Yugao Explained

Yugao is a Noh play, sometimes attributed to Zeami, based on the story of Yūgao (Lady Moonflower) from the Tale of Genji.

Plot

A travelling priest is drawn to the decayed villa where Yūgao had died.^[1] There he is told by a transient figure of the tragic love of Yūgao and Prince Genji, the poetic imagery stressing both the ephemerality of love, and her humble status compared to the Shining Prince.^[2]

In the second part of the play, the figure reappears, identified as the ghost of Yūgao, asking for sympathy, and for prayers of release from her persisting attachment to the love-affair.^[3]

Influence and Performance history

• Kenneth Rexroth wrote a monologic poem Yugao, based in part upon the Noh play.^[4]
• The play was performed as late as 2022, by the Kito School of Noh.^[5]

See also

• Hajitomi/Hashimoti
• Kōguo Tsukuoka
• Renga

Notes and References

1. J Goff, Noh Drama and the Art of Allusion (Princeton 2014) p. 105
2. J Goff, Noh Drama and the Art of Allusion (Princeton 2014) p.71 and p 103
3. Goff, J. E. (1982). The Tale of Genji as a Source of the Nō: Yūgao and Hajitomi. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 42(1), 177–229. https://doi.org/10.2307/2719124p. 197 and p. 202-3
4. http://themargins.net/bib/C/ca/ca13.ht Rexroth
5. Regular Performance | Japan Arts Council (jac.go.jp) Japan Arts Council