Yugao

Yugao is a Noh play, sometimes attributed to Zeami, based on the story of Yūgao (Lady Moonflower) from the Tale of Genji.

## Plot

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A travelling priest is drawn to the decayed villa where Yūgao had died.[1] There he is told by a transient figure of the tragic love of Yūgao and Prince Genji, the poetic imagery stressing both the ephemerality of love, and her humble status compared to the Shining Prince.[2]

In the second part of the play, the figure reappears, identified as the ghost of Yūgao, asking for sympathy, and for prayers of release from her persisting attachment to the love-affair.[3]

## Influence and Performance history

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* Kenneth Rexroth wrote a monologic poem Yugao, based in part upon the Noh play.[4]

* The play was performed as late as 2022, by the Kito School of Noh.[5]

## See also

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* Hajitomi/Hashimoti
* Kōguo Tsukuoka
* Renga

## References

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1. ^ J Goff, Noh Drama and the Art of Allusion (Princeton 2014) p. 105
2. ^ J Goff, Noh Drama and the Art of Allusion (Princeton 2014) p.71 and p 103
3. ^ [Goff, J. E. (1982). The Tale of Genji as a Source of the Nō: Yūgao and Hajitomi. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 42(1), 177–229. https://doi.org/10.2307/2719124 p. 197 and p. 202-3]
4. ^ Rexroth
5. ^ [Regular Performance | Japan Arts Council (jac.go.jp) Japan Arts Council]