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-  私がまだ秋田へ訪れる前、東京で神道を学んでいる”君”に「秋田は何か面白いものはある？」と尋ねると、「秋田は平田だね」と、秋田出身の国学者 平田篤胤について教えてくれた。”君”は平田篤胤の信奉者らしく、有名なエピソードとされる”幽契”について嬉々として語りだす。　　

「平田篤胤は本居宣長を尊敬していて、会ったことはないが師のように想っていた。そんなある日、本居宣長の訃報を聞いてしまい、愕然とし、彼は落ち込んでいた。その翌朝、人づてに本居宣長が近くに来ているとの話を聞く。おかしいと思いながらも急いでその場所へ向かった。たどり着いた砂浜には、確かに本居宣長がそこにいた。平田篤胤はこの機会を逃がすまいと、急いで土下座をして本居宣長に『弟子にしてください！』と頼み込んだ。本居宣長はその願いを聞き、師弟の関係を結んだという。…しかし、この話は夢であった。だが、平田篤胤は夢の中で確かに弟子として認めてもらったと確信し、これを"幽契"と呼んだ。」

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​「どう、面白いでしょ」と”君”は言う。
いま振り返ると、既にこの時から、夢か現かわからない旅が始まっていた気がする。

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・・・

 

秋田の滞在では、”君”から100件を超えるメールや数多くの電話の望んでもいない連絡を常に昼夜問わず受けていた。平田篤胤と関係のない歴史や土地を見ていたはずが、気が付くと平田篤胤についての知識を植え付けられ、いつの間にか何を見ても平田篤胤と関連付けて物事を見ていた。それはまるで平田篤胤のVRゴーグルをつけて過ごすかのような、もしくは新幹線でぼーっと景色を見てあっという間に時間が過ぎていくかのような、夢うつつとした経験であった。

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私が秋田で過ごした一連の特殊な旅の経験は、平田篤胤の”幽契”の場面とよく似ている”夢幻能”と呼ばれる能の構造を想起させた。”夢幻能”は、諸国を廻る旅人の僧がみる夢の中を、舞台上で演じ、観客はその夢の中を垣間見ているとの説があり、その夢の中ではこの世のものでない存在と旅人が対話をする。​

私は秋田での滞在経験を、”君”に向けて電話を用いたレクチャーパフォーマンスとして舞台で発表した。

振り返ってみると、”君”と旅をしていた気もするし、本当に”君”がいたのかもわからない気がした。

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- Before I went to Akita. I had a friend who was studying Shinto in Tokyo and I asked him, ‘Is there anything interesting in Akita?’. You told me about Atsutane Hirata, a scholar of Japanese classical literature from Akita, saying, ‘Akita is Hirata’. You is a devotee of Atsutane Hirata and happily talks about the famous episode YUUKEI.

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‘Atsutane Hirata respected Norinaga Motoori and though he had never met Norinaga, he thought of Norinaga as his teacher. One day, hearing the news of Norinaga Motoori's death, he was shocked and depressed. The next morning, he heard from someone that Norinaga Motoori was nearby. I thought it was strange, but I hurried to the place. Norinaga Motoori was on the beach where he arrived. Atsutane Hirata hurriedly bowed his head to Norinaga Motoori and asked him, 'Make me a disciple!' so as not to miss the chance. It is said that Norinaga Motoori accepted his request and formed a master-pupil relationship.

... However, this story was a dream. However, Atsutane Hirata was convinced that he was accepted as a disciple in his dream. This story is called YUUKEI.’

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‘Well, that's interesting, isn't it?’ you say.
Looking back now, I feel that when I heard this story, it was the beginning of a journey that I didn't know whether it was a dream or a reality.

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・・・

During my stay in Akita, I received over 100 emails and a lot of unsolicited phone calls from "you". I got calls day and night. I must have been looking at the history and land that had nothing to do with Atsutane Hirata but before I knew it, my knowledge of Atsutane Hirata was instilled in me by "you", and I looked at things in connection with Atsutane Hirata no matter what I saw. The experience is like wearing Atsutane Hirata's VR goggles. Or, it is an experience as if the time passes by in a blink of an eye while looking at the scenery on the Shinkansen. It was a dreamy journey.

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A series of special experiences that I spent in Akita reminded me of the structure of Noh called "Mugen-Noh" which is very similar to the scene of YUUKEI by Atsutane Hirata. 
There is a theory that "Mugen-Noh" is performed on the stage in the dream of a priest who travels around the country, and the audience has a glimpse of the dream, in which the dead and the traveler talk.I presented my experience of staying in Akita on stage as a performance. It's a performance done to "you", using the phone.
Looking back, I feel like I was traveling with "you". But at the same time, I didn't know if there was really "you".

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