能のあらすじ・見どころ Summary and Highlights of Noh Hanagatami English
Summary
Prince Ōatobe, living in Echizen province (present-day Echizen City in Fukui Prefecture), was destined to ascend to the throne as the emperor. He was deeply in love with a woman named Teruhi, but suddenly, he had to leave for the capital in Yamato. Before his departure, he ordered a messenger to deliver his favorite flower basket and a letter to Teruhi, and then he set off for the capital.
Upon hearing the reason from the messenger, Teruhi rejoiced at the news of the prince's ascension to the throne. However, after reading his letter, she was overwhelmed by a deep sorrow of being left behind and eventually returned to her village. In the season when the autumn leaves were coloring, the prince ascended the throne to become Emperor Keitai. He moved the capital to Tamaho in the country of Yamato and went out for maple viewing.
Driven to madness by her turmoil, Teruhi embarks on a journey to the land of Yamato with her maid. Teruhi and her maid encounter the emperor’s procession. As they cross in front of the procession, a court official chases them away and knocks down the flower basket carried by the maid. Teruhi protests against the court official for this act, tearfully expressing her undying love for the emperor in her distraught state. She is then ordered to perform a dance in front of the emperor. Responding that the flower basket was a keepsake from him, she reproaches the official for dropping it and performs a dance while narrating the story of Empress Li, the wife of Emperor Wu of Han (ancient China).
Eventually, when the emperor sees the flower basket, he realizes that the madwoman is Teruhi. They joyfully reunite.
Highlights
Hanagatami (lit. “the flower basket”) falls under the genre of monogurui nō, which deals with characters experiencing temporary madness, leading them to perform dances, songs, and mimicry. This state of madness, or monogurui, involves individuals who become so emotionally agitated that they express themselves through various performing arts. Zeami, a major contributor to the development of nō, highlighted the importance of monogurui in his treatise Fūshi Kaden, emphasizing that the frenzy caused by separation from loved ones—be it lovers or parents and children—is a pivotal element. Hanagatami portrays a story of separation and reunion, where the performing arts, such as dance, serve as a catalyst for reuniting the characters.
The separation between Teruhi and Prince Ōatobe, who becomes Emperor Keitai, is triggered by the prince’s ascension to the throne. The circumstances surrounding his ascension are explained in historical texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which describe a period following Emperor Buretsu's death when there was no successor to the throne. Consequently, a prince, who was a descendant of Emperor Ōjin, was brought to the capital.
Zeami, who created this play, incorporated a song about Empress Li's dance, created by his father, Kan’ami, into Hanagatami. One of the triggers for the reunion is this dance of Lady Li. The section of the play inspired by this dance involves the Chinese Emperor Wu of Han using magical incense to summon the spirit of Lady Li, his concubine, after her death, reminiscing her faintly seen figure and mourning his loss. Initially, the story of Lady Li and Emperor Wu is narrated objectively, but gradually, Teruhi’s feelings and Emperor Wu’s sorrow converge.
Another trigger for the reunion is the flower basket that the prince gave to Teruhi. Her anger at the basket being knocked down by a court official is expressed through fast-paced chanting and numerous foot beats. This anger then transitions into sorrow over being separated from her beloved prince, and as Teruhi’s emotions shift, the chanting also becomes profoundly slow and heartfelt.
A special performance variant, katami no den ("The Legend of the Basket"), highlights the flower basket. The main actor holds a basket filled with flowers and performs the dance of Lady Li, the chanting changes slightly to clearly convey that the basket is a keepsake from the emperor.