with one of heartvine: whatever led me to pick up the leaf that fell, though the names are closely tied11& It is from this poem that Ochiba's name derives. Around that time, the princess's mother was possessed by evil spirits-, she had a place in Ono, and Princess Ochiba lived here with her in the mountain home.19 At a poignant hour Yugiri, Captain of the Guards, secretly came from the capital to call. The mountain path followed by his horse with trailing feet20 and autumn scene were lonely. As they conversed about mountain life, before long daylight gave way to dusk yet he made no move as if to leave. "Into the evening mist that adds to the sadness of the mountain home I must set forth: my spirit falters at the very thought," he said.21 The deer by the rustic fence and insects' cries invite tears, so too the sound of the waterfall. Silent in name alone is Otonashi Falls, whose cascading waters can be heard, alas.22 From the autumn sky commanding troubled thoughts, cold rain visits dampened sleeves and the wind from the hills is piercing. 174

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA

SHITE:

When night is about to give way to dawn Yugiri leaves this mountain reluctantly. The tuning of the flute, [70 no mai]

waka SHITE:

the has but C H O R U S : the the

tuning of the flute not really changed, now that he is gone sound of weeping never ends, sound of weeping never ends.23

SHITE:

Nothing but a fallen leaf am I, turning the sleeves of the leaf-strewn robe. C H O R U S : Rude mountain gusts and the sharp autumn wind SHITE: blow fiercely in the sky, and yet C H O R U S : beneath the clear moon, delusion in the evening mist envelops me. With blinded eyes, the lady of the crimson leaves stands helpless, overcome with tears.24 [ha no mai] SHITE : CHORUS:

And yet by receiving prayers from a stranger, and yet by receiving prayers from a stranger her sins have been lightened. The sound of fallen leaves, horo horo hara hara, mingles with the cold rain ; beyond the cloud-mantled hills dawn has spread, the sound of the cold rain has disappeared, the sound of the fallen leaves has vanished, and only the wind in the hills remains, and only the wind in the hills remains.

175

Datani Ochiba (The Magic Spell and the Fallen Leaves) WAKI:

A priest from the North country

S H I T E : A woman at Ono LATER S H I T E : The ghost of Kumoi-no-kari WAKI:

shidai

sashi ageuta

With the moon to serve as a guide to the capital, with the moon to serve as a guide to the capital, I set out on the northern road in autumn. I am a priest from the North country. I have never seen the capital before and have resolved to visit it this autumn. Ten thousand leagues a person travels south; in the spring wild geese fly north. 25 For flowers surely spring along the northern road is best, spring along the northern road is best. A wild goose, hastening moonward, voices regret even now at leaving the skies of the capital, as I hasten to the heavenly city in a traveler's robe, on a journey that stretches far ahead, on a journey that stretches far ahead.26 I have traveled swiftly, and this is a place near the capital called Ono, it seems. Alas, layer after layer of mist lies all around. The scene reminds me of words from long ago:27 Across the reed field through the eightfold mist I must make my way, drenched all over from the dew beneath the eaves. [The shite calls out to the waki from behind the curtain and then enters.]

mondo SHITE:

WAKI :

SHITE:

If I may, I would like to ask this priest what led him to recite this poem. I am traveling to the capital for the first time. Wondering how I shall find my way through the deep evening mist along an unfamiliar road, I remembered this ancient poem and somehow felt like reciting it.28 The poem was composed here by a person called Yugiri, Captain of the Guards. I asked because I wondered if you also knew what it signified. 176

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA

:

WAKI

I do not know. The poem came to mind simply because of the difficulty of making my way through the autumn mist. SO you did not know what inspired it. Though a sign of the capital, alas the capital is still far away through the evening mist and you will surely lose your way. Please spend the night at my hut of grass, wretched as it is. I am most grateful. Allow me, then, to accompany you, he said. Indistinct, the narrow path through Ono does not continue long. Intheadjacentfield

SHITE:

WAKI: SHITE: WAKI

:

SHITE: CHORUS:

ageuta

deepen the shadows of the setting autumn sun, the shadows of the setting autumn sun. The sky too has a cold, forbidding look, and the shadows of the hills thick with cicadas' cries seem so dazk on a lonely evening.29 As for the humble dwelling where I live, how could the unfamiliar traveler ever find his way along the path, ever find his way along the path?

mondo WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI: SHITE:

I am very grateful for the offer of a place to stay tonight. Regarding the poem earlier, I have heard that Yugiri visited here. What sort of person lived in Ono? The lady of the First Ward lived here for a time while suffering from possession by evil spirits;}° her daughter Princess Ochiba, the princess of the fallen leaves, stayed here with her. HOW interesting! What sort of name is "Princess Ochiba"? Please tell me all about her. Very well, I shall do so. By nature deeply sinful, women are bound by five obstacles to salvation and obedience to three masters. 31 I tell the story from long ago of a person unable to fulfill a deep desire to leave the world behind. Please pray hard on behalf of her soul.

kuri CHORUS:

Well, then, the person known as Princess Ochiba was the second daughter of the retired emperor, 177

CHAPTER 9

Suzaku, Radiant Genji's older brother; her mother, an imperial consort living in the First Ward. sashi SHITE: CHORUS:

SHITE: CHORUS:

Around then, a person known as Kashiwagi, Commander of the Guards at the Palace Gates, one day near the end of spring enjoyed the pleasant sunshine on a windless afternoon while competing at court football in disarray amid shadows faintly green under elegant blossom-laden cherry trees. Near the garden deepening in shadows, a cat from the ladies' quarters suddenly became entangled in a screen,- the figure revealed beyond held him forever in its thrall. 32

kuse CHORUS

SHITE:

: Completely enslaved by love, he sought only to ease his passion, forming a lover's knot with the related dew, a bond without a lasting imprint, for the one to whom he was tied, the old woman cast aside, failed to stop the feelings that grew like a weed untended." A sprig of laurel linked with one of heartvine: whatever led me to pick up the leaf that fell, though the names are closely tiedP* How unhappy it makes me to bear a name the same as words like these. Later, he found a chance and his passion in the end led to a single night no longer than a bamboo node:35 before long, the pillowed arms were parted leaving their sleeves drenched with dew. As I rise and leave beneath the early morning sky lost in darkness: my sleeves are covered with dew— from where I do not know.36 It is no wonder that the impassioned tone produced a tearful lament: 37 "In my

misery

would that I might vanish in the early morning sky: 178

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS OCHIBA CHORUS:

to look upon it as just a dream would offer consolation at least," she said.58 As he left scarcely hearing her voice, he felt as though his soul had left him and remained behind.*9 No longer in control, he was assailed by an endless flood of tears and died.40 The fleeting bond thus formed that ruined me is far more cruel than death.

rongi : The story of what happened long ago is most intriguing; if you do not mind, please do not keep it locked inside. SHITE : Talking of the world of love brings back the past more vividly in a wave of memories, drenching my sleeves:41 please say prayers on behalf of the end of a fleeting existence. C H O R U S : This is unexpected indeed. On whose behalf should I pray? SHITE: My name I shall now reveal: may you dispel the confusion in the evening mist surrounding Yugiri. C H O R U S : Crying "Kumoi-no-kari" like a wild goose amid the clouds, by the cold wind seemingly beckoned, she vanished from sight, seemingly beckoned, she vanished from sight.42 CHORUS

[INTERLUDE] WAKI:

ageuta

The person in my dream just now was surely no ordinary person. She must have conversed with me out of lingering attachment to Yugiri long ago. On behalf of her soul 1 shall pray. I reveal the thread of the Flower of the Law, I reveal the thread of the Flower of the Law, bringing the long road of darkness to an end. "Whether born among men or in heaven, ye shall enjoy ineffable pleasures: once brought within the Buddha's presence ye shall be reborn on a lotus blossom." 43 [The shite reenters.) 179

CHAPTER 9

Precious indeed is the holy scripture, precious indeed is the holy scripture. No more will I think of the world of long ago: through the encounter with the wondrous Law the sound of the sacred chime suggests an ensemble of woodwinds and strings; a priest in humble dress surpasses a man attired in gorgeous silk.4+ Allow me to attain Buddhahood at last. WAKi: How strange! Like a brocade of dewy colors on myriad grasses are the flowery sleeves of a figure dimly seen: it must be the person who gave me shelter last night. SHITE : In gratitude for your prayers, a spirit from the past appears here now, despite the shame, in the shadow of the grasses. I remember how, in this very place, a learned priest in a solemn voice intoned a magic dharani spell— I remember as if it were today.45 Adandai C H O R U S : dandabati dandabatei SHITE: SHITE:

[jo nomai] waka SHITE:

"He who is able to hear this dharani knows the transcendent powers of Samantabhadra,·

CHORUS:

he who but transcribes it shall when his life has ended be reborn in the Trayastrimsa Heaven. Sublime is the music played at the time by a host of heavenly maidens." 46 [ha no mai]

SHITE: CHORUS:

Fallen leaves from the trees obeying the mountain wind, fallen leaves from the trees obeying the mountain wind convey autumn's melancholy song; 180

PLAYS A B O U T PRINCESS O C H I B A

SHITE:

awaterfall

C Η ο R υ s: running merrily over rocks SHITE: plays a graceful zither's tune* 7 C H O R U S : in a concert of solemn music S Η ι τ E: harmonizing C H O R U S : with the voice of the Law,· the cries of insects, cries of deer, and roar of the waterfall intermingle; *s a cold wind blowing in the fields accompanies the dew on Ono's myriad grasses, and the rich red brocade in the treetops, and the rich red brocade in the treetops turns to fallen leaves lying on the ground.

181

T E N

Plays about Ukifune

GENfi ENDS with the story of Ukifune, a character for whom readers have always had a special fascination. By the early fifteenth century, her story had been recast as a noh play by a warrior-poet named Yokoo Motohisa, whom Zeami described as an amateur (zz 291). The play, Ukifune, was set to music by Zeami. It begins at Uji, where the waki, a priest, comes upon a woman in a brushwood boat who tells him Ukifune's story and disappears. The priest later goes to Ono, where Ukifune had been taken to live by a nun after being found dazed beneath a tree at Uji. In response to his prayers, the woman returns in her true form as the ghost of Ukifune and describes Ukifune's possession by an evil spirit related in "Tenarai" (chapter 53). The possession provides the kernel for the second play in this chapter, Kodama Ukifune, a work of unknown origin that takes place entirely at Ono. The choice of settings in Ukifune follows the order of the Genji narrative. A hallowed poetic place-name, Uji was commonly treated as a dreary spot remote from the capital a few miles away, an association reinforced by the similarity between the name and ushi, a word meaning "wretched" or "miserable." Uji provided the principal setting for the last ten chapters of the Genji, beginning with "Hashihime" (chapter 45), which introduces the story of Genji's younger brother the Eighth Prince and his daughters, who lived at Uji. Drawn there by word of the prince's piety, Kaoru, Genji's putative son, falls in love with the older daughter Oigimi, who rejects his advances and goes into a fatal decline after her father's death. When Ukifune, an unrecognized daughter of the prince raised in the eastern provinces, suddenly appears on the scene as an adult, the delighted Kaoru seeks her out as a substitute for Oigimi, whom she closely resembles. In "Ukifune" (chapter 51), Prince Niou, Genji's grandson, is lured to Uji by rumors that Kaoru has installed a lady there. Pretending to be Kaoru, the prince gains entrance and spends the night with Ukifune. On another visit, he takes her by boat to a quiet place across the Uji river. Along the way he instructs the boatman to stop at a small island in the river, where he composes a poem vowing eternal love: THE

toshi fu tomo kawaran mono ka

The years may pass but the heart that pledges 182

PLAYS A B O U T

tachibana no kojima no saki ni chigiru kokoro wa

UKIFUNE

undying devotion by the tip of the Orange Tree Isle will never change. (6:142; S:99i)

Ukifune's response is the source of her name and the chapter and play titles: tachibana no kojima no iro wa kawaraji ο kono ukifune zo yukue shirarenu

The color of the Orange Tree Isle may never change, but this drifting boat knows not where it goes. (italics mine)

Niou's ardor forms a sharp contrast to the indecisiveness of Kaoru, who vacillates between lofty religious aims and attachment to the Oigimi-Ukifune image. Torn between the two men, Ukifune wanders away in a trance one night and is presumed dead. Not until two chap­ ters later, in "Tenarai," does the reader learn that she has been found dazed beneath a tree near Uji River when a nun stopped in Uji on the way home from a pilgrimage to Hatsuse. The nun takes her back to Ono, where she is eventually released from the spirit possession by the nun's brother, the bishop of Yokawa. In Ukifune, the waki, like the nun, first encounters Ukifune when he stops at Uji following a visit to Hatsuse. As in the Genji, it is at Ono that the story of her possession and discovery is explained. During the exorcism rites in the Genji, the possessing spirit proves to be a former priest who failed to obtain salvation because of a grudge maintained in the world after death. Ukifune does not mention the priest but simply recounts Ukifune's recollection, after the trance, that a handsome man she took to be Niou lifted her in his arms and took her away. The de­ scription is followed by a brief kakeii dance and Ukifune's poem about the drifting boat. The dance, which suggests derangement, accentuates the mood of spiritual distress permeating the poem. Zeami considered Ukifune's possession an ideal source of material; he also made much of the passage containing the poem, saying: "In the noh Ukifune, the pas­ sage 'this drifting boat cannot find a haven' [kono ukifune zo yoiube shirarenu] is crucial. It should be sung very carefully as if taking a day or two to perform." 1 Although Ukifune persuades the bishop of Yokawa to administer Buddhist vows while she is living among the nuns at Ono, the Genji ends on an ambiguous note, leaving open the question as to whether she will continue to lead a religious life or be found by Kaoru and return 183

CHAPTER 10

to the world. In the play, however, her encounter with the priest opens the door to salvation. Before disappearing once more, the woman expresses joy at being able to attain enlightenment through the saving grace of the Kannon enshrined at Hatsuse, an interpretation that parallels the medieval view of the Genji as a source of enlightenment. 2 Ukifune abounds with the sort of material found in medieval Genji handbooks. For instance, the fifth line of Ukifune's poem about the drifting boat quoted by Zeami above follows Genji kokagami texts, whereas the main recensions of the Genji have yukue shiraienu ("knows not where it goes").3 Zeami's comment shows that the Ukifune verse has not changed since his day. The Genji material in the play also overlaps with the passages and motifs favored by medieval artists. Most of the quotations, for instance, come from scenes discussed in Genji monogatari ekotoba, a sixteenth-century artist's manual containing excerpts from each Genji chapter accompanied by advice about how to depict the material. 4 The description of the shite entering in a brushwood boat at the beginning of Ukifune (see Figure 8) echoes the waka tradition, where the boats were associated with Uji River, a motif taken up in the Genji and medieval Genji paintings. Zeami had such high regard for Ukifune that he recommended its use as a model for new plays. In fact, Tamakazura resembles Ukifune structurally and in terms of performance; for instance, the shite's attire in Tamakazuia is the same as that for the shite in Ukifune shown in Figure 8. Although still officially part of the repertoire of all the noh schools except the Hosho, Ukifune is considered a difficult work to perform, a fact recognized by Zeami. 5 The problem of appreciating Ukifune today can be traced in part to a difference in outlook regarding Genji appreciation, for, as a critic recently noted, the play with all its allusions assumes detailed knowledge of the Genji text.6 On occasion, awkward locutions also hamper comprehension; the kuse, especially, lacks the verbal richness and depth of other plays in this study. In Kodama Ukifune, a priest living in Ono is visited every day by a woman, the ghost of Ukifune, who is attended by someone called Shosho, the name of one of the nuns Ukifune lived with at Ono. In the first part of the play, the kuii-sashi-kuse sequence summarizing Ukifune's story at Uji long ago tells how Ukifune's natural father, the Eighth Prince, moved to Uji to escape from the world. It describes Kaoru's attachment to Oigimi, her death, and the transfer of his affection to Ukifune, whom Niou also pursued, and ends by touching upon Ukifune's attempted suicide and life at Ono. The second part of Kodama Ukifune focuses on Ukifune's possession. The title of the play presumably comes from the later shite's denial about being a "wood spirit," or kodama, a word that comes from a 184

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

Figure 8. In the first part of Ukifune and Tamakazuia, the shite enters disguised as a local woman poling a boat. discussion of the unknown creature found beneath a tree by the bishop's underlings at Uji. In the Genji, Ukifune's possession is not presented straightforwardly but rather is told from various angles by different observers over time, creating a complex picture of her emotional state. The awkward style of Kodama Ukifune and numerous passages where the text is garbled make the possession even less clear. The problem is compounded by a failure to identify the main character. The conventions of the noh lead audiences to assume that the later shite represents the person whose story is told in the first part of the play, namely, Ukifune. The shite's remarks do at first suggest Ukifune, for the unnamed speaker admits having taken vows and implies visiting the Eighth Prince's home. As shown in Chapter 4, however, the shite's extended speech beginning "Long ago, I too . . ." resembles the confession of the possessing spirit recounted in the medieval digest Hikazu Genji ichibu uta. The close correspondence between the texts suggests that the shite is treated in the play as a medium for the troubled spirit of the dead priest. This would account for the shite's use of kano Ukifune ("[that person] Ukifune") and the transitive verb sueokishi ("set down") in the speech preceding the final song sung by the chorus, 185

CHAPTER 10

which make grammatical sense only if Ukifune is the object, not the subject, of the verb. Without dismissing the clumsiness and obscure passages that mar the play, this interpretation, which has been followed in the translation, makes the text more intelligible. The creation of overlapping persona is a common strategy in the noh; a brilliant example is provided by Zeami's Izutsu, which casts the shite, a man, as a woman who impersonates a man (Ariwara no Narihira). The possibilities for such a multilayered approach are inherent in the Genji, where spirits manifest themselves through an intermediary. The confusion in Kodama Ukifune stems, in part, from the playwright's failure to clarify his approach, whereas in Izutsu, for example, the shite, on reentering, identifies herself as the subject of the first part of the play and announces that she is wearing Narihira's robe. Knowledge of the costumes and other aspects of performance might illuminate the second part of Kodama Ukifune-, unfortunately, no such information survives. The Genii material in Kodama Ukifune covers a broad range of chapters, including material that suggests the influence of ienga. The handbook Renju gappeki shu gives as linking words for Uji the following expressions found in Kodama Ukifune: oibito ("old person"; rendered as "old woman"), ubasoku ("pious layman"), naka yadoii ("resting place along the way"), and kodama ("wood spirit"). 7 Oibito presumably refers to Bennokimi, the old woman in the Eighth Prince's household who told Kaoru the truth about his birth. A sobriquet for the Eighth Prince, ubasoku refers to his Buddhist erudition despite not having taken vows. Naka yadoii occurs during the journey from Hatsuse to Ono at the beginning of "Tenarai," when the nun and her old mother stopped in Uji. Moreover, oni ("demon") and tenaiai ("writing practice") are given as linking works for kodama. Not only that, the play ends with a pun on sozu that is tacitly recognized in Renju gappeki shu. A word for "bishop" that can also mean a bamboo tube for scaring away birds and animals, sozu is listed in the handbook as a linking word for both "Yokawa" and "mountain rice field." The entry for sozu is followed by one on hita, a kind of clapper that serves the same function as a bamboo tube. The term, translated as "sticks" in the first ageuta in Kodama Ukifune, occurs only twice in the Genii, both times regarding Ono. Kodama Ukifune is first mentioned in the 1524 catalogue of plays Nohon sakusha chumon, which lists it as a work by Naito Tozaemon along with Shunzei Tadanori and a Yugao play. In 1596, the title appears in a courtier's diary, Tokitsune-kyo ki, where it is cited as one of several plays that had been borrowed for copying. Though no records of performances of Kodama Ukifune exist, the circulation of libretti in 186

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

the Edo period suggests that it was appreciated at least for chanting, an impression reinforced by the inclusion of the second ageuta, which begins "Amid deep drifts," in a Kanze-school songbook published in Kyoto in 1685. The removal of Kodama Ukifune from the repertoire at an early date, if indeed it was ever widely performed, can be accounted for by its awkward style. The absence of good, early manuscripts, however, leaves open the possibility that the play fell victim to inferior copyists, or that the existing texts lie at the end of a process of faulty oral transmission. Even if it is difficult to believe that the same person wrote Hajitomi, much less Yugao, the play provides an interesting contrast to Ukifune and serves as an example of the many lost and forgotten plays written while the noh repertoire was being formed.

187

Ukifune (A Drifting Boat) WAKI: A traveling priest S H I T E : A woman at Uji LATER S H I T E : The ghost of Ukifune WAKI:

ageuta

I am a priest traveling around the country. I have just been to Hatsuse, and now I think I'll go to the capital. Mount Hatsuse I crossed at nightfall; already the lodging I crossed at nightfall; already the lodging past the cypress field, I see; on Miwa Mountain 8 parting from the beckoning cedar,9 without a moment's rest in Nara 10 as oak leaves rustle in the mountain wind, I quicken my step like a horse at Koma ferry11 and now I have arrived at the village of Uji, and now I have arrived at the village of Uji, Traveling swiftly, I have already reached the village of Uji. I think I'll stop a while and gaze at the famous sight." [The shite enters.}

SHITE:

issei

sashi

sageuta ageuta

Lacking a refuge from the approaching waves, the brushwood-laden boat drifts in misery. The misery arises from an error of the heart; it does no good to lay the blame on others. 13 Unable to live forever at wretched Uji, by the pillars of the bridge:14 beset by troubled thoughts like "passion grass" leaving me in misery, drenched with tears, not knowing what lies ahead as I grow old lamenting feelings aroused long ago.15 And so in this uncertain world, I seek help. May the sun and moon bless what lies ahead, may the sun and moon bless what lies ahead.16 If my prayers are heeded by the gods, bound by faith, like the sacred Shinto rope, long life is the blessing I will pray for, long life is the blessing I will pray for.17 188

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

mondo There is something I wish to ask the person in that brushwood boat.18 Are you addressing me? What do you wish to know? What sort of person lived here in the village of Uji long ago? Please tell me in detail. Even though I live here, my position is a humble one, so I do not really know. But it is said that someone called Ukifune lived here long ago. Though I am a woman, too, I am a lowly person of no account so how could I know much about her? The tale of Radiant Genji has not disappeared from the world. I wish to hear about it, too. Do not keep it locked inside your heart. What an irksome favor you ask, especially since someone once declared that he could not bear to hear the name of the place.19 Why do you ask so particularly?

WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE:

CHORUS:

ageuta

WAKI

Even at ordinary times, even at ordinary times, the orange tree arouses longing for the past: as I gaze at the tip of the isle,10 beyond the river rises evening smoke and clouds pass by in the wind upon the river. Afterwards, the snow has added luster: 'tis as though the mountain were a mirror.*1 While living like this under august rule, how can life seem wretched at Uji? How can life seem wretched at Uji? Please tell me the story of Ukifune.

:

kuri CHORUS:

Well, then, the various stories in this tale are splendid, and the scope is vast. The leaves of words I choose to speak about

sashi SHITE: CHORUS

are jewels. Ought one who does not count among them reveal a world that has been renounced? : To begin with, in this village long ago the many inhabitants included this person Ukifune I speak of, 189

CHAPTER 10

who was installed here for a while, it seems, by Kaoru, the Middle Captain. 12 kuse CHORUS:

SHITE: CHORUS:

An amia ble person with a gentle disposition, she passed the days quietly, someone in this world of gossips hinted, conveying word of her existence. 23 Lured as ever by romance, the emperor's son Niou secretly came to visit. Sewing and weaving filled the evening, leaving him no chance, alas, as he secretly watched from outside, an inconvenient thing to do.24 The unfamiliar mountain life he encountered that night made a deep impression. While the moon shone in the early morning sky above, and the surface of the water was clear, he stopped the boat, thinking of what lay ahead.2* "Across the ice along the shore I have made my way without becoming lost," he said, a sign of vows that were not shallow.26 The feelings of his rival expressed in "the endless rain lost in thought," letting the days go by without a visit, must have added to the flow of tears. 27 Her feelings torn between the two, how I long to leave this world forever,28 she lamented, and finally vanished in the end without a trace, vanished in the end without a trace.

WAKI : SHITE:

Where do you who speak of this reside? I am visiting briefly; my home is in Ono. Please visit when you come to the capital. W A K I : HOW strange! There seems to be a contradiction. For whom, then, should I ask at Ono? S H I T E : It is well known. Though no cedar beckons on Great Hiei, seek my home on the Hiei slope near the pure waters of Yokawa.29 C H O R U S : An evil spirit still possesses me ; my life is filled with suffering. 190

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

Seeking the saving power of the Law I will await you there, and like a drifting cloud that leaves no trace she suddenly disappeared from sight, she suddenly disappeared from sight. [INTERLUDE] WAKI

:

ageuta

I have come to Ono ; I wonder where I can spend the night. 30 Since the name of the place is "a field," since the name of the place is "a field," a pillow of grass is appropriate. Tonight I shall read the sutras here and pray for the soul of the person I met, and pray for the soul of the person I met. [The shite reenters.]

SHITE:

Even after death the river of tears continues to flow,31 a drifting boat without a haven, Ukifune seeks the power of the Law.32 How dreadful! I am Ukifune, a drifting boat wandering through the world without a haven; fearing that unpleasant talk might spread how I longed to leave this world forever.33 Tormented day and night by unhappy thoughts, when everyone was asleep I opened the door and went outside-, the wind blew fiercely and the waves on the river sounded rough-, a man I had never seen before approached and invited me to go away, I thought; 34 after that I remembered nothing. [kakeri]

SHITE: CHORUS: SHITE: CHORUS: SHITE: CHORUS:

I did not know what was happening,to be lost in a trance is dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. The color of the Orange Tree Isle may never change but this drifting boat cannot find a haven.}S The truth of Infinite Mercy and Compassion, the truth of Infinite Mercy and Compassion, 36 has spread throughout the world; even so, 191

CHAPTER 10

I was especially devout. The rays of the sun at the break of day I reverently regarded as light eternal; fated to wander in the darkness of night, I prayed on behalf of the world to come. SHITE: CHORUS

My faith in Kannon's mercy and compassion fulfilled, : my faith in Kannon's mercy and compassion fulfilled, through the grace of Hatsuse I was discovered by the bishop of Yokawa and brought to Ono; like a dream, his prayers and incantations drove away evil spirit.37 In this world of dreams where suffering abounds, on Great Hiei stand the Yokawa cedars ancient as the story I have revealed in a dream before you.38 Through the same bond, from this holy man as well I wished to receive prayers on my behalf; my wish fulfilled, the attachment is dispelled. I rejoice at the chance to be reborn in heaven,39 she said; as night gave way to dawn at Yokawa, she said; as night gave way to dawn at Yokawa, only the mountain wind in the cedars remained, only the mountain wind in the cedars remained. 40

192

Kodama Ukifune (The Wood Spirit Ukifune) WAKI: A priest S H I T E : A woman at Ono LATER S H I T E : The ghost of Ukifune

TSURE: Shosho

WAKI :

ageuta

I am a person without a permanent home. Recently, I built a hut in a place called Ono, where I have gone into seclusion. Every day a woman I do not know brings brushwood. If she comes again today, I will ask who she is and where she lives. I am destined to follow the clouds and rivers, to follow the clouds and rivers, but in this life ephemeral as dew the journey ends amid the grass. On Great Hiei even the mountain wind is pure,· on its slope deep in the heart of Ono, I have built a hut of grass; there, even by the sound of sticks in the mountain iice fields rarely visited, I shall pass the days, rarely visited, I shall pass the days.*1 [The shite and tsure enter.]

