Voice Introduction.
Listen to the contents of this page in MORINORI’s voice
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Today we would like to introduce the small concert “Songs of That Person” on Tuesday, September 10th. We also plan to hold a small concert at this venue in October.
The Heikyoku “Kaidoukudari” will be performed at the October “Songs of That Person” concert.
https://morinorijapan.com/lecture-and-performance/20241008
Tuesday, September 10
Songs of That Person|Heikyoku “Yokobue”
Songs of That Person is a small 15-20 minute performance in which I recite the songs from the Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike) with accompaniment on the Heike biwa. In September, I will be performing Yokobue. In August and September, I will be performing a small concert in Yokohama called “On the Coast of Nachi”, in which I will be reciting the Heikyoku “Yokobue” and “Koremorijusui”. At this venue, I will be reciting the songs from Yokobue.
Special page for “On the Beach at Nachi”
https://morinorijapan.com/nachinookinite
Full modern translation of the story of “Yokobue”
https://morinorijapan.com/tale-of-the-heike/yokobue-nachinookinite
Takiguchi Tokiyori (Takiguchi Nyudo) is opposed by his father to his relationship with Yokobue, the woman he loves, and so he becomes a priest. As he left without even saying a word to Yokobue, she searched for Takiguchi Nyudo, wanting to see him even just for a moment. She heard the sound of chanting at a certain temple and asked if Takiguchi Nyudo was there, but he quietly watched her from a gap in the wall and had the monks at the temple turn her away. When he sees that the woman he has come to dislike has come to visit him, he is unsure whether he will be able to control his feelings next time. He changes his location and redoubles his efforts in his training.
In the meantime, he hears that Yokobue has also become a priest, and Takiguchi sends her a poem. “Until you shave your head, you will only have resentment, but you are on the true path, and I am happy.” Yokobue’s reply was, ‘Even if I shave my head, I have no resentment. If I have a mind that I should stop playing the Azumi-bue, then I should.’ Yokobue died after this, perhaps because she had built up too much emotion, and Takiguchi became even more devoted to his training, and came to be known as Kōya Hijiri.
This is just my personal opinion, but when I think about Yokobue’s reply to the song, I feel a sense of resignation and sadness, and I really feel sorry for her. I can understand the way Takiguchi Nyudo is feeling, but when I follow Yokobue’s footsteps and look at the scenery in the Heikyoku “Yokobue”, I feel sorry for her as she visits Takiguchi Nyudo in a state of disrepair. The song that replies “It’s not a heart that can be held back” is also sad.
Saito Tokiyori, who shows his weakness and lingering feelings in “Yokobue”, becomes Takiguchi Nyudo, and in “Koremorijusui” he gives a lesson to TairanoKoremori, who shows his weakness and lingering feelings before committing suicide. The structure of the Tale of the Heike is truly amazing.
On September 10th, we will be reciting two songs from “Yokobue”: “Until I am shaved, I have nothing but resentment, but I am on the true path of the Azusa bow, and I am happy” and “Even if I am shaved, I have nothing but resentment, but if I have a heart that wants to stop playing the Azumi bow, I must do so”.
Event Date and Time / Location Information
Songs of That Person|The Tale of the Heike, Vol. 10 “Yokobue”
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Time: 10:40 – 11:00 (Doors open at 10:30)
*The performance will last for about 15 minutes.
Program: The Tale of the Heike, Vol. 10 “Yokobue”
Type: Concert (After a short modern-language translation and commentary at the beginning, the performance will begin.
Admission: Free
There is an admission fee (110 yen for residents of the town, 310 yen for non-residents)
Application: Not required (please come directly to the venue)
Venue
Ooisomachi Shigitatsuan (designated tangible cultural property of Ooisomachi)
1289 Oiso, Ooisomachi, Nakagun, Kanagawa Prefecture
7-minute walk from JR Oiso Station
https://www.nem-shiteikanri.jp/shisetsu/shigitatsuan/index.html
Ooisomachi Shigitatsuan
This poem, which is said to have been written by Saigyo, a poet from the end of the Heian period, while wandering around the coast of Oiso, goes “Even my heartless body knows the pathos of the autumn dusk in Shigitatsuzawa”. Shigitatsuan, which takes its name from this poem, was founded in the early Edo period by Sōsetsu of Odawara, who erected a stone monument at Shigitatsuzawa and built a thatched hut there, transporting a stone statue of the Five Wisdom Buddhas. It is one of Japan’s three major haikai (haiku) training centers, and has been in operation for over 300 years.
The venue (waiting room) will open at 10:30, but Shigitatsuan will open at 9:00, so there may be sounds and voices from the preparations. Also, there may be changes due to weather or disaster warnings. Please understand.
We look forward to seeing you at the venue.
