Once upon a time there lived a poor
AV
fisherman. His hard world afforded him
only common pleasures – the familiar
sound of rowers cry and the hollow boom
of the sea.
On a certain day, early as usual, the
fisherman walked beneath the dark salt
pine-woods towards the seashore.
In the middle of the wood he came
upon a solemn tree, alive with
sudden beauty of scent and light - the
magic of an angel's robe hanging from
a pine-branch.
As the fisherman grasped the robe a
gentle voice behind him said, That
robe is mine. Give it back to me.
He turned to see a lady standing by.
He who finds, keeps, the fisherman said. But
it is an immortal robe, the lady cried.
Without my robe I am helpless
as a bird without wings. Sad at her
sadness, the fisherman thought, She shall
have it if she will dance for me. Will
she dance for me?
The story of the fisherman and the angel, from the
Noh play Hagoromo, was a favorite of mine in childhood.
I have long wanted to make a series of woodcuts to
tell this simple and moving tale. For many years I
could not see how to handle the dance scenes which,
with accompanying music, are the essence of the play.
I shall dance, said the lady.
And she danced for him the
dance of the spring wind and
bright memories of childhood
the empty rainbow sky. She danced
dreams and distant lands,
One day it suddenly became clear to me. Why not let
the angel travel far in Asian lands to dance for
Hagoromo the dances of Korea, India, and
Persia before she returned to heaven?
At last, radiant as summer sunset the
angel leapt, ascending- clear of the
pine-wood, clear of the seashore, into
the evening sky.
The story is adapted by Peter Heyworth from my
own telling of the tale. So it fits my childhood
The fisherman stood silent, arms aloft,
memory and my woodcuts rather than Zeami's
Japanese text used as the script for the Noh play.
in the sad shadow of the angel's farewell.
Naoko Matsubara
The portfolio of HAGOROMO is published in a
igned. limited and numbred edition of 22 copies
of which this is copy number 6
Each copy of tdis poetfolio includes twelve
woodcuts printed on land-made. Japanese mulleery
peper SHIBORI, made in Kutodani, Japan. The original
woodeuts were pristed by Naoko Matsubara and
Yohilko Ichida by hand in Oakville, Ovtario, Canada.
The type is Centaur, which was conposed and printed by
Robert Tauber & Rod Mills of The Logan El Press, The Ohio
Sate University. Columbus, Olio, USA
Copytight 196 by Naoko Matubara
