{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_59421/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_59421","id":"gutenberg_59421","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59421","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Plays/Films/Dramas","Forty-seven Ronin -- Drama","Japan -- History -- Ako Vendetta, 1703 -- Drama"],"text":"Produced by Ronald Grenier (This file was produced from\nimages generously made available by The Google Books Library\nProject/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHUSHINGURA,\n\nOR, THE\n\nTREASURY OF LOYAL RETAINERS\n\nBY\n\nTAKEDA IZUMO,\n\nMIYOSHI SHORAKU, and NAMIKI SENRYU\n\nTRANSLATED BY\n\nJUKICHI INOUYE\n\n------------\nILLUSTRATED\n------------\n\n_THIRD EDITION_\n\nTOKYO\n\nNAKANISHI-YA\n\n1917.\n\nAll Rights Reserved\n\n[Woodblock print: The\nfrontispiece image is a large wood-block fold-out by\nUtagawa Kuniyoshi (\u6b4c\u5ddd \u570b\u82b3) attached to the inside\ncover of the book. The Japanese text is \u2018The Treasury of\nLoyal Retainers: The Faithful Ronin Withdraw to Takanawa\n(\u5fe0\u81e3\u8535\u7fa9\u58eb\u9ad8\u8f2a\u5f15\u53d6\u4e4b\u56f3). It has no English caption]\n\nPREFACE.\n\nSeventeen years ago appeared a translation of the\n_Chushingura_, in which I omitted three acts of the play\nwith the object of making the thread of the story\ncontinuous. The edition, which was a small one, was soon\nexhausted. I was lately asked by Messrs. Nakanishiya to\ntouch up my old translation for republication. I have,\nhowever, taken this opportunity to make a new and complete\ntranslation of the play; and I may say that the omissions in\nthe present translation do not exceed ten lines, if so many,\nsuch omissions being unavoidable as where the passages\nconvey no coherent meaning or where, notably in the\nbantering of Yuranosuke with Okaru in the seventh act, they\nare too indelicate for translation. In spite of its numerous\ndefects, I trust the present work will at least give the\nreader some idea of the most popular version of the most\nfamous vendetta in Japanese history.\n\nWith a view to assist the reader to understand the spirit of\nthe play, I have prefaced it with a lengthy introduction, in\nthe preparation of which I received valuable assistance from\nMr. Sosaku Nomura, of the Meiji Gakuin, Tokyo, to whom my\nbest thanks are due.\n\nJUKICHI INOUYE.\n\nTokyo, Japan,\n\nSeptember, 1910.\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\nPAGE.\n\nINTRODUCTION................................ i.\n\nCHUSHINGURA.\n\nACT I....................................  1\n\nACT II................................... 15\n\nACT III.................................. 33\n\nACT IV................................... 65\n\nACT V.................................... 87\n\nACT VI.................................. 105\n\nACT VII................................. 135\n\nACT VIII (The Bridal Journey)........... 171\n\nACT IX.................................. 179\n\nACT X................................... 215\n\nACT XI.................................. 251\n\n[Illustration: Spear]\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\nTHE PECULIARITIES OF THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE.\n\nLanguage, the vehicle of thought as it is, conveys not\nunfrequently different impressions to different persons;\nespecially is this the case when that language is not the\nhearer\u2019s mother tongue. We may take in the general drift of\nwhat is said to us in a foreign tongue, but fail to\nunderstand the meaning which lies hidden beneath the\nsurface. In reading a novel we may be unable to discriminate\nbetween a national characteristic and a personal\nidiosyncrasy; the rhythm and cadence of poetry may appeal to\nus in vain; and we may take too seriously humourous language\nand mistake the vulgar and coarse for the refined and\nelegant.\n\nThe Japanese language, which comes of a stock totally\ndifferent to the Indo-European languages, has grown in a\nstate of almost complete isolation, and in course of time,\ndeveloped characteristics of its own. One of these is the\nabundance of vowel-sounds, for the consonants are almost\ninvariably accompanied by vowels. Another is the frequency\nwith which connective enclitics occur in a sentence. The\nJapanese is an agglutinative language, and the repetition of\nmeaningless form-words naturally deprives the language of\nforce and allows of little change in the order, of speech.\nAlthough there are other characteristics, the frequency of\nenclitics and form-words and abundance of vowels in\nindividual words are the most important.\n\nIt is hardly necessary to dwell here upon the difficulty of\ntranslating a _joruri_, or semi-lyrical drama, like the\n_Chushingura_, especially as it abounds in word-plays. In\nthe phonetic system of the Japanese language, which has a\ncomparatively few consonantal sounds, such sounds being, as\nhas already been stated, seldom unaccompanied by vowels, the\nvariety of syllables is small and so, accordingly, is the\nnumber of their combinations, with the result that there is\nan abundance of homonymous words. The identity or similarity\nof sound is utilised to produce words that may be taken in\nmore senses than one. Often, also, sentences that sound\nsweet and graceful are taken wholesale from literature of a\nformer age and inserted so skilfully that one fails to\ndetect any incongruity in the mosaic so formed; and yet,\nunless one is versed in the literature which has been drawn\nupon, it would be difficult to make out the drift of the\npassages in which they occur. These peculiarities are not,\nit is true, confined to _joruri_, for they may be found in\nall other works of lyrical nature; but they give a\ncharacteristic charm to _joruri_, and make it a very\ndifficult task to translate a _joruri_ into a European\nlanguage. Thus, the eighth act of the _Chushingura_, which\nis made up of sentences and phrases of this description,\nfails to convey much meaning when translated into English.\n\nTHE PERIOD OF THE AKO VENDETTA.\n\nIn spite of these linguistic difficulties, an attempt has\nbeen made, it is to be hoped not altogether without success,\nto give in the present work the plot and spirit of the\n_Chushingura_; but for the full comprehension of the play\nand its _motif_, the reader should possess some acquaintance\nwith the social condition, manners, and ideas of the time to\nwhich it refers.\n\nThe vendetta of the retainers of Ako, which forms the\nsubject of the play, took place early in 1703; and the play\nsaw the light forty-five years later, in 1748. It was a\nproduction of the golden age of Tokugawa literature. During\nthe little more than a century and a half that have since\nelapsed, remarkable changes have come over society. The\npeace which had lasted under the Tokugawa Shogunate for two\ncenturies and a half was rudely broken by the cannon\u2019s roar\noff the coast of Uraga; and soon after, with the Restoration\nof the Imperial authority, the nation began to introduce the\ncivilisation of the West. Our wars with China and Russia\nhave greatly influenced the whole society, and our customs\nand manners undergone marked changes. In these days it is\ndifficult to form a clear idea of the state of society under\nthe feudal r\u00e9gime. Few of those people to-day who leave\nShimbashi by the night express to awake next morning at Kobe\nhave a definite conception of the _daimyo\u2019s_ procession that\nused to be borne on the shoulders of coolies across the\nRiver Oi which they pass in their sleep. The postal\nhalting-places have become railway stations, and express\ncouriers have been replaced by telegraph. And we can hardly\nimagine how cheap life was held in the old times when, for\nthe loss of their lord\u2019s treasured article, retainers who\nhad faithfully served him and his fathers had to surrender\ntheir lives and family estates; and we can hardly bring\nourselves into sympathy with those lovers who, taking their\nlives into their own hands, have become subjects of songs\nfor their suicide. When even we Japanese at the present time\nare thus out of touch with much that was of common\noccurrence in our forefathers\u2019 days two centuries ago, it is\nonly to be expected that Old Japan should appear almost\nincomprehensible to the Western peoples whose manners,\ncustoms, and ways of life are totally different to ours. It\nis therefore believed that it would not be an altogether\nneedless task to make a few remarks here on the condition,\nmanners, and thought of society at that time.\n\nTHE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE.\n\nBefore treating, however, of the Genroku age in which the\nvendetta of the Ako retainers took place, which has left\nsuch a mark upon the history of this country, we must glance\nat the period of the Tokuwaga Shogunate. That period lasted\ntwo hundred and sixty-four years from the appointment to the\nShogunate of Tokugawa Iyeyasu in 1603 to the surrender of\npolitical power to the Emperor by Tokugawa Yoshinobu in\n1867. Towards the close of the Ashikaga Shogunate\n(1338-1573), the country was torn by factions and plunged in\ncivil war. But the great hero Toyotomi Hideyoshi, better\nknown as the Taiko, gave the country a brief respite from\nwar. The predominance of his house, however, lasted only for\ntwo generations; and on the defeat of his son by Iyeyasu in\n1600 at Sekigahara, supreme power fell into Iyeyasu\u2019s hands,\nand the campaigns of Osaka in 1614 and 1615 put an end to\nthe Toyotomi line. The nation now bowed to Iyeyasu\u2019s\nauthority, and his house ruled over it for more than two\ncenturies and a half.\n\nTHE IMPERIAL COURT.\n\nSociety during the Tokugawa period may be generally divided\ninto four classes, the _kuge_, the samurai, the common\npeople, and the lowest classes. The Emperor reigned over the\ncountry at Kyoto; and around him were the Imperial princes,\nsome of whom were qualified to succeed to the Throne in case\nof failure of Imperial issue. The _kuge_, or Court nobles,\nnumbered about one hundred and thirty; their titles and\noffices were hereditary. They were jealous of their social\nposition. They attended daily at the Imperial Court; but\ntheir duties mostly concerned the grant and deprivation of\nCourt rank, various ceremonies, and Court etiquette.\nAdministrative affairs were entirely in the hands of the\nfeudal government. All business between it and the Imperial\nCourt was transacted by a few high officials.\n\nThe political authority over the whole nation was held by\nthe feudal government. The feudal system was first\nestablished by Minamoto no Yoritomo towards the close of the\ntwelfth century; at first there was no intention of\nreplacing the Imperial Court in the government of the\ncountry; but from various causes the political and military\npower fell into the Shogun\u2019s hands. The Emperor merely\nwatched over the sacred treasures of his House and delegated\npolitical power to the feudal government. During the civil\nwars the fortunes of Imperial Court seriously declined; but\nOta and Toyotomi, who were loyal to the Throne, presented\nlanded estate to the Court when they had brought the country\ninto peace. Tokugawa frequently built Imperial palaces and\npresented funds for household expenses; and the Imperial\nHouse was placed in easier circumstances. But it was the\npolicy of the Tokugawa family to hold the real power over\nthe nation. In 1614, Iyeyasu established regulations for the\ncontrol of the _kuge_, by which although the real power of\nthe Imperial House was diminished the principle of loyalty\nto the Throne and distinction of lord and subject were\nstrictly maintained, and Tokugawa himself set the example to\nthe nation by his reverent treatment of the Imperial Family.\nAlthough this attitude towards the Throne was a policy of\nIyeyasu, it was also an expression of the innate loyalty and\npatriotism of the people. Thus, the dignity of the Imperial\nFamily remained unimpaired; and it may be seen from the\noriginal cause of the Ako revenge how high the importance\nwas attached to the reception of Imperial envoys.\n\nTHE SAMURAI.\n\nThe samurai were all under the control of the feudal\ngovernment. Those whose annual stipends were not less than\nten thousand _koku_ of rice were called _daimyo_, those\nbelow them were _hatamoto_, and the lowest were _kenin_. The\n_daimyo_ were of three classes, lords of provinces, lords of\ncastles, and lords of domains without castles. They ruled\nover their domains. Asano Takumi-no-Kami, the vengeance for\nwhose death forms the subject of the _Chushingura_, was the\nlord of the castle of Ako in the province of Harima; his\nannual income was 50,000 _koku_; he belonged to the second\ncategory of _daimyo_. The _daimyo_ came in turn to Yedo for\na short stay; and among their retainers, some remained\npermanently in Yedo, while others accompanied their lords on\ntheir journeys to and from the Shogun\u2019s city. The samurai\nwho left their clans and drifted about, or for some reason,\nlost their stipends, were known as _ronin_. Such were the\nretainers of Ako who lost their stipends through the fall of\ntheir lord\u2019s house.\n\nTHE COMMON PEOPLE.\n\nBy common people were meant the merchant and agricultural\nclasses. They were not permitted to wear swords or have\nfamily names; and they were known only by their individual\nnames. Thus, merchants and artisans were called by their\ntrades and farmers by their villages.\n\nBesides the above-mentioned _kuge_, samurai, and the common\npeople were the lowest classes. Although there were in this\nway four grades of society, such grades did not regulate the\nmaterial circumstances of the people belonging to them; but\nas a whole the _kuge_ were poor and the _daimyo_ wealthy.\nWith the samurai wealth was considered contrary to the\nprinciples of Bushido; and while they made it their pride\nthat they possessed no more than a hat to shelter them from\nwind and rain, few tried to accumulate wealth; but as the\nsamurai spirit began to decline, there were many who sought\nfor wealth. The most wealthy were to be found among the\ncommon people, for, debarred from the rights and privileges\nenjoyed by the samurai, they directed all their energies to\nmoney-making; it must, however, be added that many of them\nalso lived in abject poverty.\n\nBUSHIDO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS.\n\nThe vendetta of the retainers of Ako was an outward\nexpression of the spirit of Bushido. A few words must be\nhere added regarding Bushido, a peculiar product of our\ncountry, which reached its highest development under the\nTokugawa r\u00e9gime.\n\nThe people of the Eastern Provinces, the centre of which was\nYedo, were from the oldest times noted for their fearless\ncourage. Moreover, when Yedo became the seat of the feudal\ngovernment, the samurai who had been engaged in rapine and\nslaughter during the wars preceding the Shogunate of\nTokugawa, flocked to the city and made it their place of\nresidence. The city became the second home of the simple and\nintrepid samurai of Mikawa, the province, of which Tokugawa\nIyeyasu was originally _daimyo_; and the retainers of other\nclans also repaired thither in great numbers. In fact, Yedo\nwas the centre of neither commerce nor industry; it had been\nestablished solely for the residence of samurai; and there\nhundreds of thousands of samurai gathered to practise\nmilitary arts. In short, in Yedo, Bushido was in greatest\nvigour. The principal elements of Bushido were three in\nnumber:\u2014\n\nThe first of these was the high esteem for military valour\nand practice of military arts. It was the most important of\nthe samurai\u2019s accomplishments. In remote antiquity, the two\nfamilies of Mononobe and Otomo took to the profession of\narms and guarded the Imperial Court. It became their\nhereditary office to act as the Imperial bodyguard. All\ntheir descendants were trained in military arts and grew up\nto be men of high resolution and integrity. They were taught\nto refrain from all acts likely to bring dishonour upon\ntheir family name. When, however, the Fujiwara family came\ninto possession of the political power, military affairs\nbegan to decline and give place to civil affairs which were\nthen held in high esteem. The military profession was\nregarded with contempt and looked upon as fit only for\nbarbarians. This slighting of the military calling was due\nto communication at this period with China, whose\ncivilisation so dazzled the Japanese that they caught the\nliterary effeminacy which then afflicted that country. The\nsamurai of Kyoto the capital gradually lost their former\nmilitary spirit. But Bushido was not seriously affected by\nits decline in Kyoto; for this effeminacy was confined to\nthe capital and its immediate neighbourhood. Those, for\nwhose ambition Kyoto was too small, mostly migrated into the\ncountry where they strengthened their position. And Bushido\nfound its home in the country and there it developed without\nobstruction. These ambitious men lived in different\nprovinces; and when their families grew too bulky, the\nmembers established themselves in other places. Most of them\nbecame powerful men with large domains. They had many\nfollowers, who became their private soldiers. The relations\nbetween these local magnates and their adherents continued\nunchanged for ages. The lord took care of his adherents and\ninstructed and encouraged them so that they might prove of\nservice to him in an emergency, and they, on their part,\ntrained themselves in military arts so that they might be\nable to show their loyalty to their lord. Thus, Bushido was\ndriven out of the political centre of the land by the\nintroduction of Chinese civilisation and grew up in the\ncountry, especially in the Eastern Provinces, because those\nprovinces were lower in the degree of civilisation and at\nthe same time retained a spirit peculiar to them. Military\ntraining was pursued to the highest pitch in the East; the\nsamurai, whether leader or follower, considered it cowardly\nto show the back to the enemy, and always feared to bring\ndishonour upon their family name. They looked upon it as\nshame to themselves not to die when their lord was hard\npressed and not to help another in his difficulty. Their own\nshame was the shame upon their parents, their family, their\nhouse, and their whole clan; and with this idea deeply\nimpressed upon their minds, the samurai, no matter of what\nrank, held their lives light as feather when compared with\nthe weight they attached to the maintenance of a spotless\nname. In their breasts was always present the thought that\nan unstained reputation was of highest value to those whose\nprofession was of arms, and it was disgrace upon a samurai\nto be spoken of as having fled for fear of the enemy.\nEspecially, when the Minamoto and Taira clans became the two\ngreat military families in the eleventh century, was this\nspirit carefully instilled into the hearts of their\nfollowers; and the characteristics of the samurai became\nmore highly developed and the path of conduct of the subject\ntowards his lord, of the soldier towards his commander, and\nof samurai towards each other became clearly defined to a\ndegree unparalleled in any other age or country of the\nworld. This path was called the path of loyalty, which was\nthe second essential element of Bushido Thus, by failure to\nfollow this path, the samurai forfeited the name, he was\ndespised and held up to scorn as a leper and a man of no\nspirit. Such contempt, once a man was exposed to it, was\nheaped upon him to the end, and he himself felt it keenly\nuntil death; and however wealthy he might subsequently\nbecome, he was too ashamed to hold up his face in public.\nIf, on the other hand, he strictly followed the path of\nloyalty, he was constantly praised by friend and foe alike;\nand consequently, if a man was born of an unexceptionable\nlineage and had any military prowess of his ancestors to\nboast of, he would, in the battle-field even when a question\nof a few minutes was of vital importance, stand up before\nthe enemy and make boast of it to them. The third essential\nelement of Bushido to be mentioned is the high estimation of\nhonesty and integrity and disregard of pecuniary profit. It\nwas considered most despicable to change one\u2019s mind for\nlucre. Even when he was offered a thousand pieces of gold,\nthe true samurai should not for a moment alter his original\nintention. The samurai gave money, but did not lend it; and\nhe received money, but did not borrow it. To borrow money\nwith a promise of repayment was to rely upon one\u2019s life\ncontinuing till the morrow, which was unworthy of a samurai.\nAt the time of the invasion of Korea towards the close of\nthe sixteenth century, Hineno Hirotsugu, before he set out\non his mission to that country, borrowed a hundred pieces of\nsilver from Kuroda Josui, and upon his return he went to\nKuroda to repay the money; but the latter told him that he\nhad not lent it in hope of its being repaid, and in the end\nhe absolutely refused to take it back.\n\nThe essential elements of Bushido may appear, when only\nthese three are mentioned, to be very simple; but that is\nfar from being the case, for there are many other minor\nelements which go to its making. But one that deserves\nspecial mention, and may indeed be deduced from the elements\nabove described, was the keeping of one\u2019s word. Once\nanything was undertaken, it was dishonourable not to carry\nit out even at the sacrifice of life, property, and all that\none possessed. Thus, in a bond of debt often appeared the\nwords \u201cin case of failure to repay this money, I shall be no\nlonger looked upon as a man,\u201d or \u201cif I should by any chance\nneglect to repay this money, I should not utter a word of\nprotest even if you laughed at me before company.\u201d From\nthese words the honesty and simplicity of the samurai may be\nreadily inferred. The contempt for money and money-making\nwhich they expressed at all times had no doubt been handed\ndown from the period of civil wars, when the whole country\nbeing overrun by soldiery, those who possessed wealth were\nin constant danger of attack and robbery. To the warriors\nwhose lives could never be called their own, money was only\na means of temporary gratification of their senses; for if\nthey fell into straits, they merely robbed, and in war time\nmoney was of less value to them than a mouthful of food or a\nsword, and it was only natural that they should be utterly\nindifferent to its acquisition. Kono Moronao is made in the\n_Chushingura_ to take bribes, because the authors wished to\nexhibit him as a man utterly bereft of the Bushido spirit\nand so contrast him with the loyal retainers who are the\nmirror of chivalry and single-heartedness; for the same\nreason he is shown up as a poltroon. The qualities above\nreferred to are the characteristics of Bushido; and that\nthey composed the spirit peculiar to our country will be\npatent to all who study the history of Japan from the oldest\ntimes. But Bushido underwent slight changes with the\nprogress of the times, and coming under the influence of\nBuddhism and Confucianism, it was brought to perfection\nunder the Tokugawa r\u00e9gime, especially in the Genroku era in\nwhich the Ako vendetta took place.\n\n\u201cSEPPUKU.\u201d\n\nIt would be tedious to describe one by one the customs of\nthe samurai, which may be taken as the outward expressions\nof Bushido in its most developed form; but perhaps the most\nconspicuous among them was the vendetta, to which, on\naccount of the important part it plays in the _Chushingura_,\nwe will refer later on. Another custom was the _seppuku_ (or\n_harakiri_), or self-disembowelment. It was an act inspired\nby the spirit of Bushido which urges loyalty and considers\nlife light as compared with the preservation of one\u2019s\nhonour. Death was looked upon as an atonement for all faults\nand errors. One who had acted contrary to the principles of\nBushido did not wait for others to lay their hands upon him,\nbut slew himself without hesitation; and he who showed fear\nor irresolution on such occasion was looked upon as bringing\ndishonour upon the samurai\u2019s name. The death of Kanpei in\nthe sixth act of the _Chushingura_ is an instance in point.\nA samurai guilty of a serious offence which deserved capital\npunishment was sentenced to commit _seppuku_. In such case\nthe order to commit _seppuku_, instead of being beheaded\nlike a common criminal, was looked upon as an honour, as may\nbe seen in the fourth act of the _Chushingura_ where Enya\nHangwan is condemned to death. A curious form of _seppuku_\nwas the _junshi_, the suicide of a retainer upon the death\nof his lord in order to serve him still in the other world.\nThis custom, which was in great vogue in the early years of\nthe Tokugawa r\u00e9gime, was founded upon the principle of\nBushido that it was dishonourable for a samurai to serve a\nsecond master. Some went so far as to look upon it as a\nstain upon their honour to serve the heir of their dead\nmaster and so followed him to the grave. The feudal\ngovernment, however, prohibited this practice by law and\nthreatened with severe punishment all who violated it; and\nby the Genroku era the _junshi_ was entirely discontinued.\n\nVENDETTA.\n\nWe may now proceed to touch upon the custom of vendetta.\nAmong the most marked social products of the Tokugawa period\nmust be mentioned vendetta. It was the favourite subject for\nthe novels, ballads, and plays of the period and was treated\nso frequently that it seemed to be the peculiar product of\nthat period. But the vendetta was not peculiar to that age.\nIt made its first appearance some fifteen centuries ago and\nwas known in every period of our national history. The\nrevenge of the Soga Brothers, for instance, who killed their\nenemy in 1193 seventeen years after their father\u2019s murder,\nis the most famous of our vendettas and was sung in songs,\nplayed on the stage, and treated in novels, of the Tokugawa\nperiod. There were many vendettas before the Tokugawa age;\nand what made them appear peculiar to that age was the\nstrong contrast they presented to the idle, luxurious life\nwhich was resulting from the long-continued peace under the\nTokugawa rule; and for that reason they attracted the\ngreatest attention of the nation.\n\nA vendetta is the wreaking of vengeance upon a man\u2019s\nmurderer by his relations, friends, or retainers. It took\nplace not only when the murderer killed his victim with his\nown hand, but also when he incited another to the act, or\neven when one struck and killed a man without intent to\nmurder. Strictly-speaking, it was of course the duty of the\nstate to punish a murder and not to leave it to private\nvengeance; a vendetta was, in fact, an act done in defiance\nof the punitive right of the state and subversive of the\nsocial order. In the Yedo period, society was, it is true,\nkept in strict order, and the relations between lord and\nretainer and between father and child were rigorously\nobserved; but it was also a period in which an intimate\nconnection subsisted between morality and law, and the\nvendetta was recognised as an unavoidable act originating in\nthe intense feelings of loyalty and filial piety. It was\npermitted on moral grounds as the result of the teachings of\nBushido and Confucianism. It may here be added that although\nthe vendetta of the Ako retainers was a subject of\ndiscussion among contemporary and later scholars, the\nquestion turned upon whether the retainers were justified in\nlooking upon Kira Yoshinaka as their true enemy; no doubt\nwas ever expressed upon the legitimacy of vendetta itself.\n\nThe formal procedure for carrying out a vendetta in the\nTokugawa period was first for the avenger to apply for\npermission, if he lived in Kyoto, to the deputy-governor, if\nin Yedo, to the city magistrate, and if in the provinces, to\nthe local lord; and these reported it to the central\ngovernment, which then entered it in the official register\nand gave the required permission. Now, the murderer seldom\nremained quietly in the locality where the act was\ncommitted, but almost invariably fled to other territories;\nand therefore it was probable that if the avenger killed him\nas he always did regardless of time or place immediately he\ndiscovered him, he would cause a disturbance there and might\nbe brought to account for it. If, however, his vendetta was\nentered in the official register, he was permitted to kill\nhis enemy anywhere. In such case, the local officials came\nas soon as they heard that a vendetta had taken place, and\nif they were satisfied that it had been officially\nregistered, they took no further note of the matter.\nHowever, even when it had not been registered, they usually\nlet the avenger go if it was shown that he had not been\nactuated by malice, but had done the deed from loyalty or\nfilial piety.\n\nIf, after the official permission had been obtained, the\nenemy died before the revenge could be taken, it had to be\nreported with satisfactory proofs of his death. Such\nprocedure was considered necessary, because after the\nofficial registration, the avenger took leave of his lord,\nwho assisted him in every way and made him parting presents,\nand the avenger naturally set out full of hope; but it\nsometimes happened that when he was unable to find his enemy\nafter a long search and at the same time his purse became\nlighter every day, he longed for home and with his first\nresolution now gone, he grew anxious to give up the\nfruitless search. In such cases he might come home,\npretending that his enemy was dead. And it was to prevent\nsuch fraud that satisfactory proofs of the enemy\u2019s death\nwere required to free the avenger from the duty which he had\nvoluntarily undertaken.\n\nThe avenger was usually the murdered man\u2019s inferior,\nalthough sometimes he was his superior in position. He was\nin most cases his son, younger brother, relative, servant,\npupil, or intimate friend.\n\nThe person upon whom vengeance was to be wreaked was not\nnecessarily a bad man. In the early years of the Tokugawa\nr\u00e9gime, duels were of frequent occurrence among the samurai;\nthey seldom discussed which were right and which wrong in a\ndispute. If there was a difference, one would exclaim,\n\u201cCome, let us fight it out;\u201d to which the other would as\nlightly express his willingness, and they drew their swords\non the spot. Thus, a duel was an appeal to arms made by\nmutual agreement; and the vanquished had no cause of\nresentment against the victor. Yet his surviving family\noften took up his cause and revenged themselves upon his\nadversary. Sometimes justice was on the enemy\u2019s side and the\navenger was entirely in the wrong. Such cases were\nunavoidable when vendetta had the moral sanction of the\nnation and was practically a duty imposed upon the nearest\nrelative of the murdered man.\n\nAlthough the vendetta may be said to have been concluded\nwhen the avenger had killed his man, yet the avenger himself\nwas sometimes looked upon as the enemy by his victim\u2019s\nfamily, who, thereupon, commenced a vendetta against him.\nNext, the first avenger\u2019s family would upon his death take\nrevenge upon the second avenger, and so on, so that the feud\nwould become as interminable as a Corsican vendetta. To put\na stop to such endless vendettas, the Tokugawa Government\nstrictly prohibited secondary vendettas.\n\nAgain, in a duel between the avenger and his enemy, the\nformer was not unfrequently killed. Hence, the avenger\nsometimes was accompanied by his second. The second usually\nfought the enemy when the principal was in danger of being\nbeaten; but in some cases he fought side by side with the\nprincipal. That was mostly the case when the avenger was a\nchild or a woman, who had no chance against the adversary.\nIt may be mentioned that when the government was reorganised\nupon the accession of the present Emperor, a law was issued\nin 1873 strictly prohibiting vendettas.\n\nEARLY YEARS OF THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD.\n\nIn the early years of the Tokugawa period, the samurai still\nretained the rough and violent manners of the period of\ncivil wars; they despised gentleness as characteristic of\nthe effeminate people of Kyoto and luxurious living as\npeculiar to the merchant class, while they trained\nthemselves in military arts and fostered military spirit.\nSuch was the turbulence of those times that even merchants\nwore swords when they walked the streets. They had indeed\nneed of them; for innocent men were cut down in the streets\nat night to try the temper of swords. Servants who were\nguilty of theft, had failed to accompany their master as he\ncame home on horseback, or eloped with female\nfellow-servants, were punished at the will of their master,\nwho tested the edge of a new sword upon their necks. The\nfeudal government frequently issued laws to put an end to\nthese violent acts.\n\nTHE \u201cOTOKODATE.\u201d\n\nThis prevalence of strong military spirit gave rise to a\npeculiar class of men, known by many names, the most common\nof which was _otokodate_. In all classes of society in the\nbeginning of the Tokugawa rule, rough manners and turbulent\nspirit prevailed; but more especially among the _hatamoto_,\nor immediate feudatories of the Shogun, was it the case.\nThey were samurai of Mikawa, the native province of Tokugawa\nIyeyasu, and retained the simple manners and intrepid spirit\nof their country home; they prided themselves upon the fact\nthat small as their stipends were, they were under the\ndirect command of the Shogun, and in their pride, they\nlorded it over the streets of Yedo. Among the merchant class\nwere some who were indignant at the arrogance of the samurai\nand their contemptuous treatment of the merchant and\nagricultural classes; they also trained themselves in\nmilitary arts and opposed the tyranny of the military class;\nand they formed a special class under the name of\n_otokodate_. These _otokodate_ mostly lived by gambling;\nthey made it their business to take up other people\u2019s\nquarrels or to mediate in them; and they spent their lives\nto a large extent in the pleasure-quarters. Yet their ideal\nwas not inconsistent with the principles of Bushido; for\nthey took pleasure in helping the weak and crushing the\nstrong, they kept their word with the most scrupulous care,\nand if a mere stranger respectfully begged for their\nassistance, they would help him even at the risk of their\nlives. They refused to be beaten in anything by others, a\nword of insult was enough to draw their sword out of the\nscabbard, and the least grudge was repaid; they hated to\nwork for profit and thought it undignified to count money.\nThey went to eating-houses and ate their full; and if they\nhad no money, they went away without paying. If they were\npressed for payment, they used their fists; but if they were\ntreated with respect and allowed to leave without payment,\nthey came again when they had money and repaid more than\ntheir debt. These _otokodate_ infested every part of the\ncity in the early years of the Tokugawa period and so much\ndamage was caused by their quarrels that they were\nsuppressed in the Genroku era. They were punished with such\nseverity that their number gradually diminished; but their\ncustoms did not altogether disappear. Among the ordinary\ncitizens of Yedo were many who esteemed the samurai spirit\nof the first years of Tokugawa and the manners of the\n_otokodate_. In what is called the Yedo spirit is to be\ndetected much which originated with the _otokodate_; for the\ntrue-born natives of Yedo show to this day the same hatred\nof being beaten by others, love of quarrel, contempt for\nskin-flints, and inability to keep the day\u2019s earnings until\nthe next day. Amakawaya Gihei, in the tenth act of the\n_Chushingura_, is a good sample of a chivalrous-spirited\nmerchant after the manner of the _otokodate_.\n\nTHE GENROKU PERIOD\n\nSome eighty years after the establishment of the Tokugawa\nShogunate began the Genroku period. The Shogun at the time\nwas the fourth of Iyeyasu\u2019s line. No insurrection was feared\nat home and there was as little danger of the country\u2019s\nisolation being disturbed by foreign invasion, for no\nforeigner was allowed to trade in Japan with the exception\nof the Dutch and Chinese, whose trade was confined to\nNagasaki. The country, in short, enjoyed absolute peace and\ngrew in wealth and prosperity. Such was the condition of the\nland in the Genroku period, which takes its name from the\nGenroku era (1689-1701) and extended over some fifty years\nbeginning with the Tenna era in 1681 and ending with the\nKyoho era in about 1735. It was a period of great importance\nin the history of Japanese manners, institutions, and\nliterature. The first years of the Tokugawa r\u00e9gime were a\nperiod of turbulent militarism and its last years that of\nindolence and immorality; in the Genroku period, however,\nthe rough militaristic spirit was nearly gone, but the\npeople had not yet fallen into weak and effeminate ways;\nluxury and extravagance had commenced their sway, but the\nbrave military spirit had not yet vanished. It marked, like\nthe Heian period of the ninth and tenth centuries, the\nhighest stage of Japanese civilisation; and with the dark\nage of internecine wars intervening between these two\nperiods, it was, indeed, our age of renaissance.