Six hours of writing and only three hours of sleep. What a bad combo.

[kansaiphones]

For those you who are interested. here's my noh play. I'll put up the explanations and background information in the next post.
*DIES*

 

Kitsune

A contemporary Inori Mono (Exorcism) Noh Play

Characters

Shite: in act 1, an oden stand vendor; in act 2, a kyuubi kitsune (nine tailed fox)

Waki: Kusuri-uri (Medicine Seller)

Omoai: a young woman (Kayo)

 

Musicians

Chorus of eight to ten members

A flute, a hand drum, and a stick drum

 

Act 1

(JO)

Flute entrance music. The waki enters as the music plays. He wears bright colored clothing and is a specific type of kimono. He also wears a specific mask to depict his rather exotic face. The stage attendants bring in a standing prop to symbolize the oden stand.

 

Waki: I am simply a medicine seller. However, I also eradicate mononoke which should not exist in the world. I can only kill them with the Taima no Ken once I learn their katachi, makoto, and kotowari. I constantly travel by myself and arrived in this small rice-farming town west of the capitol. Night is falling faster than I expected and I am in need of food. There is something else that draws me here, however.

 

The waki sits at the waki spot. He holds up his closed fan and looks at it for a while, but puts it back. He calls to the bridge way.

           

            Ah, I thought you looked familiar. Kayo, wasn’t it?

 

Omoai: Kusuri-uri? (Approaches the waki) What brings you here? Don’t tell me there’s another mononoke here. It would be too soon before I see something like the bakeneko that killed the Sakai clan.

 

Waki: Who knows? But for now I am in the mood for oden. Would like to join me?

 

The omoai nods and sits in front of the flute player and sits down.

 

The shite enters to calm instrumental music. He is unmasked and wears plain working clothes. He stops at the shite spot. (HA)

 

Shite: Oden, oden, for a cold winter’s night,

            Come, come have some delicious oden

            It will warm you up tonight.

 

Omoai: We’ll be having the specials tonight.

 

Shite: I am a simple oden vendor who lives in this village. (He lifts his closed fan to imitate serving the food.) The sunset is quite beautiful today isn’t it?

 

Omoai: Yes it is. This oden smells delicious. There’s a lot of aburage tofu in this oden. I guess that is what makes yours so special.

 

Shite: Why thank you. Although I am not skilled in singing and poetry, allow me to entertain you.

 

The Shite moves away from the prop. (He opens his fan, which has red autumn maple leaves designed on it, and waves it slowly to the audience.)

 

The musical interlude begins with the stick drum. Then the flute comes in slowly and the shite speaks here.

 

(In a melodic style) Look at how the maple leaves, so red in color, glow like warm coals in a hearth against the dimming light.  (The shite dances to the flute in a feminine style.)

 

As beautiful these leaves are, I long to see spring and its sakura blossoms. It is the season of lovers and hope for all.

 

“Itsuka haru no yuumagure

Hajimete kuchidukeshita

Maboroshi no you na kaori no naka de

Anata dake wo omou”

 

Chorus: (Sung in a pained manner)

“Motome atta kanashisa yo

Furishikiri tsutsunde yo

Mae mo miezu, iki mo miezu

Anata dake wo omou

 

Hakanai haru no katami ni wa

Ichiban kirei na watashi wo

Anata dake ni, anata dake ni

Todometai to omou”

 

The shite looks at the waki and omoai. He takes a step back.

Shite: Sadly, summer has come to an end and the rice is harvested. Autumn has arrived and only brings the death of things.

 

Chorus: I despise it with my heart.  (The dance’s pace quickens, there is some stamping as he makes a circle to express frustration.)

 

“Mae mo miezu, iki mo dekizu

Anata dake wo omou”

 

I cannot take the torment waiting for spring to come! (The shite snaps his fan close.) He puts away his serving chopsticks. (He puts fan back into place.)

