Seiōbo

西王母 The Queen Mother of the West

1 Source and/or Related Material

“Hanwu nei zhuan”, “Kara monogatari”, etc

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

In ancient China, a courtier (ai) comes to announce that there will be a party at the palace, and the public is invited. The Sovereign (waki) appears at the palace with his retainers (wakitsure) and celebrates the peace and prosperity of his reign. Just then, a Daoist priestess (maeshite) appears with her handmaiden (maetsure). The priestess presents the Sovereign with a peach from a tree from the garden of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) which bears fruit only once every three thousand years. Finally, the priestess reveals that she is the Queen Mother herself and ascends to heaven, promising to return. The courtier explains to the Sovereign that the peach will grant perpetual youth and longevity. The king sets the orchestra playing and throws a feast, and sure enough, Queen Mother of the West (nochishite) and her handmaiden (nochitsure) appear in their true forms. They present numberless gifts, including more peaches, to the Sovereign, perform a dance, then return to the land of Daoist immortals.