SHITE :

ageuta

Where I shall end this mortal life I do not know-, amid the hills completely enshrouded in clouds I make my way weeping, weeping.** Amid deep drifts in the snowy hills far off dwell birds, in the snowy hills far off dwell birds, whose voices awaken no mortal; living but for today or tomorrow who, especially one beneath contempt, has returned, enlightened by the truth, has returned, enlightened by the truth?

mondo SHITE: TSURE:

Shosho, tell me, what is the name of this mountain path where shikimi are gathered? This is Ono, and the mountain rice fields over there are the famous mountain rice fields of Ono. 193

CHAPTER 10 SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI: SHITE:

WAKI:

Indeed, there are rice fields in Hitachi, too, where I lived for many years, and so I am familiar with them. 43 Come, let us offer this brushwood. I am delighted! Though the virtue of gathering plants and drawing water cannot be denied, it is distressing to see someone of your station doing so. Where do you come from? I am from the vicinity of Uji. Has yonder traveler come from the Uji capital far away? No, I am not a person of Uji, the ancient capital. How well I know the name of the village in Yamashiro. Drawn by deep memories, over the years I have traveled from around Ufi, about which the poem speaks.44 Among the brushwood that you hold today is a branch half tinted crimson and half as yet a verdant hue. It reminds me of a poem: The mountain goddess has dyed half the branch an autumn hue: how I long to ask which is the deeper color.^ Please explain its meaning, and tell me who you are. I must not reveal my name. I beseech you to administer Buddhist vows on behalf of my salvation, though I cannot request the passage that says "kindness and affection cannot be severed."46 Please administer that wonderful passage on my behalf. How strange! Why do you say that you cannot request this passage? Why conceal it now? While living at Uji I was known as Ukifune. This was the scripture that the bishop of Yokawa administered. Though having left the world, alas I wander between the realms of life and death, held back by lingering attachment, and must receive anew the Buddhist rites. Worldly passions bring enlightenment; life and death embody nirvana. 47 Though bound by five obstacles to salvation and obedience to three masters, 48 let no doubts assail you, it is taught.

CHORUS:

ageuta

O'er this world of dreams lies a floating bridge of dreams, lies a floating bridge of dreams-,49 but in the realm of the Law, the name Ukifune, "a drifting boat," is efficacious.50 Why after moving here to Ono were you known as the writing-practice lady?51 As an act in the world of reality today, 194

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

please recount the story of long ago, please recount the story of long ago. kuri C H O R U S : Well, then, he who was called the pious prince, a figure of grace and refinement, mastered the teachings of the scriptures and hence was known as the learned layman.51 sashi SHITE: Ever more unhappy mingling in the world C H O R U S : he retired to the village in Uji. But from long ago, from a bond he once had formed, was a secret seed that could not be cast away, an offshoot whose life was drenched with dew. Kaoru, the Middle Captain, 53 kuse C Η ο Ru s: was distraught after losing Oigimi, the lady of the trefoil knots·,5* if Ukifune resembled the one he'd known, if she bore a likeness, he would keep her by him to dispel the moments overcome with longing, vowed he, the earlier person, in a poem. In the world of love, a world of unhappy consequences, the fickle heart of Niou, "the scented prince," was wont to blossom gaily and as swiftly change; dispelling the evening hour of rest alone having crossed Kohata Mountain, encountering a figure as strange as those formed by cresting waves. s s His voice imitating Kaoru, the Middle Captain, SHITE: the old serving woman never questioned because of Kaoru's bond with Ukifune. 56 C H O R U S : Like dew on tangled wayside grasses, tears of passion fell upon her sleeves leaving only misery at the end for Ukifune, a drifting boat without a refuge; by the weirs at Uji she wandered confused upon the strand— her life cast away in despair but for the nun of Ono.5? To pass the idle hours day and night she devoted herself to writing practice·, the marks left by the strokes of the brush floated on a sea of tears. 195

CHAPTER 10

Please wait here a while. An apparition in a trance C H O R U S : will now appear before you in a yet more loathsome form,· so saying,58 amid the clouds and mist in the evening hills she mingled, and disappeared from sight, she mingled, and disappeared from sight. SHITE:

[INTERLUDE]

[The shite reenters.] SHITE:

WAKI

:

SHITE:

WAKI

:

SHITE:

The Buddha abhors the willful loss of life,· mountain spirits rejoice at man's mortality. Spirits lying in wait out of sight confound man's destiny." How dreadful! In punishment for false views, O priest,60 I pass vainly one by one through later lives, floating and sinking in the sea of life and death. Shameful though it is, I appear before you now to tell you of my suffering. The evening bell in a distant mountain temple tolls clearly in the moonlight; faintly visible near the hut of grass darkened by the mountain shadows is a human form. Who is the person standing there? Fear not. I am neither a wood spirit nor a spirit from a mountain forest but have simply come in the form of an apparition to confess my sins. 61 Tell your confession at once and then depart, for this too obstructs the window of the mind. Long ago, I too darkened my sleeves for the sake of the Law, but maintaining a slight grudge in this world, I wandered in an intermediate realm. 62 And serving only to obstruct the lives of others when I inquired at the door of a man of great learning,63 Ukifune longed constantly for her life to end. Her heart divided, in this world she sought to end her life,· in a place64 196

PLAYS A B O U T UKIFUNE

beneath a tree in a remote wood, set down upon a root.65 C H O R U S : The aged mother of the bishop of Yokawa, the aged mother of the bishop of Yokawa and the nun, his sister, through the years devoutly made their way past the cypress field to pray at Hatsuse, where the fishing boats are moored.66 In the Uji area, a resting place along the way, drawn by the power of the Law, as in a wicker carriage,67 I have appeared through the power of the saint who prayed at Ono. Through the ages, I sink among the waves and enter the sea anew,- in anguish, this drifting boat is drawn to the Law,68 hoping to receive the prayers of the priest so as to attain the other shore and end this punishment as a demon, the figure said, it seemed; in Ono's mountain rice fields the bamboo stick standing there like a bishop, the bamboo stick standing there like a bishop, was nothing but a dream that vanished.69

197

E L E V E N

Praying for Genji preceding plays focus on specific characters and episodes from the tale, Genji kuyo looks back on the work as a whole and thus provides a kind of retrospective. Long a favorite part of the noh repertoire, the play is first mentioned in the account of a subscription noh performance at Tadasugawara in Kyoto in 1464. A study of Muromachi-period records suggests that it was one of the most widely performed plays of the age, and it continues to be performed today by all five noh schools. 1 Inasmuch as classical Japanese does not set off the names of literary works orthographically, "Genji" in the title could refer to a memorial service for either Murasaki Shikibu's novel or the hero, Hikaru Genji. The problem is complicated by the fact that, during the middle ages, the Genji was also known as Hikaru Genji no monogataii (Tale of Radiant Genji) and Genji no monogataii (Tale of Genji). To underscore the difference, Genji monogataii, the standard title today, might be rendered "Genji Tale." Since there are two references to "writing Genji" in the first part of Genji kuyo, I have taken the word in its broader sense to refer to the work rather than the hero. Also, although the shite requests prayers for Hikaru Genji, it should be remembered that the play does in fact perform a memorial service for the author herself; indeed, a sixteenth-century treatise on the noh refers to the play as Muiasaki Shikibu.1 At the beginning of Genji kuyo, the waki, a priest traveling to Ishiyama Temple from Kyoto, is suddenly approached by a woman, the shite, who asks him to conduct a service on behalf of "Genji," saying that she is unable to attain salvation because of her failure to do so during her lifetime. Later the woman joins the priest at Ishiyama Temple, where he is conducting a service, and performs a dance. The song sung by the chorus in the kuse while she dances consists of an abridged version of a Kamakura-period song called Genji monogataii hyobyaku (hereafter cited as Genji hyobyaku), which weaves Genji chapter titles into a Buddhist "sermon." The song closes with a prayer by the shite and waki for Murasaki Shikibu to be absolved of the sin of writing "wild words and fancy phrases" and attain salvation. In the end, it is revealed that Murasaki was in reality the incarnation of the bodhisattva W H E R E A S THE

198

PRAYING FOR

GENJI

Kannon enshrined at Ishiyama Temple, who appeared on earth to transmit Genji monogatari as a parable about the ephemeral nature of the world. The casting of the waki as a priest at Agui Temple in Kyoto reflects a common attribution of Genji hyobyaku to Seikaku (also Shokaku; 1167-1235), or possibly his father Choken, famous preachers connected with that temple. In modern performances, either the waki or the shite may hold a scroll, whereas two late-sixteenth-century references to performances of the play state that the waki carried it,- the note by Komparu Ansho (or Yasuteru; 15 49-1621), the head of the Komparu school, clearly identifies it as Genji hyobyaku.* In the play, however, the identity of the scroll is ambiguous,· the sashi preceding the kuse could refer either to a sutra (i.e., The Lotus Sutra), perhaps written out on the Genji, or to Genji hyobyaku. The long sequence from the shidai to the kuse is unusual in dream plays. It has been said that this pattern, which ordinarily occurs in works where the shite is a professional kusemai performer or talented amateur, suits the treatment of Genji hyobyaku in the play as a performing art like kusemai dances.4 Indeed, the shite wears a tall eboshi cap just as kusemai and shiiabyoshi dancers do (see Figure 9), while the relatively unusual division of the kuse into two units, each containing a verse sung by the shite, reflects the form of the kusemai when it was first introduced into the noh. Genji kuyo differs from other plays in this study in that it draws on almost no material from the Genji except chapter titles, nearly all of which are woven into the kuse. Instead, it offers an intriguing look at some of the attitudes toward Murasaki Shikibu and her masterpiece that prevailed in the middle ages, when a didactic view of the tale held sway. For instance, the play reflects a belief widely espoused in commentaries and popular literature of the day that at least part of the Genji was written at Ishiyama Temple, that Murasaki Shikibu was cast into hell for the sin of writing fiction, and that she was the incarnation of the bodhisattva Kannon enshrined at the temple. Although no concrete evidence linking Murasaki with the temple survives, pilgrimages to Ishiyama are frequently mentioned in the diaries of Heian court ladies, and legends about her writing the Genji at the temple began to surface by the early Kamakura period. The account in the fourteenth-century Genji commentary Kakaisho matches Genji kuyo in various respects, as it explains that Empress Shoshi, responding to a request from a princess for an interesting story, asked Murasaki Shikibu to write a new one. While praying at Ishiyama Temple on the night of the harvest moon, Murasaki saw a vision of the Genji in the 199

CHAPTER 11

Figure 9. Murasaki Shikibu in the second part of Genii kuyo sky as the moon shone over nearby Lake Biwa and immediately began writing the "Suma" and "Akashi" chapters using the back of a sutra on the altar.5 The request at the end of the kuse to save Murasaki Shikibu from the sin of writing "wild words and fancy phrases" echoes a famous prayer by the Chinese poet Po Chii-i hoping that his writings in later ages might "serve as a hymn in praise of Buddha's teachings, and help the Wheel of the Law to turn." As noted in Chapter 3, a belief spread in the middle ages that Murasaki went to hell for writing fiction. This outlook was counteracted by a belief that she was the incarnation of a bodhisattva, who used the Genji as a vehicle for expounding the Law, an opinion enunciated at the end of Genji kuyo. Reference to "sixty chapters" of the Genji in Genji kuyo further attests to the religious view of the work that prevailed in the middle ages. It is not known for certain how many chapters of the Genji existed when the term first came into use in the Heian period, but by the time the main recensions of the tale were established early in the following period, the Genji contained fifty-four chapters, as it does today. Various 200

PRAYING FOR

GENJI

theories have been advanced as to what the larger number signifies. According to one, the figure merely represented an artificial attempt to equate the Genji with the scriptures of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, collected in sixty scrolls.6 On the other hand, several stray chapters of the Genji (some clearly spurious) also circulated, and a late Heian-period list of chapter titles includes Kumogakure (Hidden among the Clouds), for which no text exists; the title is even mentioned in Suma Genji. ? Medieval accounts also equate the chapters of the Genji with the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, a correspondence arrived at by subsuming "corollary chapters" [narabi no maki) under main ones and treating the ten Uji chapters at the end of the Genji as a single unit. The chapters in the handbook Hikaiu Genji ichibu renga yoriai no koto are numbered in this fashion, and it is surely no coincidence that, excluding repetitions, Gen;'i kuyo mentions exactly twenty-eight chapter titles. 8 Most of the titles are woven into the kuse, an abridged version of Genji hyobyaku, which echoed a long tradition in court poetry of playing on Genji chapter titles. In ienga, hundred-verse sequences were sometimes composed with Genji chapter titles and the names of Japanese provinces in alternating lines, while each chapter of Hikaiu Genji ichibu zenga yoriai no koto, as a rule, is prefaced by a waka poem containing the chapter title. Several Genji plays discussed thus far, including Go and Suma Genji, pun extensively on Genji chapter titles, and it should not be forgotten that a great many Genji titles themselves originated in poems. If the link between Genji hyobyaku and Genji kuyo is indisputable, the exact nature of the relationship is not so clear, because the earlier work evolved into a story called Genji kuyo soshi, probably in the fourteenth century, and may have been known to the playwright in that form. To put it simply, the song was provided with a narrative framework telling how a lovely young nun called on the Agui priest Seikaku and asked him to perform a service commemorating her transcription of the Lotus Sutra on a copy of the Genji. She did so, she said, because she was still attached to the work, her favorite since childhood, even after taking vows. Seikaku recited a prayer [hyobyaku), which he composed by weaving together all the chapter titles of the Genji, ending with an entreaty to save Murasaki from the sufferings of transmigration. In Genji kuyo, the song has been shortened considerably, with only twenty-six chapter titles instead of fifty-three. ("Wakana" is divided into two chapters in the Genji but is mentioned only once in Genji 201

CHAPTER 11

hyobyaku.) Paring has resulted in an occasional ellipsis that obscures the meaning and contrasts with the smooth, quasi-narrative flow of the original prayer. The reduction can be attributed to the restrictions imposed by the musical structure of the kuse form, which stresses rhythmical variation, providing a lovely vehicle for the shite's dance.

202

Genji kuyo (A Memorial Service for Genji) WAKI:

LATER

The incumbent priest of Agui Temple W A K I Z U R E : Two priests S H I T E : A woman of the place S H I T E : The ghost of Murasaki Shikibu

W A K I and WAKIZURE:

shidai

WAKI:

Wearing a humble robe like moss along the road, wearing a humble robe like moss along the road, to the temple at Ishiyama we go.» I am the incumbent priest of Agui Temple in Kyoto.10 A devout follower of the Ishiyama Kannon, I often make pilgrimages there on foot.111 think I will do so again today.

W A K I and WAKIZURE:

ageuta

sageuta

Spring blooms like the capital, from which I now set out, the capital, from which I now set out; in the rude wind, white are the waves at dusk on Shirakawa River; leaving it behind I pass the waterfall at Otowa. Before the barrier lies the morning mist; beyond it, the lingering moon at dawn shines on Biwa, the sea of grebes.12 What an interesting sight it is. What an interesting sight it is. By the gentle waves13 in Shiga, a solitary pine stands on Kara Cape. No salt is burned here, yet the waves along the shore send up a cloud of misty smoke, send up a cloud of misty smoke. 14 [The shite calls out to the waki from behind the curtain and then enters.]

mondo SHITE:

If I may, I wish to speak to the incumbent priest of Agui Temple. 203

CHAPTER 11

WAKI :

Are you addressing me?

SHITE:

In seclusion at Ishiyama I composed the sixty Genji chapters/ 5 an idle diversion that survived my death. Although my name is still remembered for it, I failed to hold a memorial service for Genji and am thus condemned to wander without attaining salvation. If possible, would you please at Ishiyama hold a memorial service for Genji and pray on behalf of my soul? I have appeared here now to ask this of you. Your request is easy to fulfill. I will gladly perform a memorial service, but for whom should I pray? Just go to Ishiyama and hold a memorial service for Genji. I will appear there and pray together with you. I am delighted,- it is a fine idea. The person who wrote Genji .. . I am ashamed to say, has become part of the dust in this wretched world, but her name is not buried beneath the moss. 16 Over Ishiyama Temple lie clouds a lavender hue called murasaki. You must be the lady by that name. 17

:

WAKI

SHITE:

WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

WAKI : ageuta SHITE: CHORUS

How ashamed I am.

:

Is it apparent from the color? Is it apparent from the color of the clouds lit by the evening sun? 18 Even now unable to state her name, she suddenly disappeared from sight. She suddenly disappeared from sight. [INTERLUDE] 1 »

WAKI

:

WAKIZURE:

WAKI :

We have made our way to Ishiyama, and our prayers have been completed. At this late hour, the sound of the bell and our hearts are clear. That story we heard about Genji does not seem very convincing. Still, let us perform a memorial service; for Murasaki Shikibu's 204

PRAYING FOR

GENJI

WAKIZURE: WAKI: W A K I and WAKIZURE:

salvation let us devoutly pray.

ageuta

Even so, in this fickle world, even so, in this fickle world that fades into a dream, Murasaki emerged* like a flower in a moment of glory only to disappear from sight, and the tale of Radiant Genji long ago somehow strikes me as a story that cannot really be believed, that cannot really be believed. [The shite reenters.

issei SHITE:

CHORUS: SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE:

WAKI:

SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

Crimson leaves scattered on the mountainside: a telling memento of the wind in the pines. So, too, the name Murasaki is revealed. I am ashamed to be seen.

The night has deepened and the birds are still, at a forsaken hour the torch light reveals a beautiful woman lifting the hem of her lavender robe. Is the wraith-like figure standing there real or a dream—I cannot tell. Beneath layered robes the color of flowers that swiftly fade is one, like hidden passion, deeply dyed. Even if the color cannot be seen, tracing my story to the end, like purple hagi in a withered field, should enable you to guess my name. 21 Even if the color is not visible, you say— I understand your point.12 Are you Lady Murasaki, then? 1 am ashamed to say that this form, the figure I saw yesterday, remains the same today. 205

CHAPTER 11 WAKI: SHITE: CHORUS:

SHITE: WAKI:

SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE: WAKI: SHITE:

Together, without reserve, arising nor sleeping, let us stay awake 'til dawn.23 Take heed, O moon, tonight, along with the bell at Ishiyama Temple. Before the wind that chases dreams away a flame vanishes like the light long ago.2+ Let us pray for Radiant Genji's soul, let us pray for Radiant Genji's soul. I am grateful indeed. What sort of offering should I make? I seek no offering. This world exists in a dream ; recall the past with a wave of your sleeve and perform a dance here now. Though I am embarrassed, how can I ignore your request? Very well, I shall dance, she says, and Murasaki, befitting her name, in a fine robe of lavender with crimson cords, holds a fan the color of the setting sun25 as she shyly yet gracefully performs the dance of the butterfly.26

CHORUS:

shidai

Dancing sleeves in a dream, dancing sleeves in a dream: oh to turn it into reality.

issei SHITE: CHORUS:

Layers of flower-tinted robes, lovely sleeves of lavender. [iioe]

kuii SHITE: CHORUS:

Impermanence is revealed before one's eyes yet has no form. Life is like a dream; what person lives a hundred years? The althea's day of glory is the same. 27

sashi SHITE:

It was here that lowly Murasaki Shikibu sought divine assistance; at Ishiyama Temple 206

PRAYING FOR

CHORUS: SΗιτ Ε : CHORUS:

kuse

SHITE: CHORUS:

GENfI

invoking the vow of compassion, she went into seclu­ sion and entrusted to her brush the writing of this tale. But because she failed to hold a service, the cloud of delusion has never cleared. This rare encounter inspired a fervent prayer, which I have inscribed on a scroll hoping to awaken from darkness. May Radiant Genji's spirit attain enlightenment. Now, then, Kiritsubo in the paulownia court vanished as swiftly as evening smoke ascending to the Realm of the Law above; 28 the leaves of words in the broom tree that night have turned into flowers strewn from the Bodhi Tree.1» Despise this world empty as a cicada's shell and understand that life is but dew on an evening face.i0 Welcomed by a cloud the color of young lavender, on the dais of the flower picked at the end it matters not if brightly colored leaves fall during an autumn excursion.^1 Encountering by chance the Buddha's wisdom, grasp the sacred tree while praying for deliverance. 32 lathe village of falling flowers,3 3 it is impossible to escape the truth that parting from loved ones causes pain. There is but one path to take: leave the waves of life and death on Suma Bay and set out to attain the Fourfold Wisdom, immersed like a channel buoy in the light of Akashi Bay.34 Seek the path of salvation while dwelling in the wormwood patch. The wind in the pines may blow but the rack of cloud from bad karma will never be dispelled." In the endless winds of autumn, clad in purple trousers and a cloak 207

CHAPTER 11

SHITE: CHORUS :

rongi CHORUS:

SHITE:

CHORUS : SHITE: CHORUS :

of fine gold and forgiveness,36 aspire to the dais of the lotus flower in heaven's highest sphere; seek the true realm where the cypress pillar stands adorned with precious jewels. 37 Distracted by the fragrance of a branch of plum, the human heart is no steadier than dew on wisteria leaves, Ά jeweled chaplet briefly worn, or the fleeting splendor of a morning glory.}S Dwell by day in the shade of the sandalwood tree of great renown, 3 9 forgo high rank and office and retire to an eastern cottage.*0 Glory and pleasure may be likened to a drifting boat, man's life to a drake fly. Cross the floating bridge of dreams and pray for the heavenly host to come. 4 1 Hail Amida Buddha of the West! From the sin of wild words and fancy phrases absolve Murasaki Shikibu and grant her salvation in the world to come. 4 2 Together they rang the bell, bringing the service to an end. HOW interesting indeed. In the dancer's wake a cock cries out; with a wave of the sleeve dream returns to reality. For the soul of Radiant Genji I have prayed; through the power of the Law I too may be reborn on the Lotus Flower. Hope lies in the bond with the flower feasts Indeed, the radiance of an autumn morning by nightfall leaves no trace behind. Dew on a morning glory, a flash of lightning: what is not ephemeral in this fickle world of misery? After careful reflection, it seems clear, after careful reflection, it seems clear 208

PRAYING FOR

GENJI

that the person known as Murasaki Shikibu is the Ishiyama Kannon, who briefly appeared in this world to write the Tale of Genji. This, then, is a means to tell mankind that the world is but a dream. Precious is the vow revealed. Even "the floating bridge of dreams" is expressed inside a dream, is expressed inside a dream.

209

A P P E N D I X

A

Genfi Chapter Titles Japanese

Seidenstickei Translation

The Paulownia Court The Broom Tree 2. Hahakigi T h e Shell of the 3. Utsusemi* Locust Evening Faces 4. Yugao 5. Wakamurasaki Lavender 6. Suetsumuhana The Safflower An A u t u m n 7. Momiji no ga Excursion The Festival of the 8. Hana no en Cherry Blossoms Heart vine 9. Aoi The Sacred Tree 10. Sakaki The Orange 11. Hana chiru Blossoms sato Suma 12. Suma Akashi 13. Akashi Channel Buoys 14. Miotsukushi T h e Wormwood 15. Yomogiu Patch The Gatehouse 16. Sekiya A Picture Contest 17. Eawase The Wind in the 18. Matsukaze Pines A Rack of Cloud 19. Usugumo The Morning Glory 20. Asagao The Maiden 21. Otome The Jeweled Chaplet 22. Tamakazura The First Warbler 23. Hatsune Butterflies 24. Kocho Fireflies 25. Hotaru Wild Carnations 26. Tokonatsu Flares 27. Kagaribi i. Kiritsubo

28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Japanese

Seidenstickei Translation

Nowaki Miyuki Fujibakama Makibashira U m e ga e Fuji no uraba Wakana jo

The Typhoon The Royal Outing Purple Trousers T h e Cypress Pillar A Branch of Plum Wisteria Leaves N e w Herbs: Part One N e w Herbs: Part Two The Oak Tree The Flute T h e Bell Cricket Evening Mist T h e Rites The Wizard His Perfumed Highness T h e Rose Plum Bamboo River The Lady at the Bridge Beneath the Oak Trefoil Knots Early Ferns T h e Ivy T h e Eastern Cottage A Boat upon the Waters The Drake Fly At Writing Practice The Floating Bridge of Dreams

35. Wakana ge 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42.

Kashiwagi Yokobue Suzumushi Yugiri Minori Maboroshi Niou Miya

43. Kobai 44. Takekawa 45. Hashihime 46. Shii ga moto 47. Agemaki 48. Sawarabi 49. Yadorigi 50. Azumaya 5i.Ukifune** 52. Kagero 53. Tenarai 54. Yume no ukihashi

'Translated in the present study as "The Cicada's Shell." * "Translated in the present study as "A Drifting Boat."

