Matsumushi

松虫 Pine Crickets

1 Source and/or Related Material

Kokinshū

2 Author

perhaps Komparu Zenchiku

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A man (maeshite) and his companions (maetsure) visit a merchant (waki) who sells alcohol in Abeno (Osaka). The man confesses that the sound of pine crickets reminds him of an old friend. The merchant asks why, and the man tells the story. Once upon a time, there were two best friends in this area. One night, one of them was attracted by the sound of the pine crickets and marched out into the grass field, but he didn’t come back. When the other man went to check on him, he found him already dead in the grass. Now the man reveals that he is the man who lost his friend in the story, and then disappears. Hearing the story of the two friends again from a local man (ai), the merchant holds a memorial service. After a while the ghost of the man (nochitsure) appears, performs a dance of nostalgia for his lost friend, and disappears with the break of dawn.