春興鏡獅子 Shunkyô Kagami Jishi - Young Yayoi and the Spirit of the Lion

Shunkyô Kagami Jishi by Toyohara Kunichika 豊原 国周

長唄舞踊
長唄舞踊 Nagauta Buyō – a play inspired by the Nô (能) theatre
所作事 Shosagoto – a play with particular emphasis on a dance
長唄 Nagauta - inspired by the music of the Nô theatre and the yôkyoku (謡曲), vocal music of
the Nô, the Nagauta school of music is one of the oldest in the Kabuki repertoire and was
originally adapted from roaming bands of musicians. The front row of musicians, the stick (shime-
daiko 締め 太鼓 ), hip (ōtsuzumi 大 鼓 ) and shoulder (kotsuzumi 小 鼓) drummers have been
th
adapted from classical Nô whilst the shamisen (三味線 ) was brought into kabuki in the early 17
century. The narration and music focuses on poetic mood and imagery rather than narrative
structure.
獅子 Shishi - a mythological lion-like animal said to be the king of beasts and always associated
with the Buddhist deity Monju (文殊, Manjushri, protector of wisdom)
七人の会 Shin Kabuki Jûhachiban - A collection of 32 favourite plays selected by Ichikawa
Danjûrô IX
石橋物 Shakkyomono - The repertoire group called Shishimono (獅子物 or Shakkyomono) in
Kabuki Buyo are based on the Nô play "Shakkyo" (石橋) in which Jakusho Hoshi (a Buddhist
priest) visited Seiryo-zan (清涼山) mountain in China, and saw a shishi (lion) playing with peonies.
Kagamijishi was first performed in 1893 and is adapted from an earlier Nô version to make the
performance less formal and to reflect in part the way that people lived during the latter part of the
Edo period which heralded the advent of more modern approaches to life and living.
牡丹 Botan – Peonies. In the East peonies are associated with butterflies and the mystical shishi,
or lion
掛 け 声 Kakegoe - During the performance in traditional Kabuki Theatres members of the
audience, called omuko (大向う lit. playing to the gallery) show their appreciation by calling out
the guild names of the actors at pivotal moments, perhaps when a pose is held, and is called
kakegoe. It can dramatically increase the tension or break it, sometimes as the performance
makes a pivotal shift in rhythm or there is a realization of something that till that point had been
concealed. Ichikawa Ebizo’s guild name is Naritaya! ( 成 田 屋 ) Another call might be
mattemashita! I’ve been waiting for this, or if the actor is performing badly, daikon! Big radish! A
general rule of thumb is that the kakegoe callers occupy and call from the ‘cheap’ seats close to
the ceiling which reflects the voice or alternatively a balcony seat; the accepted protocol is never
to call from the stalls as it disturbs the audience in that area and would be nokemono (のけ者),
the odd one out. The omuko have their own committees, omukō (大向こう), three in Tōkyō (東京)
and three in the Kansai Region (Kansai-chihō 関西地方)
The audience are called to take their seats about 5 minutes before the play commences by
the wooden clappers, ki, as opposed to tsukeita which sound at various points throughout
the play; during poses, fights and running to add emphasis

Scene One
It is the New Year celebrations at the Shōgun’s castle. In the room there is an altar decorated
with ‘mirror’ rice cakes, kagami mochi (鏡餅), and the carved heads of two lions, shishi. Two of
the Shōgun’s retainers and two ladies in waiting are seated in conversation. The two ladies in
waiting are wearing outer brocades called uchikake (打掛) and have asymmetrical hair styles,
called katahazushi (片外し), reflecting their high status. The two retainers are wearing formal
wear called kamishimo (裃) comprised of a kimono with starched wing like over jackets called
kataginu (肩衣) and broad pleated over trousers called hakama (袴)

Elder retainer - Why they have the carved lion heads (shishigashira, 獅子頭) been brought out of
storage now? They are usually used at the front of the mirror (kagami, 鏡) pulling procession

(Note: mirror, kagami (鏡), pulling procession - a New Year’s festival to celebrate the return of the
Sun Goddess who, after hiding in a cave, returned to the sky having been lured out to look at a
mirror, traditionally in the shape of a bell. Kagami mochi are moulded into a similar shape)

Elder lady in waiting - Custom demands that it is our responsibility to place the lion heads where
they are now as the Shogun has asked for a dance to be preformed this evening, and soon

Young retainer - If this dance has been requested will there be somersaults and handstands like
the Kakeru dance of Echigo Province? But if a young ladies maid has been asked to dance surely
she won’t be capable of such things as somersaults

Elder lady in waiting - No, this is not what our Lord has asked for. This evening the dancer is to
be the young maid Yayoi. As the Nagauta musicians are already seated in the adjacent room
perhaps we had better go and find her?

Younger lady in waiting - Yes, this would be a good idea

The two ladies in waiting go to look for Yayoi

Elder retainer - I don’t know which dance is being performed but I do know that the lion dance
was originally inspired by a vision of the Deity Monju and the lion heads are amongst the most
treasured of the Shogun’s possessions. During the mirror pulling ceremony we men of the
household should perform foolish dances though I’m sure that this won’t be needed for this
evenings dance.

Both retainers agree that as no formal preparation is required perhaps they should watch from an
adjoining room and they leave the stage and the screens at the rear of the stage divide to reveal
the Nagauta musicians.

Chorus - ‘A woodsman’s song, strains of a herd boys flute, how many and varied are the
occupations of man as he journeys through the world. Yet of them is one who gazes on loves
pastures sidelong from afar’ (the lyrics speak of the maid Yayoi’s romantic thoughts even though
secluded in the women’s quarters where no men are allowed)

Scene Two
The two ladies in waiting return dragging the shy and reticent Yayoi who wears a long dress
indicative of a koshō (小姓), a teenage servant

Yayoi sits and straightens her collar. She bows and raises her arms in a gesture of veneration
Chorus – A long long time ago the Shinto Gods Izanagi and Izanami descended from heaven
and in union gave birth to the islands of Japan.

Yayoi turns and faces the musicians

Chorus - They descended from heaven across the bridge Ame-no-Ukihashi (天浮橋 Floating
Bridge of Heaven)

Yayoi bows, first to Izanami (伊弉冉尊), the female deity, and then to Izanagi (伊弉諾), the male
deity.

Chorus - ‘In ancient times did the gods unite in marriage and make their descent on heaven’s
floating bridge, a female and a male divine. The love between the Gods is like the tangled roots of
bamboo grass and their hearts are joined in love like the bow and stern of the fishing boats at Ise
Province

The lyrics remind Yayoi of a popular song of the Ise (伊勢) Pleasure Quarters. In the first musical
highlight of Kagamijishi she starts to dance. The shinobue (篠笛), a high-pitched flute, plays fue
(笛), a slow melody, adding to the sense of romanticism

Chorus - ‘The flower that is man’s heart is touched by and soaked through with morning dew

As well as the usual erotic connotations, the image of dew in this instance is also intended to
evoke sadness, as Yayoi mimes (furi 振 – to mime), falling petals soaked by rain and holds her
hands to her cheeks in imitation of a lovers’ pillow on a dew drenched morning. Symbolically
lifting her hands to her hair she projects an image of a wet comb the women at the castle use to
smooth and arrange their long hair.

