能のあらすじ・見どころ Summary and Highlights of Noh Fuji-taiko(Fuji’s drum) English
Summary
A courtier serving Emperor Hanazono recounts the events surrounding an incident at a musical gathering held at the imperial court. Although Asama, a musician from Tennōji Temple, had been chosen to play the drum, another musician named Fuji, from Sumiyoshi Shrine, also came seeking the role. Angered by Fuji’s conduct, Asama killed him. The courtier decides to give Fuji’s personal effects to one of his relatives and instructs an attendant to notify him should any of Fuji’s family arrive.
Troubled by anxiety, Fuji’s wife and daughter come to the imperial palace in search of him. When the courtier tells the wife that Fuji has been killed, she is overcome with grief. He gives her the bird-shaped headdress and costume that Fuji wore for court dances. Growing increasingly agitated, she declares that the drum itself is her husband’s enemy and begins to beat it. Eventually, Fuji’s ghost possesses her, and she performs the court dance known as gaku. When she returns to her senses, she beats the drum once more and gives full vent to her resentment. Then, cherishing the memory of her husband, she sets out for home.
Highlights
The emotions experienced by the wife in the nō Fuji-taiko shift from anxiety to sorrow, regret, anger, elation, and longing. N? acting does not express such emotions directly. Instead, they are reflected through restrained and sparing movements: a minute change in the angle of the nō mask, the slightest motion of a hand or arm, or the stamping of a foot.
The play also features a child actor in the role of Fuji’s daughter. Particular points of interest include the touching earnestness unique to the child role and the exchanges of chant between the child and the adult actors.
The main highlight begins with the gaku danced by Fuji’s ghost after it has possessed his wife and continues through to the conclusion. The instrumental accompaniment, imbued with an exotic atmosphere, begins at a leisurely pace and gradually accelerates. The numerous foot-stamps further heighten the excitement of the piece.
When the play is performed in the special variants known as Utsutsu no gaku and Kyōran no gaku, the costumes and other elements differ from the usual staging, while both the movements of the gaku and the instrumental accompaniment are altered. These variants emphasize the turmoil in the wife’s mind and her state of possession by Fuji’s spirit.