Ryūko (Nō)

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Scene from "Dragon and Tiger"

Ryūko ( Japanese 龍虎 ), dragon and tiger , is the title of a Nō drama written by Kojirō Nobumitsu. The piece is a fifth game within the Nō category.

Preliminary remark

In Chinese mythology, the dragon symbolizes the primal power of the feminine, the tiger is its male opponent. The couple is also a huge theme in the fine arts of East Asia.

  • Waki: A wandering monk
  • Wakizure: Two accompanying monks
  • Shite I: An old woodcutter
  • Tsure I: His wife, or a wife
  • Shite II: The tiger
  • Tsure II: The dragon

action

  1. act
    1. Foreplay. A hut made of bamboo cane stands on the stage. A wandering monk, who has traveled all over Japan, sets off from Hakata with two accompanying monks to the China of the Tang period to visit the sites of the spread of Buddhism. Performance with orchestral sound. Singing lecture. Name, route and arrival names. Black clouds gather horribly over the bamboo forest (Chikurin, 竹林). An old pair of lumberjacks appear from above.
    2. In the unrecognizable form of an old woodcutter, the tiger approaches with his wife. Appearance with orchestral sound. "Far and wide green mountains, snow still crowns that peak of the towering Mount Dayu (大 庾), ten thousand plum trees, how wonderful they are!"
    3. Conversation between the monk and the lumberjack, who says: “Isn't that the rare figure of a shaman from the sunrise country?” Monk: “Yes, I come to see the places where the Buddha spreads.” Lumberjack: “Yes , Buddhism is far advanced in your country, and you are leaving and want to ... "M .:" Look at the ancient sites ...! "H .:" It's a long way to India, to the land of stars, to the land of heaven. "The choir grabs this Motive on with the transition to the cloud motif.
    4. Conversation. Wandering monk: "So explain to me what I saw, the clouds high above the bamboo forest." Lumberjack: "What you have often heard in stories, dragons and tigers fight, you see before your eyes, listen with your ears." Exchange speech. M .: "This is how you tell me about such a struggle as precisely as possible." Chorus: "All beings compete in a struggle for strength and ability! People are no different. This is certainly not limited to dragons and tigers alone. The golden dragon pierces the clouds, the wild tiger excites the storm deep in the mountains. The dragon roars and the clouds rise. "H .:" The tiger roars and the wind rises, says an old saying. A good word to take with you as a souvenir to Japan! Just go along this rock face in the mountain shadow. Waiting by that bamboo bush. You may then look up close. ”- The woodcutter and the woman walk off with loads of wood on their backs, the monks sit down.
    5. Interlude
  2. act
    1. The tiger with a terrifying mask and white wig enters the stage and hides in the bamboo hut.
    2. Waiting singing. Choir. During the choir singing, the dragon appears in real form. Constant choir accompaniment with dramatic dragon facial expressions. Then the storm-causing tiger leaps out of its hiding place. Great fight as a dance of the two, whereby the tiger is a little stronger. Then both disappear, the dragon climbs up to the cloud cave, the tiger returns to the rock cave.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Woodcut "Ryukō ( 龍虎 )" by Tsukioka Kōgyo ( 月 岡 耕 漁 ; 1869–1924).
  2. ↑ Kanze Kojirō Nobumitsu (観 世 小 次郎 信 光; 1435 or 1450-1516).
  3. ^ Port city, now part of Fukuoka .
  4. ↑ Shamon: someone who has renounced the world.

literature

  • Peter Weber-Schäfer: Dragon and Tiger . In: Twenty-four Nō games. Insel Verlag, 1961. ISBN 3-458-15298-X . Pp. 198 to 205.
  • Hermann Bohner: Ryū-ko In: Nō. The individual Nō. German Society for Natural History and Ethnology of East Asia, Tōkyō 1956. Commission publisher Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. Pp. 603 to 605.
  • Nezu-Museum (Ed.): The World of Dragon an Tiger . Catalog for the 1986 exhibition.