Modes of Reception (Watson) 1

Note: Electronic version as of 2000.10.14. The printed version of this paper was published inInternational and Regional Studies [Kokusaigaku kenkyû (Meiji Gakuin University)], No. 16 (March,
1997), pp. 275-303. This electronic version may be cited provided that the original publication data isgiven. In references to or quotations from this document, please add reference to the following url:
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~watson/heike/kogo.html
In preparing this electronic version, a number of errors have been corrected and other minor changes havebeen made. All Japanese characters have been omitted, and the circumflex has been substituted for themacron in romanized words such as Kogô. The original version contains a full romanization of theJapanese text facing the translation. This has been omitted here.

Modes of Reception:
Heike monogatari and the Nô play Kogô
Michael Watson
The present paper is part of a study of the Heike monogatari (Tale ofthe Heike) and its reception.1 “Reception” is here defined in broad terms toinclude all types of appreciation and understanding, from the time the work
was first read or heard up to the present. The reception history of the Heike
monogatari for which we have written evidence will include all the variant
versions of the narrative as well as works written about it or inspired by it.
The numerous variant versions of the Heike monogatari are theproduct of productive reception by readers turned writers.2 From the1

I would like to thank my utai teacher, Murayama Saburô of the Kanze school of nô,
who taught me to sing Kogô in 1994. My interest in the Heike episode “Kogô” and its
visual reception was first stimulated by conversations with Barbara Ford of theMetropolitan Gallery of Art, New York. I also wish to express my appreciation here fortwo grants which materially aided this research project: (1) grants over the three-year
period from 1993 as part of a joint project of the Institute of International Studies, Meiji
Gakuin, to investigate the reception of classical literary works into the visual arts, and(2) a Meiji Gakuin University junior faculty research grant in 1994-5 to study thereception of Heike monogatari into drama, especially yôkyoku.
2
I owe the concept of readers becoming writers to Sakurai Yôko, in her studies of theeditorial work by what she refers to as dokusha kyôjusha (Sakurai 1996, 41). See“Works Cited” for full bibliographical references and list of abbreviations.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 2

Muromachi period onwards there survive hand-written commentaries
which were circulated in printed form during the Edo period Apart fromthese versions of the story as a whole, there survive numerous texts basedon individual episodes or characters from the work. These texts represent a
number of literary and dramatic genres for reading, for recitation, and for
dramatic performance. Incidents or characters from the Heike are the basisof works in the repertoire of the major dramatic forms in pre-modern
Japan: nô, kôwakamai, jôruri and kabuki. There is even at least one play inthe comic genre of kyôgen.
The second half of this paper consists of a translation of the nô playKogô, which is based on part of the section “Kogô” in book 6 of the Heike
monogatari. Many words and phrases from the narrative work have beenborrowed by the presumed playwright, Konparu Zenchiku (1405-?), who
also added poetic quotations from the imperial anthologies and Genjimonogatari, and references to famous incidents in Chinese history thatwere seen as analogous. A number of different kinds of reception are thus
present in the same work, the intertextual allusions adding a complex
counterpoint to the simple incidents in the plot.
Some further comments about the play and its relation to the Heikestory will be given below, but a full analysis of the reception of the Kogô
story will not be attempted here. Instead, in view of the interdisciplinary
scope of this journal and the nature of this special issue, it seems more
appropriate to begin by discussing the theoretical background to this kindof reception study. I shall explain in more detail what is meant here by theterm “reception” and how it can be applied to Heike studies, and then lookat an example from Kogô.
The history of the term “reception” in English
In the long entry for “reception” in the 1982 supplement to the Oxford
English Dictionary, there is no trace of the specific meaning it now has astechnical term in literary theory. As a loan-translation from the German
Rezeption, “reception” could be said to have entered the language ofModes of Reception (Watson) 3

Anglo-American criticism with the publication of an important collectionof essays by Hans Robert Jauss (1982). The key theoretical writings by
Jauss and other German theorists date from the late 1960’s (for a survey
with annotated bibliography see Holub 1984).
Even though some usages of the term have not yet become fullnaturalized to the English ear, the word “reception” qualified by adjectives
such as “favourable” has been used since the seventeenth century to mean
the “kind or manner of reception” of people or ideas (OED, “reception” 5a,5b). Almost half a century ago, for example, a literary historian writes of
the “Victorian reception of foreign contemporaneous literature”, describing
English reactions to Balzac, Zola and Ibsen varying from “friendly
tolerance” and “warm approval” to “viturperation” and “indignation”(Litzenberg 1950, 192).
The phrase “foreign contemporaneous” illustrates another aspect of theolder concept of reception: formerly the word tended to be used most often
when there is some form of gap--temporal, geographical or cultural-between subject and object. In Litzenberg’s example, they are separated bylanguage and culture, though not time. The term reception is frequently
used when all three elements differ, such as with the reception of Dante inEngland or Shakespeare in Japan. Subject and object need not necessarily
be reader and author (text). Classicism, Orientalism and Medievalism are inthis sense also complex forms of reception.
However there is no reason, per se, why “reception” should be
restricted to cases where subject and object are separated by time,
geography, language or culture. If one can talk of the cool reception given
to a new play or novel, then it is possible to study both its reception at thetime of publication and its reception over time. Reception history will takeas its object both plays and playwrights, novels or novelists, as well as allother literary categories. There always exists a gap between writer andaudience, even when they share the same cultural time and space. The
problems of reception merely become more pronounced as the distance
between them widens.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 4

