 | Semimaru |  |
103
SEMIMARU
The stage assistant places a representation of a hut at the waki-position. Semimaru enters, wearing the semimaru mask. He is flanked by two Palanquin Bearers who hold a canopy over him. Kiyotsura follows them.Kiyotsura
The world is so unsure, unknowable;
Who knows—our griefs may hold our greatest hopes.
This nobleman is the Prince Semimaru
Fourth child of the Emperor Daigo.
Who knows—our griefs may hold our greatest hopes.
This nobleman is the Prince Semimaru
Fourth child of the Emperor Daigo.
Kiyotsura and Attendants
Truly in this uncertain world
All that befalls us comes our way
As recompense for what we've done before.
In his previous existence
He observed intently the laws of Buddha
And in this life was born a prince,
Yet why was it—ever since he lay,
An infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
His eyes have both been blind: For him
The sun and moon in heaven have no light;
In the black of night his lamp is dark;
The rain before the dawn never ends.
All that befalls us comes our way
As recompense for what we've done before.
In his previous existence
He observed intently the laws of Buddha
And in this life was born a prince,
Yet why was it—ever since he lay,
An infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
His eyes have both been blind: For him
The sun and moon in heaven have no light;
In the black of night his lamp is dark;
The rain before the dawn never ends.
Kiyotsura
His nights and days have been spent this way,
But now what plan has the Emperor conceived?
He ordered us to escort the Prince in secret,
To abandon him on Mount Ōsaka
And to shave his head in priestly tonsure.
The Emperor's words, once spoken
Are final—what immense pity I feel!
Yet, such being the command, I am powerless;
But now what plan has the Emperor conceived?
He ordered us to escort the Prince in secret,
To abandon him on Mount Ōsaka
And to shave his head in priestly tonsure.
The Emperor's words, once spoken
Are final—what immense pity I feel!
Yet, such being the command, I am powerless;
Kiyotsura and Attendants
Like lame-wheeled carriages
We creep forth reluctantly
On the journey from the Capital;
How hard it is to say farewell
As dawn clouds streak the east!
Today lie first departs the Capital
When again to return? His chances are as fragile
As unraveled threads too thin to intertwine.
Friendless, his destination is unknown.
Even without an affliction
Good fortune is elusive in this world,
Like the floating log the turtle gropes for
Once a century: The path is in darkness
And he, a blind turtle, must follow it. [1]
Now as the clouds of delusion rise
We have reached Mount Osaka
We have reached Mount Osaka.
We creep forth reluctantly
On the journey from the Capital;
How hard it is to say farewell
104
Today lie first departs the Capital
When again to return? His chances are as fragile
As unraveled threads too thin to intertwine.
Friendless, his destination is unknown.
Even without an affliction
Good fortune is elusive in this world,
Like the floating log the turtle gropes for
Once a century: The path is in darkness
And he, a blind turtle, must follow it. [1]
Now as the clouds of delusion rise
We have reached Mount Osaka
We have reached Mount Osaka.
Semimaru sits on a stool before the Chorus. Kiyotsura kneels at the shite-pillar. The Bearers exit through the slit door.
Semimaru
Kiyotsura!
Kiyotsura
I am before you.
From his kneeling position, he bows deeply.
Semimaru
Are you to leave me on this mountain?
Kiyotsura
Yes, your highness. So the Emperor has commanded, and I have brought you this far. But I wonder just where I should leave you.
Since the days of the ancient sage kings
Our Emperors have ruled the country wisely,
Looking after its people with compassion—
But what can his Majesty have had in mind?
Nothing could have caught me so unprepared.
Our Emperors have ruled the country wisely,
Looking after its people with compassion—
But what can his Majesty have had in mind?
Nothing could have caught me so unprepared.
Semimaru
What a foolish thing to say, Kiyotsura. I was born blind because I was lax in my religious duties in a former life.
That is why the Emperor, my father,
Ordered you to leave me in the wilderness,
Heartless this would seem, but it's his plan
To purge in this world my burden from the past,
And spare me suffering in the world to come.
