Sōshi-arai (Komachi)

草子洗（小町） Komachi Washes The Page

1 Source and/or Related Material

Unknown

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

The day before a poetry competition, Ōtomo no Kuronushi (waki) and his servant (ai) sneak into the mansion of his poetic rival, the court lady Ono no Komachi (shite), and eavesdrops on her as she composes poetry. On the day of a poetic competition, the Emperor (kokata), Komachi, Kuronushi, Ki no Tsurayuki (tsure), Mibu no Tadamine (tsure), and Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (tsure) gather at the Palace, with some court ladies (tsure) also in attendance. The competition begins, and Ki no Tsurayuki reads Komachi’s poem. Kuronushi claims that this poem is plagiarized from an anonymous author in the Man’yōshū anthology, producing a copy of the Man’yōshū containing the same poem. Realizing that Kuronushi copied her poem into the book to sabotage her, Komachi splashes water onto the page, causing Kuronushi’s fresh inscription to wash away, while the real poems of the Man’yōshū remain. The disgraced Kuronushi tries to kill himself, but the Emperor stops him. Komachi performs a victory dance.