\n\nDuring this period, Bushido, in spite of some evils that\nattached to it, reached its highest level. This peculiar\nspirit of Japan had been influenced in the earlier ages by\nthe doctrines of Buddhism; but coming under the influence of\nConfucianism when the Tokugawa family came into power, it\nbecame a cult of complete growth and took its final form\nearly under the Tokugawa rule. But Bushido, like all other\ninstitutions, was bound to undergo changes as time went on.\nUnder Shogun Iyetsuna (1650-1680), the fourth of the\nTokugawa line, the old sturdy military spirit began to\ndecline in Yedo; and under his successor Tsunayoshi\n(1680-1709), the Genroku period came in with its love for\nluxurious living, display, and immorality, with the result\nthat Bushido which had been developed to the highest degree\namong the warriors of the Eastern Provinces left Yedo, the\ncentre of those provinces, and sought refuge in the country,\nwhere it remained unimpaired among the simple samurai of the\ndaimiates. The Ako vendetta was a striking instance of its\nhold upon the country samurai.\n\nThe changes of manners under the Tokugawa Shogunate spread\nas a rule from Yedo to the provinces. But in the early years\nof that Shogunate Yedo was not yet the centre of Japanese\ncivilisation; for though it held the foremost position in\nmilitary arts, it was in literature, art, and other things\ninferior to Kyoto and Osaka which were as cities far older.\nThe Eastern Provinces changed their manners by imitating\nthose of these two western cities. But the manners and\ncustoms of the latter cities were at the time almost\ndirectly opposite to those of Yedo. They were soft,\nfrivolous, and elegant to effeminacy; Kyoto had, since it\nbecame the capital of the country in 794, been the centre of\nJapanese civilisation, while Osaka which had been from the\noldest times an important port for vessels sailing to and\nfrom the western provinces, became especially prosperous\nfrom the days of Hideyoshi the Taiko (1536-97); and while\nthey had long lost the simplicity and straightforwardness of\nmore primitive districts, they were less moved by a sense of\nhonour, more impelled by desire for wealth, and became more\nand more luxurious as they advanced in civilisation, and\nnaturally grew more fond of ostentation.\n\nThe characteristics of the Genroku period were then\nrepresented by the manners and tastes of Kyoto and Osaka. In\nthat period, though Yedo was firmly established as the\npolitical centre of the country, it had to import from Kyoto\nand Osaka their literature and customs, which were thereupon\nacclimatised in Yedo. The true Yedo spirit and manners did\nnot come into being until a century later, that is, the\nbeginning of the nineteenth century.\n\nTHE MERCHANT CLASS.\n\nThe centre of the literature and customs of Kyoto and Osaka\nwas not, as in Yedo, the samurai, but the merchant. The\nmerchant who had, until a generation or two previously, been\noppressed by class distinctions, came in the long period of\npeace to acquire wealth and extravagant habits as the\nstandard of living rose. For as the means of transportation\nand communication developed, many of them made large\nfortunes by engaging in building and public works. There\nwere not a few of these noted men of wealth in Osaka and\nKyoto. In Osaka the world was the merchants\u2019; and the\nsamurai, however high he might hold up his head, had to\nyield in actual power to the common people.\n\nAs there were many wealthy men among the merchants who spent\nmoney freely, they were the best customers in theatres and\nin pleasure-quarters. The samurai, too, grew in time to envy\nthe merchant\u2019s popularity and began finally to imitate his\nways. The manner in which Yuranosuke is drawn as a man about\ntown in the seventh act of the _Chushingura_, may be due\npartly to the fact that the authors were all of the merchant\nclass; but it also serves to show the general behaviour of\nsamurai in pleasure-quarters.\n\nTHE PLEASURE-QUARTERS.\n\nBut a merchant could only be a merchant; the strict social\ndistinctions could no more than the hereditary character of\nfamily occupations be set aside. And the only place where\nthe merchants could spend money lavishly without fear of the\nsamurai and without distinction of classes, was the\npleasure-quarters. The attitude of the people of that time\ntowards those quarters was different to the attitude of men\nof the present time. Love between the sexes was condemned by\nthe moral teaching of the time; and it was not to be thought\nof that men and women should exchange love of their own free\nwill. Not only women, but men, usually left entirely to\ntheir parents the arrangements for their marriages; and when\nthe husband and wife lived together, they appeared to the\nworld somewhat in the relations of master and servant,\nhowever much they might really love each other. Some of\nChikamatsu Monzaemon\u2019s plays depict men and women freed from\nall trammels and indulging in unfettered love. These plays\nwon the admiration and sympathy of the world because they\nwere written with peculiar skill by their great author. But\notherwise, the people of the period regarded such characters\nas being immoral and licentious; and while they pitied them\nfor their sufferings, they condemned no less their lack of\nchastity. In the pleasure-quarters was to be found a world\nfree from social restraint and from fetters of morality,\nwhere could be seen women in their natural mood,\nuntrammelled by restraints of any kind. These quarters were\noutlets for the depressed spirits caused by the pressure of\nthe negative policy of the Tokugawa government, where all\nranks and grades of society could associate freely and on\nequal terms. The quarters in Yedo, Kyoto, and Osaka were\nfrequent subjects of plays and novels of the time; indeed,\nit may be said that more than half the literature of the\nGenroku period was devoted to these quarters and their\ninhabitants.\n\nTHE \u201cCHUSHINGURA.\u201d\n\nThe revenge of the Ako retainers took place in the twelfth\nmonth of the fifteenth year of Genroku (January, 1703); and\nfew months later, a play founded on it was already on the\nstage. In 1706, the Takemotoza, the great puppet-theatre of\nOsaka, put up a ballad drama by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, called\n_Kenkohoshi-Monomiguruma_, upon the same subject, which the\nsame great dramatist followed up with another, entitled\n_Goban-Taiheiki_, in which the story was carried back to the\ntime of the first Shogun of the Ashikaga line in the middle\nof the fourteenth century. In this play occur for the first\ntime the names of Kono Moronao and Enya Hangwan, noted\nwarriors of that period, as those of the two enemies whose\nfatal quarrel gave rise to the great vendetta, and also the\nloyal chief councillor of Asano appears as Oboshi Yuranosuke\nand the humblest of the loyal retainers, Terasaka Kichiemon,\nis disguised under the name of Teraoka Heiyemon. After this,\nseveral plays of more or less merit were performed in Yedo,\nKyoto, and Osaka. A noted actor of the time, Sawamura\nSojuro, made a great hit with one of these plays in Osaka in\n1746 and in Kyoto in the following year; and a famous writer\nof puppet-plays named Takeda Izumo, who saw these successes\nof Sojuro, produced in collaboration with Namiki Scnryu and\nMiyoshi Shoraku in 1748 the play, _Kanadehon-Chushingura_,\nwhich is translated in the following pages. It was put up,\nas originally intended, at a puppet theatre and afterward at\nan ordinary theatre. It became not only the most celebrated\nversion of the vendetta, but also the most popular of all\nplays; and other plays upon the subject of the loyal\nretainers of Ako were entirely dropped. So great is even at\nthe present time the fame of the play that the revenge of\nAko retainers is better known as _Chushingura_ and its hero\nOishi Kuranosuke sounds less familiar to the ears of the\ncommon people than his play-name of Oboshi Yuranosuke. For\nthe latter name which first appeared in Chikamatsu\u2019s\n_Goban-Taiheiki_ is adopted in the _Chushingura_, as also\nthe names of Enya Hangwan, Kono Moronao, and Teraoka\nHeiyemon. The play still retains its popularity and it is\neven now, as it used formerly to be, in many theatres the\nstock play for the last month of the year since it is sure\nto draw large houses, just as the plays founded on the\nvendetta of the Soga brothers are the most commonly\nperformed in the first month.\n\nWe will now proceed to discuss the plot of the play and\ncompare it with the true story of the famous vendetta.\n\nTHE ATTACK IN THE PALACE.\n\nIt was the established custom under the Tokugawa rule for\nthe feudal government to offer to the Imperial Court a large\nsum of money and other articles as presents when a messenger\nwas sent there to tender the New Year\u2019s greetings in the\nfirst month of every year; and the Imperial Court, too,\ndespatched envoys to Yedo to inquire after the Shogun\u2019s\nhealth. On such occasion the Shogun\u2019s government specially\nappointed from among the _daimyo_ officers to attend upon\nthe Imperial envoys. On the day on which the Shogun received\nthe envoys took place a great ceremony at which the Shogun\nhimself received the Imperial message direct from the\nenvoys; on the following day a performance of _No _was given\nin their honour, after which a grand banquet was held. On\nthe third day the Shogun himself presented his reply to the\nImperial message. Throughout these ceremonies the _daimyo_\nimmediately connected with the Shogun and others then\nstaying in the city presented themselves at the Palace in\nfull Court dress.\n\nIn the second month of the fourteenth year of Genroku\n(1701), when it was announced that the envoys of the Emperor\nHigashiyama and the Ex-Emperor Reigen were coming to Yedo,\nAsano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori, Lord of Ako, in the province\nof Harima, and Date Sakyo-no-suke Muneharu, Lord of Yoshida,\nin the province of Iyo, were appointed officers to entertain\nthe envoys, and the _K\u014dke_,[1] Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka\nand Otomo Omi-no-Kami Yoshitaka, were ordered to receive\nthem. At first Takumi-no-Kami declined the appointment, for\nthough it was a great honour to him and his family, he was,\nhe pleaded, unused to Court etiquette; but one of\nthe Court Councillors replied that there was not one\n_daimyo_ who was used to such office, but as Kira\nKozuke-no-Suke was well versed in these matters from having\nfor many years taken part in the reception of the envoys, he\ncould perform his duties by consulting him. And\nTakumi-no-Kami was obliged to accept the appointment.\n\nDate Sakyo-no-Suke being still young, his councillors\nmanaged all his affairs; and knowing Kozuke-no-Suke\u2019s\ncharacter, they made him valuable presents when they asked\nhim to instruct their lord in the ceremonies which he was to\nattend. Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s councillors on duty in Yedo were\nYasui Hikozayemon and Fujii Matazayemon; and though he told\nthem to send presents to Kozuke-no-Suke, they, being unused\nto the world\u2019s ways, made presents which were far smaller\nthan Date\u2019s and thereby aroused Kozuke-no-Suke\u2019s anger.\nKozuke-no-Suke then determined, when Takumi-no-Kami asked\nfor instruction, to make him commit blunders and fall into\ndisgrace. On the 11th day of the third month (April 6th,\n1701), the Imperial envoys arrived in Yedo; and on the\nfollowing day they proceeded to the Shogun\u2019s castle and\npresented the Imperial messages; and on the 14th they were\nentertained at a banquet. All these ceremonies were\nconcluded without a hitch. The 15th was the day on which the\nShogun was to present a reply to the Imperial messages.\nEarly in the morning, the Shogun\u2019s near relatives and other\n_daimyo_ and lower lords were awaiting the arrival of the\nenvoys in the Pine Corridor (so called from pictures of\npine-trees on the doors), when Kozuke-no-Suke began to abuse\nTakumi-no-Kami for his ignorance of Court etiquette. The\nlatter, who had hitherto borne his insults in silence, now\nlost his temper and struck the other\u2019s forehead with his\nsword. As Kozuke-no-Suke sank on the floor, he cut at him on\nthe shoulder. As Kozuke-no-Suke then rose and fled\nstumbling, his enemy pursued him, but was prevented from\nstriking him again by being caught from behind by Kajikawa\nYosobei, an attendant of the Shogun\u2019s mother.\nKozuke-no-Suke\u2019s wounds were slight and were immediately\nattended to by Court physicians. The Shogun, who had\nintended to show every respect to the envoys, was highly\nincensed when he heard of this attack and ordered an inquiry\nto be made into the matter. He appointed on the spot a\n_daimyo_ to take Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s place, and concluded\nwithout further accident the ceremony of presenting a reply\nto the Imperial messages. When the inquiry was held,\nKozuke-no-Suke averred that he had given no cause for the\nattack, which Takumi-no-Kami had made in a fit of insanity,\nwhile Takumi-no-Kami asserted that Kozuke-no-Suke\u2019s frequent\ninsults were such that he could no longer bear them in\nsilence and so had drawn his sword.\n\nThe above incidents afford the material for the attack scene\nin the third act of the _Chushingura_, and are the true\ncause of the vendetta of the Ako retainers. The story of\nMoronao\u2019s love for Kaoyo is taken from the twenty-first book\nof the _Taiheiki_, which gives a romantic history of the\nwars and other events during fifty years from 1318 to 1367.\nThe names of Kono Moronao and Enya Hangwan, which were first\nused by Chikamatsu in his play, were taken from that book.\nThe story told in that work is briefly as follows:\u2014 The\ndaughter of Prince Hayata, a connection by marriage of the\nEmperor Godaigo, was considered one of the most beautiful\nwomen of her time. She was given in marriage to Enya Hangwan\nTakasada in the province of Izumo; but Kono Musashi-no-Kami\nMoronao was also deeply in love with her. He made love to\nher, but was rejected. Piqued at her refusal, he pretended\nto the Shogun that Enya was plotting against him. The Shogun\nbelieved his words, and Enya was compelled to fly for his\nlife to his province. He revolted in self-defence, but was\nattacked by the Shogun\u2019s forces, and finally put an end to\nhimself.\n\nThe first act of the play treats only of the collision\nbetween Moronao and Wakasanosuke; it is merely a byplay to\nprepare the spectator for an exhibition of the respective\ncharacters of Moronao, Enya, and Wakasanosuke.\n\nThe second act presents Honzo in his lord\u2019s house and makes\nWakasanosuke an indirect cause of Enya\u2019s ruin. As\nWakasanosuke corresponds to Sakyo-no-Suke, Honzo is made to\nact as the latter\u2019s councillors did and offer valuable\npresents to Moronao. And to economise the characters of the\nplay, Honzo takes Kajikawa Yosobei\u2019s place and stops Enya\nwhen he pursues Moronao, and his daughter Konami is promised\nin marriage to Oboshi\u2019s son Rikiya, all which leads to the\ntragedy in the ninth act.\n\nTAKUMI-NO-KAMI\u2019S DEATH.\n\nTakumi-no-Kami had caused a disturbance in the Palace by\ngiving vent to private resentment although he was on duty as\nofficer for the entertainment of the Imperial envoys, and\nthereby shown great disrespect to the Imperial House; and on\nthose grounds he was given in charge to Tamura Sakyo-dayu,\nLord of Ichinoseki, in Mutsu, and ordered to commit\n_seppuku_ on the same day. The inspectors and others to be\npresent at the self-immolation were appointed on the spot.\nAt Lord Tamura\u2019s mansion, mattings were spread on the ground\nin front of a small reception-room, and upon them were laid\nmats, which were then covered with a rug, and curtains were\nhung all around. Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s head-page, Kataoka\nGengoemon, who had attended his lord to the Palace and\nwaited for his return at the gate, ran back immediately to\nhis lord\u2019s mansion when he heard of the attack in the\nPalace; and after reporting it there, he went to Lord\nTamura\u2019s mansion and was permitted to be present at his\nlord\u2019s death. Takumi-no-Kami composed an ode which ran:\u2014\n\n\u201cFrailer far than the tender flowers That are soon scattered\nby the wind, Must I now bid a last farewell And leave the\ngenial spring behind?\u201d\n\nAnd calmly he put an end to himself. He was in his\nthirty-fifth year.\n\nIn the scene of Hangwan\u2019s death in the fourth act of the\n_Chushingura_, Hangwan is made to wait impatiently for\nOboshi\u2019s arrival and to see him when he had just thrust the\ndirk into his body; but as a matter of fact, Yuranosuke and\nhis son were at the time at Ako, in the province of Harima.\nThe lamentations of Kaoyo in the same scene are equally\nfictitious. For Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s wife was in his mansion at\nTeppozu near the River Sumida, and upon hearing of his\ndeath, she shaved her head at once and became a nun under\nthe name of Yosen-in, and spent the rest of her life in\nprayers for her husband. The mansion in Yedo was\nconfiscated.\n\nTakumi-no-Kami\u2019s domain was also to be forfeited. When his\ndeath became known at Ako on the nineteenth of the third\nmonth, that is, four days after the attack, Oishi\nKuranosuke, who was in charge of the castle, convoked a\nmeeting of all the retainers of Ako and informed them of the\nwhole affair. From sympathy for his lord\u2019s feelings at the\ntime of his death, he said to them that as it was the loyal\nsubject\u2019s duty to die if disgrace fell upon his lord, they\nmust discuss how they should put an end to themselves. Some\nof the loyal retainers exclaimed with indignation that they\nshould proceed at once to Yedo and cut off Kozuke-no-Suke\u2019s\nhead to appease their lord\u2019s angry spirit, while others as\nfirmly urged that they should not surrender the castle, but\nhold it to the last against the government officers until\nthey were killed to a man. After heated discussion, it was\nfinally decided to surrender the castle. And when, on the\neighteenth of the following month, the officers came to take\npossession of it, the retainers remained quiet, and after\nputting their account-books in order and making an\ninventory, they formally made over the castle to the\nofficers on the nineteenth in the grand hall of the castle.\nThe retainers then all dispersed and became _ronin_.\n\nIt will be seen that the incidents in the fourth act of the\nplay have no foundation in fact beyond the suicide of\nTakumi-no-Kami. It is only important as introducing\nYuranosuke, the hero of the play, and showing the great\nconfidence placed in him by both his lord and his\nfellow-retainers.\n\nPREPARATIONS FOR THE REVENGE.\n\nThus, the retainers of the clan lost their stipends upon the\nruin of their lord\u2019s house and became _ronin_. Oishi\nKuranosuke began to make preparations for the revenge, and\nat the same time made every effort to bring about the\nrestoration of his lord\u2019s house. When he found all his\nefforts were unavailing and the Government refused to\nrestore the forfeited domain and title to Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s\nyounger brother, he decided definitely to take revenge upon\nKozuke-no-Suke. Such of the late retainers as were filled\nwith great loyalty gradually formed a league; and Kira\nKozuke-no-Suke, too, took strict measures to provide against\nsudden attacks and sent spies and detectives to watch the\nmovements of the loyal retainers. The retainers, also,\nunderwent untold hardships in their efforts to inform\nthemselves of their enemy's condition. Many of them\nseparated from their families and engaged themselves to\ntradesmen or became artisans, and so disguising themselves,\nobtained entry into Kira\u2019s mansion. In the meantime, several\nof the retainers lukewarm in their loyalty left the league\none by one until the forty-seven men of matchless fidelity\nwere left behind to carry out their plot amid almost\ninsuperable difficulties.\n\nOishi placed under the care of his maternal uncle, Ishizuka,\nat Toyooka, in Tajima Province, his wife and four children,\nthe eldest of whom was Matsunojo, afterwards known as\nChikara Yoshikane (called Rikiya in the play), then in his\nfourteenth year. For a while he lay concealed in a\nneighbouring village; but towards the close of the sixth\nmonth, he left his native province and arrived in the\nfollowing month at Yamashina, a village lying east of Kyoto,\nto which he brought his wife and children, and made it look\nas if he intended to settle permanently in that place. He\nreceived offers to take him into service from great _daimyo_\nlike Nabeshima of Hizen and Hosokawa of Higo, and from other\nlords; but he declined them, one and all. And to show that\nhe had no intention of re-entering service, he purchased a\nhouse and land at Yamashina, and brought carpenters and\nplasterers from Kyoto to build a retreat within the grounds,\nwhile he himself took pleasure in rearing tree-peonies in\nhis garden. It looked quite as if he would in course of time\nmake over the headship of the house to his son Matsunojo and\nretire into his retreat, there to pass the remainder of his\nlife in admiring the beauties of nature. He was all the\nwhile waiting for the opportunity to carry out his plot.\n\nMeanwhile, Kira still kept strict guard. No one was taken\ninto service in his mansion without careful inquiry into his\nantecedents; and from retainers and sandal-carriers even to\ncommon servants, no one but a native of Kira\u2019s domain was\nengaged except in unavoidable cases. Tradesmen were strictly\nforbidden to enter the premises and the gate-keepers were\nrequired to examine carefully all who came to the mansion.\nAnd at the same time Oishi\u2019s movements at Yamashina were\ncarefully watched.\n\nNow, Oishi determined to throw the enemy completely off the\nscent by leading a dissolute life and pretending that he had\ngiven up the revenge in despair. He took to pleasures\nagainst his inclination; he became a noted profligate. He\nfrequented the pleasures-quarters of Kyoto and Fushimi and\nthen, those of Osaka. _Ronin_ as he was, he had been the\nchief retainer of Ako; and he seemed to have inexhaustible\nsupply of money, which he spent with lavish liberality and\nbecame notorious for his dissipation in Kyoto and elsewhere.\nHis confederates, too, decided to show to the world how\ndissolute they had grown in their despair, and vied with\ntheir chief in profligacy. And while these loyal retainers\npretended to the world that they had given themselves up\nutterly to debauchery, their leaders held consultations in\nthese pleasure-quarters and matured their plan amid the\nrevelry of their comrades.\n\nThe dissolute life, which Oishi was now leading, exposed him\nto the abuse of the world, which condemned him for\napparently sinking into dissipation, forgetful of his lord\u2019s\ndeath. Next, Oishi sent away his family with whom he had\nlived in great affection. He did this, partly to show that\nhe had no thought beyond his pleasures and partly to prepare\nfor the revenge. According to the law in those days, for a\nserious crime not only the offender himself, but also his\nfamily, were punished; and he feared that his wife and\nchildren might suffer from his act. He, therefore, divorced\nhis wife, who went away with their three youngest children.\nHe became more dissolute than ever. He brought to his house\na woman named Okaru, who was noted throughout Kyoto for her\nbeauty and made her his mistress. Kira\u2019s spies grew weary of\nwatching him and became less vigilant. Meanwhile, the\nretainers\u2019 plan matured, and finally Oishi left Yamashina in\nthe tenth month for Yedo, where he arrived early in the\nfollowing month.\n\nThe above furnishes the material for the seventh and ninth\nacts of the play.\tOishi\u2019s mistress, Okaru, appears in the\nplay as Hayano Kanpei\u2019s wife and Teraoka Heiyemon\u2019s sister,\nand so connects her story with the death of Kanpei in the\nsixth act and with the night-attack in the eleventh. It\nmakes her of more interest than if she only remained a\nmistress whom Oishi brought home to conceal his true\ndesigns. The seventh act also reveals Oishi as a man of\ngreat loyalty, who conceals his plot under cover of\ndissipation. It is an act which shows him in his true\ncharacter and one that calls for fine acting on the part of\nthe player who assumes the role of the hero.\n\nTHE SUICIDE OF SANPEI.\n\nAll the loyal retainers, after their great hardships and\nperseverance, succeeded in carrying out their object at\nlast; but there was one who died before the revenge was\ntaken. His name was Kayano Sanpei Shigezane, who appears in\nthe play as Hayano Kanpei. He was the second son of Kayano\nShigetoshi, a retainer of Oshima Dewa-no-Kami; and when he\nwas twelve years old, he was, at Dewa-no-Kami\u2019s\nrecommendation, taken into Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s service as page.\nWhen Takumi-no-Kami was condemned to death for the attack in\nthe Palace, Sanpei was in the mansion in Yedo; and\nimmediately the sentence was passed, he left with another\nretainer for Ako, where he arrived in four days and a half\nand reported to Oishi. After the surrender of the castle and\ndispersal of the retainers, Sanpei returned to his native\nvillage to mourn for his mother who had lately died. As his\nvillage was only about thirty miles from Yamashina, he went\noften to see Oishi and consulted him on the revenge. In the\nfollowing winter, he ashed his father\u2019s permission to\nproceed to Yedo and seek a new situation; but his father\nrefused as he was sure, he said, that Sanpei was going to\ntake revenge upon his lord\u2019s enemy, and added that such an\nact on Sanpei\u2019s part might implicate not only his own\nfamily, but even bring trouble upon Oshima Dewa-no-Kami,\nwhich he could not allow as he was no less loyal to his lord\nthan Sanpei was to his. Then, Sanpei asked him to sever\ntheir relation of father and son; but this also his father\nrefused, saying that nothing worthy could be done by one who\ncut off natural ties. Sanpei could do nothing; and seeing\nthat he could not revenge his lord\u2019s death, he resolved to\ndie and apologise to his lord in the other world. On the\nfourteenth of the first month in the following year, he sent\na letter to Oishi and before daybreak next day, he killed\nhimself while the family were asleep. His father, fearing\nthat the Ako retainers\u2019 plot would be discovered if his\nson\u2019s death became known, had his body secretly buried in a\nneighbouring hill. Sanpei was twenty-six years old at the\ntime of his death. He was perhaps over-hasty in rushing to\nhis death; but the principles of Bushido left him no choice;\na man of knightly spirit could do nothing but die under the\ncircumstances.\n\nIn their eagerness to enlist the sympathy of their audience,\nthe authors of the play have brought love-interest into his\nstory and weakened his character by attributing to him an\nact of disloyalty. Still, his failure in duty in the third\nact for the love of a woman was necessary for showing his\ndeep repentance in the fifth act and its incidental\nconsequences, the sale of his wife and his tragic end in the\nsixth, which lend peculiar pathos to Okaru\u2019s story in the\nseventh act.\n\nAMANOYA RIHEI.\n\nAmanoya Rihei was a merchant of Osaka, whose family had for\ngenerations enjoyed the patronage of the lord of Ako. When\nthe loyal retainers held council after their lord\u2019s death,\nRihei hied to Ako to offer his services. And when they had\nformed the plan for the revenge, they kept it strictly\nsecret from all except Rihei; and later Oishi secretly asked\nRihei to procure all the weapons and other implements that\nwere needed for the night-attack. The retainers lay\nconcealed in Kyoto, Osaka, and Yedo; and Rihei in Osaka,\nwent himself, without the knowledge of his family and\nservants, to different shops and works to have the necessary\nweapons made, and as soon as they were ready, he forwarded\nthem to Yedo. One of the smiths reported to the authorities\nthat he had received an order for a special description of\nweapons; and Rihei was soon after arrested and examined.\nRihei replied that the weapons of the special make had been\ninvented by a certain samurai; and other smiths, upon\nhearing of Rihei\u2019s arrest, also reported that they had\nreceived orders from him. Rihei was, then, put to the\ntorture; but still he would not tell the truth. His wife and\nchildren were also tortured; but they all answered that they\nknew nothing. Rihei told the prison officers that his family\nknew nothing of his purchases and begged them to torture him\ninstead of his family. He was then put to such tortures that\nhe was more than once on the point of death. He told the\nofficers that he had from the first been prepared for death\nwhen he entered upon the undertaking, but that when the new\nyear came, he would confess all or submit to any punishment\nthey might inflict. He spoke with such composure that they\ntook his word and refrained from further tortures. When the\nnew year came, the revenge of the Ako retainers was\neverywhere talked of; and when Rihei heard of it in prison,\nhe went up to the officers and confessed that as his family\nhad for generations enjoyed the patronage of the lord of\nAko, he had been asked by Oishi to procure the weapons for\ntheir night-attack upon Kira\u2019s mansion, and it was for that\nrevenge that he had ordered the smiths to make weapons for\nhim, and now that the revenge had been successfully carried\nout, the time had come for him to receive his just\npunishment; and he added that from fear of the plot being\ndiscovered and of the punishment for his offence being\nextended to innocent persons, he had concealed it from his\nfamily, and he therefore begged that his family might be\nspared while he himself would willingly submit to the\nseverest punishment. The officers were greatly struck by his\nmanly spirit and released him. They restored to his son\nRihei\u2019s property which they had confiscated and made him\nfollow his father\u2019s trade. Rihei himself renounced the world\nand peacefully ended his days in a temple closely connected\nwith the Asano family.\n\nAll the other incidents of the play, such as the story of\nKanpei and Okaru, the marriage of Konami and Rikiya, and the\ndeath of Honzo, are more or less connected with the main\nplot of the play; but the story of Amanoya Rihei, who\nappears in the play under the name of Amakawaya Gihei, is\nthe least connected. The tenth act was written to exhibit\nthe manly spirit of a merchant and to show that even among\nthe mercantile class were men who could help the retainers\nin their great undertaking. Amanoya Rihei was, in fact, a\nfine example of the _otokodate_, to whom reference has been\nmade in a former page, and his character, as it appears in\nthe play, has been the boast of his class. It is a\nvindication of the commoners by writers who belonged to that\nclass.\n\nTHE REVENGE.\n\nThe loyal retainers willingly submitted to every hardship\nand privation in their efforts to carry out their\nlong-cherished plan of revenge. The league which was\noriginally composed of more than a hundred persons,\ngradually dwindled by defection to less than half the\nnumber, and made more onerous the labours of the loyal men.\nSome of them became doctors, others taught fencing and\nsimilar arts, and others again turned rice-dealers and\nmerchants; but they devoted all their energies, so far as\nthey could do so without arousing suspicion, to watching the\nenemy\u2019s movements and keeping in communication with one\nanother. The labour and trouble they took to obtain\ninformation regarding the interior of Kira\u2019s mansion was\nsuch as would hardly be believed in these days. One of them\nwho was versed in the art of tea-making, obtained news from\ntime to time of the goings-on in the enemy\u2019s mansion from a\nprofessor of that art who was patronised by Kira. He\nascertained from him that there was to be a tea-party at the\nmansion on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month of the\nfifteenth year of Genroku (which corresponded to the 20th\nJanuary, 1703), On that night, then, their enemy was sure to\nbe at home; and the retainers decided to carry out their\nlong-planned scheme early the following morning. From about\ntwo o\u2019clock they began to gather at their trysting-place;\nand at about four o\u2019clock they all arrived in the snow under\na clear moonlight in front of Kira\u2019s mansion. Here they\ndivided into two companies; one under Oishi made for the\nfront gate and the other under Yoshida Chuzaemon for the\nback gate on the west side. They entered the mansion and\nmaking the capture of their enemy Kira their sole object,\nthey only cut down those who offered resistance. They\nsearched the whole mansion for him, but apparently without\nsuccess. They feared that he had escaped them; but one of\nthem, hearing a man\u2019s voice in a shed near the kitchen, went\nin and dragged him out and found he was the enemy they had\nundergone so many hardships to seize. They cut off his head.\nThen, they marched out in order without losing a single man.\nIt was about six o\u2019clock, so that the fight had lasted two\nhours.\n\nThe eleventh act merely serves to bring the story to a\nconclusion. The true climax would have been the suicide of\nthe loyal retainers; but it was doubtless felt by the\nauthors that they would give the greatest satisfaction to\nthe sympathetic audience by ending the play when the loyal\nmen were at the height of their joy after accomplishing\ntheir long-cherished object.\n\nTHE CONCLUSION.\n\nAlthough the story of the famous vendetta in the play\nconcludes with the departure of the retainers from the\nmansion with their enemy\u2019s head, we may, to complete the\nstory, here give a brief account of the subsequent events.\n\nThe loyal retainers of Ako marched in order through the city\nand arrived at the temple of Sengakuji, their lord\u2019s\nburial-place, in the south of Yedo. There they washed Kira\u2019s\nbloody head and placing it in front of their lord\u2019s grave,\nreported as to a living person all the circumstances of the\nrevenge. Oishi sent two of his men to the Chief Censor,\nSengoku Hoki-no-Kami, to report their late attack, while a\nsimilar report was made by the superior of the temple to Abe\nHida-no-Kami, the Commissioner of Temples and Shrines; and\nboth these officers went to the Shogun\u2019s palace to report\nthe matter. Officers were then sent to inspect Kira\u2019s\nmansion to verify the report. Universal sympathy was\nexpressed for the retainers; and pending the decision of\ntheir case, they were given in charge, seventeen to Hosokawa\nEtchu-no-Kami, Lord of Higo, ten each to Mori Kai-no-Kami,\nLord of Chofu and Hisamatsu Oki-no-Kami, Lord of Matsuyama,\nand nine to Mizuno Kenmotsu, Lord of Okazaki. All these\n_daimyo_ received them into their mansions with willingness\nand treated them with great consideration. It will be seen\nthat the number of retainers taken charge of by these\n_daimyo_ was forty-six, because one of them, Terasaka\nKichiemon, the Teraoka Heiyemon of the play, was sent\nimmediately after the attack to report to Takumi-no-Kami\u2019s\nwidow, and his name did not appear in the report made by\nOishi to the Chief Censor.\n\nThe fate of the brave retainers became the burning question\nof the day. Opinion was divided among the scholars and\ngovernment officials on the way they should be treated. Some\nwere for pardoning them as vendetta was permitted by the\nstate, while others advocated that as they had broken the\nlaw of the land from private motives, they should be\ncondemned to death and that an order to commit suicide would\nshow that their great loyalty was duly appreciated since\nthey were not to be beheaded like common criminals. Finally,\non the fourth of the second month of the following year\n(10th March, 1703), they committed _seppuku_ by order in the\nmansions of the respective _daimyo_ who had them in charge,\nand were buried at Sengakuji beside the tomb of their lord\nwhom they had served so well.\n\n  [1] A high officer versed in Court etiquette. The office was\n      hereditary.\n\n\nACT I.\n\nCHUSHINGURA\n\n\u5fe0\u81e3\u85cf\n\n----------\n\nACT I.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nThough there may be delicate food, we cannot relish it\nunless we taste it, and so, when peace has been restored,\nthe loyalty and valour of gallant warriors remain\nunrevealed, like the stars which are hidden from view by\nday, but appear at night scattered through the heavens. And\nhere is an instance in point.\n\nNow peace reigns over the land. It is the latter part of the\nsecond month of the first year of the Era Ryaku-o.