Nomori

野守 The Ranger on the Plain

1 Source and/or Related Material

Ōgishō, Shūchūshō, etc

2 Author

Zeami

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A mountain ascetic (waki) from Mt. Haguro in wild northeastern Dewa Province sets out on a journey to train at Mt. Ōmine and Mt. Katsuragi in Yamato Province (Nara). Along the way, he stops by a mysterious pond on Kasuga Plain at the foot of Mt. Kasuga in Nara, and he meets an old field ranger (maeshite) guarding against poachers. The ranger says that this pond is known as the ranger’s mirror, because its waters are all a ranger has to see his own reflection, and moreover that the pond is only a manifestation of a magic mirror owned by a fierce demon who watches over these parts, appearing as a ranger in the daytime and only showing his true form at night. Promising to show the ascetic the real Ranger’s Mirror, the old man suddenly disappears into a nearby mound. A villager (ai) appears and repeats the story in plain speech. The ascetic prays in front of the mound, and suddenly the guardian demon (nochishite) appears, magic mirror in hand. In the mirror, he shows the ascetic all the various worlds from heaven on down to hell, and then with a great stomp on the ground he breaks open the earth’s surface and goes away back to hell.