Shōjō

猩々 The Tippling Elf

1 Source and/or Related Material

Unknown, story attested in a commentary on the writing primer Teikin ōrai

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A man of great filial piety named Gaofeng (waki) lives in the village of Yangzi (Jiangxi) in China. Once, he had a dream that he would become wealthy if he opened a drinking stall in the market, so he did, to great success. Gaofeng has one mysterious customer who comes to his stall every day and whose face does not change color no matter how much he drinks. He asks the customer his name, and he replies that he is a kind of sprite called the Orangutan (Ch. Xingxing, J. Shōjō), who lives in the sea. That night, Gaofeng goes down to the Xunyang delta to look for the Orangutan, and he appears in his true form (shite), drinking and dancing. He gives Gaofeng a magic wine jar that never runs dry.