How the Western literary term “reception” as defined by Jauss stands
in relation to the terms juyô and kyôju widely used by Japanese literary
historians remains the subject of further investigation, but it seems likelythat while the terms overlap in meaning and usage, they are not completelysynonymous.
Types of reception
In the broad sense in which I propose to use the term, reception in thecase of the Heike monogatari can be summarized as follows:(1) primary reception of oral and written forms of the work by its various
audiences, public or private, who heard versions of the Heike monogatarisung, recited and read aloud, or who read it in manuscript and (from theseventeenth century) in printed texts;(2) productive reception by readers turned writers, who made new
redactions of the story after comparing existing variant texts, often with theaddition of new material from historical or literary sources;(3) academic reception by the scholars from medieval times to modern who
have studied the work, produced commentaries and other auxiliarymaterials (e.g. genealogies), and prepared critical editions;(4) creative reception by artists who used its subject matter for screen andfan painting or book illustration, for example, or by writers who adapted
episodes or characters from the narrative into other literary genres (prose,
poetic or dramatic).
Jauss suggests a range of different possible modes for primary
reception: “Admiration and Emotion vs. Entertainment and Instruction vs.
Astonishment and Reflection” (Jauss 1982: 86). This model is a useful one,as it begins to move beyond the polarity of “aesthetic” vs. “didactic” that

Modes of Reception (Watson) 5

was traditional in Western teaching on rhetoric since Horace.
Without looking outside the Heike monogatari itself, one way to study
the modes of primary reception would be to examine closely the elementsin the work itself that call on the reader or listener to admire, empathize,
consider, or reflect. Such an analysis, if systematic and thorough-goingenough, offers the promise of revealing what narrative and stylistic
techniques were used to ensure what response. The approach could neverestablish beyond doubt how a particular passage was received by audiencesin general, let alone how an individual might have reacted. Nevertheless, it
could clarify general trends linking stylistic features with modes ofreception.
What effects are created by a specific stylistic feature is something that
we can best gauge by comparing different retellings of the same story
where such a feature is present in some versions, absent in others. This is
the case with the story of Kogô, where, as mentioned before, the text for
the nô theatre makes use of several poetic allusions not present in the mostwidely read version of the Heike, the Kakuichi version for biwa recitation.
One of these references is to the grief of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong on
the death of Yang Gueifei, the story best known in Japan through theretelling by Bo Juyi (772-846) in “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow” (J.
Chôgonka).3 As in the case of all references to familiar topoi, the analogyof Japanese emperor and the Chinese emperor could easily have occurred
to the playwright Zenchiku independently. Yôkihi, one of his best plays
attributed to him, is based closely on Bo Juyi’s poem (trans. Sesar in Keene
1970, 207-217). As we shall now see, there are a series of direct andindirect allusions to the Yang Gueifei story in the section that precedes“Kogô”, which may have given Zenchiku an additional hint for the3

Chinese names are romanized by the pinyin system. Bo Juyi is perhaps still better
known as Po Chü-i in the West. For English translations of this poem see “A Song ofUnending Sorrow” (tr. Witter Bynner in Birch 1965, 278-284) or “The Song of Lasting
Regret” (tr. Paul W. Kroll in Mair 1994, 478-485). There are considerable differences inthe two versions: Bynner's translation reads well, but Kroll's is better annotated andappears to reflect more recent scholarship.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 6

analogy.
Two-fold reception
The story of Lady Kogô is one of a number of episodes related to lifeof Retired Emperor Takakura (1161-1181), and which form a sequence inthe Kakuichi version of the Heike, although not all variants (Sugimoto
1974, 6:54). Several times in the course of the Heike, the account of acharacter’s death is followed by a narration of one or more stories ofincidents in their life. Other characters singled out like this include
Shigemori (book 3), Yorimasa (4) and Kiyomori (6). The section (shôdan)before “Kogô” is entitled “Aoi-no-mae,” and describes a situation much
like the opening of Genji monogatari (Tale of Genji), where the Kiritsubo
Emperor is criticized for his attachment to a low-ranking concubine. That
fictional story in turn, of course, was written in conscious parallel to Bo
Juyi’s poetic treatment of a true story, the relations between Tang Emperor
and Yang Gueifei. The woman with whom Emperor Takakura falls in love
is Aoi-no-mae, a young servant girl (shôtô) in the attendance of a lady-inwaiting (nyôbô) of Takakura’s principal consort, the Empress (chûgû). Aoi
is thus much lower in rank than Genji’s mother, however, as in her case,people at court draw the obvious parallel with Yang Gueifei, quoting fromBo Juyi’s poem to suggest that Aoi may even become Empress (kisaki) or
the mother of a future Emperor. The comments are not censorious as such,praising her good fortune, but the parallel is hardly auspicious (the Chinese
Emperor’s infatuation with Yang Gueifei was blamed for corruption atcourt and his neglect of government that resulted in a major rebellion). The
Japanese Emperor takes the remarks as criticisms and immediately ceases
to summon Aoi. The Regent (kanpaku) offers to adopt Aoi, which would
give her the position in society necessary to become a consort, but theEmperor can find no precedent to justify it, saying that he would becondemned by future generations.4 Saying that she does not feel well, Aoi
4

