Now there is something I would speak of unto thee if thou permittest—All the maidens who were gathering the young greens have departedSave thyself, and wherefore then art thou alone remaining with me?
Now there is something I would speak of unto thee if thou permittest—All the maidens who were gathering the young greens have departedSave thyself, and wherefore then art thou alone remaining with me?
SPIRIT
For the Maiden’s Tomb but just now thou didst ask me. I will show thee.
For the Maiden’s Tomb but just now thou didst ask me. I will show thee.
PRIEST
Yes, indeed, I do desire to see it and I pray thee show me.
Yes, indeed, I do desire to see it and I pray thee show me.
SPIRIT
This way honourably follow. And the Maiden’s Tomb is this!
This way honourably follow. And the Maiden’s Tomb is this!
PRIEST
What its history, and why then, is the Maiden’s Tomb so calléd?Pray minutely tell the story.
What its history, and why then, is the Maiden’s Tomb so calléd?Pray minutely tell the story.
SPIRIT
Then will I the tale unfold.Once upon a time a maiden who was called Unai did live here,And two men there were, called Chinu and Sasada, and they loved her.And to her upon the same day, in the same hour, both declaringFervent love, they sent two letters. But she thought that if she yieldedUnto one, the other’s anger would be deep, and so to neitherWould she yield (and then her father said the truest shot should win her).But upon Ikuta’s river did the two men’s flying arrowsPierce together but one water-fowl, and pierce the selfsame wing.And then I thought, how cruel now I am.[24]The wild fowl’s troth, though plighted deep and trueIs broken for me, and the happy pair—Mandarin ducks—for my poor sake must bearThe pain of separation. Piteous!So, with my life dismayed, I’d throw myselfInto Ikuta river’s flowing tide[25]Here in the land of Tsu. Ikuta standsMerely a name to such a one as I.
Then will I the tale unfold.Once upon a time a maiden who was called Unai did live here,And two men there were, called Chinu and Sasada, and they loved her.And to her upon the same day, in the same hour, both declaringFervent love, they sent two letters. But she thought that if she yieldedUnto one, the other’s anger would be deep, and so to neitherWould she yield (and then her father said the truest shot should win her).But upon Ikuta’s river did the two men’s flying arrowsPierce together but one water-fowl, and pierce the selfsame wing.
And then I thought, how cruel now I am.[24]The wild fowl’s troth, though plighted deep and trueIs broken for me, and the happy pair—Mandarin ducks—for my poor sake must bearThe pain of separation. Piteous!So, with my life dismayed, I’d throw myselfInto Ikuta river’s flowing tide[25]Here in the land of Tsu. Ikuta standsMerely a name to such a one as I.
CHORUS
These were her last words, as she took her wayInto the river’s water. When they foundThey buried her beneath this mound of clay.Then the two men, her lovers, came to seekHer tomb. No longer will we live, they said,And like the stream of Ikuta, the tideOf their remorse rose up. Each with his swordEnded the other’s life.And that was too my sin! That too my sin!What can become of such a one, so fullOf sins? I pray thee therefore give me help!So saying ’neath the tomb once more she sankYea, down beneath the tomb once more she sank.
These were her last words, as she took her wayInto the river’s water. When they foundThey buried her beneath this mound of clay.Then the two men, her lovers, came to seekHer tomb. No longer will we live, they said,And like the stream of Ikuta, the tideOf their remorse rose up. Each with his swordEnded the other’s life.
And that was too my sin! That too my sin!What can become of such a one, so fullOf sins? I pray thee therefore give me help!So saying ’neath the tomb once more she sankYea, down beneath the tomb once more she sank.
[Ghost ofUnaiappears]
PRIEST
Short as a young stag’s horns in summer time[26]The night of sleep! The weeds grow on her tomb,And from their shade appears again the ghost.I’ll raise the voice of prayer. “Thou spirit soul,Awake thyself to understanding true,Enter Nirvana casting off from theeDelusions of thy life and of thy death.”[27]
Short as a young stag’s horns in summer time[26]The night of sleep! The weeds grow on her tomb,And from their shade appears again the ghost.I’ll raise the voice of prayer. “Thou spirit soul,Awake thyself to understanding true,Enter Nirvana casting off from theeDelusions of thy life and of thy death.”[27]
GHOST
Oh, the wide field, how desolate it is—My own deserted tomb and nothing else!Only wild beasts contending for the deadWhich come and go in gloom, and o’er the tombThe watching spirits flying in the windThat circling ever beats upon the pines.The heaven’s lightening, and the morning dewAre still before my eyes, and symboliseThe world of Earth, as transient as they.How many of the lonely tombs are thoseOf Youth, whose lives are so unlike the nameOf Ikuta, so-called the field of life.
