Tamakazura
Tamakazura (The Jeweled Chaplet) is a Noh play based upon the Tale of Genji and centered around the character generally known by that name, who was the daughter of Lady Moonflower.
One of the better-known of the many Noh plays that were based upon the Tale,[1] The Jeweled Chaplet is considered to rank among the chief masterpieces of its creator, Komparu Zenchiku.[2]
Plot[edit]
A priest on a travelling pilgrimage joins a woman in a boat, who tells him the story of Lady Tamakazura, before requesting him to pray for her soul and vanishing.[3]
Thereafter the ghost of Tamakazura appears before the priest, setting out and describing her bondage to love-attachment, before being finally set free by his prayers.[4]
Using poetic imagery drawn from Renga, Komparu paints a picture of the heroine as passion's slave – something which significantly veers away from the more self-contained figure originally portrayed in the Tale of Genji.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Arthur Waley, 'The Noh Plays of Japan (1971) p. 118
- ^ Komparu Zenchiku
- ^ Summary
- ^ Summary
- ^ J Goff, Noh Drama and the Tale of Genji (2014) p. 109