211

A P P E N D I X

B

A Note on the Translations was made to base the translations in this book upon early utaibon, or libretti. Unfortunately, no manuscripts of the Genji plays survive from the fifteenth century, when many, if not most, of the plays were written. The nine oldest noh texts, transcribed by Zeami, do not include a Genji play, and virtually no other noh texts exist until the time of Komparu Zempo, who transcribed nearly two dozen plays at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Although manuscripts of Genji plays begin to appear only in the mid-sixteenth century when large collections of libretti were first compiled, texts from the 1500s and 1600s are believed to reflect the early form of the noh plays, especially regarding sung passages, whereas texts in later Edo collections and modern editions until the 1950s have clearly undergone revision. The primary text for the translations of Hajitomi, Yugao, Aoi no ue, Nonomiya, Tamakazura, Ukifune, and Genji kuyo came from recent scholarly editions based on sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century libretti in the following series: Nihon koten bungaku taikei (NKBT; Iwanami Shoten), Nihon koten bungaku zenshu (NKBZ; Shogakkan), Shincho Nihon koten shusei (Ito 1—3; Shinchosha), and Nihon koten zensho (Asahi Shimbunsha). For plays not included in the above series, I relied upon early manuscripts for the primary text wherever possible. My selection was based upon an examination of the texts at the Hosei University Noh Research Institute and the National Institute of Japanese Literature, both of which are located in Tokyo. The primary text for Suma Genji comes from a Kanze-school anthology of sixty-eight plays dating from around 1550, with musical notations by Kanze Motoyori, a prominent waki actor of the day, while the translations of Ochiba and Shikimi tengu are based upon texts from a mid-sixteenth-century Kanze-school collection of 197 plays. The text used for the translation of Go comes from a series known as the "Kurumaya texts," compiled by a calligrapher named Torikai Sosetsu (or Dosetsu), who studied noh under the head of the Komparu school in the late sixteenth century. I am deeply indebted to Koyama Hiroshi of the National Institute of Japanese Literature for his help in choosing and deciphering manuscript editions of texts used in this study. Where no good early manuscripts were available, I chose a modern libretto as the primary text, especially if the play was associated with a A N EFFORT

212

A NOTE ON THE T R A N S L A T I O N S

specific school, as in the case of Sumiyoshi mode and Utsusemi. The translation of Daiani Ochiba, a work no longer performed, is based on a libretto belonging to the Hosho school, which performed the play in the Edo period. No texts of Kodama Ukifune survive from before the eighteenth century, and since the ones that do exist are not in good condition, I simply used a modern printed text. In preparing the translations, I have compared texts from the two main textual lines wherever possible. The kamigakari line consists of texts belonging to the Kanze and Hosho schools; the shimogakari line, texts belonging to the Komparu, Kongo, and Kita schools. The location of the texts used in the translations is indicated below, along with information about other existing translations. Following the practice of early noh manuscripts, in the translations I have kept to a minimum the musical notations indicating the basic structural units, or shodan (such as ageuta). I have, however, added the notation for mondd ("dialogue"), a term found in Zeami's treatises. In the interests of consistency, I have designated the waki's michiyuki ("travel song") and machiutai ("waiting song") throughout by song type, that is, as an ageuta. When the end of a musical unit is not otherwise clear from the translation, the unit is followed by a line space. For the sake of clarity, translations based upon early manuscripts follow the modern practice of indicating the speaker by the type of actor (shite, waki, tsme, etc.) rather than by role type—for example, so ("priest"), jo ("old man"), onna ("woman"), and so on. Also in keeping with modern practice, "chorus" translates jiutai, whereas early manuscripts distinguish between ji ("chorus") and do ("in unison"). It is thought that during the Muromachi period, "ji" indicated speeches performed by the waki and chorus but not by the shite, whereas "do" denoted ones that included the shite. Utsusemi In view of the close ties of the play with the Hosho school historically, the translation has been based upon the text in the authoritative series of libretti published by the head of that school in 1799; in the Hosei University Noh Research Institute (catalogue no. Hosh5-ryu Kanseiban, 7-1 [36]). The text is reproduced in Haga Yaichi and Sasaki Nobutsuna, eds., Yokyoku sosho, 3 vols. (Hakubunkan, 1914-1915), 1:224— 27· Go Given the historical ties of the play with shimogakari schools, the translation has been based upon the Kurumaya manuscript formerly 213

APPENDIX B owned by the Kikkawa family. Designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government, the text is now part of the Kozan Bunko Library in the H5sei University Noh Research Institute (catalogue no. Kikkawa-ke Kyuzo Kurumaya-bon [Y]). I also consulted the text in Haga and Sasaki, eds., Yokyoku sosho, 1:718-2,2. In the translation, musical notations and information regarding performance come from the Kongo-school libretto published in Kongo (no. 56 [September 1962]: 13—16), prior to the revival of the play by the head of that school in November 1962. Hajitomi The translation is based upon the 1657 Kanze-school libretto in Koyama 1:324-30.1 also consulted Taikan 4:2497-2506. Another translation can be found in Chifumi Shimazaki, trans., The Noh. Vol. 3: Woman Noh, 3 vols. (Tokyo: Hinoki Shoten, 1976-1981), 1:89—109. Yugao The translation is based upon the kamigakari Koetsu text in Ito 3:36776. I also consulted the shimogakari Kurumaya text in Nogami Toyoichiro and Tanaka Makoto, eds., Yokyoku shu, 3 vols., in Nihon koten zensho (Asahi Shimbunsha, 1949-1957), 1:198—202, and the Kanzeschool text in Taikan 5:3207-20. For other translations, see Rene Sieffert, La tradition secrete du No (Paris: Gallimard, i960), pp. 245-57,· and Shimazaki, The Noh. Vol. 3: Woman Noh, 1:61-87. Tamakazma The translation is based upon the 1595 shimogakari text in YKS 2:54— 60. I also consulted Ito 2:319—28 and 480-82, and Taikan 3:19571970. Aoi no ue The 1576 Kanze-school libretto in YKS 1:124-30 served as the primary text. The assignment of parts follows YKS; the original manuscript indicates only shite, yamabushi, and chorus. I also consulted Koyama 2:223-33. For other translations see Arthur Waley, The No Plays of Japan (Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, Co., 1976), pp. 145-52, and Japanese Noh Drama, 3 vols. (Tokyo: Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai, 1959), 2:87—102. 214

A NOTE ON THE T R A N S L A T I O N S

Nonomiya The translation follows the 1629 Kan'ei uzuki [kamigakari) text in Koyama 1:280-90.1 also consulted YKS 2:318—22 and Ito 3:65-75. Other translations include Donald Keene, ed., Twenty Plays of the No Theatre (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), pp. 179-92,· Shimazaki, The Noh. Vol. 3: Woman Noh, 1:27-59; and Kenneth Yasuda, Masteiworks of the No Theater (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989), pp. 42.-59Shikimi tengu The translation is based upon the kamigakari text in the mid-sixteenth-century Matsui collection of 197 individually bound plays on microfilm at the National Institute of Japanese Literature (catalogue no. ma 3 - 1 1 1 2-101). A printed edition of the play is available in Haga and Sasaki, eds., Yokyoku sosho, 2:127—30. There are no early shimogakari texts. Suma Geziji The translation is based upon the mid-sixteenth-century Kanze-school text bearing musical notations by Kanze Motoyori, located in the Hosei University Noh Research Institute (catalogue no. 1378). I also consulted the Kanze-school libretto in Taikan 3:1491—1504. The translation follows the role designations in Taikan rather than the Motoyori text, which simply gives waki, jo ("old man"), and ji or do ("chorus"). Major textual differences are indicated in the notes; the most significant one concerns the description of Genji's attire at the end of the play. There are no early shimogakari texts. A partial translation of the play may be found in Ezra Pound and Ernest Fenollosa, The Classic Noh Theatre of Japan (New York: New Directions Publishing Corp., 1959), pp. 22—26. Sumiyoshi mode In the absence of good early manuscripts, I have based the translation upon the modern libretto of the Kongo school (Hinoki Shoten, 1982), the school most closely identified with the play historically. I also consulted the Kanze-school libretto in Taikan 3:1537-48. A French translation is available in Rene Sieffert, No et Kyogen, 2 vols., in Publications Orientalistes de France (Paris: Gallimard, 1979), 2:18394· 215

APPENDIX B Ochiba The translation is based upon the mid-sixteenth-century kamigakari Matsui collection of 197 individually bound plays on microfilm at the National Institute of Japanese Literature (catalogue no. ma 3-11 I 2 2). I also consulted the Kongo-school libretto, reproduced in Nogami Toyoichiro, ed., Yokyoku zenshu, 6 vols., 2nd ed. (Chuo Koronsha, 1971), 3:99-110. Daiani Ochiba As the earliest manuscripts, which date from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are not of good quality, I have based the translation upon the 1909 Hosho-school libretto, a printed edition of which can be found in Haga and Sasaki, eds., Yokyoku sosho, 1:316-20. I also consulted the text in Yokyoku, vols. 20 and 21 of Kochu Nihon bungaku taikei (Kokumin Bunko Kankokai, 1925-1927), 20:221-25, which refers to the play as Ochiba; and the Kita-school libretto. Major differences between the Hosho-school, Yokyoku, and Kita-school texts are indicated in the notes. Ukifune The translation is based upon the 1566 Kanze-school text in YKS 1:117— 23.1 also consulted Ito 1:125—33 and 406—407, and Taikan 1:313—25. Kodama Ukifune Since the oldest texts, which date back no further than the mid-Edo period, are full of inconsistencies and errors, the translation has been based upon the printed kamigakari text in Tanaka Makoto, ed., Mikan yokyoku shu, 1 (Koten Bunko, 1963), pp. 195-200.1 also consulted the shimogakari text published by Tanaka in "Kodama Ukifune," Kanze 48 (June 1981): 4-6. Neither text gives adequate musical notations, nor is anything known about the performance of the play. Genii kuyo The translation was based upon the seventeenth-century Koetsu text in It5 2:51-59 and 434-37. I also consulted the shimogakaii text in Nogami and Tanaka, eds., Yokyoku shu, 1:312-17; and Taikan 2:102542.

216

Notes Full publishing information on the sources appears in the bibliography. Introduction i. Hisamatsu Sen'ichi et al., eds., Shimpan Nihon bungakushi, 3:354. 2. Kawai Masaharu with Kenneth A. Grossberg, "Shogun and Shugo: The Provincial Aspects of Muromachi Politics," pp. 68—69. Yonehara Masayoshi's massive study Sengoku bushi to bungei no kenkyu attests to the broad involvement of the warrior class in the arts during the middle ages. 3. I have followed Seymour Chatman's terminology in Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film, p. 19. Chapter 1. The Reception of the Genji in the Middle Ages i. In "Genji monogatari no bunsho," pp. 95-122, Suzuki Kazuo breaks down the 795 waka in the Genji as follows: (1) private reflections (107); (2) poems composed as part of a poetry exchange (590); (3) poems composed for a public occasion (64); (4) miscellaneous (34). The second category includes a variant form in which only half an exchange is actually given. The miscellaneous category contains poems that were not necessarily meant to be shown to anyone when composed but ended up being seen; Suzuki notes that some scholars might include these in the second category. 2. Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, Japanese Court Poetry, pp. 286-91. 3. Komshi Jin'ichi, ed., Shinko roppyakuban utaawase, pp. 188-89. 4. For instance, Genchu saihisho, a collection of secret knowledge about obscure Genji terms passed down by Mitsuyuki's descendants, seems to have served that purpose. See Ii Haruki, Genji monogatari jchushakushi no kenkyu, pp. 1147-50; see also his article "Insei-ki, Kamakura-ki no Genji monogatari kenkyu," p. 34. 5. Ijichi Tetsuo, Renga no sekai, p. 158. 6. Gumon kenchu; quoted in Teramoto Naohiko, Genji monogatari juyoshi ronko, p. 316, an important study of medieval Genji appreciation. 7. Ton'a (1289—1372) was a member of the conservative Nijo school of poetry descended from Teika. Around the time that Gumon kenchu was written, he was given the honor of completing the nineteenth imperial anthology of waka, the Shinshuishu (1364), after the death of the chief compiler. But according to Hisamatsu et al., eds., Smmpan Nihon bungakushi, 3:356, he was not listed as a compiler because he was only an ordinary priest. 8. Ton'a's remark about alluding to Genji prose rather than the poetry reflects an apparently widespread misunderstanding regarding a passage in the thirteenth-century treatise Gotoba-in Gokuden (The Secret Teachings of Retired Emperor Gotoba), which recommended drawing upon the words, as opposed to the spirit, of poems in prose fiction. In fact, public poetry contests (utaawase) tended at first to allude to the words and ideas in Genji poems, and it was only later that the use of Genji prose became more prominent. Ii, Genji monogatari chushakushi no kenkyu, pp. 983-1011. 217

NOTES TO PAGES 19-23 9. Ijichi, Renga no sekai, p. 209. For a translation of the emended 1501 version of the code, see Steven D. Carter, The Road to Komatsubara: A Classical Reading of the Renga Hyakuin, pp. 41-72. 10. Tsukuba mondo; quoted in Teramoto, Genji monogataii juyoshi ionko, P- 394· 11. The romantic meeting led to an affair with the lady, Oborozukiyo, whom Genji subsequently discovered was betrothed to the crown prince, the future Suzaku emperor. A work thought to date from around 1300, Renshoshu lists 168 pairs of associated words from old poems, followed by their source, and an example of their use in linking renga verses. The entry is quoted in Teramoto, Genji monogataii juyoshi ronko, p. 478. For the original source see Kaneko Kinjiro, ed., Kamakwa makki renga gakusho, p. 121. ia. Quoted in Teramoto, Genji monogatari juyoshi ronko, p. 612. For the Genji passages, see 2:168 and 199; S:225 and 240. The second Kyushu mondo passage is quoted on p. 439 of Genji monogatari juyoshi ronko. 13. Both treatises are located in Okami Masao, ed., Yoshimoto rengaron shu, vol. 92 of Koten bunko. Man'yo kotoba (ca. 1375), a renga handbook on the eighth-century Man'yoshu, the oldest anthology of native verse, is also attributed to Yoshimoto, who sponsored lectures on the anthology at his mansion in 1366. The lectures were conducted by a poet-priest and Man'yoshu expert named Yua whom Yoshimoto brought in from the eastern provinces. 14. Teramoto, Genji monogatari juyoshi ronko, p. 417. 15. Ibid., p. 318. 16. Nose Asaji, Yugenron, p. 147. 17. Teramoto, Genji monogatari juyoshi ronko, p. 477. 18. Ryoshun isshi den (1409) suggests the nature and scope of Ryoshun's interest in classical literature: "Along with the poems in the first three imperial anthologies, one should constantly peruse the poetry collections of the thirtysix literary immortals, Ise monogatari, Sei Shonagon's Makura no sdshi, and Genji monogatari. These are indispensable in writing poetry. . . . " Quoted in Kawazoe Shoji, Chusei bungei no chihoshi, pp. 150-51. One treatise, Shisetsu jikenshu (1408), especially displays an effort to appreciate the tale in terms of the overall meaning of the text rather than simply as a source of allusion or as the subject of secondary research. As such, it is indicative of a new literary consciousness. A member of the innovative Reizei school of poetics descended from Teika, Ryoshun transmitted his knowledge to his disciple, Shotetsu (1381-1459), the last major exponent of that school and a major waka poet of the fifteenth century who taught the Genji and waka to a generation of leading renga poets. While in Kyushu, Ryoshun collaborated with Yoshimoto on another renga treatise called Shita kusa. 19. The treatise, Chikubasho (1383), is attributed to the deputy shogun (kanrei ) Shiba Yoshimasa (1350-1410). Although there is ample reason to doubt the attribution, the very mention of such a statement in a warrior document is significant. Quoted in Teramoto Naohiko, "Genji monogatari no kyojushi," p. 296. 20. The notes were preserved by Hirai Sojo, a renga poet connected with the Ouchi warrior clan in western Japan who presumably named them Chidorisho (A Plover's Jottings) after the title of Yoshinari's commentary, the Kakaisho (The River and Sea Commentary). The work is also known by other names, including Genji godangi (Genji Lectures). 218

NOTES TO PAGES 23-28 2i. Okuda Isao, Rengashi: Sono kodo to bungaku, p. 97. Sozei studied ienga under Yoshimoto's disciple Asayama Bonto (1349^1427), who also came from a military background. 22. Renju gappeki shu is located in Kido Saizo and Shigematsu Hiromi, eds., Rengaion shu, 1. The colophon to one text stating that Kanera's son copied it in 1476 indicates the latest date by which the work could have been written. Renju gappeki shu is described in more detail later in this chapter. The value of the manual as a guide to appreciating noh plays on a literary level is demonstrated by my discussion of Yugao in Chap. 4 below, while Ito Masayoshi's reliance upon Renju gappeki shu in Ito 1-3, published between 1983 and 1988, attests to the usefulness of the manual in annotating noh texts. 23. Kido Saizo, ed., Rengaion shu, 2, p. 122. 24. Like the previous renga anthology, Shinsen tsukubashu (1495) was formally recognized by the emperor. 25. Sanetaka offers an interesting contrast to Sogi's disciple, Shohaku (14431527), who, unlike most ienga masters, came from a courtier background. Shohaku was chiefly known as a transmitter of Sogi's work through lecture notes and commentaries,- his Genji kikigaki, which Sanetaka borrowed for his own commentary, originated in notes taken at Kanera's and Sogi's lectures on the Genji. Shohaku is also known for the definitive code of ienga rules he compiled in 1501 based on the earlier work of Yoshimoto and Kanera. For a translation of the code see Carter, The Road to Komatsubaia, pp. 41-72. 26. Kido, ed., Rengaion shii, 2, p. 122. Shohaku's revised rules cited in the preceding note state, however, that poets should allude to the Genji in only two consecutive verses. Carter, The Road to Komatsubaia, p. 43. 27. Renju gappeki shu, no. 228. The phrase "If you picked it," in the poem at the end of the entry is a variant form of the one in the Genji; see n. 36 to Chap. 6 below. 28. Ii, Genji monogataii chiishakushi no kenkyu, pp. 823-24 and 944. One Genji kokagami text has been published under the title Genji kokagami— Takai-ke ban, ed. Takeda Ko, vol. 4 of Shiiyo sosho-, references to the Kokagami in the present book are to this edition. 29. Ii, Genji monogataii chiishakushi no kenkyu, p. 829. 30. Ibid., pp. 837 and 948; Teramoto, Genji monogataii juyoshi ionko, pp. 424—26. A translation of the synopsis of the "Sakaki" chapter may be found in Chap. 4. 31. Hikaiu Genji ichibu uta, ed. Imai Gen'e, is located in vol. 3 of Genji monogataii kochii shusei. Yurin's Genji readings are repeatedly mentioned in the journal of Nakahara Yasutomi [Yasutomi ki) during 1454 and 1455. The commentary on the poems attributed to Teika, Sancho komensho, is dated 1449· 32. Genji okagami is reproduced (in 3 vols.) in Notoiu Damu Seishin Joshi Daigaku koten sosho, 2nd ser. 33. Similarities in the language as well as the interpretation of poems also suggest a common source. Inaga Keiji, "Muromachi-ki no Genji monogataii kenkyu," p. 39. Genji monogataii teiyo is reproduced in Imagawa Noiimasa—Genji monogataii teiyo, ed. Inaga Keiji, vol. 2 of Genji monogataii kochu shusei. The quotation below appears in Inaga Keiji, Genji monogataii no kenkyu, p. 284. The afterword to another text states that the handbook was written at the urging of a friend. 219

NOTES TO PAGES 28-36 34. A collated edition of Genji ozuna and Genji taigai shimpishd is located in Chusei Genii monogatari kogaisho, ed. Inaga Keiji, vol. 2 of Chusei bungei sosho. 35. Inaga, Genji monogatari no kenkyu, pp. 30, 284-85. Chapter 2. Noh Dramaturgy and the Literary World i. Fushikaden, zz 30. Page numbers for Sando are given in the text; for other treatises, unless otherwise indicated, they are given in the notes. 2. Muromachi-period libretti distinguish between two types of songs sung in a chorus: do[on], which included the shite and other actors along with the chorus, and ji[utai], which excluded the shite. 3. Zeami uses the terms hayabushi and kiiibyoshi. The former is thought to be equivalent to the modern chvnori pattern (16 syllables spread over an 8-beat measure); the latter, to onoii (8 syllables spread over an 8-beat measure). 4. Fushizuke shidai, zz 152. 5. Kotoba no mimi chikakaian-, Fushikaden, zz 47 and elsewhere. The distinction between oral and written speech below is made in Saiugaku dangi, zz 291.

6. Fushikaden, zz 48. 7. Ito Kei, Shinhokucho no hito to bungaku, pp. 160-64. Yoshimoto wrote the treatise, Renga juyo, for the shogun in 1379. 8. For a discussion of Yoshimitsu's role see H. Paul Varley, "Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the World of Kitayama: Social Change and Shogunal Patronage in Early Muromachi Japan," pp. 183-204. 9. Kabu zuinoki (1456); zz 351. Jacob Raz's study Audience and Actors offers an extended discussion of the noh-shogunal relationship. 10. The other two actors regarded by Zeami as masters of yugen were his father Kan'ami and the dengaku actor Itchu. Doami seems to have been fully aware of the connection between his success and Yoshimitsu's fateful first visit to the noh: according to Saiugaku dangi (zz 301), he had prayers said on the 19 th of each month in memory of Kan'ami, who died on that day in the Fifth Month of 1384. 11. Yoshimoto's description of Zeami alludes to a passage about young Murasaki's charming unplucked eyebrows in the "Wakamurasaki" chapter (1:281; S:88). His letter is reproduced in Fukuda Hideichi, "Yoshimoto no shojo," pp. 34-35. In an addendum to the article, however, Omote Akira argues against taking the letter at face value, saying that its length and ardent tone suggest that it was intended for someone else's eyes, namely, the shogun's. Noting that records of Yoshimoto's interaction with the young ruler begin to surface only around that time, Omote conjectures that the courtier's remarks may have been made in the hope of gaining Yoshimitsu's favor. Retired Emperor Sukoin's diary records a pair of linked verse that Zeami and Yoshimoto composed together and states that Yoshimoto had bestowed the name Fujiwaka on Zeami three years earlier. For a discussion of Yoshimoto's ties with Zeami see Thomas Blenman Hare, Zeami's Style: The Noh Plays of Zeami Motokiyo, pp. 17-20. 12. In Tsukuba mondo, Yoshimoto says that the first sheet of ienga (22 verses) and second sheet (28 verses) represented the jo and ha, respectively, while the last two sheets (50 verses) constituted the AyU. Kido Saizo and Imoto 220

NOTES TO PAGES 36-40 Noichi, eds., Rengaron shu, haiion shu, p. 86. Carter, The Road to Komatsubaia, pp. 92-94, notes that the jo-ha-kyu divisions changed over time. 13. Yoshimoto, Renii hisho, in Kido and Imoto, eds., Rengaron shu, hairon shu, p. 51. His renga code, Oan shinshiki, however, says that three adjacent verses could allude to the Genji because of its large scope. See Carter, The Road to Komatsubaia, p. 43. 14. For example, Yoshimoto warns that they should not be used in the first eight verses of a hundred-verse sequence. Strict conventions also developed regarding the handling of famous places. For instance, Yoshino was so closely associated with cherry blossoms in court poetry that, in Gekimosho, Yoshimoto advised against trying to link the two, saying that the ability to do so in a fresh way was beyond the reach of contemporary poets. Ijichi Tetsuo, Rengaron shu, 1:70.

15. Tanaka Yutaka, ed., Zeami geijutsuron shu, pp. 281—88. 16. Konishi Jin'ichi, Nogakuron kenkyii, p. 86. 17. Nose Asaji, "Rengaron to nogakuron ni arawaretaru jidai geijutsu ishiki," pp. 44—45. For Zeami's views on tsuyoki ("vigor") and yugen, and their degenerate manifestations, see Fushikaden, zz 35 and 50. 18. Tanaka, Zeami geijutsuron shu, pp. 291ft. 19. Nose, Yugenron, p. 140. 20. Nose, "Rengaron to nogakuron," p. 48. 21. Yoshimoto equates renga with waka at the beginning of Hekirensho: Ijichi Tetsuo, Omote Akira, and Kuriyama Riichi, eds., Rengaron shu, nogakuron shu, hairon shu, p. 17. 22. In Michi—Chusei no rinen, p. 163, Konishi Jin'ichi describes the following aspects of Zeami's style as being renga-like: graceful overtones, the subtle combination and distribution of images, and use of a disjunctive mode of discourse. 23. Omote Akira and Amano Fumio, Nogaku no rekishi, p. 43. 24. In Go on (zz 226-28), "Togoku kudari" is referred to as "Kaido kudari" (Journey along the Coast Road). For a translation see P. G. O'Neill, Early No Drama, pp. 15 3—60. Naami's name also appears in Tsukubashu and Murasakrno senku, a major renga event in the early Muromachi period. 25. For a discussion of Rin'ami see Takemoto Mikio, "Rin'a ko—Nambokucho-ki kusemai sakusha no yokogao," pp. 1-14. Rin'ami is described as a member of Gusai's circle in Sozei's treatise Kokon rendanshu and elsewhere. 26. Evidence has recently been found reinforcing the view of some scholars that the Buddhist official was Kyoben of Todaiji Temple. A courtier's diary, Koyo ki, contains an account of two flower-arranging contests, the first such record, at Yoshimoto's mansion in 1380. Kyoben is listed as a participant in the first contest, whereas the title sonshoin is mentioned instead regarding the return match two weeks later. (Matsuoka Shinpei, "Koten bungaku no naka no kodomo," pp. 76-81.) 27. For a discussion of tonseisha see Inoue Muneo, Chusei kadanshi no kenkyii, Muromachi zenki, pp. 74-75. The term tonseisha was widely used to refer to members of the Ji sect of Pure Land Buddhism, who took religious names ending with -ami, although they were not the only ones to do so. In all likelihood, Rin'ami was a member of that sect, and the presence of the suffix in Zeami's name has led to speculation that he was a member, too. Dismissal of the theory in recent times has contributed to an unfortunate tendency to ignore the prominent role of this sect in the arts during the Muromachi period. 221

NOTES TO PAGES 40-50 28. Gogumai ki, Eiwa 4 [1378)/6/7. Another court diary notes that Nijo Yoshimoto and three other high-ranking court officials accompanied Yoshimitsu to a subscription noh performance in 1383. The diarist makes it clear that the attendance of such high-ranking officials was unusual. Yoshida-ke hinami ki, Eitoku 3 [1383)/9/17) cited in Ito Kei, Shinhokuchd no hito to bungaku, p. 174· 29. Kido Saizo, Rengashi zonko, 1:327. Hitoiigoto (1468) was written by the renga poet-priest Shinkei. 30. The treatise can be found in Omote Akira and Ito Masayoshi, eds., Kotnparu kodensho shusei, pp. 197-214. Kanera's reference to the "late Zenchiku" in the essay, written for Soin in 1471, is the only clue regarding the date of Zenchiku's death (pp. 567—68). 31. For a brief biographical sketch of Soin see Omote and Ito, eds., Kompatu kodensho shusei, pp. 63-64. 32. Sanetaka-ko ki, Eisho 6 [1509] intercalary 8/26; cited in Ito Masayoshi, "Yokyoku no waka-teki kiban," p. 10. The excerpt below, dated Bunki 3 [1503] /3/27, is quoted in Haga Koshiro, Higashiyama bunka no kenkyu, p. 125. 33. One of thirteen plays by Nobumitsu that are still performed, Kocho is located in Nogami Toyoichiro, ed., Yokyoku zenshu, 3:73-82. For an English translation see Chifumi Shimazaki, trans., The Noh. Vol. 3: Woman Noh, 1:111-37.

