The story of the death of the young warrior Atsumori is among the most enduring episodes from Japan’s medieval war tale, the Tale of the Heike. An account of the epic clash between two great clans, the Heike and the Genji, the Tale of the Heike not only celebrates valiant warriors on the battlefield but also laments the loss of life and the end of Japan’s aristocratic age in the face of the rise of the warrior class that would rule Japan in one form or another from the end of the war in 1185 through the late 19^th century. The character of Atsumori, a scion of the losing Heike side, brings together these threads. A beautiful young aristocrat famed for his skill at the flute, Atsumori is also an honorable warrior who, when challenged by the seasoned and powerful Genji warrior Kumagai Naozane, chooses to face him bravely rather than escape to a ship that would carry him to safety. In close combat, Kumagai is overcome by the beauty and bravery of the young man who reminds him of his own son, and at first wishes to free the lad, thinking one man’s life or death will not alter the fate of the battle or the war. But his superiors are bearing down, and he is forced to either kill Atsumori himself or watch others kill him. He chooses the former course, promising to spend his days praying for the repose of Atsumori’s soul. The experience motivates him to take the tonsure.

The Tale of the Heike’s “Death of Atsumori” was so popular over the course of the medieval (ca. 1180-ca. 1600) and early modern (or “Edo”) period (ca. 1600-1867) that numerous retellings and augmentations appeared in the narrative and performing arts, including versions that gave this probably fictional character a wife and child. Beginning in the medieval period, several plays in the noh theatre repertoire center around Atsumori. In the early modern period, the play Ichinotani futaba gunki, popularized on both the kabuki and puppet stages, created an even more elaborate plot in which Atsumori was not actually a scion of the Heike clan but a secret son of the retired emperor.

“Moritoshi’s Report/Atsumori’s Departure” derives from the Ichinotani futaba gunki story, adapted for the cart puppet troupe using a script by the scholar Nishitsunoi Masahiro based on a version of the story from the sekkyōbushi tradition – a narrative art from the late medieval period. First performed by the Nishikawa troupe in 1986, it captures the bravery and pathos of Atsumori’s resolve to die on the battlefield to repay his debt to his foster family, the Heike, even as he has learned that he is actually an imperial son. Such plot twists were increasingly popular in early modern works like Ichinotani futaba gunki. The narrative style, reliant on the gidayū chanter accompanied by the shamisen, is also a convention of the puppet theatre developed during the Edo period.

“Atsumori’s Death” is a more experimental piece for the cart puppet troupe, one that explores the roots of the story in the Tale of the Heike tradition. The story portrayed is very close to that told in the tale: in the midst of battle, Kumagai spots Atsumori fleeing the battle, calls him back, and the two men fight. In place of the gidayū chanter and shamisen player, “Atsumori’s Death” employs a biwa (lute) performer, Handa Junko, who also recounts the story as she plays. This nods to the original form of the tale, which was sung by blind lutenists known as biwa hōshi (“lute priests”), who told episodes from the tale for audiences as they traveled the realm. Ms. Handa’s biwa playing style was developed during the Edo period, but the use of the biwa to tell a story from the tale echoes these origins. This version also includes Shiba Sukeyasu playing the ryūteki flute, suggestive of Atsumori’s fame as a flautist. “Atsumori’s Death” was premiered along with “Moritoshi’s Report/Atsumori’s Departure” in 1986.

By Elizabeth Oyler (University of Pittsburgh)