The word soshiri is repeated twice, one in reference to the people's criticisms (yo nososhiri), once by the Emperor in explaining why he wants to avoid the condemnation ofModes of Reception (Watson) 7

returns home where she dies after five or six days of illness. Again theparallel with Genji’s mother is clear.5
The “Aoi-no-mae” section ends with a reference to a different Bo Juyi
poem and to the story of another Tang Emperor. What happens next in the
Kakuichi Heike can be read as a conflation of elements from Genjimonogatari and the Chinese poem. The “Kogô” opens with a description of
the Emperor “sunk in thoughts of love” for Aoi, “renbo no on-omoi ni,
shizumase-owashimasu” (Ichiko 1994, 1:431; cf. McCullough 1988, 201“heartsick for Aoi”). His situation parallels that of the grief-stricken
emperors, Kiritsubo and Xuanzong. The Kiritsubo Emperor sends a
messager called Myôbu to the lady’s house. She returns with katami or
keepsakes of the dead lady, including a hairpin (kanzashi). The Emperor
has been reading an illustrated scroll of Bo Juyi’s poem, so he is remindedof how the dead spirit of Yang Gueifei gave a hairpin to the messenger sent
by Xuanzong to the Penglai isle of the immortals (J. Hôraisan). He desires
to see the young child Genji, another katami. This search for substitutes
only ends several years later when the Emperor takes a new consort,
Fujitsubo, after hearing how she resembles the Kiritsubo lady.
The story of Kogô: historicity and literary fiction
In the Heike, it is the Emperor’s principal consort, the Empress, whofinds him a substitute for the woman he has lost. Whereas Aoi was servant
to an attendant, Kogô is herself a nyôbô, serving the Empress directly. As
daughter of a Middle Counselor (chûnagon), incidentally, she is still lower
in social position than the fictional Kiritsubo lady, whose father was a
Major Counselor (dainagon).
Kogô’s life with Takakura is only obliquely handled. Instead we havefuture generations (kôtai no soshiri). The phrase yo no soshiri wo habakarase-tamau
recalls a phrase in the opening of Genji monogatari: hito no soshiri wo mo ehabakarase-tamawazu (Abe, Akiyama and Imai 1970, 93).
5
There is another possible verbal echo here. Five or six days is the time in Genji that
Lady Kiritsubo remains ill at court before she is allowed to go home (Abe, Akiyama andImai 1970, 97; McCullough 1994, 27; cf. Seidensticker 1976, 5).

Modes of Reception (Watson) 8

a curiously dangling episode in which she refuses the letters of a former
lover Takafusa, an incident based on poems which pre-date the Heike.6 She
incurs the wrath of Taira no Kiyomori father-in-law of both Takakura and
Takafusa, who sees Kogô as a threat to his daughters. Kogô runs awayfrom the Palace, taking refuge in Saga.7 Not knowing where she is, theEmperor is once again stricken with grief. The Enkyô (or Engyô) text of the
Heike at his point makes explicit the analogy with Xiangzong, with areference to how the Chinese Emperor sent a Taoist priest in search of her.8
One night Takakura summons the attendant on duty, Nakakuni, and sends
him to find Kogô. When Nakakuni finally succeeds in finding Kogô’shouse, he delivers the Emperor’s letter and obtains an answer from her. The
narration here is detailed, with extensive use of conversation anddescription, as we shall see in the translation of Zenchiku’s dramatization.
The play ends lyrically with Kogô watching Nakakuni’s figure
disappear on his journey back to the Palace. In the Heike, Nakakuni leaves
men to prevent her from going to Ôhara and taking the tonsure, as she
threatens (Ichiko 1994, 1:438; McCullough 1988, 205). He then returns to
the palace where he finds the Emperor still awake, reciting a Chinese poemby the Japanese poet Ôe Asatsuna. The mood is reminiscent of the scene in
Genji monogatari, when Myôbu returns late at night from the lady’s houseto find the Kiritsubo emperor still sitting up, taking about Chinese and

6

The origins of this episode are found in the poetry collection of Takafusa(Takafusashû), eighty poems of which are also included in the illustrated scroll
Takafusa-kyô koikotoba emaki, one of the early masterpieces of Japanese narrative art(Komatsu 1988). Two poems by Takafusa are quoted in the Kakuichi version, and afuther one by in the Enkyô version (Kitahara and Ogawa 1990, 1:583; Sugiyama 1974,
60-61).
7
Saga is in present-day Ukyô-ku on the north-west edge of Kyôto, next to the Ôi Riverand opposite Arashiyama. .The play also refers to a place called Sagano, which was anarea next to Saga. As an utamakura, Sagano had poetical associations with autumn
grasses and insects.
8
See Kitahara and Ogawa 1990, 1:584, also Ichiko 1978, 798-799, for the chartcomparing the Kakuichi, Engyô and other texts. The Enkyôbbon (or Enkeibon,
Engyôbon) is a “readerly” version of the Heike, one of the so-called yomihonkei lineage,
as opposed to texts like the Kakuichi for recitation (kataribonkei).