Oh, the wide field, how desolate it is—My own deserted tomb and nothing else!Only wild beasts contending for the deadWhich come and go in gloom, and o’er the tombThe watching spirits flying in the windThat circling ever beats upon the pines.The heaven’s lightening, and the morning dewAre still before my eyes, and symboliseThe world of Earth, as transient as they.How many of the lonely tombs are thoseOf Youth, whose lives are so unlike the nameOf Ikuta, so-called the field of life.
CHORUS
A man comes from the world I left long since.How thankful am I. ’Tis the voice of prayer!
A man comes from the world I left long since.How thankful am I. ’Tis the voice of prayer!
CHORUS
I
O human world. How much I long for thee.
O human world. How much I long for thee.
II
A [living] man while spending [in this world]Even a single day and single night,A [living] man while spending [in this world]Even a single day and single night,Eight billion and four thousand things has heTo think about. But how much more have I,I, who left long ago the pleasant world—’Twas in the reign of Tenchi and by nowThe second Horikawa holds his sway.Oh, that once more unto the pleasant worldI might return. How long in shady weedsAnd ’neath the moss, how long I buried lie!But worse, not buried under the cool earthI suffer from a roasting heat and burn,Within a flaming dwelling-place, behold!Within a flaming dwelling-place, behold!
A [living] man while spending [in this world]Even a single day and single night,A [living] man while spending [in this world]Even a single day and single night,Eight billion and four thousand things has heTo think about. But how much more have I,I, who left long ago the pleasant world—’Twas in the reign of Tenchi and by nowThe second Horikawa holds his sway.Oh, that once more unto the pleasant worldI might return. How long in shady weedsAnd ’neath the moss, how long I buried lie!But worse, not buried under the cool earthI suffer from a roasting heat and burn,Within a flaming dwelling-place, behold!Within a flaming dwelling-place, behold!
PRIEST
Alas! How truly piteous is thy state,If only thou wouldst once but cast awayThe clouds of thy delusions, thou wouldst beFreed from thy many sins and from all ills.“From evils all, and sins, from hells and fiends,Illnesses all and deaths, be thou set free.”Oh, quickly float thyself in buoyant thought!
Alas! How truly piteous is thy state,If only thou wouldst once but cast awayThe clouds of thy delusions, thou wouldst beFreed from thy many sins and from all ills.“From evils all, and sins, from hells and fiends,Illnesses all and deaths, be thou set free.”Oh, quickly float thyself in buoyant thought!
GHOST
Ah, grateful am I, for the voice of prayerHas reached my ears, and tho’ my sufferingsDo know no intermission, in hot hellThe smoke clears back a moment, and I seeA little open space. How glad I am!Oh, how terrible! Who art thou? What! Of Sasada the spirit?And thou art the ghost of Chinu? And from right and left you hold meBy the hands, and saying to me “Come, come, come.” Though they torment meI don’t dare to leave the shelter of my burning house; for no one,Nothing, is there to rely on. And I see another spiritFlying from afar towards me. Oh, how terrible! I see it,’Tis the duck, and turned to iron, turned to steel it is before me!With beaks of steel like naked swords the birdPecks at my head and feasts upon my brain.Is it because of crimes I did commit?Oh, how resentful is it, cruel bird!Oh! I pray thee, Priest, I pray thee, from these sufferings relieve me!
Ah, grateful am I, for the voice of prayerHas reached my ears, and tho’ my sufferingsDo know no intermission, in hot hellThe smoke clears back a moment, and I seeA little open space. How glad I am!
Oh, how terrible! Who art thou? What! Of Sasada the spirit?And thou art the ghost of Chinu? And from right and left you hold meBy the hands, and saying to me “Come, come, come.” Though they torment meI don’t dare to leave the shelter of my burning house; for no one,Nothing, is there to rely on. And I see another spiritFlying from afar towards me. Oh, how terrible! I see it,’Tis the duck, and turned to iron, turned to steel it is before me!
