Michimori

通盛 Michimori

1 Source and/or Related Material

Tale of the Heike book 9, Genpei jōsuiki

2 Author

Seiami, revised by Zeami

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A monk (waki) is doing ascetic practices for the summer in Naruto, Awa Province (Tokushima). One night, he goes to the seashore and chants a sutra to console the spirits of the Heike clan. Just then, a boat appears with an old fisherman (maeshite) and a woman (maetsure) aboard. They row toward the monk and ask to listen to his chanting. The light of their lantern makes his reading easier. He asks the elderly couple about those who died in this bay during the war, and they tell a story about Kozaishō no Tsubone, the wife of Michimori, who drowned herself in the sea after hearing that her husband was killed. The two then vanish into the waves. Hearing the story of the bay again from a villager (ai), the monk chants a sutra for the tragic pair, and sure enough, the ghosts of Michimori (nochishite) and Kozaishō no Tsubone (nochitsure) appear and describe scenes from the battle. They thank the monk for helping them attain enlightenment, then disappear.