[1] The Lord\nShogun Ashikaga Takauji[2] has overthrown\nNitta Yoshisada[3] and has built a palace in Kyoto. His\nvirtuous rule has spread in all directions and the whole\nnation bows before his might as\n\n[Illustration: Feudal Lord on dais surrounded by three\nkneeling people]\n\nthe grass before the wind. In the glory of his power, he has\nraised a Shrine to Hachiman at Tsurugaoka, which being\ncompleted, his younger brother, Lord Ashikaga Sahyoe-no-Kami\nTadayoshi, has arrived at Kamakura as his deputy to\ncelebrate its opening. Kono Musashi-no-Kami Moronao,\nGovernor of Kamakura, haughty and overweening, and the\nofficers appointed to receive the noble\nguest, Wakasanosuke Yasuchika, the younger brother of\nMomonoi Harima-no-Kami, and Enya Hangwan Takasada, Lord of\nHakushu, they all sit in state in the curtained front of the\nShrine.\n\nYOSHITADA. How now, Moronao? In this box is laid the helmet\nbestowed by the Emperor Godaigo[4] upon Nitta Yoshisada, who\nwas lately overthrown by my brother Takauji. Enemy as he\nwas, still Yoshisada was a lineal descendant of the Seiwa\nGenji[5]; and the helmet, though it was thrown away, cannot be\nleft unheeded. And my brother commands us to place it in the\ntreasure-house of this Shrine.\n\nMORONAO. I am surprised at my lord\u2019s words. If we must\nrespect Nitta\u2019s helmet because he was a descendant of the\nEmperor Seiwa, there are many _daimyo_ and _shomyo_[6]\nunder my lord\u2019s standard who are of the Seiwa Genji line. I\nthink it not well to treasure the helmet.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Nay, I do not agree with you. It seems to me\nthat this is a stratagem of my Lord Takauji to strike those\nadherents of Nitta who have escaped death with admiration at\nHis Highness\u2019s benevolent virtue and make them surrender of\ntheir own accord. You are overhasty in opposing it.\n\nMORONAO. You are presumptuous to call me overhasty. When\nYoshisada died in battle, forty-seven helmets lay scattered\naround his corse. We do not know which of them was his; and\nif we treasure what we believe to have been his and\nafterwards find that it was the wrong one, great will be our\nshame. We have no need for the opinion of a stripling like\nyou; keep your distance.\n\nRECITATIVE. Secure in his lord\u2019s favour, he speaks with\narrogance, and Wakasanosuke glares at him with angry eyes.\nEnya sees his look.\n\nHANGWAN. Though there is truth in my Lord Moronao\u2019s words,\nstill what Lord Momonoi says is a stratagem which we should\nemploy in time of peace. We submit, then, to the wise\ndecision of my Lord Tadayoshi, who is great both in war and\npeace.\n\nRECITATIVE. Tadayoshi looks pleased.\n\nTADAYOSHI. As I thought you would say so, I have summoned\nfor the purpose Enya\u2019s wife. Call her forth.\n\nRECITATIVE. Soon after the order is given, appears Kaoyo,\nthe wife of Lord Enya, bare-footed on the sand of the\napproach to the Shrine; the skirt of her over-dress sweeps\nthe ground like the sacred broom of the Shrine; lightly\npowdered and beautiful as a jewel, she bows to the ground at\na distance. Moronao, a lover of women, calls out to her.\n\nMORONAO. My Lord Enya\u2019s consort, Lady Kaoyo, you must be\nfatigued with waiting so long. His Highness has summoned\nyou; pray, come nearer.\n\nTADAYOSHI. I have summoned you for this. As the Emperor\nGodaigo bestowed on Yoshisada the helmet His Majesty wore in\nthe capital during the war of the Genko Era[7], we have\nno doubt that Nitta donned it in his last hour. But no one\nhere can identify it. You, I have heard, were at the time\none of the twelve maids of honour and were in charge of the\narmoury. You, surely, must know the helmet; and if you\nremember it, come, identify it.\n\nRECITATIVE. To a woman he gives his order gently; and softly\nshe answers.\n\nKAOYO. Gracious is my lord\u2019s command. His Majesty\u2019s helmet\nhave I held in my hands many a night and morning. It was\nbestowed upon Yoshisada, together with a rare incense called\n_Ranjatai_. It was I, Kaoyo, who handed it to him. Upon\nreceiving the gift, he said, \u201cMan lives for only one\ngeneration, but his name endures for ever. When I go forth\nto die in battle, I will, before I put on the helmet, burn\nall this incense in its inside so that it may leave its\nperfume on my hair. If, then, Your Majesty hears that the\nenemy has taken a rare-scented head, know that Yoshisada has\nfought his last.\u201d And I do not think he has belied his word.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hanging upon her words, Moronao who has designs\nupon her, listens with dilated nostrils.\n\nTADAYOSHI. Clear indeed is Kaoyo\u2019s answer. As I thought such\nwould be the case, I have had the forty-seven helmets that\nlay scattered put in this box. Now examine them.\n\nRECITATIVE. At these words the attendants bend their hips\nand unlock the box. Impatient to see the helmets, Kaoyo\napproaches boldly and without fear. She sees many a noted\nKamakura helmet of divers shapes. The helmet-signs differ\nwith the fashion of the\n\n[Illustration: Kaoyo standing, Tadayoshi seated]\n\nfamilies. Some are plain, and others are without camail for\nease in bending the bow. Among these many which vary with\nthe tastes of their wearers appears at last a five-plated\nhelmet with a dragon-head. Before Kaoyo can say that this is\nthe one they seek, the scent of the rare incense pervades\nall around.\n\nKAOYO. This is Yoshisada\u2019s helmet which I have often held in\nmy hands.\n\nRECITATIVE. She brings it forward, and her word is taken.\n\nTADAYOSHI. Let Enya and Momonoi place it in the\ntreasure-house. Come this way.\n\nRECITATIVE. He rises, and dismissing Kaoyo, passes by the\nsteps. Enya and Momonoi follow within. Instantly Kaoyo,\nalso, prepares to go.\n\nKAOYO. Lord Moronao, you will remain a little longer, and\nwhen your arduous duties are over, you will go home; but I,\nwho have been dismissed, must not stay longer. I take my\nleave.\n\nRECITATIVE. But as she rises, Moronao approaches and holds\nher by the sleeve.\n\nMORONAO. Nay, wait; I pray you, wait. I meant, as soon as my\nduties are over to-day, to call at your house, for I have\nsomething to show you. But Lord Tadayoshi who happily\nsummoned you here to-day, is as a god who has brought us\ntogether. As you know, I take pleasure in composing poetry,\nand have asked Yoshida no Kenko[8] to be my teacher. We\nexchange letters daily. Here is a letter which I was going\nto ask him to send to you; I would gladly hear your answer\nfrom your lips.\n\nRECITATIVE. He slips from his sleeve to hers a letter tied\nin a knot. She starts when she sees it is a love-letter\nwhich is out of keeping with his aged face. But if she\nopenly puts him to shame, her husband\u2019s name will become\ncommon talk. Shall she take it home and show it to her\nhusband? No, no; if Lord Enya feels resentment, a quarrel or\nother evil consequences may follow. So, without a word, she\ndrops the letter on the ground. Loth to let it be seen by\nothers, Moronao takes it up.\n\nMORONAO.\n \u201cSince her dear hand has touched it,\n     I cannot leave alone\n This note she has rejected,\n     E\u2019en though it is mine own.\u201d\n\nUntil you give me a definite answer and a\nfavourable, I will never cease to press my suit. Here am I,\nMoronao, in whose power it is to make the whole country rise\nor fall; and whether I kill Enya or let him live, it depends\nonly upon Kaoyo\u2019s will. Am I not right?\n\nRECITATIVE. Kaoyo can answer with naught but tears. At this\nmoment Wakasanosuke chances to enter, and perceives at once\nthat Moronao is, as is his wont, behaving outrageously.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Lady Kaoyo, are you not yet gone? By remaining\nafter you have been dismissed, you are disobeying His\nHighness. You had better go home at once.\n\nRECITATIVE. When she is thus urged to go home, Moronao sees\nthat Wakasanosuke has guessed what he has been doing; still,\nhe shows a brazen front and answers back.\n\nMORONAO. You are again presumptuous. When she may go, I will\ntell her so myself. Kaoyo, Enya\u2019s wife, has besought me to\nsee that her husband performs his duties without any mishap.\nThat is as it should be. Even a _daimyo_\u2019s wife acts thus.\nYou, of low position as you are, to whom do you owe your\npittance of a stipend? So precarious is your fortune that a\nword of mine could reduce you to beggary. And still do you\ncall your-self a samurai?\n\n[Illustration: Box of helmets with two on floor in front]\n\nRECITATIVE. He abuses him in revenge for his interference.\nBursting with anger, Wakasanosuke grasps the hilt of his\nsword with such fierce force as threatens to crush it; but\nhe recollects that he is in front of the Shrine and in His\nHighness\u2019s train, and he restrains himself; and yet, one\nword more, and he will cut him down. Attendants enter\nannouncing His Highness\u2019s return and clear the way. He is\ncompelled to forgo his revenge for the moment; but he is\nbursting with indignation. Lucky in his evil course, Moronao\nescapes death; and Enya, who little dreams that he will be\nhis enemy on the morrow, brings up the rear of the\nprocession. Lord Tadayoshi walks with quiet dignity; and his\nstately bearing is like the dragon frontlet of the helmet\nwhich has been placed in the treasure-house of the Shrine.\n\n[Illustration: Circle image]\n\n  [1] The first year corresponds roughly to 1338.\n\n  [2] The first Shogun of the Ashikaga line, which lasted from\n      1338 to 1573. Born in 1305 and died in 1358.\n\n  [3] A celebrated loyalist, born in 1301 and died in the Battle of\n      Fujishima in 1338.\n\n  [4] Emperor Godaigo reigned from 1319 to 1338.\n\n  [5] Seiwa Genji: the name Minamoto, or Genji, was first bestowed\n      upon Prince Tsunemoto, a grandson of Emperor Seiwa (856-877),\n      when he suppressed Masakado\u2019s rebellion in 940. The Seiwa Genji\n      were the direct descendants of the prince, while the collateral\n      lines were known as the Yamato, Settsu, and Kai Genji.\n\n  [6] Daimyo, or great names, were the great territorial lords; and\n      Shomyo, or small names, were those immediately below them in\n      rank.\n\n  [7] In this era (1331-3), the Emperor made war upon Hojo Takatoki,\n      the last of the Kamakura Regents, who defeated and exiled him\n      to the Island of Oki.\n\n  [8] One of the most noted poets of his day (1282\u20131350).\n\n\nACT II.\n\nACT II.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nIt is an evening in the month of growing plants.[1] They are\nsweeping the grounds in the mansion of Momonoi Wakasanosuke\nYasuchika. The Councillor, Kakogawa Honzo Yukikuni, who, in\nthe mature manhood of fifty years, guards the mansion as the\naged pine overlooks the garden, comes along outside the\nreception-room in formal dress. The servants on the ground,\nunaware of his presence, talk on.\n\nFIRST SERVANT. Why, Bekunai, our lord has for the last few\ndays been making great preparations. The guest from the\nCapital visited the Shrine of Hachiman at Tsurugaoka\nyesterday. That meant tremendous expenses. Ah, I wish I had\nthat lot of money; for if I\n\n[Illustration: Honzo overseeing two manual laborers]\n\nhad it, I would change my name Bekusuke[2] and enjoy myself.\n\nSECOND SERVANT. What, change your name and enjoy yourself?\nthat is strange! And what would you change it to?\n\nFIRST SERVANT. Why, I would change it to Kakusuke and have a\nfling.\n\nSECOND SERVANT. Oh, you fool! Don\u2019t you know? Our Lord\nWakasanosuke, I hear, came to grief yesterday at Tsurugaoka.\nI don\u2019t know the particulars; but it was talked\nabout in the servants\u2019 room that Lord Moronao put him to\ngreat shame. I suppose he said something unreasonable and\nhumiliated our lord.\n\nHONZO. Hi, what are you chattering so noisily about? You are\ntalking of our lord, and that, too, when my lady is ill. If\nthere is anything likely to bring shame upon the house, I\nshall not let it pass unheeded. Calamities arise from below;\nand servants should be discreet of tongue. When you have\ndone sweeping, go away all of you.\n\nRECITATIVE. He speaks to them gently. A maid-servant brings\nhim tobacco, which he inhales and sends up rings and clouds\nof smoke. In the passage he hears the rustling of a dress\nand scents its perfume; and softly comes out Honzo\u2019s darling\nonly daughter, Mistress Konami, with her mother Tonase.\n\nHONZO. What, you two here? It is most unmannerly of you to\nbe amusing yourselves, instead of waiting upon my lady.\n\nKONAMI. Nay, father. My lady is in especially good spirits\nto-day and is just now fast asleep. Is it not so, mother?\n\nTONASE. Ah, Honzo, my lady was saying something a little\nwhile ago. There appears to be a rumour that, at the time\nKonami went yesterday to Tsurugaoka in my lady\u2019s place, high\nwords passed between our lord and Lord Moronao. Somehow or\nother, it came to my lady\u2019s ears and made her very uneasy.\nShe asked if my husband Honzo, who must know all the\nparticulars, meant to conceal it from her; and so I asked\nKonami, but she knew no more about it than I. If it is\nlikely to aggravate her illness and bring shame upon the\nhouse......\n\nHONZO. Come, come, Tonami. Why did you not make up an\nanswer? Our lord is naturally of a hasty temper; and as to\nhigh words, they are common enough among women and children.\nIt is the duty of our swords to put an end to our lives if\nthis little tongue of ours makes a slip of one or half a\nword. Are you not a samurai\u2019s wife? Could you not recollect\nyourself in such a trivial matter? Be more careful. But,\ndaughter, when you went to worship in my lady\u2019s place, was\nthere not such a rumour? Or was there? What, there was not?\nI thought so. Why, it is nothing to speak of. Very well, I\nwill go at once and see my lady and set her mind at ease.\n\nRECITATIVE. And as he rises to go, the officer on duty\nenters.\n\nOFFICER. Master Oboshi Yuranosuke\u2019s son, Master Oboshi\nRikiya, has come.\n\nHONZO. Ha, I suppose he comes as a messenger from Lord\nHangwan to make arrangements for the entertainment of the\nguests. Show him in. Receive the message, Tonase, and\ndeliver it to our lord. The messenger is Rikiya, our\ndaughter Konami\u2019s betrothed husband. Entertain him. I will\nsee my lady.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words he goes in; and Tonami comes\nclose to her daughter.\n\nTONASE. Dear Konami, your father is always stiff-mannered;\nbut I thought he would tell you to receive the message.\nInstead of that, he says I am to receive it; in that he is\nof quite a different mind from me. You would like, I am\nsure, to see Rikiya and speak to him. Go and meet him in my\nplace. What do you say, eh?\n\nRECITATION. Her mother repeats her question; but her only\nanswer is the maiden blush that suffuses her face, and her\nmother surmises its meaning.\n\nTONASE. Oh, how it hurts! My daughter, please, rub down my\nback.\n\nRECITATION. Konami is bewildered and assists her.\n\nTONASE. Well, you see, my anxiety since the morning has\nbrought on my old complaint. I do not think I can in this\nstate meet the messenger. Oh, how it pains me! I am sorry to\ntrouble you; but you will hear the message and entertain the\nmessenger. There is no getting round our lord and ailments.\n\nRECITATIVE. She slowly gets up.\n\nTONASE. Receive him well, daughter, but not too well, for\nfear you should forget the important message. I should like\nto see my future son-in-law; but.........\n\nRECITATIVE. But the lady, knowing her daughter\u2019s feeling,\ngoes within. Konami bows to her with gratitude.\n\nKONAMI. How grateful I am, mother! How I have longed to see\nmy betrothed!\n\nRECITATIVE. But when she sees him, what shall she say? And\nher maiden heart palpitates\n\n[Illustration: Sitting male facing away]\n\nwith joy and expectation. Presently enters Oboshi Rikiya.\nEven in walking on the mat, he observes the etiquette. He is\nyet in his seventeenth year; his forelock stands erect; with\nhis family crest of _double-tomoe_ and his two swords, he\nlooks fine and dignified. In his appearance he is worthy of\nhis father Oboshi Yuranosuke. He sits down quietly.\n\nRIKIYA. I beg to deliver my message.\n\nRECITATIVE. He speaks with courtesy; and Konami suddenly\nlays her hands on the mat before her. They look at each\nother; each loves the other, but remains speechless. Their\nblushing faces are as one the plum-blossom and the other the\ncherry-flower. At last, Konami recollects herself.\n\nKONAMI. Ah, you are welcome. I am ordered to hear your\nmessage; and will you give it to me direct from your lips to\nmine?\n\nRECITATIVE. And she approaches him, but he turns aside.\n\nRIKIYA. Nay, that would be discourteous. In delivering and\nreceiving messages, etiquette is always of the first\nimportance.\n\nRECITATIVE. He shuffles backward and lays his hands before\nhim on the mat.\n\nRIKIYA. This is the message my master Enya Hangwan presents\nto Lord Wakasanosuke: \u201cAs we are to attend at the Palace of\nthe Governor-General Lord Tadayoshi before daybreak\nto-morrow, it is believed that the guests also will arrive\nearly. Lord Moronao has therefore ordered that Hangwan and\nWakasanosuke should present themselves at the Palace without\nfail at the seventh hour[3]. And to\nprovide against all chance of a mistake arising, my master\nHangwan has sent me with the message. You will please, then,\nreport to this effect to my Lord Wakasanosuke.\u201d\n\nRECITATIVE. His words flow so smoothly that Konami gazes at\nhis face in fascination and gives no answer.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. I have heard your message; and I am obliged to\nyou.\n\nRECITATIVE. And with these words Wakasanosuke comes in.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Since we parted yesterday, I have not been\nable to see Lord Hangwan. Yes, I will present myself\npunctually at the seventh hour. I thank Lord Hangwan for his\nmessage; and please present to him my compliments. I am also\nobliged to you.\n\nRIKIYA. Then I will take my leave, my lord. I am grateful to\nyou, lady, for receiving my message.\n\nRECITATIVE. He stands up quietly, and without once looking\nback, adjusts his dress, and goes away. Immediately Honzo\ncomes in from another room.\n\nHONZO. Ha, are you here, my lord? I hear you must be present\nat the seventh hour to-morrow morning. It is close upon the\nninth hour[4], and I beg you will take a rest.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Yes, yes. But Honzo, I have something to say\nto you in private. Send away Konami.\n\nHONZO. Ah, daughter, we will clap our hands when we want\nyou. And so go in.\n\nRECITATIVE. He sends away his daughter. And wondering at his\nlord\u2019s strange look, he comes close to him.\n\nHONZO. I have been wanting to ask you, my lord, for some\ntime; now I beg you to tell me all.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he comes still closer, his lord also shuffles\ntowards him.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Honzo, now let me hear your solemn oath that\nyou will absolutely submit to what I am going to tell you.\n\nHONZO. Your words are indeed solemn, my lord. Well, I will\nsubmit; but..........\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Do you say that you cannot swear the samurai\u2019s\noath?\n\nHONZO. No, I do not say so; but I will first hear you.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. And after hearing me, you will remonstrate, I\nsuppose?\n\nHONZO. No, that.........\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. You disobey me? What do you say?\n\nRECITATIVE. Honzo bends down his head and remains speechless\nfor a while; but presently he comes to a determination. He\ndraws his dirk, and then partly unsheathing his sword with\nthe other hand, he strikes it with the dirk.[5]\n\n[Illustration: Honzo kneeling holding outstretched sheathed\nsword with two hands]\n\nHONZO. You see now Honzo\u2019s spirit. I will neither stop you\nnor divulge your secret. I beg you to say what you wish to\ntell me without hurry, so that I may understand it completely.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. I will tell you. The Governor-General, Lord\nAshikaga Sahyoe-no-Kami Tadayoshi, has come to Kamakura to\ncelebrate the completion of the Shrine at Tsurugaoka, and\nEnya Hangwan and I have been appointed to entertain him. The\nShogun Takauji has also ordered that, making Kono Moronao\nour adviser, we should act under his instruction in all\nthings, as he is a samurai of mature age and wide\nexperience. Inflated with the high favour he enjoys, he has\nbecome now ten times more arrogant than before. And in the\npresence of the samurai from the Capital, he took advantage\nof my youth to abuse and revile me. Often I thought to cut\nhim in two; but as often I bethought me of the Shogun\u2019s\norder and restrained myself. But to-morrow I will bear it no\nlonger; I will put him to shame in His Highness\u2019s presence\nand then cut him down. Be sure not to stop me. Both my wife\nand you have oftentimes remonstrated with me for my hasty\ntemper; and I know well my defect. But think of my spirit,\noften as I have been humiliated. I am not unmindful that my\nact will ruin my house and plunge my wife into deepest\ngrief; but it is the duty of my sword which I cannot shirk\nwithout punishment from the God of War. Even if I cannot die\nfighting in battle, for the benefit I shall confer upon the\ncountry by slaying Moronao I will bear the shame upon my\nhouse. I tell you all this because I know the world will\nsurely think of me as one who lost his life by his hasty\ntemper, and as a reckless fellow readily wrought upon by\npassions.\n\nRECITATIVE. He weeps with deep despair, and he is rent to\nhis heart\u2019s core. Honzo claps his hands with admiration.\n\nHONZO. Well done, well done. I thank you, my lord, for your\nwords. You have borne with great patience. If I had been in\nyour place, I should not have borne so long.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. What do you say, Honzo? That I have borne so\nlong, that I have been patient? Are you jeering at me?\n\nHONZO. I did not think to hear that from my lord. It is a\nsaying among townspeople that if we keep to the shade in\nwinter and to sunshine in summer, we shall not run the risk\nof a quarrel or a fight in the streets; but the samurai\nwalks straight on, and though I may be wrong, I should say\nthat if once we gave up the road to another, there would be\nno end to his arrogance. I will show you that I have no\nintention of remonstrating with you.\n\nRECITATIVE. He draws a dirk, and slipping a foot into a\nsandal, he swiftly cuts off at a stroke a branch of a pine\nin front of the verandah. Quickly he sheathes the blade.\n\nHONZO. There, my lord. Cut him down as surely as I have cut\nthis.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Yes, I will; but we may be overheard.\n\nRECITATIVE. They look around.\n\nHONZO. It is still the ninth hour. Take a full rest; and I\nwill set the alarm-clock. Go at once, my lord.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. I am pleased with the way you have listened to\nme. I will now go to my wife and see her without letting her\nknow it is my last farewell. Then I shall never see you\nagain.\n\nHONZO. Farewell, my lord.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words Wakasanosuke goes within.\nAll-powerful is the samurai\u2019s spirit. Honzo looks at him as\nhe goes in, and then runs to the servants\u2019 entrance, and\ncalls out.\n\nHONZO. Let my servants bring here my horse this minute.\n\nRECITATIVE. Immediately the horse, bravely arrayed, is\nbrought into the ground and Honzo leaps upon it from the\nverandah.\n\nHONZO. To Moronao\u2019s mansion. Let my servants follow me.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he rides out, Tonase and Konami rush in and\ncatch hold of the bridle.\n\nTONASE. Where are you going? Tell us. We have heard it all.\nYou, Honzo, old as you are, did not remonstrate with our\nlord. We cannot understand it and will stop you.\n\nRECITATIVE. The mother and daughter hang on to the bridle\nand stop him.\n\nHONZO. You are too meddlesome. It is because I hold precious\nour master\u2019s life and house that I do this. Be sure you say\nnothing to him; for if he hears of it from you, my daughter\nI will disown and Tonase I will divorce. Now, servants, I\nwill give you orders on the road. Get out of my way, both of\nyou.\n\n[Illustration: Honzu on horseback with drawn sword]\n\nTONASE AND KONAMI. No, no, we will not.\n\nHONZO. How troublesome you are!\n\nRECITATIVE. He kicks them both with his stirrups, and\nfainting, they fall on their backs. He does not look at\nthem; but telling his servants to follow, he urges his horse\nand gallops out of sight.\n\n  [1] Refers to the third month of the lunar year, which corresponds\n      roughly to April.\n\n  [2] A common servant\u2019s name, which the man wishes to change for a\n      better-sounding one.\n\n  [3] About four o\u2019clock.\n\n  [4] Twelve o\u2019clock.\n\n  [5] The samurai\u2019s manner of taking an oath.\n\n\nACT III.\n\nACT III.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nMagnificent is the Palace which Lord Ashikaga Sahyoe-no-Kami\nTadayoshi has newly built upon becoming the Governor-General\nof the Eight Eastern Provinces; the _daimyo_ and the\n_shomyo_ in their fine court dresses are arrayed as brightly\nas the stars at night on the hills of Kamakura. For the\nentertainment the _no_-performers[1] enter by the back-gate\nand the guests by the front. The officers for serving the\nbanquet come to the palace at the seventh hour. Dazzling is\nthe glory of the military families.\n\nNow towards the West Gate, preceded by servants lighting his\nway with a lantern, comes Musashi-no-Kami Kono Moronao with\na dignified gait. His air is haughty and overbearing;\ndressed in a blue garment with\nlarge crests, he wears an _eboshi_[2] which stands up as proud\nas himself. He has left his attendants at the offices on the\nway; and only a few servants walk before him. Behind him,\nwith perked-up shoulders, struts Sagisaka Bannai, aping his\nmaster\u2019s haughty demeanour.\n\nBANNAI. Please your lordship. You are in high favour to-day.\nMen like Enya and Momonoi may be proud enough at other\ntimes; but when it comes to etiquette and ceremony, they\nlook as foolish as a puppy thrown upon a roof. Why, it makes\nmy sides ache with laughter to see them. By the bye, I hear\nthat Enya\u2019s wife, Lady Kaoyo, has not yet given an answer to\nmy lord. Do not take it to heart. She is fair, but I do not\nfancy her. What, between a fellow like Enya and the most\npowerful Lord Moronao..........\n\nMORONAO. Hush, do not talk so loud. Kaoyo remains faithful,\nand although I have often, on the pretence of teaching her\npoetry, pressed my suit, she will not consent. I hear that\namong her serving-women is a new maid,\nKaru by name; and I mean to coax her into taking my part.\nOh, there is still hope. If Kaoyo really dislikes me, she\nwould tell everything to Enya. But she has not, and I do not\ndespair.\n\nRECITATIVE. While the master and servant are nodding and\ntalking to each other in the shadow of the four-legged gate,\na samurai on guard at the gate rushes in.\n\nSAMURAI. We were sitting on the bench at the gate when\nKakogawa Honzo, a retainer of Momonoi Wakasanosuke, came and\nsaid that as he desired to see Lord Moronao personally, he\nhad gone to his mansion on horseback; but he found my lord\nhad already left for the Palace. He has come with many\nservants and desires most earnestly to see my lord. What\nanswer shall I give?\n\nBANNAI. It is presumptuous of him to desire a personal\ninterview with Lord Moronao who is so busy to-day. I will\nsee him.\n\nMORONAO. Wait, wait, Bannai. I see it all. In revenge for\nwhat I did to him the day before yesterday at Tsurugaoka,\nWakasanosuke has, while keeping himself in the background,\nsent this fellow Honzo to humiliate me. Ha, ha, ha. Take\ncare, Bannai. It is still before the seventh hour. Call him\nhere. I will settle him.\n\nBANNAI. Yes, I see. Now, servants, be prepared.\n\nRECITATIVE. Bannai and the servants wet the rivets of their\nswords to prepare for a fight. At a word from Moronao,\nKakogawa Honzo quietly enters. He makes his servants lay\nbefore Moronao the presents which they have brought; and\nretiring afar, he crouches on the ground.\n\n[Illustration: Presents are laid before Moronai]\n\nHONZO. I take the liberty to address Lord Moronao. My master\nWakasanosuke counts it a knightly honour beyond his desert\nthat he should be appointed to a great office by the Shogun\nTakauji. We are anxious as Wakasanosuke, being still young,\nknows nothing of etiquette; but since Lord Moronao has\ncondescended to instruct and guide him in all things, he has\nbeen able to discharge his duties without mishap. This is\ndue to no merit on the part of my master, but is entirely\nowing to Lord Moronao\u2019s kindness; and it has given\nunspeakable joy to my master, his wife, and the whole house.\nIf, therefore, my lord will, as a slight token of our\ngratitude, deign to accept a few presents from our house, we\nshall feel most highly honoured. Pray, present the list to\nmy lord.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he hands the list, Bannai takes it shyly and\nopens it with a perplexed look.\n\nBANNAI. (reads). \u201cList of presents. Thirty rolls of cloth\nand thirty pieces of gold, from the wife of Wakasanosuke;\ntwenty pieces of gold, from Kakogawa Honzo; ten pieces of\ngold, from the samurai of the house.\u201d\n\nRECITATIVE. When Bannai has read out the list, Moronao\nremains open-mouthed and entranced. The two exchange glances\nand stare blankly around them; they look as foolish and\nawkward as disappointed merrymakers when the summer\nfestivals have been postponed. Suddenly, Moronao speaks out.\n\nMORONAO. This is really most kind of you. What had we better\ndo, Bannai?\n\nBANNAI. Well, if we were to decline the presents, we should\nbe acting against their wishes, and above all, it would be a\ngreat breach of manners.\n\nMORONAO. Ah, though I teach etiquette, I do not know what to\ndo in a case like this. Oh, what was I going to say? Well,\nMaster Honzo, there is nothing really to teach. Besides,\nLord Wakasanosuke is so clever that I, his teacher, am left\nfar behind. Hi, Bannai, put away the presents. It is\nimpolite of me, but on the road I cannot even offer you a\ncup of tea.\n\nRECITATIVE. Seeing this sudden change of front, Honzo feels\nthat his plan has succeeded; but still he keeps his hands on\nthe ground.\n\nHONZO. It is now the seventh hour, and I will take my leave.\nTo-day, the most important ceremony takes place in the\nPalace; and I humbly entreat my lord to honour my master\nwith his guidance.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he rises, Moronao holds him by the sleeve.\n\nMORONAO. Do not go. Would you not like to see the nobles\nsitting around in the hall to-day?\n\nHONZO. But it would be most disrespectful to His Highness\nfor one of my low rank to.......\n\nMORONAO. No matter, no matter. When I go with you, no one\nshall say a word against you. Besides, Lord Wakasanosuke may\nalso have something or other for you to do. Come, come.\n\nHONZO. I will follow you, for it would be rude to decline.\nNay, after you, my lord.\n\nRECITATIVE. With gold he has bought his lord\u2019s life, and a\ncrafty servant is he whose calculation has hit the mark; but\nthe path of loyalty and filial duty is straight and\nundeviating; and straight they all go in through the gate.\n\nSoon after, enters Enya Hangwan Takasada. He, too, has left\nhis attendants behind and keeps his palanquin standing on\nthe road. His retainer, Hayano Kanpei, whose family has for\nmany generations served his house, goes up to the gate\nrustling in his new _hakama_[3] figured with sere leaves. He\ncalls out.\n\n[Illustration: Takasada and Kanpei]\n\nKANPEI. Enya Hangwan Takasada presents himself at the\nPalace.\n\nRECITATIVE. The gate-guard comes out.\n\nGUARD. A while ago, Lord Momonoi came to the Palace and\nasked for my lord; and just now Lord Moronao arrived and\nalso asked for him. They have both gone in.\n\nENYA. What, Kanpei, have they all gone in? I am grieved to\nfind that I am late.\n\nRECITATIVE. With only Kanpei in his train, he hurries into\nthe Palace. From within the Palace is heard the song for the\nentertainment; it runs, \u201cThey have arrived at the coast of\nHarima, at the beach of Takasago.\u201d While the sound is wafted\nby the wind to the willow-tree outside the gate, even more\nshapely than the willow is the maiden of some eighteen\nsummers, with arched eyebrows, her face covered with a hood\nand her _obi_ tied behind, evidently serving in a strict\nfamily, who comes along attended by a servant with a lantern\nadorned with Enya\u2019s family crest. She stops to rest before\nthe gate.\n\nOKARU. The day will soon break, and you are not allowed to\nenter the gate. You will now go home and rest yourself.\n\nRECITATIVE. The servant obeys and goes home. She peeps\nwithin.\n\nOKARU. What is Kanpei doing? I want to see him as I have a\nmessage.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she looks around, Kanpei sees her from\nbehind.\n\nKANPEI. Are you not Okaru?\n\nOKARU. Master Kanpei, I wanted to see you. I am glad that\nyou have come.\n\nKANPEI. H\u2019m, I cannot understand why you are here, alone and\nunattended at this time of night.\n\nOKARU. Why, I sent back the servant who came with me, and I\nremained here alone, because I came on an errand from my\nlady. I was to see you and tell you to hand this letter-case\nto our lord and beg him to give it direct to Lord Moronao.\nBut, she added, as he must be very busy, it might not reach\nmy lord\u2019s hand, and she had better not send it to-night. But\nI wanted to see you, and so I said to her that however busy\nour lord might be, he would surely have time to hand an ode\nor two to Lord Moronao. And so I hurried here, and I am\nquite out of breath.\n\nKANPEI. Then, all that is needed is that our lord should\nhimself hand this letter-case to Lord Moronao. Well, I will\ngo and give it to our lord, and so wait for me.\n\nRECITATIVE. Suddenly, a voice is heard calling out within\nthe gate.\n\nA VOICE. Kanpei, Kanpei! Lord Hangwan is calling you.\nKanpei, Kanpei!\n\nKANPEI. Here, sir. I am coming. Oh, how impatient!\n\nRECITATIVE. As Kanpei parts from Okaru and goes in, out\ncomes Sagisaka Bannai with stealthy steps.\n\nBANNAI. What do you say, Okaru? Deep is love\u2019s stratagem. As\nI saw you whispering with Kanpei, I called him away by\npretending that his lord wanted him; was not that finely\ndone? Lord Moronao says he has something to ask of you; and\nas for me, I want......O darling, darling.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he tries to embrace her, she pushes him away.\n\nOKARU. Come, don\u2019t be so improper. You serve in a house\nnoted for etiquette, and you can be so boorish. How vulgar,\nhow unmannerly of you!\n\nBANNAI. That is too cruel.\n\nRECITATIVE. In the dark he makes several attempts to catch\nhold of her hand. Voices are heard.\n\nVOICES. Master Bannai, Master Bannai! Lord Moronao wants you\nthis minute. Master Bannai, Master Bannai!\n\nRECITATIVE. Two servants come out and stare vacantly around.\n\nSERVANTS. Here you are, Master Bannai. Lord Moronao has long\nbeen asking for you. What, you, who serve in a house noted\nfor etiquette, run after a woman! How vulgar, how unmannerly\nof you!\n\nBANNAI. Hang it, they say the same thing as she did.\n\nRECITATIVE. He accompanies the servants with a sulky face;\nand immediately after, Kanpei comes in.\n\nKANPEI. Did you see what I did? That fellow Bannai hoaxed me\njust now; and if I came and told him that he was wanted, he\nwould have said, \u201cShut up, it is an old trick\u201d; and so I\ngave drink to the servants and played the trick that he\ncould not see through. Ha, ha, I had him there beautifully.\nNow that I have got rid of him, come with me.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he takes her by the hand.\n\nOKARU. Oh, how impatient you are! Please, wait a moment.\n\nKANPEI. What do you say? There is no need to wait, and the\nday will break before long. Come at once.\n\nRECITATIVE. He presses her; and to love inclined, she is\nnothing loth.\n\nOKARU. But here are people about.\n\nRECITATIVE. From within the palace is heard the song of\nTakasago :\u2014\u201cThey sit on the root of the pine-tree.\u201d\n\nKANPEI. That song reminds me; let us sit on the bench.\n\nRECITATIVE. And they go out hand in hand.\n\nRECITATIVE. The prelude is sung, and in the orchestra are\nheard the sounds of the _tsuzumi_[4] and the drum. They\ncelebrate the long-continued peace and prosperity of the\nland. Lord Tadayoshi is highly pleased with the\nentertainment.\n\n[Illustration: Seated musicians]\n\nWakasanosuke is impatiently waiting for Moronao and glances\ninto the interior of the Palace. He tightens the cords of\nhis long _hakama_ and grasps with all his strength the\nhilt of his sword, ready to draw it and cut down Moronao.\nMoronao and his servant Bannai, unaware that he is waiting,\ncome out and see him from afar.\n\nMORONAO. Why, Lord Wakasanosuke, you are come betimes. Well,\nI am quite crest-fallen; you have beaten me. By the bye,\nthere is something that I must explain to you, that I must\napologise to you for.\n\nRECITATIVE. He throws down his sword and dirk before him.\n\nMORONAO. Lord Wakasanosuke, hear me while I explain it all.