 

A sudden gust of wind comes up and a storm of leaves sweep up and swallow him. (The shoulder drum’s tempo quickens as well as his calls.) He disappears.

 

(Both waki and omoai take several steps forward, away from the stand.)

 

Chorus: Both Kusuri-uri and Kayo hide inside the neglected building behind the stand.  Kusuri-uri takes out several ofuda and throws them at the walls to create a barrier. (Waki pulls out several strips of paper from his sleeves and gestures the motion of throwing them.)

 

Kyougen Interlude

 

Omoai: What just happened now?

 

Waki: It looks like we found the mononoke. He used leaves to exit and he was cooking oden with lots of aburage tofu. The katachi of this mononoke is a kitsune. (The shoulder drum gives one tap.) You seem familiar with this village. What do you know about this village and its relationship with them?

 

Omoai:  This is a rice-farming village, so they pray to Inari a lot. When the sakura bloomed this year, one farmer was brutally murdered by a kitsune.

 

(Turns to face the waki.) After you got rid of that bakeneko in the Sakai clan’s residence, I returned here. My parents’ home is next to that poor fellow’s farm. The farmer told me that he found portions of his grain and food stolen as well as fox prints in granary. Normally, the foxes around this area do not bother farmers or any of the other people here. We often leave them blocks of tofu for them as offerings. He kept asking Inari why this was happening and the kami found out it was one of his messengers who did this.

 

A month later, one of the priests of Inari shrine appeared before the farmer and brought the accused kitsune to him. When asked why he did it, the fox said, “There is a woman who is deeply sick without anyone to care for her who needs this food you horde for yourself. I feel it’s only right to try and save her.”

 

What the fox didn’t know was that the girl he was trying to help died the last time when he visited her small neglected house. The farmer only scoffed at the fox and was ready to strike him with his scythe, but the fox was much quicker. Once the damage was done, the fox ran and hid himself in the woods. Inari, according to the priest, relieved that messenger of his duties and cast him out. Some time later, several other murders happened. They were all business partners with the farmer and even their relatives were killed. No one has seen the kitsune since then.

 

Waki: I see now. You were once a divine servant, has now become a mononoke. As a servant of a kami, they are to focus on serving that kami and nothing else. However, this one grew an attachment to human woman.

 

His makoto is that he’s a fallen being because of his attachment to a human woman. He is suppose to be a bridge between humans and kami, but he neglected that duty and acted against the kami’s will by killing a worshipper. (shoulder drum taps once)

 

The fact he couldn’t save that person he desired and he wishes to redeem himself because he is wrought with anguish to Inari is his kotowari.  (shoulder drum taps once)

 

Act 2

 

Waki: (No instruments play at this point. He turns his head towards the stand and holds the closed fan in a defensive manner.) The kitsune has returned.

 

(Kyu)

 

(The instruments play forcefully. The shite, now dressed in gold outer robes and donning a yellow kitsune mask, enters slowly from the bridge and moves to the shite spot. He holds an open fan with a sakura design in one hand and a demon’s mallet in the other. The shite tries to approach the omoai, but the waki will not allow it. The waki advances towards him, with the fan still out. Shite holds up the mallet and crosses his weapon with the waki’s. The two circle each other like a duel. Their weapons meet several times and the two alternate jumping over each other’s weapons.)

 

Waki: With your katamachi, makoto, and kotowari known, I can release the sword. 

 

Chorus: Kusuri-uri lands a blow against the kitsune. (He parries the mallet and aims the end of the fan to the shite’s neck.)The mononoke falls back, dropping his fan to grasp his throat from the pain. (He rushes to the bridge way.) He leaps into the air and lets another flurry of leaves take him away. (He rushes through the curtains.) He vanishes from sight as leaves travel back into the forest behind the village. Seeing the mononoke gone, the Kusuri-uri takes his leave, continuing his way through the village.

 

(The waki performs the closing stamps at the shite spot and exits up the bridgeway, followed by the omoai.)