{"id":113,"date":"2026-02-19T21:10:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kabukiguide.jp\/en\/?p=113"},"modified":"2026-03-20T11:29:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T02:29:37","slug":"the-terakoya-no-dan%e5%af%ba%e5%ad%90%e5%b1%8b%e3%81%ae%e6%ae%b5-scene-what-is-sugawara-denju-tenarai-kagami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kabukiguide.jp\/en\/the-terakoya-no-dan%e5%af%ba%e5%ad%90%e5%b1%8b%e3%81%ae%e6%ae%b5-scene-what-is-sugawara-denju-tenarai-kagami\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cTerakoya no dan(\u5bfa\u5b50\u5c4b\u306e\u6bb5)\u201d Scene \u2014 What Is Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A terakoya<\/em> was a private elementary school for commoners in Japan during the Edo period (17th\u201319th centuries)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terakoya no dan\u2014 Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Set in a small village school in Seri\u014d, on the outskirts of Kyoto, this scene is one of the play\u2019s most celebrated moments, where loyalty to one\u2019s lord and the love between parent and child collide with heartbreaking intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The schoolmaster, Takebe Genzo, is secretly sheltering Kan Sh\u016bsai, the son of his lord Kan Sh\u014dj\u014d. As the pursuit by Shihei closes in, Shihei\u2019s retainer, Shund\u014d Genba, arrives along with Matsu\u014dmaru, who has ties to the Sugawara family, demanding Kan Sh\u016bsai\u2019s head. Faced with an impossible choice, Genzo steels himself to use a newly enrolled boy, Kotar\u014d, as a substitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genzo kills Kotar\u014d and presents his head to Matsu\u014dmaru. After examining it, Matsu\u014dmaru declares it to be Kan Sh\u016bsai\u2019s, and the pursuers withdraw. The danger seems to have passed\u2014until Kotar\u014d\u2019s mother arrives to collect her child. It is then revealed that Kotar\u014d was in fact Matsu\u014dmaru\u2019s own son, and that everything had been arranged by Matsu\u014dmaru himself in order to save Kan Sh\u016bsai\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moved by the resolve of Matsu\u014dmaru and his wife, who sacrificed their own child for the sake of loyalty, Genzo, his wife Tonami, and even the rescued Kan Sh\u016bsai are brought to tears. In the final moments, Kan Sh\u014dj\u014d\u2019s wife and Kan Sh\u016bsai depart to seek refuge with Kakuj\u016b, while Matsu\u014dmaru and his wife set off toward Toribeno, carrying Kotar\u014d\u2019s body\u2014each pair walking a separate path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tragic clash between devotion to one\u2019s lord and the love of a parent makes this scene one of the most powerful and emotionally moving moments in all of kabuki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTerakoya Scene\u201d \u2013 Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami<\/em>
Summary and Explanation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Terakoya Entrance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the outskirts of Kyoto, in the village of Sery\u014d, peasant children sit side by side at the temple school run by Takebe Genzo<\/strong>, practicing their writing. Genzo is away at a village meeting, and in his absence Kan Shusai<\/strong>, disguised in humble clothing, studies quietly among the other children. When an older child misbehaves, Shusai gently corrects him, revealing his intelligence and kind nature. The scene portrays a peaceful, everyday moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inside the Terakoya<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Genzo returns, but his face is pale with tension. The \u201cvillage meeting\u201d was merely a pretext: in reality, he has been confronted by Shundo Genba<\/strong> and Matsuomaru<\/strong>, retainers of Shihei, who have demanded that he surrender the head of Kan Shusai. The village is already surrounded, and there is no way to escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this moment, Genzo\u2019s wife Tonami<\/strong> introduces a boy who wishes to enroll at the school. His name is Kotaro<\/strong>. Seeing the boy\u2019s refined features, Genzo suddenly brightens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman who brought Kotaro says she lives in the same village and asks that the child be accepted into the school. Tonami agrees to take him in, and the woman leaves, saying she must attend to an errand in a neighboring village, entrusting her son to their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no other choice, Genzo resolves to use Kotaro as a substitute for Kan Shusai. If the deception is discovered, he plans to cut down Matsuomaru and the others on the spot, and if that fails, to take his own life together with Kan Shusai. Yet both Genzo and Tonami are overcome with grief at the thought of killing an innocent child who has only just entered their school. They lament, \u201cThere is nothing more cruel than serving at court,\u201d and weep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, Shundo Genba and Matsuomaru arrive to demand Kan Shusai\u2019s head. Matsuomaru presides over the head inspection. Genzo goes into the inner room, kills Kotaro, and places the head in a wooden tub, presenting it to them. In the suffocating silence, Matsuomaru declares that it is indeed Kan Shusai\u2019s head, and the pursuers depart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The immediate danger has passed, but before long, Kotaro\u2019s mother returns to fetch her child. When Genzo raises his sword against her, she blocks the blade with a document case and reveals that she had already resolved to sacrifice her own son as a substitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that moment, Matsuomaru reappears and reveals the truth: Kotaro was in fact his own son, and everything had been arranged in order to save Kan Shusai. Overwhelmed by the depth of loyalty that led the Matsuomaru couple to sacrifice their child, Genzo, Tonami, and the rescued Kan Shusai all weep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Matsuomaru calls for a palanquin. From it emerges Sono no Mae<\/strong>, the wife of Lord Sugawara, who is reunited with Kan Shusai. It is revealed that the mountain priest who once rescued and escorted her away in Kita-Saga was none other than Matsuomaru himself. Dressed in white mourning robes, Matsuomaru and his wife lift Kotaro\u2019s body and set off toward Toribeno, the place of cremation.<\/p>\n\n\n