What is 'Sagi Musume'? An Introduction to the Performance That Makes the Ending of the Movie 'National Treasure' Even More Poignant

*This article touches upon the ending of the movie 'National Treasure' and the conclusion of the Kabuki performance 'Sagi Musume'.

For those who cried at the sight of 'Sagi Musume' in the snow during the final scene of the movie 'National Treasure,' I have something I want to tell you.

There is a proper answer to those tears.

Knowing what kind of performance 'Sagi Musume' is makes the meaning of that final scene hit you on a much deeper level. In fact, after seeing it for the first time in the theater, I looked up the synopsis of Sagi Musume and went to see it a second time. As a result, my immersion in that scene was completely different. (This is probably half the reason I wrote in my review that 'the second time was when I cried the most.') Today, let me help you find those answers.

What is Sagi Musume? Dancing in the snow for over 260 years

'Sagi Musume' is a Kabuki dance performed to Nagauta music. It premiered in 1762 (the 12th year of the Horeki era) and was danced by the popular onnagata of the time, Segawa Kikunojo II. Later, the 'theatrical saint' of the Meiji era, Ichikawa Danjuro IX, revived it, making it a popular piece, and today it is known as a signature role for Bando Tamasaburo.

In other words, there has been a young woman suffering from love in the snow ever since the Edo period. It's quite amusing to think that Edo audiences were falling into the same trap as we are.

The story is simple. A white heron spirit appears in the form of a young woman by a snowy waterfront. The heron, having fallen in love with a human, suffers from the hopelessness of its feelings, and eventually—that is the story. It is said to be a performance that 'superimposes the heart of a young woman suffering from love onto the figure of a white heron.'

The story begins with 'white'

When the curtain rises, the stage is a landscape of snow. The young woman is wearing a white silk kimono with a black obi, a cotton hood on her head, and an umbrella in her hand.

She is almost entirely white. In other words, the moment the Heron Maiden appears, she stands there as an otherworldly being, indistinguishable from the snow. This is also the figure we see first at the end of the movie 'National Treasure.'

White turns to red—what 'hikinuki' signifies

And then comes that moment.

In my previous review, I wrote, 'My heart trembled the instant the white kimono changed to a vivid red.' That costume change is a Kabuki quick-change technique called 'hikinuki,' where pulling a thread changes the costume in an instant.

However, the meaning here is more important than the technique.

White is the snow, the heron, and the innocence of something not human. The red and the gorgeous costumes that follow are the passions of a woman in love. In other words, that moment is the moment a non-human being becomes 'human' through love.

I think the reason I was able to cry just from the color change is that we, the audience, understood that transformation before our logic could catch up.

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The ending is hell—and yet, it is beautiful

This is where 'Sagi Musume' truly becomes amazing.

The young woman who danced the joys of love is eventually drawn back to her true nature as a bird. The final scene is interpreted as the torment she suffers for the sin of falling in love with a human despite being a beast. In the snow, the woman writhes in agony, yet continues to dance until she breathes her last as the curtain falls.

Falling in love leads to hell. In the Edo period, the scale of their imagination was on another level.

But that is exactly why this performance has survived to this day. The depths of suffering and the heights of beauty exist simultaneously in the same body. 'Sagi Musume' is a story about sacrificing something in exchange for beauty.

Why does simple love lead to hell? — A Buddhist perspective

Doesn't this bother you? Why is it hell just for falling in love? The background lies in the Buddhist worldview.

Buddhism has a concept called the 'Six Realms.' It is the belief that after death, living beings are reincarnated into one of six worlds: Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hungry Ghost, or Hell. The point is that the heron, being a bird, is in the 'Animal' realm—meaning it is already in a lower, more painful place than a human from the moment it is born.

Furthermore, there are two main ways of looking at why the heron is subjected to torment.

• The sin of taking life: The heron is a bird that survives by catching fish. Just by living, it takes lives every single day. One view is that this retribution becomes its torment. There is a poignancy in the fact that the person—or rather, the bird—has no malicious intent, yet sins accumulate simply by existing.

• Attachment as love: In Buddhism, strong desire—or 'bonno' (worldly passions)—is considered the source of suffering. The heron, having taken human form and learned of love, carried both the joy and the sorrow of it as 'attachment.' Yes, that 'hikinuki' (quick costume change) from white to red can be read as a symbol of burning worldly passions.

Which interpretation is emphasized depends on the researcher or the performer. However, there is a common thread running through the core.The purer and more beautiful something is, the more it cannot escape the sins and sufferings of existence—this is the sense of impermanence. A pure white heron learns of love, bears the weight of sin, and exhausts itself in the snow. This coexistence of 'beauty' and 'hopelessness' is what has continued to strike the hearts of viewers to this day.

Why was 'Sagi Musume' the finale of 'National Treasure'?

By now, I feel it goes without saying, but I will write it anyway.

Kikuo is a man who has sacrificed almost all of his worldly happiness for the sake of his art. The dance he performs at the end is that of a heron, suffering for the sin of loving a human, yet continuing to dance beautifully. In other words, that finale is a double exposure thatsuperimposes Kikuo's own life onto a 260-year-old performance—that is what it is.

To borrow Buddhist terminology, both love and art are 'attachments.' A man who dedicated his entire life to his attachments dances the heron, who falls because of its own attachments. Making Kikuo perform 'Sagi Musume'—that is what this movie is all about.

In that moment in the snow when the white turns to red, the entire three-hour story flows into you. I believe we cried because we were watching two lives—the heron maiden's and Kikuo's—at the same time.

Going to see the real 'Sagi Musume'

For those who encountered this performance through the movie: 'Sagi Musume' is a performance that is still alive today.

Inspired by this movie, I watched Bando Tamasaburo's Cinema Kabuki 'Sagi Musume / Hidakagawa Iriaizakura.' From beginning to end, it was simply beautiful, and I was moved once again in a way that words cannot describe. Even someone who enters the world of Kabuki through movies will be properly welcomed.

• First, watch the finale of 'National Treasure' again via streaming. Knowing the meaning of the performance makes it a completely different experience.

• For your next step, I recommend Bando Tamasaburo's Cinema Kabuki 'Sagi Musume / Hidakagawa Iriaizakura.' You can watch 'Sagi Musume,' said to be the definitive performance of the current generation, from start to finish on screen.

• For details on the performance, the explanation in the Culture Digital Library is reliable.

My next goal is to see a live performance of 'Sagi Musume.' Let's fall into this 260-year-old obsession together.

Did your perspective on the ending of 'National Treasure' change after learning the meaning of the performance? Please let me know in the comments.

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Regarding 'National Treasure,' I have also written about my impressions after watching it three times in theaters, its aspect as a 'film about acting' that I noticed while rewatching it via streaming, and my recommendation to watch it with subtitles.

I also write reviews and analyses of other movies that have moved me in this way. Please follow me, and let's meet again for the next movie discussion.