The Priest and the Willow

is a Noh play based on the experiences of the 12th-century poet and travelling-monk Saigyō.L Zolbrod, Haiku Painting (Tokyo 1982) p. 14

Original kernel Saigyō was travelling to North Japan, when he sat in the shade of a willow-tree, later identified by Bashō as being close to the village of Ashino,Basho, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Penguin 1983) p. 105 and wrote a waka: " ‘Just a brief stop,’/ I said when stepping off the road/into a willow's shade/where a bubbling stream flows by,/as has time since my ‘brief stop’ began".W LaFleur trans, Awesome Nightfall (Boston 2003) p. 143

Main theme A wandering priest, Yugyō Shonin, is given directions by an old man who recites Saigyō's poem before vanishing: the priest then realises it was the spirit of the willow tree.Summary and Highlights of Yugyō yanagi By reciting a prayer to Amida Buddha, he enables the spirit to attain Buddhahood, for which the willow spirit thanks him in a dance sequence.Summary and Highlights of Yugyō yanagi

Later developments Buson wrote a haiku on rocks and willows underneath the Pilgrim's Willow Tree, alluding to the Noh play.L Zolbrod, Haiku Painting (Tokyo 1982) p. 12

See also

Eguchi (play) Matsuyama tengu Saigyōzakura Sankashū

References

External links Saigyo in three Japanese No plays