Matsura (no Kagami)

松浦（鏡） Princess Sayo of Matsura

1 Source and/or Related Material

Volume 5 of the Manyōshū

2 Author

Zeami

3 Repertoire

Kanze

4 Synopsis

A priest (waki) traveling with his companions (wakitsure) arrives at Matsura Bay in Hizen Province (Saga), where the group meets a fisherwoman (maeshite). She tells them about the famous locations around Matsura Bay, then of the ill-fated love between Sadehiko and Sayohime. The fisherwoman asks the priest for his vestments, then hints that she is the spirit of Sayohime before disappearing. A local man (ai) arrives and retells the legend of Sayohime. The priest chants sutras for Sayohime, and Sayohime’s spirit (nochishite) appears holding a mirror. She tells how she tearfully saw off Sadehiko as his boat departed for China. Filled with yearning, Sayohime clutched a mirror Sadehiko had given her as a keepsake and drowned herself. As her story ends, dawn begins to break and Sayohime’s spirit fades away.