Month: October 2024

Ghost of Tomoe: Lover and a Woman Samurai Warrior

Another ghost story from Noh plays

When a Buddhist monk from Kiso came across a field near Lake Biwa, he saw a woman crying in front of a little shrine.

When asked why she was crying, the woman told the monk that a famous samurai warrior Yoshinaka, also from Kiso, was enshrined there.  The woman asked the monk to pray for the spirit of Yoshinaka, and left.

That night, when the monk was praying for Yoshinaka, a woman warrior in a fighting attire appeared. 

“I’m Tomoe.  Yoshinaka’s lover as well as his vassal. Here Yoshinaka died on a battlefield.  I was ready to die with him as his lover, but couldn’t.”

“Yoshinaka was deeply wounded.  No hope to survive this battle.  Rather than enduring the shame of being caught by the enemy, it was time to end our lives ourselves, an ultimate way to preserve our honor as samurai warriors.    I was ready to die together with Yoshinaka.”

“But Yoshinaka wouldn’t permit me to die here.  He ordered me to leave him behind and return to our homeland Kiso.  If I refuse his order, Yoshinaka would deny me as his vassal for as long as the next three generations.  It would be the last thing a vassal could bear as a punishment by the master.  What other choice could I have…”

“As his vassal and a samurai warrior, I returned to the battlefield.”

And Tomoe was a fierce, mighty samurai warrior indeed.

She tricked the enemy by stumbling upon a rock in front of her.  When the enemy saw her losing balance and tried to attack her, Tomoe quickly thrust her Naginata (long-handled sword) into the enemy.  No enemies could move forward without falling down and being attacked by her.

“By the time I rushed back to Yoshinaka, he had already killed himself.    I took Yoshinaka’s robe and put it on, hid Yoshinaka’s small sword inside the robe, and fled back to Kiso.” 

Nobody knew what happened to Tomoe afterward.

“My spirit is still here.  I can’t get over the regret that I couldn’t die together with Yoshinaka.  Please pray for me, so that I can rest in peace…”

Kiso Yoshinaka (1154 – 1184) is a real figure in history.  Tomoe, on the other hand, appears only in The Tale of the Heike and Genpei Seisuiki.  Did she really exist?  We have no way of knowing. 

But we can be sure that many samurai warriors both in the Heike clan and the Genji clan must have had their own lovers who felt the same sorrow and regret like Tomoe.  To those spirits, please rest in peace. 

Halloween is coming up.  I haven’t figured out yet why, but there are a lot of ghost stories in Noh, a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century.  This month I would like to share with you some of my favorite ghost stories from the Noh plays.

How did you like this Tomoe’s story?

The Terracotta Walrus Faces Once Marvelled Now Look Like Ghosts

Can we no longer build things beautiful?

This unique 8-story building has been standing on the northwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Seattle for 118 years.

It was originally built as a home to the Arctic Club, a social institution formed by those men who returned to Seattle after “striking it rich” at Klondike Gold Rush.

It is unique because sculptured walrus heads are lined up on the third-floor exterior.

The tusks are long, the creature’s faces look real, and the intricate ornamental decorations are beautiful. “The building was one of the first in Seattle to use off-white terracotta panels over reinforced steel concrete frames as well as colored terracotta in submarine blue and ochre.” (The Arctic Club Hotel website)  When completed, people must have marveled the artistry of the building.    

Over a century later, what do we see?  Neighboring newer buildings are all much much taller, and have shining glass exterior walls, but none has such complex terracotta surfaces anymore. People focus on maximizing the profit of the buildings, asking how efficiently or how cost-effectively they can build it.  Not how beautiful it should be. 

Now these sculptured walrus faces look like ghosts – forgotten, abandoned by us human beings, in the name of progress. 

I wish not to call this progress…    

Ghost of Atsumori

Noh Plays are full of Ghosts

Photo:  “Ichi-no-Tani Battle Map Screen” held by Eisei Bunko, Noh Mask

Story of Noh Play “Atsumori” （敦盛）

Atsumori was only 16 years old when he was killed by Kumagai at the battlefield of Ichi no tani. 

It was not easy even for a fierce samurai worrier of Genji Clan like Kumagai to take the life of a young man who was about the same age as his own son.  Atsumori’s face was so beautiful, and he even had a slight makeup. 

Only after the war was over did Kumagai find out that the boy was Atsumori, Heike’s prominent family member, famous for his talent as a flute player. 

Kumagai, who renounced the world and became a Buddhist priest now called Rensei, was traveling through Ichi no Tani.  One day he heard the beautiful sound of a flute.  It turned out that one of the three grass-cutters was playing it. The guy asked Rensei to recite the prayer of Amitabha Buddha ten times.  To the suspicious Rensei, the guy hinted that he had some connection to Atsumori, and left.

That night, when Rensei was praying for the peace of Atsumori’s spirit, Atsumori’s ghost appeared in his battle attire.  Thanking Rensei for his kind gesture, Atsumori the ghost began dancing, depicting his last day, the battle with Kumagai (now Rensei), and how he had fallen.

After the dance, Atsumori’s ghost addressed Rensei as his close friend, not an enemy, asked Rensei to pray for his soul, and disappeared…

Both Atsumori (Taira no Atsumori 平敦盛 1169 – 1184) and Kumagai (Kumagai Jiro Naozane 熊谷次郎直実 1141 – 1207) are real historical figures.  The battle of Ichi no tani also really happened, and is one of the most famous that is depicted in the Tale of Heike. 

In junior high, the excerpt of this battle was included in our textbook as “Atsumori no Saigo” (The Last Moment of Atsumori).  I used to hate reading classic Japanese because it was so different from the modern spoken Japanese and painfully difficult to understand.  But somehow this tragic story resonated with me, and I can still recite the phrase “Naku naku kubiwo zo kaiten geru (with tears (he) cut the neck). 

Resurrecting Atsumori as a ghost, the playwright Zeami Motokiyo (1363 – 1443) took up this tragedy and turned it to a beautiful Noh play of friendship.  Even though the character is no longer alive and it’s only a play,  I’m somewhat relieved that Kumagai and Atsumori were able to forgo their hatred and make peace with each other. 

Halloween is coming up this year.  I haven’t figured out yet why, but there are a lot of ghost stories in Noh, a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century.  This month would like to share with you some of my favorite ghost stories from the Noh plays.

How did you like this Atsumori story?

Enjoy Present Moment

Before all the lives fade

Today I made an ikebana flower arrangement using whatever is left in my tiny backyard.

Sedum… The cluster of pink flowers is at its peak, enjoying the full attention.  In a month or so the cheerful pink will all turn to dull brown.

Lacy hydrangea… The once blue petals are now curled down, showing their backside.  The color once faded away to dull off-white and now has resurrected to dark pink.  Thick leave are still full vivid green.  In a month or so, both flowers and leaves will be shed.

A long lilac branch… Named as “Miss Kim,” this dwarf lilac blooms slightly pinkish flowers in the spring.  Today, all it has are leaves turning the color of almost deep purple.  In a month or so, the leaves will all fall to the ground.

Some are enjoying their youth, some are dwindling, and Some are barely alive.  Which one resembles me?  Definitely not the first.  I must be between the second and the third. 

This arrangement has made me melancholy.  It makes me realize that my time left is limited.  Cherish this moment.