 | "Noh", or, Accomplishment : |  |
Where shall I rest, wandering weary of the
world? I am a city-bred priest, I have not
there. Crossing the hills, I look on the lake
of Omi, on the woods of Awatsu. Going over
the long bridge at Seta, I rested a night at
Noji, and another at Shinohara, and at the dawn
I came to the green field, Awono in Miwo. I
now pass Akasaka at sunset.
Shite
(in the form of an old priest)
I could tell that priest a thing or two.
Priest
Do you mean me? What is it?
Shite
A certain man died on this day. I ask you
to pray for him.
Priest
All right; but whom shall I pray for?
Shite
I will not tell you his name, but his grave lies
in the green field beyond that tall pine tree.
He cannot enter the gates of Paradise, and so
I ask you to pray.
But I do not think it is right for me to pray
unless you tell me his name.
Shite
No, no; you can pray the prayer, Ho kai
shujo biodo ri aku; that would do.
Priest
(praying)
Unto all mortals let there be equal grace, to
pass from this life of agony by the gates of
death into law; into the peaceful kingdom.
Shite
(saying first a word or two)
If you pray for him,—
Chorus
(continuing the sentence)
—If you pray with the prayer of "Exeat"
he will be thankful, and you need not then
know his name. They say that prayer can
be heard for even the grass and the plants,
for even the sand and the soil here; and they
will surely hear it, if you pray for an unknown
man.
Will you come in? This is my cottage.
Priest
This is your house? Very well, I will hold
the service in your house; but I see no picture
of Buddha nor any wooden image in this
cottage—nothing but a long spear on one wall
and an iron stick in place of a priest's wand,
and many arrows. What are these for?
Shite
(thinking)
Yes, this priest is still in the first stage of
faith. (Aloud.)
As you see, there are many
villages here: Tarui, Awohaka, and Akasaka.
But the tall grass of Awo-no-gahara grows
round the roads between them, and the forest
is thick at Koyasu and Awohaka, and many
robbers come out under the rains. They
attack the baggage on horseback, and take the
clothing of maids and servants who pass here.
So I go out with his spear.
Priest
That's very fine, isn't it?
You will think it very strange for a priest
to do this, but even Buddha has the sharp
sword of Mida, and Aizen Miowo has arrows,
and Tamon, taking his long spear, throws
down the evil spirits.
Shite
The deep love—
Chorus
—is excellent. Good feeling and keeping
order are much more excellent than the love
of Bosatsu. "I think of these matters and
know little of anything else. It is from my
own heart that I am lost, wandering. But if I
begin talking I shall keep on talking until dawn.
Go to bed, good father, I will sleep too."
He seemed to be going to his bedroom, but
suddenly his figure disappeared, and the cottage
became a field of grass. The priest passes the
night under the pine trees.
Priest
I cannot sleep out the night. Perhaps if
I held my service during the night under this
pine tree—
| "Noh", or, Accomplishment : | |