Takasago, A Noh Play for New Year
"Takasago" is a Noh play of the first category, a celebratory "god play." As other plays in this category, there is little drama, but instead it is infused with a festive, auspicious atmosphere. The present play celebrates matrimonial love: the life of a elderly married couple and their longevity. As a symbol the play employs "Aoi no Matsu," twin pine trees, not only because the evergreen pine tree is a symbol of strength and longevity, but also because these trees grow from the same roots and lower trunk. "Aioi" has the double meaning of "to share a life," and also of "becoming old together."
[The elderly couple and the Takasago pines, by Kunisada]
Zeami, who wrote the play, found his inspiration in the Japanese Preface to the Kokinshu, the early 10th c. poetry anthology, and embodies the spirits of the pines as the characters of an aged man and woman, wearing the simple clothes of a peasant couple, who have a very harmonious marital relationship although they live far apart: the woman in Takasago in Harima (now Hyogo) Province and the man in Sumiyoshi in Settsu Province (now Osaka) - in the one location stands the Takasago Shrine and in the other the Sumiyoshi Shrine (Sumiyoshi is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan). Although separated by a great distance (about 90 kilometres), the spirit of the pine at Sumiyoshi pays nightly visits to his wife, the Takasago pine spirit, who lives on the coast at Takasago bay. Despite their hair white with age, the couple's bond gives them youthful energy and beauty. From the 17th century,
the Takasago spirit as an old woman holding a broom and Sumiyoshi as an
old man with a rake usually standing under an aged pine tree have been
painted or represented as figurines and displayed at celebrations of
long life and good fortune, such as New Year's or weddings.
And to take one more step, the harmonious relationship of the aged couple representing the evergreen pine trees is said to symbolize the flourishing state of waka poetry. After all, the Sumiyoshi deity was the supreme god of waka - thus we find many layers here.
[The Shinto priest and the elderly couple]
The story of the play is as follows. A Shinto priest (waki) from the Aso Shrine in Kyushu (the shrine honoring the huge Aso caldera) is passing by Takasago Bay, Harima Province, with his companions. They are on the way to Heiankyo (Kyoto) for their first visit to the Japanese capital. The pine standing at the
inlet amid the mild spring breeze is so beautiful that it attracts their attention. An elderly couple (mae-shite and tsure) come and
start to sweep under the shade of the tree. They tell the travelers about the origin of the “Aioi no matsu” (paired pines) on Takasago and Sumiyoshi Bays and describe the joy of leading a long life together as a couple. They then reveal that they are the spirits of the pine trees, invite the chief priest to Sumiyoshi, and disappear. In the second act, the priests also set sail on the high
tide, and arrive at
Suminoe (Sumiyoshi) after the spirits of the pine trees. The deity of Sumiyoshi (the nochi-shite) appears and gallantly dances the "Kami mai" (god dance) in celebration of a peaceful world, under the beautiful
moonlight. "The music of a thousand autumns soothes the people,
the music of ten thousand years extends life; the breeze of the Aioi
pines, how joyous the sound of the breeze, how joyous the sound of the
breeze..." On this auspicious note the play ends.
One of the ageuta from Takasago is regularly sung at wedding receptions. It occurs in the play when the priest and his companions at the beginning of Act 2 set out for Sumiyoshi, and the text consists of a geographical description of the voyage: "Takasago! Our light craft under all sail slips out with the moon rising, the flood-tide swells foam around Awaji Isle, thunder upon Naruo far behind us now, for we skim on to Sumiyoshi where we soon put in..." (tr. R. Tyler)
Also see Poem 34 in the Hyakunin Isshu about the Takasago pines.
Takasago in the Noh Plays Database (Synopsis and other data)
Translation of Takasago by Royall Tyler in Japanese Text Initiative
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