Famous Plays

A ferry that crosses Sumida River is about to depart. The ferryman hesitates to let a potential madwoman (shite) get on the ferry. However, his heart grieves for the woman who laments about her search for her kidnapped child by quoting a waka poem, and lets her get on board. The ferryman explains that a memorial service would be held on the opposite shore in memory of a young boy who was kidnapped by slave traders and died exactly a year ago. The woman realizes that this boy is her son and breaks down into tears. The woman recites nembutsu, the invocation to Amida Buddha, at a small mound she was taken to, and a ghost of the young boy appears. She tries to grab him, but the ghost disappears when dawn comes.

In Noh, there are many plays in which a woman becomes a madwoman because she becomes distraught trying to find the person she is looking for. Although the plays usually end with the woman reuniting with her beloved, in this play only the mother and child are unable to be reunited alive.