Dōmyōji

道明寺 The Dōmyōji Temple

1 Source and/or Related Material

medieval tales relating to Sugawara no Michizane

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

The monks Sonjō (waki) of Sagami Province has a dream in which Amida Buddha tells him to travel to Dōmyōji Temple in Kawachi (present-day Osaka) with some fellow monks (wakitsure). There, the party meets an old temple caretaker (maeshite) and a young man (maetsure). Sonjō tells the old man about his dream, in which he learned that the famous ancient scholar Sugawara no Michizane had transcribed a sutra onto a scroll which was buried at Dōmyōji Temple. From this scroll, a soapberry tree sprouted and grew berries which, if made into a rosary and used to accompany the chanting of the nenbutsu, could grant eternal life. The old man leads Sonjō to the soapberry tree and says that Amida Buddha and Tenjin (Michizane’s posthumous, deified form) are of the same essence. He also relates that, when Michizane was exiled to Dazaifu in the West, he left traces of himself at this temple in the form of various treasures. The old man promises Sonjō the berries and reveals that he is the god Shiratayū, a servant of Tenjin, and then he vanishes. The god of a lesser shrine (ai) appears and tells of the history of Dōmyōji Temple. A heavenly maiden (nochitsure) appears and dances. Lit by moonbeams and torchlight, Shiratayū (nochishite) arrives. The heavenly maiden asks him to play the clappers to accompany her. Shiratayū dances and praises the imperial reign, grants Sonjō the berries, and disappears.