Synopsis

Day1, Day3

Funa Benkei(Benkei in the boat)

Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the hero of the war between the Minamoto and Taira clans in the twelfth century, flees the capital with his loyal retainers after a conflict with his brother Yoritomo. They reach the Daimotsu Port (Hyogo Prefecture), hoping to escape to the west of the country by sea, but Yoshitsune’s mistress, the famed dancer Lady Shizuka, is forced to return to the capital due to the dangerous sea voyage lying ahead. Before leaving, she performs a dance, praying for Yoshitsune’s military fortune and the brothers’ reconciliation, and tearfully bids him farewell. After Yoshitsune and his party set sail, ghosts of the Taira clan, recently defeated by Yoshitsune in the decisive naval battle, rise from the waves to take their revenge on him. The ghost of the enemy general Tomomori attacks Yoshitsune with a halberd, but Yoshitsune’s retainer, the warrior-monk Benkei, repels him with his spiritual powers. Funa Benkei features contrasting highlights, the graceful dance in the first act and the dynamic battle scene between the general, his retainer and the ghost in the second act.

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Day2, Day4

Hagoromo(The Feather Robe)

A fisherman at Miho Bay (Shizuoka Prefecture) notices a beautiful robe hanging from the branch of a pine tree and he decides to take it home. Then, a celestial maiden appears and claims the robe is hers. Without it she cannot return to her home in the heavens. The fisherman says that if she performs a dance for which celestial beings are famed, he will return it. The maiden cannot dance without it, but the fisherman fears that if he returns it she will fly away, but the maiden reproaches him, saying , “Doubt belongs to humans; in the heavens there is no deceit.” Ashamed of his suspicion, the fisherman promptly returns the robe. The maiden dons the robe and performs a dance describing the mysterious beauty of the moon, where she resides. As a gesture of gratitude she bestows treasures upon earth, then gradually rises into the sky, circling higher and higher before disappearing into the mist over Mt. Fuji. Hagoromo is a play appreciated for the elegant dance depicting the mythical scenes from the celestial maiden’s legends and has traditionally been performed for celebratory occasions.

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