Modes of Reception (Watson) 9

Japanese poetry with his ladies-in-waiting. What is different, of course, isthat Nakakuni has brought back more than a keepsake. Takakura’s receiptof the letter is not described, instead after praising Nakakuni he orders him
to return for Kogô that very night. The narration summarizes the rest of her
story: return to the palace, renewed attentions of Takakura, birth of anprincess (historically attested)9, and Kiyomori’s renewed anger which
resulted in her being forced to take vows at the age of twenty-three andreturning to Saga (again historically attested).10
Visual reception of the Kogô story
The key moments in the “Kogô” episode can be summed up in anotherway, through their reception into narrative art. The only surviving
illustrated scroll of the Heike, the mid-seventeenth century Heike
monogatari emaki, shows the following scenes (Komatsu 1995, 6:27-51):(1) Takafusa secretly visits Kogô(2a) Emperor Takakura writes to Kogô(2b) Nakakuni sets off for Saga(3a) Nakakuni searches the Shakadô(3b) Nakakuni and party head for the Hôrinji Temple(3c) Nakakuni plays flute as he rides(3d) Kogô plays the koto as Nakakuni on foot questions her maid(4a) Nakakuni hears Kogô’s answer
9

Sugimoto quotes the relevant diary entries. Gyokuyô for 1177.11.4 mentions the birthof a daughter to Kogô, who is called “the daughter of Lord Shigenori”. Sankaiki for1180.4.12 describes the lustration ceremony (misogi) for the Saiin. “Her mother is thedaughter of Gon-chûnagon, Lord Shigenori, called Lady Kogô” (Sugimoto 1974,
6:83).
10
The Sankaiki entry for 1180.4.12 continues: “After the birth of this princess, she nolonger came [to the Palace]. In the winter of last year she became a nun. She wastwenty-three years of age. There must have been some story, but the reason is notknown.” The diary Kenshunmon'in chûnagon nikki kept by a daughter of the famouspoet Fujiwara Shunsei confirms the account of her beauty in the Heike. It ends bydescribing with regret how she disappeared in her twenties, whereabouts unknown,
somewhere in Saga. See Sugimoto 1974, 6:83-84, for quotations and comment.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 10(4b) Nakakuni gallops back to the Palace(5) Takakura reads the reply brought by Nakakuni(6) Nakakuni brings Kogô back to Palace in a carriage(7a) Kogô weeps as she is forced to take the tonsure(7b) Kogô prays in front of an altar in Ogura-yama(8) Go-Shirakawa weeps on hearing of Takakura’s death.
As the numbered scenes and subdivision above indicate, the eightlarge scenes include some that show a sequence of events with the samecharacter reoccurring two or more times, as usual in illustrated scrolls. It isinteresting to note that there is nothing corresponding exactly to thecomposition we always find elsewhere: a picture showing Nakakuni
answering Kogô’s koto with the sound of his flute.
There also survive at least five complete hand-illustrated books of the
Heike of the kind traditionally referred to as nara-ehon.11 In total fivedifferent scenes in the “Kogô” section are illustrated in these texts,
although no one text has more than four illustrations. The first two scenes
correspond to (1) and (2a) above, showing Takafusa outside Kogô’s blinds,
and Nakakuni summoned by Takakura. Some versions show the emperor in
the act of writing the letter.
Nakakuni’s discovery of Kogô is shown by pictures illustrating the
moment in the narrative when he answers her koto by pulling out his fluteand playing a few note-koshi yori yôjô nuki-idashi, chitto naraite--before using it to knock on the door (Ichiko 1994, 1:436). The firstillustrated printed edition of 1656 (Meireki 2) has a double-page scene here,
the right-hand side showing this moment and the left the subsequentconversation between Nakakuni and Kogô (Ichiko 1994, 1:436-427).
Curiously, the “single-door” is open in both scenes, although it would makemuch better sense for it to be closed in the first scene. This is the moment
11

In accordance to recent Japanese scholarly usage, I will refer to this type of illustrated
book simply as ehon. [For a study of the Heike ehon tradition, see Watson 1998.]