Chorus - Her fashionable young woman’s hairstyle, piled high and pomaded (called
bunkinshimada, 文金島田) is that of a proud and difficult girl unlike that of the senior ladies in
waiting

Yayoi pulls out a red handkerchief and bows. The red handkerchief is used in the tea ceremony
(cha-no-yu 茶の湯), perhaps indicating that she had been serving tea elsewhere in the castle
when she had been interrupted and dragged off to dance

The lyrics and Yayoi’s gestures make a number of puns (sharé 洒落) on hairdressing

Revolving her finger coyly round her sleeve she intimates that though she lives in the women’s
quarters she still dreams of an imaginary man with whom she may one day be in love. She
gestures to indicate the other women with whom she works as the lyrics pun on the word for
comb (kushi 櫛), and mouth (kuchi 口), mouth, alluding to the spread of gossip, of rumors of
affairs, in the women’s’ quarters which well liked Yayoi finds difficult which the lyrics describe as
they continue to pun on hairdressing…

Chorus - ‘With her long locks newly dressed, she is well thought of and to the teeth of her comb
she is adored by all to the tip of her coiffure, though like an itch no hair pin can reach she is upset,
under their watchful eyes, to be tied to someone so importunate, barriers to love…’

Frustrated at being unable to reach her secret dream lover, she flicks the cloth from her shoulder.

A stage hand (kōken 後見), appears and hands a fan to Yayoi (an onna ogi 女扇 - silver on one
side and gold on the other, it is a fan that was used by high social status woman). Peeking
around at an imaginary spring scene she mimes a local river and falling rain as the lyrics describe
her yearly trip to view the spring flowers
Chorus - ‘My heart leaps in spring as I travel to view the spring flowers and mountain valley
villages by which the river roars by with a sound like falling rain which drowns out the sound of
the wind in the pine trees’

Chorus – Implying Yayoi’s feelings, the lyrics continue…Long ago, so the story goes, a
woodsman journeyed into the mountains and met two boys playing Go, tarrying awhile he
watched them play, returning home much time has passed and generations have passed away.
I’ve been led astray, he says, when I only tallied for a half a day, how could I know that, as
fleeting as the clouds, so much time would pass? If I stay just a short time the spring blossoms
will fall, replaced by the green growth of summer’s trees.

Yayoi mimes falling petals and a lively country dance to indicate that in the early summer the
workers return to the fields, planting rice seedlings. She shyly hides her face

Chorus – In early summer women appear in the rice fields. How quickly they fall in love

The stick drum starts an energetic rhythm accompanied by Yayoi’s graceful hand dance (te-odori
手踊り) placing a fist under her right and left cheeks she suggests a pillow and dreams of
romance

Chorus – How little Yayoi guessed how much she would long for her dream lover even though, in
her dreams, she sees and hears him over and over again

Yayoi circles slowly

Chorus – See, a mist shrouded moon. A cuckoo calls outside the castle but soon flies away

Yayoi’s watches an imaginary bird flying away then gestures with her fan

Chorus – In the season of the peonies the large flowers blossom and then tumble, scattering
petals

Pausing Yayoi catches a petal on her fan

Chorus – The peonies here are really so beautiful that I am unable to sleep. Let us pass the night
among them, let us pass the night among them! Here among the flowers we’ll forget our own
despair!

At this point there is a dramatic shift as Yayoi, with great skill, flips and spins two large dance fans
(mae ōgi 舞扇). She shields her eyes to lure the many peonies as a breeze carries their intense
scent as the lions’ heads start exerting an influence on Yayoi

Chorus – Adorn yourself and follow their faces of red, white and pink. How enchanting, how
enchanting! Blossoms of just twenty days! The shishi too will eventually play amongst the flowers.
See! The renowned stone bridge called Shakkyo! (A reference to the legend of Shakkyo)

Yayoi imagines she now sees a supernatural bridge and looks down into a rushing river at the
bottom of a yawning abyss

Chorus – ‘The surface of the bridge is of little width, covered in moss and lustrous, while in a
valley so deep it could reach to hell white waves pound together sounding like the howling of
windy storm, whilst from beyond the bridge the beautiful sound of the music of the Pure Land, the
realm of Monju, can be heard. Across the bridge lies paradise. A reed pipe sounds! Flowers are
falling. Strains of flutes and strings filter through the evening clouds that gather about the setting
sun’

Yayoi goes to the altar on which are placed the two carved lions’ heads and the round kagami
rice cakes, after which this dance is named, and bows reverently
Another of the great highlights of Kagamijishi begins, and as Yayoi begins to dance with one of
the lion’s heads two butterflies appear luring the lion’s head along behind them. The spirit of the
shishi begins to take over and, as Yayoi watches one of the butterflies, the lion’s head begins to
behave as if alive. Yayoi is dragged along by the lions head as it chases the butterflies along the
hanamichi (lit. flower path 花道 - a walkway extension which usually runs from the stage to the
rear of the auditorium through the left hand side of the stalls).

Scene Three
The part of the stage on which the musicians sit divides revealing two young girls, the
manifestations of the spirits of the two butterflies which play with small drums tied at the front.
The butterflies are attracted by the peonies scent as an unseen drum, the Nô flute and cymbals
suggest a courtly and strange mood

Chorus – If not for the sweet flowers and their fragrance what other place in this world would
there be in which to remain. Knowing the grief of this floating world we sleep in the grass and play
among the flowers. In dawn’s clear light we obtain kindness like the dew on pillow sleeves. We
are linked to the peonies and often mistaken for them because of the colour of our wings

Putting out their right feet and lifting their toes and moving them from side to side the butterfly
spirits stamp their feet in a mad rhythm (ran-hyōshi, 乱拍子)

Chorus – The butterflies and the peonies are together coupled, weaving a colourful pattern of
flowers though the bright spinning wheels of flowers are also those of time spinning round and
round. Yet, pitiless and cruel, our lives must end before the autumn wind ensnare the filament like
branches of the willow trees. The butterflies gently wave their wings, blown from the flowers,
envied perhaps by the wind god. Though the petals that scatter on Mount Yoshino are beautiful,
how much more so is the pollen wafted by our wings falling as powder on our beloved peonies
(Mount Yoshino, Yoshino-yama 吉野山, south of the old capital Nara 奈良, is still famed for its
spectacular cherry trees, sakura 桜)

The butterfly spirits perform with two small tambourine drums (suzudaiko 鈴太鼓), stamping their
feet in time to the music on the upper stage layer (shosa butai 所作舞台 dance piece stage) of
smooth cyprus wood, a practice from the folk roots of Kabuki originally intended to drive away evil

Chorus – Bright colours and brilliant tones of shy butterflies’ wings! Hesitating is useless. Soon
the pine wind will blow the falling petals onto the fire like the tumbling snow as we too will be
bewildered in the shade of flowers and rest our wings in the shade of trees

Scene Four
The hip drum (ōtzuzumi 大鼓) and the small shoulder drum (kōtzuzumi 小鼓), are now played on
their own creating a contrast between the cracks of the harder hip drum and the softer more liquid
beats of the shoulder drum. Raising or lowering the pitch and controlling the drums tone is
controlled by pinching and releasing the encircling ropes and creating extra tension on the skin
covering of the drums

A dramatic musical passage is performed, called ōzatsuma (大薩摩), where the shamisen players
show their extraordinary ability in handling a large plectrum. Originally a separate school of music,
ōzatsuma, with a grand and heroic air has been incorporated into the Nagauta school and is often
used, in a powerful and dramatic way, to introduce the dance’s climax

Chorus – Look the holy Chinese mountain Seiryo, surrounded by the soaring mountain peaks
and, at the foot of a stone bridge over a deep ravine over which no ordinary man can cross. The
bridge appears miraculously by the power of the Buddha’s profound compassion. Wait a little
longer! Soon a holy apparition will appear!

