Tomonaga

Noh piece. Second, a Shura story. A five-school current piece. Also written by Kanze Motomasa. The source is "Yoshitomo Settles at Aohaka" from the Tale of Heiji. Minamoto Yoshitomo and his son were defeated by Taira Kiyomori in the Heiji Rebellion and became defeated warriors. Yoshitomo's second son, Tomonaga, was killed by his father due to an injury to his knee, but in the Noh play it is depicted as a suicide. A man (waki) who was Tomonaga's tutor disguises himself as a monk and comes to Aohaka in Mino Province. The monk and the wealthy man of Aohaka (the proprietress of a brothel, former shite), who hid the father and son and was with Tomonaga at his death, meet in front of Tomonaga's grave, where the wealthy man tells of Tomonaga's tragic death and leads the monk to his home. The spirit of Tomonaga (later shite) appears, drawn by the mourning, and tells the story of the defeat and his descent into the world of asura, before disappearing after praying for his soul's soul to be saved. The contrast between the former shite, an elderly woman who is a protector and witness to the tragedy, and the latter shite, a young warrior who meets his fate, is difficult to distinguish, and this work is known as one of the three asuras along with "Sanemori" and "Yorimasa," and is considered a heavy Noh play. In particular, the performance of "Zanpo," which imitates the Buddhist ritual of Kannon senpo, is a secret affair in which the role of the drum is played at a lower tone than usual, and all the roles are customarily heavy.

[Masuda Shozo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

能の曲目。二番目・修羅(しゅら)物。五流現行曲。観世元雅(かんぜもとまさ)作とも。出典は『平治(へいじ)物語』の「義朝(よしとも)青墓(あおはか)に落ち着く事」。平治の乱で平清盛(きよもり)に敗れ、落武者となった源義朝父子。義朝の第二子朝長は膝(ひざ)の負傷のため父の手にかかるが、能では自害として描いている。朝長の養育係だった男（ワキ）が、僧に身をやつして美濃(みの)国青墓にやってくる。親子をかくまい、朝長の最期をみとった青墓の長者（遊女宿の女将(おかみ)。前シテ）とその僧が朝長の墓前で出会い、長者は朝長の悲痛な死を語り、わが家へ僧を導く。弔いに引かれて朝長の霊（後(のち)シテ）が現れ、敗戦の模様と修羅道に落ちたありさまを語り、回向(えこう)を願って消える。前シテが庇護(ひご)者であり悲劇の目撃者である年輩の女性、後シテは運命に死ぬ年少の武者、この対比がむずかしく、『実盛(さねもり)』『頼政(よりまさ)』とともに三修羅とよばれ、重い能とされる。とりわけ観音懺法(かんのんせんぽう)の仏事を模した「懺法」の演出は、常とは違う低い調子で演奏される太鼓の役の秘事となり、諸役ともに重い習いである。

［増田正造］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例