Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese bunraku
and kabuki
play jointly written by Takeda Izumo I, Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Sōsuke
and Miyoshi Shōraku. Along with Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
and Kanadehon Chūshingura
, it is one of the three most famous and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire. Sugawara was first performed as a puppet play in August 1746 at the Takemoto-za
in Osaka
, debuting on the kabuki stage the following month in Kyoto
. The Edo
debut was held at the Ichimura-za
the following March.
The play is set in the 9th century, and is based on the life of Heian period
court noble
and government official Sugawara no Michizane
(referred to as Kan Shōjō in the play), who was exiled to Kyūshū when he lost favor at court and was falsely accused of conspiring to seize the throne. A fictional set of triplets named Umeōmaru, Sakuramaru, and Matsuōmaru, characters invented for the play, also play a major role, each individually proving their loyalty and service to Kan Shōjō in different scenes. The antagonist is , whose name is written with the same kanji
as the historical Fujiwara no Tokihira
.
Like most full-length five-act kabuki plays, Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami is very rarely performed in full. Instead, a selection of scenes will be chosen, or a single scene will be combined with scenes from other plays, dance dramas, or other pieces to form a day's program. The most popular, and most frequently performed, scene from this play is Terakoya (寺子屋, "temple school
"), the third scene of Act IV. The Yasui no Hama (Act II, second scene) and Kitasaga (Act IV, second scene) scenes have only been performed in bunraku, never yet in kabuki. The Kurumabiki (Act III, first scene) scene is considered to be a paragon of the aragoto
form, and of the essence of kabuki.
For this reason and others, kabuki plays are almost never performed in their entirety today, and Sugawara is no exception. The fullest standard version of any play is called tōshi kyōgen, which in the case of Sugawara consists of six of the full twelve scenes. However, again as is the case with most plays, individual scenes or elements of Sugawara may be performed alone as part of a day's program of other such bits and pieces.
The fundamental structure of the play is very much in keeping with that of Japanese traditional drama forms as a whole. The philosophy of jo-ha-kyū
is employed throughout, as actions, scenes, acts, and the play as a whole begin slow (jo), then get faster (ha), and end quickly (kyū). Also, Sugawara follows the traditional five-act structure and the themes traditionally associated with particular acts. Act One begins calmly and auspiciously, including scenes at the Imperial Palace. Act Two features combat and murder. Act Three is something of a sewamono insertion into the jidaimono tale, turning away from the affairs of warriors and politics to focus on the lives of commoners. Act Four, often in other plays a michiyuki
journey, metaphorically associated with a journey through hell, features a dramatic storm and an emotional journey for Kan Shōjō, who becomes enraged at the traitorous activities of Shihei, and kills himself, becoming a thunder god. Act Five wraps up the plot quickly and returns to themes of auspiciousness.
The following plot summary is based on the full twelve-scene version.
The second scene features a meeting between Prince Tokiyo and Kariya, arranged by Sakuramaru. Kariya being a commoner, only adopted into the world of the imperial court, their love is taboo. When the meeting is discovered by one of Shihei's agents, the couple are forced to flee and hide, and Sakuramaru is disgraced.
Kan Shōjō passes on his secrets to Genzō, a former disciple of his who had been banished from the court after falling in love with a lady-in-waiting named Tonami. Kan Shōjō is later called before the emperor, but loses his hat, an ill omen. He is accused by Shihei of plotting, through the marriage of Kariya to Tokiyo, to seize power, and is subsequently exiled to Dazaifu. Genzō and Tonami, with the help of Umeōmaru, take Kan Shōjō's son, Kan Shūsai, with them to their small school in the provinces, in order to keep him safe from Shihei and his schemes.
Meanwhile, Sukune Tarō and his father Haji no Hyōe, who are in service to Shihei, prepare to assassinate Kan Shōjō. The minister's escort is meant to arrive at daybreak, and so his arrival will be signaled by a rooster's crow. Tarō and Hyōe kill Tatsuta, Tarō's wife, and throw her body into a nearby pond; they hold a rooster over the corpse, and its crows, as Japanese superstition holds it would. The false escort prepared by Tarō and Hyōe to take Kan Shōjō away thus leaves with his passenger.