Modes of Reception (Watson) 11

most frequently illustrated in pictures outside of the book or scroll tradition.
One recent example is given here (fig. 1), an ukiyoe by Ogata Gekkô(1859-1910).12 An attendant holds Nakakuni’s horse outside Kogô’s gate.
He plays the flute, while she can be glimpsed inside, playing the koto to thelight of a lamp.
The next illustration in the ehon tradition corresponds to a moment
after (6) in the chart above: Kogô kneels before Takakura in the Palace,while Nakakuni sits outside the room. Some ehon show a final scene,apparently representing grief at court after Takakura’s death.
The nô play Kogô
Kogô is attributed to Komparu Zenchiku, a leading early playwrightand the most important nô theorist after his father-in-law Zeami. The
evidence for his authorship is partly based on documentary evidence andpartly stylistic: the tsure plays an major role, that of Kogô, which is said tobe characteristic of Zenchiku.13 One other play attributed to Zenchiku isdrawn from the Heike monogatari: Senju. Like Kogô, this play centersaround a lyrical episode involving a woman, Senju-no-mae, from thesection of that name in book 10. Zenchiku’s father-in-law Zeami wrote
many great plays of the second category about Genpei warriors, declaring“If, for example, the play is to be created around a famous general of the
Genji or the Heike, you should take special care to write the story just as it
appears in the Heike monogatari” (tr. Hare 1986, 186).14 It is typical of
Zenchiku’s genius to have found inspiration in a entirely different side of
Heike monogatari.
As explained above, only the central part of the Heike episode has
12

Picture is repreduced in print version of paper. For image see online at:
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~watson/heike/6d_kogo.html
13
The work is attributed to Zenchiku in a number of old sources, including one written
by his grandson (Sanari 1930, 2:1095; Takemoto and Hashimoto 1995, 77).
14
“Guntai no n sugata. keryô, Genpei no meishô no jintai no honsetsu naraba, koto ni
koto ni Heike no monogatari no mama ni kakubeshi” Zeami's advice comes from Sandô(1423), a work of advice to his son (Hisamatsu and Nishio 1961, 475). For a study ofModes of Reception (Watson) 12

been dramatized: from Nakakuni receiving the Emperor’s command to theend of the scene in Saga. There is one major change: the Emperor does notappear directly. The first scene takes place in Nakakuni’s house. The
imperial messenger (waki) brings the command to Nakakuni. One reason
for this change may be to avoid portraying the emperor directly in what
would be a subsidiary role, although whether this is for primarily technicalreasons or out of respect for the status of the emperor is not clear. 15 In any
case, the emperor’s feelings are well conveyed by other means, throughdirect quotation in the first half, and through the medium of the chorus in
the second.
The play has been shorn of its political dimensions. There is only abrief mention in the waki’s opening speech to Kiyomori, the Chancellor.
There is no hint of the fate that awaits Kogô, and she makes no threat totake the tonsure of her own accord as in the prose narrative. After Nakakuni
expresses his joy by calling for wine to celebrate, and performs a vigorous
dance, he leaves the stage, watched by Kogô. This final scene brings theplay to an end on a quieter note.
The play Kogô now part of the repertory of all five schools of nô. It
belongs to the fourth category (yobanme) which includes plays of diverse
types.
Notes to this translation
To my knowledge no full modern translation of this play has been
published in a Western language.16 Recent Japanese anthologies of nô texts
Zeami's warrior plays see Hare 1986, 185-224.
15
Writing in the pre-war period, Sanari suggests the change is due to the nô playwright's
deep feeling of reverence (Sanari 1930, 2:1097) : “sakusha no kinshin-bukai
kokorogake kara deta mono de arô.”16
I have not consulted Japan Magazine, issue 12, for what presumably more summary
than translation by Mark King (Nogami 1980, 3: 321). This old reference is also given
in Bohner, who includes short German translations of passages in his analysis of theplay (Bohner 1956, 333-336). Since publication of this paper, an annotated translation
has appeared: Chifumi Shimazaki, Troubled Souls: From Japanese Noh Plays of the
Fourth Group. Cornell East Asia Series Number 95 (Ithaca, New York: East Asia
Program, Cornell University, 1998), pp. 89-131.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 13

do not include this work, which is perhaps one reason for its relative
neglect outside of Japan, although Konparu Zenchiku is highly regarded,both as a playwright and critic.17
The base text used for this translation was Sanari (1930, 2:1095-1109),
checked against the annotated edition of Tanaka (1953, 2:286-293).
Sanari’s edition contains a full paraphrase of the text and details of stage
action. Punctuation largely follows Tanaka . References were also made to
the notes in Haga and Sasaki (1914, 1:728-733) and the current utaibon(chanting texts) of the Kanze school (Kanze 1995).
I have followed usual conventions of recent nô translations. In
performance there would be an interlude (ai) involving a conversation
between Kogô and the woman in whose house in Sagano she is taken
refuge, but as usual the interlude is of little importance and I have merelysummarized it. The difference between recited passages (katari) and sungpassages (tsuyogin or yowagin) is shown by the smaller or greater amount17

