Motomezuka

Noh piece. The fourth piece. Four current pieces from the Kanze, Hosho, Kongo, and Kita schools. However, the Kanze school piece was restored in 1952 (Showa 27) by Kanze Kasetsu. The Noh piece was composed by Kan'ami, and the lyrics are also said to be by Kan'ami. It is based on the Ikutagawa legend, which is taken from the Man'yoshu and Yamato Monogatari. It is a story of a beautiful woman who commits suicide after being unable to choose between two proposals from men, but the Noh plays emphasize the terrible torture of the woman in hell, as the men follow her to her death as a punishment. Traveling monks (waki, wakitsure) pass through the village of Ikuta in Tsunokuni (Hyogo Prefecture) and ask young girls (mae shite and several tsure) where the Motozuka is, but they refuse to tell them. After everyone leaves, the woman, who is left alone, leads the way to the mound of Motome, where she tells the tale of Unaiotome's drowning and the men who stabbed each other to death, and then disappears into the mound, pleading for help, saying that even that has become her fault. At the funeral of the monk, the spirit of Unaiotome, emaciated and emaciated despite her beautiful appearance, appears and enjoys the sutra chanting, but is immediately overcome by the suffering of hell, and soon disappears into the world of darkness. This is a masterpiece of Noh, where the brutality of the second half of the play is beautifully reflected in the early spring atmosphere of young leaves being picked in the first half. Mori Ogai's play "Ikuta River," which deals with the same Ikuta River legend, is famous as the first historical drama written in modern Japanese.

[Masuda Shozo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

能の曲目。四番目物。観世(かんぜ)、宝生(ほうしょう)、金剛、喜多(きた)四流現行曲。ただし観世流は観世華雪(かせつ)による1952年（昭和27）の復曲。観阿弥(かんあみ)作曲の能、作詞も観阿弥らしい。『万葉集』『大和(やまと)物語』を出典とする生田川(いくたがわ)伝説による。2人の男からの求婚を選びかねて自殺した美女の物語だが、男たちが後を追って死んだ罪で、地獄における女の凄惨(せいさん)な責め苦に重点を置くのが能の主張である。旅僧たち（ワキ、ワキツレ）が津国(つのくに)（兵庫県）生田の里を通りかかり、若菜摘みの乙女たち（前シテ、ツレ数人）に求塚のありかを尋ねるが、教えようとしない。皆が去り、ひとり残った女が求塚へと案内し、菟名日処女(うないおとめ)の入水(じゅすい)と、刺し違えて死んだ男たちのことを語り、それさえ私の科(とが)になってしまったと、救いを求めつつ塚に消える。僧の弔いに、美貌(びぼう)も無残にやせ衰えた菟名日処女の亡魂が現れて読経を喜ぶが、たちまち地獄の苦患(くげん)が襲いかかり、やがてその姿は闇(やみ)の世界へと消えていく。後半の凄惨さと、前半の若菜摘みの春浅い風情とがみごとに映り合う、能の名作。なお、同じ生田川伝説を扱った森鴎外(おうがい)の戯曲に『生田川』があり、現代語で書かれた最初の史劇として名高い。

［増田正造］

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