Foliage Viewing
Foliage Viewing Figures Prominently in a Noh Piece and Other Performances
Foliage viewing is the activity and custom of going into the wild to appreciate the beauty of colorful autumn leaves. In ancient times, this activity was done from the comfort of palaces and other abodes, but in the Edo period (1603-1867), this custom spread to commoners. Places like Shoto Temple in Shitaya and Kaian Temple and Tokai Temple, both in Shinagawa, became places in Edo noted for viewing foliage.
Foliage viewing also figured prominently in a well-known Noh piece, Momijigari (Viewing the Foliage). Late in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), Kanze Nobumitsu composed this gobanmemono (the last of a set of five Noh plays performed in a single day in the Edo period).
Its story goes like this: The Yogo general Taira no Koremochi (a supporting role) goes out on a hunting excursion and meets a lovely lady and her retinue enjoying wine while taking in the autumn colors. They invite him to join them. He gets drunk and falls asleep. The lady is in fact a demon of Mount Togakushi. When the lady and her retinue see Koremochi asleep, they disappear.
At this point, the god of Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine appears, presents Koremochi a long sword, and warns him of the danger he is in. When Koremochi awakes and steels himself to be on the lookout for danger, the demon appears in her true form. After a struggle, Koremochi subdues her. A distinctive feature of this Noh play is how the elegant dance of the lady and her retinue in the first part gives way to the heroic struggle between Koremochi and the demon in the second.
Momijigari figures in the name of a joruri piece (Japanese narrative music) and a nagauta piece (Japanese lyrical music). Taira no Koremochi momijigari was published in 1658. It later influenced Chikamatsu Monzaemon when he composed the joruri piece Momijigari tsurugi no honji (Foliage Viewing and a Sword Battle). Also, the kabuki dance "Momijigari" is one of the Shin Kabuki juhachiban (New Eighteen Best Kabuki Plays). Its lyrics were written by Kawatake Mokuami, and in 1887 it was first performed by the kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX and others.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
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工芸品など
Kabuki, noh, and autumn leaf viewing
Historical films that record the exquisite art of Ichikawa Danjuro IX
Past Exhibitions
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Institutions Holding Related Materials
紅葉名所2021/ウォーカープラス(KADOKAWA)より。全国各地の紅葉情報が掲載されており、紅葉名所の見頃の時期などが分かります。
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
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he National Museum of Ethnology, Japan (Minpaku) is the only research institute of cultural anthropology and ethnology in the world, that is equipped with one of the world’s largest museum facilities as well as post-graduate educational facilities.
This institution strives to serve researchers in the field of Japanese literature as well as those working in various other humanities fields, by collecting in one location a massive archive of materials related to Japanese literature from all corners of the country.
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External Links
国立映画アーカイブが運営するサイト「映像で見る明治の日本」より。明治32年(1899)に歌舞伎座の「紅葉狩」上演に合わせて、9代目市川団十郎と5代目尾上菊五郎の至芸を記録した現存最古の日本映画で、「もっと知りたい」に前掲したものと同じ。
the能.comの「演目事典」より。能「紅葉狩」のあらすじやみどころなどについて紹介している。
東京都墨田区横網に所在。トップページの「目的別利用案内」から「収蔵品検索」をクリックし、キーワードに「紅葉狩」「紅葉」などと入力して収蔵品を探すことができる。
References
- 国立劇場営業部営業課編集企画室 編,日本芸術文化振興会
- 「紅葉狩(行事・風習)」の項
- 「紅葉狩(能)」の項
- 「紅葉狩」の項
- 「紅葉狩[能曲名]」の項
- 「もみじがり【紅葉狩】」の項