• Noh: 芭蕉、望月 (Basho, Mochizuki)

9/30/23 (Sat), National Noh Theater (Tokyo)

Basho: A dialogue-heavy show by Zenchiku with an unusually beautiful text. A monk in rural China meets a woman who, overhearing him read from the Lotus Sutra, wants to discuss Buddhist precepts. He doesn’t allow her in his hut at first since women are normally prohibited, but gives in when she notes that they live in the same city and draw water from the same river, suggesting a karmic connection.

She turns out to be the spirit of a plantain tree (basho), a plant with large and particularly delicate leaves. They discuss how even non-sentient objects such as trees (“even women and heartless plants,” according to one translation) can attain salvation. The idea that “willows are green and flowers are red”, apparently a common Zen saying, signifies that plants, trees and earth reach salvation by being true to their selves. That is, nothing can be perceived unless manifest in nature, so objects are already in their true state: “One flower opens, and the world becomes spring.” Trees and plants, she observes, enjoy the blessing of rain and dew but are unaware of the fact, a reference (I think) to equally unaware humans. We are all in the same boat, she suggests.

She laments the transience of life and the fragility of her own existence; though she has no blossoms to scatter, her leaves are equally blown with the wind. She finally says essentially, “Let’s stop all the deep thinking and dance,” to which she begins a stately jonomai dance. The chorus sings at the end that the wind has scattered the flowers and grasses, leaving only broken plantain leaves behind.

This is a long and wordy piece of nearly two hours, but the profound meditation on Buddhist themes makes it feel much shorter. There are numerous plays featuring spirits of plants, like Saigyo Zakura and Yugyo Yanagi, or animals, like Kocho, all more or less with the same story (monk meets villager, who turns out to be human manifestation of a spirit) and theme. This one, though probably not for casual Noh viewers given the lack of overt action, is an especially worthy addition to that group. Ably performed by Kanze Yasuhide. An impressive show all around. The autumn theme fit with the start of China’s Mid Autumn Festival yesterday.

Mochizuki: I gave a pretty full description of this piece when I last saw it at the same theater in November 2016. A servant aiming to avenge his late master’s murder conspires with the master’s widow and son to catch the murderer off guard by performing various forms of entertainment for him, basically an excuse for each of them to perform a different dance. The dance of the lion-like shishi was inevitably the highlight, followed by the killing of the villain (represented by a hat – the actor slips off shortly before that). This is an action-packed piece with a straightforward story line, easy to follow and nicely diverse. A great show for Noh novices. I like the way the servant and his master’s son “hug” by touching each other with their fans. Very well performed by Takeda Takashi and others.

Bunzo (Kyogen): The master is angry after Taro Kaja has snuck off for a vacation, but forgives him when he learns that the latter has gone to Kyoto and seen the master’s relative. Taro says the relative served a snack with the same name as in a war chronicle, prompting the master to recite an impressively large chunk of text in hopes of identifying the item. It turns out that the entire show rests on a single pun at the end – the master is incensed that Taro has confused the name Bunzo with unzo gayu, a breakfast soup eaten by priests (not sure why the relatives would serve him that as a snack). The show was tolerable at best thanks to a funny Taro, but honestly I could have done without it. Though I say that for most Kyogen shows.