34. Sanetaka's diary entry is dated Bunki 3 [1503)/9/19. The other plays on the program included Yashima, Izutsu, Axna, Sesshoseki, Kayoi Komachi, Ukai, Tamakazura, Matsumushi, Zegai, and Shojo. A member of the Yamana clan in Tajima, Tadatoki was also known as Kusakabe Tadatoki. His Genii commentary, Genji monogatari jinryusho (1484), is discussed by Inaga Keiji in "Rin'itsusho shoin no Genji monogatari jinryusho ο megutte," pp. 40-45. Inaga notes that the information in the commentary over­ laps with Ichijo Kanera's Kacho yosei. Tadatoki also left behind brief notes on Sozei's teachings called Zeijinsho. Asagao is located in Ito 1:35-44. 35. Ito (1:396) demonstrates the close correspondence between the material on morning glories in Asagao and renga, using the 1494 manual Renga yoriai. 36. Sanetaka's diary entry marks the first appearance of Asagao in medieval records. Its frequent mention in sixteenth-century accounts and inclusion in early collections of noh plays suggest that it was popular. Its removal from the repertoire in the Edo period may be a sign of changing tastes as renga gave way to haikai, a derivative form of linked verse less rigidly bound by rules and con­ ventional associations. Chapter 3. The Genji and the Noh i. For instance, Ikeda Yasaburo lists 9 Genii plays (Ochiba is omitted) com­ pared with 28 for Heike monogatari, 11 for Taiheiki, and 10 each for Gempei seisuiki and Gikeiki. ("Chusei geino e no eikyo," p. 225.) 2. Taikan intro. vol., pp. 273-358. The figures were compiled by Minegishi Yoshiaki, "Yokyoku to waka," in Nogami Toyoichiro, ed., Nogaku zensho, 3:128. 3. Monica Bethe and Karen Brazell, Dance in the No Theater, 2:2-3. The fig­ ures were compiled from Nogami, ed., Yokyoku zenshu, 1:20-37. 4. Iwase Houn, "Genji monogatari to mono no ke," p. 26. 222

NOTES TO PAGES 51-56 5. Murasaki Shikibu nikki, Murasaki Shikibu shu, pp. 131-32. See Richard Bowring, trans., Murasaki Shikibu: Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, pp. 230-31. 6. In "Genji monogatari daisanbu no hoho" (pp. 100-102), after examining the Genji possession scenes in light of the poetry exchange about mono no ke in Murasaki Shikibu's diary, Mitani Kuniaki concludes that the possession of Yugao and Aoi constitutes an expression of guilt on the part of the observer, Genji, and that, on one level, the possession of Ukifune reflects the guilty conscience of the bishop of Yokawa, who presides over the exorcism of the spirit. As Mitani observes, however, Ukifune's possession cannot be explained solely by the bishop's troubled conscience about his priestly vows, inasmuch as it fails to account for her clearly voiced wish to die and her impression that somebody resembling Niou had taken her away, which suggests the expression of a subconscious desire. Since these insights about the bishop and Ukifune, like the possession of Oigimi referred to in the spirit's confession, are not elaborated upon elsewhere in the Genji, Mitani ultimately regards this episode as an example of the fragmentation and the lack of a center that set the final chapters apart from the rest of the Genji. 7. Moreover, Kaoru first catches a glimpse of Ukifune when she stops at Uji after a pilgrimage to Hatsuse in "Yadorigi" (5:474-83; 8:931-35). Norma Field, The Splendor of Longing in the Tale of Genji, pp. 278-86, offers a lively modern interpretation of both Ukifune and the bishop of Yokawa. 8. 4:376—78; 5:674-75. In the second "Wakana" chapter, Rokujo's spirit nearly kills Murasaki before manifesting itself and complaining to Genji about the clamorous incantations and sutra readings that cause her to be enveloped in flames (4:224-28; 8:617-19). 9. The prayer circulated widely in Japan as part of the Wakan roei shu (no. 588), an early eleventh-century anthology of excerpts from Chinese and Japanese classics. 10. The title of Gen;'i ippon kyo apparently reflects the practice of writing out each chapter [ippon) of the Lotus Sutra, or writing a waka poem about each one, and performing a memorial service. (Tokue Gensei, Muromachi geinoshi ronko, p. 383.) For an account of how the correspondence between the Genji chapter titles and the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, mentioned below, was reached, see Ii Haruki, Genji monogatari no densetsu, pp. 174-76. 11. See Ii, Genji monogatari no densetsu, pp. 168-70. The complicated textual history of Hobutsushu makes it difficult to date the story about Murasaki Shikibu. 12. Quoted in ibid., p. 189. By invoking the Confucian values of righteousness and benevolence and the Buddhist idea of enlightenment, the tale, which belongs to the genre of otogi zoshi, or "companion tales," claims the merit of the Genji from the point of view of the two dominant medieval ideologies. 13. The terminology follows Chatman, Story and Discourse, p. 19. 14. It is left to the aikyogen to fill in the details about Lady Rokujo's identity. During the interlude when the actor playing Lady Rokujo is temporarily offstage changing costumes, the aikyogen, representing a goblin living in Shikimi Field, appears and explains that Lady Rokujo was one of the gentlest of Genji's many ladies, as well as being a renowned beauty. He says that she was punished by tengu because of vanity about her beauty. 15. According to Taikan intro. vol., pp. 240-41, and others, only about a quarter of the plays lack a kuse. 223

NOTES TO PAGES 57-65 16. "Utsusemi" occurs in two poems about the death of Aoi and Murasaki that draw upon the connotation of emptiness associated with the image. On the other eight occasions, it refers to Utsusemi. 17. David Lattimore, "Allusion and T'ang Poetry," p. 409. Lattimore's article contains an interesting discussion on the nature of allusion. 18. In YKS, Tamakazwa has tadorikimuan ("followed") in the last line of Genji's poem, whereas the modern libretti of most of the noh schools are the same as, or close to, the Genii, with tazvnekitsuian or tazvaiekinuian ("come seeking"). In these versions, "visit" (my rendering of tazunete mo) in the sashi below also echoes Genji's poem. 19. Teramoto, Genii monogatari juyoshi ronko, p. 277. Sei Shonagon's re­ marks in Makwa no soshi suggest that the reason for the flower's disfavor was at least partly aesthetic: "The moonflower [yugao] is associated with the morn­ ing glory [asagao], which it resembles. The flower is very appealing, but the fruit, alas, leaves something to be desired. I wonder why it grows this way. For instance, I wish it were like winter cherries. Still, the name 'evening faces' is charming" [Makwa no soshi, pp. 155-56). 20. The Genji (1:215; 8:59) has yoiite koso ("if you came near") in the first line and honobono mitsuru ("[you] saw dimly") in the fourth line. For a discus­ sion of the poem see n. 36 to Chap. 6 below. Chapter 4. Medieval Sources of the Genji Flays i. See Horiguchi Yasuo, "Matsu onna: Izutsu no shuho," pp. 188-95. 2. My discussion of Tadanoii is based on YKS 1:241-48. For an English trans­ lation see Kenneth Yasuda, Masterworks of the No Theater, pp. 253-76. 3. Tadanori's poem goes: Yukikurete / ko no shita kage ο / yado to seba / hana ya koyoi no I aruji naramashi. ("Night has fallen along the way,· if I take shelter beneath the tree, perhaps the blossoms will serve as host.") It is recited in the story of Tadanori's death in battle in Heike monogatari, chap. 9. 4. In YKS, the use of Genji material extends from the sashi on p. 242 to the ageuta on p. 244; Yukihira's poem is recited in the shite's sashi on p. 243. For a discussion of Suma as a poetic place see Haruo Shirane, The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of The Tale of Genji, pp. 18-21. 5. Atsumon is located in YKS 1:233-40. A translation is available in Yasuda, Masterworks of the No Theater, pp. 229-52. 6. Regarding Zeami's connection with Suma Genji see the beginning of Chap. 8. My discussion of Matsukaze is based on the text in YKS 1:57—65. For an En­ glish text see Shimazaki, trans., The Noh. Vol. 3: Woman Noh, 2:141—91. Al­ though no records from the Heian period survive regarding Yukihira's banish­ ment to Suma, his name became synonymous with exile there. 7. The shite's first sashi-, YKS 1:59. It is not clear from Zeami's treatise Go on how much of Matsukaze Kan'ami composed. In "Sando no kaisaku reikyoku ο meguru shomondai" (pp. 22-25), Takemoto Mikio argues on stylistic grounds that Kan'ami wrote only the sashi and the following sageuta and ageuta. Noting that the passage definitely ascribed to Kan'ami, the beginning of the sashi, con­ tains an extended quotation from the Genji, Takemoto contrasts it with other parts of the play that weave in Genji phrases found in renga, a mark of Zeami's style. What Takemoto does not point out is the close correspondence between the Genji material in the sashi and the fourteenth-century Genii okagami, a 224

NOTES TO PAGES 65-79 digest of all the Gen;'i poems that incorporates material from the prose context to explain the circumstances under which the poems were written. Excluding the last phrase, ama no ie ("home of the fisherfolk" in my translation), the first six lines of the sashi follow the synopsis of "Suma" in the digest (2:12a) con­ cerning Genji's life in exile [Genji 2:190; S:23i). Ama no ie and the first ex­ pression in the next, untranslated line of the sashi, satobanaie ("far from any village"), which are mentioned on p. 2b of the digest, come from the beginning of the "Suma" chapter prior to Genji's departure for Suma (2:153; S:2i9). 8. Wada Eiko, "Suma ο butai to shita no," p. 5. 9. zz 228-29,· Tadanoii, YKS 1:242. 10. Other items in the kuse found in Ichibu ienga yoriai include fune ("boat"), chidoii ("plover"), and ama no tomoya ("fisherman's thatched-roof hut"). Cited in Wada, "Suma ο butai to shita no," p. 5. 11. Ibid. As I observed in n. 7 above, the long passage in Matsukaze resembles the synopsis in the poetry digest Genji okagami. 12. Kido Saizo, Nijo Yoshimoto no kenkyu, p. 82. 13. See Renshu ryozai, vol. 15 of ZoAu zoku gunsho ruiju, p. 482. 14. The immediate source of the Chinese allusion appears to be a poem on snow by Songyo (Tachibana no Aritsura) in the Wakan roei shu (no. 380): In Lady Pan's room, the color of a fan in autumn,· On the emperor's throne, the sound of the zither at night. The story of Yugao's fan is referred to, in turn, in Hanjo, a play about Lady Pan (Han); see ItO 3:125. For an English translation see Donald Keene, ed., Twenty Plays of the No Theatre, pp. 129-45. 15. Moshiogusa-, cited in Ito 3:373, n. 13. 16. Renju gappeki shu gives itsutsu no sawari as a linking word for ONNA ("woman," no. 527). In other plays, gosho is translated as "five obstacles." For an explanation of the term see Go, below, n. 48 to Chap. 5. 17. Genji ozuna, pp. 21-22. 18. A closely related digest Genji taigai shimpisho has tsuma ito kogashitaru ("deeply tinged along the edge with incense") instead of tsuma kurenai ni ko­ gashitaru ("tinged along the edge with crimson from incense"). The text is col­ lated with Genji ozuna, pp. 21-22. The Genji simply has ito kogashitaru ("deeply tinged with incense"). 19. Hikaru Genji ichibu ienga yoiiai no koto, pp. 138-40. The poem about the chapter title at the beginning of the synopsis is attributed, rather implausi­ bly, to Fujiwara no Teika. 20. Like the NKBZ edition of the Genji, Nonomiya has aki no hana ("autumn flowers") instead of aki no kusa ("autumn grasses"), a form found in Kawachi and betsubon texts of the Genji. Hikaru Genji ichibu renga yoriai no koto also has mushi no ne ("sound of insects") from Genji's journey to the shrine (2:77; S: 186), whereas near the end of Nonomiya the playwright conflates the words matsumushi ("pine crickets") and ne ("sound") from a poem by Lady Rokujo (2:82; S:i88). For the purposes of this study, I consider matsumushi no ne (ren­ dered as "pine crickets cry" in the play) to be equivalent to mushi no ne. 21. In Nonomiya, "sightseers' carriages" [monomi-guruma] refers to the clash between Lady Aoi's and Lady Rokujo's carriages in "Aoi," whereas here it would seem to denote the carriages that turned out to see the High Priestess's proces­ sion when she went to bid farewell to the emperor before departing for Ise Shrine. 225

NOTES TO PAGES 80-90 22. The anecdote about Soseki (d. 1533), a student of renga and the classics under S5gi, comes from the actor Komparu Zempo's observations on the noh in Zempo zotan·, Omote and ItO, eds., Komparu kodensho shiisei, p. 451. Nonomiya is mentioned in Genji ozuna, p. 48. 23. Kakaisho, in Tamagami Takuya, Yamamoto Ritatsu, and Ishida Joji, eds., Shimeisho, Kakaisho, pp. 595-96. A discussion of the possession of Ukifune can be found in Chap. 3 above, and in notes 6 and 7 to Chap. 3. 24. Hikaru Genji ichibu uta, pp. 288—89. 25. Jonathan Culler, Structuralist Poetics, pp. 138-45. 26. Tonomura Natsuko, "Genji monogatari to enkyoku," pp. 117-18. The Genji songs include "Love in the Genji," "The Splendor of Lavender [Murasaki] and Light [the Akashi lady]," and "Genji." The third song deals with the practice concert held by Genji's ladies in the second "Wakana" chapter. An art form that died out in the Edo period, soga (or soka) are also known as enkyoku ("banquet songs"). 27. Takano Tatsuyuki, ed., Nihon kayo shusei, 5:166; Nonomiya, Koyama 1:284—85. For "fade," some Genji texts have the verb form otoroete instead of otoroetsutsu-, also, as noted earlier, some have kusa ("grasses") instead of hana ("flower"). Again, matsumushi no ne in Nonomiya is considered equivalent to mushi no ne. 28. Also cited in Ii, Genji monogatari chushakushi no kenkyu, p. 950. For a translation of the manual Genji monogatari ekotoba see Miyeko Murase, Ico­ nography of The Tale of Genji. "Faded flowers," "rough-hewn wooden torii," "low brushwood fence," and "moonlit night" also occur in the notes to Yotsutsuji Yoshinari's lectures on the Genji recorded by the renga poet Hirai Sojo between 1386 and 1388. (Katagiri Yoichi, "Toza no kikigaki to kikigaki no tozasei: Genji monogatari chidorisho shinko," p. 119.) 29. The quotation comes from Jumon saihisho; Kid5 and Imoto, eds., Rengaron shu, hatron shu, p. 113. Chapter 5. Plays about Utsusemi i. The poem was written by a woman called Shikibu no Myobu about the end of a relationship: yuku sue ο nagarete nani ni tanomiken taekeru mono ο nakagawa no mizu

Why did I expect our relationship to go on forever, when it has ceased to exist like the waters of the Middle River? {Goshvdsha, "Miscellaneous," 16:967)

2. Sigmund Freud, Interpretation of Dreams, trans. James Strachey (New York: Avon, 1965), p. 330; cited in Maureen Quilligan, The Language of Alle­ gory, p. 35, n. 16. 3. Renju gappeki shu lists nakagawa no yado under hahakigi (no. 293) and kata tagae (no. 838) and gives ose as a linking word for the Tanabata legend (no. 23).

4. Omote and Ito, eds., Komparu kodensho shusei, p. 468. 5. Seita Hiroshi, " N o 'Go' no kenkyu—Omi no sakuhin no tokushitsu," p. 29.

226

NOTES TO PAGES 90-94 6. Kinuta, YKS 1:331-39,· Eileen Kato, trans., "Kinuta," pp. 332-46. 7. Omote and ItO, eds., Kompaiu kodensho shusei, p. 468. 8. Renju gappeki shu, no. 578. 9. Nose Asaji, Nogaku genryu ko, pp. 418-25. The following repartee (p. 424) is an example: What are the Go players wearing? "Purple Trousers" [chap. 30]. Where is the game? "Beneath the Oak" [chap. 46]. No, at the "Festival of the Cherry Blossoms" [chap. 8]. . . . Utsusemi (The Cicada's Shell) 10. "Effect of the water" [mizu no kokoiobae), "brushwood fence reminiscent of country houses" [inakaie-datsu shibagaki shite), and "crying of insects some­ where" [soko wa ka to naki mushi no koe) come from the description of Nakagawa ("Middle River") in the "Hahakigi" chapter (1:169-70; 8:39). 11. 1:203-205; S:55—56. For a discussion of the poems see the introduction to Chap. 5. 12. "Avoided an unlucky direction" [on-kata tagae-, 1:168; S:38); see n. 15 below. 13. Woven into the chorus's speech is an anonymous poem from the Shinkokinshu ("Love," 13:1195) bearing the headnote "composed when a person who promised to meet today asked if I was here": yugure ni inochi kaketaru kagero no ari ya arazu ya tou mo hakanashi

At nightfall when the drake fly clings to life even asking if it is still there or not displays inconstancy.

In the play, the last line has been changed to tou hito mo naki ("no one in­ quires"), modifying yo ("world"). Yuguie ("nightfall") provides the verb "say" [yu) for the shite's speech above. 14. Legend has it that the eighth-century ascetic En no Gyoja had a deity build a bridge in Yamato linking Kazuraki (in modern Japanese, Katsuragi) to another mountain. 15. "Lord of the Center" {nakagami-, 1:168; S:38). The deity, who traversed the heavens in a sixty-day cycle, was thought to harm travelers who entered his domain, so Genji spent the night in another direction, a move known as kata tagae, or "changing directions." Shinobu no midaie ("secret passion") comes from a comment about Genji's amorous adventures at the beginning of "Ha­ hakigi" (1:129; S:2o). 16. The italicized phrases in the chorus's speech come from the scene at Nakagawa after Genji awakens with Utsusemi at dawn (1:180; 8:45). 17. Tsuienaki ο I vaami mo hatenu I shinonome ni I toriaenu made I odoiokasuian (1:179; 8:44): The shite and chorus divide Genji's next-morning poem complaining of Utsusemi's coldness. In the Genji, it precedes the description of the setting quoted at the beginning of the kuse. The poem ends more assertively in the play with odorokasu ("awaken") instead of odorokasuian ("seems to awaken"). 18. "The night ending . . . plight" comes from the first three lines of Utsu­ semi's answering poem: 227

NOTES TO PAGE 94 mi no usa ο nageku ni akade akuru yo wa torikasanete zo ne mo nakarekeru

The night ends without an end to the laments about my plight,the crowing of the cock only adds to the tears.

The poem turns on a pun on "cock" [tori) in torikasanete ("adds to"); 1:180,S:4419. In the Genji, monuke ("discarded shell") and shionaiete ("drenched with tears") describe the reaction of Utsusemi to Genji's poem likening her discarded robe to a cicada's shell (1:204; 8:55). The noun monuke, which occurs only twice in the Genji, both times regarding Utsusemi's story, can also mean "dis­ carded seaweed" and thus is conventionally associated with shionaiete (liter­ ally, "steeped in brine"), an allusion to a poem by Fujiwara no Koretada (also Koremasa) in the Gosenshu ("Love," 11:719): suzukayama ise ο no ama no sutegoromo shionaretari to hito ya miruran

Does the robe discarded by the fisherman from Ise, home of Suzuka Mountain, seem steeped in brine?

20. Itodo kokoro mo noii no kado plays on noru ("ride" or "mount") in noii ("Law"), producing "faith mounts" and "Gate of the Law." 21. "The traveler in a hat of sedge rushes by" [tabibito no kiru cho kasa no sugenaku mo) plays on suge ("sedge") and sugenaku mo ("brusquely"), trans­ lated with fwisutete below as "rushes by without a second glance." In the fol­ lowing sequence, hitommasame to faiisutete, fuii- suggests fuiu ("rain") and thus echoes hitomurasame ("passing shower") and kasa ("hat"). Hi mo kuienu ("the sun too disappears") suggests himo ("cord" or "thread"), echoing "hat," andkuiu ("wind [thread]"). 22. "Meeting of the stars" [hoshi no ose) alludes to the legend about the stars Altair (the Herdsman) and Vega (the Weaver Maid), which meet only on the 7th day of the Seventh Month when a magpie forms a bridge for them across the Milky Way with its wings. Whereas the meeting occurs in the Fifth Month (summer) in the Genji, the play, like the legend, takes place at the beginning of autumn. Ose, or "meeting," literally means "meet-rapids"; it is echoed below in "Nakagawa" ("middle river"), which suggests "relationship" [naka) as well as "river." 23. "Broom tree that grows I in name alone by the humble cottage" {kazu naianu fuseya ni ouiu na . . . hahakigi) alludes to a poem by Utsusemi at the end of "Hahakigi" (1:187-88; S:48): kazu naranu fuseya ni ouru na no usa ni aru ni mo arazu kiyuru hahakigi

Distressed at the name it bears for growing at the humble cottage in Fuseya, the broom tree vanishes like a mirage.

A legendary tree in Fuseya village in Shinano province, the broom tree [hahaki­ gi) was visible from a distance but vanished when one approached it. 24. " N o clue . . . upon the road" [michi ni ayanaku) alludes to Genji's poem that prompted Utsusemi's response in n. 23: 228

NOTES TO PAGES 94-97 hahakigi no kokoro ο shirade sonohara no michi ni ayanaku madoinuru kana

Not knowing the feelings of the broom tree, I have wandered lost without a clue upon the road in Sonohara. (1:187; S:48)

25. A poem by the twelfth-century priest Doin in the Shinkokinshu tumn," 4:414): yama no ha ni kumo no yokogiru yoi no ma wa idete mo tsuki zo nao matarekeru

("Au­

In the evening when clouds lie across the mountain rim, though already risen the moon is still eagerly awaited.

In the play, the last line has been changed slightly. 26. Matareshi tsuki mo ochikochibito ni I kotoba ο kawasu ("the awaited moon lies far away. Speaking with yonder person"): ochikochibito ("yonder per­ son") is a pivot word, with ochi- ("distant") providing "far away" for tsuki ("moon"). The passage also suggests the close ties between Utsusemi and her stepdaugh­ ter Nokiba-no-ogi, whose nickname literally means "reeds beneath the eaves"; see Go, n. 36 below. 27. Tsuki mo samushiio plays on tsuki mo samushi ("moon is clear") and samushiio ("mat of straw"). Go (A Game of Go) 28. Genji's poem about Utsusemi at the end of the "Utsusemi" chapter is discussed in the introduction to Chap. 5. 29. "Secret passion" [shinobu no midaie) is also quoted in Utsusemi-, see n. 15 above. 30. "Evening face mistaken in the twilight" [tasokaie ni sorame narishi yu­ gao) alludes to a poem by Yugao to Genji in the "Yugao" chapter; see Hajitomi, n. 18 to Chap. 6 below. 31. In an extended river motif, imose no nakagawa plays on imose no naka("conjugal relationship"; translated as "love") and nakagawa ("Middle River"). Se in ose ("meeting") literally means "rapids," while the first two syllables of the untranslated aware ("tender feelings") suggest "foam," echoing utakata, a synonym. Also, "ties" [enishi) in the first line of the song suggests "inlet" (e). "Avoided an unlucky direction" [kata tagae) is discussed at the beginning of Chap. 5 and in Utsusemi, n. 15 above. 32. "Oh for a wizard . . . " comes from a poem by the Kiritsubo emperor after the death of Genji's mother: tazuneyuku maboroshi mogana tsute nite mo tama no arika ο soko to shirubeku

Oh for a wizard who would search on my behalf that I might know, if only through another, where her spirit dwells. (i:ni; 229

S:i2)

NOTES TO PAGES 97-99 In the play, the poem ends tama no arika wa / natsukashi ya ("the spirit's home I is fondly recalled"). In addition, tsute nite mo ("through another") takes on the sense "through hearsay." 33. "Reeds beneath the eaves" [nokiba no ogi) suggests Utsusemi's stepdaugh­ ter,· see n. 36 below. 34. "Soaked with tears" (shiojimite) echoes the Geaji (1:204,· S:ss). A meta­ phor for tears, shio ("brine") is associated with amagoiomo ("nun's robe") through ama, which can mean "fisherfolk" as well as "nun." 35. Before the ageuta, the waki in some texts says, "How strange! The spirit of Utsusemi has appeared before me. I shall pray on behalf of her soul." 36. Honoka nam I nokiba no ogi no yuaiashi: " d i m " [honoka naru) and "reeds beneath the eaves" [nokiba no ogi) echo Genji's poem to Nokiba-no-ogi at the end of "Yugao": honoka ni mo nokiba no ogi ο musubazu wa tsuyu no kagoto ο nani ni kakemashi

Had I not joined the reeds beneath the eaves, however briefly, how could I lodge a complaint about the dew? (1:264; S:8i)

In the poem, honoka is translated as "briefly." The poem is the source of the name by which Nokiba-no-ogi is conventionally known. 37. "What . . . inspired the complaint about the dew" (tsuyu no kagoto ο ba nani to kakekeru kokoro zo ya) echoes Genji's poem in n. 36. 38. "Seen as briefly as the tufts" loosely translates hono mishi-, "tufts" {ho) is embedded in hono ("briefly"). The text suggests the brevity of Genji's relation­ ship with Nokiba-no-ogi. 39. "Nakagawa without resentment" [uiami mo nakagawa) plays on vaami mo nak[i] ("without resentment") and nakagawa. 40. In Go, groups of stones "live" or "die" depending on whether they contain empty squares. "Sea of life and death" [shoji no umi) signifies the world of de­ lusion in which the cycle of rebirth is endless. Hama ("beach" or "shore") de­ notes Go stones captured from one's opponent during a game. 41. "Futile is the sight of women playing G o ! " {go no shobu utsutstma no fuzei ya): utsutsuna no ("futile") provides the verb utsu ("play") following go no shobu ("game of Go"). 42. In esoteric Buddhism, ah (alpha) and um (omega) represent all-encompass­ ing truth. "Before one's eyes" (me no mae ni): me ("eye") also denotes squares on a Go board. 43. Hoshi ("stars") are black spots at the intersection of the lines dividing a Go board into quarters; key strategic points, they are used to handicap the better player. 44. Jiiiai juku no michi aii ("ten ways . .. suffer"), perhaps once a Go or Bud­ dhist saying, is obscure, as is isei ο motome ("struggles to live") below. 45. "When assailed . . . inside out" comes from a poem by Ono no Komachi in the Kokinshu ("Love," 12:554): ito semete koishiki toki wa ubatama no yoru no koromo ο kaeshite zo nuru

When assailed by longing, I shall at least sleep with my robe turned inside out in the pitch-black night. 230

NOTES TO PAGE 99 Ubatama no ("pitch-black") is a pillow-word for "night" [yora). Wearing a robe inside out while sleeping was thought to cause a loved one to appear in a dream. The allusion is followed by nebama ya suian ("leave sleeping stones unstranded"). An opponent's stones illegally hidden before a game, nebama (liter­ ally, "sleeping shore") forms a clever transition between Komachi's poem and the sea imagery below. "Unstranded" tries to convey the nuance without being literal. 46. A blind turtle coming upon an opening beneath a drifting log is a Buddhist metaphor for the difficulty of attaining enlightenment. Ichimoku ko nan (lit­ erally, "one eye takes an eternity"): ichimoku, "eye" and "square on a Go board," here also suggests an opening in a floating log. In Buddhism, ko repre­ sents an eon ; in Go, a situation where opponents could keep recapturing each other's stones forever in the same spot unless one player is forced to play else­ where on the board. 47. In Go, wataiide (translated with michi as "path") refers to a row of stones linked along the edge of the board. The Rivers of Fire and Water denote anger and covetousness,- white stones, faith in rebirth. In Go, the better player uses white stones, the weaker one black stones. 48. "Playing Go now with five obstacles to salvation" [ima utsu gosho) con­ tains a pun on Go and "five" (go) in gosho ("five obstacles to salvation"). The Lotus Sutra states that a woman must be reborn a man before attaining salva­ tion because the impurity of her body prevents her from becoming "a Brahma god king, second the god Sakra, third King Mara, fourth a sage-king turning the Wheel, fifth a Buddha-body." (Leon Hurvitz, trans., Scripture of the Lotus Blos­ som of the Fine Dharma, pp. 2co-2or.) Sanju ("three masters to obey") refers to the Confucian ideal of a woman's submission to father, husband, and son. 49. "The Picture Contest" [eawase): chap. 17 of the Genji. Takekawa no fushi: Takekawa ("Bamboo River"; chap. 44), is named after repeated references in the chapter to a song by that title. Fushi ("melody," or "strain," and "bamboo node") also denotes an arrangement of stones in Go. The following phrase ishi ο kiritsubo turns on a play on " c u t " {kin-), producing ishi ο kiru (translated as "blocked with stones"), a move in Go that blocks, or cuts off, an opponent's stones,· and kiritsubo ("Paulownia Court"), the title of chap. 1 of the Genji. 50. In the Japanese, kiritsubo is immediately followed by hahakigi ("The Broom Tree"), chap. 2, a semantic as well as a sequential progression since Kiri­ tsubo was Genji's mother [haha). No game is played in "Hahakigi" or "Yugao"; the game between Utsusemi and her stepdaughter takes place in the intervening "Utsusemi" chapter. "Playing Go on a dark and rainy night" [go no shobu I uchishimeritaru ame no yo): an intensifier, uchi- suggests the verb "play"; hence go no shdbu uchi ("playing Go") and uchishimeritaru ("dark [damp]"). "Rainy night, I let us de­ cide the moves" [ame no yo ni I tejina ο iza ya sadamen) alludes to the "rainy night judgment" (amayo no shina-sadame) in "Hahakigi" when Genji's com­ panions discuss the merits of women of different rank. 51. Genji discovered Yugao one summer evening in "Yugao" when the lattice shutters on her dwelling were open. Tasokaredoki ("twilight hour") and sorame ("mistaken glimpse") come from a poem by Yugao later in the chapter alluding to the incident; see Hajitomi, Chap. 6, n. 18. Here, sorame also suggests a sit­ uation known as a "false eye" where Go stones appear safe but can be captured. "Closing the lattice shutter" [hajitomi ο orosu) echoes the Genji (1:215; S:6i). 231

NOTES TO PAGES 99-100 52. "A way to capture stones" translates nakade (literally, "a move in the middle"), a term signifying the placement of a stone in the midst of an oppo­ nent's group of stones that cuts them off and causes them to die. 53. "Seeking a link" [suji ο tazune[shi\) and "jeweled chaplet" [tamakazura-, the name of Yugao's daughter and title of chap. 22) come from a poem by Genji discussed in the last part of Chap. 3. The allusion here is closer to a poem on the "jeweled chaplet" by Suetsumuhana in chap. 15 ("Yomogiu"): tayumajiki suji ο tanomishi tamakazuia omoi no hoka ni Aokehanarenuru

A link I trusted would never break, the jeweled chaplet much to my surprise has parted from me. (2:331,· S:297; italics mine)

In the play, "jeweled chaplet" is likened to a ladder, or shicho: shicho ni iza ya kak[yo] ("let us make a ladder of stones"). A shicho signifies the placement of two parallel rows of stones diagonally across a Go board entrapping an oppo­ nent's stones. 54. In "Cypress Pillar" [makibashira, chap. 31), Higekuro ("black beard") arouses his wife's jealousy by taking Tamakazura as a second wife. A homo­ phone for "chapter," maki ("cypress") also goes with the preceding higekuro no, hence "Higekuro's chapter." Tatsu goes with "cypress pillar" and "scandal": makibashira tatsu ("cypress pillar stands") and na ο tatsu ("give rise to scandal"). It anticipates shita kemuri ("smoke within"; translated as "passion") below, since smoke also rises {kemuri tatsu). In Go, tatsu refers to linking stones in the direction of the center of the board. 5 5. In alluding to the episode where Higekuro's wife threw the contents of an incense burner over him in a fit of jealousy (3:356-57; 8:497-98), the text weaves in expressions associated with fire: shita kemuri (see n. 54 above) and mitne kuyuru ("smoldering . . . breast"). Uchikakeru, "cover with [incense]/' also denotes a Go game that is halted for a while. 56. "Perfume" and "fragrance" translate the names of Genji's grandson Niou and putative son Kaoru, who compete for Ukifune's affection in the last five chapters of the Genji. "Branch of Plum" (ume ga e) and "Rose Plum" [kobai), chaps. 32 and 43, are introduced here for rhetorical effect. 57. Mi ο ujiyama plays on "Uji Mountain" and "wretched" [ushi). Ukifune lived in Uji. "Frost and snow and thickly growing trees" [shimo yuki no shigeki): with snow, shigeki means "covered," and with trees, "thickly growing." In the following shitane ham samumi ("roots swelling in the cold spring air"), hazu means "swell" and "spring." 58. "Early Ferns" [sawarabi): chap. 48. Te ("hand") is a metaphor for fern fronds in a couplet by Ono no Takamura in the Wakan roei shu (no. 12): shijin no wakaki warabi wa / hitote ο nigiru ("Young ferns dusted with lavender I are like a person clenching his hand"). As a move or strategy in Go, te anticipates the game below. 59. Mite means "third move" and "look." I have taken rokumoku fushi, an obscure term, to refer to a situation in Go where a row of six stones is safe from capture. 60. Tochi (literally, "Market Number Ten") alludes to a poem by Shokushi Naishinno (d. r20i) in the Shinkokinshu ("Autumn," 5:485): 232

NOTES TO PAGES 100-101 fukenikeri yama no ha chikaku tsuki saete tochi no sato ni koromo utsu koe

Night has deepened, Near the mountain rim the moon is bright: in the village of Tochi the sound of fulling cloth.