With beaks of steel like naked swords the birdPecks at my head and feasts upon my brain.Is it because of crimes I did commit?Oh, how resentful is it, cruel bird!
Oh! I pray thee, Priest, I pray thee, from these sufferings relieve me!
PRIEST
“The time of torment fierce has now arrived.”The spirit had not finished saying this,When o’er the tomb flew out a band of flame.
“The time of torment fierce has now arrived.”The spirit had not finished saying this,When o’er the tomb flew out a band of flame.
GHOST
And then its light became a hellish fiend,
And then its light became a hellish fiend,
PRIEST
Who raised the torture rod, and drove at her.
Who raised the torture rod, and drove at her.
GHOST
Before me is a sea if I attemptBut to advance
Before me is a sea if I attemptBut to advance
PRIEST
While flames are in the rear.
While flames are in the rear.
GHOST
And on the left.
And on the left.
PRIEST
And on the right as well.
And on the right as well.
GHOST
By water and by fire am I now heldIn double torment.
By water and by fire am I now heldIn double torment.
PRIEST
Helpless utterly.
Helpless utterly.
GHOST
When to the pillar of the burning house
When to the pillar of the burning house
CHORUS
I reach my hands, and do attempt to clingAt once the column bursts out into flame—The blazing pillar must I then embrace.Oh, scorching heat! Oh, unendurable!The whole five members of my body turnedInto black smoke by this fierce burning fire.
I reach my hands, and do attempt to clingAt once the column bursts out into flame—The blazing pillar must I then embrace.Oh, scorching heat! Oh, unendurable!The whole five members of my body turnedInto black smoke by this fierce burning fire.
GHOST
And then when I arose—
And then when I arose—
CHORUS
And then when I arose, a jailor fiendApplied the torture-rod, and drove me out.I left the house and wandered through eight hellsAnd there all suffering I underwent.Now I would show thee how I blotted outMy many sins. Before thee lie the scenesFirst in the hell of all equality,[28]Then in the hell of black rope, devil led,And driven to the hell of gathering,Where all assemble. Then the hell of cries,Of bitter cries, came next, and then of heat,Of utmost heat, and then the hell of depth,Depth infinite, into whose space I fellFeet upwards and head downwards for three yearsAnd three months more, in agony the while.And after that a little interval—The devils left me and the flames expired,I thought there was a respite to my pain,But then the darkness grew more terribleAnd to my burning house I would returnI thought—but where then was it? To myselfI asked the question in the pitchy dark.And seeking, seeking, to and fro I groped.“The Maiden’s Tomb”—I searched it everywhere,And now at last I find “The Maiden’s Tomb.”Like flying dews leaving a grassy shade,Like flying dews leaving a grassy shade,The spirit’s form has once more disappearedThe spirit’s shadow has now vanished.
And then when I arose, a jailor fiendApplied the torture-rod, and drove me out.I left the house and wandered through eight hellsAnd there all suffering I underwent.Now I would show thee how I blotted outMy many sins. Before thee lie the scenesFirst in the hell of all equality,[28]Then in the hell of black rope, devil led,And driven to the hell of gathering,Where all assemble. Then the hell of cries,Of bitter cries, came next, and then of heat,Of utmost heat, and then the hell of depth,Depth infinite, into whose space I fellFeet upwards and head downwards for three yearsAnd three months more, in agony the while.And after that a little interval—The devils left me and the flames expired,I thought there was a respite to my pain,But then the darkness grew more terribleAnd to my burning house I would returnI thought—but where then was it? To myselfI asked the question in the pitchy dark.And seeking, seeking, to and fro I groped.“The Maiden’s Tomb”—I searched it everywhere,And now at last I find “The Maiden’s Tomb.”Like flying dews leaving a grassy shade,Like flying dews leaving a grassy shade,The spirit’s form has once more disappearedThe spirit’s shadow has now vanished.
END OF “THE MAIDEN’S TOMB”
(The play ends thus abruptly, leaving us in doubt as to whether or not the Priest’s admonition prevailed, and she escaped into Nirvana.)
This Play was probably written about 1410; at any rate in the first quarter of the fifteenth century. Its author wasMotokiyo, who was born in 1374 and who died in 1455. He was the eldest son of the famous Kiyotsugu (see p.7).