See Miner, Odagiri, Morrell 1985, 187-188, for a short assessment in English.
Compared to Zeami, there is little documentary evidence establishing what plays
Zenchiku wrote. He is thought to have been a prolific writer, but the plays that can be
attributed to him are these, in descending order of certainty according to Itô Masayoshi,
with selected references to English translations (Itô 1986, 757).
(1) most certain to be the work of Zenchiku
Bashô (tr. Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkôkai 1955, 1:127-141)(2) likely (“Zenchiku-saku to mite sashitsukaenai”):
Teika (tr. Satô in Satô and Watson, 1986, 241-253),
Oshio(3) possible (“Zenchiku-saku no kanôsei ga aru”):
Ugetsu,Kamo monogurui
Kogô
Shôki
Senju (tr. Shimazaki 1981, 74-99)
Tatsuta (tr. Tyler 1992, 293-308)
Tamakazura (tr. Goff 1991, 120-124)
Yôkihi (tr. Sesar in Keene1970, 207-217).
Itô Masayoshi has also attributed to Zenchiku the plays Nonomiya and Kakitsubata,both important examples of reception from earlier literature (tr. Tyler 1992, 205; Brazell
1988, 64). Tyler has suggested two more possible attributions: Kantan and Kasugaryûjin. (Tyler 1992, 133; 142).

Modes of Reception (Watson) 14

of indentation, respectively.18 One departure from convention is that thepassages of recitation are not set out as prose, but divided into lines
according to the punctuation (maru) of the texts for singing (utaibon). The
Japanese names for the segments of the play (e.g. nanori, “naming speech”)
are given in italics and are not translated.19
The stage-directions are based on Sanari (1930, 2:1097ff.), with some
additions, such as explanation when characters change from first-person
speech to third-person narration as they do at several points. Information on
costumes is based on from Sanari (1930, 2:1095), and Kanze (1995, 4verso). English terms generally follow Yasuda (1989).
The romanized text of the play is based on the text edited by Sanari. In
the case of long lines like the following from the final chorus
isogu kokoro moisameru koma ni
the two units of seven syllables have been visually separated to make thispassage easier to read. Additional technical terms are given with theromanization in italics. These deal with matters such as the rhythm andspeed of singing, for example. I have also added a few explanatory
expressions in English based on instructions for nô singing (Kanze 1995).
Quotation marks in the translation indicate phrases borrowed frompoems in the imperial anthologies or Genji monogatari. Rather thanattempt a fully annotated translation at this stage in my research, I havedecided to do entirely without notes for the translation.20
CHARACTERS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
waki: Imperial messenger of Retired Emperor Takakurashite: Nakakuni, Senior Assistant President of the Board of Censors
tsure: Lady Kogô (Kogô no tsubone)
tomo: Attendant to Kogô

18

[See romanization in print version of this paper, or that in the Shimazaki 1998.]
Three lines of text are given in smaller type by Sanari 1930, 1100. Interludes are partof a separate performance tradition and not considered part of the text proper.
19Modes of Reception (Watson) 15

COSTUMES
The waki wears a court hat (utsuro eboshi), a heavy silk kimono,broad white divided skirt, a lined hunting robe with an embroideredwaistband.
The shite wears a mask (chokumen), high hat (kaze ori eboshi), either
broad divided skirt or sashinuki trousers, an unlined hunting robe withstripped patterned waistband, and bears a “god fan” (kami ôgi). In thesecond half of the play, the shite carries a letter and horse whip.
The tsure wears a mask (tsuremen), wig, white collar, under-kimono
with painted gold or silver patterns, a brocade waistband, and bears a “wigfan” (katsura ôgi). The tomo wears the same costume as the tsure, exceptthat her collar is red rather than white.
SETTING AND TIME
Part 1. Home of Nakakuni in the capitalPart 2. refuge of Lady Kogô, in Sagano, outside the capital
Reign of Takakura [d. 1181], fifteeenth of the Eight Month

KOGO
(1)
The waki, Imperial Messenger of Retired Emperor Takakura, entersbearing letter to the music of the “naming flute.”
MESSENGER (nanori)
You have before you an official in the service of Takakura-no-in.
Now there is a lady called Kogô
who is much loved by His Majesty.
The Empress is the daughter of his Excellency the Chancellor
so Lady Kogô may have been afraid,
for she has vanished in the night.
20[See now Shimazaki 1998 for an annotated translation.]

Modes of Reception (Watson) 16

His Majesty is grieved beyond measure,spending his days in the Night Chamberand his nights until dawn on the veranda of the Southern Palace.
The news that Lady Kogô is living somewhere in Sagano
has now reached the Emperor.
I bring an imperial order commanding Danjô-no-Taihitsu Nakakuni
to go at once in search of Lady Kogôand to bring news back to the Emperor.
I am now hurrying on my way to Nakakuni’s home.
Messenger goes to the First Pine and faces the side curtain.
Is Nakakuni at home?
NAKAKUNI [enters to the Third Pine]
Who is there?
MESSENGER [bowing]
I bring an Imperial Order.
Word has reached his Majestyof Lady Kogô’s whereabouts in the area of Sagano.
He commands that you go at once, find Lady Kogô and give her thisletter.
Messenger takes letter from his breast and hands it to Nakakuni.
NAKAKUNI
It is a great honour to receive this Imperial Order. [raises letter to face]
But may I enquire what manner of place is it?
MESSENGER
The Emperor has heard only that it is a place with a single-dooredgate.
NAKAKUNI
Such humble houses have what are called single-doored gates.
As tonight is the fifteenth of the Eighth Month,
Lady Kogô is sure to play the koto.
I know well the soundof her touch on the instrument,Modes of Reception (Watson) 17