Kakuju, discovering her daughter's body, and realizing what has happened, attacks and stabs Tarō. The real escort then arrives for Kan Shōjō, learns that the minister already left in a different palanquin, and prepares to set off to find him. Just then, the false escort returns, having realized he had been tricked with a wooden statue of the minister; several times in this scene, Kan Shōjō demonstrates the mysterious ability to transform into, or otherwise replace himself with, a wooden statue. He emerges from the palanquin, and the false escort is arrested and Hyōe executed, before the minister leaves with the real escort, to a tearful farewell, bound for his exile in Dazaifu.
and acting style. Sakuramaru is a romantic and gentle type, in the wagoto
fashion, Umeōmaru is a hero in aragoto
style, with bright red face makeup, and Matsuōmaru is a villain, his face painted with blue lines.
The scene opens as Umeōmaru and Sakuramaru try to stop Shihei's carriage, and are confronted by Matsuōmaru, a member of the entourage. As the pair begin to unlash the oxen and tear apart the carriage, Shihei emerges, his blue face makeup marking him as a villain. He glares at them malevolently, halting their attack.
In the second scene, the triplets travel to the home of their father, Kan Shōjō's aged retainer Shiradayū, in Sata Village, for the festive celebration of his 70th birthday. The three soon begin fighting but, with no swords at hand, attack one another with bales of hay. Though only fighting with hay and other common objects, the fight scene is executed in the same style and manner as the greatest of aragoto fight scenes. In the course of the fight, a branch from Kan Shōjō's favorite cherry tree (sakura
) is snapped off. Shiradayū notices this, and points it out as an omen, representing Sakuramaru's responsibility for Kan Shōjō's downfall, as he was the one who helped bring Tokiyo and Kariya together. Kan Shōjō arrives and, together with Shiradayū, chastise Matsuōmaru and banish him from their service; Sakuramaru then emerges and announces his decision to commit ritual suicide
, in order to atone for his wrongdoing. Shiradayū strikes a bell as his son dies.
), which suddenly appears there before him, having uprooted itself and flown to Dazaifu from the capital. Kan Shōjō and Shiradayū are admiring the blossoms when Umeōmaru arrives with a captive: Washizuka Heima, a minion of Shihei's.
Heima, tied up with rope, reveals Shihei's plot to seize power, describing each detail and he bemoans his fate, having failed in his mission to kill Kan Shōjō, and having been captured. Hearing of Shihei's treachery, Kan Shōjō becomes enraged, breaking off a branch from the plum tree and striking off Heima's head with it, as if it were a sword. He asks Shiradayū and Umeōmaru to hurry to the capital, to warn the emperor of Shihei's plans. Knowing that he cannot return to the capital himself, at least not in body, having been formally exiled, he vows to return as an angry spirit. To that end, he vows to journey to the summit of Mount Tenpai, where he will engage in austere disciplines, swear oaths to the gods, and become a ghostly lord of thunders. As he speaks, a storm rises up. His retainers grasp at his sleeves and try to stop him, but he throws them off, and flies off into the sky, already beginning to transform into a thunder spirit.
The second scene of Act IV, Terakoya ("Temple School") is among the most popular, and most frequently performed, scenes in the play. It takes place at the provincial school run by Genzō and Tonami, where they are watching over the young Kan Shūsai. Shihei suspects that this is where the minister's son is being hidden, and sends Matsuōmaru there to kill the boy and return with his head; among all of Shihei's retainers, only Matsuōmaru is trusted to identify the boy's head. In this scene, Matsuōmaru is dressed in a dark kimono with snow and pine motifs, his hair wild and busy, a sign of the tragedy which is to come, and of the illness which he claims in order to quit Shihei's service.
Seeking to atone for his past wrongdoings, Matsuōmaru plots to save Kan Shūsai's life, at the cost of that of his own son, Kotarō. He sends Kotarō to the school, where Genzō and Tonami decide he is the only one at the school whose head could pass for Kan Shūsai's. This scene is a classic example of the conflict between giri (honor, fealty) and ninjō (human compassion), as Genzō and Tonami sacrifice an innocent boy to save their master's son. When the sound of Genzō's sword striking off Kotarō's head is heard from offstage, Matsuōmaru strikes a distinctive Matsuō mie
pose, expressing his suppressed anguish. He then departs with the head in a box, to identify it for Shihei as Kan Shūsai's head, pretending to have done the deed and thus saving Kan Shūsai's life.
