Taisan Pukun

泰山府君 The God of Mt. Tai

1 Source and/or Related Material

“Kiyomori’s Daughter,” Gempei jōsuiki book 2

2 Author

Zeami

3 Repertoire

Kongō

4 Synopsis

Lamenting the falling of the cherry blossoms and wishing they would stay in bloom longer, Sakuramachi no Chūnagon (waki) holds a festival for the Daoist God of Mt. Tai, the Sacred Mountain of the East (J. Taisanpukun, Ch. Dongyue Dadi). A heavenly maiden (maeshite) appears and praises the scenery, then, lamenting that the blossoms will be scattered after just seven days, she breaks off a branch to take back with her to the heavens. Hearing the branch break but unable to see the thief, the gardener (ai) surmises that it must have been taken by a heavenly being. The gardener decides to have more prayers offered to the God of Mt. Tai, and sure enough, he himself (nochishite) appears and rebukes the heavenly maiden (nochitsure) for her transgression, and she laments the withering of her beloved blossoms. Aided by the power of numerous other Gods, the God of Mt. Tai uses his powers to keep the flowers in bloom for twenty-one days.