Paper short abstract:

In Noh, meisho are not only employed as the setting for stories, but also evoke synoptic sentiments by quoting famous poems composed about these places. What function, then, does the michiyuki have? This paper focusses on meisho and the michiyuki text, and considers its function in drama.

Paper long abstract:

In Noh, famous places and historic sites（meisho）are deliberately imported as settings for stories. In these plays, waka and kanshi are often sited which have the given meisho as subject. The aim of the citation is not to show off rhetorical techniques, in the first line. According to Zeami's treatise on Noh, San-dō, which describes dramaturgical techniques in Noh, the waka and Chinese poems about famous places and historic sites that are known to everyone should be placed at the climax of a Noh play and should be uttered by the main character. This means that the sentiments and emotions in famous waka poems associated with a certain place became a fixed image, which, when matched with the emotions of the Noh characters, could have the effect of effectively evoking sympathy from the audience. This is the same as the function of utamakura. How, then, does the michiyuki, which is a opening scene in many Noh plays, affect the play? In Japanese literature and performing arts, the michiyuki, which expresses the journey to a destination by reciting the names of famous places along the way, frequently appears in a special style of expression. This style has its origins in the ancient songs recorded in the chronicles Nihonshoki and Kojiki, in the poems of the Man'yōshū, and was perfected as lyrical expression of people traveling in the Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) and Taiheiki (Records of the Heike). This presentation will examine the characteristics of michiyuki in Noh, taking into consideration the influence of this complex literary background.