• Noh: 咸陽宮 (Kan’yokyu)

4/26/26 (Sun)

Kan’yokyu (Xianyang Palace), taken largely from a rendition in Tale of the Heike, is a rarely produced China-set Noh drama based on an actual attempted assassination of China’s first emperor. Info on the play is hard to come by, so I took advantage of the opportunity to see it.

Two envoys from the land of Yan come to the Qin nation bearing the head of one of Qin’s enemies and a map of their country, signaling a desire for peace. When they are presented before the emperor, however, they pull out a sword and attempt to murder him. With their sword against his throat, he pleads with them to let him hear the empress play the koto one last time. They allow this, and the empress sings a number whose lyrics hint slyly at how the emperor can extricate himself. As the would-be assassins listen raptly to the bewitching tune, the emperor pulls himself free by ripping his sleeve off, leaps over a screen to safety, then kills the two men. His reign, sings the chorus, is secure forever (though in fact it only lasted a few years).

The story is straightforward and easy to follow, and there is an action sequence involving lively jumps, weapons wielded and thrown, and an escape in which the emperor hides by symbolically throwing his sleeve over himself. There are also some lyrical passages, such as the description of a palace so huge and tall that even the birds have to pass through its gates. They mention that the emperor has 3,000 wives, which must be exhausting. The costumes are Chinese-inspired, a nice variation on the usual fare. The cast, quite large for Noh at nine persons, includes the emperor and empress with two consorts each, the two assassins, and a court official. I’m not sure if all are necessary, but it makes for an impressive stage picture. The play, dating from no later than 1524, is one of many that highlight the power of the arts, represented here by music.

There’s no real Buddhist lesson as such, more just a story well told. I wonder if the unknown author was trying to get on the good side of the imperial family or government. In any case, a very enjoyable piece. I don’t know why it’s not done more often.