\nThe violent language I used the other day at Tsurugaoka, how\nit\n\n[Illustration: Moronao on knees with Wakasanosuke standing\nin front]\n\nmust have aroused your anger! And your anger was natural,\nand that is why I wish to apologise. What I said then from\nsome misunderstanding I look upon as the greatest blunder of\nmy life. See how a samurai bows to the floor and begs your\npardon! I can do so now because you are a man of the world;\nbut if it had been some excitable bungler, why, he would\nhave cut me down on the spot. Oh, it gives me the shivers to\nthink of it. Do you know, when I saw you turn away, I\nclasped my hands and bowed to you with gratitude for your\nmagnanimity. Ha, ha, ha, when we age, we turn cowards. Think\nof my years and I am sure you are not a man to refuse when\nyou see a samurai throw down his sword and beg your pardon\nwith clasped hands. I entreat you again and again. Bannai,\ncome and ask pardon with me.\n\nRECITATIVE. Wakasanosuke, who does not dream that his money\nwas the cause of all this fawning, finds his energy gone and\ncannot now unsheathe his sword. With the weapon beside him\nthat he was ready to draw, he hangs down his head in deep\nthought. From behind the low hedge, Honzo watches without\nonce blinking.\n\nMORONAO. Ah, Bannai, why is Enya late? He is quite different\nto Lord Wakasanosuke. He is an unmannerly man. He does not\nyet show his face here. As such is the master, so there is\nnot one among his councillors who gives careful attention to\nthings. Come, Lord Wakasanosuke, let us go to His Highness.\nNow, rise; you have seen me apologise, and you surely are\nsatisfied.\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. No, I do not feel well. Pray, go before me.\n\nMORONAO. What is the matter? A stomach-ache? Quick, Bannai,\nrub down his back. Shall I give you some medicine?\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. No, I am not so ill as that.\n\nMORONAO. Then, rest awhile. I will go and explain to His\nHighness. Show him into another room, Bannai.\n\nRECITATIVE. Both master and servant force their attentions\nupon him; and though he is annoyed, he submits and is taken\ninto a room in the interior of the Palace.\n\nHONZO. Ah, now a heavy load is off my mind.\n\nRECITATIVE. Honzo bows to Heaven and earth in gratitude, and\nthen retires into a neighbouring room. Soon after, Enya\nHangwan comes to the long passage which leads to His\nHighness\u2019s presence. Moronao sees him and calls out.\n\nMORONAO. Late, late. What think you? Did I not tell you to\nbe here by the seventh hour to-day?\n\nHANGWAN. Yes, I am to blame for my lateness; but I think\nthere is still time ere we appear before His Highness.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes a letter-case out of his sleeve.\n\nHangwan. A servant of mine has brought this to be handed to\nyou; it is from my wife Kaoyo.\n\nRECITATIVE. He hands it to Moronao.\n\nMORONAO. Yes, yes. Your wife is a very accomplished lady.\nHearing that I take to the composition of poetry, she has\nasked me to correct her odes. No doubt, she has written on\nthe matter.\n\nRECITATIVE. He opens the letter-case and reads out.\n\nMORONAO\n\n\u201cHeavy the burden love doth lay,\n    E\u2019en when \u2019tis free from sin; Let not thy heart, then,\ngo astray\n    Unlawful love to win.\u201d[5]\n\nWhy, this is an ode from the \u201cNew Collection of Odes,\nAncient and Modern.\u201d Does she wish me to correct an old ode?\nHumph.\n\nRECITATIVE. He is wrapped in thought. Then his love is\nrejected, and has she confessed to her husband? He conceals\nhis chagrin as he turns to Enya.\n\nMORONAO. Lord Hangwan, did you see this ode?\n\nHANGWAN. I see it now for the first time.\n\nMORONAO. H\u2019m, when I was reading it? Ah, your wife is a very\nchaste lady. Even an ode that she sends me is of this kind,\n\u201cLet not thy heart go astray unlawful love to win.\u201d Most\nchaste, most chaste. You are a lucky man. No wonder you come\nlate to the Palace. As you are always sticking close to your\nwife, you give no thought to your duties here.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hangwan does not know that this insult is heaped\nupon him in return for Moronao\u2019s having taken back his abuse\nfrom Wakasanosuke. He checks his rising passions.\n\nENYA. Ha, ha. Are you merry with wine, my lord? You have\nbeen drinking, no doubt.\n\nMORONAO. When did you pour me wine? Nay, when did I drink?\nEven when I am given wine and drink, I do not fail in my\nduty. And you, why are you late? Have you been drinking? Or\nhave you been keeping close at home? Lord Wakasanosuke, he\nis so different to you; he is most diligent. Oh, your wife\nis chaste, beautiful, and writes a fine hand. Be proud of\nher. Now keep your temper. I am telling the truth. To-day\nwhen His Highness is so busy and I too am no less, you can\ncome and say to me with a proud look, \u201cThis is my wife\u2019s\node!\u201d If your wife is so precious, no need for you to come\nhere. A fellow who always remains at home like you is often\ncompared to a carp in a well. Now listen to me. This carp\nthinks that there is no place in heaven or on earth like the\nwell of three or four feet width that he lives in, for he\nhas no opportunity of seeing other places. Then when the\nwell is cleaned, he comes up in a bucket and is thrown into\nthe river. He who knew only his narrow home is delighted to\nfind himself in the river; but he loses his way and knocks\nhis nose against a bridge-pier, which sends his body\na-trembling till he gives up the ghost. You are just such\nanother carp. Ha, ha, ha!\n\nRECITATIVE. As he talks at random, Hangwan can endure it no\nlonger.\n\nHANGWAN. Are you out of your senses that you talk in this\nway? Are you mad, Moronao?\n\nMORONAO. What, how dare you call a samurai a madman, ay, me,\nKono Moronao, the first of all the nobles?\n\nHANGWAN. Then, you insult me deliberately?\n\nMORONAO. You are tiresome. What will you do if I say, yes?\n\nHANGWAN. Why, this.\n\nRECITATIVE. Quick as thought, he draws his sword and strikes\nhim, inflicting a serious wound on his forehead. He strikes\nagain;\n\n[Illustration: Hangwan striking Moronao with a sword]\n\nbut as Moronao lowers his body, only his _eboshi_ is cut in\ntwo. Again, Enya rushes upon him, but Moronao dodges his\nblow; and as Moronao flees from him, Honzo rushes in from\nthe adjoining room and catches Enya from behind.\n\nHONZO. You are too rash, Lord Hangwan.\n\nRECITATIVE. And while Honzo holds Enya, Moronao escapes\ntowards the banquet-hall, stumbling at every step.\n\nHANGWAN. I will cut you in two, Moronao. Let go, Honzo, let\ngo.\n\nRECITATIVE. While he struggles to get free, the whole palace\nis in a commotion. The officers of the palace, the _daimyo_\nand _shomyo_, rush in; and some surround Enya and snatch\naway his sword, and others attend to Moronao. Great indeed\nis the uproar and confusion.\n\n(_Here the stage revolves_).\n\nRECITATIVE. Great noises are heard in the Palace with both\nthe front and back gates shut; and all is bustle with\nlanterns swinging in all directions. Kanpei, with a startled\nlook, runs back and beats the back-gate almost enough to\nbreak it. He calls out in a loud voice.\n\nKANPEI. Enya Hangwan\u2019s servant, Hayano Kanpei, is uneasy on\nhis master\u2019s account. He begs the gate to be opened\nimmediately.\n\nRECITATIVE. A loud voice is heard in reply from within the\ngate.\n\nA VOICE. If you have any business, go round to the front.\nThis is the back gate.\n\nKANPEI. I know this is the back gate; but the front gate is\nso crowded with retainers on horseback hurrying about that I\ncannot approach it. Tell me how the quarrel has ended.\n\nA VOICE. The quarrel has been settled. For his attack upon\nLord Moronao, the first of the nobles, Enya Hangwan has been\nordered\n\n[Illustration: Wicker-palanquin is carried by workers]\n\nto be confined in his own house and has just been sent home\nin a wicker-palanquin.\n\nKANPEI. Great Heavens!\n\nRECITATIVE. He starts to run to the mansion.\n\nKANPEI. No, no. If my lord is to be confined in his own\nhouse, I can still less return to the mansion.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he walks to and fro in bewilderment, the\nwaiting-woman Okaru, whom he lost on the way, appears.\n\nOKARU. Oh, Master Kanpei, I have heard it all; and what must\nwe do?\n\nRECITATIVE. As she rushes up to him, he pushes her away.\n\nKANPEI. What are you crying for? Kanpei can no longer be a\nsamurai. This shall be the end.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he puts his hand on the hilt of his sword.\n\nOKARU. No, please, wait. Have you lost your senses, Kanpei?\n\nKANPEI. Yes, I have lost them. And how can I help losing\nthem? I was not with my master in his hour of sorest need.\nBesides, he has been sent home like a felon in a\nwicker-palanquin; and the gate of his mansion has closed\nupon him; and all this time his servant, lost in love, did\nnot follow him. How can I go before men with my swords on?\nLet go your hand.\n\nOKARU. Please, wait a moment. What you say is true and\nreasonable. And who made such a faithless samurai of you?\nWhy, it was I, and I alone; and if one of us must die, it is\nI who should die before you. But if you die now, who will\never praise your samurai spirit? Now think well over this.\nFirst, come with me to my father\u2019s home. Both my father and\nmother are country-people, but they are a worthy couple. Now\nthat things have come to this pass, look upon it as your\nfate and please, listen to your wife\u2019s advice, Master\nKanpei.\n\nRECITATIVE. She bursts out crying and is soon sunk in tears.\n\nKANPEI. You are right. Of course you are but newly come into\nservice and probably do not know all about our lord\u2019s house.\nThe chief councillor of the house, Master Oboshi Yuranosuke,\nhas not yet returned from the country; and when he comes\nback, I will ask pardon through him. Come, let us go as\nquickly as we can.\n\nRECITATIVE. As they prepare to go, Sagisaka Bannai rushes\nout with his servants.\n\nBANNAI. Ah, Kanpei. For attacking Lord Moronao and\ninflicting a slight wound upon him, your master Hangwan is\nconfined in his house, and his head is sure to be chopped\noff before long. Now wrench his arms. We are going to take\nyou home and torture you to death. So prepare yourself for\nyour fate.\n\nKANPEI. We are well met, Sagisaka Bannai. It will not be\nenough for me to kill a fellow like you; but you shall see\nhow neatly this arm of mine can cut you up.\n\nBANNAI. Don\u2019t let him speak, fellows.\n\nSERVANTS. Very well, sir.\n\nRECITATIVE. Two of them attack him from both sides; but he\ndodges them and wrenches their arms with his hands and kicks\nthem down. In their place two more cut at him, but he\nreceives their blows with his sword-scabbard; and as they\nturn round and come again, he strikes aside their swords\nwith the hilt and scabbard-end of his own. And when the four\nmen attack him together, he sends them flying at once to the\nright and left; they fall down and then rise and run away in\nall directions. In hot anger, Bannai strikes at him; but\nKanpei dodges and catches him by the neck; he throws him\ndown on the ground and sets his foot upon him.\n\nKANPEI. Now I can do as I please with you. Shall I run you\nthrough, cut you in pieces, or kill you by inches?\n\nRECITATIVE. But Okaru clings to his uplifted sword.\n\nOKARU. No, no, if you kill this fellow, it will spoil your\nchance of a pardon. That is enough; let him go.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she stops him, Sagisaka wriggles out from\nunder his foot and runs away for very life.\n\nKANPEI. Oh, what a pity I let him go! But if I killed him,\nit would have been a most disloyal deed. We will, we two,\nlive in hiding for the present, and when the time comes, we\nwill beg for pardon.\n\n[Illustration: Kanpei and Okaru side by side]\n\nRECITATIVE. It is already the sixth hour[6]; and across the\nstreaks of cloud in the whitening east, the crows are flying\nfrom out their nests. The lovers hurry on their way; but\ntheir hearts are held back by their anxiety for their lord\u2019s\nfate. Such, alas, is the way of the world.\n\n[Illustration: Cloth and fan on ground]\n\n  [1] The No-performance is a dramatic posture-dance accompanied by\n      song and music.\n\n  [2] The ceremonial court hat.\n\n  [3] A kind of divided skirts, worn by men.\n\n  [4] A drum with a slender body, beaten by hand.\n\n  [5] One of the ten precepts in verse, by Jakunen, a noted priest\n      and poet (died in 1137).\n\n  [6] About six o'clock.\n\n\nACT IV.\n\nACT IV.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nEnya Hangwan being confined in his house, the town-mansion\nat Ogigayatsu has its gates closed with large bamboo poles,\nand none but the members of the household is allowed to go\nin or out; strictly is the house guarded. Even in such a\nplight, gay are the waiting-women as they amuse themselves\nin the inner rooms. Lady Kaoyo sits with Oboshi Rikiya at\nher side. To enliven her lord\u2019s spirits, she has laid before\nher a basket of cherry-blossoms, double and treble flowered,\nfrom the hills of Kamakura; but far more beautiful than the\nflowers is the lady who is arranging them. Along the passage\nof the Willow Chamber comes Hara Goemon, a chief of troops,\nfollowed by Ono Kudayu.\n\nGOEMON. Ah, Master Chikara, you have come early.\n\nCHIKARA. No; until my father arrives from the country, I\nattend here day and night.\n\nGOEMON. That is very dutiful of you.\n\nRECITATIVE. Goemon lays both his hands on the mat.\n\n[Illustration: Kaoyo kneeling, arranging cherry blossoms]\n\nGOEMON. How does my lord feel, this morning?\n\nKAOYO. Thank you for coming, both of you. I feared much lest\nmy lord should sink into low spirits and fall ill; but he\nlooks cheerful and gazes from morning till evening at the\nflowers in the garden. And so, for his diversion, I have had\nthese famous cherry-blossoms brought and am arranging them\nas you see.\n\nGOEMON. Yes, it is as you say, my lady. Your idea is that as\nthe flowers open, they presage that the gates will be opened\nand our lord released from confinement. I thought, too, of\nbringing something of the sort; only I am a poor hand in\ndevising emblems. But I have forgotten to speak of an\nimportant matter. I hear that the Shogun\u2019s envoys will be\nhere to-day, and I have no doubt they will come to release\nour lord from confinement. Do you not think so, Master\nKudayu?\n\nKUDAYU. Ha, ha, ha! Why, Master Goemon, these flowers\ngladden men\u2019s eyes only for a while, and then are scattered\nby the wind. Your words are like them. To give others\npleasure, you pay in a way unworthy of a samurai\ncompliments, from which the gilt comes off as readily as\nfrom the New Year\u2019s wishes. Ask me why I say so. Our lord,\nwhose duty it was to entertain the guests, wounded one who\nis the head of the government and caused a great uproar in\nthe Palace; the penalty for his offence is at the lightest\nbanishment and at the heaviest _seppuku_. It was, in fact, a\ngreat mistake of our lord to make an enemy of Lord Moronao.\n\nGOEMON. What, do you, then, wish for our lord\u2019s banishment\nor death?\n\nKUDAYU. No, I do not wish for it; but I only speak the plain\ntruth. It all arose from your stinginess, Master Goemon. If\nyou had thrown gold to Moronao, it would not have happened.\n\nRECITATIVE. From his own greed he judges of others.\n\nGOEMON. No, it is unworthy of a knight to fawn upon others.\nDo you not think so, Master Rikiya?\n\nKAOYO. Do not quarrel, you two. My husband\u2019s trouble arose\nentirely from me. The other day, when there was an\nentertainment at Tsurugaoka, that lawless Moronao urged his\ninsolent love to me who have a lord. I wished to punish him\nby humiliating him; and so, without telling my lord, I sent\nhim an old ode on chastity on the pretence of asking his\ncriticism of my own composition. Put to shame, he abused\nLord Hangwan in revenge for my rejection of his love. Was it\nnot natural that my lord, who is hasty of temper, could ill\nbrook his insults?\n\nRECITATIVE. When she has spoken, both Goemon and Rikiya show\nin their looks their deep sympathy for their lord in his\nanger. The envoys\u2019 arrival is announced at the porch and in\nthe reception-room, and is also reported in the inner rooms;\nLady Kaoyo sits back, and the three men have hardly gone\nforward to meet them before the envoys enter. They are\nIshido Umanojo and Moronao\u2019s intimate friend, Yakushiji\nJirozaemon. As they have come on duty, they pass without\nceremony and take seats in the upper part of the chamber.\nFrom another room quietly comes in Enya Hangwan.\n\nHANGWAN. Ha, my Lord Ishido, I thank you for coming as the\nShogun\u2019s Envoy. Tell them to prepare wine. When I have heard\nHis Highness\u2019s will, I will partake of wine with you all and\ncheer my spirits.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. Yes, that is a bright idea, and I, too, will\ndrink with you. But I fancy, when you have heard His\nHighness\u2019s order, the wine will hardly go down your throat.\n\nISHIDO. Now, listen carefully to the order which we have\nbrought to you to-day.\n\nRECITATIVE. He draws the written order from his breast and\nopens it; and Hangwan sits with reverence.\n\nISHIDO. These are the words: \u201cWhere-as Enya Hangwan Takasada\ndid, out of private hate and malice, attack and wound the\nGovernor Kono Moronao and cause a great disturbance in the\nPalace, his domain is confiscated and he is ordered to\ncommit _seppuku_.\u201d\n\nRECITATIVE. On hearing this, Lady Kaoyo is amazed; and the\nretainers in the chamber exchange glances, and are\ndumbfounded. Hangwan remains calm and composed.\n\nHANGWAN. I humbly submit to His Highness\u2019s will. Now, you\nwill rest yourselves after your arduous duty is done and\ntake a cup of wine.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. Now, Hangwan, be silent. You ought to be thankful\nthat for your crime, for which the penalty should be death\nby strangling, you are ordered by His Highness\u2019s clemency to\ncommit _seppuku_; and you should at once prepare for death.\nBesides, there is the etiquette for committing _seppuku_.\nWhat do you mean by dressing yourself up in a long _haori_[1]\nof the present fashion? Have you been drinking, or have you\nrun mad? You are wanting in courtesy to Lord Ishido and me,\nYakushiji, who are here by His Highness\u2019s command.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he rebukes him, Hangwan smiles.\n\nHANGWAN. I am neither merry with wine, nor am I mad. When I\nheard that the envoys were coming to-day, I expected to\nreceive this sentence. I will show you how I am prepared.\n\nRECITATIVE. He puts down his swords and takes off his\n_haori_ and upper garment; and he appears in the white,\nuncrested robe of death. All are astonished at the sight;\nand Yakushiji, disappointed, sinks into sulky silence.\nUmanojo approaches Hangwan.\n\nISHIDO. I heartily sympathise with you. I am here to see the\nsentence carried out. You will calmly prepare yourself.\n\nHANGWAN. I thank you for your kind words. When I drew my\nsword, I was prepared for the sentence. My only regret is\nthat I was held back by Kakogawa Honzo in the Palace and\nprevented from slaying Moronao. I am mortified beyond\nexpression and can never forget it. Like Kusunoki Masashige[2]\nwho declared at Minatogawa that he would lengthen his life\nby the force of his iron will at the last moment, I will\nreturn to life again and again until my vengeance is\nwreaked.\n\nRECITATIVE. While he utters these angry words, the\nsliding-door of the adjoining room is rapped.\n\nRETAINERS. We, the retainers of the house, beg to be\npermitted to look once more upon our lord\u2019s face. May we\npresent ourselves before him? Inquire for us, Master Goemon.\n\nRECITATIVE. On hearing the retainers\u2019 request, Goemon turns\nto his lord.\n\nGOEMON. How shall I answer them, my lord?\n\nHANGWAN. Their request is natural; but I cannot permit them\nuntil Yuranosuke comes.\n\nRECITATIVE. Goemon turns to the sliding-door of the next\nroom.\n\nGOEMON. You have heard our lord\u2019s will, and not one of you\nmay come in.\n\nRECITATIVE. The retainers have not a word to say in reply,\nand the whole room is deadly still. At the word from his\nlord, Rikiya brings the dirk which he has ready for the\nself-immolation and places it before his lord. Calmly\nHangwan doffs the _kataginu_[3] and sits more at ease.\n\nHANGWAN. Now, my lords, see the sentence carried out.\n\nRECITATIVE. He draws the wooden stand towards him and,\ntaking up the dirk, raises it to his head.\n\nHANGWAN. Rikiya, Rikiya.\n\nRIKIYA. My lord.\n\n*A garment worn over the shoulders and tucked under the\n_hakama_. (It is worn by the envoys in the double-page\nillustration of this Act)\n\nHANGWAN. Yuranosuke.......\n\nRIKIYA. Has not yet come, my lord.\n\nHANGWAN. H\u2019m. I am sorry, I deeply regret, that I cannot see\nhim before I die. There is no help for it. I can wait no\nlonger.\n\n[Illustration: Hangwan kneeling on raised platform with\ndirk. Man with sword standing behind him]\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes the dirk with the point towards him,\nand driving it into his left side, drags it to the right.\nLady Kaoyo cannot bear to look on, but turns away, prayers\non her lips and tears in her eyes. The door of the passage\nis suddenly pushed open, and in rushes Oboshi Yuranosuke. No\nsooner does he see his master\u2019s plight than he flings\nhimself down and bows to the floor. After him hurry in\nSenzaki, Yazama, and the other retainers of the house.\n\nHANGWAN. I have long been waiting for you, Yuranosuke.\n\nYURANOSUKE. To be able to look upon my lord while he is\nliving, it is to me............\n\nHANGWAN. It is to me, too, a pleasure, a great pleasure. You\nhave no doubt heard it all. I am truly mortified.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I have heard it all. Now that things have come\nto this pass, I know not what to say to my lord. I only beg\nthat you will die bravely.\n\nHANGWAN. Oh, little need you to say so.\n\nRECITATIVE. With both hands he draws the dirk from side to\nside, and panting with pain, he takes a long breath.\n\nHANGWAN. This dirk I bequeath to you, Yuranosuke; and with\nit you will revenge my death.\n\nRECITATIVE. With the point of the dirk, he cuts his\nwind-pipe, and throwing down the bloody weapon, he falls\nforward; and his breath is gone. While his lady and the\nretainers present wait with closed eyes, bated breath, and\nclenched teeth, Yuranosuke shuffles close to his lord, and\ntaking up the dirk, bows to it. He gazes at the bloodstained\npoint, and clenching his fist, he weeps with despair. The\nlast words of Hangwan have penetrated to his heart\u2019s core.\nAnd at this moment he forms that resolution which will hand\ndown Oboshi\u2019s name for faith and loyalty to the remotest\nposterity. Yakushiji suddenly rises to his feet.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. Now that Hangwan is dead and gone, deliver this\nmansion at once.\n\nISHIDO. Nay, do not be peremptory, Yakushiji. Enya was the\nlord of a province and a castle. You gentlemen, when you\nhave performed the funeral ceremony, you will quietly leave\nthis mansion. I, who have come to carry out the sentence,\nwill now go and report that I have seen your lord slay\nhimself. I sympathise with you in your sorrow, Yuranosuke;\nand if you have anything to say to me, I will hear it, and\ndo not scruple to tell me.\n\nRECITATIVE. He bows silently to the retainers present and\ncalmly goes out.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. I, too, will rest in another room till this dead\nbody is got rid of. Let my servants come. Now, throw out of\nthe gate these retainers\u2019 rubbish. And don\u2019t let these new\n_ronin_ make off with Hangwan\u2019s personal property.\n\nRECITATIVE. He glares all around the chamber and enters\nanother room. Lady Kaoyo bursts out crying.\n\nKAOYO. Ah me, is there anything more sorrowful than the\nsamurai\u2019s life? There was many a thing I longed to say to my\nlord at his last moment; but I bore my grief in silence\nbecause I feared the envoys would despise me as a\nfaint-hearted woman. Alas, my poor, poor lord!\n\nRECITATIVE. She throws herself upon the body and let loose\nher sorrows, regardless of all around her.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Come, Rikiya. Escort at once our lord\u2019s remains\ntogether with our lady, to the family temple of Komyoji. I\nwill overtake you and perform the funeral ceremony. Hori,\nYazama, Odera, Hazama, and others, guard them on the way.\n\nRECITATIVE. Immediately, the palanquin is brought in and set\non a stand. The door is opened; and they all come forward\nand, with tears, place the remains within and silently lift\nup the palanquin. They comfort their lady who is lamenting\npiteously. The retainers escort the palanquin and hurry to\nthe family temple. A few see it to the door and, returning,\nresume their seats. Out speaks Ono Kudayu.\n\nKUDAYU. Master Oboshi, you succeeded your father, Master\nYawata Rokuro, as Chief Councillor. Though I am next to you\nin rank, I and all of us are from to-day _ronin_. We have no\nmeans of supporting wife and children. Let us, then, divide\namong ourselves the money which our lord kept for military\nuse, and deliver this mansion at once, or we shall be\nwanting in respect to Yakushiji.\n\nYAGORO. No; in my opinion, since it arouses our anger to see\nour enemy Kono Moronao still alive, we should prepare for\nthe attack of our enemy and make our last stand in this\nmansion.\n\nSADAKURO. Ah, wait. It is a bad idea, that of dying in\nfight. The best plan is, as my father Kudayu says, to hand\nover the mansion and divide the money.\n\nRECITATIVE. During this discussion, Yuranosuke has remained\nsilent; but now he speaks out.\n\nYURANOSUKE. The proposal that Yagoro has made in this\ncouncil agrees with my plan. We should really die and follow\nour lord; but I have decided that, instead of our slaying\nourselves to no purpose, we should wait for the troops of\nAshikaga and die in battle.\n\nKUDAYU. Eh, what do you say? I thought you would give us\ngood counsel; but no, with a _ronin_\u2019s fatuous obstinacy,\nyou would take up arms against Lord Ashikaga. That is\nrecklessness. I cannot agree to it.\n\nSADAKURO. Yes, you are right, father. I will not agree,\neither. We would be left out of this consultation. It is\nuseless to remain here any longer. Let us go home.\n\nKUDAYU. Yes, we will do so. I take my leave; but pray, do\nnot go yet, gentlemen.\n\nRECITATIVE. And father and son, they go home together.\n\nYAGORO. Ha, the avaricious Ono and his son! What cowards, to\nbe filled with fear when they hear that we are going to die\nfighting, and then to run away. Do not mind them, Master\nOboshi, but let us prepare to meet the enemy.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no, Yagoro. What cause of anger have we\nagainst Lord Ashikaga that we should take up arms against\nhim? It was only my plot to test the spirit of those two,\nfather and son. Let us deliver the mansion to Yakushiji and\ngo each his way. We will meet again at Yamashina, near the\nCapital, and there open our minds to one another and consult\nupon our future plans.\n\nRECITATIVE. No sooner has he spoken than Jirozaemon comes\nout of a room.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. What, still consulting? When you have got rid of\nthe body, make over the house at once.\n\n[Photograph: ICHIKAWA DANJURO as _Yuranosuke_]\n\nGOEMON. Yes, we have kept you waiting. Examine well before\nyou take over our lord\u2019s furniture and his arms and\nequipages. Come, let us go, Master Yuranosuke.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Yes, we will go.\n\nRECITATIVE. They quietly rise; and as the thought comes to\nthem that they are looking for the last time to-day at the\nmansion where their families for generations served day and\nnight their lord\u2019s house, they linger and gaze back, loth to\nleave it.\n\n(Here the stage revolves).\n\nRECITATIVE. As they stand outside the gate, Rikiya, Yazama,\nHori, Odera, and others, who escorted their lord, return\nrunning.\n\nRIKIYA AND OTHERS. Have you, then, given up the mansion? We\nwill now wait for Tadayoshi\u2019s troops and die fighting.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no. Now is not the time to die. See this,\nall of you.\n\nRECITATIVE. He draws and holds up his lord\u2019s bequest.\n\nYURANOSUKE. This is the dirk, with its tip stained with our\nlord\u2019s blood, on which his soul still rests thirsting for\nvengeance. And with this dirk we must cut off Moronao\u2019s head\nand so accomplish our object.\n\nRECITATIVE. The retainers are stirred by his words. Within\nthe mansion Yakushiji is having the gate-doors clamped.\n\nYAKUSHIJI. They are punished by Heaven for the attack on\nLord Moronao. It serves them right.\n\nRECITATIVE. His servants clap their hands and laugh long and\nloud. The younger samurai run back to the gate, crying:\u2014\n\nSAMURAI. Do you hear that?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Have you no wish to avenge our late lord\u2019s\ndeath?\n\nRECITATIVE. Hearing his words, they all go out together,\nlooking back with anger at the mansion.\n\n[Illustration: Box with leaf limb]\n\n  [1] An outer coat worn by men.\n\n  [2] Considered the most perfect mirror of loyalty in all Japanese\n      history. He died fighting for the Emperor at Minatogawa in 1336.\n\n  [3] A garment worn over the shoulders and tucked under the hakama.\n      (It is worn by the envoys in the double-page illustration of\n      this Act)\n\n\nACT V.\n\nACT V.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nThe hawk, even when it is on the verge of starvation, does\nnot pick rice-ears contrary to its nature. For many days has\nHayano Kanpei dwelt in his temporary home near Yamazaki; and\nfor the fault committed in the flush of youth, he makes his\nliving now by hunting deer and monkeys on these hills. He is\ncaught with his gun in a summer shower, and takes shelter\nunder a pine-tree until it ceases. Yonder comes a traveller\nwith a little lantern stretched out with a bow, which he\ncovers with the skirt of his rain-coat to keep the light\nburning. He hurries along the dark road in the heavy rain.\nKanpei goes up to him.\n\nKANPEI. If you please, will you kindly give me a light?\n\nRECITATIVE. The traveller stops short and stands on the\ndefensive.\n\nTRAVELLER. Humph, I travel alone, fully knowing that this\nroad is unsafe. I see you have a gun and I certainly cannot\ngive you a light. Come another time.\n\nRECITATIVE. He watches him, ready to cut him down if he\nmoves an inch.\n\nKANPEI. Well, I do not wonder at your mistaking me for a\nrobber; but I am a hunter of the neighbourhood. I am in a\ngreat trouble as I have got my tinder drenched in the heavy\nrain. Come, I will hand you my gun and get the light myself.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hearing his straightforward reply, the traveller\nlooks fixedly at his face.\n\nTRAVELLER. Are you not Hayano Kanpei?\n\nKANPEI. And you are Senzaki Yagoro?\n\nYAGORO. I am glad to see you well.\n\nKANPEI. And you, too, are in sound health.\n\nRECITATIVE. It is long since they last met. They cannot\nforget the fall of their master\u2019s house, and as they think\nof it with resentment, they both clench their fists. Kanpei\nbows down his head and remains speechless for a while; and\nthen he speaks out.\n\nKANPEI. I am truly ashamed of myself, and cannot even show\nmy face to an old fellow-retainer like you. Has my samurai\u2019s\nfortune come to an end? It was my fated ill-luck that when I\nwas in attendance upon my lord, the great calamity should\nhave fallen upon his house. I was not present on the spot at\nthe time, and I could not go back to the mansion; and I\nthought I could only wait till the fit occasion came to\nentreat his pardon. But, to my amazement, he was condemned\nto death. Great Heavens, I cried, this is all Moronao\u2019s\ndoing and I will at least follow my lord to the other world.\nAnd I put my hand on my sword; yet, thought I again, what\nworthy deed have I done that I could appear before my lord\nand escort him on the lonely road of death? I wore my heart\nout in pondering over what I should do in atonement. I have\nsecretly heard it rumoured that Master Yuranosuke, his son,\nand Master Goemon, and others are plotting to avenge our\nlord\u2019s death. Unhappy as I am, I was not driven out of\nservice; and if I could, by some means, obtain an interview\nwith Master Yuranosuke and be allowed to sign my name in the\nleaguers\u2019 covenant, it would be an honour to me and my house\nfor ever. Since it is my fortune to meet you, let me avail\nmyself of this rare opportunity and beg you to make me\nworthy of a samurai. I appeal to our old friendship, to your\nknightly compassion.\n\nRECITATIVE. He lays both his hands before him on the ground,\nand filled with remorse for his former ill-deed, he weeps\nmanly tears. Pitiful is his plight. Yagoro, though he thinks\nhis old comrade\u2019s repentance but natural, cannot here\nrecklessly reveal the great plot.\n\nYAGORO. Now, now, Kanpei, in your confession, you mix up\nwith it something about a plot and a covenant. That is\nnonsense. There has never been such a rumour. I am taking an\nurgent message from Master Yuranosuke to Master Goemon. We\nintend to raise a monument in our late lord\u2019s burial-place.\nBut we, being but _ronin_, are poor, and the monument is a\nthing which will be pointed out as Lord Enya Hangwan\u2019s to\nthe latest posterity. And so I am going on an errand to\ncollect the money for the purpose and seeking out those who\nare still grateful for our late lord\u2019s favours. And if you\nyet feel grateful.........do you understand?\n\nRECITATIVE. To make Oboshi\u2019s plot covertly known while\nspeaking of the monument, it is, indeed, an act of true\ncomradeship.\n\nKANPEI. I thank you, Master Yagoro. Yes, I heard long ago\nthat you were collecting money, it was said, for the\nmonument. I, too, have made every effort to offer some\nmoney, and hoped, on the strength of the contribution, to\nobtain pardon. But Master Yagoro, how ashamed I am! See my\npresent condition; it is a punishment for my disloyalty to\nmy lord, and I have none to turn to for help. But Karu\u2019s\nfather, Yoichibei, is a worthy man. He and his wife lament\nthe unfaithfulness with which we, husband and wife, served\nLord Hangwan, and are most anxious that I should find means\nto become a samurai again. I will seize this occasion to\ntell them of my meeting you and, after giving an account of\nour talk, let them know how I may be restored to my former\nposition. Then they will not, I am sure, hesitate to sell\nfor their children\u2019s sake the little land they possess. I\nbeg, when I have brought the money, you will present it to\nMaster Goemon.\n\n[Illustration: Yagoro takes leave of kneeling Kanpei]\n\nYAGORO. Yes, I will now go and tell Master Goemon what you\nhave said to me and through him ask pardon of Master\nYuranosuke. I will give you an answer without fail the day\nafter to-morrow. This is the address at which Master Goemon\nhas put up.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he gives him the address, Kanpei receives it\nwith gratitude.\n\nKANPEI. I am thankful for your manifold kindness. I will\nimmediately find the money and wait upon you the day after\nto-morrow. If you wish to come to my house, you will turn to\nthe left from the ferry at Yamazaki, and you will soon find\nYoichibei\u2019s house by inquiring in the neighbourhood. You had\nbetter go quickly before the night grows late. The road is\nstill more unsafe further on, and so take great care of\nyourself.\n\nYAGORO. No fear. Until the monument is raised, not a flea\nshall bite this body of mine. You, too, keep yourself in\ngood health. I shall look forward to hearing of your\ncontribution. Fare you well.\n\nRECITATIVE. They part, and each hurries on his way. The rain\nagain comes down. Feeble footsteps are heard. Though he has\nnot lost his way in the dark, he is a simple, honest old man\nwho comes hanging on his staff, drawn hither by a blind love\nof his child. He hears a voice calling to him from behind.\n\nA VOICE. Hi, hi, old man. You are a good road-companion.\n\nRECITATIVE. The speaker is Ono Kudayu\u2019s son, Sadakuro, who,\nhaving no place to go to, has turned a highwayman and\nnightly plies his trade on this road. He has a flat sword at\nhis side.\n\nSADAKURO. I have been calling you a long time; could you not\nhear me? It is bold of you at your age to travel alone on\nthis unsafe road. I will bear you company.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he comes in front of him and looks at him\nwith over-curious eyes, Yoichibei shrinks with fear; but he\nconceals it with an old man\u2019s tact.\n\nYOICHIBEI. Now this is a kindness I should not have expected\nof one so young. Being an old man, I do not care to travel\nalone; but wherever we go, there is nothing so precious as\nmoney. As I could not pay last year\u2019s tax, I went to ask for\nhelp to my relations; but not a single cash could I get from\nthem, and as I could not stay long where I could obtain no\nassistance, I am going home alone, heavy at heart.\n\nRECITATIVE. Before he has done speaking, the other cries\nout.