Hagoromo (play)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hagoromo (羽衣 The Feather Mantle?) is among the most-performed Japanese Noh plays.[1][2] It is an example of the traditional swan maiden motif.[3]
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[edit] Sources and history
The earliest recorded version of the legend dates to the eighth century.[3] The authorship of the Noh play Hagoromo is unknown.[2] The earliest references to the play in historical records date to 1524, which suggests that it was written well after Zeami's time.[2]
[edit] Plot
The plot is as follows: A priest finds the Hagoromo, the magical feather-mantle of a tennin (an aerial spirit or celestial dancer) hanging on a bough. The tennin demands its return. The priest argues with her, and finally promises to return it, if she will teach him her dance or part of it. She accepts his offer. The Chorus explains the dance as symbolic of the daily changes of the moon. The words about "three, five, and fifteen" refer to the number of nights in the moon's changes. In the finale, the tennin disappears like a mountain slowly hidden in mist.[4]
[edit] Later adaptations
W.B. Yeats' At the Hawk's Well drew extensively from the Hagoromo legend.[5] Osamu Tezuka based a short story in his Phoenix series on the story of the Hagoromo, but with a sci-fi twist, featuring a time displaced human girl from the distant future instead of a tennin. Recently, the story was adapted into the manga and anime series Ceres, The Celestial Legend.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Kinoshita, June & Nicholas Palevsky. Gateway to Japan. Kodansha International (1998), p121. ISBN 477002018X.
- ^ a b c Tyler, Royall. Japanese No Dramas. Penguin Classics (1992), p96. ISBN 0140445390.
- ^ a b Blacker, Carmen. Collected Writings of Carmen Blacker. Routledge (2000), p44. ISBN 1873410921.
- ^ Pound, Ezra. "Noh", Or, Accomplishment: A Study of the Classical Stage of Japan. Macmillan (1916), p165. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Murphy, Maureen. "Some Western Productions of At the Hawk's Well, with a Mythological Footnote." In Tumult of Images: Essays on W.B. Yeats and Politics (ed. Peter Liebregts and Peter van de Kamp). Rodopi (1995), p71. ISBN 9051837712.
- ^ Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Stone Bridge Press (2003), p41. ISBN 1880656728.
