Momijigari

紅葉狩 An Autumn Excursion

1 Source and/or Related Material

Unknown

2 Author

Kanze Nobumitsu

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A noblewoman (shite) comes with her attendants (tsure) to admire the gorgeous autumn colors in Shinano Province (Nagano). As they are settling in to view the maple leaves, Taira no Koremochi (waki) enters with his entourage. The woman invites Koremochi to join their party. After some hesitation, he joins them and eventually gets very drunk. As night approaches the woman and her attendants disappear. The God Hachiman (ai) enters with a sword. He is here to alert Koremochi of the impending danger. The Hachiman deity also reveals that Koremochi’s real intention in coming to the mountain is to exorcise a demon and the demon has disguised itself as a beautiful woman in order to kill Koremochi! The deity finds Koremochi, warns him, and gives him the sword he has brought. Koremochi wakes up the moment the demon (nochishite) reappears in its fearsome true form. They fight and Koremochi finally kills the demon.