Tochi, a town in Yamato, was famous for fulling cloth; the name also suggests "ten plays" [to uchi). 61. In "let's play along with a fulling block" [go no shobu kinuta ni soete uto yo), utsu (here uto) means "full [cloth]" and "play [Go]." 62. An allusion to a couplet from Po Chu-i's poem Wen yeh chen ("On Hearing a Fulling Block at Night"): "In the Eighth and Ninth Months when the nights are long, I A thousand times, ten thousand times, the sound [of the fulling block] does not end." The couplet is included in the Wakan wei shu (no. 345)· 63. In yorozute utsusemi wa maketari ("ten thousand moves they make. Utsusemi loses"), utsu ("play") is embedded in "Utsusemi." Aki ("autumn") implies "become weary of" [aku), suggesting Genji's feelings toward Nokibano-ogi with whom he slept only once. The untranslated katsu in katsu ho ni izuru ("[on the other hand], tufts are revealed"; rendered as "tufted rushes") provides the verb "win" (katsu), translated as "winner." Ho ("tufts") also suggests "sail" (Ao), echoing "boat." 64. In ashiwakebune I osu koso uxami naiikeie, uiami means "resentment" and "view of the bay" (here "reveals a bay"), while osu ("push") suggests "playing stones" as well as "pushing a boat." As a negative verb in the shite's speech below, it suggests "without pressing [an opponent]" and "without repressing [one's feelings]." 65. When Genji attempted to sleep with Utsusemi in "Utsusemi," she fled in the dark on hearing the rustle of a robe (1:198; 8:53). 66. Although the meaning of the original, shinobine no I mina shiiukarikeiu chigiri, is problematic, it may represent a condensation of the Genji, which has mina shizumaieru yo no onzo no kehai. .. ito shirukaiikeii ("the sound of his . . . robe when everyone was quiet could clearly be heard"). The Yokyoku sosho text of Go gives shinobine no munashikaiikeiu chigizi kana ("stealthy sound was the sign of an empty bond"). Shinobine ("stealthy sound") also implies "stolen sleep." "Radiant courtier" translates hikaru kimi, namely, Genji. (For an explanation of the origin of the expression, see Chap. 6, n. 47 below.) 67. "Cicada discarding its shell" [utsusemi no monuke) and "hidden among the trees" [kogakuiete) echo the Genji; see Utsusemi, n. 19 above, and the poem about the cicada's wings copied by Utsusemi, which is discussed at the beginning of Chap. 5. Katawaia ni naku naku: "no longer at his side" [katawaia ni naku) and "cried and cried" [naku naku}. 68. The meaning of the Japanese sentence is unclear. Uzami no naka no koromo plays on uiami no naka ("disharmony") and naka no koromo, which suggests lovers' robes shared at night, here presumably the one discarded by Utsusemi that Genji took home. "Fondly . . . fragrance" [sono utsuriga mo natsukashiku) echoes the Genji, which says that Genji regarded the "fragrance [of the robe] fondly" [ito natsukashiki hitoga-, 1:204; S:55). Here the text could also be referring to Utsusemi's memory of the fragrance of Genji's robe. Uiami suggests the lining of a robe [uia) as well as resentment. 69. "Cicada's shell" [utsusemi) also goes with the preceding speech: i.e., 233

NOTES TO PAGES 101-109 omoide wa utsu/semi no ("memories are empty" and "the memories are Utsusemi's"). 70. "Cicada shell's wings" (utsusemi no ha) comes from Lady Ise's poem about the cicada's wings copied by Utsusemi. "Reeds beneath the eaves" and "complaint about the dew" echo the poem Genji sent to Nokiba-no-ogi lightly complaining of her fickleness; his poem hints at their brief encounter and her recent marriage. (See nn. 36 and 37 above.) The passage also implies that Nokiba-no-ogi took Utsusemi's place after the latter fled from Genji in the night. 71. "Floating bridge of dreams" [yume no ukihashi): the title of the last chapter of the Genji. 72. In utsutsu ni kaesu usuginu, kaesu ("return") goes with both utsutsu ("reality") and usuginu ("slender robe"), producing "returned to reality" and the untranslated "turn a robe inside out." As noted earlier, sleeping in a robe turned inside out was thought to cause a loved one to appear in a dream. Chapter 6. Flays about Yugao and Hei Daughter Tamakazura i. In most of the plays, the spirit takes the form of a woman. The group includes two plays described in Chap. 2, Kocho (Butterfly) and Asagao (Morning Glory), which draw upon the Genji but which, unlike the ambiguous Hajitomi, frankly state that the shite is the spirit of a butterfly and flower, respectively, rather than a Genji character. For a discussion of this type of play, see Donald Shively, "Buddhahood for the Nonsentient: A Theme in No Plays," pp. 135-61. 2. A sixteenth-century diary, Shonyo Shonin nikki, for instance, contains the following comment regarding a noh program: YUGAO hajitomi nari ("the Yugao play about the lattice shutter"); Nose, Nogaku genryH ko, p. 1268. 3. Naito Tozaemon has not been conclusively identified, although a semiprofessional noh actor and several warriors bearing a similar name appear in Muromachi records. 4. In Konishi Jin'ichi, Koyama Hiroshi, and Ikeda Hiroshi, "Teidan: No to bunseki hihyo—Zeami shisho no tokushitsu," pp. 3-8, for example, Konishi Jin'ichi states that the unified imagery in yugao is typical of Zeami's style. In "Sakuhin kenkyii: Yugao," pp. 8—9, he qualifies this remark somewhat, saying that the imagery is not as unified as in Kinuta, but he still maintains that Yugao is closer to Zeami's style than to that of other playwrights. 5. Renju gappeki shu (no. 781). 6. Seidensticker's translation of the Genji passage (8:407); "bright red" translates kumon naku akaki (3:129). Genji kokagami has ktaenai no iro fukaku ("deep crimson"). I am indebted to the insightful comment in Ito 2:481. 7. As Ii Haruki notes in "Sakuhin kenkyu: Ukifune" (p. 7), some versions of Genji kokagami give mi wa sore naiade. Genji monogataii teiyo and Hikaru Genji ichibu uta also have the same form. The modern libretti of all except the Kita school follow or approximate the NKBZ edition of the Genji in the last line, with tazunekitsuran or tazunekinuian ("come here seeking") instead of tadoiikinuian ("followed here"). 8. The expressions are listed in Renju gappeki shu under no. 542 ("hair," "black hair," etc.). Nemidaiegami ("sleep-disheveled hair") is related on a secondary level. 9. Tokue Gensei and Miyata Kazumi, "Yokyoku zakko," Kongo, no. 119 (Jan234

NOTES TO PAGES 109-112 uary 1984); quoted in ItO 3:481. The poem is located in Teika's personal an­ thology, Shiii guso. 10. The catalogues include Nohon sakusha chwnon, Kayo sakusha kd, and fika densho. Hajitomi (The Lattice Shutter) 11. According to the fourteenth-century commentary Kakaisho, Murasaki Shikibu's grave was located at Unrin'in (in modern Japanese, Urin'in), a temple in Murasakino—literally, "lavender fields"—on the northern outskirts of Kyoto (Introduction to the NKBZ edition of the Genji 1:53). 13,. Rikka kuyo (or hana kuyo): Buddhist services conducted on behalf of flowers dedicated to the Buddha. 13. "[In] vast woodlands" translates koiin, an obscure term, written with characters meaning "wide" and "forest." Shimogakari texts have koin ("[as] time goes by"), written with characters for "light" and "shadow." 14. "Wondrous Scripture of the Great Vehicle" refers to the Lotus Sutra. 15. The Antaiabhava sutia [Chuingyo) is traditionally cited as the source of somoku kokudo shikkai jobutsu ("plants, trees, and earth all attain Buddhahood"), although the expression cannot be found in it today. 16. The shite recites a variant form of a poem by the Heian-period priest Henjo in the Gosenshu ("Spring," 3:123), with te ni toieba ("held in the hand") instead of ozitsmeba ("once picked") in the first line. The last four lines are the same: tabusa ni kegaru / tatenagara I miyo no botoke ni I hana tatematswu. "Buddhas of the Three Realms" refers to the Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future. 17. Shiioki hana no onoie hitori emi no mayu ο hiraketaru: the passage closely follows the description of the flower at the beginning of the "Yiigao" chapter (1:210; S:s8). 18. Tasokaredoki ("hour of twilight") is closely linked to the initial encoun­ ter between Genji and Yiigao summarized at the beginning of Chap. 6. Tasokare occurs in Genji's first poem, while Yugao uses tasokaredoki in a later poetry exchange that alludes to the first one: hikari ari to mishi yugao no uwatsuyu wa tasokaredoki no sorame narikeri

The sparkling dew that seemed so radiant on the evening face was a mistaken glimpse in the deceptive twilight. (1:236; S:7o)

Her poem is alluded to again below (see n. 23). 19. "Human-sounding name" and "hangs on lowly fences" echo the passage in "Yiigao" where an attendant explains to Genji: "The white flowers blooming over there are called 'evening faces.' They have a human-sounding name and grow like this on lowly fences" (1:210; S:s8). 20. The Kurumaya text, an early shimogakaii edition of Hajitomi (ca. 1600), has kore wa kono nobe no kusa no kage yori mairitari ("I have come from the shadow of the grasses in this field") instead of ware wa kono hana no kage yori mairitari (I have come from the shadow of this flower"),· Koyama 1:326. 21. "A certain villa" (nanigashi no in); 1:233; S:68. 22. The verb "say" (yu) is embedded in yugao. 235

NOTES TO PAGES 112-13 23. Sorame ("blink of an eye"; literally, "an averted glance") alludes to the poem by Yugao quoted above, where it has the sense "mistaken glimpse." 24. From a Chinese poem on "plants" by Chokukan (Tachibana no Naomoto) in the Wakan roei shu (no. 437): The gourds are often empty, and Yen Yiian's garden is rank with weeds. Goosefoot chokes the place, and rain dampens Yuan Hsien's door. The last line is sung by the shite below. Gourds were used to hold food and drink,- a member of the gourd family, yugao ("evening faces") in the preceding line acts as a kind of preface to the poem. Yen Yuan and Yuan Hsien were disciples of Confucius. 25. From a poem by Emperor Saga (786—842) on a "mountain dwelling" in the Shinsen roei shu, a twelfth-century anthology of Chinese and Japanese poems: In the evening sun, the mountain's shadow pierces the window and departs: the faint murmur of a fountain flies toward the door. Takano, ed., Nihon kayo shusei, 3:457. In the play, the first line is corrupt, obscuring the meaning. 26. Mount Lu is associated with rain, and thus the preceding speeches by the shite and chorus, through Po Chu-i's famous verse Lu-shan yii yeh tsao an chung ("A rainy night in a grass hut on Mount Lu") ; Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, Japanese Court Poetry, p. 232. 27. From a poem by the T'ang poet Fang Kan (Hokan) on "a mountain dwelling" in the Shinsen roei shu: Through the east window the crescent moon strikes the zither's stand; the autumn hills beyond the fence are reflected in the wine cup. Takano, ed., Nihon kayo shusei, 3:457. The play has "clear moon" [rogetsu) instead of "crescent moon" [sogetsu). 28. Mono sugoki kaze no oto: su- in sudo no takegaki ("bamboo fence [made of slats]") provides the verb for the preceding phrase kaze no oto ("sound of wind"). Take ("bamboo") anticipates arishi yo (literally, "the world of the past"), through yo ("world"), a homophone with a word denoting the interval between bamboo nodes. 29. Yugao's poem to Genji after their arrival at the villa (1:234,- S:69). The last line, which has been changed to taeshi ato no ("a dead soul," or "after [the moon] vanished"), modifies mata itsu ka aubeki ("when will they meet again") below. For the full version of the original poem see n. 44 below and the first three lines of the shite's entrance speech in Yugao. 30. The chorus and shite recite a poem by Yugao to To no Chujo about their daughter Tamakazura in "Hahakigi" (1:158; S:33): yamagatsu no I kakiho am to mo I oriori ni I aware wa kakeyo I nadeshiko no tsuyu. In the play, the last line has been changed to nadeshiko no / hana no sugata ("tender wild pink I form of a flower"). Nadeshiko (dianthus superbus-, a pink, or wild carnation) 236

NOTES TO PAGES 113-14 was a term of endearment for children in waka. In the middle ages, Tamakazura was often referred to as "nadeshiko" on account of the poem. 31. The italicized words come from the early morning scene at Yugao's house in the Fifth Ward before Genji took her to the villa (1:232; S:68). Used repeat­ edly regarding Yugao's house in "Yugao," tonari ("next door") became a linking word for yugao in ienga. 32. The description closely follows the Genji except for the addition of tsuma ("[along the] edge"; 1:211; 8:58). 33. "The person passing by over yonder" [uchiwatasu ochikatabito) echoes the passage where Genji obliquely asks the name of the yugao flower by allud­ ing to a poem in the Kokinshu. The poem is discussed at the beginning of Chap. 6. In the Genji, it was one of Genji's attendants, not Yugao, who told him the name of the flower. 34. The word "fan" in classical Japanese [afugi; modern ogi) contains a play on the verb " m e e t " [afu-, modern au). 35. "Homeless child of fisherfolk" (sadamenu ama no ko) echoes the passage where Genji asks Yugao her name and she replies vaguely, "I am the child of fisherfolk . . . " [ama no ko nareba-, 1:236; S:7o), alluding to a poem in the Wakan roei shu (no. 721): shiranami no yosuru nagisa ni yo ο sugusu ama no ko nareba yado mo sadamezu

On the strand where the cresting waves come in I pass my life; the child of fisherfolk, I have no fixed abode.

The version in the Shinkokinshu ("Miscellaneous Poems," 18:1701) has yo ο tsukusu ("I spend my life") in the third line. The play embeds ama no ko in ama no kono yado no / aiuji ο tare to shira­ nami. Ama no kono yado conflates ama no ko ("child of fisherfolk") and kono yado ("this dwelling"), while tare to shiranami plays on tare to shira[nu] ("with­ out knowing who . ..") and shiranami (literally, "white cresting waves"). Shira­ nami no yorube no sue, in turn, plays on yorube ("haven") and yoru ("ap­ proach"; i.e., "[white waves] approach"), translated loosely as "steadfast as long as waves crest upon the sea." 36. A variant form of Genji's first poem to Yugao with orite koso ("if you picked it") instead of yorite koso ("If you came near") in the first line and honobono mieshi ("faintly seen") instead of honobono mitsuru ("[someone] faintly saw") in the third (1:215; S:6i). It was necessary to reverse the order of the last three lines in English; in the original Japanese, "the flowering evening face" is repeated. The subject of yorite (or orite) and mime (translated as "know") is not specified in Japanese, causing debate over the centuries about whether Genji or Yugao is the subject of the verbs. Variants similar to the one in Hajitomi were not uncommon in the middle ages; both Genji ozuna (p. 22) and Genji okagami (1:37b), for instance, give orite and miyuru. 37. Instead of "final home" [tsui no yadori), the Kurumaya text has "dewcovered h o m e " [tsuyu no yadori); Koyama 1:330. 38. Yutsuke, an elegant word for "cock," contains a play on "said" [ya). 39. Asama (translated as "nothing is hidden from the light of day") means "clear" and "morning." 40. "She said" (ya) is embedded in yugao. 237

NOTES TO PAGES 115-16 Yugao (Evening Faces) 41. Prior to Tamakazura's pilgrimage to Hatsuse Shrine after returning to the capital as an adult in "Tamakazura," the vice-governor of Bungo, the son of her old nurse, says: "The Gods and Buddhas will guide Tamakazura in the right direction. The Hachiman Shrine nearby [on Mount Otoko] is the same as the ones at Matsura and Hakozaki where she prayed" (3:97; 8:394). 42. "Forest in the Clouds" [kumo no hayashi) is a literal translation of the characters for Unrin[in], a Tendai sect temple in Murasakino (literally, "laven­ der fields") north of Kyoto, said to be the site of Murasaki Shikibu's grave. The upper Kamo Shrine is also in Murasakino. Tadasu Forest, in the next line, is the site of the lower Kamo Shrine. 43. "Is that not the moon?" (tsuki ya aranu) comes from Ariwara no Narihira's famous poem in Ise monogatati (episode 4): tsuki ya aranu haru ya mukashi no haru naranu waga mi hitotsu wa moto no mi ni shite

Is that not the moon and the spring not the spring of long ago? Yet only I remain as I was before.

The hero had courted a lady in the Fifth Ward who suddenly moved away with­ out telling him. He composed the poem in the following year when he went back to see the house. The floor was described as being bare [abaia naiu); the word for "ruined dwelling" in the play is abaiaya. 44. Yama no ha no / kokoro mo shhade / yuku tsuki wa / uwa no sora nite / kageya taenan (1:234; S:69). 45. The first couplet alludes to a Chinese legend about the goddess of Mount Wu, who exchanged vows with the King of Ch'u. Before disappearing, she re­ vealed her identity and explained that she turned into a cloud at dawn and rain in the evening. The second couplet refers to a legend about the consorts of Em­ peror Shun, who were so grief-stricken by his death that their tears spotted the bamboo leaves in Ch'u. 46. "Ancient eaves . .. the past" [nokiba no shinobugusa shinobu katagata oki yado) alludes to a poem by Suo no Naishi (fl. eleventh century) in the Kin'yoska ("Miscellaneous," 9:628): sumiwabite ware sae noki no shinobugusa shinobu katagata shigeki yado kana

Living in misery, I am as unhappy to leave the house overgrown with ferns along the eaves and memories of the past.

A play on shinobugusa ("fern of remembrance") and shinobu ("remember the past") links the seemingly unrelated elements of the poem. In "Yugao," the gate of the rundown villa is described as being overgrown with ferns. 47. Minamoto no Toru, a ninth-century Minister of State, was the former owner of the Kawara villa, where Yugao was thought to have died. To avoid confusion, hikaru kimi ("radiant courtier or noble") has been translated here as "Radiant Genji." At the end of "Kiritsubo," the sobriquet hikaiu kimi was be­ stowed on Genji by a Korean soothsayer whom the emperor had consulted about the boy's future (1:115-17 and 126; 8:14-15 and 19). Ito (3:371) takes the ambiguous expression uenaki omoi ο mitamaishi (translated below as "became 238

NOTES TO PAGES 116-17 distraught") to mean that both Genji and Yugao had a frightening experience (at the villa). 48. "Flowers" (here yugao) and "dew" [tsuyu) are conventionally related words in waka. After Yugao's death, "dew" is repeatedly used to suggest her ephemeral existence; see n. 49 below. In "demon-shaped tiles" [oni no katachi . . . kawara), "tiles" [kawaia] plays on the name of the villa, while "demon" (oni) suggests the evil spirit that killed Yugao there. 49. See n. 41 above. In "Suetsumuhana" (1:339; S:ri2) and "Tamakazura" (3:81; 8:387), Yugao is associated with dew. Later in "Tamakazura" (3:114; S:4oi), after meeting Tamakazura at Hatsuse, Ukon tells Genji, "I have found the dewlike link with the evening faces who vanished" (hakanaku kietamainishi yugao no tsuyu no οπ-yukari ο nan, mitamaetsuketarishi). 50. "House along the way" [naka yadoii) implies the home of Genji's former nurse, his attendant Koremitsu's mother (1:209 and 226; S:57 and 65). 51. "By the side of the road" [tamaboko no tayori) alludes to the poem Genji recited upon revealing his face to Yugao for the first time after they arrived at the Kawara villa: yutsuyu ni himotoku hana wa tamaboko no tayori ni mieshi e ni koso arikere

In the evening dew the flower unveils itself through a bond formed by a glimpse by the side of the road. (1:235; S:69)

52. "Along the eaves of the houses, mostly small" [koiegachi nam noki no tsuma ni) and "undistinguished part of town" {mono no ayame mo minu atari) echo the description of the Fifth Ward in "Yugao" (1:210-11,· S:58). 53. Yugao no on suggests both picking the flower {oru) and the opportunity {on) provided by the flower. Adabito ("fickle person"; translated as "lightly") could refer to either Yugao or Genji,- I have taken it to refer to Yugao; hence "she." "Leaves of words . . . insubstantial as dew" alludes to the first three lines of a poem by Fujiwara no Yorizane (1156-1225) in the Shinkokinshu ("Sum­ mer," 3:276) that conflates the initial poetry exchange between Genji and Yugao: shiratsuyu no nasake okikeru koto no ha ya honobono mieshi yugao no hana

Leaves of words suffused with tender feelings insubstantial as dew: a flowering evening face faintly glimpsed.

In the play, shiratsuyu no ("[white] dew") is preceded by kokoro no iro wa ("ro­ mantic",· literally, "color of one's heart"), producing a pun on shira- ("white"), which suggests shira[zu] ("unaware of"). The untranslated kokoro no iro wa shirazu suggests that Genji did not know Yugao's true feelings. Shiratsuyu no nasake is a preface for okikeru ("[dew] settled"; translated as "suffused"). The allusion to Yorizane's poem is followed by sue ("end" or "tip"), a word conventionally associated with ha ("leaf"). Koto no ha ("leaves of words") denotes a poem; sue the second part of one. Regarding human affairs, sue can mean "outcome"; here it suggests Genji's interest in pursuing an affair with Yugao. 54. "Fan in the bedchamber" [neya no ogi) alludes to a Chinese story about 239

NOTES TO PAGE 117 Lady Pan, a favorite of Emperor Ch'eng, who lived during the early Han dynasty in China. After falling out of favor, she wrote "A Song of Bitterness," in which she likened the loss of a woman's beauty to an autumn fan. A white fan also figures in the first encounter between Genji and Yugao; their story, however, ended differently since their vows were not deliberately broken. Aid no chigiii means both "vows of autumn" and "vows that one has wearied of." Other im­ ages of whiteness in the chorus's song include the evening faces, dew, and au­ tumn (a Chinese and Japanese poetic convention). Moreover, Ito 3:373, n. 13, cites a medieval renga reference work, Moshiogusa, which describes hiomushi ("dayfly") as an insect resembling a white moth. 55."On the road of love at dawn" {shinonome no michi) alludes to the poem Genji composed after arriving at the villa: inishie mo kaku ya wa hito no madoiken waga mada shiranu shinonome no michi

In the past was anyone as lost as I am now on the road of love at dawn, which I have never known before? (i:a33; S:68)

Yugao responded with the poem on the mountain rim that serves as the shite's entrance song. "Risking lives" (inochi kaketaiu) echoes Genji's lament after Yugao's death: inochi ο kakete, nani no chigiii ni kakaiu me ο miruian ("What sort of bond from former lives could have gotten him into such a predicament, risking his life"; 1:243; S : 7 3 ) .

56. "Evening wore on" \yoi no ma sugum) and "pine trees sounded frighten­ ing" [matsu no hibiki mo osoroshiku) echo the Genji: yonaka mo suginiken kashi, kaze no yaya aiaaiashu fukitam wa, mashite matsu no hibiki kobukaku kikoete ("It must have been past midnight. The wind was blowing rather fiercely, and the sound of the pine trees had deepened"; 1:242; S:72). Matataku tomoshibi ("torch flickering") echoes hi wa honoka ni matatakite ("the flame flickered faintly") a few lines later in the Genji. 57. "In the pitch-black darkness" [ubatama no yami) alludes to an anony­ mous poem in the Kokinshu ("Love," 13:647): ubatama no yami no utsutsu wa sadaka nam yume ni ikura mo masarazarikeri

Our furtive meeting in the pitch-black darkness hardly surpassed the vivid reality of my dreams of love.

Ubatama ("pitch-black") is a pillow-word for yami ("darkness"). 58. "Like foam on the Stream of Love" [Omoigawa utakata): omoigawa taezu nagaruru mizu no awa no utakatabito ni awade kieme ya

Am I destined to disappear like foam on the waters of the endless Stream of Love without seeing you at all? [Gosenshu, "Love," 9:516)

I have followed Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner's translation of Omoigawa ("Stream of Love"), a river in Kyushu [Fujiwaia Teika's Supeiioi Poems of Our 240

NOTES TO PAGES 118-19 Time, p. 96). In the play, the expression is linked to the preceding clause through a pun on omoi ("think"), producing ika ni sen to ka omoi- {" 'Whatever shall I do?' he thought") and omoigawa. It is also linked by association with mizu ("water") and awa ("foam") and serves as a preface for utakata (an intensifier homophonous with another word for foam). 59. "Cannot attain the highest Buddhist realms" translates gosho (literally, "five obstacles"); see Go, n. 48 to Chap. 5, and Hurvitz, trans., Scripture of the Lotus Blossom, pp. 200-201. 60. Yugao dies at the villa after being possessed by a vengeful spirit [mono no ke). Although the passage in "Yugao" is vague, the spirit is thought to be that of Lady Rokujo in the Sixth Ward, Yugao's rival for Genji's affection. 61. The passage echoes the poem about the moon in the shite's first entrance song and the waki's speech leading into the kuri. 62. "Evanescent as dew I on the leaves above or a drop of water below" [sueba no tsuyu no kieyasuki moto no shizuku) alludes to a poem by the priest Henjo in the Shinkokishu ("Sorrows," 8:757): sue no tsuyu moto no shizuku ya yo no naka no okure sakidatsu tameshi naruran

In this world, being left behind or dying first may be likened to dew on the leaves above or a drop of water below.