\n\nSADAKURO. Hold your tongue. I did not come to hear that you\nhave not paid your tax. Look here, old man. Listen carefully\nto what I am going to say. It is this. I saw long ago that\nyou have in your bosom a purse of striped cloth with forty\nor fifty _ryo_ in it, if it is gold; and I have followed\nyou. Lend it to me. See, I entreat you with clasped hands. I\ndare say, you got the money to rescue your child from some\nfoolish trouble. Now that I have set my eyes upon it, why,\nthere is no getting away. So make up your mind to it.\nPlease, lend it to me, do.\n\n[Illustration: Saduko with umbrella standing over fallen\nYoichibei]\n\nRECITATIVE. He puts his hand into Yoichibei\u2019s bosom and\npulls out a purse of striped cloth.\n\nYOICHIBEI. Oh, please, sir, that......\n\nSADAKURO. What of that? When you have so much money.........\n\nRECITATIVE. As he snatches it, Yoichibei clings to his hand.\n\nYOICHIBEI. No, no, sir. I took some small coin out of this\npouch, it is true, to buy straw-sandals a while ago; but\nthere is now in it only a few lumps of rice for luncheon and\nmedicines my daughter gave me for bilious attacks. Please,\nlet me go, sir.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he snatches back the pouch and tries to\nescape; but Sadakuro runs before him and intercepts him.\n\nSADAKURO. What an obstinate fellow, to be sure! I speak you\nfair, because I do not wish to do anything cruel; and you\ntake advantage of it. Come, fork out the money. If you\nhesitate, I will kill you at one blow.\n\nRECITATIVE. He draws his sword and raises it for a downward\nstroke; and before Yoichibei can cry out, he strikes at him\nas at a dry bamboo-pole. Did the sword deflect or the hands\nerr? He misses his mark, and Yoichibei grasps the naked\nblade with both his hands.\n\nYOICHIBEI. Do you, then, really mean to kill me?\n\nSADAKURO. Of course I do. I kill you because I saw your\nmoney; and so give up the ghost without more complaint.\n\nRECITATIVE. He points the sword at his breast.\n\nYOICHIBEI. Please, just wait, sir. There is no help for it.\nYes, this is money. But I have an only daughter; and she has\na husband who is more dear to her than life itself. That\nhusband is in want of money. He is, for certain reasons, a\n_ronin_ at present. It was through her, says my daughter,\nthat he became a _ronin_, and she has asked me and my wife\nto help him to return to his former samurai\u2019s position. But\nas we are poor, we could do nothing. At last, after long\nconsultation with my wife, we hit upon a plan; we made our\ndaughter agree to it and have kept it absolutely secret from\nour son-in-law. And this is the money we got after we three,\nfather, mother, and daughter, had truly wept tears of blood.\nAnd if you take it away, what will become of my daughter?\nSee, I clasp my hands to you; please, let me go. You, too,\nappear to have been a samurai; and the samurai should help\neach other. Without this money, my daughter and her husband\ncannot hold up their heads in the world. He is my only\ndaughter\u2019s husband; and you will guess how I pity and love\nhim. Have compassion on me, sir, and let me go. You are\nstill young and I suppose you are childless; but when the\ntime comes and a child is born to you, you will know how\nnatural are the words I have spoken to you. So, please, let\nme leave this place in safety. Only a _ri_[1] from here is my\nhome. You may kill me when I have handed the money to my\nson-in-law. Please, sir, I should like to die after I have\nseen my daughter\u2019s face light up with joy. Please, please,\nsir. Oh, help, help!\n\nRECITATIVE. But his cries only resound with piteous echoes\nin the hills around.\n\nSADAKURO. Oh, that is indeed sad. Cry on. Hear me, old\ndotard. If I rise in the world with that money of yours, the\nblessing of this act of charity will raise your son too. For charity\nnever makes an evil return to the donor. Poor fellow!\n\nRECITATIVE. He thrusts his sword; and as Yoichibei writhes\nwith pain, he kicks him round with his foot.\n\nSADAKURO. Oh, how pitiful! Though, no doubt, it hurts you,\ndo not bear me spite for it. I kill you because you have\nmoney; for if you had no money, what should I do to you?\nYour money is your enemy, old man. Oh, save us, Amida\nBuddha!* Oh, save us, Wondrous Doctrine of the Lotus Sutra![2]\nGo wherever you please.\n\nRECITATIVE. Without drawing out his sword, he turns it round\nand round. The grass is dyed crimson with blood; and the old\nman, in the excess of his pain, breathes his last. Sadakuro,\nnow that he is dead, takes the pouch and in the darkness\ncounts the money in it.\n\nSADAKURO. Ha, fifty _ryo_. \u2019Tis long since we last met,\ngentlemen; and I thank you for your coming.\n\nRECITATIVE. He hangs the pouch around his neck, and pushes\nand kicks the body into the valley below. The mud on the\ncorpse splashes upon himself; but all unwitting, he stands\nup, and sees behind him a wounded wild boar rush headlong\ntowards him. In haste he steps aside. The wild boar runs\nstraight on, snorting, kicking roots of trees and corners of\nrocks, and leaping through mud and shrubbery. And as\nSadakuro comes forward and looks after it, a gun-report is\nheard, and two bullets pierce his spine and\n\n[Illustration: Kanpei leaning over supine Sadakuro]\n\npenetrate to his ribs. Without a cry or groan, he falls on his\nback and dies; It does one\u2019s heart good to see him die.\nThinking that he has killed the wild boar, Kanpei comes out\nwith his gun in his hand and gropes here and there for the game.\nWhen he touches and raises the body, he finds that it is not the\nwild boar.\n\nKANPEI. What, this is a man! Great Heavens, I have missed\nit!\n\nRECITATIVE. As it is pitch-dark, he cannot in his fear ask\nwho his victim is. As he raises him in his arms to see if he\nstill breathes, his hands touch the pouch; and grasping it,\nhe perceives it holds forty or fifty _ryo_. He raises it\nagain and again to his head to thank Heaven for what,\ndoubtless, is its gift; and then he rushes away as if on\nwings, even more swiftly than the wild boar.\n\n[Illustration: drum]\n\n  [1] About two miles and a half.\n  [2] Buddhist prayers.\n\n\nACT VI.\n\nACT VI.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\n\u201cThe country dance is over;\n Come out, old man, come with your dame,\n Come, old man, come with your dame.\u201d\n\nSo sing the country folk as they pound their barley. Here\nstands the weather-beaten cottage of Yoichibei, a peasant in\nthe noted village of Yamazaki; and here now passes Hayano\nKanpei a _ronin_\u2019s life. His wife Okaru has risen and, while\nwaiting for her husband who is not yet home this morning,\nbrings out her toilet-case to smooth her dishevelled hair.\nWith her thoughts bent upon her fate which she still keeps a\nsecret, she combs her hair with a comb of boxwood and\ndresses it with neatness and elegance; her beauty is too\nfair for a country-place. Her aged mother, hanging to her\nstaff, comes tottering home from the fields.\n\nMOTHER. Oh, you have done up your hair, daughter! And it is\nwell done. Everywhere in the country they are now busy\nharvesting barley; and just now, near the bamboo jungle, I\nheard young men sing the barley-pounders\u2019 song, \u201cCome out,\nold man, come with your dame.\u201d That made me very anxious as\nmy old man is late coming home, and I went to the end of the\nvillage; but not a shadow of him could I espy.\n\nOKARU. Yes, mother, I wonder what makes him so late. I will\njust run and see.\n\n[Illustration: Two women]\n\nMOTHER. No, it is not well for a young woman to walk alone.\nYou, especially, never liked from your childhood to walk\nabout in the country; and though we sent you for service to\nLord Enya\u2019s, you apparently could not live away from the\nlonely country and came back to us. While you are with\nKanpei, you never show any sign of discontent.\n\nOKARU. Oh, mother, that is but natural. When I live with one\nI love, I would put up willingly with poverty, to say\nnothing of country life. When the Feast of Lanterns comes, I\nmean to do as the song says, \u201cCome out, old man, come with\nyour dame,\u201d and go with Kanpei to see the dance. You, too,\ndid that sort of thing when you were young.\n\nRECITATIVE. It is a light-tongued hussy, and her spirits,\ntoo, appear restless.\n\nMOTHER. Cheerfully as you may talk, in your heart........\n\nOKARU. No, no. I am quite composed. I have been long\nprepared to go to service in Gion-machi for our lord\u2019s sake;\nbut for my aged father to take so much trouble.........\n\nMOTHER. Do not say that. Low as his position is, your\nbrother, too, was a servant of Lord Enya; and it is not like\ntaking trouble on another person\u2019s account.\n\nRECITATIVE. As mother and daughter talk, hurriedly comes\nalong the road with a palanquin Ichimonjiya, of Gionmachi.\nStopping the palanquin, he calls out from outside the door.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Is Master Yoichibei at home?\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words, he enters at the door.\n\nMOTHER. Why, you have kindly come all this way. Now, bring\nthe tobacco-tray, daughter, and offer tea.\n\nRECITATIVE. As the mother and daughter welcome him,\nIchimonjiya speaks.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Well, I thank your old man for coming last\nnight; I hope he came home safely.\n\nMOTHER. What, have you not brought him with you? That is\nstrange. Since he has not........\n\nICHIMONJIYA. What, has he not come home? Strange! Perhaps,\nas he was loitering before the shrine of Inari,[1] he was\nbewitched by a fox. Now, just as we had agreed when I came\nhere the other day, we decided last night that your daughter\nshould serve for full five years only and her wages were to\nbe a hundred _ryo_. Then the old\nman said that as he had some money to deliver last night, he\nwanted to sign the bond of service and receive in advance\nthe whole sum of a hundred _ryo_. As he asked me with tears,\nI gave him half the sum when the bond was signed and\npromised to pay the remainder when the girl was delivered to\nme. And when I handed him the fifty _ryo_, he was overjoyed\nand raised the money to his head with rapture. It was about\nthe fourth hour[2] when he went away rejoicing. I told him\nthat he should not walk home alone with the money at night\nand tried to stop him; but he would not listen to me, and so\nhe went home. It may be, on the road........\n\nOKARU. No, no, nowhere would he stop on the way. Do you not\nthink so, mother?\n\nMOTHER. Yes, certainly. Especially, as he would not lose a\nmoment if he could help it in hurrying home and making you\nand me glad by showing us the money. I cannot understand it.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Well, whether you understand\nit or not, that is your business. I will hand you the\nbalance and take the girl home.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes the money from his bosom.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Here is the remaining fifty _ryo_; and it makes\nup the hundred ryo. I hand it to you, and so take it.\n\nMOTHER. But before your father comes home, I cannot let you\ngo, can I, Karu?\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Why, dawdling like this, we shall never have\ndone. See, here is Yoichibei\u2019s seal; you have not a word to\nsay now. This bond speaks for me. This girl\u2019s service I have\nbought with money to-day; and a day\u2019s delay means so much\nloss to me. I suppose I must use force.\n\nRECITATIVE. He seizes Okaru by the hand and drags her.\n\nMOTHER. Please, wait.\n\nRECITATIVE. The mother clings to him; but he pushes her\naway. He forces Okaru into the palanquin. But just as it is\nlifted up, Kanpei returns, gun on his shoulder and with a\nstraw rain-coat and hat on. He enters the house.\n\nKANPEI. My wife in the palanquin, where are you going?\n\nMOTHER. I am glad you have come home at this moment.\n\nRECITATIVE. He wonders at the mother\u2019s joy.\n\nKANPEI. There appears to be something at the bottom of this.\nMother, wife, let me hear it.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he sits right in the middle of the room.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Oh, are you the girl\u2019s husband? Here is the\nbond with the old man\u2019s seal, in which he says no one\nwhatever, be he the girl\u2019s husband, actual or affianced,\nshall offer any obstruction. And I don\u2019t care who you are,\nand I am going to take away the girl at once.\n\nMOTHER. Oh, you are no doubt puzzled, my son. We had heard\nfrom our daughter that you were in want of money; and much\nas we wished to get it for you, we had no prospect of\nprocuring a single _sen_. And so says my old man, \u201cI do not\nsuppose our son is thinking of getting the money by selling\nhis wife; but it may be that he has such a wish and is\ndeterred from carrying it out only by the presence of her\nparents. What if this old father sells her without his\nknowledge? It is a custom with the samurai, when other means\nare exhausted, to take her back by force. It is no shame to\nsell one\u2019s wife, and if I find for him in this way the money\nhe requires in his lord\u2019s cause, I do not think he will be\nvery angry with me.\u201d So yesterday he went to Gion-machi to\nsettle the matter, but he has not come home yet. While we, I\nand my daughter, were feeling anxious at his absence, comes\nthis man and says that as he gave the old man half the sum\nlast night, he will pay the remaining fifty _ryo_ now and\ntake away my daughter this moment. I tell him I must see the\nold man first, but he won\u2019t listen to me, and insists upon\ntaking her away. What shall we do, Kanpei?\n\nKANPEI. I am truly grateful for my father-in-law\u2019s kindness.\nBut I, too, have had a piece of good fortune; of that,\nhowever, I will speak later on. I do not think we should\nhand over my wife before her father comes home.\n\n[Image: Man seated with a wrapped bundle]\n\nICHIMONJIYA. And why?\n\nKANPEI. Well, the bond gives you the parent\u2019s authority.\nThough I do not doubt that you paid half the money last\nnight.....\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Here, I am Ichimonjiya who am known all over\nKyoto and Osaka and have in my employ girls enough to make\nan island of Amazons. Do you think I would say that I had\npaid the money when I hadn\u2019t? There is still another thing\nthat I can tell you for certain. When I saw your old man\nwrap the fifty _ryo_ in his towel and put it in his bosom, I\nsaid to him it was risky, and gave him a pouch to put it in\nand hang round his neck. The pouch was made of a piece of\ncloth of the same pattern as this garment of mine; and no\ndoubt, he will presently come home with it round his neck.\n\nKANPEI. What do you say? A pouch of the same pattern as the\ndress you wear?\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Yes.\n\nKANPEI. Of the same pattern?\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Is not that certain proof?\n\nRECITATIVE. Upon hearing this, Kanpei is amazed. After\nlooking around him, he stealthily takes out the pouch from\nhis sleeve; as he gazes at it, he sees it is of silk and\ncotton and does not differ a jot in pattern from the man\u2019s\ndress. Great Heavens! Was it then his father that he killed\nwith his gun last night? He feels a far greater pang than if\nhis own heart had been pierced by a bullet. Ignorant of his\nfeelings, his wife asks him.\n\nOKARU. Come, my husband, do not look so restless; but decide\nfor us whether I am to go or not.\n\nKANPEI. Oh, yes. Since he speaks so convincingly, I fear you\nmust go.\n\nOKARU. What, without seeing father?\n\nKANPEI. Yes. I saw your father for a moment this morning; I\ndo not know when he will come home.\n\nOKARU. Did you then see father? Why did you not say so\nbefore, instead of making mother and me anxious about him?\n\nRECITATIVE. Ichimonjiya takes advantage of the position.\n\nICHIMONJIYA. Doubt a man, they say, only after inquiring\nseven times. Since we know the old man\u2019s whereabouts now, we\nall feel at ease. If you still resist, we must appeal to\nlaw. But it is now settled, I am glad to see. Mother and\nhusband, when you come to worship at Rokujo, pay me a visit.\nCome, get into the palanquin.\n\nOKARU. Yes, yes. I am going now, Kanpei. My two aged parents\nyou will have to support, and father, especially, for he is\nalways ailing, and you will please take great care of him.\n\nRECITATIVE. Unaware of her father\u2019s death, she, poor girl,\nconsigns him to her husband\u2019s care. Had he not better,\nthinks Kanpei, tell the whole truth? No, he cannot do it\nbefore others, and he bears in silence the anguish of his\nheart.\n\nMOTHER. Your husband would like to have parting words with\nyou, but I suppose he fears it might upset you.\n\nOKARU. No, no, though I part from him, I feel no sorrow\nsince I am selling myself for our lord. I go with a brave\nheart. But, mother, I am sorry I cannot see father before I\ngo.\n\nMOTHER. Oh, when he returns, I am sure he will go and see\nyou. Use moxa so as not to fall ill, and come and show me\nyour bright face sometimes. You will be uncomfortable\nwithout paper and a fan. Have you everything you want? Don\u2019t\nstumble and hurt yourself.\n\n[Illustration: Crying woman carried in a palanquin]\n\nRECITATIVE. She looks after her until she gets into the\npalanquin. They bid each other farewell. By what ill-fate is\nit that with such a fair daughter, this sorrow falls upon\nher? The mother weeps with clenched teeth; and the daughter\nclings to the side of the palanquin and chokes with tears in\nher desire not to let her crying be seen or heard. The\npalanquin is, alas, lifted up, and the bearers hurry away on\nthe road. The mother stands gazing after her.\n\nMOTHER. Ah, how sad I must have made my daughter with my\nfoolish words! O my son, when even I, her mother, am\nresigned to her going, I hope you will not keep thinking of\nher and make yourself ill. How is it that father does not\ncome home? You said you saw him, did you not?\n\nKANPEI. Ah, yes.\n\nMOTHER. And where did you see him? And where did he go when\nhe left you?\n\nKANPEI. Well, we parted at...... let me see...... was it at\nToba or Fushimi? Or Yodo or Takeda?\n\nRECITATIVE. While he speaks at random, Meppo Yahachi,\nTanegashima no Roku, and Tanuki no Kakubei, three hunters of\nthe neighbourhood, come in without ceremony, bearing on a\nshutter Yoichibei\u2019s body, covered over with a straw\nrain-coat.\n\n[Illustration: Three hunters carrying a body]\n\nYAHACHI. As we were coming home from the night\u2019s work, we\nfound your old man\u2019s body, and so we have brought it here.\n\nRECITATIVE. The mother is amazed.\n\nMOTHER. Whose deed was it? Tell me, my son, who is the\nmurderer? Please, revenge his death. Oh, my husband, my\nhusband!\n\nRECITATIVE. But her cries are in vain; there is naught but\ntears for her.\n\nHUNTERS. Oh, how grieved you must be, old mother! Appeal to\nthe Lord Deputy\u2019s office and have the matter inquired into.\nWe are very sorry for you.\n\nRECITATIVE. The hunters all leave her and go to their own\nhomes. The mother, amid her tears, comes close to Kanpei.\n\nMOTHER. Now, my son, I thought my suspicions unjust; but\nthere is one thing I cannot understand. Though you were, it\nis true, formerly a samurai, yet one would have expected you\nto be amazed when you saw your father-in-law\u2019s dead body.\nWhen you met him on the road, did you not receive money from\nhim? What did he say to you? Now, tell me. Say it. Ah, you\ncannot answer; and this is the reason why.\n\nRECITATIVE. And she puts her hand into Kanpei\u2019s bosom and\ndraws out the pouch.\n\nMOTHER. A while ago I caught sight of this pouch. See, it is\nstained with blood, and you must have killed the old man.\n\nKANPEI. No, this........\n\nMOTHER. What of it? You may try to hide it; but the\nall-seeing Heaven reveals it. And the money for which you\nkilled the old man, for whom was it intended? Yes, I see.\nYou thought that your father-in-law, being poor, would keep\nback a half of the money for which he sold his daughter, and\nnot give you the whole of it; and so you killed him and took\nit all. How it galls me to think that until this very day we\nwere deceived and believed you to be an upright man, you\ninhuman monster! I am so astonished that tears refuse to\nflow. Oh, poor Yoichibei, you did not know what a brute your\nson is; in your wish to restore him to the samurai\u2019s rank,\nyou ran about, old man as you were, in Kyoto without taking\na night\u2019s rest, and at expense to yourself, you helped him;\nand all this has led to your own undoing, and you are bitten\nby the dog that you have been feeding. How could you have\nkilled him in this cruel manner, you devil, you serpent?\nReturn me father, restore to life my old man.\n\nRECITATIVE. In her fury, she seizes him by the hair, and\npulling him towards her, beats his head on the floor.\n\nMOTHER. My anger would not be satisfied even if I tortured\nyou to death inch by inch.\n\nRECITATIVE. With revengeful words, she lays her face on the\nfloor and gives way to tears. For his misdeed, Kanpei feels\nhis whole body covered with boiling sweat; he clings to the\nmat, and he knows that the punishment of Heaven has come\nupon him. At this moment arrive two samurai, wearing deep\nwicker hats.\n\n[Illustration: Two standing men wearing wicker hats]\n\nSAMURAI. Is Hayano Kanpei at home? Hara Goemon and Senzaki\nYagoro beg to see him.\n\nRECITATIVE. It is an inopportune moment; but Kanpei takes\nhis sword and with bent hips, goes forth to meet them.\n\nKANPEI. You are welcome, gentlemen. I thank you for thus\nhonouring my humble home.\n\nRECITATIVE. He bows to them.\n\nGOEMON. I see there is some trouble in the house.\n\nKANPEI. Nay, it is but a slight house-household matter.\nPray, do not mind it, but walk straight in.\n\nGOEMON. Then, by your leave, we will do so.\n\nRECITATIVE. They go straight in and take their seats; and\nKanpei lays both his hands on the mat in front of them.\n\nKANPEI. It was a serious fault of mine that I failed to be\npresent when the great misfortune befell our lord; and for\nit I have not a word to say in excuse. But I humbly beg you,\ngentlemen, to intercede for me so that my offence may be\npardoned and I may be permitted to attend on the anniversary\nof our lord\u2019s demise, together with others of our clan.\n\nRECITATIVE. He speaks in humble supplication.\n\nGOEMON. Master Yuranosuke was first much pleased that you, a\n_ronin_ without any means, should have offered so much money\ntowards the cost of the monument; but the monument is to be\nplaced in our lord\u2019s burial-ground, and as it was felt that\nit would not please our lord\u2019s spirit to use for building\nthe monument the money of one who has been disloyal and\nfaithless to him, the money is returned to you unopened.\n\nRECITATIVE. While Goemon is yet speaking, Yagoro takes the\nmoney from his bosom and lays it before KANPEI. In his\nconfusion, he is almost out of his senses; and the mother\ncomes forward with tears.\n\nMOTHER. You villain, do you not see it is the retribution\nthat has come this moment for your father\u2019s death? Hear me,\nsirs. My husband, old as he was, did not think of his own\nfuture life, but sold his daughter for his son-in-law\u2019s\nsake; and as he was coming home with the money, he lay in\nwait for him and killed him as you see. That was the money\nhe stole, and as long as there is a Heaven above us, such\nmoney can surely be of no use. And there is neither God nor\nBuddha if this robber and parricide escapes unpunished.\nStrike this undutiful fellow with your swords and kill him\ninch by inch, sirs. I cannot control my anger.\n\nRECITATIVE. She throws herself on the floor and weeps.\nAstonished at these words, the two men take their swords and\npress upon either side of Kanpei.\n\nYAGORO. Kanpei, I did not tell you to atone for your offence\nwith money got unjustly and with cruelty. It would be\nuseless to speak of the way of knighthood to an inhuman\nfellow like you. The felon who murders his father-in-law\nwhom he should treat like his own father and robs him of his\nmoney, deserves to be spitted with a spear. I will take the\nduty upon myself.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he glares upon him.\n\nGOEMON. Righteous men are warned that even in thirst they\nshould not drink of the robber\u2019s spring. Can the money you\nstole by murdering your father-in-law be spent in our lord\u2019s\ncause? Marvellous is Yuranosuke\u2019s penetration when he\nrejected your money since he saw it was obtained by you who\nare by nature disloyal and faithless. But what we most\ndeplore is that this matter will become known in the world;\nand when it is reported that Hayano Kanpei, a retainer of\nEnya Hangwan, did a most inhuman and cruel deed, it will not\nonly be a shame to yourself, but it will be a stain upon our\nlord\u2019s fair name. Fool that you are, did you not know as\nmuch? You were not formerly so lacking in understanding;\nwhat devil has now entered into your heart?\n\nRECITATIVE. Tears float in his keen eyes. Kanpei can no\nlonger endure it when he is thus pressed with these clear\nreasonings, and baring his shoulders, he draws his dirk and\ninstantly plunges it into his bowels.\n\nKANPEI. Ah, I am ashamed to appear before you. I was\nprepared to kill myself if my desire could not be attained.\nSince the murder of my father-in-law will, you say, be a\nstain upon our lord\u2019s name, I will tell you all. Hear me,\ngentlemen. Last night, on my way home after meeting Master\nYagoro, I came across a wild boar in the dark running on the\nhill, and I sent two shots after it. I ran up to it and\ngroped for it, and found that I had killed, not a boar, but\na traveller. Great Heavens, thought I, I have made a\nterrible mistake! I felt in his bosom for some medicine, and\ncaught hold of a pouch with this money in it. It was not\nright, I knew, but I felt that Heaven had given me the\nmoney; and so I ran off at once and handed it to Master\nYagoro. And when I came home, I found that it was my\nfather-in-law that I had killed and the money was the price\nof my wife\u2019s virtue. When everything I do thus goes awry\nlike the cross-bill\u2019s beak, it shows that Kanpei\u2019s knightly\nfortune has come to an end. Oh, sympathise with me,\ngentlemen.\n\nRECITATIVE. There are tears of mortification in his\nblood-shot eyes. On hearing his account, Yagoro stands up,\nand turning the dead body round, he examines the wound.\n\nYAGORO. Master Goemon, look at this. Though it looks like a\ngunshot wound, it is a cut made by scooping with a sword.\nAh, you have acted rashly, Kanpei.\n\nRECITATIVE. The wounded man looks up with a start, and the\nmother, too, is astonished.\n\nGOEMON. That reminds me, Master Senzaki. As you yourself\nsaw, we came upon a traveller lying dead with a gunshot\nwound on our way hither. Upon nearer approach, we found he\nwas Ono Sadakuro, the villain whom even his avaricious\nfather, Kudayu, had to disown. It was said that having\nnowhere to go, he had turned a highwayman. There is no doubt\nthat the murderer of Kanpei\u2019s father-in-law was no other\nthan he.\n\nMOTHER. What, was it then somebody else that murdered the\nold man?\n\nRECITATIVE. The mother clings to Kanpei.\n\nMOTHER. See, I clasp my hands to you and entreat you. It was\nall my fault that I should have abused you from my old\ncomplaining heart. Please, forgive me, Kanpei, and do not,\ndo not die.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she entreats with tears, he raises his head.\n\nKANPEI. Now my mother\u2019s suspicions are dispelled and my name\nis cleared. I will take this thought with me to the other\nworld and overtaking my father-in-law, accompany him over\nthe Mountain of Death and across the Three-streamed River.\n\nRECITATIVE. He plunges his dirk deeper and turns it round.\n\nGOEMON. Ah, wait a while. That you revenged your\nfather-in-law\u2019s death without knowing it, shows that your\nknightly fortune is not yet at an end. By the mercy of the\nGod of War, you have done a meritorious deed, Kanpei, and\nthere is something I wish to show you secretly while you\nbreathe.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes a scroll from his bosom and deftly\nunrolls it.\n\nGOEMON. This is the covenant signed by the confederates who\nhave sworn to slay our lord\u2019s enemy, Kono Moronao.\n\nRECITATIVE. Before he has done reading it, Kanpei calls out\nin his agony.\n\nKANPEI. What are their names?\n\nGOEMON. We are forty-five in all. Since we have seen your\nspirit, we will add your name and then we shall be\nforty-six. Take this as a souvenir to the other world.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes out an ink-and-brush case from his\nbosom and writes down Kanpei\u2019s name.\n\nGOEMON. Seal it with your blood, Kanpei.\n\nKANPEI. Right willingly.\n\nRECITATIVE. He cuts his belly in a cross and pulling out his\nentrails, presses them under his name.\n\nKANPEI. Now I have sealed it with my blood. Ah, how glad,\nhow thankful I am! My desire is attained. Mother, do not\nlament, I pray you. Neither my father-in-law\u2019s death nor my\nwife\u2019s service has been in vain. Please, take this money for\nour confederates\u2019 use.\n\nRECITATIVE. With tears the mother places before the two men\nthe two packages of money and the pouch.\n\nMOTHER. This pouch into which Kanpei\u2019s spirit has entered,\nplease, look upon it as my son-in-law and let it accompany\nyou when you go to attack the enemy.\n\nGOEMON. Yes, that is a natural request.\n\nRECITATIVE. Goemon takes the money.\n\nGOEMON. Now enter into Buddhist happiness.\n\nKANPEI. Buddhist happiness! Loathsome are the words. I will\nnot die, no, I will not die. My spirit shall remain on earth\nand follow the attack upon our enemy.\n\nRECITATIVE. He speaks now with agony. The mother is bathed\nin tears.\n\nMOTHER. I wish I could, Kanpei, let my daughter know of this\nand see you once more before you die.\n\nKANPEI. No, mother. Her father\u2019s death she may know of, but\nof mine never a word, I beg. The wife who was sold for her\nlord\u2019s sake, if she should, on hearing of this, neglect her\nservice, it would be the same as if she were disloyal to her\nlord. Only leave it as it is. I have now nothing I regret to\nleave behind.\n\nRECITATIVE. With the tip of his dirk he pierces his throat\nand, falling forward, he dies.\n\nMOTHER. What, are you dead already, my son? Ah, is there in\nthis world another as luckless as I? My husband is dead, my\nson-in-law to whom I turned for help, has gone before me,\nand my dearest daughter lives separated from me. This aged\nmother who is left alone behind, ah, how can she remain\nalive?\tO husband, Yoichibei, please, take me with you.\n\nRECITATIVE. She flings herself upon the body and cries.\nAgain she stands up.\n\n[Illustration: Crying elderly woman; two samurai walking away]\n\nMOTHER. O my son, I will go with you.\n\nRECITATIVE. She clings to the body and sinks on the floor.\nShe weeps there and here she weeps. With a loud cry she\nsinks and laments at the top of her voice. It is a sight\npitiful to behold. Goemon stands up.\n\nGOEMON. Come, old mother, it is natural that you should cry;\nbut Master Oboshi will be highly pleased when I tell him in\ndetail how Kanpei died and hand the money he has offered.\nThis money which I have here round my neck, a hundred _ryo_\nin all, I give you to offer prayers and hold services for\nthe repose of the souls of your husband and son-in-law. Now,\nfarewell, fare you well.\n\nRECITATIVE. Tears in the eyes that gaze on and tears in the\neyes that look back, they part, alas, in a flood of tears.\n\n\n  [1] The God of Rice, whose messenger is the fox, to which popular\n      superstition ascribes supernatural powers.\n\n  [2] About ten o\u2019clock.\n\n\nACT VII.\n\nACT VII.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nWould you amuse yourself with flowers, gather the fair ones\nof Gion. There, to the east, south, north, and west, it\nshines as brightly as if the Amida\u2019s Paradise were gilded\nover and over again. The bright array of dancers and other\nwomen would deprive the genteelest of his senses and make\nhim no better than a dunce.\n\n(_Enter Ono Kudayu and Sagisaka Bannai_).\n\nKUDAYU. Please, show me in. Is not the host in? Host, host.\n\nHOST. How busy I am kept! What fellow is it? Who is the\ngentleman? Ah, Master Ono Kudayu! You asking to be shown in,\nwhy, you surprise me.\n\nKUDAYU. No, I have brought a gentleman who comes here for\nthe first time. You appear to be in great bustle. Have you a\nroom that I can take the gentleman into?\n\nHOST. Oh, yes, sir. The wealthy Mr. Yura has this evening\nhad all the well-known women brought together so that the\nrooms on the ground floor are completely occupied; but the\nout-room is vacant.\n\nKUDAYU. That, I suppose, is full of cobwebs.\n\nHOST. There you are, sarcastic as usual.\n\nKUDAYU. No, I mean that at my age I must take care not to be\ncaught in women\u2019s toils.\n\nHOST. Now that is too much. I cannot leave you down here;\nand so up the stairs with you. Hi, waitresses, bring lights,\nwine-cups, and tobacco-trays.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he calls out in a loud voice, the sounds of\ndrums and _samisen_[1] are heard within.\n\nKUDAYU. What do you think, Master Bannai? Do you see how\nYuranosuke is carrying on?\n\nBANNAI. Master Kudayu, I think he must be mad. Though we\nreceived many private reports from you, even my master\nMoronao did not believe he was so far gone as that\nand told me to come up to the Capital and inquire, and to\nlet him know at once if there was any cause for suspicion\nWell, well, I am now quite convinced that you were right.\nAnd his son Rikiya, what has become of him?\n\nKUDAYU. The fellow comes here sometimes and is as dissipated\nas his father. What puzzles me is that they feel no reserve\nbefore each other. I came here this evening determined to\nget to the very bottom of the affair. I will speak to you\nprivately. Now, let us go upstairs.\n\nBANNAI. After you.\n\nKUDAYU. Then, come this way.\n\nRECITATIVE. A song is heard within.\n    \u201cThough your heart is cold to me,\n  Your lips that move in sweet pretence of love\n    Are adept in flattery.\u201d\n\n(_Enter Yazama Jutaro, Senzaki Yagoro, and Takemori\nKitahachi_).\n\nJUTARO. Master Yagoro and Master Kitahachi, this is the\ntea-house Ichiriki, where Master Yuranosuke takes his\npleasure. Oh, Heiyemon, we will call you when the time\ncomes. Go and wait in the kitchen.\n\nHEIYEMON. Yes, sir. I beg you will speak for me.\n\nJUTARO. Will some one please come to the door?\n\nWAITRESS. Yes, sir; and who are you?\n\nJUTARO. Oh, we have come on business to Master Yuranosuke.\nGo in and tell him that we are Yazama Jutaro, Senzaki\nYagoro, and Takemori Kitahachi; that though we sent\nmessengers several times asking him to come to us, he would\nnot return home and so we have all three repaired hither and\nbeg him to see us as we have something on which we must\nconsult him. Please, do not forget to tell him.\n\nWAITRESS. Then I am sorry for you, for he has kept drinking\nsince the third of the moon and even if you saw him, you\nwill find he is not in his senses. His usual spirit is gone.\n\nJUTARO. Do you hear that, Master Yagoro?\n\nYAGORO. Yes, I hear and am astonished. I thought at first\nthat it was a scheme to put the enemy off the scent; but now\nhe gives himself too much to pleasures and I cannot\nunderstand it.\n\nKITAHACHI. Is it not as I said? Has not his spirit changed\ncompletely? Let us break into his room and......\n\nYAGORO. No, no, let us first speak to him.\n\nKITAHACHI. Very well; then we will wait here.\n\nJUTARO. Well, but please say to him as I told you.\n\n[Illustration: Blindfolded Yuranosuke and two women]\n\nWAITRESS. Yes, sir.\n\nWOMEN. Come where I clap my hands; here I clap them.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I\u2019ll catch you; I\u2019ll catch you.\n\nWOMEN. Not yet, not yet, Blindman Yura.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I\u2019ll catch you and make you drink. Here, I\u2019ve\ncaught you. Now for wine. Bring the wine-holder.\n\nJUTARO. No, Master Yuranosuke, I am Yazama Jutaro. What are\nyou going to do?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Great Heavens, I have made a mistake!\n\nWOMAN. Oh, we are sorry. What fierce-looking samurai they\nare, Miss Sakae! Are they his friends?\n\nSAKAE. I suppose so. They all look very dreadful.\n\nJUTARO. Ah, you women. We have come on business to Master\nOboshi, and we should like you to leave us for a while.\n\nWOMAN. I thought it would be so.\n\nSAKAE. Master Yura, we will go in, and you will come soon.\nWe leave you, sirs.\n\nJUTARO. Master Yuranosuke, I am Yazama Jutaro.\n\nKITAHACHI. And I, Takemori Kitahachi.\n\nYAGORO. And I, Senzaki Yagoro, wait upon you. Are you now\nawake?\n\nYURANOSUKE. You are all welcome, gentlemen. And why........\n\nJUTARO. When shall we start for Kamakura?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Well, then it is an important thing you come to\nask me. Says the song in _Tamba no Yosaku_:[2] \u201cWhen you go to\nthe City of Yedo....\u201d Ha, ha, ha! Pardon me; I am talking\nfoolishly.\n\nJUTARO. No, wine reveals a man\u2019s true character. If you are\nnot in your right senses, we three will make you sober.