The time of the action of the play is about the year 1190, and Kagekiyo, the hero of the story, is a very renowned warrior of the Taira clan. The Taira and the Minamoto (Gen) clans were rivals and were perpetually at war; during the years 1156-1185 more particularly this struggle culminated, when Japan had her “Wars of the Roses.”
Kagekiyo, known as the Boisterous, owing to his uneven temper and ready appeals to arms, was a famous warrior of the Taira clan, and when the Minamoto Shōgunate was established at Kamakura, Kagekiyo was exiled to a distant place in Hiuga, where he became blind and passed a miserable existence as a beggar. He had a daughter called Hitomaru, whom he left in Kamakura in the charge of a lady. At the time of the play, Hitomaru has just grown up to be a young lady, but she had a great desire to meet her father, and so set out with a servant to seek him. She has a long and arduous journey to the place of her father’s exile, and afterenduring considerable hardships she at last finds Kagekiyo’s retreat. She and her servant encounter a villager who assists them in the final search for Kagekiyo, and they make inquiries of a blind beggar dwelling in a miserable straw hut. This beggar is actually Kagekiyo, but at first he refuses to answer them or to acknowledge it, out of shame and consideration for his daughter. Ultimately, however, he recounts to her some of his adventures, and then he commands her to leave him and they part for ever.
In this play there is perhaps less description of the beauties of Nature than in many of theNō, but the opening lines are particularly fraught with the meaning which permeates the whole play.
The dew remains until the wind doth blow.
The dew remains until the wind doth blow.
The comparison of human life to a drop of dew is one frequently made in the literature of theNō. Throughout this play there are many phrases showing how deeply the characters feel the transitoriness of human life. After Hitomaru’s longing for a place to rest a little while, Kagekiyo exclaims—
Nay, in the three worlds there is not a place.
Nay, in the three worlds there is not a place.
Kagekiyo’s behaviour to his child, and his reception of her after her long search for him, appears to us to be most cruel; but it is, nevertheless, based on the conceptions of the chivalry of his time. Kagekiyo’s leading thought was the really unselfish desire to keep theshame of his condition from touching his daughter. His first wish is that she shall not even recognise or speak with him; but when this is frustrated, he commands both the servant and the villager to send her back immediately their short meeting is over. And yet he does not seek even a moment’s embrace, nor does he use an endearing phrase to his daughter. The play is a good illustration of the way that the old codes of Japanese chivalry imposed courses of action which seem now in this softer age well-nigh inhuman in their repression and conquest of the natural feelings.
KagekiyoShiteHitomaru, Kagekiyo’s daughterTsureServant to HitomaruVillagerWakiChorus
SCENE
A mountain side at Miyasaki in the province of Hiuga. Time about 1190.
A mountain side at Miyasaki in the province of Hiuga. Time about 1190.
HITOMARU AND SERVANT
The dew remains until the wind doth blow,The dew remains until the wind doth blow.My own life fleeting as a drop of dew,What will become of me as time does pass?
The dew remains until the wind doth blow,The dew remains until the wind doth blow.My own life fleeting as a drop of dew,What will become of me as time does pass?
HITOMARU
My name is Hitomaru, and I amA maiden, who in Kamakura[31]dwells.My father’s name is Kagekiyo, calledBy some the Boisterous, and he is a friendOf the Hei[32]clan, the Taira familyAnd so is by the Gen[32]house hated much.To Miyasaki exiled, in HiugaHe deigns, in shame, long months and years to pass.To travel unaccustomed, I am tired,And yet inevitable wearinessI mitigate by thinking of my quest,And I am strengthened for my father’s sake.
My name is Hitomaru, and I amA maiden, who in Kamakura[31]dwells.My father’s name is Kagekiyo, calledBy some the Boisterous, and he is a friendOf the Hei[32]clan, the Taira familyAnd so is by the Gen[32]house hated much.To Miyasaki exiled, in HiugaHe deigns, in shame, long months and years to pass.To travel unaccustomed, I am tired,And yet inevitable wearinessI mitigate by thinking of my quest,And I am strengthened for my father’s sake.