63. "Desolate autumn field" (kyotoki aki no nora to narite) and "pond is full of weeds" (ike wa mikusa ni uzumorete) echo the description of the villa in the Genii (1:235; S:69). 64. The hoarse cry of a bird [karagoe) is mentioned after Yugao's death in the Genii (r:242 ; 8:72). 65. The poem composed by Genji at Yugao's house on hearing an old man praying to Maitreya Buddha at dawn before a pilgrimage to Omine: ubasoku ga I okonau michi ο I shirube nite I kon yo mo fukaki I chigiri tagau na (1:232; S:68). In the play, the poem ends taesu na ("do not break"), a common variant for tagau na ("do not transgress"). 66. Yugao no emi no mayu I hirakuru (1:210; S:58); see Hajitomi, n. 17 above. 67. The Lotus Sutra states that a woman must be reborn a man before attain­ ing salvation because, as a woman, she cannot become an exemplary Buddhist figure. See Go, Chap. 5, n. 48. 68. "Why should I c o n c e a l . . . " [nani ο tsutsuman) echoes an anonymous poem in the Kokinshu ("Miscellaneous Poems," 17:865): ureshiki ο nani ni tsutsuman karakoromo tamoto yutaka ni tate to iwamashi ο

What can I use to hold my joy? I should have ordered fuller sleeves than usual for my Chinese robe.

69. Yugao was cremated in the vicinity of Otowa Mountain in the eastern hills of Kyoto. 70. The text suggests a poem by Saigu no Nyogo (929-985) from the Shuishu ("Miscellaneous," 8:451): koto no ne ni mine no matsukaze

The wind in the pines seems to come from the peak 241

NOTES TO PAGES 119-20 kayourashi izure no ο yori shirabe someken

accompanied by the sound of a zither: was it tuned by the summit or a string?

The poem plays upon the double meaning of " s u m m i t " and "string" in o. "Pur­ ple cloud" [murasaki no kumo) suggests the coming of the heavenly host to welcome the souls of the dead to the Western Paradise; see the discussion of Yugao in Chap. 4. 71. See n. 55 above. Tamakazuta (The Jeweled Chaplet) 72. A center for worship of Avalokitesvara (Kannon), the Bodhisattva of Mercy and Compassion, in Nara prefecture. 73. "The nara tree . . . long ago" (nara no ha no I na ni ou miya no furukoto 0) alludes to a poem by Bun'ya no Arisue in the Kokinshu ("Miscellaneous Po­ ems," 18:997) "composed in response to the question 'When was the Man'yoshu compiled?' ": kannazuki shigure furiokeru nara no ha no na ni ou miya no furukoto ο zo kore

Those words long ago were the work of the famous capital of old bearing the name of the nara tree on whose leaves cold rains fall in the Tenth Month.

The Man'ydshu ("Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves") was compiled in the eighth century when the capital was in Nara, a homophone with a word mean­ ing "oak." Furukoto ("words long ago"; also, "deeds long ago") echoes ha ("leaves") through koto no ha ("leaves of words," or poetry). 74. The cedar on Miwa Mountain evokes a famous Kokinshu poem ("Miscel­ laneous Poems," 18:982): waga io wa miwa no yamamoto koishiku wa toburaikimase sugi tateru kado

My humble cottage lies below Miwa Mountain. If you should wish to see me come to visit: it's the gate where the cedar stands.

In the play, the verb "gaze" (mini) is supplied by Mi[wa]. 75. The waki's arrival speech comes from the Komparu-school libretto. 76. Noborikanetaru iwama ("is not easy to ascend among the rocks"): kamigakan texts have keshiki ("scenery") instead of iwama ("rocks"), suggesting re­ luctance to pass the lovely scene instead of the arduousness of traveling be­ tween the rocks. In the original, a verbal link between "mooring for the boat" and Hatsuse is provided by hatsu-, which suggests "moor" and "lodge." Today, most noh schools do not perform the last two lines of the issei. 77. From a poem by a daughter of Tamakazura's nurse during the journey to Kyushu when Tamakazura was a child (3:84; 8:388): Funabito mo I tare ο kou to ka I oshima no I urakanashige ni I koe no kikoyuru. Ura ("bay") is embedded in urakanashige ni ("sad[ly]"(. In the play, the last line has been changed from "hear voices" to "raising their voices" (koe tatete). Kogarekinikeru ("rowing hither yearning") means "rowed" and "yearned." The nurse and daughters are 242

NOTES TO PAGES 120-21 described earlier in the journey as being overcome with yearning [musumedomo mo omoikogaruru). 78. "Where can I find a haven from the endless I approaching waves?" [kagiri mo isa ya shiranami no / yorube izuku zo): shira- in shiranami (literally, "white cresting waves") supplies "do not know" for kagiri mo isa ya: i.e., "I do not know when it will end." Yorube ("haven") provides the verb "approach" [yoiu) for shiranami. 79. Literally, "the moon-ship of the soul has no particular destination" (Aokoio no tsuki no I mifune wa soko to hateshi mo nashi): in short, the soul is unable to attain salvation. Sea imagery continues in the untranslated soko to preceding hateshi mo nashi ("has no end"), which suggests the bottom of a ship or the sea, as well as "there" or "that." 80. Furukawa ("the ancient river") is thought to be another name for Hatsuse River. Furu- also suggests the verb "rain," echoing murashigure, intermittent wintry showers. 81. Mi no hodo wa nao ukifune ("my lot is even more wretched now, like a drifting boat") turns on "wretched" and "drifting" in uki-. Ukifune no kaji ο tae ("like a drifting boat that has lost its oar") alludes to a poem on love by the mid-Heian poet Sone no Yoshitada in the Shinkokinshu ("Love," n : r o 7 i ) : yura no to ο wataru funabito kaji ο tae yukue mo shiranu koi no michi kana

Like a boatman who crosses Yura Strait not knowing where he goes after losing his oar, I am lost on the path of love.

82. "Sadly . . . tow of a rope" [tsunade kanashiki) alludes to a Kokinshu poem (20:1088):

michinoku wa izuku wa aredo shiogama no ura kogu fune no tsunade kanashi mo

Though Michinoku has other such places, too, poignant is the sight of the ropes towing boats across Shiogama Bay.

A word denoting deep emotion, kanashi in the Kokinshu poem describes a scene that creates a sad impression; in the play it suggests Tamakazura's un­ happy lot. 83. "Fishing boats are moored by Hatsuse Mountain" {amaobune hatsuse no yama): amaobune hatsuse no yama ni furu yuki no kenagaku koishi kimi ga oto zo sum

My longing is as endless as the snow falling on the mountain in Hatsuse, where the fishing boats are moored. I can hear my beloved now. [Man'yoshu, ro:2347; italics mine)

Amaobune ("fishing boats") is a pillow-word for Hatsuse, the first two syllables of which can mean "moor." Na ni nagaretaru ("famous") echoes kawa ("river") through nagaretaru, which literally means "flowing." Enishi ("close ties") also suggests "cove" (e). 84. In sono tagui mo namiobune, a pun on " n o t " and "waves" in nami- pro­ duces "unusual" [sono tagui mo na[ki\) and "boat amid the waves" [nami243

NOTES TO PAGES 121-23 obnne). In sashite iwaie no aru yaran ("implies a special meaning"), sashite, "points t o " or "implies," provides the verb "pole" earlier in the sentence. 85. Mount Potalaka is Kannon's home in India. 86. Futamoto no I sugi no tachido ο I tazunezu wa I furakawa no be ni I kimi ο mimashi ya (3:110; 8:400). Ukon's poem draws on an old-style poem in the Kokinshu ("Miscellaneous Forms," 19:1009): hatsusegawa furakawa no be ni futamoto aru sugi toshi ο hete mata mo aimin futamoto aru sugi

Hatsuse River— beside the ancient river where the twin-trunked cedar stands; in the years to come I hope we shall meet again where the twin-trunked cedar stands.

Tamakazura's response is alluded to below in the kuse and iongi. 87. Another allusion to the comment in "Tamakazura" likening Yugao to dew vanishing on an evening face (3:114; 8:401); see Yugao, n. 49 above. "Tender wild pink" translates nadeshiko, a metaphor for a beloved child. As a result of a poem by Yugao in "Hahakigi," it became a nickname for Tamakazura in the middle ages; see Hajitomi, n. 30 above. 88. Aware omoi no tamakazura ("poor Tamakazura, the jeweled chaplet"): the untranslated omoi no tama ("rosary") is linked to kakete mo isa ya shirazarishi ("had no glimmering") through kakete mo, an emphatic negative imply­ ing tama ο kake[iu] ("adorn with jewels"). 89. Kokorozukushi no ko no ma no tsuki ("beneath the moon through the trees in Tsukushi, full of troubles") alludes to an anonymous poem in the Ko­ kinshu ("Autumn," 4:184): ko no ma yori morikuru tsuki no kage mireba kokorozukushi no aki wa kinikeri

As I gaze upon the moonlight streaming down through the trees above, it is clear that autumn, full of troubles, has arrived.

In the play, kokorozukushi provides "Tsukushi," an old name for Kyushu, while fco no ma no tsuki serves as a preface for kumoi ("seat of heaven"), namely, the capital. 90. The unwelcome attentions of a presumptuous local official (taiyu no gen) caused Tamakazura's protectors to take her hastily back to Kyoto (3:87ff.; S:389ff). 91. "Waited" [matsu) is embedded in Matsuragata (Matsura Bay), which is mentioned during Tamakazura's departure for Kyoto, as is "swift boat" [hayabune-, 3:94, 8:392). The passage alludes to a legend about a maiden called Sayohime who waved her scarf on Matsura Mountain in sad farewell to her beloved bound by ship for Korea. 92. Ukishima ο / kogihanarete mo / yuku kata ya /izuku tomari to / shirazu mo aru kana: a poem composed during the journey back to Kyoto (3:94; 8:392). The last line, "alas I do not know," has been changed to shiranami ni ("[white-] cresting waves"), which plays on shirazu ("did not know"). Echo Bay (Hibiki no Nada) is mentioned later during the voyage (3:94-95,· 8:393). 93. "Yet more misery than before" translates nao ya ukime ο mi\zutori\. "Felt like a seabird wandering lost upon the land" [mizutori no kuga ni madoeru kokochi shite) and "support" [tazuki): 3:97; 8:394.1 have followed Seidensticker's translation of "seabird." 94. Ashibiki ("trailing feet") is a pillow-word for "Yamato road." "Known as 244

NOTES TO PAGES 123-24 far as China" [moiokoshi made mo kikoyu naiu) echoes "Tamakazura": Hatsu­ se nan hi no moto no uchi ni wa aiata nam shirushi arawashitamau to moio­ koshi ni dani kikoe annari ("It is known even in China that Hatsuse is a place in the land of the rising sun where special miracles are revealed"; 3:98; 8:394). 95. "Many years . . . " comes from Fujiwara no Teika's poem on "a lover's prayers" in the Shinkokinshii (12:1142): toshi mo henu inoru chigiri wa hatsuseyama onoe no kane no yoso no yugure

Many years have passed, and the bond for which I prayed at Mount Hatsuse has ended: the bell on the hill sounds distant in the twilight.

"Ended" (hatsu) is embedded in "Hatsuse." The speaker asserts that the bell tolling the hour of vespers (when lovers meet) has nothing to do with him since his prayers have not been answered. In the play, the last line has been changed to yoso ni nomi omoitae: i.e., "thinking that the bell on the hill was meant only for others, I gave up hope." 96. "Chance to meet today" [kyo no ose) alludes to Tamakazura's response to Ukon's poem earlier: hatsusegawa hayaku no koto wa shiranedomo kyo no ose ni mi sae nagarenu

I know naught of Hatsuse's swift river or my early life, but I am swept away by tears at the chance to meet today. (3:110,- S:40o)

The poem plays on the sense of "swift" and "early" in hayaku. Hayaku is con­ ventionally associated with se ("rapids"; "chance [to meet]") and nagare[ru] ("swept away"; "cry"; and "(river] flows"). 97. An allusion to a Buddhist parable about a rich man who hid a jewel in a poor man's robe. Though suffering great hardship from lack of food and cloth­ ing, the poor man was too ignorant to see that the means of his salvation lay within. (Hurvitz, trans., Scripture of the Lotus Blossom, pp. 164-65.) 98. Namida mo komorie ni I komoreru rnizu no aware kana: komori- in komori-e ("hidden cove") provides "fill" [komoru) for "tears" (namida), translated as "tears welling to the eyes." "Foam" [awa) is embedded in aware ("poignant"), which occurs again in the shite's speech below, where it is rendered as "com­ passion." 99. Another allusion to Tamakazura's poem at Hatsuse, "swiftly . . . Hatsuse River" (hatsusegawa hayaku) is part of a string of associated words. Hatsuse­ gawa, written with characters meaning "beginning-rapids-river," is linked to the preceding phrase aware to mo omoi wa someyo ("Please have compassion for m e " ; literally, "give rise to thoughts of compassion") through som[u] ("give rise to"), which is written with the same character as hatsu. 100. In ware koso wa / namida no tsuyu no tama, namida plays on ηα[λί] ("am not alive"). Namida no tsuyu no tama links three conventionally associ­ ated words: "tears," "dew," and "jewel." Tama ("jewel") also suggests Tama­ kazura. 101. The shite sings a variant of Genji's poem about finding Tamakazura, a memento of his beloved Yugao, many years later (3:126; 8:405). For a discussion of the poem and its reworking in the sashi below see Chap. 3. 102. My rendering of iro ("color") as "look of passion" tries to convey the 245

NOTES TO PAGE 124 nuance of passion in the word, which anticipates the association between color and love after the kakeri below. 103. Tsukumogami . .. ("hair turned white with age . ..") comes from a poem in Ise monogatari (episode 63), where a man persuaded the paragon of love, Ariwara no Narihira, to spend the night with his lonely mother. Waiting in vain for Narihira to come again, she looked into his window, prompting him to say: momotose ni hitotose taranu tsukumogami ware ο kourashi omokage ni miyu

Hair turned white with age, the color of a hundred years but one; it seems that she longs for me for I can see her face.

The poem turns on a visual conceit: removing the uppermost stroke (the char­ acter "one") from the character for "one hundred" produces "white." "Hair" (kami) echoes "disheveled" [midaruiu) in the sashi above. It antici­ pates the sensual image of long black hair [kuiokami) below, as well as musubooru, which denotes hair that is held back and troubled thoughts. 104. Akanu ("never ends"; "does not cease to yearn") also suggests "[night] does not end" and "red" [aka). 105. Ukaiikeru I hito ο hatsuse no yamaoioshi I hageshiku ("mountain gale on Hatsuse that chastises cruel lovers . . . harshly") comes from a poem by Minamoto no Toshiyori (?io55-?H29) in the Senzaishu ("Love," 12:707) "com­ posed about failing to meet in spite of one's prayers": ukarikeru hito ο hatsuse no yamaoroshi hageshikare to wa inoranu mono ο

That person is as cruel as the mountain gale on Hatsuse,· it is not what I prayed for.

106. An allusion to the third and fourth lines of an ardent poem by Kashiwagi to Tamakazura in the "Kocho" chapter: omou to mo kimi wa shiraji na wakikaeri iwa moru mizu ni iro shi mieneba

You cannot know the deep passion welling up inside; like water bursting forth between the rocks it has no color. (3:169; S:424)

Kashiwagi courted her until he discovered that she was his father To no Chujo's daughter, not Genji's. 107. Mi yori izvau tama to mini ("my soul seemed to wander off") alludes to a famous poem by Murasaki Shikibu's contemporary Izumi Shikibu in the Goshuishu ("Miscellaneous," 20:1164): mono omoeba sawa no hotaru mo waga mi yori akugareizuru tama ka to zo miru

When I am troubled a firefly glowing in a marsh could be my soul, which has wandered off overcome by longing.

In the play, the last line has been changed to tama to miru ("appears to be a soul"). With the following passage, tama ("soul") takes on the meaning "jewel" and suggests Tamakazura. 246

NOTES TO PAGES 124-34 108. In "Fireflies" {hotaru, chap. 25), Genji suddenly releases a host of fire­ flies hidden in a curtain, enabling Tamakazura's suitor Hotaru to catch a glimpse of her. rou). 48. Harawanu chiri no ("sweeps no dirt aside"; translated as "gathers dirt") is a preface for akuta- in Akutagawa ("Muddy River"). 49. The song echoes a poem by Retired Emperor Takakura in the Shinkokinshu ("Autumn," 5:524) on "Autumn Leaves Seen through the Mist": usugiri no tachimau yama no momijiba wa sayaka naranedo sore to miekeri

On the hills lightly veiled in mist, the autumn leaves are not very clear but I can make them out.

50. An allusion to Ise monogatari (episode 82) about enjoying the cherry blossoms at Katano, formerly an imperial hunting ground. 51. "Clear" (sumu) is embedded in the first two syllables of Sumiyoshi. 52. "Our sovereign's rule as long as the sacred fence . . . by the waters" (nami no mizugaki no hisashiki miyo) alludes to a poem attributed to the God of Sumiyoshi: 258

NOTES TO PAGES 161-63 mutsumashi to kimi wa shiranami mizugaki no hisashiki yo yori iwaisometeki

You must not know of my devotion: since times ancient as the sacred fence by the waves have I stood watch.

According to Ise monogataii (episode 117), the poem was composed in response to one by an emperor during an imperial procession to the shrine. The emperor's poem is recited below after the chu no mai dance. 53. "Dim their light in the dust of m a n " \wako dojin) refers to a belief that Buddhas and bodhisattvas soften their divine light and mingle in the dust of the world to enable mortals to attain salvation. Buddhist and Shinto deities were considered manifestations of each other. "Eightfold aspects" refers to the bodily changes undergone by the Buddha on appearing in the world. 54. "Purification wand" translates gohei—sakaki branches or other objects decorated with paper or cloth strips that are used in Shinto ceremonies. 55. "Sakaki leaves" [sakakiba) is the name of a Shinto song. 56. Kishikata no gogan ni [mo] uchisoete . . . aiigataki ("for previous prayers . . . reverence") echoes the account of Genji's pilgrimage to the shrine in "Miotsukushi" (2:295; S:282). More musical entertainment for the pleasure of the god is implied. 57. Kawaia no otodo no gorei . . . tamawaieru waiawa zuishin ("page pre­ sented . . . the Kawara Minister's example"): 2:294; S:28i. "Kawara Minister" refers to Minamoto no Torn. No record of such a precedent exists. 58. Shiiabyoshi refers to a type of song and dance popular in the Heian and Kamakura periods. It also denotes the women who performed it attired as men in white court dress and cap and bearing a long sword. In the middle ages, aco­ lytes [chigo) also performed shiiabyoshi. 59. Seventeenth-century texts indicate a ianbyoshi dance rather than a chu no mai-, see the introduction to Chap. 8. 60. Ware mite mo I hisashiku naiinu / suminoe no I kishi no himematsu I ikuyo henuian: the emperor's poem in Ise monogataii (episode 117) initiating the exchange with the God of Sumiyoshi (also pronounced Suminoe). The Kokinshu ("Miscellaneous Poems," 17:905) gives the emperor's poem as an anony­ mous one. 61. "Moon" (tsuki) is embedded in sakazuki ("wine cup"). 62. An allusion to a poem by Tsumori no Kunifuyu (1270-1320) in the Shingoshvishu ("Miscellaneous Poems," 16:1278), "Composed on the topic Ά View of a Distant Island' during a procession to Sumiyoshi Shrine by Retired Emperor Kameyama in the Tenth Month of 1298": asayu ni mireba koso are sumiyoshi no ura yori ochi no awajishimayama

Morning and night whenever I look, there it lies: beyond Sumiyoshi Bay—far off the mountain on Awaji Island.

63. "Across the bay" {uiazutai); see Suma Genii, n. 26 above. 64. "Hills behind" [ushiio no yama); see Suma Genji, n. 18. "Blows across the barrier . . . Suma Bay" [seki fukikoete . . . suma no uia) alludes to a poem by Ariwara no Yukihira in the Shokukokinshu ("Travel," 10:876): 259

NOTES TO PAGES 163-64 tabibito wa tamoto suzushiku narinikeri seki fukikoyuru suma no urakaze

The edges of the traveler's sleeves have become cool: the breeze from Suma Bay is blowing past the barrier.

Yukihira's poem is quoted in the "Suma" chapter (2:190; 8:235). 65. Nagoii oshiteiu ya, naniwa: oshiteru ya ("sunlit") is a pillow-word for Naniwa; nagoii oshi- produces "lingering regrets." "Tsumori" provides the verb tsumoiu ("accumulate") in the image of waves rising like snow. 66. The italicized words come from the description of the scene at Sumiyoshi Shrine in "Miotsukushi" (2:292-93; S:28i). 67. In the Genji, the italicized words in Koremitsu's speech are spoken by one of Genji's underlings (2:292; S:28i). 68. "There are other days and months" (tsuki hi koso aie) echoes the Akashi lady's thoughts in the Genji (2:292; S:28i). 69. "Never imagined" (shira[zu]) is supplied by shha- ("white") in shiratsuyu ("[white] dew"). Shiratsuyu no is linked to the beginning of the next speech [tamadasuki kake mo) by the image of dew [tsuyu) as beads or jewels [tama). A cord used to tie up sleeves at the shoulder, tamadasuki is a pillow-word intro­ ducing kake mo hanaienu (translated as "cannot come untied") below. 70. "Our bond . . . by others" [kake mo hanaienu sukuse to wa, omoinagaia mo nakanaka ni, kono aiisama ο hito no mirume) echoes the Genji (2:292-93; S: 281): nakanaka kono on-aiisama ο haiuka ni mini mo, mi no hodo kuchioshu oboyu. sasuga ni kakehanaie-tatematsuianu sukuse nagaia ("Gazing at the sight of Genji's procession from far away, she was painfully aware of her lowly station. Her life was inextricably tied to his by a bond from other lives [attested by the birth of their daughter] and yet"). In the play, aiisama refers to the per­ ception of the Akashi lady by others (hence, "to be seen this way"); in the Genji, it refers to her perception of Genji's grand procession. 71. Kaeiaba nakazoia ni naian . . . naniwa . . . ni fane tomete, haiae dani ("to return in vain . . . bring the boat into . . . Naniwa and perform lustrations there at least") draws upon a remark by the Akashi lady at the shrine (2:295,· S:282): kaeian ni mo nakazoia naii, kyo wa naniwa ni fune sashitomete haiae ο dani sen tote kogiwataiinu {" 'But it would all be in vain if we just returned home. Let's bring the boat into Naniwa and perform lustrations there at least/ she said, and they rowed away"). 72. "Hides like figures in shinobu cloth" {shinobu mojizuri) alludes to a poem by Minamoto no Tom in the Kokinshu ("Love," 14:724): michinoku no shinobu mojizuri tare yue ni midaren to omou ware naranaku ni

Like figures adorning the shinobu cloth of Michinoku, my feelings are in a turmoil: no one is the cause but you.

The allusion is introduced through a play on a verb meaning "hide" in shinobu, the name of a place in Michinoku and a plant. 73. "Tone . . . middle string" [shiiame no naka no ο no) echoes Genji's poem to the Akashi lady the evening before he returned to the capital from exile: au made no katami ni chigiru

I offer this as a token of our vows 'til we meet again; 260

NOTES TO PAGES 164-65 naka no ο no shirabe wa koto ni kawarazaranan

like the tone of the middle string, the bond between us will not change. (2:256: S:266)

In the poem, koto ni ("really"; untranslated) suggests the zither [koto] that Genji gave the Akashi lady as a parting gift; naka no ο ("middle string") implies "relationship" [naka). The play continues with kono ne tagawazu aimin ο ("be­ fore the (sound changes] we will meet again") and tanome ("promise"), echoing Genji's vow after the poem: kono ne tagawanu saki ni kanarazu aimin to tanometamaumeii (" 'We will meet without fail before the sound of the zither changes/ he seemed to promise"). 74. "The grass that is said to grow on Sumiyoshi's shore" [Svtminoe [Sumiyoshi] no kishi ni ou cho kusa) comes from a poem by Ki no Tsurayuki in the Kokinshu (no. n n ) : michi shiraba tsumi ni mo yukan suminoe no kishi ni ou cho koiwasuregusa

If I knew the way I would go to gather the grass for forgetting love that is said to grow on Sumiyoshi's shore.

It is followed by an allusion to the first three lines of a poem in Ise monogatari (episode 21): wasuregusa ou to dani kiku mono naraba omoikeri to wa shiri mo shinamashi

If you have heard at least that I planted forgetting-grass, then surely you must know that I was thinking of you.

75. "A promise lightly offered with the zither, the words" [naozaxi ni tanomeoku . . . hitokoto) comes from the Akashi lady's response to Genji's poem about the zither (see n. 73 above): naozari ni tanomeokumeru hitokoto ο tsukisenu ne ni ya kakete shinoban

You seem lightly to promise with a word and a zither: my memories will, I fear, be accompanied by endless weeping. (2:256; S:266)

The poem plays on hitokoto ("word") and koto ("zither"). Ne ("sound"; here "weeping") also suggests the koto. 76. Mi ο tsukushi I kouru shirushi ni / koko made mo / meguiiaikeiu I eni wa fukashi na: Genji's poem at the shrine on later learning that the Akashi lady had been there (2:296; 8:284). The poem plays on mi ο tsukusu ("all encom­ passing"), which suggests doing something wholeheartedly, or at great risk to oneself, and miotsukushi ("channel buoys"). Eni ("bond") suggests e ("inlet"). 77. The Akashi lady's response to Genji's poem: kazu narade / naniwa no koto mo I kai naki ni / nado mi ο tsukushi I omoisomeken. Naniwa no koto plays on Naniwa and "nothing" (untranslated), while kai naki ("useless") sug­ gests kai ("shell"), hence "empty shell." Here I have followed Seidensticker's translation of mi ο tsukushi ("throw myself in"). The title of the "Miotsukushi" chapter comes from this exchange between Genji and the Akashi lady. 261

NOTES TO PAGES 165-70 78. Yushio michikite, irie no tazu mo koe oshimanu hodo aware nam orikara, hitome mo tsutsumazu aimimahoshiku wa omoedomo. The description closely follows the Genji !2:297,- 8:284). The first syllable, yu- ("evening"), pro­ vides the verb "say" (here "share") for the preceding phrase, tagai no kokoro ο ("their feelings"). 79. The play weaves in the first four lines of a poem by Genji that brought the episode at Sumiyoshi to a close: tsuyukesa no mukashi ni nitaru tabigoromo tamino no shima no na ni wa kakurezu

Dew-drenched is the traveler's robe like long ago; the Raincoat Isle's name provides no shelter. (2:297,· 8:284)

80. "Regretfully" (nagori mo ushi) is produced by a play on "wretched" (ushi) in ushi no kuruma ("ox-drawn carriage"). "He goes to the capital and she goes the other way [to Akashi] like the rice boats of old" [noboieba kudaru ya inabune) alludes to a poem in the Kokinshu (20:1092):

mogamigawa noboreba kudaru inafune no ina ni wa arazu kono tsuki bakari

My reply is not as firm as the rice on the boats that go up and down Mogami River, only not this month. (italics mine)

The poem turns on a pun on "rice" and " n o " in ina. 81. The play ends with an allusion to a celebrated poem attributed to Kakinomoto Hitomaro in the Kokinshu ("Travel," 9:409): honobono to akashi no ura no asagiri ni shimagakureyuku fune ο shi zo omou

My thoughts follow the boat hidden behind an isle as it crosses Akashi Bay dim in the morning mist. (italics mine)

Chapter 9. Plays about Princess Ochiba i. For instance, Renju gappeki shu (no. 31) gives Ono no yamazato ("moun­ tain home in Ono") from the Genji as a linking word for yugiri ("evening mist"). 1. Komachiya Teruhiko, Genji monogatari no utakotoba hyogen, p. 190. 3. Kano yugiri no miyasudokoro no owaseshi yamazato (6:289—90; S:ios2— 53). 4. Genji kokagami, p. 385. 5. Ochiba no miya is mentioned in the diary of Yamashina Tokitsugu. 6. The frontispiece to Field's The Splendor of Longing in the Tale of Genji contains a reproduction of the scene from Genji monogatari emaki. 262

NOTES TO PAGES 171-72 Ochiba (Fallen Leaves) 7. Asajiu no ("reed-covered") is a pillow-word for Ono. Instead of asajiu no ono no yamaji ni tsukinikeii, the Kongo-school libretto has yamazato no asajiu no ono ni tsukinikeii ("I have arrived in Ono, a mountain home amid reedcovered fields"). Ukifune was known as the "writing-practice [tenarai] lady" because she idled away the hours at Ono jotting down poems. Her activity there provided the title of chap. 5 3 of the Genji. 8. An allusion to a poem by Fujiwara no Shunzei in the Shinkokinshu ("Sor­ rows," 8:796) "composed while spending the night at a temple near my wife's grave": mare ni kuru yowa mo kanashiki matsukaze ο taezu ya koke no shita ni kikuran

Even on a rare visit at night the wind in the pines is sad: beneath the moss does she have no respite from the sound?

