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Tomonari and his retinue depart Takasago Bay determined to follow the old couple and embark for Sumiyoshi when the moon rises. When they arrive at the beach in Sumiyoshi, the masculine Sumiyoshi Deity appears before the group. Under the moonlight, Sumiyoshi Deity dances airily and divinely to expel demons, celebrate the longevity of the emperor and people and the peace of this world.
In this piece, the pine occupies an important role. From ancient times in Japan, people have believed that deities dwell in the pine tree and often called it “Chitose (thousand years)” in Japanese poetry because of its evergreen nature. The pine represents the celebration of longevity. It also has different sexes, which reminds people of husband and wife. Zeami created this piece based on a phrase in Kanajo preface to the Kokinshū, “Two pines of Takasago and Suminoe seem to be a pair.” He set as the characters of this drama an aged man and woman who lived far apart in Takasago in Harima Province and Sumiyoshi in Settsu Province yet still kept their harmonious marital relationship. Zeami honored the longevity and harmonious relationship of the old couple, and compared the blessed longevity of the pine tree to the eternal flourish of the art of Japanese poetry. His efforts generated a superb piece, involving beautiful verses and crisp movements and dance. This play is one of the best of the masterpieces, persisting in the idea of blessing and celebration, extremely bright, and full of the atmosphere of nobility, dignity, and purity. The audience can enjoy this piece by simply seeing, listening, and feeling it. Those in the audience are able to experience purification through seeing Takasago. STORY PAPER : TakasagoStory Paper presents noh chant stories in modern speech, with story outlines, highlights and more using Adobe PDF format, which can print out and zoom in. Print out the pages and take them with you when you see the actual noh performance.
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