"Noh", or, Accomplishment : :: :: University of Virginia Library

"Noh", or, Accomplishment :

a study of the classical stage of Japan

Fenollosa Pound, Ernest Francisco Ezra (1853-1908 1885-1972)

'NOH' OR ACCOMPLISHMENT

II.

III.

IV.

APPENDICES

II.

III.

IV.

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APPENDICES

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I. APPENDIX I

SYNOPSES OF PLOTS

Shunkwan, by Motokiyo (b. 1374, d. 1455).

Plot.—When Kiyomori[1] was at the height of
his power three men plotted against him. They
were detected and exiled to Devil's Island; "for
many years they knew the spring only by the green
new grass, and autumn by the turning of the leaves."

Then when Kiyomori's daughter was about to
give birth to a child, many prisoners and exiles were
pardoned in order to propitiate the gods, and among
them Shunkwan's companions, but not the chief
conspirator Shunkwan.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, which
day is called "Choyo" and is considered very lucky,
because Hosō of China drank ceremonial wine on
that day and lived 7000 years, the two exiled companions
of Shunkwan are performing service to
their god Kumano Gongen. They have no white
prayer cord, and must use the white cord of their
exile's dress; they have no white rice to scatter,
and so they scatter white sand. With this scene

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the Noh opens. Shunkwan, who alone is a priest,
enters, and should offer a cup of saké, as in the
proper service for receiving pilgrims, but he has
only a cup of water.

While this ceremony is in progress, the imperial
messengers arrive with the emperor's writ; they
pronounce the names of Yasuyori and Naritsune,
but not Shunkwan's. He thinks there must be
some error. He seizes the paper and reads, and is
frenzied with grief. He tries to detain his companions,
but the messengers hurry them off. Shunkwan
seizes the boat's cable. The messenger cuts
it. Shunkwan falls to earth, and the others go off,
leaving him alone.

This is, of course, not a "play" in our sense.
It is a programme for a tremendous dance.

Modus of Presentation (Asakusa, October 30,
1898).—The companions wear dull blue and brown.
Shunkwan's mask is of a dead colour, full of wrinkles,
with sunken cheeks and eyes. His costume is
also of blue and brown. The finest singing and
dancing are after the others have entered the boat.
Everything is concentrated on the impression of a
feeling.

The scene is in "an island of Stasuma."

[1]

Kiyomori, 1118-81.

Koi no Omoni ("The Burden of Love"), said
to be by the Emperor Gohanazono (1429-65).

Plot.—Yamashina Shoshi was the emperor's
gardener, and as the court ladies were always walking
about in the garden, he fell in love with one of

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them. He wished to keep this secret, but in some
way it became known. Then a court officer said
to him, "If you can carry this light and richly
brocaded burden on your back, and carry it many
thousand times round the garden, you will win the
lady you love." But for all its seeming so light
and being so finely ornamented, it was a very heavy
load, and whenever he tried to lift it he fell to the
ground, and he sang and complained of it, and at
last he died trying to lift it.

And the court officer told the lady, and she was
filled with pity and sang a short and beautiful
song, and the ghost of Shoshi came and sang to her
of the pain he had in this life, reproaching her for
her coldness.

Modus.—From the very first the burden of love
lay in the centre front of the stage, thus "becoming
actually one of the characters." It was a cube done
up in red and gold brocade and tied with green
cords. The hero wore a mask, which seemed
unnecessarily old, ugly, and wrinkled. His costume
subdued, but rich. The court lady gorgeously
dressed, with smiling young girl's mask and glittering
pendant, East-Indian sort of head-dress.

The lady sat at the right corner, immobile,
rather the lover's image of his mistress than a living
being. He sings, complains, and tries several
times to lift the burden, but cannot. The court
officer sits a little toward the right-back. Shoshi
dies and passes out.

The officer addresses the lady, who suddenly

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seems to come to life. She listens, then leaves her
seat, half-kneels near the burden, her face set
silently and immovably toward it. This is more
graphic and impressive than can well be imagined.
All leave the stage save this silent figure contemplating
the burden.

The Shoshi's ghost comes in, covered with glittering
superb brocades, he uses a crutch, has a mane
of flying grey hair, and a face that looks like an
"elemental."

Kanawa, The Iron Ring, by Motokiyo.

Story.—In the reign of Saga Tenno there was a
princess who loved unavailingly, and she became
so enraged with jealousy that she went to the shrine
of Kibune and prayed for seven days that she might
become a hannya. On the seventh day the god had
pity, and appeared to her and said, "If you wish
to become a hannya go to the Uji river and stay
twenty-five days in the water." And she returned
rejoicing to Kioto, and parted her hair into five
strands and painted her face and her body red, and
put an iron ring on her head with three candles in
it. And she took in her mouth a double fire-stick,
burning at both ends. And when she walked out
in the streets at night people thought her a devil.