The Kongo-school libretto has sabishiki ("lonely") instead of kanashiki ("sad"). 9. "Loneliness . . . I does not display a special hue: / late autumn amid hills of evergreen" [sabishisa wa . . . sono iro to shimo nakaiikeii) alludes to a fa­ mous poem on autumn by the priest Jakuren [Shinkokinshu, "Autumn," 4:361): sabishisa wa sono iro to shimo nakarikeri maki tatsu yama no aki no vugure

Loneliness does not display a special hue: nightfall in autumn amid hills of evergreen.

In the play, the last line has been changed to aki no kure ("late autumn"). 10. "Deep in the hills . . . hear" incorporates the first three-and-a-half lines of an anonymous poem in the Kokinshu ("Autumn," 4:215): okuyama ni momiji fumiwake naku shika no koe kiku toki zo aki wa kanashiki

Deep in the hills a stag calls out as it treads across the autumn leaves: it is when I hear its voice that autumn seems the saddest.

11. Wasurete wa I yume ka to zo omou I omoiki ya / yuki fumiwakete / kimi ο min to wa. According to ise monogatari (episode 83), Narihira composed the poem at Ono when he went to visit Prince Koretaka after learning that his for­ mer patron had taken vows. In Ise monogatari, Koretaka is described as living in a hermitage (mimuro). 12. An allusion to a poem by Emperor Tenryaku in the Shinkokinshu ("Mis­ cellaneous Poems," 18:1716) "composed and sent upon hearing that Minor Cap­ tain Takamitsu had ascended Yokawa and received the tonsure": miyako yori kumo no yaetatsu okuyama no yokawa no mizu wa sumi yokaruran

The eightfold layers of cloud surpass the capital: deep in the mountains the waters of Yokawa must be pure, the life pleasant. 263

NOTES TO PAGES 173-74 13. Ono was linked in waka and renga with charcoal kilns. The association between fire and passion is conveyed by omo[h\i !"thoughts" or "passion"), the last syllable of which suggests hi ("fire"). In mi ο kogaiashi, translated as "con­ sumes me," kogaiashi means both "burning u p " and "sharp autumn wind." Ko­ gaiashi is mentioned in "Yugiri" (4:433; 8:695). Below, the verb "say" [yd] is provided by the first syllable of yushimo ("eve­ ning frost"). 14. "Ono's bamboo groves" [ono no shinohaia) echoes a poem by Yugiri in "Yugiri" (4:437; S:6 9 7): sato toomi ono no shinohara wakete kite ware mo shika koso koe mo oshimane

As the village is far away, after making my way through Ono's bamboo groves I weep without restraint, like the stag crying for its mate.

15. "An owl cries . . . chrysanthemum leaves" (fukuio shokei no eda ni naki I kitsune rangiku no kusa ni kakuiu naiu): an allusion to Po Chii-i's poem Hsiung-chai shih ("The Haunted House") in his collected works. 16. "In the spring breeze . . . phoenix tree" (shunpu ton hana no hirakuiu hi I shvuo goto ha no otsuiu toki): a couplet from Po Chii-i's famous poem Ch'ang hen ko ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow") in his collected works; also in the Wakan ioei shii (no. 780). In the "Yugiri" chapter, tsumi ("sins" or "guilt"), above, con­ cerns Princess Ochiba's feelings about attracting Yugiri, her former brother-inlaw, and troubling her dying mother on account of his suit. 17. Kashiwagi was Commander of the Gate Guards [emon no kami) in the Hyoe-fu (Palace Guards), whose emblem, the oak {kashiwagi), was the source of the name by which he is traditionally known. He was still infatuated with the Third Princess when he married her half-sister, the Second Princess ("fallen leaf"). 18. Moiokazura I ochiba ο nani ni I hiioiken I na wa mutsumashiki / kazashi naiedomo (4:224,· S:6i6). 19. Saiu hodo ni ("around that time") condenses several years between the second "Wakana" and "Yugiri" chapters, during which time Kashiwagi went into a decline and died. At the beginning of "Yugiri," we are told that Princess Ochiba's mother had a yamazato ("mountain home" or "villa") in Ono and that she suffered from possession by evil spirits. 20. "Trailing feet" [ashibiki) is a pillow-word for mountain path (yamaji). 21. Yamazato no / aware ο souiu I yugixi ni I tachiiden kata mo I naki Aokochi shite (4:390; 8:679). Yugiri's name ("evening mist") and the eponymous chapter title derive from this poem. The Genji has soia ("sky") instead of kata ("way",- untranslated) in the fourth line. 22."Deer by the rustic fence" [magaki no shika-, 4:433; 8:695), "insects' cries" [mushi no ne-, 4:395; S:68i), and "sound of the waterfall" [taki no oto-, 4:395; S:68i) echo the description of Ono during different visits by Yugiri. A poetic place-name, Otonashi no taki (Otonashi Falls; literally, "Silent Water­ fall") is mentioned in a poem by Princess Ochiba (4:440; 8:699): asayu ni naku ne ο tatsuru onoyama wa taenu namida ya otonashi no taki

The sound of weeping continues day and night at Ono Mountain; has the endless flow of tears formed a Silent Waterfall? 264

NOTES TO PAGES 175-77 23. Yokobue no I shiiabe wa koto ni / kawaranu ο I munashiku naiishi I ne koso tsukisene (4:345; S:662). The source of the title of the "Yokobue" chapter, the poem was composed by Yugiri after Kashiwagi's death when Princess Ochiba's mother gave him Kashiwagi's flute as a keepsake. The fourth line, "but now that [he] is gone" [munashiku narishi), is ambiguous,· in the Genji, it clearly refers to Kashiwagi's death or the sound of his flute playing, whereas here it could refer to Yugiri or, more generally, the story long ago. The notation for the jo no mai dance follows the Kongo-school libretto, which states that a cbu no mai dance can be performed instead. The libretto assigns to the chorus the first line of the poem before the dance. Below, the Matsui text specifies a ha no mai dance. 24. Me mo kuienai no ochiba links "blinded eyes" (me mo kuie[ru\) and "[fallen] crimson leaves" (kuienai no ochiba). "[Stands] helpless . . . tears" translates sen kata namida: i.e., sen kata na[shi] ("nothing can be done"; "help­ less") and namida ("tears"). According to Renju gappeki shu (no. 781), namida ("tears") and momiji ("autumn foliage") were linking words for kuienai ("crim­ son"). Daiani Ochiba (The Magic Spell and the Fallen Leaves) 25. The couplet, which comes from a poem by Wei Ch'eng Ch'ing in Ch'iian T'ang-shih [Complete Tang Poems), can be found in the Wakan ibei shu (no. 317). 26. "A wild goose, hastening moonward . . . " [tsuki ni to isogu kaiikoiomo haiukeki tabi): kaii ("wild goose") is embedded in kaiikoiomo ("traveler's robe"; literally, "hunting [robe]"). In "voices regret" [nagoii ο . .. oto ni tatete), the verb tate[iu] suggests tatsu, which can mean "set out," or "sew," and thus echoes "journey" and "robe." Haiukeki ("distant"; translated as "stretches far ahead") suggests the verb for stretching cloth (ham). 27. The Ydkyoku and Kita texts have yugiii ("evening mist") instead of kiii ("mist"). The following poem was composed by Yugiri before departing from Ono, where his advances to Princess Ochiba had just met with a rebuff: ogiwaia ya I nokiba no tsuyu ni I sobochitsutsu I yaetatsu kiii ο I wake zo yukubeki (4:399; S:683)· 28. The Yokyoiu and Kita texts have yaetatsu yugiii ("eightfold evening mist") and yaetatsu kiii ("eightfold mist"), respectively, instead of fukamuiu yugiii ("deep evening mist"); they also insert inishie ("long ago") in the first sentence of the following speech by the shite. 29. "Deepen . . . setting .. . sun" [iiikata ni naiiyuku . . . hi); "the sky too . . . look" [soia no keshiki mo); "thick with [evening] cicadas' cries" [higuiashi . . . shiki[iu\); "the shadows of the hills seem dark . . . lonely" [yama no kage wa oguiaki kokochi . . . kokoioboso[ki]): from a visit by Yugiri at Ono in "Yugiri" (4:389-90; S:679) when he heard a learned priest [iishi) recite a dharani during prayers for Princess Ochiba's mother. The incantation is recited later in the play. 30. 4:384; S:676; and elsewhere. 31. "Five obstacles to salvation" refers to the doctrine enunciated in the Lo­ tus Sutra that a woman must be reborn a man before attaining salvation because the impurity of her body prevents her from reaching the highest spiritual states. "Obedience to three masters" refers to the Confucian ideal of a woman's sub­ mission to father, husband, and son. See Go, n. 48 to Chap. 5. 265

NOTES TO PAGES 178-79 32. The sashi draws heavily on the description of the court football game played by Yugiri, Kashiwagi, and other courtiers at Genji's Rokujo-in mansion in the first "Wakana" chapter: kure . . . kaze fukazu kashikoki hi[kage 0] kyoji[tsutsu] . . . yue am . . . kodachi . . . wazuka nam mo\yo]gi no kage ni . . . midare[tsutu]... idomi ... man [no] kazu ... niwa ... neko... matsuware[shi] . . . [ko]su . . . (4:128-33; 8:581-84). While the Third Princess and her attendants secretly watched the football game from the ladies' quarters, an escaping cat caught its leash in a screen, pro­ viding Kashiwagi with a brief glimpse of the princess beyond the suddenly raised screen. 33. The passage is a tissue of related words, including musubu ("to form"), tsuyu ("dew"), somu ("dye"; translated as "imprint"), shigeriyuku ("grew untended"), and kusa ("grass"; "weed"). The wordplay culminates in an allusion to the Genji: nagusamegataki obasute nite ("the old woman cast aside, failed to stop the feelings"; 4:208; S:6n). The Genji itself alludes to a Kokinshu poem ("Miscellaneous Poems," 17:878): waga kokoro nagusamekanetsu sarashina ya obasuteyama ni teru tsuki ο mite

Inconsolable were my thoughts as I beheld the moon shining on Sarashina's "Old Woman Discarding" Mountain.

In the play, nagusamekanetsu ("inconsolable") is rendered as "failed to stop the feelings"; obasute, as "the old woman cast aside" (i.e., Princess Ochiba). The wording also suggests nagusamegusa ("grasses, or source, of consolation"). 34. See Ochiba, n. 18 above. 35. "His passion . . . bamboo node" translates omoi no sue wa nayotake no ichiyo. Sue ("end") in omoi no sue ("passion in the end") also suggests "end of a bamboo stalk," while ichiyo can mean "a single night" and "bamboo node." 36. "As I rise . . . " [okite yuku / soia mo shiiaienu I akeguie ni / izuku no tsuyu no I kakaru sode [naii]): Kashiwagi's poem composed after spending the night with the Third Princess (4:219-20; S:6is). Okite ("rise") also goes with tsuyu ("dew") in the preceding line ; tsuyu oku suggests dew/tears lying on the lovers' sleeves. 37. Continuing the wordplay connected with dew, tco ("color") in omoi no iio ("impassioned tone") and dew are conventionally related words. "Produced a tearful..." translates tsuyu kakete ("dew laden"), while aware (here, "lament") plays on awa ("foam"), a word also associated with dew. 38. The shite and chorus recite the horrified princess's response to Kashiwa­ gi's poem: akeguie no I soia ni uki mi wa I kienanan / yume narikeri to I mite mo yamubeku (4:220,· 8:615). In the play, the last line has been changed to mite mo semete nagusamubeku, producing "to look upon it [as just a dream] would offer consolation at least," instead of "I wish to look upon it as though it were just a dream." 39. The description of Kashiwagi's departure echoes the Genji: hakanage ni notam.au koe no, wakaku okashige naiu 0, kikisasu yo nite idenum tamashii wa, makoto ni mi ο hanarete tomaiinuru kokochi su ("As he left, only partly hearing what she said faintly in a lovely, childlike voice, he felt as if his soul had left his body and remained behind"; 4:220,- S:6i5). 40. " N o longer in control" [utsushigokoio na[ku]) echoes the Genji (4:217, 266

NOTES TO PAGES 179-86 219, and 305; S:6i4, 615, and 646). Naku ("no") is implied by the following word namida ("tears"). 41. Tachikaeru ("returns"; translated as "brings back") doubles as the verb for "past" (inishie) and "waves" [nami), suggesting returning to the past and returning waves. 42. In "Otome," Kumoi-no-kari likens herself to a "wild goose [crying] amid the clouds" [kumoi no kari) after being separated from her childhood sweetheart Yugiri (3:42; S:37i). Her name derives from the remark. 43. The quotation comes from the Lotus Sutra; see Hurvitz, trans., Scripture of the Lotus Blossom, p. 198. The ageuta opens with wordplay involving himotoku ("untie the thread"), a metaphor for a blossoming flower. Toku means "expound" as well as "untie" (here, "reveal"). In nagaki yamiji ("long road of darkness"), nagaki ("long") suggests the eternal Law,- it is conventionally related to himo ("thread") above. 44. From a poem on "Buddhist matters" in the Wakan roei shu (no. 595): The sound of the sacred chime suggests an ensemble of woodwinds and strings; priests in humble garb replace men attired in gorgeous silk. 45. "Learned priest" [nanigashinorisshi) echoes the Genji (4:385,· 8:677). The priest is later described as reading a dharani in a solemn voice while praying for Princess Ochiba's mother, who was very ill (4:390; 8:679). 46. The dharani and following prayer, "He who is . . . , " come from the Lotus Sutra, which pronounces the spell somewhat differently,· see Hurvitz, trans., Scripture of the Lotus Blossom, p. 334. The play omits what is to be transcribed, namely, the Lotus Sutra. An attendant of the Buddha, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra [Fugen bosatsu in Japanese) embodies the Buddha's "teaching, meditation, and practice." 47. From a couplet on fallen leaves by Minamoto no Shitago in the Wakan roei shu (no. 313): Fallen leaves obeying the mountain wind convey autumn's melancholy song,-1 a waterfall running merrily over rocks plays a graceful zither's tune. 48. Mushi no ne, shika no ne, taki[-tsu hibiki] mo hitotsu ni midaruru: the description echoes "Yugiri" (4:395; S:68i). Chapter 10. Plays about Ukifune i. Sarugaku dangi, zz 270. 2. Ii Haruki, "Sakuhin kenkyu: Ukifune," p. 8. 3. Ibid., pp. 6-7. 4. See Murase, Iconography of The Tale of Genji, pp. 286—95. Also see Julia Meech-Pekarik, "The Artist's View of Ukifune," in Andrew Pekarik, ed., Ukifune: Love in the Genji, pp. 173—215. 5. Sarugaku dangi, zz 266. 6. The unnamed critic's comment about the linguistic remoteness of Ukifune appeared in the National Noh Theater's monthly publication Kokuritsu Nogakudo 18 (February 1985): 5. 7. The items are listed in the handbook under nos. 509, 579, 637, and 815. In entry no. 815, kodama is defined as a yamabiko ("mountain echo"), and oni and tenarai are listed as linking words for it. Sozu is listed as entry no. 832. 267

NOTES TO PAGE 188 Ukifune (A Drifting Boat) 8. "Mount Hatsuse I crossed . . ." [hatsuseyama yukoe kuieshi yado) alludes to a poem by the twelfth-century priest Zensho in the Shinkokinshu ("Travel," 10:966) "composed on the way to Hatsuse Temple in the Ninth Month": hatsuseyama yukoe kurete yado toeba miwa no hibara ni akikaze zo fuku

Mount Hatsuse I cross at nightfall; as I seek lodging the autumn wind blows in the cypress field of Miwa.

In the play, Miwa functions as a pivot word, with mi- supplying "see" (miru). Hibara ("cypress field") is a place-name. 9. "Beckoning cedar" [shirushi no sugi . . . ) echoes the Kokinshu poem quoted in Tamakazuia, n. 74 to Chap. 6. It is linked to tachiwakare[iu] ("part from") below through tachi- ("set out"), which can also mean "stand." ro. Naia ("oak") provides the verb naru ("rustle") and "Nara." "A moment's rest" translates shibashi ("a while"), the first two syllables of which suggest "brushwood" [shiba), echoing "oak." 11. A place-name in the Kyoto area homophonous with a word for "horse," Koma is linked by association with ashi hayami (translated as "quicken [my] step"). 12. The waki's arrival speech comes from the modern Kanze-school libretto. 13. "Brushwood-laden boat" [shibatsumibune): 6:136; 8:989. It is linked by association with yoiu ("approach"), nami ("waves"), tatsu- ("arise") in tatsuki ("refuge," or "support"), and uki ("drifting"; "misery"). 14. Again "Uji" suggests ushi (here, "wretched"). Uji bridge (6:136 and 137; 8:989 and 990) was a famous poetic landmark. 15. In tachii kurushiki omoigusa, the verb tatsu ("stand") embedded in tachii ("beset"; literally, "standing and sitting") also goes with "pillars" above (i.e., "[be]set"). Another name for the ominaeshi plant [patiinia scabiosaefolia), omoigusa ("passion grass") suggests a source of troubled thoughts; it serves as a preface for hazue ("tips of leaves"), which is suggested in the translation by "leaving." "Not knowing what lies ahead as I grow old" [oiyuku sue mo shizamayumi): oi can mean "grow" as well as "age," and thus echoes the preceding plant imagery. Shiia ("white") in the untranslated shiiamayumi ("pure white bow") provides shiiazu ("not knowing"), while sue ("end") in yuku sue ("what lies ahead") can also mean the tip of a bow, hence the introduction of \ma\yumi ("bow"). Sue is contrasted below with moto ("original"; "lower end of a bow") in moto no kokoro ("feelings long ago"). 16. "May the sun and moon bless what lies ahead" [tsuki hi mo ukeyo yuku sue) alludes to a poem by Retired Emperor Gotoba composed as part of a poetry contest dedicated to Ise Shrine: ozora ni chigiru omoi no toshi mo henu tsuki hi mo ukeyo yuku sue no sora

Over the years I have devoutly prayed to heaven above for the sun and moon to bless what lies ahead. 268

NOTES TO PAGES 188-90 (The poem can be found in some versions of the Shinkokinshu-, "Miscellaneous Poems," 18:1783.) 17. Mishimenawa nagaku ("the sacred Shinto rope [is] long") alludes to a poem by the former abbot Koyo in the Gyokuyosmi ("Felicitations," 7:1078): tanomu zo yo kami mo ukehike mishimenawa nagaku to inoru kimi ga chitose ο

I beseech the deity to heed my prayers: may our sovereign's rule last a thousand years— as long as the sacred Shinto rope.

18. Modern kamigakaii texts have nyosho ni ("woman") instead of shibabune no uchi e ("[the person] in the brushwood boat"). 19. Sato no na ο kikaji ("could not bear to hear the name of the place") echoes a remark by Kaoru after Ukifune's disappearance ("Kagero"; 6:225; S: 1026). Kaoru's aversion to the word Uji stemmed from its association with ushi ("wretched"). 20. "Tip of the Orange Tree Isle" (tachibana no kojima ga saki) comes from Ukifune's poem recited after the kaken below. Whereas the poem focuses on the unchanging color of the orange tree, an evergreen, the text here draws upon the tree's poetic associations with the past, evoked by the scent of its blossoms. 2r. "Beyond the river" {kawa yon ochi): 6:141; S:99i; "snow" [yuki) and "themountain . . . a mirror" \yama wakagami οkake\makumo\): 6:145; 8:993. Kake in kakemaku ("like this") provides "hang" [kaku), creating the image of a mountain that looks like a pendant mirror. 22. "Installed" [suetamaishi) echoes the Genji (6:106 and 107; 8:976). By "Ukifune," Kaoru had been promoted to taisho ("Captain of the Guards"). 23. Natsukashiku ("amiable"), yoshi am ("gentle"), and 6[t]oka ("quiet") are traits ascribed to Ukifune in the Genji. Monoiisaganaki yo no hito ("someone in this world of gossips") echoes monoiisaganaku kikoeidetaian ni mo, sate kikisugushitamaubeki on-kokoiozama ni mo aiazameii ("Were [Nakanokimi] to tell Niou [about the woman Kaoru was hiding], he did not seem like the sort of person who would let the information pass unnoticed"; 6:97,· 8:972). 24. On the evening Niou first visited Uji, the serving women were busy sew­ ing and spinning thread (6: n i ; 8:978). 25. "Moon shone . . . sky above" [aiiake no tsuki suminobo[iu\), "surface of the water was clear" (mizu no omote mo kumoii na[ku]\, and "stopped the boat" (fune sashi[tomeshi\) come from a subsequent visit by Niou when he took Ukifune to a secluded house across the Uji River (6:142; 8:991). 26. "Across the ice . . . lost" [migtwa no kooii fumiwakete michi wa mayowazu) alludes to a poem by Niou later in the same episode (6:146; 8:993): mine no yuki migiwa no koori fumiwakete kimi ni zo madou michi wa madowazu

Over snowy peaks, across the ice along the shore I have made my way without becoming lost, though I am lost over you.

27. "His rival" (Kaoru) translates hitokata (6:176; S: 1006). A play on "endless rain" and "lost in thought," haienu nagame alludes to a poem Kaoru sent from the capital to Ukifune at Uji during the long rains in the Fifth Month (6:151; S:995): 269

NOTES TO PAGES 190-91 mizu masaru ochi no satobito ika naran harenu nagame ni kakikurasu koro

How does the person in the distant village fare as the water rises, passing the dreary days lost in thought amid the endless rain?

"Letting the days go by without a visit" translates nodoka nite towanu hodo. In "Ukifune," the adjective nodoka ("leisurely" or "casual") is used repeatedly to describe Kaoru's attitude. 28. The text echoes the passage in "Ukifune" where Ukifune contemplates suicide (6:176; S: 1006). 29. "Cedar beckons": see n. 9 above. Yokawa no mizu no sumu kata ("home [near] the pure waters of Yokawa") plays on mizu no sumu ("the waters are pure") and sumu kata ("place where one lives"). The speech alludes to Emperor Tenryaku's Shmkokinshu poem quoted in Ochiba, n. 12 to Chap. 9. "Evil spirit" [mono no ke), below, occurs in the scene in "Tenarai" in which the spirit possessing Ukifune manifests itself through a medium (6:283; S: 1050). 30. Shimogakaii texts omit the waki's comment and replace the ageuta with the following one: ima mo sono yo ο ujiyama no michi idete yo ο ujiyama no michi idete utsuru mo mayou adanami no ono no kusamura tsuyu wakete aware ο kakete tomurawan aware ο kakete tomurawan

Even now life is wretched on Uji Mountain, setting out is wretched on Uji Mountain, setting out I wander unsettled as a wave; parting the dew on Ono's grasses, I shall pray compassionately for her soul, I shall pray compassionately for her soul.

31. "After death" translates naki kage ("after I am gone"), an allusion to a poem composed by Ukifune while contemplating suicide at the end of "Uki­ fune" (6:185; S:ioro): nagekiwabi mi ο ba sutsu to mo naki kage ni ukina nagasan koto ο koso omoe

Even were I to end this life of pain and sorrow, doing so I fear might unleash unpleasant talk after I am gone.

"River of tears" {namidagawa) echoes a poem by Ukifune in "Tenarai" after coming out of her trance (6:290; S: 1053): mi ο nageshi namida no kawa no hayaki se ο shigarami kakete tare ka todomeshi

Who put up the weir that held me back when I threw myself into the rapids on the River of Tears?

32. Yoiube sadamenu ("without a haven") anticipates Ukifune's poem on the drifting boat below. In ukifune no noii no chikara ("Ukifune . . . power of the 270

NOTES TO PAGES 191-94 Law"), nori ("Law") also suggests noru ("embark" or "ride") and thus is associ­ ated with fune ("boat"). 33. Ukina moien ("unpleasant talk might spread") echoes the first poem in n. 31 above. 34. The passage closely follows Ukifune's account in "Tenarai" of her disap­ pearance (6:284-85,- S:IO5O). 35. 6:142; S:99r. The shite and chorus recite the poem from which Ukifune's name derives. The play has yorube shiraienu ("cannot find a haven") instead of yukue shiraienu ("knows not where it goes") in the last line. The poem is dis­ cussed at the beginning of Chap. 10. 36. "Infinite Mercy and Compassion" [daiji daihi) are attributes of the Kannon (Avalokitesvara) enshrined at Hatsuse Temple. 37. In "Tenarai," Ukifune was found dazed beneath a tree when the Ono nun stopped at Uji on the way home to Ono from a pilgrimage to Hatsuse. She was released from the evil spirit's spell by the nun's brother, the bishop of Yokawa, who recited prayers and incantations [inori kaji su) on her behalf (6:277; S: 1050).

38. O- in Obie ("Great Hiei") also goes with the preceding phrase kurushimi wa, producing kurushimi wa o[i\, "suffering abounds." 39. Specifically, tosotsuten ("Tusita heaven"), the home of Maitreya, the Bud­ dha of the Future. 40. Yokawa links the preceding word aketatsu ("become light"; translated as "gave way to dawn") through yo-, a homophone with "night" [yo). The intensifier -tatsu also suggests "stand," anticipating "cedars." Kodama Ukifune (The Wood Spirit Ukifune) 41. "Sticks in the mountain rice fields" [yamada no hita) describes Ono in the "Yiigiri" chapter (4:433; 8:695). A clapper to scare birds and animals away from fields and a linking word in renga, hita occurs only one other time, in "Tenarai" (6:289; S: 1052), where it also refers to Ono. Hita no otozure plays on oto ("sound"), producing hita no oto ("sound of sticks") and otozure ("visit[ed]"). 42. "Where I shall end . . . " [izuku ni ka I mi ο ba suten to / shiiakumo no I kakaianu yama mo I naku naku zo yuku): a poem by Niou as he left Uji ("Uki­ fune"; 6:183; S:ioo9). 43. "Rice fields in Hitachi" echoes the Genji (6:289; 8:1052). 44. The shite recites the first four lines of a poem by Ukifune in "Ukifune" (6:152; S:996): sato no na ο waga mi ni shireba yamashiro no uji no watari zo itodo sumiuki

How well I know the name of the village: in Yamashiro, around Uji my life is more wretched than ever.

