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*''Japanese'': 関の戸 ''(seki no to)''
*''Japanese'': 関の戸 ''(seki no to)''
''Seki no to'' (lit. "Gate at the Barrier"), also known by its fuller name, ''Tsumoru Koi Yuki no Seki no To'', is a [[kabuki]] dance-drama (''[[shosagoto]]'') featuring 9th century poets [[Henjo|Henjô]] and his political rival [[Otomo no Kuronushi|Ôtomo no Kuronushi]]. It was originally the second half of a play entitled ''Jûnihitoe Komachi Zakura'', which fell out of the repertoire for nearly 200 years, only being revived in 1987, with a new script. Today, only the conclusion of ''Seki no to'', one of the most famous pieces of the ''[[tokiwazu]]'' genre, remains in the active repertoire.
''Seki no to'' (lit. "Gate at the Barrier"), also known by its fuller name, ''Tsumoru Koi Yuki no Seki no To'', is a [[kabuki]] dance-drama (''[[shosagoto]]'') featuring 9th century poets [[Henjo|Henjô]]<!--aka Yoshimine no Munesada--> and his political rival [[Otomo no Kuronushi|Ôtomo no Kuronushi]]. It was originally the second half of a play entitled ''Jûnihitoe Komachi Zakura'', which fell out of the repertoire for nearly 200 years, only being revived in 1987, with a new script. Today, only the conclusion of ''Seki no to'', one of the most famous pieces of the ''[[tokiwazu]]'' genre, remains in the active repertoire.
As is quite typical of the ''tokiwazu'' genre, the play emphasizes the rough masculine (''yabo'') character of Sekibei, who gets drunk and belches, and the "coquettish but devious" personality of the tree spirit.<ref>Tokita. p254.</ref>
As is quite typical of the ''tokiwazu'' genre, the play emphasizes the rough masculine (''yabo'') character of Sekibei, who gets drunk and belches, and the "coquettish but devious" personality of the tree spirit.<ref>Tokita. p254.</ref>
==Plot==
==Plot==
The play takes place in the 9th century, at a mountain retreat near the Ôsakayama [[sekisho|barrier checkpoint]] that Henjô has come to visit. Meanwhile, Ôtomo no Kuronushi has disguised himself as Sekibei, the checkpoint guard. The spirit of a black cherry tree manifests in the guise of a [[courtesan]] and seeks to exact revenge against Sekibei for some slight, in a scene reminiscent of an [[Edo period]] scene of a courtesan and her client.
The play takes place in the 9th century, at a mountain retreat near the Ôsakayama [[sekisho|barrier checkpoint]] that Henjô has come to visit. Meanwhile, Ôtomo no Kuronushi has disguised himself as Sekibei, the checkpoint guard. The spirit of a black cherry tree manifests in the guise of a [[courtesan]] and seeks to exact revenge against Sekibei for some slight, in a scene reminiscent of an [[Edo period]] scene of a courtesan and her client.
The fuller play from which ''Seki no to'' derives, ''Jûnihitoe Komachi zakura'', premiered at the [[Kiri-za]] in [[Edo]] in [[1784]]. The plot draws upon the historical [[Jowa Incident|Jôwa Incident]] of [[842]], in which a group of courtiers failed in a scheme to overthrow the emperor; but the play inserts several of the [[Rokkasen]] ("Six Poetry Immortals") into the story: the bishop Henjô, Ôtomo no Kuronushi, and [[Ono no Komachi]]. Two romantic pairings, between Henjô and Komachi, and between Henjô's brother [[Yoshimine no Yasusada]] and the [[courtesan]] Sumizome, feature in the play, with Ôtomo as the villain. Like other ''[[kaomise]]'' plays of its time, ''Jûnihitoe'' was pulled together from elements of a number of other plays, and was intended to only be performed for one run, not to be entered into the repertoire to be performed again. It was co-written by [[Segawa Joko|Segawa Jokô]] and a group of others, including Takarada Jurai (lyrics), Tobaya Richô I (music), and Nishikawa Senzô II (choreography).
==References==
==References==
*McQueen Tokita, Alison. "Music in kabuki: more than meets the eye." ''The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music''. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. pp254-255.
*Timothy Clark, "Edo Kabuki in the 1780s," ''The Actor's Image'', Art Institute of Chicago (1994), 36.
*Alison McQueen Tokita. "Music in kabuki: more than meets the eye." ''The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music''. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. pp254-255.
*"[http://www.kabuki21.com/seki_no_to.php Seki no To]." Kabuki21.com.
*"[http://www.kabuki21.com/seki_no_to.php Seki no To]." Kabuki21.com.
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