Aisomegawa

藍染川 The Indigo-Dyed River

1 Source and/or Related Material

Buddhist liturgical text “Nijūgo zanmai shiki”

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Komparu

4 Synopsis

A woman (maeshite) from the capital visits Tsukushi (Kyushu) accompanied by her child, Umechiyo (kokata). The boy is the son between her and the Shrine Priest of Dazaifu (Fukuoka ) who once stayed in the capital. From the inn, where she is spending the night, the woman delivers a letter to the priest, but his jealous wife (ai) reads it. She writes a reply pretending to be her absent husband, saying that mother and child must be driven away immediately. Disappointed by the man’s reaction, the woman drowns herself in the Aizome River. When the priest (waki), stricken with grief, prays for her, the god Tenman Tenjin (nochishite) appears and brings the woman back from the dead.