so please reassure the Emperor.
Nakakuni bows to official and sings the next line out of character, as third
person narrative, indicating the passage of time.
NAKAKUNI (kakaru)
When he had reported in detail...
The Messenger bows to the main stage to signify that the report has been
made.
MESSENGER
I have reported this matter to the Emperor,
and he is so very gratefulthat he has given you a horse from the Imperial Stables.
Messenger gestures with fan to indicate the presentation of the horse.
Nakakuni bows in gratitude.
NAKAKUNI
This is a great honour.
CHORUS (age-uta)
He leaves at once as the autumn moon rises
He leaves at once as the autumn moon rises“take heed, you moon-dappled roan,and fly to the clouds without a moment’s delay”
my heart is racing toward the destination
my heart is racing toward the destination
Exit Nakakuni(2)
The interior of Kogô’s house in Sagano. The Lady Kogô (tsure) enters with
her attendant (tomo). In the interlude, the woman who has lent the house toKogô urges her to play on the koto.
KOGO (sashi)
They say that even to take shelter under the same tree
or to drink from the water of the same riverModes of Reception (Watson) 18

is a tie from another life.
KOGÔ, LADY-IN-WAITING
Although we came here for temporary refuge,
the grasses on the eaves have grown up while we have been here.
We have come to depend on this humble woman for companionshipgrowing fond of her as we become accustomed at her sight.
This is the way of the world.
And so is the heart of one who cannot forget.
CHORUS (sage-uta)
Come now, to comfort my feelings of longing I will play on the koto.
Comfort me, at least for a while,
age-uta
Comfort me, at least for a while,
notes plucked on the koto.
You sound like the autumn wind, making the insects cry more
piteously--do they hate the autumn?
Does he weary of me, that I am so wretched in my love?
Why are you sulking, you maidenflowers?
My fate here in Sagano is so miserable,
don’t tell a soul, I would be so ashamed if anyone saw me.
To issei music, Nakakuni enters to first pine, dressed as before in hunting
costume. He is understood to be riding a horse.
NAKAKUNI (sashi)
What a beautiful time this is.
“The radiance of the newly-risen full moon
appears close, though two thousand leagues away.”
So far would I ride under the sovereign’s gracious command.
My spirit moved, my horse gallops faster,
but take care as you go by night
to “the mountain village where the stag bells”
CHORUS
towards Sagano,Modes of Reception (Watson) 19

where the autumnal sky brightens, like my heart, I raise my whip tothe bright moon that guides me to the single-doored gate.
Gallop faster, my horse!
Nakakuni looks across the stage, raising his whip.
NAKAKUNI
These houses here are but humble, temporary abodes
CHORUSbut just in case I will ride closer here and there,
reining in my horse again and again to listen,
but no one is playing the koto.
Wondering if she has gone out, carried away by the moonlight,
I have come the Hôrin Temple to listen for the sound of the koto.
Is the storm on the mountain-tops that I hearor is it the wind through the pines?
Or is the sound of the koto of the one I seek?
What piece is it that she is playing?
“Sôburen”,that is what is is called,“Yearning thoughts of my husband”―oh joy.
NAKAKUNI (katari)
There is no doubt that is Lady Kogo’s way of playing.
I’ll ask admittance without further delay.
standing in front of the door
Excuse me! Please open this door.
KOGO (to LADY-IN-WAITING)
Someone is calling from the gate. Go and see who it is, but take care.
LADY-IN-WAITING
To pretend we did not hear would be worse still.
(And she pushes the door open.)third person narration
NAKAKUNI
It would not do if this gate were locked(he thought and held the door open).
third person narration
This is the Imperial Messenger
kakaruModes of Reception (Watson) 20

Nakakuni who has come this far
to deliver a message to your mistress.
KOGÔ
Can this be true? What kind of imperial command
could be intended for this mean and humble house?
You must surely have come to the wrong door.
NAKAKUNI
I have not. However you may try to hide from men’s eyes,
you cannot stop things leaking out,kakarulike teardrops from a sleeve,your koto playing could not be hidden.
KOGÔ
Truly, I am ashamed, Nakakuni.
Many times at concerts at the Palace―
NAKAKUNI
I would have the honour of playing the flute.
KOGÔThe moon familiar to us then was like that today.
NAKAKUNI, KOGÔTo meet the very person who would visit
when string and bamboo in harmony spoke by night―
CHORUS
sage-uta“Give this message to her secretly”
was the imperial command to me
and yet why is there such a barrier between us?
The grasses under this hedgewill be fine.
Tonight I will spread out one sleeveand lie gazing at the moon until dawn.
ageutaThis is the place, the mountains of Sagano,This is the place, the mountains of Sagano,where the ancient imperial hunt has left its traces still―on the road a thousand generations old that has brought me here

