能のあらすじ・見どころ Summary and Highlights of Noh Nue English
Summary
A Traveling Monk visiting the village of Ashiya in the Province of Tsu (today, Hyōgo Prefecture) asks a Local Man for a place to spend the night. The Local Man tells the Monk that a strange creature sometimes appears at the nearby riverbank, then suggest that he stay at a small temple there, so that he can see it. As night falls, a mysterious Man on board a small boat approaches the temple. Upon questioning by the Monk, the Man reveals to be the spirit of Nue, the chimera-like monster that was killed by Minamoto no Yorimasa’s arrow. During the reign of Emperor Konoe, at the hour of the ox (around 2 am) a black cloud appeared over the forest at Higashi Sanjō, causing the Emperor to fall ill. The warrior Minamoto no Yorimasa was chosen to confront this monster. Yorimasa, accompanied by his retainer, I no Hayata, was waiting at the palace when he saw a mysterious figure in the black clouds. Yorimasa fired an arrow and felt he hit something, and when it fell, Hayata slashed it. When they lit a fire and looked closely, they saw a hideous creature with the head of a monkey, the tail of a snake, and the claws of a tiger. After telling this story, the Mysterious man makes a terrifying cry and disappears in the dark waves of the night.
Encouraged by the Local Man, the Monk recites a sutra, and the Spirit of Nue appears in his terrifying true form. Nue reenacts the story of how he fell from the sky after he was hit by an arrow, and how Yorimasa was given a sword as a prize for having defeated him.
While Yorimasa was praised for his feat, Nue was pushed into a boat, swept down the Yodo River, and finally landed on a floating sandbank in Ashiya, where he was left to putrefy. Finally, the Spirit of Nue disappears into the dark waves.
Highlights
The author of this play is Zeami. In the “Tale of the Heike,” which was the source material for this play, the story of Nue celebrates Yorimasa’s success, but in the nō play the same story is told from the point of view of the monster. Nō plays often beautify defeated characters. Nue, the chimera-like monster, has the head of a monkey, the tail of a snake, and the claws of a tiger, and its cry resembles that of a bird called Toratsugumi, which has been considered unlucky since ancient times. Nue is said to be a monster that brings misfortune to the Buddhist law and to the imperial court.
The highlight of the first half of the play is the Man's suspicious appearance and chant. Though at first the Man just sits, the story of how Yorimasa killed Nue is performed with movements accompanying the chant. The highlight of the second half is the scene in which the Spirit of Nue re-enacts his own murder. Nue performs both from his own point of view and from that of Yorimasa. The warrior shoots an arrow at Nue and receives a sword as a reward. Then the point of view switches to that of Nue, who was shot to death and then pushed into a boat, flowing down the Yodo River.
This scene is depicted with a unique footwork called "nagare-ashi" (flowing feet). Nue wronged the authorities with his evil intentions but was then trapped in a boat without sails or oars, washed away, and left to rot in the darkness. That is why he appears to seek salvation in the light of the moon that illuminates the dark night.