HITOMARU AND SERVANT
The tears of anxious sleep run down my cheekAnd to the dew upon the pillowing grassAdd drops that drench my sleeves.From Sagami the province we set out,From Sagami the province we set out,Asking from those we met, the road to takeToward our destination. And we passedThe province Tōtōmi,[33]and crossed by boatThe distant bay. And Mikana we passed,By Mikana, spanned o’er with bridges eight.Oh, would that we could grow accustomed soonTo our short nights of sleep that we might dreamOf the high capital above the clouds,Of the high capital above the clouds.
The tears of anxious sleep run down my cheekAnd to the dew upon the pillowing grassAdd drops that drench my sleeves.
From Sagami the province we set out,From Sagami the province we set out,Asking from those we met, the road to takeToward our destination. And we passedThe province Tōtōmi,[33]and crossed by boatThe distant bay. And Mikana we passed,By Mikana, spanned o’er with bridges eight.Oh, would that we could grow accustomed soonTo our short nights of sleep that we might dreamOf the high capital above the clouds,Of the high capital above the clouds.
SERVANT
Endeavoured as you honourably haveTo hasten on the way, already nowThis is Miyasaki, as it is called,To Hiuga you have honourably come.This is the place to honourably askYour honourable father’s whereabouts.
Endeavoured as you honourably haveTo hasten on the way, already nowThis is Miyasaki, as it is called,To Hiuga you have honourably come.This is the place to honourably askYour honourable father’s whereabouts.
KAGEKIYO
[Evident to the audience, but supposed to be hidden from the other actors.]
The pine trees that have seen long months and yearsEntwine themselves to form the arching bowers.Yet I, debarred from the clear light of dayDiscern no sign that time is passing by.Here idly in a dark and lowly hutI sleep the time away. The seasons changeBut not for heat nor cold my clothes are plannedAnd to a skeleton my frame has waned.
The pine trees that have seen long months and yearsEntwine themselves to form the arching bowers.Yet I, debarred from the clear light of dayDiscern no sign that time is passing by.Here idly in a dark and lowly hutI sleep the time away. The seasons changeBut not for heat nor cold my clothes are plannedAnd to a skeleton my frame has waned.
CHORUS
If one has got to leave the world, then black,Black should his sleeves be dyed. Then surely blackHis sleeves should all be dyed, and yet my sleeves—Oh, more inglorious! So utterlyWorn out and waned my state that I myselfFeel much averse unto my wretched self.So who could be benevolent enoughTo visit such a state of misery?No one inquiring of my miseryWill ever come.No one inquiring of my miseryWill ever come.
If one has got to leave the world, then black,Black should his sleeves be dyed. Then surely blackHis sleeves should all be dyed, and yet my sleeves—Oh, more inglorious! So utterlyWorn out and waned my state that I myselfFeel much averse unto my wretched self.So who could be benevolent enoughTo visit such a state of misery?No one inquiring of my miseryWill ever come.No one inquiring of my miseryWill ever come.
HITOMARU
Incredible that one should dwell withinThat wretched hut, it does not seem to beFit for a habitation. Strangely thoughI heard a voice proceeding from its wall.A beggar’s dwelling it must be. I fear,And from the lowly dwelling keep away.
Incredible that one should dwell withinThat wretched hut, it does not seem to beFit for a habitation. Strangely thoughI heard a voice proceeding from its wall.A beggar’s dwelling it must be. I fear,And from the lowly dwelling keep away.
KAGEKIYO
That autumn now has come I cannot see,And yet I feel it for the wind has broughtTidings from somewhere, tho’ I know not whence.
That autumn now has come I cannot see,And yet I feel it for the wind has broughtTidings from somewhere, tho’ I know not whence.
HITOMARU
Ah, knowing not my father’s whereaboutsIn misery I wander, with no placeWhere I can rest even a little while.
Ah, knowing not my father’s whereaboutsIn misery I wander, with no placeWhere I can rest even a little while.
KAGEKIYO
Nay, in the three worlds there is not a place,’Tis only in the heavenly expanse.[34]Choose any man and ask him, he will say“Where else!” And what else could he ever say?
Nay, in the three worlds there is not a place,’Tis only in the heavenly expanse.[34]Choose any man and ask him, he will say“Where else!” And what else could he ever say?
SERVANT
How now, you in the thatched hut, I would askA question of you.
How now, you in the thatched hut, I would askA question of you.
KAGEKIYO
Well; what is it then?
Well; what is it then?