\n\nHEIYEMON. Oh, do not act rashly. As I should like, by your\nleave, to say a few words, pray, wait a while. Master\nYuranosuke, I am Teraoka Heiyemon. It gives me great joy to\nsee Your Honour in such excellent health.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Humph, Teraoka Heiyemon? Ah, yes. You are the\nlight-footed _ashigaru_[3], who was sent on an errand to the\nNorth?\n\nHEIYEMON. The same, sir. When I heard in the North of our\nlord\u2019s death, I was amazed and hurried home on wings; but on\nthe way I was told that his domain had been confiscated and\nhis retainers dispersed, and great was my indignation.\nThough I am but an _ashigaru_, I am bound no less than\nothers in gratitude to our lord. I went to Kamakura to cut\ndown at a stroke his enemy Moronao; for three months I\ndisguised myself as an outcast and prowled after him; but he\nwas so well guarded that I could not approach him. I felt I\ncould only disembowel myself; but I thought of my parents in\nmy country home and thither I trudged in deep dejection. And\nthen\u2014surely it was Heaven that told me\u2014I heard that you\ngentlemen had signed a covenant for the league. How glad,\nhow thankful I was! Leaving everything\nbehind me, I ran to these gentlemen\u2019s inn and begged them to\nintercede for me. They called me a brave fellow, a fine\nfellow, and promised to plead for me to the Chief. And\nrelying upon their words, I have followed them to-day.\nMoronao\u2019s mansion.......\n\nYURANOSUKE. Ah, wait, wait. Why, you are not light of foot,\nbut very, very light of tongue. Why do you not become a\njester? Well, I did feel indignant in a slight degree and\nform a league of forty or fifty men. But what of that? I\npondered upon it. If we fail, off our heads will go; and if\nwe succeed, we must cut our bellies. Either way there was\nbut death for us; it was like taking a decoction and then\nhanging ourselves. As for you, you are an _ashigaru_ with a\nsalary of five _ryo_ and three men\u2019s rations. Now do not be\nangry. For you who received no more than a dole we might\ngive to a begging priest, to throw away your life for\nvengeance upon our enemy, why, you might as well give a\ngrand dancing performance in return for a present of a few\nseaweeds. My stipend was fifteen hundred _koku_; and\ncompared with you, I might take the enemy\u2019s heads by the\nbushel and yet not be on a level with you. And so we gave it\nup. Do you see? Such is the way of the world. And when I\nhear music going _tsutsuten, tsutsuten, tsutsuten,_ I can\nhardly contain myself.\n\nHEIYEMON. I cannot imagine that these are Your Honour\u2019s\nwords. To me who received only three men\u2019s rations and\nyourself with fifteen hundred _koku_, the life that keeps us\nin this world is the same, and there is no difference in our\ngratitude to our lord. But what we cannot disregard is the\nlineage. I know it is rude, it is impudent for a fellow of\nno worth like me to beg to be allowed to join gentlemen of\nrank who were qualified to act as our lord\u2019s deputy. I\nshould be like a monkey mimicking a man; but I will carry\nyour sandals, your boxes, or anything, if only you will take\nme with you. I entreat you, sir; please, Your Honour, Your\nHonour. What, he appears to have fallen asleep.\n\nKITAHACHI. Come, Heiyemon, do not waste more words; for\nYuranosuke is as good as dead. Master Yazama, Master\nSenzaki, we have now seen his true spirit, and let us act as\nwe agreed.\n\nYAGORO. Yes, as a warning to our confederates. Are you\nready?\n\nRECITATIVE. As they close in, Heiyemon stays their hands and\napproaches them.\n\nHEIYEMON. Pray, stop a moment, sirs. As I turn it over and\nover in my mind, it seems to me that the many difficulties\nhe has encountered in his wish to avenge his lord\u2019s death\nafter he parted from him and his indignation at people\u2019s\nslanders when anxiety besets him on all sides, these he has\nborne in silence, and he could not under these burdens have\nlived on till now if he had not kept drinking. Take your\nmeasures when he has become sober again.\n\nRECITATIVE. He stops them against their will and accompanies\nthem within. Their shadows disappear behind the well-lighted\nsliding-screens.\n\nOne _ri_ and a half westward from Yamashina runs\nYuranosuke\u2019s son Rikiya, all breathless; and peeping within,\nhe sees his father lying asleep unconscious of all around\nhim. If he calls him, he will be heard by others; and so\ncoming close to his pillow, he gently strikes his\nsword-guard against the hilt. Suddenly Yuranosuke rises.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Oh, is it you, Rikiya? Did you sound the\nsword-guard because you have urgent business? Quietly, speak\nquietly.\n\n[Illustration: Kneeling Rikiya handing package to\nYuranosuke]\n\nRIKIYA. An express messenger has just brought a secret\nletter from Lady Kaoyo.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Was there no verbal message, besides?\n\nRIKIYA. Our enemy Kono Moronao\u2019s application for permission\nto return to his province has been granted and he will\nshortly start for home. The message added that the\nparticulars would be found in the letter.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Very well. You will go home and send a palanquin\nfor me in the night. Now, go.\n\nRECITATIVE. Without a moment\u2019s hesitation, he runs back\ntowards Yamashina. Anxious to see what the letter might say,\nYuranosuke is about to open it, when Kudayu calls to him.\n\nKUDAYU. Master Oboshi, Master Yura, it is Ono Kudayu. I wish\nto see you.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Ah, it is a long, long time; we have not met for\na year, and have grown old, very old. Have you come here to\nstretch out those wrinkles on your forehead? Oh, you old\nreprobate!\n\nKUDAYU. Master Yura, in a great deed, they say, little\ndefects are overlooked. Your dissipation here in defiance of\nevil tongues will be the foundation of your great deed. I\nthink you a fine man of great promise.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Ha, ha, you drive me hard, hard as a catapult.\nBut leave it alone.\n\nKUDAYU. No, Master Yuranosuke, don\u2019t sham. Your dissipation\nreally looks like a scheme to attack the enemy.\n\nYURANOSUKE. You surprise me. But thank you. I thought you\nwould laugh at me as a fool and a madman for taking to\npleasures when I am over forty years of age; but no, you\nlook upon it as a scheme to attack the enemy. Master Kudayu,\nI am delighted.\n\nKUDAYU. Have you, then, no intention of avenging our lord\u2019s\ndeath?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Not a jot, not a jot. When we handed over the\nmansion and the domain, I said I would die fighting in the\ncastle; but that was only said to please Lady Kaoyo. You\nleft the room at the time, saying that we were acting like\nrebels to the Shogun; and after that, we swaggered on, fools\nthat we were; but we could not come to a decision. We said\nwe would slay ourselves before our lord\u2019s tomb, and we stole\nout by the back gate. It is entirely owing to you that I am\nnow enjoying these gay pleasures. I do not forget our old\nfriendship. Don\u2019t be so formal, but be more at ease.\n\nKUDAYU. Yes, as I think of it, I, too, was a hypocrite in\nthe old days. I will show my true nature and drink with you.\nCome, Master Yura, it is a long time since we drank\ntogether. Give me your cup; are you going to ask it back as\nthey do at parties? Go on pouring and I\u2019ll drink, and go on\ndrinking and I\u2019ll pour. Accept this fish that I am going to\ngive you.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes up a piece of octopus that he sees\nbeside him and places it before Yuranosuke.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I put out my hand to receive the octopus\u2019 foot.\nThank you.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he raises it to his head and is about to eat\nit, Kudayu takes hold of his hand.\n\nKUDAYU. Hear me, Master Yuranosuke; to-morrow will be the\nanniversary of our Lord Enya Hangwan\u2019s demise. They say that\nthe eve of that day should be especially kept holy; and yet\nwill you eat this fish without hesitation?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Yes, certainly. Or is it that you have had\ntidings that our Lord Enya has turned into an octopus? What\na querulous man you are, to be sure! You and I are _ronin_\nnow because of Lord Enya\u2019s indiscretion. I may bear him\ngrudge; but I have not the least wish to abstain from animal\nfood on his account. I eat with great pleasure the fish you\nare good enough to give me.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he coolly eats it at a mouthful; and the\ncrafty Kudayu is so astonished that he remains speechless.\n\nYURANOSUKE. With such poor fish we cannot drink. We will\nhave a fowl killed and broiled. Come with me within and we\nwill make the women sing.\n\nRECITATIVE. He goes staggering in exhilaration. Music is\nheard within.\n\nYURANOSUKE. You little vixens, see if I don\u2019t make you\ndrunk.\n\nRECITATIVE. Amid the noise he goes in. Sagisaka Bannai, who\nhas been watching the whole time, comes downstairs.\n\nBANNAI. Master Kudayu, I have been carefully observing. From\none who does not refrain from animal food on the anniversary\nof his master\u2019s death, revenge is not to be dreamt of. I\nwill report it to my master Moronao and make him open the\ngates that he keeps strictly guarded.\n\nKUDAYU. Yes, there is no longer need for guard. See, he has\nforgotten his sword.\n\nBANNAI. Indeed! it truly proves what a great fool he is. Let\nus look at this soul of a samurai. Why, it is rusted all\nover.\n\nKUDAYU. Ha, ha, ha! It shows his true nature more clearly\nstill; and you may now rest at ease. Let Kudayu\u2019s servants\nbring his palanquin.\n\nRECITATIVE. They bring the palanquin.\n\nKUDAYU. Now, Master Bannai, please, get in.\n\nBANNAI. You are old; please, get in.\n\nKUDAYU. Then, by your leave.\n\nRECITATIVE. He gets in.\n\nBANNAI. By the bye, Master Kudayu, I hear Kanpei\u2019s wife is\nin service here. Do you not know her? Master Kudayu, Master\nKudayu.\n\nRECITATIVE. He receives no answer.\n\nBANNAI. This is strange!\n\nRECITATIVE. He lifts the screen of the palanquin and sees\ninside a fair-sized stepping-stone.\n\nBANNAI. What is this? Has Kudayu turned into a Matsura[4]\nSayo-hime?\n\n[Illustration: Bannai peering into palanquin that contains a\nlarge stone]\n\nRECITATIVE. As he looks around, he hears a voice from under\nthe verandah.\n\nKUDAYU. Here, Master Bannai. I have slipped out of the\npalanquin, because the letter\nthat Rikiya brought a while ago makes me uneasy. I will\nwatch and let you know afterwards. Do you walk by the\npalanquin as if I were still in it.\n\nBANNAI. Very well.\n\nRECITATIVE. He nods and slowly walks by the palanquin as if\nthere were some one in it. On the upper floor appears Okaru,\nKanpei\u2019s wife, to cool her flushed face. She is already used\nto her new life, and she cheers her spirits in the breeze\nthat blows towards her.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I shall come back directly. I, a samurai, have\nforgotten to bring my precious sword. While I am away, hang\nstraight the _kakemono_ and put some charcoal in the\nbrazier.\n\nOKARU. Oh, take care, you must not tread on that _samisen_\nthere and break it.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Dear me, Kudayu appears to have gone.\n\nRECITATIVE. A song is heard within.\n  \u201cSome one calls out close to his ear:\n    \u2018O father mine and mother dear!\u2019\n  He looks around in great surprise,\n    And, lo, a parrot meets his eyes.\n  It was his wife that taught the bird\n    To speak the tender words he heard.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Okaru sitting holding a mirror]\n\nRECITATIVE. Yuranosuke looks around and, by the light of the\nhanging lantern, he reads Lady Kaoyo\u2019s letter which tells in\ndetail the enemy\u2019s condition. Being a woman\u2019s letter with\nmany redundant phrases he cannot read it quickly. Thinking\nwith envy that it is a letter from some loved woman, Okaru\nlooks down; but she cannot distinguish the characters in the\ndim light. She thinks of her metal mirror; and bringing it\nout, she reads the letter by its reflection. Little dreams\nYuranosuke, being no god, that\n\n[Illustration: Yuranosuke reading a long letter; Kudayu\nreads it hidden below the deck]\n\nunder the verandah Kudayu is reading the same letter by the\nmoonlight as it unrolls and hangs down. Okaru\u2019s hair-pin\ncomes loose and falls on the ground. At the sound Yuranosuke\nlooks up and hides the letter behind him; under the verandah\nKudayu is still in smiles; and on the upper floor Okaru\nconceals her mirror.\n\nOKARU. Is it you, Master Yura?\n\nYURANOSUKE. And you, Okaru? What are you doing there?\n\nOKARU. You gave me so much to drink and I feel so dizzy that\nI came here to cool myself in the breeze and drive away the\neffects.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Oh, Okaru, I have something to say to you. With\nyou over there, we are as if on the opposite sides of the\nMilky Way[5] and I cannot speak to you from here. Will you not\ncome down for a moment?\n\nOKARU. What you want to tell me, is it something you wish to\nask?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Well, something of the sort.\n\nOKARU. I will come round.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no. If you go round by the stairs, the\nwaitresses will catch you and make you drink again.\n\nOKARU. What shall I do?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Oh, see, happily here is a nine-runged ladder.\nPlease, come down by it.\n\nRECITATIVE. He leans it against the eaves of the lower\nfloor.\n\nOKARU. This ladder is not of the ordinary make. Oh, I am\nafraid. Somehow it looks dangerous.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Never mind, never mind. In the old days you\nmight have been afraid or shrunk away from a ladder. But now\nyou are old enough to come down three steps at a time.\n\nOKARU. Don\u2019t talk foolishly. It feels like being in a boat;\nI am afraid. If you will not keep quiet, I will not come\ndown.\n\nYURANOSUKE. If you will not, I will bring you down.\n\nOKARU. Oh, there you are again at your tricks!\n\nYURANOSUKE. You are noisy as a little miss. I will catch you\nfrom behind.\n\nRECITATIVE. He catches her from behind and puts her on the\nground.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Now, did you see anything?\n\nOKARU. Oh, n-n-no.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I am sure you saw.\n\nOKARU. Yes, something that looked like an interesting\nletter.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Did you read it all from over there?\n\nOKARU. Oh, how tiresome!\n\nYURANOSUKE. Then your life is in danger.\n\nOKARU. What are you talking of?\n\nYURANOSUKE. What I am talking of, Okaru? Though it is a\nstale thing to say, I am in love with you. Will you not be\nmy wife?\n\nOKARU. Oh, stop. That is not true.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Well, truth will not take root unless it comes\nout of falsehood. Say you will be my wife.\n\nOKARU. No, I will not.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Why not?\n\nOKARU. Because what you say is not truth that comes out of\nfalsehood, but falsehood that is founded on truth.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Okaru, I will redeem you.\n\nOKARU. What?\n\nYURANOSUKE. To prove that it is not a falsehood, I will buy\nyou out this very night.\n\nOKARU. But I have a ......\n\nYURANOSUKE. If you have a lover, I will let you marry him.\n\nOKARU. But are you in earnest?\n\nYURANOSUKE. It is the samurai\u2019s benevolence. After I have\nkept you by me for three days, you may do as you please.\n\nOKARU. Ah, how glad I am! I believe when you have made me\nsay that, you are going to laugh at me.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, I will go and pay your master at once and\nsettle the matter this moment. So do not be anxious, but\nwait here for me.\n\nOKARU. Then, I will wait for you.\n\nYURANOSUKE. While I go and pay the money, be sure you do not\nmove from this spot. You are now my wife.\n\nOKARU. And that too, only for three days.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Yes, I know.\n\n(_Yuranosuke goes in_).\n\nOKARU. I am grateful to you.\n\nRECITATIVE. A song is heard within.\n  \u201cIf e\u2019er was ill-starr\u2019d maid,\n    That maid I am, surely;\n  For days and days I think\n    Of my dearest lover,\n  With muffled cries at night\n    Like the lonely plover.\u201d\n\nOkaru is sunk in thought as she feels how fitly the song\ndescribes her own position. Here Heiyemon comes in and meets\nher.\n\nHEIYEMON. Are you not my sister?\n\nOKARU. Oh, is it you, brother? I am ashamed to be seen here.\n\nRECITATIVE. She hides her face.\n\nHEIYEMON. There is no cause for shame. When I came back from\nthe Eastern Provinces, I saw our mother and heard it all.\nYou bravely sold yourself for your husband and for our lord.\nWell done, sister.\n\nOKARU. I am glad if you think so kindly of me. But rejoice\nwith me. To-night, though I did not expect it, I am to be\nredeemed.\n\nHEIYEMON. That is excellent. And by whom?\n\nOKARU. By one whom you know, Master Oboshi Yuranosuke.\n\nHEIYEMON. What, by Master Yuranosuke? You have long been\nintimate?\n\nOKARU. No, not at all. I have lately waited on him twice or\nthrice when he drank, and that was all. He says, if I have a\nhusband, he will let me join him, and if I want to leave\nhim, he will let me go. It is almost too good to be true.\n\nHEIYEMON. Then, does he know that you are Kanpei\u2019s wife?\n\nOKARU. No, he does not know it. As it would be shame to my\nparents and husband, how could I tell him?\n\nHEIYEMON. Humph, then, he is a libertine from his heart. It\nis certain that he has no wish to revenge his lord.\n\nOKARU. Oh, but he has, brother. I cannot say it aloud. I\nwill whisper it to you.\n\nRECITATIVE. She whispers to him.\n\nHEIYEMON. Humph, you really read the letter?\n\nOKARU. I read it to the end. Then we looked at each other,\nface to face, and he began to banter me, and at last he\ntalked of redeeming me.\n\nHEIYEMON. After you had read the whole letter?\n\nOKARU. Yes.\n\nHEIYEMON. I see now. Sister, your life is doomed; give it to\nme.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he draws his sword and strikes at her; but\nshe springs aside.\n\nOKARU. O brother, what have I done? As I have my husband\nKanpei and my two parents, you cannot do as you will with\nme. All my pleasure now is to be redeemed and see once more\nmy parents and husband. Whatever I may have done, I will ask\nyour pardon. Forgive me, pardon me.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she clasps her hands to him, Heiyemon flings\naway his sword and, throwing himself down, sinks into tears\nof bitter sorrow.\n\nHEIYEMON. My poor, poor sister, then, you know nothing? Our\nfather Yoichibei was struck down and murdered on the night\nof the twenty-ninth day of the sixth moon.\n\nOKARU. Heavens, and how?\n\nHEIYEMON. There is something more to startle you. Kanpei,\nwhom you think to join when you are redeemed, has\ndisembowelled himself and died.\n\nOKARU. What? Is it true? Is it, is it, tell me?\n\nRECITATIVE. She clings to him and with a loud cry, sinks\ninto bitter tears.\n\nHEIYEMON. It is natural, very natural that you should cry.\nIt will take too long to tell you in full. I feel most sorry\nfor our mother. She speaks of it and cries, and then she\nthinks of it and cries again. She feared that if you heard\nof it, you would cry yourself to death, and told me not to\nsay a word of it to you. I did not think to tell you; but\nnow you cannot escape death. For Master Yuranosuke, who is\nthe very embodiment of loyalty, has no cause to redeem you\nif he does not know that you are Kanpei\u2019s wife; and he\ncertainly is not infatuated with love. Of grave import was\nthe letter you saw; and I am sure that he means to put you\nto death when he has redeemed you. Even though you should\nnot tell of the letter, walls have ears, and if its contents\ncame to light through others, it would be attributed to your\nblabbing. It was your fault to have peeped into the secret\nletter; and you must be killed. Rather than you should fall\nby another\u2019s hand, I would put you to death myself. A woman\nwho has knowledge of the great plot, you cannot be allowed\nto escape though you are my sister. On the strength of that\ndeed, I will join the leaguers and accompany them on their\njourney. Ah, sad is the lot of a man of low estate; for he\ncannot, unless he shows a spirit superior to others, be\ncounted among them. Hearken to me and give me your life;\nplease, die, dear sister.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hearing these clear words of her brother, Okaru\nsobs again and again.\n\nOKARU. I thought I had no tidings from Kanpei because he had\nstarted on his journey by making use of the money, the price\nof my service, and I have been angry because I thought he\nmight have come to bid me farewell. Though I am wrong to say\nit, our father, sad as was his death, was still of ripe age;\nbut Kanpei\u2014to die when he was hardly thirty years old, how\nsad, how mortified he must have been and how must he have\nlonged to see me! Why was I not allowed to see him? Not to\nabstain from animal food in memory of my father and husband,\nit was my evil fortune. Why should I wish to live? If I die\nby your hand, our mother will be offended with you. I will\nkill myself; and afterwards if my head or body be of service\nto you, make what use you please of it. Now farewell, dear\nbrother.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words she takes up the sword; but a\nvoice cries out:\n\nA VOICE. Nay, wait a moment.\n\n(_Enter Yuranosuke_).\n\nRECITATIVE. He who stops her is Yuranosuke. Heiyemon is\nstartled. Okaru cries out as Yuranosuke holds her hand.\n\nOKARU. Oh, let go. Let me die.\n\nRECITATIVE. He still holds her hands tightly.\n\nYURANOSUKE. You brother and sister, your conduct is\nadmirable. My doubts are dispelled. The brother shall\naccompany me to the East, and the sister shall survive and\noffer prayers for his soul.\n\nOKARU. No, I will say those prayers as I accompany him to\nthe other world.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she tries to snatch away the sword, he holds\nit tightly over her hand.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Though your husband Kanpei has joined the\nleague, he has not killed a single enemy and will have no\nplea to make when he meets his lord in the other world. That\nplea shall be found here.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he thrusts the sword which Okaru still holds\nbetween the mats through the floor, and Kudayu, whose\nshoulder is pierced as he hides under it, writhes with pain.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Drag him out.\n\nRECITATIVE. Instantly Heiyemon jumps off the verandah upon\nthe ground and drags out by force the blood-stained Kudayu.\n\nHEIYEMON. What, Kudayu? Well, you are rightly served.\n\nRECITATIVE. He drags him forward and throws him down before\nYuranosuke, who catches him by the hair ere he can rise and\npulls him towards him.\n\nYURANOSUKE. The worm that feeds in the lion\u2019s body is such\nas you. You received a high salary from our lord and great\nfavours as well; and yet you became his enemy Moronao\u2019s spy\nand reported to him everything, were it true or false. We,\nforty men and more, have left our parents, parted from our\nchildren, and sent our wives who should be our life-long\ncompanions to lead a life of shame, all, all to revenge our\nlord\u2019s death; and awaking or asleep, we ponder ever upon the\ncircumstances of his suicide and weep tears of despair in\nthe anguish of our hearts. To-night, of all others, the eve\nof the anniversary of our lord\u2019s death when we must abstain\nfrom all unclean food and I have endeavoured with the utmost\neffort not even to utter an impure word, you dared to thrust\nthe flesh of fish to my face; how great was my agony when I\ndurst not refuse and yet could not accept it! How do you\nimagine I felt when it went down my throat on this eve of\nthe anniversary of my lord whose family mine has served for\nmany generations? My whole body seemed all at once to go to\npieces and my bones to break every one, You devil, you hound\nof hell!\n\nRECITATIVE. He presses and pushes his head on the ground and\nsinks into tears of despair.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Here, Heiyemon, my forgetting to take that rusty\nsword of mine\n\n[Illustration: Yuranosuke slashing Kudayu with a sword]\n\nwas a presage that I should torture this fellow to death\nwith it. Torture him without killing him.\n\nHEIYEMON. Very well, sir.\n\nRECITATIVE. No sooner does he draw the sword than he jumps\nand flies at Kudayu and cuts him about; but the gashes are\nonly a few inches long. He strikes him until no part of his\nbody is left unwounded.\n\nKUDAYU. Heiyemon, Okaru, plead for me.\n\nRECITATIVE. He clasps his hands to them. How unsightly is it\nfor him to bow and entreat Teraoka, whom formerly he\ndespised as an _ashigaru_!\n\nYURANOSUKE. If we kill him here, it will be difficult to\nexplain it away. Pretend he is drunk and take him home.\n\nRECITATIVE. His _haori_ is thrown upon him to hide his\nwounds. Here Yazama, Senzaki, and Takemori, who have been\nlistening in secret, suddenly open the sliding-door.\n\nALL THREE. Master Yuranosuke, we humbly apologise for our\nconduct.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Here, Heiyemon, let this drunken guest take a\nbath in the River Kamo.\n\nHEIYEMON. Yes, sir.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Go.\n\n  [1] The Japanese three-stringed guitar.\n\n  [2] A play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the greatest of Japanese\n      dramatists (1653\u20141724).\n\n  [3] The ashigaru were a grade lower than the samurai; and in war\n      they were common soldiers.\n\n  [4] When her lord, Satehiko, left on an expedition to Korea,\n      Sayo-hime stood on a high rock and waved her sleeves to his\n      vessel. She remained there so long that she was turned into\n      stone.\n\n  [5] An allusion to a popular legend of the Stars Vega and Altair on\n      the opposite sides of the Milky Way.\n\n\nACT VIII.\n\nACT VIII.\n\nTHE BRIDAL JOURNEY.[1]\n\nWho was it sang,\n  \u201cThis world is like the As\u2019ka River,\n   For all things change for ever;\n   There where the deep pool was yestreen,\n       A shoal to-day is seen\u201d?\n\nThe pool has changed to a shoal, and he who received a\nstipend is now a _ronin_ with no place to turn to. Through\nEnya\u2019s fault, Konami, the daughter of Kakogawa, though still\nlinked by love, is deserted by her affianced husband before\nthe exchange of betrothal presents. She is given to moody\nthoughts, and her mother resolves to go with her to\nYamashina and give her in marriage to her lover Chikara.\nBearing in mind his present condition, when the mother and daughter\nbend their steps towards the Capital, they neither take a\nwaiting-woman nor ride in a palanquin. Konami\u2019s snowy-white\ncomplexion is tinged in the cold air with the light red of\nthe winter plum-blossom; and the tips of her fingers are\nfrozen as she reaches Kogoezaka (Frozen Steep) and climbs up\nthe Satta Pass. As she looks back, the snow-dust vanishes\nfrom Mount Fuji[2]; but her uneasiness, as she thinks her fate\nwill be like it, will soon be set at rest by the fire to be\nlighted\n\n[Illustration: Travelers walking with Mount Fuji in the\nbackground]\n\nat her wedding. With these joyful reflections she comes upon\nthe pine-grove of Miho; after it is an avenue of pine-trees, which\nis now filled by a great procession. Who the lord is she knows not,\nbut she looks at it with envy; ah, if the times had not\nchanged, in such grand state might she have travelled for\nher marriage. With these dreams of pageantry she passes\nFuchu, and when the castle-town is left behind, her mother,\nto cheer their spirits, looks forward impatiently to the\nmoment when the wedding cups are exchanged and all is still\nbut for the whisperings of the bridal chamber which the\ndaughter will keep secret from the mother. The ivy-covered\npath leads from the sea-coast where the lashing billows\nseparate parent and child; and here in the tangled path her\nmother takes her hand and asks her how glad she will be to\nmeet her lover. She pushes aside her mother\u2019s swords at the\nMariko River, and near Utsu Hill she is lost in reverie,\nthinking of her bridegroom. The coloured rice at Seto is\nhard; and so may be her life, though now she is full of\nbashful joy. At the Oi River an anxiety arises; for the\nstream of water and a man\u2019s heart are fickle, they say. Will\nhis heart ever change? As well ask if the flower will bloom\nin the shade. At Shimada[3], that home of maiden coiffure,\n\n[Illustration: Two women, one resting on luggage]\n\nher brooding ceases. Asking herself in a murmur if people\nknow how she is placed, she crosses the bridge at Shirasuka,\nand further on, at Yoshida and Akasaka, the women of the\ninns in a loud voice invite the passers-by. \u201cIf you would\nseek a mate,\u201d they sing, \u201cgo to the Temple of Kiyomizu,\nplunge into the Falls of Otowa, and pray for one every day. The\ndancers\u2019 drum has broken our midday nap.\u201d Oh, how she wishes to tell\nof her hardships to her husband in the Capital! If it is only the\ncouple and the mother, the Goddess of Ise has brought them\ntogether; and the country song is a good omen to her. She\ncomes to Narumi; ah, is that the Shrine of Atsuta over\nyonder? The boat has hoisted its sail on the seven-_ri_\nferry and the boatmen keep time as they row. The sound of\ntheir steering, it is like the cry of the _suzumushi_\n(bell-insect); nay, it is sad and lonely as the cricket\u2019s\nchirp.[4] The boats are few in number, and so runs the mother,\nand runs the daughter. The hail falls from the sky, and they\nput up umbrellas with their fellow-passengers in the boat.\nNow they come to Shono and stop at Kameyama, where part the\nroads to Ise and to the East. The bells (_sazu_) of the\npostal road are heard at Suzukagoe,\nand the rain falls at Tsuchiyama.[5] So they all say at\nMinakuchi. At Ishibe and Ishiba she picks up stones, big and\nlittle, and fondles and rubs them[6] as they remind her of her\nhusband. In time they reach Otsu and cross the foot of the\nTemple of Miidera. and hurry to a village not far from\nYamashina.\n\n[Illustration: Pines tree]\n\n\n  [1] In this Act, such frequent allusions are made to the different\n      places on the highroad from Yedo to Kyoto that, without the\n      knowledge of their names, it is well-nigh impossible to make\n      much meaning out of the whole piece.\n\n  [2] Refers to an ode by Saigyo-hoshi (1118-1190).\n\n  [3] The formal coiffure of young unmarried women is called shimada\n      after this town.\n\n  [4] Refers to an ode by Gokyogoku (died 1190), which runs:\u2014\n           Sweetly chirps in the frosty night,\n             The lonely cricket at my side;\n           But lonelier far am I and cold,\n             With half my bed unoccupied.\n\n  [5] Refers to a popular local song, which runs:\u2014\n           At Seki, it is burning hot o\u2019erhead\n             At Suzuka the clouds have spread;\n           And at Tsuchiyama, the half-way town,\n             The rain comes pouring down.\n\n  [6] Oboshi\u2019s real name is \u014cishi, which means \u2018big stone\u2019; hence\n      the allusion.\n\n\nACT IX.\n\nACT IX.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nIn Yamashina, which is neither elegant nor out-of-the-common\nand has nothing to recommend it, lies Yuranosuke\u2019s temporary\nhome. Since yesterday he has remained at the tea-house in\nGion; for last night he was kept in by snow and has come\nhome this morning. Jesters and waitresses have come with\nhim, and flushed with wine, he attempts to roll the snow;\nbut instead of the snow rolling, he rolls in the snow, and\nhe amuses himself heedless of all appearances.\n\nA JESTER. Master, your parlour commands a fine view. The\ngarden with the bamboos weighted with snow looks just like a\npicture; it is beautiful, is it not, Oshina?\n\nOSHINA. Yes, when I see this view, I do not wish to go\nanywhere else.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Er......don\u2019t you know that ode,\n\n  \u201cWhen it is seen from morn to eve,\n   E\u2019en Awaji\u2019s fair chain of hills\n   Over \u2019gainst Sumiyoshi\u2019s beach\n   No more our eyes with wonder fills\u201d?\n\n[Illustration: Two men and a woman]\n\nThough a man may be proud of his garden, he cannot relish\nwine at home; it will not go down his throat. Now, come in,\ncome in. Where is my wife when I have visitors?\n\nRECITATIVE. He goes before the others; and as he strides\nfrom one stepping-stone to another, his words are unsteady,\nand so are his legs, for he is exhilarated with wine. His\nwife, guessing that he has returned, comes out in a light\nspirit, and in her anxiety for her husband out in the cold,\nshe shows no jealousy. With cheerful words she brings him a\ncup of tea; but he takes only a sip and throws the rest on\nthe ground.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Ah, wife, that is clumsy of you. You wish me to\nbecome sober when I have had wine and enjoyed myself. How\njealous must other people think you! Ah, how the snow has\nfallen! Snow is like whipped cotton, they say, and flying,\nis stuffed within; and the wife, when she is called mamma,\nbecomes a household drudge.[1] Pardon the lateness of my visit\nto my lady\u2019s chamber. The spring lobster, the goblet, and\nthe fence of the Rice-God of the Grotto must be red, or they\nwill lose their votaries, I suppose. Dear, dear, I have\nstumbled and sprained my big toe. Oh, well, well. I will do\nso while I am about it.\n\nOISHI. Oh, do not jest; be quiet. When he drinks too much,\nhe loses his senses. What a trouble he must have been to\nyou!\n\nRECITATIVE. She speaks to them gently. Rikiya comes in.\n\nRIKIYA. Please, mother. Is father asleep? Pray, give him\nthis.\n\nRECITATIVE. From their actions it is plain that the parents\nand son understand one another; and when Rikiya hands a\nwooden pillow, Yuranosuke appears to be in a dream.\n\nOISHI. Will you all now go home?\n\nJESTERS AND WAITRESSES. Yes, yes, madam. Pray, present\ncompliments to Master. And come sometimes, Young Master.\n\nRECITATIVE. They make signs with their eyes, and they go\nhome with abashed looks. When they have gone beyond hearing,\nYuranosuke raises his head.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Rikiya, see this snow that I rolled when I\npretended to amuse myself; it was done with an object in\nview. What do you make of it?\n\nRIKIYA. Snow, sir, is scattered when it falls by the least\nwind; and yet, though it is light, it becomes, when it is\npressed into a ball, as you see there, as hard as a stone,\nfor rocks are split by snow that is blown down from a peak.\nWeighty is loyalty. But neither that weighty loyalty nor\nthis ball of snow must be kept too long. Is that your\nmeaning, sir?\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no. Yuranosuke, his son, Hara Goemon, and\nthe rest of the forty-seven confederates are all masterless\nand live in the shade. Snow, too, will not melt if it is\nkept in the shade; and it warns us against haste. It is in\nthe sun here, take it into the yard behind the house. When\nthey collected fireflies or piled snow[2] for light to read\nby, it showed the patience of scholars. Let the servant open\nthe garden-gate from inside. I will write the letter to\nSakai; when the messenger comes, let me know.\n\nRECITATIVE. The servant opens the garden-gate; the snow is\nrolled in and the gate is shut. The sliding-door is opened\nand they all go in.\n\nShe who now comes to this retreat in Yamashina, as far removed\nfrom the world as the recesses of the heart, is Tonase, the wife of\nKakogawa Honzo Yukikuni. She makes the palanquin which has\ncome with her wait near her; and alone she girds two swords\nand, strict in deportment, she calls at the door of the\nretreat.\n\nTONASE. If you please.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hearing her voice, the servant Rin slips off her\n_tasuki_[3] and rushes to the door, which formerly would have\nbeen answered by an usher.\n\nTONASE. Is this Master Oboshi Yuranosuke\u2019s home? If so,\npray, tell him that I am Tonase, Kakogawa Honzo\u2019s wife; I\nhave long neglected to call; but I have come a great\ndistance to-day as there is something for which I desire to\nsee him.\n\nRECITATIVE. Then she turns round and makes the bearers bring\nthe palanquin beside her. She calls her daughter. And with\nsuch a smile as smiles the bush-warbler when he flies out of\nthe depths of the valley to find the plum-tree all a-flower,\nout comes Konami, with a head-covering almost concealing her eyes.\n\nKONAMI. Are we already at Master Rikiya\u2019s home? I feel too\nshy.\n\nRECITATIVE. The room is put in order, and the servant comes\nto the door to bid them enter.\n\nTONASE. The palanquin-bearers may now go home. Please, show\nus in.\n\nRECITATIVE. Konami keeps close to her mother and sits down\nwith her; and the next moment Oishi calmly enters to meet\nthem.