Aonyobo (young woman who serves a high-ranked person) (青女房)

The term "aonyobo" refers to a middle or low-ranked young noblewoman who serves a high ranked person.

Aoi no Ue (Lady Aoi)

In some traditional style Noh plays of 'Aoi no Ue,' an aonyobo appears as an attendant of the leading character named Rokujo no Miyasudokoro.

A shrine maiden who visits a court lady named Aoi no Ue for a prayer can identify the evil spirit who possesses Aoi no Ue, because the shrine maiden sees the evil spirit is in a broken onna-guruma (ox-drawn carriage for women) accompanied by an aonyobo who never stops crying.

This scene is created in order that an audience can easily find out the evil spirit is Rokujo no Miyasudokoro, because she is the only person who has some story related to a broken carriage and she can have a noble attendant even though the rank of that attendant is not so high. However, since the characters in the scene may be confusing, the aonyobo is only mentioned in lines of the shrine maiden in later plays.

[Original Japanese]