Large peony bushes are brought on by the kōken to complete the scene
A musical passage of percussion and flute commences, called gaijo, which is taken from the
older Nô play Shakkyō. Some of the drummers make long high pitched calls which are timing
cues to establish a rhythm for the other musicians, simultaneously creating a sense of
apprehension. Soft gentle beats of the stick and shoulder drums ensue imitating the sound of
single drops of dew falling from the peonies. The previous Shakkyō drum pattern begins again as
increasing in tempo it is a precursor to the arrival of the shishi

The shishi appears on the hanamichi walkway and in contrast to the earlier role as shy Yayoi, the
same actor now expresses the fierce masculinity of the shishi, the guardian spirit of paradise
th
The shishi’s magnificent brocade attire, transferred from the Nô theatre in the 19 century, is a
comparatively contemporary addition to the Kabuki stage though the red make up of the shishi
(mukimi guma むきみ隈) is a development of the Kabuki Theatre

The Nô flute, stick and hand drums resume the fast arrangement kurui (狂い madness), signifying
the agitated state of the shishi. The scent of the peonies calms the shishi sending it to sleep. As
the butterflies return to tease the shishi the large unseen drum, Nô flute and sutra bell play a
gentle rhythm, honkaku (本格), creating a tense yet calm atmosphere as the butterflies hover
around the sleeping shishi

Chorus – In the cool breeze beneath the leaves the butterflies flutter their wings. How brave the
shishi is as he chases around and around, frolicking in the blossoms, tumbling through the
branches. Beyond doubt the lion’s ferocious majesty as king of the beasts cannot be outdone as
the king of the animals, the shishi, takes his place upon the lion’s throne

The shishi twirls its mane, a technique called keburi (lit. spiritual style - 気振り) the highlight of all
Shishimono, a technique which is done from the hips rather than the head.

As the shishi takes up his final position, the tsukeita, wooden clappers, sound ‘Battari!’ for the
shishi’s final pose to kakegoe, shouts of appreciation, from the omuko

Adapted from Paul Griffith's voice over commentary with additional research and translations by
Trevor Skingle

Cast

小姓弥生後に獅子の精 Maidservant Yayoi - 十一代目市川海老蔵 Jūichidaime Ichikawa

Ebizō XI (Guild - Naritaya)
立役 Tachiyaku – male role specialist

Emblem or Mon -ファイル:Sanireko masu 三入升, three

rice measures each one inside the other. The peony, kaō 花王, and prawn, ebi 海老, are
secondary, though nonetheless important, crests of the Naritaya Guild

蝶 Kocho butterflies – Koyaku, 子,役 child actors

 雷神 Narukami (不動北山桜 Fudô Kitayama Zakura – Saint Narukami and the God Fudô)
Written by Tsu-uchi Hanjūrō, Yasuda Abun and Nakada Mansuke and first performed in 1684

Narukami - Kuniyoshi 1851-1852

歌舞伎十八番 Kabuki Jûhachiban - A collection of 18 plays of the Ichikawa Danjûrô line of

actors, selected by Ichikawa Ebizô V in 1840 as the most representative plays in the bombastic
aragoto 荒事 style
時代物 Jidaimono - Historical drama
下座 Geza – a small room with a slatted window on the left used by shamisen, stick or hand drum,
kozutsumi 小鼓, bell and flute players to create background music and sound effects
大薩摩 Ōzatsuma - lively and ostentatious style of music
不動明王 Fudô Myôô (Wrathful manifestation of Vairocana) - One of the "Wisdom Kings" (myôô -
emanation of Buddha) and a Buddhist Deity of both the esoteric Japanese Shingon and Tendai
sects. He fights Evil and protects ascetic priests. Fudô means literally immovable. The Ichikawa
Danjûrô line of actors is closely related to the cult of Fudô Myôô after Ichikawa Danjûrô I dreamt
of the deity and began patronising Naritasan Shinshoji Temple 成田山新勝寺
つけ板 tsukeita – Wooden clappers at the left of the stage beaten to draw attention to a particular
point during the performance. hitote 一手 (pron. ‘sh’toté), "single hand", batan バタン is a double
beat (left, right); battari ばったり is a triple beat (left, left, right); and bata-bata バタバタ is a
continuous beating pattern (alternating left and right).

Synopsis: Originally part of a four act drama Act I Jomaku (序幕 Prologue, Scene I the Imperial
Palace and II Tree Island Shrine), Act II Kenuki (毛抜き Tweezers), Act III (scenes I The Imperial
Palace Garden and, this performance, scene II) Narukami ( 雷 神 の 聖 人 Saint Narukami),
concentrates in the first half on shikatabanashi (仕方話), speech with gestures, and contrasts with
the second half’s, aragoto (荒事), bombastic posturing. The Emperor has refused to ordain a
temple to honor the priest Narukami (lit. Thunderbolt) Shonin, who in anger has retreated to a
mountain top hermitage and bound the dragon god of rain preventing any rainfall on earth. The
Emperor sends a beautiful Princess Kumo-no-Taema-no-Hime (雲の絶え間の姫) to try and break
the curse in return for which he will rehabilitate her disgraced family (a part of the story told in Act
I, Jomaku, The Prologue). In the first part of Act III she tells Narukami and his monks, light
heartedly played by clown actors (sanmaime lit ‘third board’ 三枚目, in that they were traditionally
advertised on the third board of the traditional placards outside a kabuki theatre) that she is
grieving over her departed husband and needs to wash his cloak in the waterfall, the only place in
the land where there is water. She seduces Narukami and places him in a trance. When she tries
to bring him out of his trance by passing water from her lips to his he becomes suspicious;
another recluse lost his powers of sorcery in the same way. Narukami offers to massage away
her pain when she feigns illness. In the process he puts his hand inside her kimono and, touching
her breast is overcome with lust. She gets him drunk and in his intoxicated state he divulges the
secret that if the sacred rope (shimenawa 標縄), strung with paper tokens (shide 紙垂) both used
to mark sacred spaces, hung across the waterfall is broken the dragon god will be released.
Narukami dozes off and Princess Taema sneaks off and cuts the rope. The second half of the
play is performed in the aragoto, braggadocio style and as thunder and lightning fill the sky and
rain pours down signifying the dragon god’s escape Narukami wakes up. His anger at being
tricked is terrible to behold as he transforms into a Fudō Myôô, the god of thunder, by changing
into an igaguri (毬栗 lit. chestnut burr) wig, with fluffed up hair, and applying kumadori (隈取り)
colour make up, and changing his costume using the bukkaeri (打っ
返り instant flip-back), costume change to one covered in orange-red
flames. He performs the mie (見得 pose), called hashira maki no mie
(柱巻の見得, pillar-wrapping pose), wrapping his arms and one leg
around a pillar of the Iwaya hut. He performs a final mie, pose, (Fudô
no mie 不 動 の 見 得 ), on a rock holding the broken shimenawa,
sacred rice-straw rope, in one hand and glaring in the direction
Taema has fled. He angrily runs after the princess using the
exaggerated technique tobiroppō ( 飛 び 六 方 ), at the end of act
(makugire 幕切れ). The final Act IV, not performed here, is comprised
Oshiguma 押隈
Kabuki actor’s face pressing of scene I Bun’ya Tohohide’s Mansion and scene II Fudô (不動)
where Danjō, the hero from Kenuki, kills Narukami.

