The New Tale of Usuyuki

This play is based to a novel 'Usuyuki Monogatari/The Tale of Usuyuki' that was published in the 17th century. That original novel is a typical love story. Its hero Saemon meets Usuyuki-hime and falls in love. After that, Usuyuki-hime got an illness and died suddenly. Saemon felt that there was no wish or hope anymore, and he became a monk. It made a big hit at that time.

Bunkodo, Miyoshi Shoraku, and the other two playwrights wrote it as a puppet play in 1741. Its kabuki version was first performed at the same year. They made its story a historical drama.

Ordinarily, children have a tragic destiny in Kabuki play. They have to die for their parent's ambition unconditionally. They can say nothing, or ask nothing then. And that's the most important as a good child at Kabuki play. However, this play 'Shin Usuyuki Monogatari' is different. Both of the fathers of Saemon and Usuyuki-hime die for their children. I don't think that two young lovers were bad children. But they wasn't good children. Does it mean that a tragic destiny at Kabuki play is only for a good child?

Although I think that a child who isn't a good child is not always a bad child, I would like you to accept that I write 'a bad child' in this article about a child who isn't a good child.

It is difficult to be estimated fairly even for a good child. And it is not a problem at Kabuki play only. Nevertheless, a bad child always thinks that he isn't estimated fairly, even if he had no ability that should be estimated. A bad child feels that it is the most unfair that he can't become a good child. So a bad child demands to love him unconditionally. This theory has astronomical distance in order to reach its conclusion. However, there is the only person who flies that distance easily, a parent. Amazing.

Sometimes people wish just to be loved. They don't wish to be understood, or to be estimated, because they don't have any thought to be understood, or any ability to be estimated. I have known it recently.

As I mentioned before, I don't think Saemon and Usuyuki-hime were bad child. They were just thoughtless a little. If Saemon and Usuyuki-hime had been good children, they might have died their parents' ambition. However, their fathers killed themselves for children. It was a very miserable scene that they laughed each other for their children. (2002,11,2)