Valley line - Taniko

Japanese: 谷行 - たにこう

Title of a Noh piece. The fifth piece. Author unknown. To pray for his mother's recovery, the young Matsuwaka (child actor) joins his master, an ajari (waki), and his party on a mountain ascetic training. His mother (mae shite) sees him off as they depart (intermission), but he falls ill on Mount Katsuragi. The mountain ascetics (wakitsure) urge him to perform a valley asceticism (a Shugendo rule in which those who fall ill on the way to the mountain are thrown into the valley and buried alive), and the master reluctantly agrees and performs the valley asceticism. As dawn breaks and it is time to depart, the master is overcome with grief and asks to be subjected to the valley asceticism as well. The mountain ascetics, feeling sympathy for the young Matsuwaka, pray for his recovery, and En no Gyoja (tsure) appears, summoning the gigaku demon (nori shite) to rescue Matsuwaka. Because the waki plays the leading role and there are many wakitsure actors, the performance is rare. The educational plays "Yes Man" and "No Man" by the German playwright B. Brecht are adaptations of this Noh play.

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

Japanese:

能の曲名。五番目物。作者未詳。少年松若 (子方) は，母の病気平癒を祈るため，師匠の阿闍梨 (ワキ) 一行の峰入り修行に加わり，母 (前シテ) の見送りを受けて出発する (中入り) が，葛城山で病気になる。山伏たち (ワキツレ) から谷行 (峰入りの途次発病した者を谷へ落し生埋めにする修験道の掟) の実行を迫られ，師匠もやむなく同意し，谷行が行われる。夜が明けて出発の時刻となるが，師匠は悲しみに沈み，自分も谷行に処してくれと言う。同情した山伏たちが蘇生の祈りをすると，役行者 (ツレ) が現れ，伎楽鬼神 (後シテ) を呼出して松若を助け出す。ワキが主役格となり，ワキツレも多数出演するため，上演の機会が少い。ドイツの劇作家 B.ブレヒトの教育劇『イエスマン』『ノーマン』はこの能の翻案である。

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