Act 3, Scene 2
A curtain painted to represent the side of a mountain hides the main stage. The geza musicians
play a fast drum and flute pattern (hayatsuzumi 早鼓), as the two monks, Hakūnbô (白雲房 Monk
White Cloud) and Kokūnbô (黒雲房 Monk Black Cloud) enter. The opening scene is very similar
to the opening scene of Kyôganoko Musume Dôjôji (京鹿子娘道成寺 Maiden at the Dojo Temple)
where the priests, who also bring out wine and octopus, are figures of ridicule

Hakūnbô – Have you heard? Have you heard?

Kokūnbô – I’ve heard, I’ve heard
Hakūnbô – Have you heard?
Kokūnbô – I’ve heard

They meet in the centre of the stage

Hakūnbô – What have you heard?

Kokūnbô – Everyone in Edo is saying that Narukami Fudô Kitayama Zakura is a great play!
Hakūnbô – Donkey. Not that. I mean, are people talking about our Master Narukami and his
secret spells?
Kokūnbô – No… haven’t heard anything
Hakūnbô – No? He does amazing things! Listen

The shamisen plays an elegant tune associated with spring and viewing flowers (haru wa hanami
春わ花見)

Geza Recital - The emperor refused to ordain a temple to him so Narukami has undertaken
austerities which have constrained the dragon gods of rain and now not a single drop of rain falls
anywhere in the universe. One hundred days have passed since rain fell and the land has dried
and withered

The Priest Narukami Shonin has withdrawn to a retreat near a waterfall in which he has
incarcerated the dragon god of rain stopping the rain and causing drought.
Kokūnbô – that’s Ok if you don’t like humidity but it must be hard for the farmers to plant their
rice
Hakūnbô – What power! The master’s power is remarkable!
Kokūnbô – The emperor has only himself to blame for his lies
Hakūnbô – Hush! Being a disciple of Narukami is a great privilege. He’s the needle and we are
the thread

Hakūnbô mimes threading a needle

Kokūnbô – Well I’m worn out climbing the three miles up mountain every morning to help the
master with his austerities and then three miles down to sleep… …and its very cold up here
Hakūnbô – Spiritual discipline means that if he freezes so do we
Kokūnbô – With all this climbing, up and down, up and down, my legs have gone numb
Hakūnbô – I’m tired as well but you don’t hear me moaning. You’re an idiot
Kokūnbô – If my tongue went numb I’d be dumb
Hakūnbô – What a blessing that would be!
Kokūnbô – I’ve got some medicine for the cold. It’ll make you feel great really quickly. Want
some?
Hakūnbô – Good is it? I might try some
Kokūnbô – It’s the No-Death-No-Pain cure all medicine
Hakūnbô – So… …where is it?
Kokūnbô – It’s far too precious to hide in my sleeve or belt. I’ll open up the gates and fetch it
Hakūnbô – The gates?! There isn’t a store here. Are you going all the way back to the temple to
fetch it?
Kokūnbô – There is a store here… …it’s, to say, in a perfect hiding place; my pants crotch. And
just the right temperature too. Here, and here. Here have some

Kokūnbô retrieves a bottle of rice wine from his pants crotch and cup from his sleeve and offers
Hakūnbô some rice wine

Hakūnbô – Filthy, dirty, degenerate, degraded, world corrupted monk!

Kokūnbô – What?! A little wine?!
Hakūnbô – The Lord Buddha commanded strict abstinence from causing harm, greed, lust, lies
and intoxication. You dare to break those vows while Narukami meditates?!
Kokūnbô – It keeps me dry
Hakūnbô – So it does
Kokūnbô – Elder brother you object so I’ll smash the bottle on this rock
Hakūnbô – No! No! Rice is Buddha’s bounty, one grain multiplied one thousand times ten
thousand! If we must dispose of it lets drink it. Maybe just a small sip…
Hakūnbô – When I have a drink I feel like I’m being reborn in Buddha’s Paradise. Here let me
pour you a drink
Kokūnbô – But we don’t have anything to accompany it
Hakūnbô – Ah... …yes we do. I knew we’d get hungry so I brought…

Hakūnbô pulls and octopus out from between his legs

Kokūnbô – …an octopus! Eating meat is a blasphemy of the Buddha’s laws, and in the place
where the master is meditating. I’m going to tell him.
Hakūnbô – You wouldn’t?
Kokūnbô – Just watch me. Master! Master! Hakūnbô’s eating octopus!
Hakūnbô – Master! Master Narukami! Kokūnbô’s drinking wine
Kokūnbô – Hakūnbô smells of fish!

As they tussle the back cloth is quickly whisked away revealing Narukami’s retreat. A sign says
‘North Mountain Cavern View’ (北山洞景). The waterfall is decorated with a sacred rice-straw
rope (shimenawa 締縄) hung with paper strips (shime 注連) folded in the shape of lightning,
indicating that this is a sacred spot
Ōzatsuma 大 薩 摩 recital – Meanwhile the great Saint Narukami prevents dragons and
goddesses from flying and imprisons the rain. Deep in the mountains he undertakes strict ritual
purification in front of the Buddha’s altar

Narukami enters and stops at the shichi-san (七三 seven-three) position on the hanamichi (花道)
walkway, the traditional place on the hanamichi for characters to make important speeches, and
turns to look at the audience

Narukami – Mmmm.. …the leaves are blown by the wind… …all cause and effect

Ōzatsuma recital – At this boulder destroying waterfall I purify and steel my spirit to attain perfect
meditation

Narukami rings a prayer bell and a large drum beats waterfall pattern (taki no oto 滝の音,) and a
distant bell chimes

Chorus– (Prayer) Hail Great guardian God Fudō! Hail Great guardian God Fudō!