This is a father's true kindness.
You should not bewail his decree.
Ordered you to leave me in the wilderness,
Heartless this would seem, but it's his plan
To purge in this world my burden from the past,
And spare me suffering in the world to come.
This is a father's true kindness.
You should not bewail his decree.
105
Now I shall shave your head.
His Majesty has so commanded.
His Majesty has so commanded.
Semimaru
What does this act signify?
Kiyotsura
It means you have become a priest,
A most joyous event.
A most joyous event.
Semimaru rises, The stage assistant removes his nobleman's outer robe and places a priest's hat on his head.
Semimaru
Surely Seishi's poem described such a scene:
Kiyotsura
Such splendid clothes will summon thieves, I fear.
Allow me to take your robe and give you instead
This cloak of straw they call a mino.
Allow me to take your robe and give you instead
This cloak of straw they call a mino.
Semimaru mimes receiving the mino.
Semimaru
Kiyotsura
And I give you this kasa rainhat
To protect you also from the rain and dew.
To protect you also from the rain and dew.
He takes a kasa from the stage assistant and hands it to Semimaru.
Semimaru
Semimaru puts down the kasa.
Kiyotsura
And this staff will guide you on your way.
Please take it in your hands.
Please take it in your hands.
He takes a staff from the stage assistant and hands it to Semimaru.
Semimaru
Is this the staff about which Henjō wrote:
"Since my staff was fashioned by the gods
I can cross the mountain of a thousand years"? [5]
"Since my staff was fashioned by the gods
I can cross the mountain of a thousand years"? [5]
Kiyotsura kneels at the shite-pillar.
Kiyotsura
His staff brought a thousand prosperous years,
[6]
Semimaru
But here the place is Mount Ōsaka,
Kiyotsura
A straw-thatched hut by the barrier;
Semimaru
Bamboo pillars and staff, my sole support.
Kiyotsura
By your father, the Emperor,
Semimaru
Abandoned,
Chorus
I meet my unsure fate at Mount Ōsaka.
You who know me, you who know me not [7]
Behold—this is how a prince, Daigo's son,
Has reached the last extremity of grief.
He lowers his head to give a sad expression to his mask.
You who know me, you who know me not [7]
106
Has reached the last extremity of grief.
Travelers and men on horses
Riding to and from the Capital,
Many people, dressed for their journeys,
Will drench their sleeves in sudden showers
How hard it is to abandon him,
To leave him all alone—
How hard it is to abandon him,
To tear ourselves away.
Kiyotsura bows to Semimaru.
Riding to and from the Capital,
Many people, dressed for their journeys,
Will drench their sleeves in sudden showers
How hard it is to abandon him,
To leave him all alone—
How hard it is to abandon him,
To tear ourselves away.
But even farewells must have an end;
By the light of the daybreak moon
Stifling tears that have no end, they depart.
Weeping, Kiyotsura goes to the bridgeway.
By the light of the daybreak moon
Stifling tears that have no end, they depart.
Semimaru, the Prince, left behind alone,
Takes in his arms his lute, his one possession,
Clutches his staff and falls down weeping.
Takes in his arms his lute, his one possession,
Clutches his staff and falls down weeping.
Semimaru picks up the staff and kasa, comes forward, and turns toward the departing Kiyotsura. Kiyotsura stops at the second pine and looks back at him, then exits. Semimaru retreats, kneels, drops his kasa and staff, and weeps. Hakuga no Sammi enters and stands at the naming-place.
Hakuga
I am Hakuga no Sammi.
[8]
I have learned that Prince Semimaru has been abandoned on Mount Ōsaka and
it pains me so much to think of him at the mercy of the rain and dew that
I have decided to build a straw hut where he may live.
He opens the door, of the hut, then goes to Semimaru at the shite-pillar.
The hut is ready at last, I shall inform him of this.
He bows to Semimaru.
Pardon me, sir; Hakuga is before you. If you stay here in this way, you
will be soaked by the rain. I have built you a straw hut and I hope you
will live in it. Please, come with me.
