| DATE: | March 25, 2007 11:00, 12:30, 13:30, & 15:00 | |
| PLACE: | 35 Ono Goryo-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto In the grounds of Zuishin-in Temple |
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| DIRECTION: | Tozai Subway Line to Ono station | |
| TEL: | 81-75-571-0025 | |
| ADMISSION: | Adults - 1,000 yen, students (junior high) - 800 yen (includes admission for Hanezu-odori dance, plum garden and temple) | |
| TEXT: | In olden Japan, the color cerise was known as “hanezu.” Today, this bygone word is still used for describing the red plum trees of Zuishin-in Temple. The Hanezu-odori is a dance based on the tragedy “Momoyo-gayoi” (A Hundred-Night Visit). The temple is associated with Ono-no-Komachi, the famous Heian era (794-1185) poetess, and the story tells of an officer named Fukakusa who falls in love with Ono-no-Komachi. Komachi tells him that if he visits her one hundred nights in a row, she will grant him his wish. He sets out to do so, but on the 99th night, his luck runs out. In a night of heavy snowfall, he sends his aide to her instead of himself. So the promise they have made is broken and he is forced to relinquish his love for her. Following this, Komachi spends the hanezu blossom season each year with village children. Young girls in costumes of cerise enact this tragic story through dance. The dance should be enjoyed as an event that heralds the coming of spring. |