Synopsis of Adachigahara (AKA Kurozuka)

A group of travelling priests is travelling through the mountains near Kurozuka in Adachigahara. When the sun sets mysteriously early, the priests ask for shelter at the hut of a poor old woman. Although reluctant at first, she finally lets them in. When one of the priests asks her about a spinning wheel in the corner, she demontrates how she spins thread through the lonely night, in a pitiful attempt to make a meager living. She complains about her wretched life, but the priests remind her that we are lucky to have been born as humans, capable of understanding Buddhism and thus grasping enlightenment. In response she presents a poetic catalogue of terms associated with "thread," a list which includes subtle references to the Lady Rokujô in Tale of Genji, whose jealous living spirit (ikiryô) killed a number of her rivals. Afterwards, she tells the priests she must go gather wood in the mountains. As she leaves, she admonishes them not to look into her bedroom. They promise not to do so, but the priests' servant (played by a kyogen actor) cannot resist looking. He finds that the room is piled high with rotting, festering corpses, and horrified, tells the head priest that they must escape immediately. Before they can do so, the old woman returns in her true form as the demon of Adachigahara, enraged that they have broken their promise. The priests call on the four Guardian Kings (Myôô) associated with the four directions and on Fudô Myôô (The Unmovable One) associated with the center, to exorcise and pacify the female demon. These five deities, considered incarnations of Dainichi Nyorai (the Great Sun Buddha), present the appearance of terrible anger in order to quell the rebellious spirits of human beings and demons. Note that the same deities are called upon in Dôjôji [the following translation is slightly modified from one done by UCI graduate student Christine Cowgill]:

Shite: The power of the demon stick I wield is terrifying!

Waki: To the East, the Guardian King, Conqueror of the Three Realms [Gôzanze Myôô]

Wakizure: to the South, the Guardian King, Conqueror of Demons [Gundari-yasha Myôô]

Waki: to the West, the Guardian King, Conqueror of Evil Serpents and Dragons [Daiitoku Myôô]

Wakizure: to the North, the Guardian King, Conqueror of Frightful Monsters [Kongô-yasha Myôô]

Waki: and you in the Center, most wise Fudô Myôô, All-Holy Immovable One

Wakizure: Onkoro sendari matôgi onnabira unken sowaka untara kanman...**

Chorus: ...Fudô Myôô, show us the power of your avenging noose!
The priests pray again and again to dispel the demon
and finally the demon is defeated by their prayers.

Shite: Still she remains

Chorus: Still she remains,
although a raging demoness
now she is exhausted,
cowering before them,
dizzy, with tottering steps.
She realizes that hiding in Kurozuka in Adachigahara
lying in wait [for unwary travelers]
is a disgraceful occupation.
She is ashamed of her demonic appearance,
and yet her voice is still terrifyingly loud,
her terrifyingly loud voice
is lost in the sound of the night storm,
it vanishes into the sound of the night storm.

**A romanized reproduction of a Chinese transcription of a dharani (incantation) thought efficacious against demons.