\n\nOISHI. You ladies are welcome. I should have called long\nago; but you have no doubt heard of our present condition,\nand I am ashamed to be visited in such a home.\n\nTONASE. You are too formal. Though we see each other for the\nfirst time to-day, since your son, Master Rikiya and my\ndaughter Konami were betrothed, you and I are now\nconnections, and we need not stand upon ceremony to each\nother.\n\nOISHI. It is very kind of you to say so. I am grateful for\nsuch an unexpected visit in this cold weather of Master\nKakogawa Honzo\u2019s lady who must be very busy. Mistress Tonase\nknows the Capital, no doubt; but it must be quite new to\nMistress Konami. Have you been to Gion, Kiyomizu, Chion-in,\nand the Great Statue of Buddha? If you wish to see the\nKinkakuji, I can procure you admittance.\n\nRECITATIVE. To this unreserved talk Konami can only mutter a\nword or two in answer, as if the light dazzled her even\nthrough her head-covering. Tonase now sits up straight.\n\nTONASE. I will tell you why I came here to-day. After this\nmy daughter Konami was betrothed, came the calamity to your\nLord Enya, and we could not discover where Master Yuranosuke\nand Master Rikiya dwelt. It is the way of the world to\nchange with the times; but unchangeable is the parent\u2019s\nheart. Upon inquiry, we found that you lived here in\nYamashina and, in our desire to make over our daughter to\nyou as soon as possible, I have forced myself upon you\nto-day. My husband Honzo should have come in person; but as\nhe is busy with his official duties, I have girded myself\nwith these two swords, the soul of my husband, and am\ntherefore here as his deputy. I do duty for him and myself.\nI desire to see Master Yuranosuke also. I should like to see\nthe marriage-cups exchanged and feel at ease. Happily,\nto-day is an auspicious day, and please, therefore, to make\npreparations for the marriage.\n\nOISHI. Your words are most unexpected. Unfortunately,\nYuranosuke has gone out; but if he were at home and saw you,\nhe would answer, \u201cI am most grateful for your kindness. When\nthe children were betrothed, I was in my lord\u2019s service and\nreceived a stipend; I asked Master Honzo to give me his\ndaughter and he consented, and the promise was made. But now\nI am a _ronin_ with scarcely a servant; and though the\npromise was made, the daughter of one of Master Kakogawa\u2019s\nhigh position would be out of place here; it would be, as\nthe vulgar saying is, as ill-matched as a lantern and a\ntemple-bell. An ill-sorted marriage can only end in a\ndivorce. Besides, we have not exchanged betrothal presents,\nand so, pray give her away anywhere you please without the\nleast reserve.\u201d That, Madam, would be his answer.\n\nTONASE. You surprise me. However much you may humble\nyourself, you cannot say that it is an ill match between\nHonzo and Master Yuranosuke. I will tell you why. My master\nis of a modest position, and his chief councillor Honzo\nreceives only five hundred _koku_; while Lord Enya was a\n_daimyo_, and his chief councillor Master Yuranosuke\u2019s\nstipend was fifteen hundred _koku_. Did you not make the\nbetrothal when your stipend was a thousand _koku_ higher\nthan Honzo\u2019s? And now you are a _ronin_, and even if you\nwere without income, Honzo\u2019s stipend would only be five\nhundred _koku_ higher than yours.\n\nOISHI. No, you are wrong. Though there might be a difference\nof not merely five hundred _koku_, but even of ten thousand,\nwe would not object to taking for wife a great man\u2019s\ndaughter if only our hearts matched.\n\nTONASE. I should like to hear more of this, Mistress OISHI.\nYou say, if your hearts matched. Whose hearts, pray, tell\nme?\n\nOISHI. My master Lord Enya Hangwan\u2019s death was due, it is\ntrue, to his hasty temper; but it arose originally from his\nlove of honesty. On the other hand, Master Honzo cajoled\nMoronao with bribe and receives the stipend of a fawning\nsamurai. We cannot take for wife a woman who is an ill match\nfor the beloved son of Yuranosuke who refuses to serve a\nsecond master.\n\nRECITATIVE. Instantly Tonase shuffles forward.\n\nTONASE. Whom do you mean by a fawning samurai? According to\nyour answer, I may refuse to let it pass; but I will\noverlook it for the love of my daughter. It is the wife\u2019s\nduty to submit to her husband. Whether the marriage ceremony\nhas taken place or not, she is, since she has been betrothed\nto Rikiya, his wife in the eyes of all men.\n\nOISHI. Humph, that is interesting. If she is his wife, her\nhusband divorces her; I divorce her in my son\u2019s name.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words she stands up and going out,\nshuts the sliding-door behind her. The daughter bursts out\ncrying.\n\nKONAMI. I came here relying upon your promise to let me see\nMaster Rikiya, to whom I was betrothed as we loved each\nother, and now his mother divorces me; but I have done\nnothing to deserve it. Please, plead for me, mother, and let\nthe marriage ceremony take place.\n\nRECITATIVE. She clings to her mother and weeps; and the\nmother gazes long at her face.\n\nTONASE. It may be due to a parent\u2019s partiality; but your\nbeauty appears to me to be more than ordinary. We looked for\na good husband for you and betrothed you to Rikiya; and now\nour journey has been in vain. I understand now. Being a\n_ronin_ with no one to turn to, Rikiya has, on the strength\nof his high birth, become the husband of a wealthy\nmerchant\u2019s daughter and lost all sense of duty and justice.\nCome, Konami. That fellow\u2019s spirit is as I have just said.\nSince he has divorced you, you will find many a one anxious\nto marry you; and have you no wish to go elsewhere? This is\na critical moment. Answer firmly without weeping. Come, what\ndo you say?\n\nRECITATIVE. The mother\u2019s nerves are tense as a bow.\n\nKONAMI. You say cruel things, mother. When I left home, my\nfather said to me that Oboshi Rikiya, _ronin_ as he is, is\nunexceptionable in conduct and ability and I was fortunate\nin having such a husband; since a chaste women never looks\nupon a second husband, I was not, even though I parted from\nhim, to take another husband, for that would be the same as\nthe infidelity of a married woman; asleep or awake, I must\nnot forget to be tender to my husband and be dutiful to\nYuranosuke and his wife; I was not, though I lived on good\nterms with my husband, to be in the least jealous and thus\nrun the risk of being divorced; and when I was about to\nbecome a mother, I was not to conceal it from fear of\ncausing my father anxiety, but to let him know at once.\nThese were my father\u2019s words and I remember them well. If I\nam divorced and go home, I shall only increase his anxiety;\nand whatever excuse or plea others may offer, I will marry\nno one, if I cannot Master Rikiya.\n\nRECITATIVE. On hearing Konami show her determination to\npersist in her love, Tonase can endure no longer and,\novercome with tears, she draws her sword.\n\nKONAMI. What are you going to do, mother?\n\nRECITATIVE. As Konami restrains her, her mother raises her\nface.\n\nTONASE. Can you ask what I am going to do? As you say, your\nfather wishes to have the marriage ceremony performed as\nsoon as possible and to see the face of his first\ngrandchild; for such is ever the father\u2019s love of his\ndaughter. When he is thus looking forward with great\npleasure, how can I take you home and tell him that you have\nbeen divorced before even the wedding took place? And yet if\nyour mother-in-law refuses to take you in, we can do\nnothing. Especially, as you are his former wife\u2019s daughter\nand none of my blood, he might think I was remiss in\nbringing about your marriage, and I cannot go home alive.\nWhen I am dead, you will tell your father what I have told\nyou and beg his forgiveness.\n\nKONAMI. Ah, what you say is more than I deserve. It is I,\nunloved of my husband, that should die. I am most undutiful\nto you, for while I have hitherto received all kindness from\nyou, I am now causing you sorrow. Oh, kill me, I entreat,\nwith your own hand. I desire nothing more than to die here,\ndivorced as I am, in my husband\u2019s house. Please, slay me at\nonce.\n\nTONASE. Oh, well said; you have spoken bravely. I will not\nkill you alone; but I will accompany you on the road to\nHades. When I have slain you with my own hand, I will soon\novertake you. Are you ready?\n\nRECITATIVE. She bravely stops her tears and half rises.\n\nTONASE. Oh, Konami, hear that. A _komuso_[4] is playing\noutside on his flute the song of the \u201cNesting of the Crane.\u201d\nWhen even birds love their young, it is the clashing of\nill-starred karmas that I must slay an innocent child.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she thinks of it, her legs can hardly support\nher; and as she lifts at\n\n*An itinerant minstrel of the _ronin_ class.\n\nlast her sword with shaking hands, Konami sits bravely under\nit with her hands joined in prayer.\n\n[Illustration: Tonase has a raised sword behind kneeling\nKonami. A person is behind a screen]\n\nKONAMI. Oh, save us, Amida Buddha.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she recites this prayer, she hears a voice\ncall out.\n\nA VOICE. Stop.\n\nRECITATIVE. Without her knowing it, Tonase\u2019s arms weaken,\nand the flute, too, becomes suddenly still.\n\nTONASE. Oh, yes, yes. The voice that called stopped the\nflute of the _komuso_. As I wished so much to save you, my\nheart grew faint at the sound of the voice. But let me not\nbe laughed at for a faint-hearted woman. Daughter, are you\nready?\n\nRECITATIVE. As she lifts her sword again, again the flute is\nplayed, and again the voice calls out.\n\nA VOICE. Stop.\n\nTONASE. H\u2019m, the voice that calls out, \u201cStop,\u201d does it stop\nthe hand of the flute-player or this uplifted hand?\n\nA VOICE. I stopped the hand with the sword. The marriage\nwith my son Rikiya shall take place.\n\nTONASE. What, that voice is Mistress Oishi\u2019s. Is it true\nwhat you tell me?\n\nRECITATIVE. While she asks, the wedding song is heard from\nwithin the sliding-door: \u201cAuspicious, indeed, are the\npine-trees that grow together.\u201d Out comes Oishi carrying on\na level with her eyes a small stand of plain wood.\n\nOISHI. You showed, Mistress Tonase, a resolute heart when\nyou raised your hand against a daughter to whom you are\nbound by a sense of duty; and great, too, is Mistress\nKonami\u2019s chastity of heart. From admiration for your spirit,\nI will permit the ceremony I am loth to perform; and in\nreturn I expect a wine-cup from the bride that is not\ncommonly given. I will receive it on this stand, and have\nyou it ready?\n\nRECITATIVE. As Oishi places the stand before her, Tonase\nfeels a little relieved, and she returns to the scabbard her\ndrawn sword.\n\nTONASE. By a wine-cup uncommon in the world I suppose you\nmean a wedding-present. These two swords are my husband\u2019s\nheirloom; the sword was made by Masamune and the dirk by\nNamino-hira Yukiyasu. They are treasures that cannot be\nexchanged for house or life. I offer them as presents.\n\nRECITATIVE. Before she has done speaking, Oishi breaks out.\n\nOISHI. Looking down upon us as _ronin_, you give us two\nswords of high value as wedding-presents, as much as to say\nthat we may sell them when we are straitened in our means.\nThey are not what we desire.\n\nTONASE. What, then, do you wish?\n\nOISHI. We wish placed on this stand the head of Master\nKakogawa Honzo.\n\nTONASE. What? and why?\n\nOISHI. When our Lord Enya Hangwan, having a grudge against\nKono Moronao, struck him with his sword in the Palace of\nKamakura, it was solely because your husband Kakogawa Honzo\nwho was present caught him from behind and stopped him that\nhe was unable to accomplish his object and his enemy escaped\nwith a slight wound while he himself was compelled to commit\n_seppuku_. Though he said nothing at the time, great was his\nmortification and how must he have hated Master Honzo for\nhis interference! If you think that Rikiya, his servant, is\nsuch a man that he will calmly take to wife the daughter of\nthis Kakogawa, I will permit the exchange of the\nwedding-cups when I have seen on this stand Master Honzo\u2019s\nhoary head, or if you refuse, place on it any two other\nheads for the ceremony. Now, do you consent, or do you not?\n\nRECITATIVE. To these sharp words of reason the mother and\ndaughter bow their heads and know not what to do.\n\nA VOICE OUTSIDE. I will give you Kakogawa Honzo\u2019s head.\nReceive it.\n\nRECITATIVE. The _komuso_ who has been standing outside,\ntakes off his hat and throws it down; and slowly he comes\nwithin.\n\n[Illustration: Honzo standing]\n\nKONAMI. What, you are my father?\n\nTONASE. Master Honzo, how did you come here? And in this\nguise? I cannot understand. How is this?\n\nHONZO. Come, it is unbecoming to be so noisy. I have heard\nit all. I will tell you later how I came here without\nletting you know. Be silent for the present. And you are\nMistress Oishi, the wife of Master Yuranosuke? I thought it\nwould turn out thus to-day and came without my wife and\ndaughter\u2019s knowledge to find out for myself. And, as I\nexpected, you wish to have my head as my son-in-law\u2019s\nwedding present! Ha, ha, ha! That is what a samurai should\nsay. Yuranosuke, who has no intention of avenging his lord\u2019s\ndeath, given to pleasures, a debauchee whose spirit is\ndisordered with excessive drinking, the greatest mirror of\nfolly in all Japan! A frog\u2019s offspring can but become a\nfrog; and Rikiya is a great idiot no less than his father, a\ncowardly, good-for-nothing samurai. Such a fellow cannot cut\noff this head of mine. No more of such foolishness!\n\nRECITATIVE. He tramples upon the stand and breaks it to\npieces.\n\nHONZO. It is I who will not have him for my son-in-law. You\nshallow-hearted woman!\n\nOISHI. That is too much, Master Honzo. I will show you if\nthis rusty sword of a _ronin_ has an edge or not. Unworthy\nas I am, I am Yuranosuke\u2019s wife; and you are such an enemy\nas I desire. Come, let us fight it out; let us appeal to\narms.\n\nRECITATIVE. She tucks up her skirt, and taking down a spear\nfrom the wall, prepares to attack him.\n\nTONASE AND KONAMI. You are too hasty. Please, wait.\n\n[Illustration: Oishi holding a spear]\n\nRECITATIVE. As his wife and daughter rush forward to stop\nthe fight, he tells them to be out of the way and pushes\nthem aside to the right and left. As Oishi bears upon him\ninstantly with the spear, he catches hold of the spear\nsocket and thrusts it away with a twist; and as she turns\nher body and springs upon him to pierce both his legs, he\nkicks the glittering blade and the spear falls from her\nhands. And as she runs forward to pick it up, he catches her\nby the _obi_ and pushes her down on the mat. Honzo puts his\nknee upon her; and Oishi gnashes her teeth with\nmortification. As the mother and daughter look on with\npalpitating hearts, Oboshi Rikiya rushes out, and before any\none is aware that he has taken up the fallen spear, he\nthrusts it in through Honzo\u2019s left side until it is almost\nout upon his right. With a groan, Honzo falls on his face.\nThe mother and daughter cling to Honzo with grief and\nhorror; Rikiya takes no notice of them and draws out the\nspear to give the finishing stroke. But Yuranosuke comes out\nand catches hold of the spear.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Stop, Rikiya, do not be over-hasty. It is long\nsince we last met, Master Honzo. The object you sought for\nis gained and you have fallen by your son-in-law\u2019s hand; and\nyou are, no doubt, satisfied.\n\nRECITATIVE. Seeing that Yuranosuke has guessed his\nintention, Honzo opens his eyes.\n\nHONZO. Great has been your anxiety to avenge your lord\u2019s\ndeath, and putting the enemy off the scent by frequenting\npleasure-quarters, you have gathered together all your\nconfederates. As I think of it, it reminds me that your\nposition should have been mine. Last spring, when the Shrine\nat Tsurugaoka was completed, my master Wakasanosuke was\nenraged beyond measure at the insults heaped upon him by\nKono Moronao. He called me to him privately and told me all\nand declared that he would kill him at a stroke in the\nPalace on the following day. I saw from his determined look\nthat the hot blood of youth could not be curbed. And as I\nwas sure that Kono had insulted him because, being a man of\nmoderate means, he did not give sufficient bribes to him, I\nwent without my master\u2019s knowledge to Moronao with gold and\ncloths in quantity beyond his station, and fawned upon him\nagainst my will, because I had my lord\u2019s interests at heart.\nWhen Moronao had received the bribe, he begged pardon of my\nmaster, who was, then, unable to slay him, and his grudge\nagainst him completely vanished. Moronao\u2019s anger, then,\nturned upon Lord Enya. That day I caught him from behind\nbecause I thought that if his enemy was not killed, he\nhimself would escape the punishment of death; it was the\ngreatest error of my life that I carried my thought too far.\nAnd finding that error would bring trouble upon my daughter,\nI desired to give this hoary head in atonement to my\nson-in-law. I sent my wife and daughter on before me, and I\nbegged to be dismissed from my lord\u2019s service on the ground\nof my flattery of Moronao, and taking a different route, I\narrived in Kyoto two days before my wife and daughter. The\nflute-playing which I learnt in youth was useful to me, and\nin four days I saw clearly what were your intentions. If I\nfall by your hand, your grudge against me will be dispelled,\nand if you will, according to promise, let my daughter marry\nRikiya, I will never, not through all our future lives,\nforget your goodness. See, I beg you with clasped hands.\nThis life of mine that I thought not to give up except in my\nmaster\u2019s cause I now yield for my daughter. Oh, have a\nfeeling for the parent\u2019s heart, Master Yura.\n\nRECITATIVE. He speaks, choking with tears; his wife and\ndaughter are beside themselves with grief.\n\nKONAMI. We thought not for a moment that things would come\nto this pass. It was only because we were too slow to die\nthat you threw away your life. Hard is our destiny; and I\ntremble as I think what retribution will fall upon me. Oh,\npardon me, father.\n\nRECITATIVE. She falls on the ground and cries bitterly; and\nin their sympathy for the feelings of the parents and\ndaughter, Oboshi, his wife and son droop with sorrow.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Nay, nay, Master Honzo. The superior man, they\nsay, hates the offence, but not the offender; and no doubt\nyou feel resentment since we should have taken marriage and\ngrudge separately and not confused them together. But we\nmust shortly leave this world, and we will now show you our\ntrue motive.\n\nRECITATIVE. He flings wide open the sliding-doors which lead\nto the yard, and there stand two five-storied towers of snow\nwhich Yuranosuke has made in anticipation of coming events\nto foretell his final fate.\n\nTONASE. That snow displays your intention, when you have\navenged your lord\u2019s death, to melt away without serving\nanother master. Master Rikiya, too, with the same intention,\ndivorced my daughter; and his apparent cruelty arose really\nfrom his pity. I grieve to think I bore you ill-will,\nMistress Oishi.\n\nOISHI. You speak truly, Mistress Tonase. To take a wife whom\nwe cannot wish a long, happy wedded life since she must soon\nbe a widow, never was such a matter for congratulation and\nsorrow together. It was because I did not wish for such a\nwedding that I spoke so cruelly and unfeelingly to you; how\nyou must have hated me!\n\nTONASE. No, no. In my anger I said that your son had become\na merchant\u2019s son-in-law and lost all sense of duty and\njustice. I am now both sorry and ashamed of it, and can\nhardly hold up my head before you. Mistress Oishi.\n\nOISHI. Mistress Tonase.\n\nTONASE. This child who is above the common in lineage and\nbeauty, why is it that she is so unfortunate?\n\nRECITATIVE. Her voice is choked with tears. Honzo checks his\ntears.\n\nHONZO. Ah, how I rejoice that my wish is fulfilled! No need\nto take account of the loyalty of Wu-tzu-hsiao,[5] who smiled\nat the insults heaped upon him when he was put to death for\nremonstrating with the King of Wu. The mirrors of loyalty\nare Hu-yang[6] in China and Oboshi in Japan; since antiquity\nup till now, there have only been these two men in China and\nJapan. To have become the wife of Rikiya who has one of\nthese for his father, it is an achievement for the daughter\nof a samurai a hundred times greater than sharing the\nImperial bed. To the husband of this high-achieving daughter\nI would make a wedding-present.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words he takes it out of his bosom;\nand Rikiya receives it with a bow. He opens it, and what is\nthis? It is not a list of presents, but a guide to\nMoronao\u2019s house. The porch, outlying blocks, samurai\u2019s room,\nwater-gate, lumber-room, and fuel-shed, all are minutely\nmarked in the plan. Yuranosuke takes it with obeisance.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I am deeply grateful. All our confederates are\nready; but as we knew not yet the details of the enemy\u2019s\nhouse, we postponed our journey. This map is truly as the\nsecret books of Sun and Wu[7] and the _Rikuto Sanryaku_[8] to\nus. As we have decided to make a night-attack, we will get\nover the wall with a rope-ladder; and to steal into the\nhouse, we will take out the rain-shutters of the verandah\nand then we shall be in the sitting-room. We will cut it off\nand attack in this way.\n\nRECITATIVE. While father and son rejoice, Honzo retains his\nwits in spite of his wounds.\n\nHONZO. Nay, nay, that is an error. Kono Moronao keeps strict\nguard. All his sliding-doors are bolted and his shutters\nhasped end to end so that you cannot wrench them open. If\nyou attempt to break them down with hammers, the noise will put\nhim on his guard. What will you do?\n\nYURANOSUKE. Oh, for that I have a good plan. If we are too\nabsorbed, good ideas are apt to escape us; when I was\nreturning from the pleasure-quarters, I suddenly thought of\nthe snow-laden bamboo in my garden and with it the plan for\ntaking out the shutters. I will now show you how I shall do\nit.\n\nRECITATIVE. In the garden stands a great, stout bamboo\nbending under the heavy weight of snow. Yuranosuke turns it\nround and puts the tip under the lintel; it is bent like a\nbow by the snow.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I shall make bows bent like this with strings\nand put the two ends between the lintel and the sill; and\nwhen the strings are cut all at once, the result will be as\nyou will see.\n\nRECITATIVE. He shakes the snow off the branches; and as it\nfalls, the bamboo straightens of itself and raises the\nlintel. The sliding-doors come off the groove and fall down\none after another. In his admiration Honzo forgets his\nagony.\n\nHONZO. Well done, well done. Ah, with a retainer possessed\nof such loyalty and military ability, Lord Enya should have\nbeen more discreet; and how deplorable was his inconsiderate\nconduct!\n\nRECITATIVE. As he hears Honzo\u2019s regret, Yuranosuke is\nreminded of his lord\u2019s hasty act; and when he reflects upon\nwhat he might have done if the loyalty he is now showing he\ncould have displayed before his lord on the battle-field,\nhis heart is filled to choking with mortification, and only\ntears escape him. Rikiya calmly stands up, and going up to\nhis father, bows to him.\n\nRIKIYA. Now that, by Master Honzo\u2019s kindness, we are\ninformed of the arrangement of our enemy\u2019s house, I will go\ndown to Amakawaya Gihei\u2019s house at Sakai in the province of\nIzumi and make arrangements for our equipment.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no. Everyone knows that I live in Yamashina,\nand if we muster our confederates here, they will attract\nattention. When we have arrived at Sakai, we will start\nthence together. You, with your mother, bride, and Mistress\nTonase, will remain behind and put everything in order, so\nthat you may leave nothing to cause regret afterwards. Do\nyou understand? And then come down by the night-boat\nto-morrow. I will put on the disguise which Master Honzo has\nhappily brought here.\n\nRECITATIVE. He puts on the robe and the wicker-hat. In\ngratitude to Honzo and to dispel his anxiety in the other\nworld, he allows in his sympathy this one night of love to\nthe bride. As he goes out softly singing, Oishi, prepared as\nshe has been, is plunged in sorrow; and though she only\nwishes him success in his undertaking, her heart aches with\ngrief as she refrains from saying much that she would fain\nsay at this final parting. The wounded man knows that his\nlast moment has come, and in his dying agony he answers not\nthe cries of his daughter. Now the link between them is\nsnapped, and they are parted for ever in this world. Loud\nlament the mother and daughter; and they both throw\nthemselves upon the body and pray for his soul\u2019s rest, \u2014oh,\nthe impermanence of love. The out-going feet stop awhile and\nthe prayer to the Amida Buddha is heard in the tunes of the\nflute.\n\n[Illustration: Pipe and wicker hat]\n\n\n  [1] A parody on a famous couplet in a Chinese poem:\n        \u201cSnow is like goose-feather, and flying, is scattered;\n         Man looks robed in the crane\u2019s plumage, and rising, wanders\n           about.\u201d\n\n  [2] Refers to the stories of two Chinese scholars, Ch\u2019e-yin, who\n      collected fireflies and put them in a bag to read by their\n      light, and Sun-K\u2019ang, who read by the snow-light, as they were\n      too poor to buy a lamp and oil.\n\n  [3] A cord for tucking in the sleeves.\n\n  [4] An itinerant minstrel of the ronin class.\n\n  [5] A celebrated Chinese strategist of the fifth century before\n      Christ.\n\n  [6] Noted for the great efforts he made to avenge the murder of his\n      master Chih-pai.\n\n  [7] Famous Chinese writers on military art.\n\n  [8] Celebrated Chinese works on strategy.\n\n\nACT X.\n\nACT X.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nAt Sakai, the largest port in the three provinces of Settsu,\nIzumi, and Kawachi, whence vessels sail to other provinces,\nlives Amakawaya Gihei, well thought-of by his townsmen and\nwithout a spot upon his reputation. He has amassed wealth;\nand though he looks a man of moderate means, he is in\nreality rich. He is tying heavy boxes in his shop, and the\nskipper of a large vessel addresses him.\n\nSKIPPER. With this I have received just seven boxes.\n\nRECITATIVE. He shoulders the box and goes out in the\ntwilight, and the master gives a sigh of relief.\n\nGIHEI. The weather is fine, and promises a fair voyage.\n\nRECITATIVE. And smoking a pipe, he goes within. His heir is\nfour years old this year, and his nurse is a round-browed\nboy of nineteen, who plays with his charge for his own\namusement.\n\nIGO. Now, it is going to commence. Oh, what fun! \u201cThe Crying\nBenkei.\u201d[1] Listen, gentles all! Here the one to be most\npitied is this Yoshimatsu. For he has only a father, and his\nmother has been divorced and sent away; and that is why I\ncall him the Crying Benkei.\n\nYOSHIMATSU. Oh, Igo, I don\u2019t want any more puppet-show. Go\nand fetch mamma.\n\nIGO. There, you are again unreasonable. I\u2019ll tell master and\nmake him turn you out, too. Since last month the whole house\nhas been turned topsy-turvey. The clerk, why, he has been\ndriven out because he doesn\u2019t keep his eyes open as if he\nwas a young rat or something. The cook was sent packing\nbecause she gave a great yawn. And now there are only you,\nme, and master. I suppose we shall all slip out of this\nhouse, for boxes are being sent to ship at times. If we must\nflit, we will take with us the box of puppets.\n\nYOSHIMATSU. No, I don\u2019t want puppet-playing; I want to\nsleep.\n\nIGO. There, you are going to entice me, too. Very well, I\nwill sleep with you in my arms.\n\nYOSHIMATSU. No, I don\u2019t want to.\n\nIGO. Why not?\n\nYOSHIMATSU. You can\u2019t give milk; I don\u2019t want you.\n\nIGO. There, you are unreasonable again.\n\n[Illustration: Kneeling man facing a standing man and woman]\n\nI can\u2019t help it, as we are both boys. This is another cause\nfor tears.\n\nRECITATIVE. Two samurai appear at the door.\n\nSAMURAI. If you please, is Master Gihei at home?\n\nRECITATIVE. He asks in a low voice.\n\nIGO. Master is in; we are busy puppet-playing. If you want\nto see him, come in, come in.\n\nSAMURAI. No, that would be disrespectful unless we are shown\nin. Please, tell him that Hara Goemon and Oboshi Rikiya\ndesire to see him privately.\n\nIGO. Oh, master, great big men have come.\n\nRECITATIVE. With this cry he runs in with Yoshimatsu, and\nhis master Gihei comes out.\n\nGIHEI. Fool, you are shouting again. Ah, Master Goemon and\nMaster Rikiya, please, come this way.\n\nGOEMON AND RIKIYA. By your leave.\n\nRECITATIVE. They take their seats.\n\nGOEMON. By your kindness everything has now been arranged;\nand Yuranosuke should himself have come to thank you; but as\nhe intends to start for Kamakura to-day or to-morrow, he is\nvery busy and has sent in his stead his son Rikiya to\napologise for his discourtesy.\n\nGIHEI. That is very good of you. If you are to start so\nsuddenly, you must be very busy with one thing or another.\n\nRIKIYA. Yes, as Master Goemon has said, we shall start early\nto-morrow morning; and as my father is very busy, he has\ntold me to take the liberty to thank you myself and to ask\nif the remaining boxes we asked you for have all been\nshipped to-night.\n\nGIHEI. Yes, the weapons you ordered have been sent one after\nanother by sea; the gauntlets, leggings, and smaller weapons\nhave been put in a long box; and seven boxes in all were\ndelivered to a skipper who luckily sails this evening. There\nremain dark-lanterns and chain head-bands, and I intend to\nsend them later by land.\n\nRIKIYA. Do you hear that, Master Goemon? We are greatly\nbeholden to him.\n\nGOEMON. Yes, Master Yura saw that though there are many\nmerchants who received favours from our Lord Enya, Amakawaya\nGihei is the only one who possesses a manly spirit which\neven samurai cannot surpass, and it was natural that he\nshould have entrusted to him this great task. But, setting\naside swords and spears, coats of mail and rope-ladders are\nunusual articles. Did you not arouse any suspicion when you\nbought them?\n\nGIHEI. No, when I ordered them, I gave the makers\nearnest-money without telling them my address; and when they\nwere made, I paid the money down and took them, so that they\ndo not know who their customer is.\n\nRIKIYA. Indeed, that is true. Now I should like, too, to ask\nyou. When you brought home the weapons and packed them, how\ndid you evade the notice of your servants?\n\nGIHEI. Oh, that, too, is a natural question. When this task\nwas entrusted to me, I sent my wife back to her father, all\nmy servants I discharged on one pretext or another, and now\nonly remain a fool and my son who is four years old. There\nis no danger of the plot being discovered.\n\nRIKIYA. You really astonish me. I will tell my father and he\nwill feel relieved. Master Goemon, shall we not take leave?\n\nGOEMON. Yes, we are impatient to start. Master Gihei, we\ntake our leave.\n\nGIHEI. Then, please, present to Master Yuranosuke........\n\nGOEMON. Your compliments. With pleasure. Now, farewell.\n\nGIHEI. Farewell.\n\nRECITATIVE. They part, and the two men return to their inn.\nJust as Gihei is about to shut the front-door, his\nfather-in-law, Ota Ryochiku, pushes himself in.\n\nRYOCHIKU. No, you don\u2019t shut it in my face. Are you in?\n\nRECITATIVE. He walks straight in and looks about him\nrestlessly.\n\nGIHEI. You are welcome, father. I sent you the other day my\nwife for her health; and I am afraid she is a trouble to\nyou. Does she take medicine?\n\nRYOCHIKU. Yes, she takes medicine and she takes food, too.\n\nGIHEI. That is excellent.\n\nRYOCHIKU. No, it is not excellent. When I was in my\nprovince, I received a stipend from Master Ono Kudayu and\nwas fairly to do; but now I cannot even keep a servant.\nThere must be some reason for your sending your wife who is\nnot particularly ill to me for her health. But be that as it\nmay, if the young woman should misconduct herself, you will\nbe dishonoured and I shall have to cut this shrivelled belly\nof mine. And so I have a proposal to make. Suppose you\npretend to the world that you have separated from her and\nsend me a letter of divorce; why, when you want her, you can\nat any time take her back. Just write me the letter, please.\n\nRECITATIVE. Though he speaks lightly, Gihei sees that he has\nsome plan in his heart; but if he refuses, she will be\nimmediately sent back, and if she comes back, he will be\nbreaking his word to those who entrusted him with the great\ntask. He hesitates in his perplexity.\n\nRYOCHIKU. Do you refuse? If you will not consent, I cannot\nkeep her a moment longer. If she returns, I shall squeeze\nmyself in, too, and stick to you and be a burden upon you\ntogether with her. Answer me if you consent or refuse.\n\nRECITATIVE. Taken at a disadvantage, Gihei feels with\nmortification that he is caught in a trap; but he cannot run\nthe risk of the great undertaking being detected. He takes\ndown the ink-slab and quickly writes the letter.\n\nGIHEI. Since I give you this, Master Ryochiku, we are no\nlonger father and son.\n\n[Illustration: Gihei grabbing Ryochiku with one hand and\nholding the letter with the other hand]\n\nNever again darken my doors. I am chagrined to think that I\nam knowingly falling into your trap in giving you this\nletter. Now, take it and go.\n\nRECITATIVE. He throws him the letter, and Ryochiku takes it\nhastily and puts it in his bosom.\n\nRYOCHIKU. Yes, you have guessed right. I heard that _ronin_\ncame here in secret, and I questioned Sono, but she says she\nknows nothing. It made me very uneasy to leave my daughter\nwith a son-in-law who, for aught I know, may do something\ndreadful. Happily I have had a proposal of marriage from a\ngreat family, and we have agreed that she should marry as\nsoon as we get your letter of divorce. And so you are\nentrapped, and that is excellent.\n\nGIHEI. Oh, even without my giving the letter of divorce, if\nshe has the heart to desert a husband by whom she has a\nchild and marry elsewhere, I have no longing for such a\nwoman. Let her do as she pleases.\n\nRYOCHIKU. To do as I please is the parent\u2019s right. I shall\nmarry her this evening.\n\nGIHEI. Now, don\u2019t go on chattering, but leave this house at\nonce.\n\nRECITATIVE. He takes him by the shoulder and kicks him out\nof the door and shuts it upon him. Ryochiku gets up.\n\nRYOCHIKU. Here, Gihei. You may seize me and throw me out;\nbut I have received money for preparation from the family\nshe is going to marry into. As you have kicked me when I am\nflush, you have apparently cured my rheumatism.\n\nRECITATIVE. He is glib of tongue, and rubbing his legs and\nhips, he goes home murmuring.\n\nIt is past the hour of the boar[2] when all are asleep in the\nneighbouring houses, which are invisible in the gloom of the\nclouded moon. Several policemen make for Gihei\u2019s house; they\ncarry truncheons, cords, and dark lanterns. Hiding the\nlight, they proceed warily; they summon a servant who\nappears to be their spy and whisper to him. He nods, and\nhurriedly raps at the door.\n\nGIHEI. Who is it? Who is it?\n\nSPY. I am the skipper of the large ship who came in the\nevening. There is a mistake in the reckoning of the freight.\nPlease, open the door.\n\nGIHEI. What a fuss you make! I suppose it is some trifling\ndifference. Come to-morrow.\n\nSPY. No, the ship is to leave to-night; but unless you\nsettle the account, I cannot set sail.\n\nRECITATIVE. Gihei fears his loud voice will be heard in the\nneighbourhood, and he rises and without any suspicion, opens\nthe door, when he is instantly surrounded.\n\nPOLICEMEN. We have caught you. Don\u2019t move, we command in the\nname of the Government.\n\nGIHEI. What is it?\n\nRECITATIVE. He looks around him.\n\nPOLICEMEN. What, do you ask why, you rascal? As you have, at\nthe request of Enya Hangwan\u2019s retainer, Oboshi Yuranosuke,\npurchased weapons and equipages and sent them by sea to\nKamakura, we have been ordered to seize you at once and\ntorture you into confession. You cannot escape. Here, tie\nhis arms behind.\n\nGIHEI. Such accusation is most unexpected. I have never done\nanything of the kind. You have probably mistaken your man.\n\nPOLICEMEN. Hold your tongue. We have a proof which you\ncannot dispute. Here, servants, bring it in.\n\nRECITATIVE. The servants bring in the long box packed in\nstraw matting which he shipped this evening. Upon seeing it,\nGihei feels his heart palpitate with apprehension.\n\nPOLICEMEN. There, don\u2019t let him move.\n\nRECITATIVE. They cut the ropes and are about to open the box\nwhen Gidayu breaks\n\n[Illustration: Gihei sitting on a shipping box]\n\nloose and, kicking away the servants, he jumps and sits upon\nthe lid.\n\nGIHEI. You are too heedless. In this box are various wares\nand private articles which were ordered by the consort of a\ncertain _daimyo_. As her name is marked on every one of\nthem, the name of this great family will become known if you\nopen the box; and if you see it, your own lives may be in\ndanger.