Rashōmon (羅生門) is a Noh play by Kanze Nobumitsu ( c. 1420). [1] [2] Like other celebrated dramas such as the Maodori-hasi and Ibaraki, it is based on the legend of Watanabe no Tsuna and the demon of Rashōmon. [3]
The play is set in the context of the final phase of the Heian period, leading up to the rise of rule by the military (by samurai warriors like Tsuna). [4]
The title is a pun, [5] which involves the Rajōmon (羅城門) outer castle gate but Kanze changed it by using the kanji shō for "life" rather than the original jō for "castle" [6] [7] (note that 羅城門 was originally read raseimon and 生 can also be read as sei). It is one of the few Noh plays where the supporting waki (脇) rather than the normally leading shite (仕手) dominates the action. [8] It is suggested that this can be attributed to the fact that Nobumitsu used to play waki roles when he was an actor. [9] The shite character in this play only makes an appearance at the end and has no dialogue. [9]
Rashōmon is also a play which follows characters from one venue to another. Act 1 takes place in the dining hall of a general, but in Act 2 the waki character, Tsuna, climbs the Rasho Gate to determine the truth of a story that a demon resides on the gate top. [10]
Kikaku wrote a haiku based on the play: “Tsuna now is leaving/ Tsuna is on every tongue - / On a rainy night. [11]
This, with the play itself, was used as the basis for a painting by Gekkei ( Matsumura Goshun). [12]
Rashōmon (羅生門) is a Noh play by Kanze Nobumitsu ( c. 1420). [1] [2] Like other celebrated dramas such as the Maodori-hasi and Ibaraki, it is based on the legend of Watanabe no Tsuna and the demon of Rashōmon. [3]
The play is set in the context of the final phase of the Heian period, leading up to the rise of rule by the military (by samurai warriors like Tsuna). [4]
The title is a pun, [5] which involves the Rajōmon (羅城門) outer castle gate but Kanze changed it by using the kanji shō for "life" rather than the original jō for "castle" [6] [7] (note that 羅城門 was originally read raseimon and 生 can also be read as sei). It is one of the few Noh plays where the supporting waki (脇) rather than the normally leading shite (仕手) dominates the action. [8] It is suggested that this can be attributed to the fact that Nobumitsu used to play waki roles when he was an actor. [9] The shite character in this play only makes an appearance at the end and has no dialogue. [9]
Rashōmon is also a play which follows characters from one venue to another. Act 1 takes place in the dining hall of a general, but in Act 2 the waki character, Tsuna, climbs the Rasho Gate to determine the truth of a story that a demon resides on the gate top. [10]
Kikaku wrote a haiku based on the play: “Tsuna now is leaving/ Tsuna is on every tongue - / On a rainy night. [11]
This, with the play itself, was used as the basis for a painting by Gekkei ( Matsumura Goshun). [12]