Matsuōmaru's wife, Chiyo, arrives at the school to pick up her son, and Genzō and Tonami fear for a moment that they may have to kill her too, rather than reveal their deception. But Matsuōmaru himself arrives, and explains to all involved that the boy killed was his own son, and that he did this intentionally, in order to make up for his past transgressions against Kan Shōjō and the Court, and his involvement in Shihei's schemes.
Shihei grabs Kan Shūsai, threatening to kill him, and declaring that nothing, not even a thunder god, will stand in the way of him overthrowing the emperor and seizing power for himself. Bolts of lightning slay his minions, as Shihei stands firm. The young Kan Shūsai slips away as the ghosts of Sakuramaru and his wife appear, and attack Shihei. The Buddhist priest Hosshō rubs his rosaries
and chants prayers to drive the ghosts off, but stops when he learns of Shihei's evil schemes. The ghosts attack Shihei once again, with sakura branches, and kill him. The storm dispels and the ghosts depart.
The play ends with the priest Hosshō declaring Kan Shūsai the successor to the Sugawara house, and the posthumous conferral upon Kan Shōjō of the Senior First Court Rank. He declares that a shrine should be constructed at Kitano
to honor the minister, who shall now be worshipped as a god (kami
) of scholarship.
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
and kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
play jointly written by Takeda Izumo I, Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Sōsuke
Namiki Sosuke
Namiki Sōsuke , also known as Namiki Senryū, was a prominent Japanese playwright who wrote for both kabuki and bunraku . Nearly forty of his bunraku plays were composed for jōruri, a particular form of musical narrative...
and Miyoshi Shōraku. Along with Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura
Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura , or Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees, is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire...
and Kanadehon Chūshingura
Kanadehon Chūshingura
Chūshingura is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's Matsukaze, although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from Matsukaze...
, it is one of the three most famous and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire. Sugawara was first performed as a puppet play in August 1746 at the Takemoto-za
Takemoto-za
The Takemoto-za was a bunraku theatre in Osaka, founded in 1684] by Takemoto Gidayū. Plays by many famous playwrights were performed there, including works by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sōsuke, and Takeda Izumo I...
in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, debuting on the kabuki stage the following month in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. The Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
debut was held at the Ichimura-za
Ichimura-za
The ' was a major kabuki theatre in the Japanese capital of Edo , for much of the Edo period, and into the 20th century. It was first opened in 1634 and was run by members of the Ichimura family for much of the following nearly three centuries before being destroyed by fire in 1932 and not...
the following March.
The play is set in the 9th century, and is based on the life of Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
court noble
Kuge
The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...
and government official Sugawara no Michizane
Sugawara no Michizane
, also known as Kan Shōjō , a grandson of Sugawara no Kiyotomo , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan...
(referred to as Kan Shōjō in the play), who was exiled to Kyūshū when he lost favor at court and was falsely accused of conspiring to seize the throne. A fictional set of triplets named Umeōmaru, Sakuramaru, and Matsuōmaru, characters invented for the play, also play a major role, each individually proving their loyalty and service to Kan Shōjō in different scenes. The antagonist is , whose name is written with the same kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
as the historical Fujiwara no Tokihira
Fujiwara no Tokihira
was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.-Career:Tokihira was a minister under Emperor Daigo.* 891 : Tokihira was given a rank which was the equivalent of sangi....
.
Like most full-length five-act kabuki plays, Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami is very rarely performed in full. Instead, a selection of scenes will be chosen, or a single scene will be combined with scenes from other plays, dance dramas, or other pieces to form a day's program. The most popular, and most frequently performed, scene from this play is Terakoya (寺子屋, "temple school
Terakoya
Terakoya were private educational institutions that taught writing and reading to the children of Japanese commoners during the Edo period.-History:...
"), the third scene of Act IV. The Yasui no Hama (Act II, second scene) and Kitasaga (Act IV, second scene) scenes have only been performed in bunraku, never yet in kabuki. The Kurumabiki (Act III, first scene) scene is considered to be a paragon of the aragoto
Aragoto
, or rough style, is a style of kabuki acting that uses exaggerated, dynamic kata and speech. Often, aragoto actors wear bold red or blue makeup , and have costumes that are padded and enlarged...
form, and of the essence of kabuki.
