- Fig. 3.1. Image of blind musicians. Left: The female musician is described as a jomō (blind woman; jomō reverses the usual word order of mōjo)—the Japanese kanji characters are glossed as mekura (dark eyes), a reference to her blindness. Less is known about blind female musicians of the medieval period than about blind male musicians, but it is likely that blind female musicians performed music with drumbeat, as seen here. Right: The male musician is described as a biwa hōshi (blind male musicians who played the biwa and specialized in Heike music). His head is shaven, and he is dressed like a Buddhist cleric, a physical appearance consistent with the image that early blind male musicians were musical, religious performers. The verse next to the man narrates the scene from The Tale of the Heike about the Heike’s retreat from Fukuhara, the clan’s capital, with smoke rising as the palace goes up in flames. The verse next to the woman honors the ancestry of Iwazu Saburō, the father of the Soga brothers and the male heir of the Itō clan with links to Emperor Uda, who ruled in the late ninth century. This verse comes from The Tale of the Soga Brothers and suggests that blind female musicians had a role in performing the tale. From Poetry Contest of All Kinds of Artisans and Professionals (Japanese title: Shokuninzukushi utaawase; undated manuscript likely produced in the late medieval period or early Tokugawa period). National Diet Library Digital Collections.
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