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Ataka (play)

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Umewaka Manzaburo(梅若万三郎), 1931

Ataka (安宅) is a Noh play written in 1465, during the Muromachi Era of Japan by playwright Kanze Nobumitsu.

It has been adapted as a kabuki play, Kanjinchō, and as a movie, Tora no o-wo fumu otokotachi, directed by Kurosawa Akira.

Synopsis

Minamoto no Yoshitsune falls out of favor with his brother, the Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and escapes with his followers to Mutsu Province, disguised as priests. They head for a temple called Todaiji (a local branch of the Todaiji Temple in Nara), but are stopped along the way by a suspicious guard. The recitation of a fake letter of intent by Yoshitsune's companion Benkei, which convinces the guard to let them pass, is the main highlight of the play.