From this it happens that when Japanese women
are jealous they sometimes go to a temple at night
wearing an iron ring (Kanawa) with candles in it.
Sometimes they use also a straw doll in the incantation.

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Modus.—First comes Kiogen, the farce character,
and says he has had a god-dream, and that he will
tell it to the woman who is coming to pray.

Then comes the woman. Kiogen asks if she
comes every night. He tells her his dream, and
how she is to become a hannya by the use of Kanawa.
She goes. Her face changes en route. Enter the
faithless husband, who says he lives in Shimokio,
the Lower City, and has been having very bad
dreams. He goes to the priest Abē, who tells him
that a woman's jealousy is at the root of it, and that
his life is in danger that very night. The husband
confesses his infidelity. The priest starts a counter
exorcism, using a life-sized straw doll with the names
of both husband and wife put inside it. He uses
the triple takadana[2] and five coloured "gohei,"
red, blue, yellow, black, white. Storm comes with
thunder and lightning. The woman appears.
She and the chorus sing, interrupting each other—
she complaining, the chorus interpreting her
thoughts. She approaches her husband's pillow
with the intention of killing him. But the power
of the exorcism prevails, and she vanishes into the
air.

[2]

Generally called mitegura; see p. 114.

Matsukaze, by Kiyotsugu.

A wandering priest sees the ghost of the two
fisher girls, Matsukaze and Murasame, still gathering
salt on the seashore at Suma. They still seem
to feel the waves washing over them, and say,

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"Even the shadows of the moon are wet," "The
autumn wind is full, full of thoughts, thoughts of
the sea." They seem to wish to be back in their
old hard life, and say the moon is "envious" of
the ghost life, and will only shine on the living;
that the dews are gathered up by the sun, but that
they lie like old grass left to rot on the sea-beach.
"How beautiful is the evening at Suma for all the
many times we have seen it and might be tired with
seeing it. How faint are the fishermen's voices.
We see the fisher boats in the offing. The faint
moon is the only friend. Children sing under the
field-sweeping wind; the wind is salt with the
autumn. O how sublime is this night. I will go
back to shore, for the tide is now at its full. We
hang our wet sleeves over our shoulders, salt dripping
from them. The waves rush to the shore, a stork
sings in the reeds. The storm gathers in from all
sides; how shall we pass through this night. Cold
night, clear moon, and we two in deep shadow."

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II. APPENDIX II

Fenollosa's notes go into considerable detail as
to how one must place large jars under the proper
Noh stage for resonance: concerning the officials
in the ministry of music in the reign of some emperor
or other; concerning musical instruments,
etc.; concerning special ceremonies, etc. A part
of this material can, I think, be of interest only
to scholars; at least I am not prepared to edit it
until I know how much or how little general interest
there is in the Japanese drama and its methods
of presentation. Many facts might be extremely
interesting if one had enough knowledge of Noh,
and could tell where to fit them in. Many names
might be rich in association, which are, at the
present stage of our knowledge, a rather dry
catalogue.

Still, I may be permitted a very brief summary
of a section of notes based, I think, on a long work
by Professor Ko-haka-mura.

Certain instruments are very old (unless we have
pictures of all these instruments, a list of Japanese
names with the approximate dates of their invention
will convey little to us). Music is divided roughly

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into what comes from China, from Korea, and what
is native. "Long and short songs, which sang
out the heart of the people, were naturally rhythmic."
Foreign music . . . various schools and revolutions
. . . priests singing in harmony (?) with
the biwa. Puppet plays (about 1596, I think, unless
the date 1184 higher on the page is supposed to
be connected with "the great genius Chikamatsu").
Chikamatsu, author of 97 jōruri plays, lived 16531724.
Various forms of dancing, female dancing,
"turning piece," some forms of female dancing
forbidden. Music for funerals and ceremonies.

"The thoughts of men, when they are only
uttered as they are, are called 'tada goto,' plain word.
But when they are too deep for 'plain word' we
make 'pattern decoration' (aya), and have fushi
(tones) for it."

An emperor makes the first koto from "decayed"
wood; the sound of it was very clear and
was heard from afar.

Field dances, shield dances, etc. "In the ninth
month of the fourteenth year of Temmu (a.d. 686),
the imperial order said: 'The male singers and
female flute blowers must make it their own profession,
and hand it down to their descendants and
make them learn.' Hence these hereditary professions."

"In the festival of Toka, court ladies performed
female dancing, ceremony of archery, wrestling (so
the note seems to read). In the Buddhist service
only foreign music was used."

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More regulations for court ceremonies, not
unlike the general meticulousness of "Leviticus."

