Kabuki Plus
Tamate Gozen’s face cover
There are several costume variations for Tamate Gozen in her initial appearance on the hanamichi, such as a torn right sleeve or the cloth covering her head. Nakamura Utaemon VI said in an interview that he follows his father’s method and wears a torn right sleeve on the head. Certainly in such case, the red color of the under-kimono revealed in the darkness by the removal of the sleeve would suggest her youth and, being a symbol of love in Japan, symbolizes her deep feeling for her stepson. This was used by two major actors in the post-war era, Utaemon VI and Onoe Baiko VII.
What is true love?
notable!The script describes Tamate Gozen as 19 or 20, while her husband, Lord Takayasu, is her father’s age. In contrast, her stepson Shuntokumaru is only slightly younger or around the same age. She may very well have fancied him when she was serving as a maid. In the end, it was revealed that the love affair was a fake, but the noted actor Baiko VII has said that he believes the character was really in love.
Kudoki
“Kudoki” are scenes when female-role specialists passionately reveal their feelings. They are often performed to the music of a shamisen but are never danced. Tamate Gozen has two kudoki scenes, the first to her father to reveal her emotion for her stepson and the other to the stepson himself. The climactic moment of such scenes is known as “sawari”.
Teoi
A general term of acting when wounded characters experience severe pain. In this play, Tamate Gozen is stabbed in the stomach by her father and makes her confession with her dying breath.
Modori
The confession by the wounded Tamate Gozen is known as “modori” (return), meaning a return to her true character. In this scene, the stepmother thought to be immoral turns out to be acting in order to rescue her stepson. Other famous examples of modori include Gonta in “The Sushi Shop” scene of Yoshitsune Senbonzakura and Seno Juro in the “Sanemori Story” scene of Genpei Nunobiki no Taki.
Full-length performance
Most Kabuki plays seen today are extracts from longer plays that have been refined over the years. This piece is also one scene from an extended play. The full-length show is now performed frequently since its revival by Onoe Baiko VII in 1968. This includes scenes at Sumiyoshi Shrine where Tamate Gozen poisons her stepson, the Takayasu household and its internal struggles, and Mandai Pond at Tennoji Temple. These incidents more fully explain the story up to the famous scene at Gappo’s lodgings.
Shuntokumaru and enlightenment at Shitennnoji Temple
notable!In the Noh play Yoroboshi (The Blind Monk), Shuntokumaru has been thrown out of the Takayasu household due to malicious rumors and becomes a blind beggar. He reaches enlightenment at the west gate of Tennoji (or Shitennnoji) Temple through sun worship and reunites with his father. There is also a well-known morality tale “Shuntokumaru” in which the protagonist is stricken with leprosy due a curse from his stepmother and abandoned at Shitennoji Temple. From ancient times, the west gate of Shitennoji Temple was believed to have faced the east gate of the pure land, and practitioners today still worship the sunset in the direct west for enlightenment in the spring and autumn equinoxes. Near the west gate is Gappo ga Tsuji (Gappo intersection), near which the Emmado Temple (built in this story by Gappo Doshin) still stands today.