The poem plays on ushi ("wretched") and "Uji." 45. "The mountain goddess . . . " [onaji eo I wakite somekeru I yamahime ni I izuie ka fukaki I iio to towabaya): a poem Kaoru sent to Oigimi in "Agemaki" (5:247,· S:836). Fukaki iro ("deeper color") suggests "deeper passion." 271

NOTES TO PAGES 194-95 46. "Kindness and affection cannot be severed" [on'ai funodan) comes from a Buddhist song: Revolving in the Past, Present, and Future Worlds, we cannot sever the ties of kindness and affection. He who casts off kindness and attains emptiness expresses true gratitude for kindness. The bishop recites the first verse while administering Buddhist vows to Ukifune in "Tenarai" (6:327; S:io69). 47. The sentence translates bonno soku bodai and shoji [soku] nehan, common Buddhist expressions. 48. "Five obstacles to salvation and obedience to three masters": see Go, n. 48 to Chap. 5. 49. Yuxne no ukihashi: the title of the last chapter of the Genji. 50. Noii ("Law") suggests noru ("embark" or "ride") and is thus linked by association with fvtne ("boat"), a common metaphor for the Law as a vehicle of salvation. 51. "Writing practice" [tenaiai): Ukifune passed the time at Ono idly writing down poems, hence her nickname the "writing-practice lady" and the title of chap. 53 of the Genji. 52. "Pious prince" [ubasoku no miya): Seidensticker translates ubasoku as "stopped short of taking the tonsure" ("Hashihime"; 5:125; 8:783). A person with deep knowledge of the scriptures, the prince was also known as the "learned layman" [zoku hijiii-, 5:120; S:78o). The second line of the kuii is obscure. 5 3. By "Ukifune," Kaoru had been promoted from Middle Captain to Captain of the Guards, the rank given in some Kodatna Ukifune texts. 54. Oigimi was known as the lady of the trefoil knots [agemaki no kimi) after an exchange of poems with Kaoru that provided the title of chap. 47 of the Genji. The poem by Kaoru woven into the next three lines of the kuse goes as follows: mishi hito no katashiro naraba mi ni soete koishiki seze no nademono ni sen

If she bears a likeness to the one I knew, I will keep her by me to dispel the moments when I am overcome with longing. ("Azumaya"; 6:47,· 8:951)

"The earlier person" [mototsu hito) refers to Kaoru, who knew Ukifune before Niou did (6:139,- 8:990). 55. Ada ("fickle") is used in "Ukifune" to describe Niou (6:100; 8:973; etc.), while hana-gokoio ("heart.. . blossom"; literally, "flower heart") and utsuxou ("change") depict him in "Yadorigi" (5:376; S:89i). Seidensticker translates hana-gokoio as "bright somewhat showy nature." "Evening hour" [yoi) and "rest" [utatane) echo the first visit by Niou (whose name means "scented") to Uji in "Ukifune," when he spied on Ukifune from out-of-doors (6:110-15; 8:977-80). Kohata Mountain [Kohatayama-, 6:120; 8:982), which lay between Uji and Kyoto, was apparently considered a dangerous place. "Figure as strange as those formed by cresting waves" [shiranami no ayashiki sama) contains a play on aya ("pattern") in ayashiki ("strange"). In "Ukifune," Niou is described as traveling inconspicuously to Uji in humble attire {ayashiki sama); 6 : n o ; 272

NOTES TO PAGES 195-97 S:977- Shiranami ("[white] cresting waves") can also mean robbers or highway­ men. The meaning of the lines containing these allusions is obscure. 56. "Voice imitating" [kowamanabi) echoes kowazukuii in the Genji (6:11516; S:98o), when Ukifune's attendant Ukon mistook Niou's voice for Kaoru's. Although the episode refers to Ukifune's "old [oinuiu] nurse" (6:113; 8:978), oibito ("old woman"), the term here, is applied repeatedly in the Uji chapters to Bennokimi, whose mother had been in Kashiwagi's service long ago and who revealed to Kaoru that Kashiwagi, not Genji, was his real father. 57. "A drifting boat without a refuge" [ukifune no yoru kata shiianu) echoes Ukifune's signature poem discussed at the beginning of Chap. 10. "In despair" loosely translates amari ni, which is joined to the preceding phrase Ono no through ama-, suggesting the Ono nun [Ono no ama). "Writing practice" [tenaiai): seen. 51 above. 58. Yuyama ("evening hills") in yuyama-moto no kumo kin ("clouds and mist in the evening hills") supplies "saying" (yu) in the preceding line. 59. "Spirits lying in wait out of sight / confound man's destiny" \konro hima ni fushite I hito no go ο kakou): an obscure passage. The Japanese text gives no speech for the waki before the shite's reentrance. 60. "False views" (jaken) is a Buddhist term denoting the failure to perceive the workings of karma. 61. Kodama ("wood spirit") occurs twice in "Tenarai" (6:271 and 272; S: 1045 and 1046) and once in "Yume no ukihashi" (6:362; S: 1082). For a dis­ cussion of the term see the section on the possession of Ukifune in Chap. 4 above. 62. "Maintaining a slight grudge in this world" [isasaka kono yo ο uiamitsutsu): In "Tenarai," the spirit possessing Ukifune finally manifests itself through a medium and explains that it was a former priest who failed to attain salvation because it "had left behind a slight grudge in the world" [isasaka nam yo ni uiami ο todomete-, 6:283; S: 1050). See Chap. 4 above. 63. "Inquired at the door of a man of great learning" [sekigaku no hito no toboso ο ukagaeba) alludes to the Eighth Prince's home. 64. The shimogakari text has kokoio ni yoiite ("on account of her heart") instead of kokoio ni wakite ("her heart divided"). 65. In the Genji, Ukifune emerges from her trance after the spirit's confession and recalls that someone she took to be Niou lifted her in his arms and took her to a strange place. The play does not specify the subject of the transitive verb sueokishi ("set down"), whereas the Genji says: shiianu tokoio ni sueokite, kono otoko wa kieusenu, to mishi ο ("It seemed as if this man set her down in a strange place and disappeared"; 6:285; S: 1050). At the beginning of "Tenarai," Ukifune was discovered by the bishop's disci­ ples in Uji leaning against the "foot of a large tree" (6:269; 8:1044). 66. Ama ("nun"), a reference to the bishop's sister, the Ono nun, is embedded in amaobune ("fishing boats"), a pillow-word for Hatsuse, the first two syllables of which can mean "moor." With Hatsuse, inoiu omoi mo toshi henuiu ("through the years devoutly") echoes Fujiwara no Teika's poem about the bell at Hatsuse quoted in Tamakazuia above (see Chap. 6, n. 95). 67. After the old nun became ill, the party stopped first at the house of an acquaintance in the Uji area [uji no wataii-, 6:267; S: 1043). "Resting place along the way" [naka yadoii) occurs later in "Tenarai" (6:278; S: 1048). Following ajiio-gvauma ("wicker carriage"), noii ("the Law") also suggests noiu ("ride"). 68. The Law is seen as a boat leading to "the other shore" (i.e., Nirvana). 273

NOTES TO PAGES 197-203 69. "Bamboo stick" translates sozu, hollow bamboo tubes attached to the center of a stick placed near water. When the tube fills with water, one end drops, striking a stone below, scaring birds and animals away from the fields. A linking word in renga, sozu also implies the word for "bishop," while the first two syllables of the untranslated itazura ("idly") suggest "board," echoing sozu. Chapter 11. Praying for Genii i. Nose Asaji, Nogaku genryu ko, pp. 1300-1315. 2. The title Murasaki Shikibu appears in Zempo zotan-, Omote and Ito, eds., Kompaiu kodensho shusei, p. 466. 3. Tobusho, a collection of noh stage directions dated 1596, states that the waki holds a makimono ("scroll"). In the words of Komparu Ansho, "The object held by the waki that looks like a sutra is called a hyobyaku" (Ito 2:437). 4. Konishi Jin'ichi, "Sakuhin kenkyu: Genji kuyo," p. 3. 5. Ii, Genji monogatari no densetsu, pp. 29-31. 6. Genji okagami, for instance, states that sixty chapters were decided upon in keeping with the sixty volumes of the Tendai sect (Ii, Genji monogatari no densetsu, p. 107). 7. The chapter purportedly dealt with Genji's death. One theory claimed that Murasaki created only a chapter title because she was too overcome with emotion to set down in writing the story of Genji's death (Ii, Genji monogatari no densetsu, p. n o ) . Other theories held that Murasaki bequeathed this chapter and five others, hence the "sixty Genji chapters," to the Ishiyama Temple for secret transmission, and that they were burned because of their contents (ibid., P- 113). 8. Ito 2:437. Narabi no maki are chapters that occur concurrently or sequentially in relation to an earlier chapter: for instance, (1) Kiritsubo, (2) Hahakigi (Utsusemi, Yugao), (3) Wakamurasaki (Suetsumuhana), and so forth. Ii {Genji monogatari no densetsu, pp. 174-76) explains how the correspondence between the Genji chapter titles and the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, mentioned below, was established. Genji kuyo (A Memorial Service for Genji) 9. "Robe of moss" conventionally denotes a priest's robe because it suggests humble attire; "moss" anticipates "stone" in Ishiyama (Stone-Mountain). A branch of Shingon (esoteric) Buddhism, Ishiyama Temple is located near Lake Biwa a few miles east of Kyoto. 10. The waki's words suggest that he represents Choken or, more likely, his son Seikaku, famous preachers and masters of shodo (Buddhist prayers in Chinese set to music), who were at one time the incumbent priest of Agui. The kuse below is an abridged version of Genji monogatari hyobyaku, a sermon interweaving Genji chapter titles, traditionally ascribed to Seikaku, or possibly Choken. 11. The bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, Kannon enjoyed a great following in medieval Japan. 12. Shirakawa River, Otowa Falls, Nio no umi ("Sea of Grebes," a poetic name for Lake Biwa), and Kara Cape in the following sageuta are poetic placenames. 274

NOTES TO PAGES 203-206 13. Sasanami ya ("gentle waves") is a pillow-word for Shiga on the south­ western side of Lake Biwa. 14. A common motif in court poetry, "salt burning" refers to the practice of boiling brine by the seashore with pine kindling to produce salt. The verb tatsu ("send up") suggests the cresting waves, the tree standing on the cape, and rising smoke. 15. The Genji actually has fifty-four chapters but was often referred to in the middle ages as having sixty, imitating the scriptures of Tendai Buddhism col­ lected in sixty volumes. 16. "Name is not buried" [na ο ba uzumanu) is a conventional poetic phrase, exemplified by Izumi Shikibu's poem in the Kin'yoshu ("Miscellaneous," 10:660), "On the Death of Koshikibu": morotomo ni koke no shita ni wa kuchizu shite uzumorenu na ο mini zo kanashiki

How sad I am when I hear her name, which has never died though she lies buried beneath the moss.

17. Amida Buddha descends to earth on a lavender (or purple) cloud {murasaki no kumo) to welcome the souls of the dead to the Western Paradise. "Lavender" also suggests Murasaki Shikibu's name. 18. In modern performances, the shite looks toward the West as the chorus sings "clouds lit by the evening sun." 19. No aikyogen part is performed during the shite's temporary absence in the middle of the play, although early Edo-period records indicate one. The part is still provided upon request for Kanze- and Hosho-school performances. 20. Utsurou ("fade" or "change") is conventionally associated with "dream" \yume), "flower" [hana), and "color" [iio). Here it suggests the quickly fading color of lavender as well as dreams. "Moment of glory" {hana mo hitotoki) alludes to a poem by the priest Henjo in the Kokinshu ("Miscellaneous Forms," 19:1016): aki no no ni namamekitateru ominaeshi ana kashigamashi hana mo hitotoki

In the autumn fields the lovely lady-flowers demurely bloom: how bold they are in their moment of glory.

The ageuta suggests doubt about the shite's words in the first part of the play as well as about the veracity of the Genji. 21. The shite's speech contains a rich mixture of puns and related words con­ nected with flowers, robes, and colors. Kasane no kinu no shita kogaie plays on kinu no shita kogaie ("[underjrobe deeply dyed") and shita kogaie[iu] ("yearn passionately for underneath"; here "hidden passion"). Since the innermost robe of deep lavender, which suggests Murasaki, lies under several other robes, it cannot be seen as readily as purple hagi (bush clover). Murasaki ("lavender") and ίΗοίο 120 ("root" or "source"; here "story") are conventionally linked to hagi in ienga [Renju gappeki shu, no. 233). 22. Kokoioenu ("I understand") is taken by some commentators to be the negative form of the verb. 23. The shite and chorus quote a poem by Ariwara no Narihira in the Kokin­ shu ("Love," 13:616): 275

NOTES TO PAGES 206-207 oki mo sezu ne mo sede yoru ο akashite wa haru no mono tote nagamekurashitsu

Neither arising nor sleeping, all night long I stay awake only to spend my days staring at the endless rain of spring.

The poem is also in episode 2 of Ise monogatari. The quotation is linked by wordplay to the waki's previous words "kokoro 0," producing kokoro ο oki mo sezu ("without reserve [arising]" and "[neither] arising . . . " ) . 24. The text suggests that Genji vanished from the world like the flame of a torch before the wind. 25. Embedded in the speech is a play on himo ("cord") and hi mo ("sun"), producing "robe with crimson cords" [usuginu no himo kuienai) and "fan the color of the setting sun" [hi mo kuienai no ogi). 26. The name of a court dance and Genji chapter title, "butterfly" (kocho) is associated with dreams on account of the story in the Chinese classic Chuangtzu about a man who dreamt that he was a butterfly and then wondered after­ ward whether he became a butterfly in his dream, or was really a butterfly ap­ pearing in the form of a man. 27. "The althea's day of glory is the same" [ktnka ichijitsu tada onaji ) echoes a couplet by Po Chii-i included in the Wakan roei shu (no. 291): Pine trees wither in the end after a thousand years,· althea blossoms are granted a day of glory. 28. The kuse is an abridged version of the medieval song Genji monogatari hyobyaku. Kintsubo ("Paulownia Court") is the title of the first chapter of the Genji and the name of Genji's mother, who died when he was very young. 29. "Broom Tree" [hahakigi), chap. 2, contains the famous "Rainy Night Judgment" in which young courtiers discuss the merits of women of different rank. "Bodhi tree" refers to the tree under which the Buddha attained enlight­ enment. 30. "Cicada's shell" [utsusemi), chap. 3; "evening face" [yugao), chap. 4. 31. "Young lavender" [wakamuiasaki): chap. 5. "The flower picked at the end" [suetsumuhana) is a literal translation of the title of chap. 6 ("The Safflower"). The passage suggests the Lotus Flower of the Western Paradise, where believers hope to be reborn after they die. "An autumn excursion" [momiji no ga): chap. 7. 32. "Sacred Tree" [sakaki): chap. 10. 33. "The Village of Falling Flowers" (hana chiiu sato): chap, i i ; translated by Seidensticker as "The Orange Blossoms." 34. "Suma": chap. r2. "Fourfold Wisdom" translates shichi enmyo ("perfect light of the four types of wisdom" possessed by the Buddha): the wisdom of the perfect mirror, equality, wondrous perception, and achieving metamorphosis. The title of chap. 14, miotsukushi ("channel buoys"), also means "throwing oneself wholeheartedly into something"; translated as "immersed." Akashi (chap. 13) is homophonous with a word meaning "light." The thrust of the Japanese sentence is uncertain, since itsu made mo aiinan could have an ironic rather than a desiderative meaning: i.e., it is foolish to spend one's life immersed like a channel buoy in Akashi Bay. Genji monogatari hyobyaku, however, clearly has a desiderative sense. 35. "Wormwood patch" [yomogiu), chap. 15; "wind in the pines" [matsukaze), chap. 18; and "rack of cloud" [usugumo), chap. 19. 276

NOTES TO PAGE 208 36. "Purple trousers" {fujibakama): chap. 30. "Fine gold and forgiveness" [shima ninniku) is a Buddhist term signifying that the Buddha, adorned with fine gold, meets all insult, anger, and the like with forgiveness. Genii raonogataii hyobyaku has "compassion and forgiveness" [jihi ninniku); compassion is a special attribute of Kannon. 37. "Cypress pillar" [makibashira): chap. 31. "Adorned with precious jewels," literally, "majestically adorned with seven jewels" [shippo shogon): lists of the seven jewels, a common Buddhist expression, vary from scripture to scripture. 38. "Branch of plum" [ume ga e), chap. 32; "wisteria leaves" [fuji no uiaba), chap. 33; "jeweled chaplet" {tamakazura), chap. 22,· and "morning glory" (asagao), chap. 20. "Dew" [tsuyu), "jewel[ed]" (tama), and "radiance" or "splendor" [hikaii) are conventionally related words. 39. "Dwell [in the] tree" literally translates yadorigi, the title of chap. 49. Takaki in na mo takaki ("renowned") also goes with tsukasa kuiai ("rank and office") in the next line, where it means "high." 40. "Eastern cottage" (azumaya): chap. 50. 41. "Drifting boat" [ukifune), chap. 51,· "drake fly" [kageio), chap. 52. "Floating bridge of dreams" is the title of the last chapter of the Genji. 42. "Wild words and fancy phrases" [kyogen kigyo) comes from Po Chu-i's famous prayer accompanying a copy of his collected works that he presented to a Buddhist monastery; see the introduction to Chap. 11. 43. "Flower feast" [hana no en): chap. 8. Hana no en also means "bond with the [Lotus] flower"; in other words, the shite has hope of salvation, and the "flower feast" offers hope because of its association with the Lotus of the Western Paradise.

277

Glossary ageha. One or two lines sung by the shite during the kuse, which is otherwise sung by the chorus. ageuta. A type of melodic song roughly ten lines long, consisting of a sequence of 7 and 5 syllables that usually follows an initial 5-syllable line. The first and last 7-5 syllable lines are often repeated. The most common type of song, ageuta include the waki's travel song [michiyuki) in the first part of the play and his song [machiutai) waiting for the shite to reenter in the second part. aikyogen (or ai). The actor representing a person of the place who engages the waki in conversation and tells the shite's story during the nakairi, or interlude, when the shite is offstage changing costumes. Sometimes the aikyogen has a regular role in the plot (as in Aoi no ue and Sumiyoshi mode). chu no mai. A long instrumental dance with a medium tempo performed to the flute, shoulder drum, side drum, and sometimes the stick drum. dengaku. A broad term referring to (1) rites and festivals connected with rice cultivation; (2) a type of dance,· and (3) a performing art featuring song and dance, as well as acrobatic elements, which flourished along with, and influenced, the noh in the middle ages. Famous actors and troupes associated with (3) are mentioned in Zeami's treatises. engo (related words). A poetic term denoting the relationship established between different elements in a poem through the use of a word whose sound or meaning suggests an earlier word. These conventional associations are often based on wordplay; for instance, omoitatsu ("resolve") and koiomo ("robe") are linked by association through -tatsu, an intensifier suggesting a verb meaning "sew" (tatsu). genzai no (contemporary noh). Plays depicting living persons that take place in "real" dramatic time, rather than long ago or in a dream; see mugen no. ha no mai. A brief instrumental dance performed after jo no mai and chu no mai dances. It has a lively tempo and graceful movements and is performed to the shoulder drum, side drum, flute, and sometimes the stick drum. hashigakan (bridge). The open roof-covered passageway connecting the main stage with the greenroom. Actors and musicians enter and exit along it; action is sometimes performed on it as an extension of the stage proper. hayamai (quick dance). A long, spritely instrumental dance performed by courtiers and women in fifth-category plays, accompanied by shoulder drum, side drum, stick drum, and flute. honkadori (allusive variation). A technique in waka whereby poets drew upon the language or ideas of well-known poems in composing new ones. Language rich in associations from the earlier tradition gave a poem a graceful, elegant effect and produced subtle overtones that enlarged the world created by the new work. The term was also used in ienga. honzetsu (source). Japanese and Chinese prose, and Chinese poetry, recognized by waka poets as a source of allusion. The term was adopted by ienga and the noh. inori. Vigorous movements depicting a priest's effort to subdue an angry or evil spirit through prayer; found in Aoi no ue. iroe. A very brief instrumental dance usually performed by women, often before the kuse (as in Genji kuyo). It functions as a kind of prelude. 279

GLOSSARY issei. Short songs sung mainly in the high register [jo], issei typically contain a sequence of 7 and 5 syllables, which in some cases begins with a 5-syllable line. Sometimes a second stanza known as the ni no ku is added (as in Go). Issei usually occur immediately after the shite's entrance {Tamakazwa) or just before a dance [Yugao). jo (preface]. An extended introductory phrase joined to the main element in a poem through wordplay, association, alliteration, and the like. For instance, in Aoi no ue, "more than fireflies in a darkened marsh" [mizu kuraki sawabe no hotaiu no kage yoii mo) serves as a preface for hikaru kimi ("the radiant one") through hikaru ("radiant"), an attribute that applies to both fireflies and Genji. jo no mai. A long instrumental dance with a slow rhythm performed to the flute, shoulder drum, side drum, and sometimes the stick drum. kakekotoba (pivot words). A rhetorical device in which a word or part of a word also goes with the preceding phrase, producing a different meaning. For in­ stance, nado miotsukushi ("Why did I throw myself in?") plays on mi ο tsukusu ("throw oneself into something wholeheartedly, or at great risk") and miotsukushi ("channel buoys"). kakeii. A brief series of dance patterns performed by warriors and mad women, expressing mental suffering. It is performed to the shoulder drum, side drum, and flute. kamigakari. A term denoting the Kanze and Hosho noh schools, whose texts, acting, and singing style historically are similar. kogaki ("small writing"). Variant styles of performance, including innovations introduced by the head of a school and accidental changes, as well as older elements and techniques that were designated as kogaki during the Edo pe­ riod when noh performance practice became increasingly standardized. kokata. Child actors who perform the role of children as well as adults such as emperors, courtiers, and women. In the latter case, the aim is to avoid draw­ ing attention away from the shite. kokoio. A term in waka poetics denoting the conception, or idea, of a poem, as opposed to the language. kotoba (words). (1) In Japanese poetics, it denotes the language as opposed to the conception, or idea, of a poem ; (2) in the noh, it refers to speeches approxi­ mating everyday language of the Muromachi period that are declaimed rather than sung. kuii. A song of four or five lines centering on the high register, including the note kuri, it commonly precedes the sashi and kuse. kuii-sashi-kuse. See separate entries. kuse. A long narrative or lyrical song that contains sequences of 7 and 5 sylla­ bles but includes many lines with extra and fewer syllables, adding rhyth­ mical variation. The kuse is sung by the chorus except for one point called the ageha where the shite sings a line or two. During the song, the shite either sits on the stage or performs a stylized dance. Variant forms include a half-.ku.se (as in Go) and a double kuse (Genji kuyo), which contains two places where the shite briefly sings. The double kuse, or nidan-guse, may reflect the form of the kuse when it first entered the noh. kusemai. A form of entertainment popular in the Muromachi period performed by professional women, men, and boys. Women and boys wore male attire, consisting of tall caps, robes, and divided skirts. Kusemai featured long rhythmical narrative songs accompanied by a drum and simple movements. 280

GLOSSARY The form was introduced into the noh by Kan'ami as the kuse section; the dance performed by the shite during the kuse is known as a kusemai. makuia kotoba (pillow-word). In waka, a conventional epithet or attribute, usually in a 5-syllable line modifying the first word in the following line. It adds weight or dignity to a poem. Utsusemi ("cicada's shell") is a conventional epithet for yo ("world") and munashi ("empty"). mondo (dialogue). A conversation between the principal and secondary actor, mixing spoken and sung passages. It typically leads into a sashi-like sung sequence, followed by an ageuta. mugen no (dream or fantasy noh). A major category of noh plays in which the shite represents a supernatural being, such as a god, the ghost of a man or woman, or the spirit of a demon or nonsentient beings such as a plant. These plays usually contain two parts, in which the shite first appears before the waki as a local person at a famous place, and then in his or her true form in the waki's dream. In this type of play, the words and action center on the shite. nakaiii. An interlude in the course of the play when the shite leaves the stage to change costumes; at this time, a kyogen actor known as the aikyogen appears and explains the shite's story. notto. A prayer performed before a deity by a shrine official or priestess. It features a special melody sung mainly in the low register. ienga (linked verse). A poetic form derived from waka, renga consists of sequences of alternating lines of 5-7-5 and 7-7 syllables composed by different poets, hundred-verse sequences being the most common. During the middle ages elaborate rules and conventions developed regarding the composition of verses and the technique of linking a verse to the preceding one. rongi. A melodic song in dialogue form, roughly twenty lines long. It is sung by two characters, or by a character and the chorus; the last part is taken over by the chorus. It is typically found before the shite's temporary exit, at a high point, or at the end of the play. sageuta. A short song usually from two to four lines long, in regular 7-5 meter, sung in the middle and low registers. sakaki (sacred tree). A low evergreen tree [cleyera japonica) used in Shinto rites. The term sometimes referred to evergreens in general. sashi. Typically from four to ten lines long, written in regular 7-5 poetic meter or free verse, sashi are sung during the shite's entrance and at other points in the play such as before the icuse. The songs are delivered in a manner that is partway between sung and spoken passages, and they tend to describe a scene or contain a reminiscence. shidai. A short song in three lines composed of 7-5, 7-5, and 7-4 syllables; the second line may simply repeat the first one (as in Shikimi tengu). Ordinarily it is an introductory song. shikimi. Japanese star anise [illicium anisatum), a low evergreen belonging to the magnolia family, whose branches serve as a Buddhist altar decoration. shimogakaii. A general term referring to the Komparu, Kongo, and Kita noh schools, whose texts, acting, and singing style historically are similar. shiiabyoshi. A form of entertainment popular in the Heian and Kamakura periods featuring women, dressed like men in white court dress and tall caps and carrying a long sword. The women danced and sang to the accompaniment of a flute, hand drum, and tympani. Shiiabyoshi were also performed 281

GLOSSARY by young Buddhist acolytes [chigo). The practice of women performers died out in the early Muromachi period. shite. The principal noh actor. shite position [joza). The place where the shite usually stands on first entering the stage; located at stage right near the pillar where the bridge joins the main stage. tsute. The attendant, or attendants, of the waki or shite, known as wakizuie and shitezure. When used alone, the term refers to shitezuie. waka. (i) A classical poetic form consisting of five lines made up of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, developed by the Japanese court; (2) a noh segment, usually consisting of a waka, sung immediately after the dance, although the beginning of the poem may precede the dance. The first three lines are usually sung as a unit by the shite-, and the last two by the chorus. waki. The secondary actor, who plays a subordinate role to the shite. He is typically cast as a priest but may also represent figures such as a court official or warrior. waki position [waki-za). The place at lower stage left where the waki sits during most of the performance. The pillar at his left is known as the waki-bashira. wakizuie. The attendant, or attendants, of the waki. yamabushi (mountain priest). Members of the ascetic Shugendo sect of Buddhism who practice austerities in the mountains. yoriai (word association). Conventional associations used to link verses in renga. The material originated in the body of allusions to poetry and prose recognized by the waka tradition. yugao. Literally, "evening face"; sometimes translated as "moonflower." A member of the gourd family, it bears large white flowers that bloom on a summer evening and wilt by morning. yugen. An aesthetic ideal denoting "mystery and profound depth" favored by poets in the age of the eighth imperial anthology, the Shinkokinshu (ca. 1205). It occupies a key place in the renga and noh treatises of Nijo Yoshimoto and Zeami Motokiyo, respectively, where it suggests elegance and grace, especially of a feminine kind, associated with the court. Later, in Komparu Zenchiku's writings its meaning moves closer again to "mystery and profound depth."

282

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Works in Western Languages Bethe, Monica, an