Yūgao

夕顔 Evening Faces

1 Source and/or Related Material

“Yugao,” Tale of Genji; related commentaries

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A traveling monk (waki) from Bungo Province visits the capital with his subordinates (wakitsure) and pass by a dilapidated house near Fifth Avenue, where they hear a voice reciting poetry. The singer then emerges, and she (maeshite) reminisces about the past depicted in the Tale of Genji. The woman tells the monks that this place is the mansion in which Prince Genji met Lady Yūgao, and then Yūgao suddenly died. Dropping hints that she herself is Lady Yūgao, she vanishes. A man from the capital (ai) comes to tell the story in plain speech, then recommends the monks pray for Yūgao. The monks chant the Lotus Sutra, and as night falls, Yūgao (nochishite) appears in her true form, telling how her delusions arise from her love for Genji and from the trauma of being murdered by a jealous spirit, and she begs for more prayers. She dances a beautiful dance, rejoices in her attainment of buddhahood through the monks’ prayers, and then fades into the clouds at dawn.