Chōbuku Soga

調伏曽我 The Soga Ritual Curse

1 Source and/or Related Material

The Tales of the Soga Brothers 4

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Hōshō, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

Minamoto no Yoritomo (tsure) and his vassals (tsure, tachishū) visit Hakone Temple (in present-day Kanagawa), where the younger of the Soga brothers, Hako’ō (kokata), is being raised as an acolyte. Young Hako’ō learns that Kudō Suketsune (maeshite), the man who killed his father, is among them. Suketsune calls Hako’ō over and defends himself, overwhelming the boy with dazzling rhetoric arguing that he was not at fault in the death of the boy’s father. Hako’ō, ashamed at losing the argument, tries to follow Suketsune and take his revenge or die trying, but his master the monk holds him back. Instead, the monk declares that he will put a curse on Suketsune. A temple servant (ai) prepares a sacrificial altar with a picture of the enemy. The monks (waki, wakitsure) pray while burning small pieces of holy wood, and the God Fudō Myōō (nochishite) appears. With a sharp sword he cuts off the image’s head, thus foretelling the success of Hakuō’s vendetta.