As the sound of the chorus mingles with the sound of the bell Princess Kumo-no-Taema-no-Hime
enters wearing a red kimono, a symbolically erotic color, adorned with patterns of spring flowers
and off one shoulder as, carrying her departed husband’s black robe, she strolls seductively to
the shichi-san and poses. The scene that follows is one of the most erotic left in the Kabuki
repertoire and replaces the long dance section of the original Nō play

Taema – Great Guardian God Fudō help me! Great Guardian God Fudō help me!

Glancing around to see what effect she is having Taema sits on a stool provided by a stage hand
(kōken 後見) who takes her prayer bell and hammer. Narukami is deep in mediation as the small
drum and shamisen play in the mountain echo style (kodama 木霊)

Narukami – Totally silent are the mountains, not even bird calls. Why do I hear then the sound of
prayers to the Buddha in this remote place where humans rarely tread

Narukami wakes up his acolytes and sends them to investigate. They see Taema and compare
her to a top ranking Kabuki actor (jōjōkichi 上上吉). As they debate about whether she is a demon
or a goddess Narukami decides to conduct his own investigation. A Nō drum beats a single
rhythm pattern (itchō 一調)

Narukami – Hey you! What’s this? How strange! A noble woman who has walked across the
mountain trail difficult even for birds and animals, to this place. What are you?!
Taema – Me?
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – (mockingly) Me sir?
Narukami – Be quiet!
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Yes sir!
Narukami – (addressing Taema) I’m talking to you
Taema – I’m a woman who lives at the bottom of yonder mountain and have recently separated
from my husband
Narukami – Separated from your husband?
Taema – Yes sir!
Narukami – Separated in life or death?
Taema – It’s the seventh day of the seventh week
Narukami – The forty-ninth day after death? (the final day of the period of mourning after death
when the final memorial service is conducted)
Taema – Yes, your Holiness!
Narukami – Namu Amida Butsu! All hail the merciful Buddha! All hail the merciful Buddha!
A drum beats a lonely kodama, mountain echo style as Taema holds out her departed husband’s
black robe
Taema – (reciting a waka 和歌, poem, from the Kokinshū 古今集, an anthology of early Heian
poetry) ‘Once a keepsake, now an obstacle that I must now leave behind perhaps in anticipation
of forgetfulness’ I had considered washing away the dust of a sensual life from this robe but there
is drought everywhere and all the wells and streams are dry. Having heard of this waterfall in this
revered mountain that never dries up I had only wanted to wash away past memories and sins. I
miss you my charming husband who I miss so much. Can you know what is in my heart?
Narukami – Such a sad tale. You were close when married?
Taema – (poem) We were… ‘…like two birds in heaven, inseparable, sharing one eye and one
wing, on earth like two entwined branches…’ …We had such an interesting life
Narukami – The journey to enlightenment starts from lust and this conversation is as a result of
karma. Confess and repent your sins for the sake of your husband in his next life
Taema – It would certainly help to unburden myself. Shall I speak?
Narukami – Speak! Speak!
Taema – I acquiesce yet there is a gulf between us and anything I say will be lost in the echoes
between the mountains but by moving close to you I will tell you of my story
Narukami – Yes please tell me but the roar of the waterfall drowns out your words. Please come
near! Come near!
Taema – Then I’ll approach your holiness

The large drum beats the waterfall pattern (taki no oto 滝の音)

Kokūnbô – You can’t! You can’t!

Hakūnbô – Women are prohibited by our master…
Kokūnbô – …to within a distance of seven miles
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Within a distance of seven miles you are not allowed to approach
Taema – What a strange thing to say
Narukami – What they say is true. Women are not permitted to approach the place where I
meditate. You can sit between my monks and speak. Speak!
Taema – Well then I’ll tell my tale from here

A stage hand, kōken, takes her sandals and her husband’s robe

Taema – Will you, my two monks, listen as well?

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Yes! We shall! We shall!

As she kneels and covers her face with a black fan the shamisen plays love melodies (chigusa 知
遇唆) as she begins a talking with gestures (shikatabanashi) section

Taema – It’s embarrassed to confess that I fell in love with my lord at Kiyomizu Temple when he
suddenly appeared outside our shelter and sneaked a look at me. I can’t describe his dignity and
his charm but I knew he was to be my darling
Hakūnbô – Even though you’d never seen him before?
Taema – His charm was such that in the nape of my neck I felt…

She leans over to show him the nape of her neck (in Japan the nape of the neck is considered
very erotic)

Hakūnbô – …a trembling?
Taema – a shiver went through my body
Kokūnbô – You quivered?
Taema – I trembled and had hot and cold flushes
Hakūnbô – Ooh! This is excruciating
Taema – Then he began to tease me firstly gawking at my face and then feigning disinterest and
then writing a poem in black ink on a piece of paper he pulled from his kimono which my maid
was asked to deliver to me
Taema – (reciting a waka, the fragment of another poem, from the Kokinshū) ‘Even now longing
to see one whom I have not really seen and yet have not seen…’
Hakūnbô – Even now longing to see…
Kokūnbô – one whom I have not really seen…
Hakūnbô – and yet have not seen…
Taema – But how does the last half of the poem go?

Narukami’s curiosity has been stimulated and he looks at her for the very first time. The music
stops…

Taema – Even now longing to see one whom I have not really seen and yet have not seen…
Narukami – ‘…can I live like this? Idling away the time’, is the last half of the poem, isn’t it?
Taema – (putting her hand to her heart) Oh… …that is absolutely right!
Narukami – And then? And then? What! What!

Narukami pulls out a writing tablet and cuts a mei, pose, staring at her as the shamisen play the
seven herbs of autumn melody (nanakusa 秋の 七草) as the pace of the storytelling increases

Taema – That evening, while everyone slept, I got up and, alone, found myself drawn to the Saga
plain (an area in Western Kyushu) where I discovered he lived
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Brave lady! Brave lady!
Taema – Then coming to a wide river
Hakūnbô - Of course. Of course. The Cinnamon Tree River with the big dam (cinnamon is a
symbol of immortality)
Kokūnbô – A famous river indeed!
Taema – With no ferry and no bridge how could I cross? I took my courage in my hands and
crossed by the light of the stars, and a woman at that! Without any consideration I edged up my
skirt…

Getting to her feet she lifts her skirt as she turns towards Narukami revealing a tantalizing
glimpse of her ankle

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – You edged it up?! You edged it up?!

Taema – No, I pulled it right up and entered the river

Pulling up her kimono she opens it in Narukami’s direction

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – But wasn’t it chilly?