Plot summary
The fullest version of Sugawara consists of twelve scenes in five acts. Though this was originally intended to be performed across the better part of a day, modes of performance have changed, and the full version would today take twice that long, due to the style and speed of current forms of acting.For this reason and others, kabuki plays are almost never performed in their entirety today, and Sugawara is no exception. The fullest standard version of any play is called tōshi kyōgen, which in the case of Sugawara consists of six of the full twelve scenes. However, again as is the case with most plays, individual scenes or elements of Sugawara may be performed alone as part of a day's program of other such bits and pieces.
The fundamental structure of the play is very much in keeping with that of Japanese traditional drama forms as a whole. The philosophy of jo-ha-kyū
Jo-ha-kyu
is a concept of modulation and movement applied in a wide variety of traditional Japanese arts. Roughly translated to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly...
is employed throughout, as actions, scenes, acts, and the play as a whole begin slow (jo), then get faster (ha), and end quickly (kyū). Also, Sugawara follows the traditional five-act structure and the themes traditionally associated with particular acts. Act One begins calmly and auspiciously, including scenes at the Imperial Palace. Act Two features combat and murder. Act Three is something of a sewamono insertion into the jidaimono tale, turning away from the affairs of warriors and politics to focus on the lives of commoners. Act Four, often in other plays a michiyuki
Michiyuki
Michiyuki is the term for a journey scene in Japanese theatre, which shows the characters dancing or conversing while travelling.The term michiyuki in its generic sense of michi wo yuku "to go on a road" is used in lyrical descriptions of journeys from the 8th century...
journey, metaphorically associated with a journey through hell, features a dramatic storm and an emotional journey for Kan Shōjō, who becomes enraged at the traitorous activities of Shihei, and kills himself, becoming a thunder god. Act Five wraps up the plot quickly and returns to themes of auspiciousness.
The following plot summary is based on the full twelve-scene version.
Act I
The play opens as an envoy from China arrives to paint a portrait of the emperor. The emperor is sick, however, and so a stand-in needs to be chosen; Shihei volunteers himself, an indication or reflection of his own lofty goals, but at the suggestion of Kan Shōjō and the decision of the emperor, Prince Tokiyo is chosen. As Tokiyo's love, Kariya, is the adopted daughter of Kan Shōjō, Shihei sees this as favoritism, and is disturbed. The emperor also orders Kan Shōjō to pass on his secrets of calligraphy to a disciple of his choice.The second scene features a meeting between Prince Tokiyo and Kariya, arranged by Sakuramaru. Kariya being a commoner, only adopted into the world of the imperial court, their love is taboo. When the meeting is discovered by one of Shihei's agents, the couple are forced to flee and hide, and Sakuramaru is disgraced.
Kan Shōjō passes on his secrets to Genzō, a former disciple of his who had been banished from the court after falling in love with a lady-in-waiting named Tonami. Kan Shōjō is later called before the emperor, but loses his hat, an ill omen. He is accused by Shihei of plotting, through the marriage of Kariya to Tokiyo, to seize power, and is subsequently exiled to Dazaifu. Genzō and Tonami, with the help of Umeōmaru, take Kan Shōjō's son, Kan Shūsai, with them to their small school in the provinces, in order to keep him safe from Shihei and his schemes.
Act II
The second act takes place at the Buddhist temple Dōmyō-ji, where Kan Shōjō waits for his escort to Dazaifu, and where Kariya stays with her older sister Tatsuta. Kariya is scolded and beaten by her mother, Kakuju, who blames her affair with Prince Tokiyo for the accusations against Kan Shōjō, her father, and for his exile.Meanwhile, Sukune Tarō and his father Haji no Hyōe, who are in service to Shihei, prepare to assassinate Kan Shōjō. The minister's escort is meant to arrive at daybreak, and so his arrival will be signaled by a rooster's crow. Tarō and Hyōe kill Tatsuta, Tarō's wife, and throw her body into a nearby pond; they hold a rooster over the corpse, and its crows, as Japanese superstition holds it would. The false escort prepared by Tarō and Hyōe to take Kan Shōjō away thus leaves with his passenger.
