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PRINCE SEMIMARU THIS IS A PRINT OF THE NOH MASK PRINCE SEMIMARU SEMIMARU is a Noh play about karma. Prince
Semimaru has been blind since youth and feels that his blindness is the
result of a failure in his previous existence. His sister, Princess Sakagami,
which the play is mainly about, is completely nuts. Her personal hygiene
is deplorable and her hair, a fright, stands straight up. So they are,
shall we say, “encouraged” to leave the court, probably as
quickly as possible. They apparently then go their separate ways. The
Prince goes into retreat, becomes a monk, learns to play the Biwa, an
instrument sort of like a lute and seems to be doing quite well for himself.
The Princess on the other hand, has become a wild-haired figure, wandering
aimlessly from place to place. One day lo and behold they meet by chance.
They talk together and comfort each other, but alas, the Princess leaves
him and continue her sad wanderings. In fact, at the very place where Prince Semimaru played his biwa they now have the Semimaru Tunnel.
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