Taema – Without any hesitation I splashed in. Splash! Splash!
Hakūnbô – (as the monks imitate her miming hitching her kimono and entering the river) Splash!
Splash!
Kokūnbô – Splash! Splash!
Taema, Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô - Splash! Splash! Splash, splash, splash!
Hakūnbô – Oh deep! So deep!
Kokūnbô – I can’t touch the bottom!
Taema – a little while later I reached the bank
Hakūnbô – Wet! Wet!
Taema – (so that Narukami is unmistaken in her intent) In the past I might have disliked the
moistness caused by dew or love I then pushed aside the short grass around the house in which
my lord lived
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – And did you get where you wanted to go?
Taema – Pushing open his rough gate, as I entered he said ‘You’ve come!’ and leading me by
the hand he took me straight to bed
Hakūnbô – Ah ecstasy! I’m melting!
Kokūnbô – I don’t know about anyone else but I’m as stiff as a log
Taema – we told each other stories of love, burned incense and drank sake. We embraced and
embraced and in the throes of uncontrollable passion we ended up having a lover’s squabble,
‘Stop it!’, ‘And if I don’t’, ‘I’ll hit you’, which I did, right on his head
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Ahh! Ahh!
Narukami – And then? And then? What then?!
Taema – It grew impassioned, the tiff. ‘I’ll go!’, ‘No you won’t!’, ‘I will if I feel like it!’, I said as I
made as if to leave. He grabbed my sleeve saying, ‘You’re so callous!’. ‘I have to go but you can
try and stop me if that’s the way you feel!’, ‘No! Stay!’ as I pulled my sleeve out of his grasp and
leaving said, ‘Farewell’

Narukami is drawn towards Taema and as he steps towards her he teeters, at which point the
tsukeita clappers sound battan tsuke, loud double beat mountain rhythm. He stumbles down the
stairs and falls unconscious on the ground

Hakūnbô – Master! Master!

Kokūnbô – Master has passed out!
Taema – Beloved holiness

As a large drum beats waterfall pattern (taki no oto), the monks lift up Narukami and Taema
rushes to the waterfall and sucks in a draft of water. Returning to Narukami she passes the water
from her mouth to his and massages him. Pretending she is embarrassed she moves away and,
kneeling, puts her face to the ground

Narukami – (wakes up) Brethren?!

Hakūnbô – In the name of the Buddha!
Kokūnbô – Master’s recovered
Narukami – What happened is a desecration. Without realizing it I became absorbed by her story
and tumbled from my place of meditation but even whilst unconscious I did feel some water pass
into my mouth to rejuvenate me
Taema – Yes it did. I passed stream water from my mouth to yours
Narukami – Uh! Did you pass the water to my lips?
Taema – Yes your holiness
Narukami – Hmm…

Narukami jumps to his feet and knocks her to the floor

Narukami – Watch her brethren!

Narukami returns to the porch glaring at her brutally

Narukami – Ah! Treacherous woman!

The shamisen plays the Geza Ongaku (下座音楽) musical accompaniment without singing (aikita
合い方) moisture melody (mizuki sanjū 水気三重)

Narukami – (recites more and more rapidly) Long ago a priest from Benaras in India called one
horn magician who with his powers could fly on clouds and walk on water until when the dragon
gods flooded the earth the holy ascetic slipped and fell into a valley. Infuriated he cursed the
dragon gods, ‘Your rain made me trip on the muddy ground’, and with eyes the size of cart
wheels he confined the dragon gods sealing them permanently with holy prayers suspended on a
rope in a rocky cavern causing drought, whirling dust and suffering. The emperor at the time
planned to destroy the magician’s power and instructed the beautiful court lady Sendara to go
and seduce the magician and break the curse and release the rain which she managed to do
using her sensual charms. Black rain cloud filled the sky and rain fell in torrents until the land was
renewed and the trees, grass and the five grains (五穀- wheat, rice, soy beans, Foxtail (awa 粟)
and Pros (kibi 黍) millet) flourished again. That she could overwhelm a magician so powerful!
Admit it woman! You too have been ordered by the Emperor to upset my mediation…

…So! Tell the truth! Or you’ll be ripped to shreds and hurled away. So! So! Talk!

Glaring at her he places his right foot on the top step twirling the rosary over his head with his left
hand and cuts a fierce mie, pose, as the tsukeita clappers beat battari tsuke, three beat pattern
Taema – I am besieged by your suspicions. The truth is that I wanted to become your acolyte but
was unable to come near you until you heard my tales of love. I feel it is not worth living now that
you doubt me and I’ll throw myself into the waterfall and let death prove my innocence

The drum beats waterfall pattern (taki no oto,) as she runs towards the waterfall

Narukami – Brethren! Stop her!

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Yes master! Lady wait please!
Taema – No! Let me go and die!

She is prevented from throwing herself in the pool by the monks

Narukami – How reckless! In spite of sin your face tells the truth. You mustn’t die, that’s not the
way to enlightenment
Taema – and though I live…
Narukami – Become a nun, a priestess
Taema – Uh?
Narukami – Narukami will shave your head as you become the Buddha’s devotee. Brethren fetch
back the comb and razor from the bottom of the mountain
Hakūnbô – But if we go, the master…
Kokūnbô – …and she…
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – …will be alone together
Narukami – What?!

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô exit laughing as they go

Narukami – Idiotic men! Despicable pair!

Taema – And now… …my teacher?
Narukami – you already call me teacher! And you will soon be my apprentice. A pure heart
upheld and you’ll soon be an ordained nun
Taema – So when they get back you’ll cut off all my hair?
Narukami – Your head will be clean shaved before you know it
Taema – Arrhhh!! Arhhh!!!
Narukami – Why are you crying?
Taema – To think that my lustrous hair, combed a thousand times is to be cut off and thrown
away
Narukami – You cry in regret?
Taema – Yes

She presses her hand to her breast a number of times as the drum beats mountain wind rhythm
(yama oroshi 山颪) and cries out

Taema – Ahhhh!! Ahhhh!!!!

Narukami – What’s up? What’s wrong?
Taema – a melancholic seizure
Narukami – That’s appalling! But without medicine will a back massage do?
Taema – Your holiness I’m too much bother (spasms)
Narukami – Illness overrides any obstacles. There there…
Taema – my tummy is painful

This is the point at which the love scene (nureba 濡れ場) between Taema and Narukami begins

Narukami – the problem would be in the solar plexus and I have the power to cure through touch.
Here here… (places his hand inside her kimono and rubs her breast) …does that feel better? Am
I reaching the source of your suffering?
Taema – (sharé 洒落, puns…) your kind hands touch my heart
Narukami – There there… …is it better? Is it better? (his hand goes deeper and then he startles)
Taema – What’s wrong?
Narukami – I felt something astonishing
Taema – What?

Taema’s eyes are partially hidden by the purple silk cloth (boshi tsuke no katsura 帽子付けの鬘,
traditionally worn in the past to cover the shaved part of the front of the head, a practice ordered
by the Tokugawa Bakufu, the military government, in 1652 to prevent actors from looking too
attractive)

Narukami – I touched two soft cushions with small hand pulls on the front, a first in my life
Taema – And they call you teacher?! Your holiness they’re breasts!
Narukami – Really?! Though just a forgetful priest I do remember that the only breasts I knew
were my mother’s where I suckled. I’m so stupid, like a plank of wood
Taema – Your purity is to be congratulated
Narukami – Now to investigate the cause of your sickness (standing behind her with his hand in
her kimono their bodies sway). Ah, yes, here they are! Breasts! How round and fleshy (and as he
lowers his hand even further) and here is the abdomen once tight but now relaxed to my touch
(his hands go ever lower) and then the navel, the seat of the Divine and center of Heaven (lower
still) and below that the Sea of Seducing Vapour (lower still) and below that the Pure Paradise of
the Buddha. Does my touch please you?
Taema – Teacher, no more
Narukami – (groping her excitedly) Ahhh… …I’m crazy about you and I worship you. Having lost
the highest seat of Buddha’s Paradise just let me reside in the lowest level of Heaven

Grabbing her as she tries to escape they both fall over

Taema – Teacher! Your holiness what is this?