\n\nPOLICEMAN. This grows more and more suspicious. He will not\nreadily confess. Come, let us do as we agreed.\n\nSECOND POLICEMAN. Yes, we will.\n\nRECITATIVE. He runs into an inner room and brings out\nGihei\u2019s only son, Yoshimatsu.\n\nPOLICEMAN. Now, Gihei, be the contents of the box what they\nmay, you have joined the league of Enya\u2019s _ronin_ and are,\nno doubt, fully acquainted with the secrets of their plot\nagainst Moronao\u2019s life. Confess all you know; if you refuse,\nsee, we will instantly do thus to your son.\n\nRECITATIVE. The bare blade is pointed at the child\u2019s throat;\nbut startled though he be, Gihei looks unmoved.\n\nGIHEI. Ha, ha! You think to question me by taking a hostage\nas you might a woman or a child. No, a man to the marrow is\nAmakawaya Gihei; he will not, even for the love of his\nchild, confess what he does not know. I know nothing,\nnothing whatever. I say I know nothing, and no torture of\nearth or hell shall make me confess. If you think me\nhateful, kill my child before my own eyes, yes, kill him.\n\nPOLICEMEN. What a stubborn fellow he is! You, who furnished\nthe spears, guns, and coats of mail, forty-six in number all\ndifferently marked, can we let you say you know nothing? If\nyou will not confess, we will cut you by inches or slice you\nstill thinner. What do you say?\n\nGIHEI. Oh, that is fine. I will be sliced. It is the\nmerchant\u2019s business to stock and sell not only weapons, but\neverything else from the ceremonial hats of the huge and\nsamurai to the straw shoes of waiting-women and other\nservants; and if you think it suspicious and make inquiry,\nthere will be no one in Japan secure from inquisition. If I\nam cut by inches or bound with a three-inch rope, I shall\nlose my life for my trade and I do not grudge it. Come, kill\nme. Stab my son before my eyes. Will you cut me by inches\nfirst from my arm or from my breast? Take your choice of my\nshoulder-blade and my spine.\n\nRECITATIVE. He thrusts his body and limbs before them.\n\nGIHEI. You shall see that my spirit is not to be changed by\nthe love of my child.\n\nRECITATIVE. He seems from his look to be bent upon\nstrangling his son; but a voice calls to him.\n\nA VOICE. Do not be over-hasty, Master GIHEI. Wait, wait a\nmoment.\n\nRECITATIVE. From out the long box comes Oboshi Yuranosuke\nYoshikane; and upon seeing him, Gihei is amazed. The\npolicemen all throw away their truncheons and cords and sit\ndown far below him. Yuranosuke sits straight and puts his\nhands on the floor before Gihei.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Your spirit has struck us with astonishment. It\nis to you that we may fitly apply the phrases \u201cthe lotus\nrising out of the mud\u201d and \u201cthe gold mingled in the sand.\u201d I\nwas certain that such must be your spirit, and entrusted to\nyou the great task. I, Yuranosuke, never had a shadow of a\ndoubt; but among our forty and more confederates were some\nwho were not well acquainted with you. They only knew you as\na merchant by trade, and thought they, if you were seized\nand questioned, what would happen, what would you say? And\nespecially as you had a dearly-loved son, it would be\nnatural for a parent\u2019s heart to be led astray by the love of\nhis child. They discussed it often and grew restless with\nanxiety. I felt the only way to set my old comrades\u2019 hearts\nat ease was to show them how determined was your will; and\nthough I knew it was what we should not do, we did what we\ndid to-night. I humbly crave your pardon for our rude\nconduct. \u2018Among flowers the cherry-blossom and among men the\nsamurai,\u2019 they say; but no samurai can vie with you in\nresolution. Even though one hold one\u2019s own against a million\nbrave foes, such a spirit as yours is not to be acquired. If\nwe make your determination our pattern and attack our enemy\nMoronao, we shall not fail in our object though he shut\nhimself up in a rock or lay hidden in an iron cave. Among\nmen there are no men, they say; but it is wonderful that\nthere should be such a man in a merchant\u2019s home. Unless we\nrevere you as the tutelary deity, the protecting god of our\nconfederates, we cannot sufficiently repay our obligations\nto you. In a time of tranquillity no wise man appears. Ah,\nhow deplorable, how regrettable! If our late lord were still\nliving, he might have fitly made you, with your great\nability, the leader of an army, or entrusted to you the\ngovernment of a province. To these here sitting before you,\nOwashi Bungo and Yazama Jutaro, and Odera, Takamatsu, Horio,\nItakura, and Katayama, your action is a sovereign specific\nfor opening their closed eyes, it is as a medicine upon\nwhich a great physician has exhausted his resources. We are\nthankful to you, most thankful.\n\nRECITATIVE. They shuffle back and bow to Gihei three times.\n\nALL. We crave pardon for our rude conduct.\n\nRECITATIVE. They press their heads on the mats.\n\nGIHEI. Now, you embarrass me. Pray, raise your hands and\nheads. As they say, try a horse by riding and a man by\nassociating with him, it was natural that the gentlemen who\ndid not know me should feel uneasy. I was formerly a poor\nman, but through your lord\u2019s favour, I rose to my present\nfortune. I was mortified like yourselves upon hearing of the\nLord Hangwan\u2019s fate, I revolved in my mind various ways of\nwiping away this great shame; but my efforts were no more\navailing than those of a turtle trying to stamp on the\nground. While I was thinking how powerless I was, came this\nrequest from Master Yuranosuke; instantly I complied, and\nwithout a thought of consequences to myself, I took courage\nlike yourselves. Poor is the merchant\u2019s lot; had I received\nbut a handful of rice for a stipend, I would have clung to\nyour sleeves and skirts and begged you to take me with you\non this great expedition, if only to pour you tea or water\nto quench your thirst in the fight. Even that may not be,\nand how mean is the merchant\u2019s position! How great are your\nlord\u2019s favours and the power of the sword! I envy you for\nlaying down your lives for them. And when you serve your\nlord in the other world, pray, make mention of the little\nservice that Gihei has done.\n\nRECITATIVE. At these sincere words, his hearers\u2019 eyes are\nfilled with tears and they clench their teeth.\n\nYURANOSUKE. We leave to-night for Kamakura; and it will not\nbe a hundred days hence before we accomplish our object. I\nhear you have sent away even your wife and thank you for\nyour great sacrifice. We will enable you before long to call\nher home, and you will kindly put up for the present with\nthe inconvenience. We now take our leave.\n\nGIHEI. Nay, you are going on what we may call an auspicious\njourney; and I would offer you wine.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Nay, but ............\n\nGIHEI. But I would celebrate the occasion with hand-cut\n_soba_[3]\n\nYURANOSUKE. What, hand-cut! That is a good omen. Then,\nOwashi and Yazama will remain behind; but those of the\nadvance party will call for Goemon and Rikiya and proceed to\nthe Grove of Sada.\n\nGIHEI. Pray, come this way.\n\nYURANOSUKE. It would be rude now to stand upon ceremony.\n\nRECITATIVE. Yuranosuke enters within with the two men.\n\nBuffeted between her father and husband, Osono\u2019s heart is\ndarkened by thoughts of her child; she comes with a little\nlantern and knocks at the door in the darkness.\n\nOSONO. Igo, Igo.\n\nRECITATIVE. The dunce awakes upon hearing her voice and\ncomes running to the door.\n\nIGO. Who was it called me just now? Was it a goblin or a\nwandering spirit?\n\nOSONO. No, it is I, Sono. Please, open.\n\nIGO. Still you make me nervous. Be sure not to say \u201cBah,\u201d\nlike a ghost.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words he opens the door.\n\nIGO. What, is it you, mistress? You are welcome. But if you\nwalk alone, you will be bitten by a mad dog.\n\nOSONO. Oh, if I were bitten by a dog and killed, I should\nnot suffer as I do now. I am divorced. What has become of\nyou all? Is master in bed?\n\nIGO. No.\n\nOSONO. Is he away?\n\nIGO. No.\n\nOSONO. What is it?\n\nIGO. I don\u2019t know myself what it is; but early in the\nevening lots of people came and cried, \u201cI have caught you, I\nhave caught you,\u201d as if a cat had caught a rat. I drew my\nquilt over my head and went to sleep. And now he is drinking\nwith those men in the inner room, and they are having great\nfun.\n\nOSONO. Well, I cannot make it out. And the boy, is he\nasleep?\n\nIGO. Yes, he is fast asleep.\n\nOSONO. Did he go to sleep with master?\n\nIGO. No.\n\nOSONO. Did he sleep with you?\n\nIGO. No; he went to sleep by himself.\n\nOSONO. Why did you not keep him company and send him to\nsleep?\n\nIGO. I would have; but he kept on crying, for he could not,\nhe said, get milk from either master or me.\n\nOSONO. Ah, poor fellow! I suppose so. That, of all things,\nmust be true.\n\nRECITATIVE. She bursts into tears at the door; and no sleeve\nof hers is dry in the rain that falls not from the sky.\n\nGIHEI. (within) Hi, hi, Igo, where are you?\n\nRECITATIVE. Thus calling, out comes the master, Gihei.\n\nIGO. Yes, I am here.\n\nRECITATIVE. He runs within, and Gihei looks aslant at his\ndeparting form.\n\nGIHEI. You fool, go in and wait upon the gentlemen.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he scolds him and then closes the door, Osono\nholds to it.\n\nOSONO. Wait, master. I have something to say. Please, open.\n\nGIHEI. No, I have nothing to hear or say. You inhuman woman,\nyou pollute the place. Go away.\n\nOSONO. No, here is a proof that I am not in league with my\nfather. Look at it and dispel your doubts.\n\nRECITATIVE. Through the crevice of the door she throws in a\nletter. As Gihei picks it up, his wife pushes herself in. He\nglances at the letter.\n\nGIHEI. Why, this is the letter of divorce I wrote a while\nago. What do you mean to do by returning it?\n\nOSONO. It is too cruel of you to ask what I mean to do. You\nhave always known the evil-mindedness of my father Ryochiku;\nand whatever may have happened, why did you give the letter\nof divorce? When he brought it home, he told me that he was\nmaking preparations to have me married. I put on a happy\nlook to put him off his guard, and then stole the letter of\ndivorce from his pocket-book and escaped here. Do you not\nlove Yoshimatsu? Do you mean to divorce me and bring him\nunder a stepmother? How cruel you are!\n\nRECITATIVE. She clings to him, weeping.\n\nGIHEI. Why, that complaint should be the other way about.\nHow did you take what I told you when I sent you home? I\nsaid that I was not divorcing you, but that you should\nreturn for a while to your father\u2019s house. He was formerly\nOno Kudayu\u2019s stipendiary, I said; and as his heart is\nunaltered, I will not tell him the reason; pretend to be\nsick; do not freely get up or lie down, or comb your hair.\nDid I not say so? and have you forgotten it all? Nobody will\npropose a marriage to a woman whose hair is always\ndishevelled. You cannot possibly love Yoshimatsu. Though the\nfool coaxes him from morning till evening, he calls for\nmamma when night falls. I tell him mamma will be soon here\nand try to lay him to sleep; but he will not close his eyes,\nand if I scold him or look angry, he will not cry aloud but\nkeeps on sobbing. When I see it, I feel as if my body were\nbeing torn to pieces. And it reminds me of the obligations I\nowe to my parents; these obligations, they say, we come to\nknow only when we have children of our own. I look upon\nthese sufferings for my child as a punishment for my\nundutifulness to my parents and weep with remorse until the\nday dawns. Last night, three times I took him in my arms\nand, thinking to carry him to you, went as far as the\noutside of the house. But, I reflected, it was not for one\nnight only, it might take fifty days, or we might have to\nremain separated for a hundred days, and if he got again\nused to you, troubles would follow. And so for three _cho_[4]\nfive _cho_, I walked on, shaking and patting him, and when\nhe fell asleep, I gently laid him down and pressed him to my\nbreast, when in his sleep he groped for milk and tried to\nsuck. Since he yearns for you even when separated for a\nwhile, I have no wish to keep you apart for life. But this\nletter of divorce which I was obliged to write and give to\nRyochiku, to receive it back in secret would be an improper\nact done in defiance of your father; I cannot willingly take\nit back, and so go home with it. Think it is all over\nbetween us, it is our foreordained fate; there need be no\nmore ado if you imagine me dead.\n\nRECITATIVE. Though he speaks resolutely, it is sad to those\nwho know his ordinary life.\n\nOSONO. If I remain in this house, your honour will be in\ndanger, and if I go home, I must marry. Upon me falls the\nwhole burden of sorrow. This may be our final parting.\nPlease, wake up Yoshimatsu and let me have just one look at\nhim.\n\nGIHEI. No, I cannot do that. But you would have to go away\nas soon as you saw him, and I have too much pity for your\nsorrow after parting. This evening, besides, I have guests,\nand so, without more noise, go home at once.\n\nOSONO. But just one look at Yoshimatsu.......\n\nGIHEI. How weak-spirited! Think of your sorrow afterwards.\n\nRECITATIVE. He raises her by force and, giving her the\nletter of divorce, he hardens his heart and pushes her out\nof the house.\n\nGIHEI. If you love your child, make excuses to Ryochiku and\nget him to keep you till the spring, and then we will hit\nupon some plan. If you cannot do that, then this will be our\nlast meeting.\n\nRECITATIVE. He shuts the door and goes within.\n\nOSONO. Oh, if that were possible, I should not be suffering\nnow. Unfeeling are you, my husband. You not only divorce me,\nwho am innocent, but refuse to let me see my child; it is\ntoo cruel, too inhuman. I will not move a step until I have\nseen my child; I will not.\n\nRECITATIVE. She knocks at the door.\n\nOSONO. For pity\u2019s sake, for charity, open the door and let\nme see but his sleeping face. See, I clasp my hands in\nsupplication. Oh, how cruel!\n\nRECITATIVE. She throws herself on the ground, and bursts\ninto tears unconscious of all around.\n\nOSONO. No, I will not complain, I will not grieve. If I saw\nhim for a moment and he recognised me and clung to me, he\nwould not let me go nor could I leave him. If I go home\nto-night, to-night I must marry; not even till to-morrow is\nrespite given me. Then, farewell, farewell.\n\nRECITATIVE. But still she stands with her ear close to the\ndoor, expecting to hear her child\u2019s voice and to see his\nface. Yet, not a sound is to be heard.\n\nOSONO. Ah, there is no help. This is the end.\n\nRECITATIVE. As she gives up hope and runs out, a big man\nmuffled with only his eyes exposed, stops her on the way and\nseizes her, and before she can cry out, he draws his sword\nand, alas, cuts off her hair at the\n\n[Illustration: Masked man cutting off Osono\u2019s hair]\n\nroot; and he puts his hand into her bosom and takes out its\ncontents, and runs away no one knows whither.\n\nOSONO. How hateful, how provoking! Who was it that cut off\nmy hair so cruelly and ran off even with the letter? If he\nis a robber of combs and hair-bars, let him rather kill me.\n\nRECITATIVE. Hearing her cry, Gihei is startled and has\nalmost, before he is aware, run to her; but he stops himself\nand, with clenched teeth, feels that it is here that his\nmanly spirit should be kept under control. And as he\nhesitates, he hears a voice from within.\n\nA VOICE. My host, my host. Master Gihei.\n\nRECITATIVE. And Yuranosuke comes out.\n\nYURANOSUKE. For your most kind entertainment I will express\nmy thanks to you from Kamakura. As for the remaining\narticles, I beg you will send them on by express messenger.\nWe must take our leave before the day dawns.\n\nGIHEI. Yes, the night is now so advanced that I cannot press\nyou to stay. I wish you a safe journey. I shall look forward\nto the good news.\n\nYURANOSUKE. I will let you know by letter as soon as we\narrive. For the great trouble you have taken on our account\nI cannot sufficiently express my thanks in words. Here,\nYazama and Owashi, the parting present for our host.\n\nRECITATIVE. Bungo and Jutaro bring forward each a package on\na fan which they use for a white stand.\n\nYURANOSUKE. This is for yourself and this for your good\nwife, Mistress Osono, slight as they are.\n\nRECITATIVE. As he places them before him, Gihei changes\ncolour.\n\nGIHEI. If these are the thanks that you cannot express in\nwords........ Come, I did not take all this trouble at the\nrisk of my life to receive a present from you. Despising me\nas a merchant, you think to throw money in my face.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, we are taking leave of this world; you will\nby virtue of the relation from a former existence remain in\nit. And this present is a slight token of our good wishes as\nwe desire you to look after Lady Kaoyo.\n\nRECITATIVE. With these words he goes out by the door, and\nGihei\u2019s anger rises still.\n\nGIHEI. Have you mistaken my spirit and disposition? You act\nas if you spurned me. It is abominable, it is foul.\n\nRECITATIVE. And as he kicks away the packages, they come\nloose and their contents are scattered on the floor. His\nwife rushes in.\n\nOSONO. See, these are my comb, hair-bar, and my hair that\nwas cut off. Heavens! and this package contains the letter\nof divorce.\n\nGIHEI. Then, the man who cut off her hair a little while ago\nwas........\n\nYURANOSUKE. Oh, I sent Owashi Bungo round from the back\nentrance to cut off her hair at the root; and the reason was\nthat no father would propose to give in marriage a woman\nwhose hair is cut short like a nun\u2019s, and still less would\nthere be any one to take her to wife. The hair will grow in\nabout a hundred days, and it will not be as many days before\nour great object is accomplished; and when we have killed\nour enemy, you will celebrate your reunion, when you will\nuse the comb, hair-bar, and this hair. Until then, engage\nthis nun and nurse for a short term of service. Her sureties\nshall be Owashi Bungo and Yazama Jutaro, who will guarantee\nto our confederates that the secret will not be revealed by\nher. And I will from the other world act as your go-between,\nMaster Gihei.\n\nGIHEI. Ah, you are most kind. Thank him, wife.\n\nOSONO. You have, indeed, saved my life, sir.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Nay, there is no need to thank me. I have only\nrepaid a very small portion of the deep debt I owe you.\nMaster Gihei has said that he would have accompanied us,\nwere he not a merchant. Happily, however, we have decided\nupon a night-attack, and when we rush into the enemy\u2019s\nhouse, we will use your trade-name Amakawaya as our\npass-word in the attack, and if one cries \u201cAma,\u201d the other\nshall answer \u201cKawa.\u201d Thus, if forty and more of us call out\n\u201cAma\u201d and \u201cKawa,\u201d it will be the same as if you were also\npresent at the night-attack. Now we must take our leave.\n\nRECITATIVE. He leaves with his companions.\n\n[Illustration: Hair, hair-bar, and comb in a pile]\n\n\n  [1] A name given to a child who is always crying.\n\n  [2] About 10 o\u2019clock at night.\n\n  [3] A kind of macaroni.\n\n  [4] About a hundred and twenty yards.\n\n\nACT XI.\n\nACT XI.\n\nRECITATIVE.\n\nThat gentleness controls impetuosity and weakness strength\nwas the secret which Shihkung imparted to Changliang.[1]\nOboshi Yuranosuke, the retainer of Enya Hangwan Takasada,\nfollowing this secret precept, has put out with over forty\nbrave confederates in fishing-boats, which are covered with\nthick rush-mats, and, taking advantage of the unprotected\nposition of Cape Inamura, has them rowed to the foot of a\nrock on the coast there. The first to land is Oboshi\nYuranosuke Yoshikane, the second is Hara Goemon, and the\nthird Oboshi Rikiya; they are followed by Takemori Kitahachi\nand Katayama Genta. Those in the leading boats and those\nthat follow land in due order. The first five and Okuyama\nMagoshichi and Suda Goro, as they stand in a row, complete the first\nseven characters of the syllabary[2] marked on their _haori_. Katsuta,\nHayami, and Tonomori, the famed Katayama Gengo and Owashi Bungo with\na great mallet, and Yoshida and Okazaki make up the second\nseven. Among the young men are Odera, Tatekawa Jinbei, Fuwa,\nMaebara, Fukagawa Yajiro, Kawase Chudayu who lands with a\nsmall bow under his arm, and Oboshi Seibei, who make up the\nthird seven. The fourth set consists of Okumura, Okano,\nOdera\u2019s eldest son, Nakamura, Yajima, Maki, and Hiraga; and\nnext to them stand Ashino, Sugano, Chiba, Matsumura, and\nMurabashi Denji; Shioda and Akane carry long swords; Isogawa\nJumonji, Tomatsu, Sugino, Mimura no Jiro, and Kimura have\nrope-ladders in readiness; Senzaki Yagoro, Horii no Yaso,\nand Yakuro of the same surname, hold in their hands great\nbamboos about eight feet long and bent with bow-strings,\nto carry out the plan which Yuranosuke hit upon after\ndrinking in the pleasure-quarters: and the rear is brought\nup by Yazama Jutaro, who is followed at a distance by the\nself-humbling Teraoka Heiyemon. Their names and marks appear\non their sleeves, and they are forty-six in number. They all\nwear mail _hakama_ and black _haori_, with breast-plates of\nfidelity; they are truly patterns of loyalty and exemplars\nof uprightness.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Do not forget the passwords \u201cAma\u201d and \u201cKawa,\u201d\nwhich we have taken from Gihei\u2019s trade-name, but act as we\nagreed upon. Yazama, Senzaki, and Odera and their company,\ntogether with my son Rikiya, shall enter by the front gate,\nwhile Goemon and I will slip in by the back gate. When you\nhear my signal whistle, burst in as the time has come. There\nis but one head that we wish to take.\n\nRECITATIVE. Upon hearing Yuranosuke\u2019s command, they all\nglare with angry looks upon the distant mansion and separate\ninto parties which are to enter by the front and back gates.\n\n(_Here the stage revolves_)\n\nUnconscious of all this, Kono Musashi-no-Kami Moronao, who\nhas been put off his guard by Yuranosuke\u2019s dissipation, is\ndrinking in fancied security and making women of pleasure\ndance and sing. With Yakushiji as his chief guest, he is\ncarousing ignorant of his fate, and in the end he and his\nguests grow so lax in their behaviour as to lie down in the\nhall all together and are now fast asleep. Only the\nnight-watchman is left awake, and all is silence except the\nsound of his clappers as he goes his round. The parties at\nthe front and rear settle their plans, and the two fearless\nmen, Yazama and Senzaki, creep to the front gate and listen\nattentively. They hear only the distant sound of the night\nwatchman\u2019s clappers; they see their opportunity, and tacking\non the high wall the rope-ladder in the use of which they\nare expert, they climb upon the roof of the wall like\nspiders with an energy which might take them even to the\nclouds. The sound of the clappers is now nigh at hand, and\nas they jump down, the watchman discovers them and rushes\nupon them to see who they are; but they catch him and throw\nhim down on the ground; they bind him fast and, seeing in\nhim a good guide, they gag him and, tying to their own\nsashes the ends of the cord that binds him, they take up his\nclappers and strike them as they daringly go round with him\nto the offices in the mansion. The whistle is soon heard\nfrom the back-gate and as the time has come, the two men cry\n\u201cAma Kawa,\u201d beating time with the clappers, and drawing out\nthe cross-bar, they fling open the front gate. Rikiya,\nSugino, Kimura, Mimura, and their company rush in, but find\nthe shutters securely shut. Chikara tells his comrades that\nthey must now make use of his father\u2019s precept of the\nsnow-laden bamboo; and putting the round bamboos bent with\nbow-strings between the upper and lower grooves of the\nshutters, they cry, \u201cone, two, three,\u201d and all at once cut\nat a stroke the bow-strings. The lintel rises and the sill\nsinks; and the shutters fall down one after another. \u201cNow,\nrun in,\u201d they call, and with shouts of \u201cAma\u201d and \u201cKawa,\u201d\nthey break into the house. \u201cIt is a night-attack,\u201d exclaim\nthe inmates, coming out with torches and lanterns. The comrades\nfrom the back-gate have entered, and Yuranosuke on the one side\nand Goemon on the other sit on camp-stools and\n\n[Illustration: Several men in battle]\n\ndirect their men. The attacking party, though small in\nnumber, are this night valiant men who are prepared for\ndeath and fight with all their strength.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Do not look to others. Aim only at Moronao.\n\nRECITATIVE. He gives this command, together with Goemon, to\nall around them. The impetuous young men rush about and\nclash their swords. Next door to Moronao on the north lives\nNikki Harima-no-Kami and on the south Ishido Umanojo. Both\nthese neighbours, hearing the noise, send samurai on\nhousetops with lanterns which look like stars in the\ndistance.\n\nSAMURAI. Hi, we hear great noises in your mansion, clashing\nof swords, whizzing of arrows, and cries. Is it ruffians or\nrobbers, who are causing them, or is it due to a sudden\norder of the authorities? We are commanded by our lord to\nascertain and report.\n\nRECITATIVE. They call out aloud, and instantly Yuranosuke\nanswers them.\n\nYURANOSUKE. We are the retainers of Enya Hangwan, forty and\nmore in number, who are fighting with desperation to avenge\nour lord\u2019s death. We that speak to you are Oboshi Yuranosuke\nand Hara Goemon. We have no grudge against Lord Takauji and\nhis brother and, as we certainly bear no malice against\nMoronao\u2019s neighbours Lords Nikki and Ishido, we are not\nlikely to do anything hostile; and as we have taken every\nprecaution against fire, you need have no\n\n[Illustration: Men climbing over the top of a roof]\n\nanxiety on the matter. We only ask you quietly to leave us\nalone. But if you cannot remain unconcerned in your\nneighbour\u2019s affairs and wish to aid him, we are ready,\nthough much against our will, to fight you.\n\nSAMURAI. That is admirable. It is but proper that they who\nhave served a master should act as you do. If you have\nanything to say to us, we will hear you. Withdraw the\nlanterns.\n\nRECITATIVE. And all at once the neighbourhood sinks into\nsilence. In the fight which has lasted about two hours, only\ntwo or three of the assailants are slightly injured while\nthe enemy\u2019s wounded are without number. But as no one\nlooking like their commander Moronao is to be seen anywhere,\nthe _ashigaru_, Teraoka Heiyemon, runs about the interior of\nthe mansion; he not only searches room after room, but also\nthrusts his spear into the ceiling above and the bamboo\nmatting below, and even into the well. Still Moronao is not\nto be found; Heiyemon goes into a room which appears to be\nMoronao\u2019s bed-chamber, he feels the bed-clothes, and as they\nare still warm in this cold night, he perceives that he has\nnot long fled from the room. He runs to see if Moronao has\nnot escaped outside the house; but he is stopped by a voice.\n\nA VOICE. Wait, Heiyemon, wait.\n\nRECITATIVE. He sees Yazama Jutaro Shigeyuki dragging Moronao\nafter him.\n\nYAZAMA. Here, come, you all. I have found him hiding in the\nfuel-shed and brought him prisoner.\n\nRECITATIVE. On hearing this, they all run up to him in great\nglee such as a flower might feel when fed with dew.\n\n[Illustration: Yazama dragging Moronao]\n\nYURANOSUKE. Well done, bravely done. But do not kill him\nrecklessly. He is at least a governor; even in killing him\netiquette must be observed.\n\nRECITATIVE. And taking him over, he makes him sit above\nhimself.\n\nYURANOSUKE. We, though we are but retainers, have broken\ninto my lord\u2019s mansion and created a disturbance, because we\ndesired to avenge our lord\u2019s death, and we beg you to pardon\nour want of manners. You will now bravely give us your head.\n\nRECITATIVE. On hearing these words, Moronao, hypocrite as he\nis, betrays no fear.\n\nMORONAO. Oh, your request is natural. I am prepared for\ndeath; come, take my head.\n\nRECITATIVE. Putting him off his guard, Moronao suddenly\ndraws his sword and strikes at him; but Yuranosuke parries\nthe blow and twists his arm.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Ha, delicately do you offer resistance. Come,\nyou all; now is the moment for wreaking our vengeance.\n\nRECITATIVE. Yuranosuke gives the first blow with his sword;\nand his forty and more comrades shout and rejoice as might\nthe blind tortoise when it falls in with a floating log or\nas if they had seen the flower of the _udonge_ which blooms\nbut once in three thousand years; they leap and dance in the\nfulness of their joy. The head is cut off with the dirk that\ntheir lord left behind. They rejoice and dance, for it was\nto see this one head that they forsook their wives, parted\nfrom their children, and lost their parents. What an\nauspicious day is to-day! They beat the head and bite at it;\nthey all weep with joy. It is too natural, and becomes\nsaddening to see. Yuranosuke takes out of his bosom his dead\nlord\u2019s tablet and places it on a table in the alcove; he\nwashes the head of its blood-stains and offers it before the\ntablet; and then he burns incense which he has brought in\nhis helmet. He shuffles back and bows three times, nay, nine\ntimes to the tablet.\n\n[Illustration: Man on knees bowing to a low table which a a\ncenser with burning incense]\n\nYURANOSUKE. I have the honour to report to the sacred spirit\nof our late lord, Renshoin Kenri-daikoji.[3] With the dirk\nwhich you bestowed on me when my lord committed suicide and\nenjoined me to give repose to your spirit, I have cut off\nMoronao\u2019s head and now offer it before the tablet. I beg\nthat from your resting-place under the grass my lord will\naccept it.\n\nRECITATIVE. With tears he offers prayers.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Come, let us one after another burn incense.\n\nREST. Since you are our chief commander, you will begin.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, no. Before me you will burn incense, Master\nYazama Jutaro.\n\nJUTARO. No, no, that is not to be thought of. If you favour\nme thus before the whole company, you will embarrass me.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, it is no favour. Of the forty-six of us who\nhave risked our lives to take Moronao\u2019s head, you alone\nfound him in the fuel-shed and caught him alive; and it\nshows that you are, indeed, pleasing to the sacred spirit of\nour Lord Enya. We envy you, Master Yazama. What do you say,\ngentlemen?\n\nALL. We agree with you.\n\nJUTARO. But that........\n\nYURANOSUKE. Come, we are wasting time.\n\nJUTARO. Then, by your leave.\n\nRECITATIVE. He burns incense first of all.\n\nJUTARO. The second is Master Yura. Come, stand up.\n\nYURANOSUKE. No, there is still another to burn incense.\n\nJUTARO. Who is that? Which of us?\n\nRECITATIVE. Yuranosuke takes out of his bosom a purse of\ncheckered cloth.\n\nYURANOSUKE. This shall be the second of the loyal retainers\nto burn incense. Hayano Kanpei was reduced to the greatest\nstraits; through misconduct on his part, he was unable to\njoin our league; and at least to be among those who\nsubscribed for the monument, he obtained money by selling\nhis wife; for that money his father-in-law was murdered; and\nthe money itself was rejected, and in despair he put an end\nto himself by disembowelment. And Kanpei\u2019s heart at the\ntime, how mortified, how desperate he must have been! The\nrejection of his money was the greatest blunder of my life;\nand since I brought him to a sad end, I have never for a\nmoment allowed this purse to leave my person and have\nbrought it with me in this night\u2019s attack. Heiyemon, he was\nyour brother-in-law; let him burn incense.\n\nRECITATIVE. And he throws the purse to him; and Heiyemon\npicks it up with bows.\n\nHEIYEMON. Very well, sir.......... How glad must he be as he\nrests under the grass! It is a fortune beyond his deserts.\n\nRECITATIVE. He places the purse on the censer, and calls\naloud.\n\nHEIYEMON. The second to burn incense is Hayano Kanpei\nShigeuji.\n\nRECITATIVE. His voice trembles for tears; and the breasts of\nthe comrades around are bursting with regrets for Kanpei\u2019s\ndeath. Suddenly a tumultuous noise of men and horses is\nheard and the hills and valleys resound with the beating of\nwar-drums, and battle-cries are also raised. Yuranosuke is\nnot in the least disturbed.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Then it appears that the samurai of Moronao\u2019s\nhouse have returned to the attack. Why should we cause more\nsufferings?\n\nRECITATIVE. As they wait prepared for death, Momonoi\nWakasanosuke rushes in.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Yes, if we put an end to ourselves, let it be in\nfront of our late lord\u2019s tomb. We will retire as my lord\ntells us, and beg you to guard the rear.\n\nRECITATIVE. No sooner has he spoken than Yakushiji Jiro and\nSagisaka Bannai, who seem to have been in hiding somewhere,\nsuddenly appear before them.\n\n[Illustration: A man approaching]\n\nWAKASANOSUKE. Come, Oboshi. He who is now attacking at the\nfront gate is Moronao\u2019s younger brother, Moroyasu. If you\nkill yourselves here, it will be reported to the latest\ngenerations that you were afraid of the enemy. Withdraw to\nEnya\u2019s family temple, Komyoji.\n\nYURANOSUKE. Yes, if we put an end to ourselves, let it be in\nfront of our late lord\u2019s tomb. We will retire as my lord\ntells us, and beg you to guard the rear.\n\nRECITATIVE. No sooner has he spoken than Yakushiji Jiro and\nSagisaka Bannai, who seem to have been hiding somewhere,\nsuddenly appear before them.\n\nYAKUSHIJI AND BANNAI. You Oboshi, we will not let you\nescape.\n\nRECITATIVE. They attack him from the right and left; but\nChikara parries their blows; and after fighting for a while,\nChikara sees his chance and deals a fatal blow on\nYakushiji\u2019s shoulder and with the same stroke he cuts off\nSagisaka\u2019s legs, and Bannai falls down dead. Chikara is\npraised for his prowess; and the same praise is bestowed on\nthe loyal retainers to the latest generations. And this we\nwrite to the everlasting glory of our Lord the Shogun and\nhis House.\n\n14th day of the 8th month in the\nFirst year of Kwan-en.\n\nTAKEDA IZUMO,\nMIYOSHI SHORAKU,\nNAMIKI SENRYU.\n\n[Illustration: Samurai hat]\n\n\n  [1] A famous Chinese general, flourished in the third century\n      before Christ.\n\n  [2] The loyal retainers have each of them one of the forty-seven\n      characters of the Japanese syllabary written on their haori.\n      From the coincidence in the number of the retainers and that\n      of these characters, the title Kanadehon Chushingura is given\n      to this play, Kanadehon meaning the copy-book of the Japanese\n      syllabary.\n\n  [3] The Buddhistic name of Enya Hangwan, which was, according to\n      custom, given him upon his death.\n\n\n\u767c\u884c\u6240\n\u6771\u4eac\u5e02\u795e\u7530\u5340\u88cf\u795e\u4fdd\u753a\u4e8c\u756a\u5730\n\u96fb\u8a71\u672c\u6240\u9577\u56db\u4e00\u3007\u53ca\u4e8c\u3007\u4e00\u4e5d\n\u632f\u66ff\u8caf\u91d1\u53e3\u5ea7\u6771\u4eac\u4e8c\u516b\u4e00\u516d\u756a\n\u4e2d\u897f\u5c4b\u66f8\u5e97\n\n\u660e\u6cbb\u56db\u5341\u4e09\u5e74\u5341\u6708\u5341\u65e5\u7b2c\u4e00\u7248\u5370\u5237\n\u660e\u6cbb\u56db\u5341\u4e09\u5e74\u5341\u6708\u5341\u4e94\u65e5\u7b2c\u4e00\u7248\u767c\u884c\n\u660e\u6cbb\u56db\u5341\u56db\u5e74\u4e94\u6708\u5eff\u4e94\u65e5\u8a02\u6b63\u518d\u7248\u767c\u884c\n\u5927\u6b63\u516d\u5e74\u5341\u4e8c\u6708\u4e00\u65e5\u7b2c\u4e09\u7248\u767c\u884c\n\n\u82f1\u6587  \u5fe0\u81e3\u85cf\n(\u4e9c\u88fd) \u6b63\u50f9\u91d1\u8cb3\u5713\u8cb3\u62fe\u4e94\u9322\n\n\u8457\u4f5c\u6b0a\u767b\u9304\n\u6771\u4eac\u5e02 \u8457\u4f5c\u8005 \u4e95\u4e0a\u5341\u5409\n\u6771\u4eac\u5e02\u795e\u7530\u5340\u88cf\u795e\u4fdd\u753a\u4e8c\u756a\u5730 \u767c\u884c\u8005 \u5c71\u7530\u4e5d\u90ce\n\u6771\u4eac\u5e02\u4eac\u6a4b\u5340\u65b0\u69ae\u753a\u4e00\u4e01\u76ee\u5eff\u4e00\u756a\u5730 \u5370\u5237\u8005 \u4f50\u85e4\u4fdd\u592a\u90ce\n\u6771\u4eac\u5e02\u4eac\u6a4b\u5340\u65b0\u69ae\u753a \u5370\u5237\u6240 \u6587\u7965\u5802\u5370\u5237\u6240\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes Typographical Errors:\n\n  - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n  - Page xv: \u2018avenger\u2019s familiy\u2019 amended to \u2018avenger\u2019s family\u2019.\n  - Page 22: \u2018RECITATION\u2019 probably should be \u2018RECITATIVE\u2019.\n  - Page 60: \u2018KAMPEI\u2019 amended to \u2018KANPEI\u2019.\n  - Page 132: \u2018acompany\u2019 amended to \u2018accompany\u2019.\n  - Page 147: \u2018HEIEMON\u2019 amended to \u2018HEIYEMON\u2019\n  - Page 181: \u2018go anywhhere else' amended to \u2018go anywhere else'\n  - Page 238: \u2018OSNO\u2019 amended to \u2018OSONO\u2019","title":"Chushingura; Or, The Treasury of Loyal Retainers","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":51023}