SHIRABYOSHI HANAKO
the woman fell in love with a handsome young man. The man was an itinerant priest undergoing rigorous training and abandoned her in fear of violating his religious commandments. The deserted woman reproached him for his betrayal, and transformed herself into a snake, pursued him to the temple, and scorched him to death by melting the bell, in which he was hiding, with the flame of jealousy. One day when a new bell was installed at the temple, a beautiful woman appeared at the temple. In the garden whee cherry blossoms bloomed all over, she danced beautifully, went close to the bell, and disappeared into the bell. When the bell was lifted, a horrendous snake came out again. The vindictive grudge of the woman against the bell that once gave refuge to her lover had lived on. The beautiful dance of kyoganoko musumedokodi was born from this fearful legend. However , “Musumedojoji is not a story of vindictiveness and jealousy of a woman but it’s a story of the beauty of womans love. For about two centuries since its first performance in 1752, people have grafted onto the dance of their fantasies about women. That is why the woman at one time takes the image of a gay entertainer, at the other a lovelorn innocent girl, a refined courtesan, and a jealous woman. Yet they have something in common; they all depict women in love, as well as the pleasure, frailty, eroticism, jealousy pain, and solitary despair of love. Truly, while watching Tamasaburo’s “Musumedojoji,” I saw eroticism of love from the entertainer who closed her eyes at the passage way, and heard a buoyant song of love from the girl who looked into the mirror. Thus for hundreds of years “Musumedojoji has been loved among Japanese. Love is manifold of blossomes, countless fantasies of love have made up a woman.