Tedai Akamatsu Bairyu Michiyuki - Tanba Kaibara Sugegasa Mukashigoyomi Kurui Ishun Makurachigai

Inspired by Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "Daikyoji Mukashigoyomi" (1715)

Tamba Kashiwara Sugagasa: Daikyoji Mukashigoyomi Madness in Spring: Pillow Change

Genre: Sewamono (Domestic Life). A contemporary drama dealing with the events of townspeople of the time.

From the Okazaki Village Bairyuuchi Scene to the Okutanba Hideaway Scene
This story is based on the actual adulterous affair between the wife and her assistant (subordinate) that took place in the home of a "daikyoshi" (a wealthy man who owns the rights to publish calendars) in Karasuma, Kyoto. The story is filled with the irony of a "calendar shop": despite their family business of creating calendars and predicting the fortunes of others, their own destinies (calendars) have gone awry.

Osan and Mohei did not fall in love of their own free will; they were forced into a couple by the "glitch of fate." This creates an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of a "marionette" or a "broken machine."

Iharu is portrayed not simply as a jealous husband, but as an ugly figure obsessed with money and greed. His voice, as he corners Mohei and his companions, is as harsh as the discordant notes of jazz.

Unlike other double suicide stories (in which two lovers choose to die), this work depicts the unjust nature of fate: "Two people who were not initially in a romantic relationship are labeled unfaithful through a chain of misunderstandings and misfortune, and after a journey of escaping, they are executed as a loving couple."

The lyrics quoted above, with phrases like "the pillow is wrong" and "the calendar is out of whack," symbolize this "tragedy that begins with a miscalculation (misunderstanding)."

[The Beginning: Iharu's Tyranny and Otama's Predicament]
Iharu, the master, is forcing a relationship on his maid, Otama, despite having a wife, Osan. Otama is at her wit's end and seeks advice from her earnest apprentice, Mohei. Mohei suggests, "When my husband comes to your bedroom tonight, I'll take his place and get into bed with him, so I can teach him a lesson."


Excerpts from the actual script

"Who's there?"
"Who's there?"
"Ishun, the assistant..."
"Oh no..." I'll ruin your reputation..."
"Tie me up..."
"Old...tatami..."

"I can't be bothered..."
"You've mistaken me for Tama..."
"The pillow...is wrong..."
"The pillow...is wrong..."

"Kashiwabara in Tanba..."
"My feet... are in the sky..."
"Deeply draped sedge hat..."
"Hide my face..."
"Avoid the eyes... of the world..."
"Endure...love..."
"I want to commit adultery..."

"It's a false accusation..."
"My husband... is suspicious..."
"Run...Mohee..."
"Run..."
"The calendar is... out of whack..." ..."
"My luck... has run out..."
"I can't even meet my parents..."
"I can't even meet my children..."
"The five ranks of karma..."
"Circling...circling..."
"The great sutra master...long ago...the calendar..."

"The black valley..."
"Hide...in a house..."
"The chestnut tree..."
"Official business...official business..."
"The number of arrestees..." )..."
"The spider's... hand..."
"I'm... hung..."
"My body is being pulled..."
"How embarrassing..."
"Awataguchi..."

"The pillow... is wrong..."
"The pillow... is wrong..."
"In the next life..."
"On a lotus... platform..."
"Husband and wife..."
"Great Sutra Master..."
"...Once upon a time...we talked..."
"Namu Amida Butsu..."