Modes of Reception (Watson) 21

and that will bring you back to the Emperor’s love.
There is but one person who knows the depth of his passion,
who understands blossoms’ colour and fragrance, the song of birds.
Strike up at least that tune and let me in.
I know little of the mistress of this Eastern Cottage
but her way of playing cannot be disguised.
LADY-IN-WAITING (to Kogô)
Nakakuni says “Unless I see her, I may not return.”
He is waiting drenched by the dew under the brushwood fence
It is an imperial order, and I feel sorry for him, too.
Must you really hide like this?
Do let me bring him in.
KOGÔWhat you say is true. I feel the same,
yet so many things trouble methat I do not know what to do.
But tell him to enter.
Lady- in-waiting stands up, goes to gate, and speaks to Nakakuni.
LADY-IN-WAITING
Please come in this way.
She opens door for him, then returns to sit in the same place.
NAKAKUNI
I thank you.
He enters main stage area and bows.
I have come this far in accordance with imperial order.
Let me tell you now what happened after you disappeared:
his Majesty was visibly weaker was in strength, and suffering fromworry.
To learn where you were, at least, he commanded me go in search.
Although unworthy of the honour, I have come here bearing a letterfrom His Majesty
He hands letter to Kogô and bows.

Modes of Reception (Watson) 22

Please be so good as to grant me with an immediate answer
that I may present to His Majesty.
KOGÔTruly His Majesty has favoured me beyond my deserts,
in worrying about the whereabouts of one like me,
his deep compassion showing even in the traces of his writing brush.
CHORUSThe unchanging radiance from the heavenly palacereaches even here where I preserve a dewlike existencein hiding from the world.
It moves me to tears
to be asked after like this.
kuri
My tears are like a string of white jewels
as I remember the gloomy months and years spent here,
yet now joy has come to this house.
KOGÔ (sashi)
There may have been instances of a love like this,but it is far beyond one of no account like myself.
CHORUS
Nothing can change the love between man and woman.
Long ago in the Ganquan Palace
the Han Emperor yearned every night for Lady Li,
Though he had a glimpse of her in the incense smoke,
it failed to quench his heart-acheKOGÔHe saw her only for an instant.
When love is so sad
CHORUS
it would be better
never to have exchanged vows at all.
Likewise in ancient Tang we learn what it was
kusethat revealed the whispered secrets

Modes of Reception (Watson) 23of the lovers of the Lishan Palace.
Yang Guifei was as short-lived as a dewdrop on the reeds
in the autumn frost that rotted the Emperor’s sleeves.
He sent a messenger on the storm windin search of the dream he could not forget,
so deep was his love.
KOGÔ
Such moving examples of other realms
CHORUS
teach us that nothing lasts.
All their thoughts were for those no longer of this world.
Their passion passed all bounds.
Grief-stricken, the two emperors grew ever more
distraught in love―or so one hears.
But for us there is yet hope.
I still inhabit the same world as the Emperor,
and his concern and feeling for me reaches even this far,where the moon rises outside the capital before dawn.
It is a very great honour to receive an Imperial Messanger.
How can I pretend that I do not live here?
NAKAKUNI (rongi)
Then I beg you, as it is already late,
to give me an answer by your own hand
so I may take my leave and return.
As Nakakuni sings these lines, Kogô places a letter on an opened fan andhands it to him.. Nakakuni returns to the gate, bows to Kogô by way of
farewell, and puts the letter into the breast of his hunting costume.
KOGÔYou have visited me here by moonlight
where I have taken brief refuge in this dew-like world.
At the thought that no more messagers will comeI shed tears of regretModes of Reception (Watson) 24

and longing for the past.
Kogô is downcast.
CHORUS (for NAKAKUNI)“Those tears will soon dry when you are together.
Now you are like the star lovers who can rarely meet,”KOGÔ
but a meeting is at last…
CHORUS (first speaking for NAKAKUNI, then narrative)…close at hand.
The carriage to bring you there
will be coming any moment,”
he said, so reluctant to part
NAKAKUNI (narrative)
he held a banquet
issei
and strings and bamboo
CHORUS
sounded clear acrossthe moon-lit night
NAKAKUNI“The moon-lit night is fine”
Nakakuni dances otokomai.
NAKAKUNI (for Kogô)
When the sound of the fluteand the autumn windblow together,
CHORUS (for Kogô)
what can I play to keep you here?
Nothing I say will keep you here, not a word.
NAKAKUNI
There are no words to describe
how the Emperor will feel
CHORUS (for Nakakuni)

Modes of Reception (Watson) 25“when even one such as myself is ‘so moved
that I can hardly dance.’
How can I hide my joy
at going back now [that I have found you]?
Make the Chinese robe large!”

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Abbreviations
NKBT =

Nihon koten bungaku taikei (Iwanami shoten)

NKBZ =

Nihon koten bungaku zenshû (Shôgakukan)

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