Uneme

采女 The Lady-in-Waiting

1 Source and/or Related Material

Bishamondōbon commentary on Kokinshū; some lyrics the same as “Tobuhi” in Zeami’s Five Types of Singing

2 Author

Zeami

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A traveling monk (waki) and his companions (wakitsure) are on their way back to Nara after a pilgrimage to the capital, when they meet a mysterious woman (shite) planting trees on the road to Kasuga Shrine. She tells them about the history of Kasuga, including episodes such as the relocation of the shrine’s God and how trees planted by the Fujiwara clan grew into the deep forest on Mt. Kasuga. She also compares Kasuga Plain to Amida’s Pure Land, then the woman shows them around Sarusawa Pond and tells the story of a court lady who drowned herself here. Finally, she reveals that she is this lady and disappears into the waters of the pond. A local man (ai) comes to tell the monks more. The monks begin chanting sutras for her, and she reappears in her true form (nochishite). She performs a dance depicting the poetry-writing gatherings of long ago and, asking for more memorials, disappears once more into the pond.