SERVANT
Knowest thou where dwells an exiled man?
Knowest thou where dwells an exiled man?
KAGEKIYO
An exile though he be, what is his name?
An exile though he be, what is his name?
SERVANT
The Boist’rous Kagekiyo is he called,And of the Taira house, a warrior.
The Boist’rous Kagekiyo is he called,And of the Taira house, a warrior.
KAGEKIYO
Yes, yes, I think that I have heard of him,Though being blind the man I’ve never seen.Miserable, his honourable state!To hear of which stirs pity in my breast.Pray then inquire elsewhere the full account.
Yes, yes, I think that I have heard of him,Though being blind the man I’ve never seen.Miserable, his honourable state!To hear of which stirs pity in my breast.Pray then inquire elsewhere the full account.
SERVANT
Then hereabouts he does not seem to be.
Then hereabouts he does not seem to be.
[To his mistress]
But further on we should inquire againIf you will honourably now proceed.
But further on we should inquire againIf you will honourably now proceed.
KAGEKIYO
She who has just been here—Why! is she notThe very child of this selfsame blind man?Once, very long ago, at AtsutaI met a woman, and this child I got.It was a girl,[35]and so I trusted herTo Kamegaegatsu’s châtelaine.Now grieving parent meets with child estranged;She, speaking to her father, knows it not.
She who has just been here—Why! is she notThe very child of this selfsame blind man?Once, very long ago, at AtsutaI met a woman, and this child I got.It was a girl,[35]and so I trusted herTo Kamegaegatsu’s châtelaine.Now grieving parent meets with child estranged;She, speaking to her father, knows it not.
CHORUS
Her form unseen, although I hear her voice,How sad my blindness is! Without a wordI let her pass. And yet such action isDue truly to the bond of parent’s love,Due truly to the bond of parent’s love.
Her form unseen, although I hear her voice,How sad my blindness is! Without a wordI let her pass. And yet such action isDue truly to the bond of parent’s love,Due truly to the bond of parent’s love.
SERVANT
How now, you there! Art thou a villager?
How now, you there! Art thou a villager?
VILLAGER
And to the Villager what hast thou thenOf honourable business?
And to the Villager what hast thou thenOf honourable business?
SERVANT
Dost thou knowWhere lives an exiled man?
Dost thou knowWhere lives an exiled man?
VILLAGER
What sort of man—An exile though he be—of whom you ask?
What sort of man—An exile though he be—of whom you ask?
SERVANT
A warrior of the Hei house, and calledKagekiyo the Boist’rous, him I seek.
A warrior of the Hei house, and calledKagekiyo the Boist’rous, him I seek.
VILLAGER
Just now as thou hast come along this wayUpon the hill-side, was there not a hut,A hut with thatch, and somebody within?
Just now as thou hast come along this wayUpon the hill-side, was there not a hut,A hut with thatch, and somebody within?
SERVANT
Yes, a blind beggar sat within the hut.
Yes, a blind beggar sat within the hut.
VILLAGER
Aye. That blind beggar is the man you seek,The very Kagekiyo whom you seek!How strange! When I said Kagekiyo’s nameThat honourable lady there did deignTo show a look of sadness. Why was that?
Aye. That blind beggar is the man you seek,The very Kagekiyo whom you seek!How strange! When I said Kagekiyo’s nameThat honourable lady there did deignTo show a look of sadness. Why was that?
SERVANT
Thy wonder is most reasonable. NaughtShall I conceal from thee. Kagekiyo’sMost honourable daughter is the maidWho hopes once more her honoured sire to meet.That being so, and as from far awayShe has come hither, I pray thee deviseSome proper way of speaking face to faceWith Kagekiyo.
Thy wonder is most reasonable. NaughtShall I conceal from thee. Kagekiyo’sMost honourable daughter is the maidWho hopes once more her honoured sire to meet.That being so, and as from far awayShe has come hither, I pray thee deviseSome proper way of speaking face to faceWith Kagekiyo.
VILLAGER
Oh, unutterable!Is she his honourable daughter then?Well, calm your heart, and pray you deign to hear.The sight of both eyes Kagekiyo lost;So helpless, he cut short his hair and calledHimself Kōtau of Hiuga and he begsFor his poor living from the travellers,And with the pity of such lowly folkAs we ourselves, he just sustains his life.And that he doth not tell his name must beShame for the contrast with the olden days.At once I shall go with you and call out“Kagekiyo”—and if it is his nameThen will he answer and you can observeHim face to face, and of the distant pastAnd of the present you shall tell him all.Pray come this way.Holloa! in the thatched hutIs Kagekiyo there within? Is thereThe boisterous Kagekiyo?
