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The simple and primitive
kagura, sacred dances
to music or pantomimes of old Shinto myths, had been mentioned as early
as the sixth century
C.E
. These eventually gave
rise to
sarugaku, a form of mime and magical technique introduced
on the occasion of a Shinto festival to entertain the deities, and also
to
dengaku
("rustic music" or "field performance"), primitive dance
or prayer within a specially marked-off area for divine favor on the crops.
Both of these developed as incidental entertainments at religious festivals.
From these came
sarugaku-no-noh, "performance of
sarugaku
"
or simply
noh, which eventually meant "accomplished performance
of a lyric drama developed from
sarugaku." In the fourteenth
century, a spoken dialogue was added, recalling certain legends or celebrating
the exploits of popular heroes.
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Now, as an outcome of the comic
element of
sarugaku,
kyogen
arose as one-act comic interludes
of slight construction. These were generally performed in the intervals
between the more serious pieces of Noh and upon the same stage. They
resemble European dramas in form and have no musical accompaniment.
They range from primitive and naïve farces to a few witty satires
on human failings and social evils. Some 280 of these survive today.
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Fujimatsu
was one of these medieval farces. The larch or
fuji-matsu
(lit. "Mt. Fuji, that is, high-quality pine", a
Larix
] was a popular
specimen for a Muromachi Period (1338-1573)
hachi-no-ki. Taro
Kaja is the prototypical
kyogen
hero, spirited with innocent humor
and transparent schemes which rarely succeed. He is usually a young
servant of a feudal lord or similar character. This particular story
tells of how Taro's master is captivated by a superb dwarf potted larch
in Taro's possession. There is an interesting repartée between
the master, who tries to obtain the tree, and Taro-kaja, who is unable
to part with it.
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The master is angry with the servant,
who went back to his home without permission some time ago and has yet
to return. He visits Taro-kaja's home to give him a good scolding.
He calls the servant in a feigned voice. Taro-kaja emerges and is
amazed to see his master. The master asks, "Where did you go?"
Unwilling to admit he had gone to buy a
fuji-matsu, the servant
says that he made a pilgrimage to Mt. Fuji. The master cannot but
forgive Taro-kaja because a pilgrimage to that sacred mountain is beyond
reproach.
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The master, however, has heard a rumor
that Taro-kaja bought a superb
fuji-matsu. He tells his servant
to show him the tree, and Taro-kaja cannot but usher his master into the
room
[sic]
with the
hachi-no-ki.
Installing himself in front of the plant, the master intently admires its
graceful figure. Taro-kaja proudly says that people who saw him carrying
the tree home all admired it. (This shows well the popularity of
the art at the time.)
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Master:
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"Hey -- Taro Kaja!"
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Taro Kaja:
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"Yes, sir?"
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Master:
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"This pine
[sic]
has a much finer shape
than you led me to believe."
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T.K.:
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"Those who go by in the street all sing its praises."
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Master:
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"I'm sure they do..."
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The master, charmed by the tree, resolves to acquire it. At this
point the repartee begins.
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Master:
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"After you went home, I had my garden redesigned. It now has
space suitable for planting this
fuji-matsu. Will you give
me this tree?"
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Taro-kaja tells a lie: he is keeping the plant for someone else, and
therefore cannot give it away. The master thinks the new owner will
part with it, in exchange for something else, and he offers to swap his
highly reputed sword.
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T.K.:
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"The owner is not a person who has need of a sword, and would decline
your offer."
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Master:
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"I'll offer him a dog for hawking."
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T.K.:
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"He has no hawks. So he would not require a dog."
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Master:
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"Then I'll give him my precious black horse."
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The offer is tempting, but
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T.K.:
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"That horse is so strong he will be able to pull down such a small
house. The owner will have difficulty in finding a place to stable
it."
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The first round of repartee ends in the defeat of the master, whose
offers were all rejected.
The second round also ends in the defeat of the master, who proved to
be less witty than his servant.
In the final scene of this play the master voices his resentment.
To Taro-kaja, a commoner, the
fuji-matsu hachi-no-ki
is much more
important than an excellent sword, a dog for hawking, or a black horse.
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Another
kyogen
is
Bonsan,
which depicts a dull-witted, inexperienced thief whose passion for dwarf
landscapes tempts him to steal one.
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Thief:
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"The cult of
bonsan
is simply amazing."
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He steals into the garden of a mansion to take a
bonsan, but
the master of the mansion detects a noise. The master knows who the
thief is and that he has long coveted the
bonsan. He decides
to tease the thief.
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Master:
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"It is a dog, not a person, behind the
bonsan."
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The thief, pretending to be a dog, barks.
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Master:
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"No. It's a monkey."
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The thief pretends to be a monkey and chatters.
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Master:
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"No. It's a sea bream."
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The thief imitates the movement of fins since he does not know what
sound a sea bream makes.
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Master:
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"If the fish doesn't make a noise, I'll shoot it dead."
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Thief:
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"Tai ["sea bream"], tai, tai."
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And he runs away without the
bonsan.
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