Sōshi Arai Komachi [Noh Song]

Sōshi Arai Komachi
There are only voice parts in this recording.
Script (English/Modern Japanese)
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In summer, during the middle of the fourth month (of the lunar calendar), a poetry-writing contest is planned at the Seiryō Hall of the imperial palace in Kyoto. Ōtomo no Kuronushi is paired up with Ono no Komachi to compete in poetry-writing at the party. Since Kuronushi is afraid that he will be unable to defeat Komachi in poetry-writing, he sneaks into Komachi’s house and secretly listens to the poem she has prepared to be recited at the contest the following day. He then copies her poem into a volume of Man’yō-shū (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves), an anthology of ancient poems, trying to make it appear as though she plagiarized her poem from it.
The following day, at the poetry-writing contest, Komachi’s poem is first to be read aloud before the emperor and other renowned poets, including Ki no Tsurayuki. While the emperor praises Komachi’s poem, Kuronushi insists that Komachi submitted a poem she found in Man’yō-shū. Although she raises an objection to his claim, Kuronushi produces the volume into which he added Komachi’s poem as evidence. Heartbroken by such a dishonor, Komachi manages to pull herself together and, carefully reading the Man’yō-shū volume, finds some unnatural parts in the alignment and the color of ink of the poem in question. She therefore asks if she may wash the book’s page and receives the emperor’s permission to do so. When she washes it, the added poem is rinsed right off of the page, exposing Kuronushi’s wicked trick. Kuronushi leaves his seat with the intention of committing suicide, but Komachi calls out after Kuronushi. She forgives him for his misdeed because she thinks he only did it out of his passion for poetry. As the emperor also forgives him, Kuronushi returns to his seat. Now no bitterness separates Komachi and Kuronushi, and the party takes on a festive mood. Komachi praises the reign of the emperor and performs a dance lauding the virtues of poetry.
Sung by Kanze School