Taihē Shōjō

大瓶猩々 The Orangutans and the Great Wine Jar

1 Source and/or Related Material

Unknown, story attested in a commentary on the writing primer Teikin ōrai

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze

4 Synopsis

In ancient China, there once was a man called Gaofeng who lived at the base of Mt. Jinshan, and he ran a drinking stall in the market of Yangzi. Lately, a group of callow youths have been frequenting his bar, and one day one one of the youths (maeshite) appears out of the open sea and comes for a drink. The youth explains that he is a kind of sprite called the Orangutan (Ch. Xingxing, J. Shōjō), who lives in the waters of the Xunyang estuary, that Gaofeng has been favored by the Gods for his great filial piety, and that he will give Gaofeng a magical wine jar that never runs dry. The red-faced Orangutan then disappears into the crowd. The water God of the estuary (ai) says more about the Orangutan, then announces his imminent arrival. Two of the Orangutan’s red-faced companions (tsure) emerge from the sea and call the others to join them for a drink. The chief Orangutan (nochishite) appears in his true form, together with two or three more Orangutans (tsure). They open the lid of a large jar, out of which wine flows endlessly. The Orangutans dance merrily and present the jar to Gaofeng, filling the cups of all present with a great big wine dipper and praising the present Sovereign.