Kakuju, discovering her daughter's body, and realizing what has happened, attacks and stabs Tarō. The real escort then arrives for Kan Shōjō, learns that the minister already left in a different palanquin, and prepares to set off to find him. Just then, the false escort returns, having realized he had been tricked with a wooden statue of the minister; several times in this scene, Kan Shōjō demonstrates the mysterious ability to transform into, or otherwise replace himself with, a wooden statue. He emerges from the palanquin, and the false escort is arrested and Hyōe executed, before the minister leaves with the real escort, to a tearful farewell, bound for his exile in Dazaifu.
Act III
As is standard in five-act bunraku and kabuki plays, the middle act departs from the main characters, the nobility and politics, focusing on a different set of characters, usually commoners. The third act of Sugawara features triplets, Umeōmaru, Sakuramaru, and Matsuōmaru, each a loyal retainer to one of the play's chief characters (Kan Shōjō, Prince Tokiyo, and Shihei, respectively). The triplets each wear a symbol on their sleeve to identify them: Ume, Sakura, and Matsu are the Japanese words for plum blossom, cherry blossom, and pine respectively. They are also distinguished by their makeupKumadori
is stage makeup worn by kabuki actors, particularly when performing in the bold and bombastic aragoto style. Kumadori makeup generally consists of brightly-colored stripes or patterns over a white foundation, the colors and patterns symbolizing aspects of the actor's character...
and acting style. Sakuramaru is a romantic and gentle type, in the wagoto
Wagoto
, or soft style, is a style of kabuki acting that emphasizes realistic speech and gestures. Wagoto actors typically do not employ the exaggerated makeup and costuming common to the more exaggerated aragoto style....
fashion, Umeōmaru is a hero in aragoto
Aragoto
, or rough style, is a style of kabuki acting that uses exaggerated, dynamic kata and speech. Often, aragoto actors wear bold red or blue makeup , and have costumes that are padded and enlarged...
style, with bright red face makeup, and Matsuōmaru is a villain, his face painted with blue lines.
The scene opens as Umeōmaru and Sakuramaru try to stop Shihei's carriage, and are confronted by Matsuōmaru, a member of the entourage. As the pair begin to unlash the oxen and tear apart the carriage, Shihei emerges, his blue face makeup marking him as a villain. He glares at them malevolently, halting their attack.
In the second scene, the triplets travel to the home of their father, Kan Shōjō's aged retainer Shiradayū, in Sata Village, for the festive celebration of his 70th birthday. The three soon begin fighting but, with no swords at hand, attack one another with bales of hay. Though only fighting with hay and other common objects, the fight scene is executed in the same style and manner as the greatest of aragoto fight scenes. In the course of the fight, a branch from Kan Shōjō's favorite cherry tree (sakura
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
) is snapped off. Shiradayū notices this, and points it out as an omen, representing Sakuramaru's responsibility for Kan Shōjō's downfall, as he was the one who helped bring Tokiyo and Kariya together. Kan Shōjō arrives and, together with Shiradayū, chastise Matsuōmaru and banish him from their service; Sakuramaru then emerges and announces his decision to commit ritual suicide
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, in order to atone for his wrongdoing. Shiradayū strikes a bell as his son dies.
Act IV
The first scene of Act IV takes place at Kan Shōjō's mansion in Dazaifu, where he has been exiled. He reminisces about his favorite plum tree (umeUme
Prunus mume, with the common names including Chinese plum and Japanese apricot, is an Asian tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting of East Asia, is usually translated as plum blossom. This distinct tree...
), which suddenly appears there before him, having uprooted itself and flown to Dazaifu from the capital. Kan Shōjō and Shiradayū are admiring the blossoms when Umeōmaru arrives with a captive: Washizuka Heima, a minion of Shihei's.
Heima, tied up with rope, reveals Shihei's plot to seize power, describing each detail and he bemoans his fate, having failed in his mission to kill Kan Shōjō, and having been captured. Hearing of Shihei's treachery, Kan Shōjō becomes enraged, breaking off a branch from the plum tree and striking off Heima's head with it, as if it were a sword. He asks Shiradayū and Umeōmaru to hurry to the capital, to warn the emperor of Shihei's plans. Knowing that he cannot return to the capital himself, at least not in body, having been formally exiled, he vows to return as an angry spirit. To that end, he vows to journey to the summit of Mount Tenpai, where he will engage in austere disciplines, swear oaths to the gods, and become a ghostly lord of thunders. As he speaks, a storm rises up. His retainers grasp at his sleeves and try to stop him, but he throws them off, and flies off into the sky, already beginning to transform into a thunder spirit.