Narukami – Am I insane?!
Taema – You’re just not yourself
Narukami – Have I insulted the Buddha?!
Taema – A holy man like you could never insult the Buddha

He grabs her again and again she evades him

Narukami – I’m done for! Done for! Living but in hell. I don’t care even though done for and falling.
The Buddha was also human and had a wife, Princess Shitta. Permit me! Permit me! (as she
backs away from him) If you deny me I will turn into a demon and consume that beautiful throat of
yours and carry you to hell! Well woman! What do you say?!

A Kuriage (繰り上げ lit. rising up) dialogue begins between Narukami and Taema. This is back-
and-forth questioning culminating in a climax (there is a similar scene in Kanjinchō, 勧進帳 the
Subscription List, when the officer of the barrier gateway, Togashi, questions Yoshitsune’s head
retainer Benkei about esoteric Shingon Buddhist practices to find out if Benkei really is a
Yamabushi, a mountain ascetic)

Taema – Your holiness

Narukami – Don’t deny me!
Taema – Reverend!
Narukami – Don’t deny me!
Taema – Yes, your holiness!
Narukami – Ahhhhhh!!!!

Narukami falls over, and as his yearning dissipates, he reverts back to his former self

Taema – One wonders how, with a terrifying face like that you ever managed to plumb the depths
of love?!
Narukami – Will you allow me?
Taema – If you desire
Narukami – Oh to journey to paradise! Oh effortless demise! Come, come!
Taema – Why the rush or are you resolute in making me your wife?
Narukami – Dive into the pool says the rule of marriage
Taema – What’s the rush? I’ll marry you if you want me to but we can wait a little as a monk for a
husband is not a pleasant thing
Narukami – It is said that a monk is a good cure for beriberi (a nervous system problem
deficiency of thiamin or vitamin B1)
Taema – if I asked you to would you relinquish your vows?
Narukami – Immediately!
Taema – Become a man?
Narukami – And have a fashionable haircut!
Taema – Honestly?
Narukami – I swear by the Buddha
Taema – That vow, and your venerable name, reek of the Buddha! Saint Narukami indeed!
Narukami – Hold on! That can be changed
Taema – To what?

Then, unusually, almost half way through the play, in a technique called tsurané 連ね, usually
performed at the beginning of a play, the actor briefly refers to his real name for the benefit of the
rest of the cast and the audience as well as making a sharé, or pun, on the name Sukebei…

Narukami –Sukebei Ichikawa Danjūrō

Though sukebei 助け平 means lecher it is also a pun in that it also sounds like a combination of
two proper names, suke and bei. The actor playing Narukami usually puts his own name in at
which point the audience usually applauds

Taema – What a devoted pair we’ll make

Narukami – (sharé, puns amusingly for the audience…) Come, come. Let’s start our play
Taema – You’re in too much of a rush! First I want to drink a cup of sake to celebrate our
engagement
Narukami – Oh yes! Oh yes! Let’s drink the sake we have
Taema – Uh?
Narukami – And we have a sake cup too (as a distant bell tolls and the shamisen plays bell
melody, kin aikata 金合い方, Narukami brings a huge red lacquer wear cup and a barrel of sake).
He he! And those two monks thought that these were hidden from me

He pours some sake and, according to a Japanese wedding ritual, she takes three sips. She
attempts to pour sake for Narukami

Narukami – No no!
Taema – Why not?!
Narukami – I’ve never drunk alcohol before. I even hate sake pickled cucumbers
Taema – (to persuade him to drink) Well that may be the case but to marry you have to drink
sake

As he drinks the sake the scroll of Fudô hanging at the back of the Iwaya hut falls signifying
Narukami’s final corruption and defilement

Narukami – The first time ever I’ve drunk sake and it’s made me feel cold and turned my
stomach
Taema – (pouring him another cup she shrinks back) Look! In the cup! A snake!
Narukami – Don’t be daft! There’s nothing there! Look! It’s not a snake. It’s a sacred rope
Taema – So it is
Narukami – He he he! How apprehensive you are
Taema – What sort of rope is it?
Narukami – An extraordinary one
Taema – Why?
Narukami – It’s a serious secret not to be shared
Taema – Ahhh… (she backs away glancing at the rope over the waterfall as, over confident,
Narukami takes another drink and cuts a pose)

A temple bell sounds in the distance as the shamisen softly plays bell melody (kin aikata)

Narukami – Offended by the Emperor I was angry and imprisoned every dragon god in this cave
which is hung with a sacred rice straw rope hung with sacred prayers to imprison them. If the
rope is broken they will escape and the rain will flood the land with torrential downpours! He he
he! (he falls over). Never reveal this to anyone!
Taema – If the rope is cut the rain will fall! Should I… (holding herself back she looks at the rope)
…pour some more sake? Here…
Narukami – (as he drinks some more) Here…
Taema – yes

Chorus – (recites another waka, poem, to indicate the passing of time as Narukami leads Taema
up the porch steps) ‘No sooner do we become used to this, our evening’s rain of pleasure, than
we are woken, moistened by the dawn’s early haze’

Narukami and Taema lower themselves to the floor of the Iwaya hut and a blind is lowered

Taema – (to see if Narukami is truly deeply asleep) Wake up master! Wake up! (as the large
drum beats taki no oto, waterfall pattern, Taema runs down to centre stage and kneels) Forgive
my malice Narukami but I have been ordered by the Emperor, and will obey his command, to
break the spell

As the shamisen and small drum play fast ‘rock step’ rhythm (ishidan 石段), and the tsukeita
clappers beat a two step rhythm, Taema precariously makes her way to the top of the waterfall
where she cuts a mie, pose, to the sound of the large drum and a three beat rhythm of the
tsukeita clappers. She uncovers a dagger. The music stops

Taema – In supplication, believing in the Buddha’s Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha) and pray to the Twelve Heavenly Generals (Jūni Shinshō), the Twenty Five
Bodhisattvas (Nijūgo Bosatsu) and Eight Great Dragon Kings (hachidai-ryūō) to let the rain fall. In
supplication, believing in the Buddha’s Three Treasures (she cuts the rope)

The flute and stick drum play quick flute melody (hayabue 早笛) as the large drum plays rain
rhythm (ame no oto 雨の音). As the dragon gods escape and lightning flashes the tsukeita beat
continuously as Taema makes her way to the shichi-san, seven three, position on the hanamichi
walkway where she falls. She looks back at the Iwaya hut and then, after turning round to show
her beauty, she makes off along the hanamichi accompanied by the sound of continuous tsukeita
clapper beats. As the tsukeita continue a large drum plays thunder rhythm (kaminari oto 雷音)
and the two monks reappear

Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Master! Reverend Narukami!

