The following plot summary is based on the full twelve-scene version. The characters of Sakuramaru, Umeōmaru, and Matsuōmaru are triplets who have been the beneficiaries of Kan Shōjō's favor in the past, having been placed as retainers to court officials.
Act I The Imperial Palace (Ôuchi) The play opens as an envoy from China arrives to paint a portrait of the emperor. The emperor is sick, however, and so a stand-in needs to be chosen; Shihei volunteers himself, an indication or reflection of his own lofty goals, but at the suggestion of Kan Shōjō and the decision of the emperor,
Prince Tokiyo is chosen. As Tokiyo's love, Kariya, is the adopted daughter of Kan Shōjō, Shihei sees this as favoritism, and is disturbed. The emperor also orders Kan Shōjō to pass on his secrets of calligraphy to a disciple of his choice.
The Banks of the Kamo River (Kamo Zutsumi) The second scene features a meeting between Prince Tokiyo and Kariya, arranged by Sakuramaru. Kariya being a commoner, only adopted into the world of the imperial court, their love is taboo. When the meeting is discovered by one of Shihei's agents, the couple are forced to flee and hide, and Sakuramaru is disgraced.
The Transmission of the Secrets of Calligraphy (Hippô Denju) Kan Shōjō passes on his secrets to Genzō, a former disciple of his who had been banished from the court after falling in love with a lady-in-waiting named Tonami. Kan Shōjō is later called before the emperor, but loses his hat, an ill omen. He is accused by Shihei of plotting, through the marriage of Kariya to Tokiyo, to seize power, and is subsequently exiled to
Dazaifu. Genzō and Tonami, with the help of Umeōmaru, take Kan Shōjō's son, Kan Shūsai, with them to their small school in the provinces, in order to keep him safe from Shihei and his schemes. takes place in front of the
Yoshida Shrine in
Kyoto. The scene opens as Umeōmaru and Sakuramaru try to stop Shihei's carriage, and are confronted by Matsuōmaru, a member of the entourage. As the pair begin to unlash the oxen and tear apart the carriage, Shihei emerges, his blue face makeup marking him as a villain. He glares at them malevolently, halting their attack. File:Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Matsuomaru.jpg|Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Matsuomaru, by
Utagawa Kuniyasu The Celebration (Ga no Iwai) In the second scene, the triplets travel to the home of their father, Kan Shōjō's aged retainer Shiradayū, in Sata Village, for the festive celebration of his 70th birthday. The three soon begin fighting but, with no swords at hand, attack one another with bales of hay. Though only fighting with hay and other common objects, the fight scene is executed in the same style and manner as the greatest of
aragoto fight scenes. In the course of the fight, a branch from Kan Shōjō's favorite cherry tree (
sakura) is snapped off. Shiradayū notices this, and points it out as an omen, representing Sakuramaru's responsibility for Kan Shōjō's downfall, as he was the one who helped bring Tokiyo and Kariya together. Kan Shōjō arrives and, together with Shiradayū, chastise Matsuōmaru and banish him from their service; Sakuramaru then emerges and announces his decision to commit
ritual suicide, in order to atone for his wrongdoing. Shiradayū strikes a bell as his son dies. Kan Shōjō and Shiradayū are admiring the blossoms when Umeōmaru arrives with a captive: Washizuka Heima, a minion of Shihei's. Heima, tied up with rope, reveals Shihei's plot to seize power, describing each detail and he bemoans his fate, having failed in his mission to kill Kan Shōjō, and having been captured. Hearing of Shihei's treachery, Kan Shōjō becomes enraged, breaking off a branch from the plum tree and striking off Heima's head with it, as if it were a sword. He asks Shiradayū and Umeōmaru to hurry to the capital, to warn the emperor of Shihei's plans. Knowing that he cannot return to the capital himself, at least not in body, having been formally exiled, he vows to return as an angry spirit. To that end, he vows to journey to the summit of Mount Tenpai, where he will engage in austere disciplines, swear oaths to the gods, and become a ghostly lord of thunders. As he speaks, a storm rises up. His retainers grasp at his sleeves and try to stop him, but he throws them off, and flies off into the sky, already beginning to transform into a thunder spirit. Matsuōmaru's wife, Chiyo, arrives at the school to pick up her son, and Genzō and Tonami fear for a moment that they may have to kill her too, rather than reveal their deception. But Matsuōmaru himself arrives, and explains to all involved that the boy killed was his own son, and that he did this intentionally, in order to make up for his past transgressions against Kan Shōjō and the Court, and his involvement in Shihei's schemes. The scene has been the basis of two operas, both in German: in 1913 as
Gisei: Das Opfer by
Carl Orff, who freely adapted the translation by Karl Florenz (premiere 30 January 2010 in Stuttgart), and in 1918 as
Die Dorfschule by
Felix Weingartner.
Act V Disaster at the Imperial Palace (Ôuchi Tenpen) The single scene of Act V is only rarely performed in bunraku, and never in kabuki. It takes place in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto where a storm rages. In the aftermath of Kan Shōjō's death, discussions are held regarding the succession of Kan Shūsai, his son, to the head of the
Sugawara clan. Though the clan is currently in disgrace, Prince Tokiyo argues that the storm must be caused by Kan Shōjō's angry spirit, and that acknowledging his innocence and restoring the honor of his family by making Shūsai its head would appease him. Shihei grabs Kan Shūsai, threatening to kill him, and declaring that nothing, not even a thunder god, will stand in the way of him overthrowing the emperor and seizing power for himself. Bolts of lightning slay his minions, as Shihei stands firm. The young Kan Shūsai slips away as the ghosts of Sakuramaru and his wife appear, and attack Shihei. The Buddhist priest Hosshō rubs his
rosaries and chants prayers to drive the ghosts off, but stops when he learns of Shihei's evil schemes. The ghosts attack Shihei once again, with
sakura branches, and kill him. The storm dispels and the ghosts depart. The play ends with the priest Hosshō declaring Kan Shūsai the successor to the Sugawara house, and the posthumous conferral upon Kan Shōjō of the Senior First Court Rank. He declares that a shrine should be constructed at
Kitano to honor the minister, who shall now be worshipped as a god (
kami) of scholarship. == Gallery ==