The second scene of Act IV, Terakoya ("Temple School") is among the most popular, and most frequently performed, scenes in the play. It takes place at the provincial school run by Genzō and Tonami, where they are watching over the young Kan Shūsai. Shihei suspects that this is where the minister's son is being hidden, and sends Matsuōmaru there to kill the boy and return with his head; among all of Shihei's retainers, only Matsuōmaru is trusted to identify the boy's head. In this scene, Matsuōmaru is dressed in a dark kimono with snow and pine motifs, his hair wild and busy, a sign of the tragedy which is to come, and of the illness which he claims in order to quit Shihei's service.
Seeking to atone for his past wrongdoings, Matsuōmaru plots to save Kan Shūsai's life, at the cost of that of his own son, Kotarō. He sends Kotarō to the school, where Genzō and Tonami decide he is the only one at the school whose head could pass for Kan Shūsai's. This scene is a classic example of the conflict between giri (honor, fealty) and ninjō (human compassion), as Genzō and Tonami sacrifice an innocent boy to save their master's son. When the sound of Genzō's sword striking off Kotarō's head is heard from offstage, Matsuōmaru strikes a distinctive Matsuō mie
Mie (pose)
The mie pose , a powerful and emotional pose struck by an actor, who then freezes for a moment, is a distinctive element of aragoto Kabuki performance. Mie means 'appearance' or 'visible' in Japanese, and one of the primary purposes of this convention is to draw attention to a particularly...
pose, expressing his suppressed anguish. He then departs with the head in a box, to identify it for Shihei as Kan Shūsai's head, pretending to have done the deed and thus saving Kan Shūsai's life.
Matsuōmaru's wife, Chiyo, arrives at the school to pick up her son, and Genzō and Tonami fear for a moment that they may have to kill her too, rather than reveal their deception. But Matsuōmaru himself arrives, and explains to all involved that the boy killed was his own son, and that he did this intentionally, in order to make up for his past transgressions against Kan Shōjō and the Court, and his involvement in Shihei's schemes.
Act V
The single scene of Act V is only rarely performed in bunraku, and never in kabuki. It takes place in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto where a storm rages. In the aftermath of Kan Shōjō's death, discussions are held regarding the succession of Kan Shūsai, his son, to the head of the Sugawara clan. Though the clan is currently in disgrace, Prince Tokiyo argues that the storm must be caused by Kan Shōjō's angry spirit, and that acknowledging his innocence and restoring the honor of his family by making Shūsai its head would appease him.Shihei grabs Kan Shūsai, threatening to kill him, and declaring that nothing, not even a thunder god, will stand in the way of him overthrowing the emperor and seizing power for himself. Bolts of lightning slay his minions, as Shihei stands firm. The young Kan Shūsai slips away as the ghosts of Sakuramaru and his wife appear, and attack Shihei. The Buddhist priest Hosshō rubs his rosaries
Buddhist prayer beads
Buddhist prayer beads are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantra is recited whilst meditating. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions; thus some call this tool the Buddhist rosary.-Mala:...
and chants prayers to drive the ghosts off, but stops when he learns of Shihei's evil schemes. The ghosts attack Shihei once again, with sakura branches, and kill him. The storm dispels and the ghosts depart.
The play ends with the priest Hosshō declaring Kan Shūsai the successor to the Sugawara house, and the posthumous conferral upon Kan Shōjō of the Senior First Court Rank. He declares that a shrine should be constructed at Kitano
Kitano Tenman-gu
' is a Shinto shrine in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan.-History:It was built in 947, to appease the angry spirit of bureaucrat, scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane, who had been exiled as a result of political maneuvers of his enemies in the Fujiwara clan....
to honor the minister, who shall now be worshipped as a god (kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
) of scholarship.
External links
- 菅原伝授手習鑑 - 菅原伝授手習鑑 Japan Arts Council Retrieved December 4, 2008
- 菅原伝授手習鑑 床本 (Text of gidayū accompaniment to bunraku play) Retrieved December 5, 2008