About This Print

Print No. 30 of 120 prints issued as part of the series Nōgaku hyakuban (One Hundred Prints of Noh), depicting a scene from the play Michimori, often attributed to the playwright Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443).   In this scene a woman and old man in a boat approach the shore.  (The boat, of course, as in many Noh props, is symbolic, suggested only by an outline.) This print was originally released by the publisher Matsuki Heikichi in the tenthinstallment of prints in this series.  This series' prints were offered in monthly installments consisting of three prints packaged in an envelope with additional descriptive information.<sup>1 

1</sup> “The series Nogaku hyakuban (100 No plays) by Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927),” Claus-Peter Schulz, Andon 67, Society for Japanese Arts, p. 28.

The Play - Michimori

Source: A Guide to No, P.G. O'Neill, Hinoki Shoten, 1929, p. 107-108.
A priest visiting Naruto goes out one evening to read sutras for the souls of the Taira warriors who perished there, and meets a woman and an old man who approach the shore by boat.  They tell him how Kozaisho no Tsubone, the wife of Michimori, drowned herself there at the news of her husband's death, and then disappear among the waves.  The priest prays for them and after a while they reappear, Michimori being this time in his true form.  The priest hears the story of the battle, and Michimori and his wife rejoice that they have been able to attain salvation together.

The Original Envelope and Label

Print Details