This world - Zegai

Noh piece. Fifth piece. Five-school current piece. Kanze school is written as "Zenkai". Written by Takeda Hoin Sadamori. Source: Konjaku Monogatari. Zekaibo, the leader of the Tang Dynasty Tengu, flies in disguised as a mountain priest (mae shite) to lead the Chinese religious world to the path of evil and challenge the Japanese Buddhist world. He conspires with his ally Tarobo (tsure) of Atago Mountain in Yamashiro Province, and first sets his sights on Mount Hiei. The Emperor orders the Sojo (waki) of Mount Hiei to calm Zekaibo, who is raging in the capital in the disguise of a Tengu (go shite), but Zekaibo attacks the ox-drawn carriage. After a spectacular performance of trying to grab the cart and pull it up into the sky, Zekaibo finally surrenders to the Buddhist guardian deity that appears at the prayer of the priest, and disappears into the void, saying, "I will not drive again." This is a particularly spectacular Noh piece about Tengu. In the Kita school, when the performance becomes more serious, the name of the song is changed to "Shirozegai."

[Masuda Shozo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

能の曲目。五番目物。五流現行曲。観世(かんぜ)流は「善界」と表記。竹田法印定盛(さだもり)作。典拠は『今昔物語』。唐の天狗(てんぐ)の首領である是界坊は、中国の宗教界を魔道に従え、日本の仏教界に挑戦するため、山伏の姿（前シテ）で飛来してくる。協力者の山城(やましろ)国愛宕(あたご)山の太郎坊（ツレ）と談合し、まず比叡(ひえい)山に標的を定める。天狗の姿（後シテ）で都に荒れ狂う是界坊を取り鎮めるため、天皇の命令で比叡山の僧正（ワキ）が召されるが、その牛車(ぎっしゃ)に是界坊が襲撃をかける。車をつかんで空に引き上げようとする凄絶(せいぜつ)な演技のあと、僧正の祈りで現れた仏教の守護神についに屈伏し、今より後はくるまじと是界坊は虚空に消える。天狗物のなかでもとくに豪快な能。重い演出になると、喜多(きた)流では曲名も『白是界(しろぜがい)』と変わる。

［増田正造］

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