Prayer Service for Genji (Genji Kuyo / 源氏供養)

Author of a classic fiction requests prayer service for her novel

Program: Sakai Domonkai #205
Date: March 15, 2016
Venue: Hosho Noh Theater (Tokyo, Japan)

Story

Ishiyama Temple is famous for beautiful flowers
and cherry blossoms.

A monk and his two followers are traveling from Kyoto to Ishiyama Temple in Shiga Prefecture and enjoying the scenic route, when they are stopped by a village woman.  The woman, who is actually the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu (author of classic novel The Tale of Genji) in disguise, explains to the monk that Shikibu's soul is suffering in purgatory because she did not offer prayer service for Hikaru Genji, the main character of her novel.  The woman asks the monk if he can offer a prayer service for Genji, so that Shikibu can reach Nirvana and rest in peace.

The monk is skeptical if the woman's story is true.  When he reaches Ishiyama Temple, the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu returns as herself.  Convinced that she is telling the truth, the monk starts praying for Genji and Shikibu.  The ghost of Shikibu thanks the monk and asks how she can repay for the prayer service.  The monk says there is no such need, and asks if she can perform a dance.  Shikibu dances to a chant with lyrics featuring elements from her novel.  She also hands the monk a scroll on which she wrote the novel, and asks for Lotus Sutra to be scripted on the back of the scroll as memorial service for Genji.  In the end, it is revealed that Murasaki Shikibu is the Guanyin (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) guarding the Ishiyama Temple, and that she wrote The Tale of Genji to convey the transience and fragility of earthly life.

My Comments

Ishiyama Temple is known today as the place where Murasaki Shikibu started writing her famous classic novel The Tale of Genji, on which many popular Noh plays are based.  I found it quite strange that a prayer service is necessary for Hikaru Genji, a fictional character, and that otherwise the author would suffer in hell.  According to resources on the internet, in the ancient times, writing fictional novel was considered sinful and against Buddhist teachings, because fictions are untruthful and exaggerated.

Stone pagodas and mountain
azaleas at Ishiyama Temple

In the lobby of the theater, they were handing out sheets of the play's transcript.  So most people in the audience were reading the transcript as they followed the play.  Unfortunately, they ran out before I got hold of a copy, so I was unable to follow the dialogue.  Without understanding the words, the first half of the play was a bit slow, since it consisted mainly of dialogues.

In the second half of the play, Shite returns on stage as the ghost of Murasaki Shikibu (no longer in disguise) wearing a beautiful kimono.  I loved the kimono she was wearing.  The second half was much more intriguing, as Murasaki Shikibu performed a dance to thank the monk for his prayer service.  The dance was very elegant and beautiful, and the play ended on a positive note that she can finally rest in peace.

Noh dances are subdued and serene, and deeply expressive.  I enjoy watching the dances, because I do not need to understand the lyrics in order to appreciate the expressiveness of the dances.  Still, I would have gotten more out of the play had I understood the transcript, since the chants were also very beautiful.  Apparently, the lyrics to the final dance song featured word play on the volume titles of the Genji novel, and hence the song was the highlight of this play, but obviously I did not get it :P  Still enjoyed watching the dance very much!

Photos courtesy of http://blue-wind.net