Oh, unutterable!Is she his honourable daughter then?Well, calm your heart, and pray you deign to hear.The sight of both eyes Kagekiyo lost;So helpless, he cut short his hair and calledHimself Kōtau of Hiuga and he begsFor his poor living from the travellers,And with the pity of such lowly folkAs we ourselves, he just sustains his life.And that he doth not tell his name must beShame for the contrast with the olden days.At once I shall go with you and call out“Kagekiyo”—and if it is his nameThen will he answer and you can observeHim face to face, and of the distant pastAnd of the present you shall tell him all.Pray come this way.
Holloa! in the thatched hutIs Kagekiyo there within? Is thereThe boisterous Kagekiyo?
KAGEKIYO
Worrying,Worrying, even if my state were well.And even though these people came from home,Shame for this very self compels me nowWithout my name to let them go—and yet—And yet it rends my heart and the sad tearsAs of a thousand streams run down my sleeves.I waken with the thought that earthly thingsAre naught, and but as visions in a dream.I am resolved in this world now to beAs one who is not, and if they will callThis beggar Kagekiyo, why reply?Moreover in this province I’ve a name—
Worrying,Worrying, even if my state were well.And even though these people came from home,Shame for this very self compels me nowWithout my name to let them go—and yet—And yet it rends my heart and the sad tearsAs of a thousand streams run down my sleeves.I waken with the thought that earthly thingsAre naught, and but as visions in a dream.I am resolved in this world now to beAs one who is not, and if they will callThis beggar Kagekiyo, why reply?Moreover in this province I’ve a name—
CHORUS
That name in Hiuga facing to the sun,[36]In Hiuga, facing to the sun is notThe name they call, but they return to oneOf the old days, discarded long ago,Which with my helplessly dropped bow I dropped.Wild thoughts again I never will exciteAnd yet I’m angry.
That name in Hiuga facing to the sun,[36]In Hiuga, facing to the sun is notThe name they call, but they return to oneOf the old days, discarded long ago,Which with my helplessly dropped bow I dropped.Wild thoughts again I never will exciteAnd yet I’m angry.
KAGEKIYO
Though while here I liveIn this place.
Though while here I liveIn this place.
CHORUS
While I liveIn this place; if I stir the hate of thoseWith means, how helpless would I be! and likeA blind man who had lost his walking-stick.A crippled man am I, and yet I daredUnreasonable words to use in wrath.Forgive I pray!
While I liveIn this place; if I stir the hate of thoseWith means, how helpless would I be! and likeA blind man who had lost his walking-stick.A crippled man am I, and yet I daredUnreasonable words to use in wrath.Forgive I pray!
KAGEKIYO
Blind are my eyes and yet—
Blind are my eyes and yet—
CHORUS
Blind are my eyes and yet I surely knowAnother’s thought hid in a single word.And if upon the mountains blows the windAgainst the pine trees, I can tell its source,Whether it comes from snow or unseen flowers,—Flowers only seen in dreams from which to wakeIs to regret! Again if in the bayUpon the rough sea beaches dashing wavesAre heard, then I well know the evening tideIs rising. Aye, to the great Taira clanI do belong, and so to pleasure themI’d give recitals of those olden days.
Blind are my eyes and yet I surely knowAnother’s thought hid in a single word.And if upon the mountains blows the windAgainst the pine trees, I can tell its source,Whether it comes from snow or unseen flowers,—Flowers only seen in dreams from which to wakeIs to regret! Again if in the bayUpon the rough sea beaches dashing wavesAre heard, then I well know the evening tideIs rising. Aye, to the great Taira clanI do belong, and so to pleasure themI’d give recitals of those olden days.
KAGEKIYO
How now, I wish to say a word to thee,For it has troubled me that I just nowUsed such quick-tempered words. For what I saidI pray thee pardon me.
How now, I wish to say a word to thee,For it has troubled me that I just nowUsed such quick-tempered words. For what I saidI pray thee pardon me.