Buddhism, growing popularity of Chinese music.
"In Daijosai, the coronation festival, it was not the
custom to use Chinese music. But in this ceremony
at Nimmio Tenno's coronation, on the day of
the dinner-party, they collected pebbles before the
temple, planted new trees, spread sheets on the
ground, scattered grain to represent the seashore,
and took out boats upon it, and a dance was performed
imitating fishermen picking up seaweed.

In the festival of the ninth month, literary men
offered Chinese poems, so it may be that the music
was also in Chinese style.

In the time of Genkio (1321-23), mention of
a troupe of 140 dancers.

Udzumusa Masena (?) gives a list of pieces of
music brought over from China. "Sansai Zuye,"
an old Japanese encyclopedia, certainly gives this
list. Some of these names may be interesting as
our knowledge of Noh increases. At any rate, I
find already a few known names, notably the sea-wave
dance mentioned in the Genji play already
translated. I therefore give a partial list, which
the reader may skip at his pleasure:

Brandish dancing, breaking camp music, virtue
of war, whirling circle music, spring nightingale
singing, heaven head jewel life, long life, jewel tree,
back-garden flower (composed by a princess of
China), King of Rakio (who always wore a mask on
his face when he went into battle), congratulation

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temple, 10,000 years (Banzai), black-head music,
Kan province, five customs, courtesy and justice
music, five saints' music, pleasant spring, pleasant
heart, playing temple, red-white peach pear flower,
autumn wind, Rindai (a place in the out-of-the-way
country of To), green sea-waves (sei kai ha), plucking
mulberry old man, King of Jin breaking camp,
divine merit, great settling great peace, returning
castle music, turning cup, congratulation king
benevolence. Three pieces for sword-dancing:
great peace, general music, the palace of Komon;
beating ball, music of (?) Ringin Koku. "A wild
duck curving her foot is the dancing of Bosatsu
mai." Kariobinga bird,[1] barbaric drinking wine,
dinner drinking, "Inyang"[2] castle peace. Music
of Tenjiku,[3] in which the dancers are masked to
look like sparrows, scattering hands, pluck off head,
Princess of So, perfumed leaves, 10,000 autumns'
music.

[1]

The Kariobinga bird belongs to the Gyokuraku Jōdo or
Paradise of Extreme Felicity. The name is Sanskrit, the thing
Indian.

[2]

The name Inyang is wrong, but I cannot find the correct
name.

[3]

Tenjiku = India.

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III. APPENDIX III

CARE AND SELECTION OF COSTUMES

III. (From another talk with Umewaka Minoru)

The clothes are put away in tansos (?), the costly
ones on sliding boards, only a few at a time.
Ordinary ones are draped in nagmochi (oblong
chests). The best ones are easily injured, threads
break, holes come, etc.

Costumes are not classified by the names of the
rôles, but by the kind of cloth or by cut or their
historic period, and if there are too many of each
sort, by colour, or the various shape of the ornamental
patterns. The best are only used for royal
performances. The costume for Kakitsubata is the
most expensive, one of these recently (i.e. 1901)
cost over 500 yen. (Note.—I think they are now
more expensive.—E. P.)

One does not always use the same combination
of costumes; various combinations of quiet costumes
are permitted. His sons lay out a lot of costumes
on the floor, and Umewaka makes a selection or a
new colour scheme as he pleases. This does not
take very long.

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All his costumes were made before Isshin, and
he will not have new ones. When the daimios
sold their costumes after the revolution, he might
have bought the most splendid, but he was poor.
He saved a few in his own house. He collected
what he could afford from second-hand shops.
Many went abroad. He sold his own clothes and
furniture to buy masks. Only Mayeda of Kashu
kept his masks and costumes.

Varia. — The notations for singing are very
difficult. Takasago is the most correct piece. If
a student sings with another who sings badly, his
own style is ruined.

Umewaka's struggles to start Noh again after
the downfall of the old regime seem to have been
long and complicated. Fenollosa has recorded
them with considerable detail, but without very
great clarity. This much seems to be certain,
that without Umewaka's persistence through successive
struggles and harassing disappointments,
the whole or a great part of the art might have
been lost.

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IV. APPENDIX IV

AN ATTEMPT TO RECORD SOME OF
THE MUSIC OF HAGOROMO

The following music is Fenollosa's transcription
of the air for the lyric parts of Hagoromo. I doubt
whether the Noh music can be rendered intelligibly
by our notation. I have had this play sung to me.
I can see that Fenollosa has done some things
correctly, but it seems to me that many things in
the singing are wholly unindicated in his script. A
phonograph record would be, I believe, the only
efficient means of recording the Noh singing for us.

Waki (issei). (Gogin = strong singing)