Great Buddha's Eye Opening Ceremony

Japanese: 大仏開眼 - だいぶつかいげん

A play written by Nagata Hideo. Five acts, twelve scenes. Published in the magazine Ningen in April 1920. It was revised and premiered by the Shinkyo Theater Company in February 1940 as a performance for the 2,600th Imperial Anniversary Celebration. The story centers on the construction of Vairocana Buddha, which was started by imperial decree of Emperor Shomu, and the efforts of the sculptor Kimimaro, who risked his life, and the sacrifice of Katsuragi no Iratsume, who carried out the will of her father, whose previous attempt at construction had been thwarted, until it was finally consecrated and enshrined. It is a cultural historical drama that depicts the sectarian conflict, the swirling conspiracies between those in favor of the construction and those opposed to it, and the harsh suffering of peasants under the harsh conditions of corvée and taxation.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

長田秀雄作の戯曲。5幕 12場。 1920年4月，雑誌『人間』に発表。改作されて，40年2月皇紀 2600年奉祝祭公演として新協劇団初演。聖武天皇の勅令によって始められた盧舎那仏 (るしゃなぶつ) 建立が，仏師公麻呂の命を賭した苦心と，前に建立に挫折した父の遺志を継ぐ葛城郎女 (かつらぎのいらつめ) の犠牲によって，やっと開眼供養になるまでを主筋に，宗派の抗争，利害にからむ建立推進派と反対派の渦巻く陰謀や，一方では賦役，出挙 (すいこ) の苛烈に苦しむ農民を描いた文化史劇。

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