VILLAGER
Well, that is naught.So never mind it. And, has no one come,To make inquiries here before I came?
Well, that is naught.So never mind it. And, has no one come,To make inquiries here before I came?
KAGEKIYO
No, no. Except thy calling, none has been.
No, no. Except thy calling, none has been.
VILLAGER
Ho! ’Tis a lie thou sayest. CertainlyDid Kagekiyo’s noble daughter come.Wherefore dost thou conceal? It is becauseI feel her story is so pitifulThat I’ve come here with her.
Ho! ’Tis a lie thou sayest. CertainlyDid Kagekiyo’s noble daughter come.Wherefore dost thou conceal? It is becauseI feel her story is so pitifulThat I’ve come here with her.
[ToHitomaru]
So now at onceMeet with your father, see him face to face
So now at onceMeet with your father, see him face to face
[Kagekiyokeeps silence]
HITOMARU
Pray, it is I, I who have come to you.Cruel! The rain, the wind, the dew and frostI minded not along that distant road,While coming to you! And all this, alas,Becomes as nothing! Does a Father’s loveDepend upon the nature of the child?[37]Ah, heartless!
Pray, it is I, I who have come to you.Cruel! The rain, the wind, the dew and frostI minded not along that distant road,While coming to you! And all this, alas,Becomes as nothing! Does a Father’s loveDepend upon the nature of the child?[37]Ah, heartless!
KAGEKIYO
Up till now I hoped to hide,But now I am found out I am ashamed.To hide my fleeting[38]self there is no place.
Up till now I hoped to hide,But now I am found out I am ashamed.To hide my fleeting[38]self there is no place.
[ToHitomaru]
If, in thy flowering form thou shouldst proclaimThat we are child and parent, then thy nameThou wouldst announce,[39]and when I think on thisI am resolved we part. Pray do not feelThy father harsh and this mere heartlessness!
If, in thy flowering form thou shouldst proclaimThat we are child and parent, then thy nameThou wouldst announce,[39]and when I think on thisI am resolved we part. Pray do not feelThy father harsh and this mere heartlessness!
CHORUS
Ah, truly is it sad! In olden timesI welcomed even strangers when they called,And was displeased if they should pass me by.And now its recompense! How sad it is!To think that I had hoped that my own childShould not have called on me. Alas, how sad!When in their warships were the Taira clan,When in their warships were the Taira clan,So many were there that their shoulders touchedAnd in the crowded space the knees were crossed.There scarce was room to live[40]beneath the moon—And Kagekiyo more than any elseWas on the flagship indispensable.His fellow officers and all the restThough rich in valour and in tactic powersHe did o’ertop. And as the ship is steeredBy him who holds the rudder, so did heLead in the army and no differenceEver occurred between him and his men.All envied him, but now he is most likeA Unicorn, infirm with hoary ageAnd rather worse than a mere useless horse.[41]
Ah, truly is it sad! In olden timesI welcomed even strangers when they called,And was displeased if they should pass me by.And now its recompense! How sad it is!To think that I had hoped that my own childShould not have called on me. Alas, how sad!When in their warships were the Taira clan,When in their warships were the Taira clan,So many were there that their shoulders touchedAnd in the crowded space the knees were crossed.There scarce was room to live[40]beneath the moon—And Kagekiyo more than any elseWas on the flagship indispensable.His fellow officers and all the restThough rich in valour and in tactic powersHe did o’ertop. And as the ship is steeredBy him who holds the rudder, so did heLead in the army and no differenceEver occurred between him and his men.All envied him, but now he is most likeA Unicorn, infirm with hoary ageAnd rather worse than a mere useless horse.[41]
VILLAGER
How now, Kagekiyo, I’d speak with thee!Thy daughter’s wish is there, and she would hearOf thy heroic deeds at YashimaSo tell her the brave story. Let her hear.
How now, Kagekiyo, I’d speak with thee!Thy daughter’s wish is there, and she would hearOf thy heroic deeds at YashimaSo tell her the brave story. Let her hear.
KAGEKIYO
’Tis somewhat unbecoming, her request!Yet as she came from far and for my sake,I’ll tell the story, but when it is donePray send her home again immediately.
’Tis somewhat unbecoming, her request!Yet as she came from far and for my sake,I’ll tell the story, but when it is donePray send her home again immediately.
VILLAGER