The Spirit of Noh by Zeami

The Spirit of Noh by Zeami

Author:Zeami
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala


CHAPTER

4

MATTERS CONCERNING THE GODS

Sarugaku is said to have begun during the Age of the Gods. The story has it that when the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami, shut herself up in a cave in heaven, the world was plunged into immutable darkness. The myriads of gods gathered together on Heavenly Mount Kagu and performed sacred music and comic dances in order to lure her from the cave. Ama no Uzume no Mikoto came forward and, holding a branch of the sakaki tree with a sacred folded-paper offering, raised her voice, ignited lanterns, and stamped her feet. Finally she became possessed and performed both songs and dances. Amaterasu quietly listened to the voices of the gods, then opened up the cave door just a little and the land was filled with light. Now the faces of the gods became bright white. It is said that sarugaku had its beginnings from the amusing entertainment on that occasion.29 The details of this may be found in our oral traditions.

In the land of the Buddha, a wealthy man named Sudatta built the Gion monastery,30 and at the dedication ceremony, the Buddha delivered a sermon. Devadatta31 and ten thousand heretics danced and yelled, waved tree branches and bamboo grass with sacred folded papers attached, and made it difficult to continue. The Buddha glanced at Shariputra32 who, thus filled with the Buddha’s powers, quickly arranged a drum and pipe performance at the rear entrance. Then, as sixty-six plays were performed thanks to Ananda’s33 wit, Shariputra’s wisdom, and Purna’s34 eloquence, the heretics heard the sound of the pipes and drums, gathered at the rear entrance, and quietly watched. At this time, the Thus Come One35 continued with the dedication. This was the beginning of our Way in India.

In Japan, during the reign of Emperor Kinmei,36 a flood occurred in the Hatsuse River in the province of Yamato, and a jar floated down from the upper reaches of that river. A high-ranking court official picked up the jar next to the cedar torii gate at Miwa Shrine. Inside was a jewel-like infant with a tender expression. As this must have been someone descended from Heaven, the noble reported the event to the throne. In the emperor’s dream that night, the infant said, “I am the reincarnation of Ch’in Shih Huang Ti37 of China. I have a karmic relation to the Land of the Rising Sun, and thus have appeared here now.” The emperor thought this to be a marvel and summoned the infant to the court. As the child grew to maturity, he was exceptionally intelligent; by the age of fifteen he rose to the rank of minister. Because the Chinese character ch’in (秦) is pronounced hada in Japanese, he was given the name Hada no Kokatsu.

Once, during a time of disturbances in the country, Prince Shotoku put his trust in the ancient examples from the Age of the Gods and from the land of the Buddha, and commanded this Kokatsu to perform sixty-six pieces of role-playing, while he himself carved the sixty-six masks and gave them to Kokatsu.



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