The Iwaya hut blind is drawn up as the two monks go to Narukami

Hakūnbô – Master! Here you are! Phew! He stinks!

Kokūnbô – He’s been drinking sake
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – Ahhh!! Master!!! (they see the broken rope)
Hakūnbô – Narukami’s enchantment has been broken!
Kokūnbô – The sacred rope has been cut and the dragon gods…
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – … have escaped!
Hakūnbô – The rain…
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – …is bucketing down!

The large drum beats rain rhythm (ame no oto)

Kokūnbô – Lightning and thunder!!
Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô – … blaze and roar! Buddha save us! Buddha save us
Narukami – (waking up) What’s this?! Rain! Rain! (ame no oto, rain rhythm) Thunder roaring!
(kaminari oto, thunder rhythm)
A watari zerifu (渡り台詞 speech passed along, lit. ferry speech) dialogue commences being
spoken by each of the monks in turn though the final line is spoken by all

Hakūnbô – It’s because you were just ruined by a woman…

Kokūnbô – and we asked for her name and where she went…
Third Monk – Princess Taema of the Clouds she is…
Fourth Monk – the most beautiful lady at court…
Hakūnbô – She came at the Emperor’s instruction to seduce you
Monks – Our master!

Narukami – Ehhhh! She came to eliminate my authority?! Arghhh!!!!

His anger at being tricked is terrible to behold and as he speaks he transforms into Fudō Myôô,
the god of thunder, by changing into an igaguri wig, with fluffed up hair, and applying kumadori
makeup. As he tears his rosary in two and cuts a mie, pose, his costume is changed by two
monks and a kōken, stage assistant, to a white kimono with spiky silver flashes representing
lightning

Narukami – for a sun 寸 (inch) of virtue a shaku 尺 (foot) of evil obstruct our progress. The
hidden spells are destroyed. I’ve disobeyed the laws of the Buddha and earned his anger. Ok. I’ll
become a living Narukami (God of Thunder) and chase you woman to the ends of the earth. Hah!
Hah! This will be so easy!

Towering over the monks Hakūnbô (Monk White Cloud) and Kokūnbô (Monk Black Cloud) he
throws a sutra to each side and cuts a mie, pose. A small curtain at the left of the stage drops to
reveal the ōzatsuma chanter and the shamisen musician

Ōzatsuma reciter – (accompanied by the shamisen) ‘Spirit of thunder and lightning Narukami!
Concentrating mind and spirit, pursuing her, to draw near to her and surpass her’.

A stylized fight scene ensues (tachimawari 立回り) as Hakūnbô and Kokūnbô grasp Narukami’s
arms pulling out threads from his sleeves. A kōken, stage assistant changes his costume using
the bukkaeri technique (used to reveal a character’s true nature), instant flip-back costume
change, to one covered in orange-red flames representing the power of lightning

Narukami throws two halves of a sutra to the monks who hold them as Narukami cuts a mie, pose,
while the tsukeita claps a three beat rhythm. Narukami leaps onto the stage in pursuit of Princess
Taema

When the monks try to restrain him a stylized fight ensues accompanied by ōzatsuma chanting
and the shamisen. He twice performs the mie (pose) called hashira maki no mie, pillar-wrapping
pose, wrapping his arms and one leg around a pillar of the Iwaya hut. He wields a diamond
scepter from the altar and puts it in his mouth. He performs the final mie, pose, Fudô no mie, to a
three beat rhythm of the tsukeita, standing on a rock holding the broken shimenawa, sacred rice-
straw rope, in one hand and glaring in the direction Taema has fled

Narukami performs a stylized exit (hikkomi 引っ込み), when he angrily chases after the princess
accompanied by the sound of the large and stick drums and the flute as he performs the
exaggerated technique tobiroppō, at the end of act (makugire) to the sound of thunderous drums
and the continuous beat of the tsukeita, clappers. This is a technique also seen in Kanjinchō, the
Subscription List, when Benkei exits the stage along the hanamichi walkway, and is intended to
demonstrate a character’s mental state
Adapted from James R. Brandon's version (Professor emeritus of Asian Theatre at the University
of Hawaii) with additional research and translations by Trevor Skingle

Cast

雷神上人
雷神上人 Priest Narukami Shonin - 十二代目 市川 團十郎 Jūnidaime Ichikawa Danjūrō
(Guild - Naritaya) 立役 Tachiyaku – male role specialist

Emblem or Mon -ファイル:Sanireko masu 三入升,

three rice measures each one inside the other. The peony, kaō 花王, and
prawn, ebi 海老, are secondary, though nonetheless important, crests of
the Naritaya Guild

雲の絶間姫 Princess Kumo-no-Taema - 五代目 中村時蔵 Godaime

Nakamura Tokizô V (Guild – Yorozuya) 女方 or 女形 Onnagata – female
role specialist

Emblem or Mon -ファイル:Kiri chō 桐丁,

leaves from a paulownia tree

Monk Kokūnbô (Monk White Cloud) – sanmaime, 三枚目, clown actor

Monk Hakūnbô (Monk Black Cloud) – sanmaime, 三枚目, clown actor

Additional monks – sanmaime, 三枚目, clown actors

Note:

There will be a total of 85 people involved in these productions; 26 actors and 59 additional
dressers, stage hands, technicians and musicians
In a July 1956 (Shôwa 31) production of Narukami the then Ichikawa Ebizō IX (九代目市川海老藏,
later Ichikawa Danjūrō XI, 十一代目市川 團十郎 and father of the current Ichikawa Danjūrō XII)
performed the role of Narukami alongside Onoe Baikô VII (七代目尾上梅幸) playing the part of
Princess Kumo-no-Taema-no-Hime. The play drew to a close with a short performance of
Oshimodoshi (押戻 lit. push pull) involving Ebizō and the actor Ichimura Uzaemon XVII (十七代目
市村羽左衛門) in the bombastic aragoto role of Kumedera Danjō (the hero from the previous act
in this series, Kenuki , 毛抜き, Tweezers). The hero from Kenuki, Danjō, storms along the
hanamichi saying he was passing by the Kabukiza (theatre in Tōkyō, 東京) when he felt the evil
(Narukami's) intentions emanating from the theatre. They pose at the shichi-san on the hanamichi
then move to the stage where Narukami traces the kanji for 'big' (ō 大) with his branch and Danjō
traces the kanji for 'enter' (iri 入) with a large bamboo stick which together are auspicious and
mean 'full house' (ōiri 大入). Then, instead of today’s usual tobi roppo exit of Narukami along the
hanamichi, they face off and both cut their final mie poses performing a final tableau as the
curtain comes down.

These days, it is rarely staged and, when it is staged, it is only as a grand final scene for
"(Kyôganoko) Musume Dôjôji" ( 京 鹿 子 娘 道 成 寺 , the maiden at Dôjôji temple) (Regis,
www.kabuki21.com).

Stills © Shochiku

スキツガル トレーボー
51c アパー トールス ヒール
ロンドン
SW2 2SQ
ユナーテド キンガドン

020 8674 5786

trevorskingle@hotmail.com