The Heron Maiden

鷺娘

Sagi Musume

Characters

Heron Spirit

When an animal takes human form in Kabuki, it is usually presented first as a human and revealed only later to be an animal. In this play, however, the figure enters in a pure white kimono, looking like a bird; changes thereafter to a young girl; then transforms at the end back into a bird. It is not necessarily clear whether the character is a human or a bird.