能のあらすじ・見どころ Summary and Highlights of Noh Sakahako English
Summary
A courtier in imperial service (waki), sets out with his attendants on an autumn pilgrimage, amid crimson foliage, to Mount Tatsuta in Nara. As the party proceeds, they encounter an old man (shite) carrying a sakaki (a sacred plant for offering), accompanied by a shrine attendant (tsure) bearing a torch. The two are on their way to Taki Matsuri (night festival).
The courtier follows the old man as he guides them to Mount Tatsuta. When the courtier asks about the origins of the mountain, He tells how the deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, at the time of the creation of the land, lowered a spear from the Floating Bridge of Heaven into the sea below. This spear, known as the Ama no Sakahoko (Heavenly Reverse Spear), brought peace to the realm and was enshrined at Mount Tatsuta,.
Foretelling that the night festival will soon begin, the old man reveals his true identity as the deity Taki Festival Myōjin and vanishes.
That night, as mysterious music fills the air, a celestial maiden (tsure) appears before the courtier, who has fallen into a light sleep, and performs a graceful dance. Then, the Taki Festival Myōjin (shite) emerges bearing the spear. He reenacts how the deity couple, Izanagi and Izanami, performed the creation of the land and praise the sacred power of the spear.
Highlights
The Ama no Sakahoko is a mythological spear also known as the Ama no Nuboko, appearing in ancient chronicles, Nihon shoki and the Kojiki. It is said that Izanagi and Izanami lowered the spear from the heavens into the sea below, thereby giving form and stability to the land.
This play builds upon a later episode to the myth recorded in a fouteenth century chronicle, Jinnō shōtōki, in which Taki Festival Myōjin was entrusted with the spear by Izanagi and buried it deep within Mount Tatsuta to protect the country.
The Taki Matsuri Myōjin is a water deity. It was not originally a deity belonging to Tatsuta Shrine, but it is said that the deities that were originally enshrined (also related to Izanagi and Izanami), Ama no Mihashira Ōkami and Kuni no Mihashira Ōkami, came to be identified as the Taki Matsuri Myōjin in the medieval times. Therefore, this play is based on this interpretation.
In the first half, the myth of the Ama no Sakahoko is told, depicting it as a divine implement linking heaven and earth, revered as a sacred relic whose spiritual power that transformed the chaotic land into one of fertility. Mount Tatsuta, where the story takes place, is famed for its autumn foliage and also known as the “Treasure Mountain” where the holy site where the spear was enshrined.
In the latter half, the elegant dance of the celestial maiden contrasts with the powerful, dynamic movements of Taki Matsuri Myōjin. The maiden is seen to be the goddess of Mount Tatsuta, Tatsuta Hime (Princess Tatsuta). The Taki Matsuri Myōjin brandishes a great spear, dynamicaly moving across the stage to reenact the myth of land creation wirh movements represent the spear stirring the ocean.