Hachinoki - Potted tree

Noh piece. Fourth piece. Five-school current piece. Author unknown. Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo (Shite) of Kozuke Province, whose territory was taken away by his family, lives a lonely life with his wife (Tsure). On a snowy night, he gives a lone travelling monk (Waki) a stay and entertains him by burning plum, cherry and pine from his treasured potted trees. He tells him his determination to be the first to come to Kamakura when the time comes. The monk is actually Saimyoji Nyudo Tokiyori (Back Waki), who was inspecting the politics of various regions. Upon receiving the emergency summons, Genzaemon (Back Shite) whips his skinny horse and rushes over with a rusty naginata. Tokiyori praises Genzaemon for his loyalty, and in addition to restoring his former territory, he gives him three territories associated with plum, cherry, and pine trees as a reward for his overnight stay, and tells all his troops to file lawsuits if they are suffering from injustice. Genzaemon returns to his hometown with joy. This Noh play was especially popular during the feudal era, and the sense of human solidarity on a snowy night is beautiful. The story of the patrol at Saimyoji Temple is also the prototype of the Mito Komon tale, and is found in works such as Masukagami and Taiheiki, but there is no story about Sano Tokoyo. A similar piece is Yokoyama, which is said to have been a favorite of Kan'ami, and depicts the spirit of a fallen samurai, his wife, and a prostitute. It was revived in 1962 (Showa 37).

[Masuda Shozo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

能の曲目。四番目物。五流現行曲。作者は不明。一族のために領地を奪われた上野(こうずけ)国の佐野源左衛門常世(つねよ)（シテ）は、妻（ツレ）とわびしく暮らしている。大雪の夜、1人の旅僧（ワキ）を泊め、秘蔵の鉢の木の梅・桜・松を焚(た)いてもてなし、いざ鎌倉というときは真っ先に馳(は)せ参ずる決意を語る。僧は実は各地の政治を視察していた最明寺(さいみょうじ)入道時頼(ときより)（後ワキ）で、その非常招集令にやせた馬にむち打ち、錆(さ)びた薙刀(なぎなた)を持った源左衛門（後シテ）が真っ先に駆けつけてくる。時頼は源左衛門の誠忠をたたえて、旧領の回復とともに、いつぞやの一泊の礼として梅・桜・松にゆかりの三領地を与え、全軍に不正に悩む訴訟あらば申し出よと告げる。源左衛門は喜び勇んで故郷へ帰っていく。封建時代にとくに好まれた能だが、雪の夜の人間的な連帯感が美しい。最明寺の巡視の話は、水戸黄門説話の原型でもあり、『増鏡(ますかがみ)』『太平記』などに載っているが、佐野常世の話はない。類曲に観阿弥(かんあみ)が得意としたという『横山(よこやま)』があり、零落した武士と妻と遊女の心意気を描く。1962年（昭和37）に復活上演された。

［増田正造］

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