Kiyotsune

Kiyotsune may also refer to Taira no Kiyotsune or Torii Kiyotsune.
  • Author: Zeami
  • Japanese: 清経 (Kiyotsune)

Kiyotsune is a Noh play of the second category (warrior plays), by Zeami Motokiyo. It features the ghost of Taira no Kiyotsune in the leading (shite) role. The late Kiyotsune appears, as a ghost, to his wife in Kyoto, and seeks to explain to her why he took his own life, jumping into the sea. The play ends with a lively warrior dance in which the ghost of Kiyotsune reenacts his eternal spiritual battle in purgatory.

References

  • Shelley Fenno Quinn, Developing Zeami, University of Hawaii Press (2005), 128.