He takes Semimaru's hand and leads him inside the hut, then steps back and
bows.
If ever you need anything, you have only to summon me, Hakuga no Sammi. I
shall always be ready to serve you. I take my leave of you for now.
He closes the door of the hut, then exits. Sakagami enters
107
Sakagami
I am the third child of the Emperor Daigo,
The one called Sakagami, Unruly Hair.
Though born a princess, some deed of evil
From my unknown past in former lives
Causes my mind at times to act deranged.
And in my madness I wander distant ways.
My blueblack hair grows skywards;
Though I stroke it, it will not lie flat.
She smooths down her hair
The one called Sakagami, Unruly Hair.
Though born a princess, some deed of evil
From my unknown past in former lives
Causes my mind at times to act deranged.
And in my madness I wander distant ways.
My blueblack hair grows skywards;
Though I stroke it, it will not lie flat.
Those children over there-what are they laughing at?
She looks to the right as if watching passersby.
What? You find it funny that my hair stands on end? Yes,
I suppose hair that grows upside down is funny.
My hair is disordered, but much less than you—
Imagine, commoners laughing at me!
I suppose hair that grows upside down is funny.
My hair is disordered, but much less than you—
Imagine, commoners laughing at me!
How extraordinary it is that so much before our eyes is upside down. Flower seeds buried in the ground rise up to grace the branches of a thousand trees. The moon hangs high in the heavens, but its light sinks to the bottom of countless waters.
She looks up and down.
I wonder which of all these should be said to go in the
proper direction and which is upside down?
I am a princess, yet I have fallen,
And mingle with the ruck of common men;
She proceeds to the stage while chanting.
proper direction and which is upside down?
I am a princess, yet I have fallen,
And mingle with the ruck of common men;
My hair, rising upward from my body,
Turns white with the touch of stars and frost:
The natural order or upside down?
How amazing that both should be within me!
She enters the stage.
Turns white with the touch of stars and frost:
The natural order or upside down?
How amazing that both should be within me!
The wind combs even the willows' hair
But neither can the wind untangle,
Nor my hand separate this hair.
She takes hold of her hair and looks at it.
But neither can the wind untangle,
Nor my hand separate this hair.
Shall I rip it from my head? Throw it away?
I lift my sleeved hands—what is this?
The hair-tearing dance? [9] How demeaning!
108
The hair-tearing dance? [9] How demeaning!
She begins to dance, in a deranged manner.
Chorus
As I set forth from the flowery Capital
From the flowery Capital,
At Kamo River what were those mournful cries? [10]
The river ducks? Not knowing where I went
I crossed the river Shirakawa
And when I reached Awataguchi, I wondered,
"Whom shall I meet now at Matsuzaka?" [11]
I thought I had yet to pass the barrier
But soon Mount Otowa fell behind me
How sad it was to leave the Capital!
Pine crickets, bell crickets, grasshoppers,
How they cried in the dusk at Yamashina!
I begged the villagers, "Don't scold me, too!"
I may be mad, but you should know
My heart is a pure rushing stream:
"When in the clear water
At Ōsaka Barrier
It sees its reflection
The tribute horse from Mochizuki
Will surely shy away." [12]
Have my wanderings brought me to the same place?
In the running stream I see my reflection.
Though my own face, it horrifies me:
Hair like tangled briers crowns my head
Eyebrows blackly twist—yes, that is really
Sakagami's reflection in the water.
Water, they say, is a mirror,
But twilight ripples distort my face.
From the flowery Capital,
At Kamo River what were those mournful cries? [10]
The river ducks? Not knowing where I went
I crossed the river Shirakawa
And when I reached Awataguchi, I wondered,
"Whom shall I meet now at Matsuzaka?" [11]
I thought I had yet to pass the barrier
But soon Mount Otowa fell behind me
How sad it was to leave the Capital!
Pine crickets, bell crickets, grasshoppers,
How they cried in the dusk at Yamashina!
I begged the villagers, "Don't scold me, too!"
I may be mad, but you should know
My heart is a pure rushing stream:
"When in the clear water
At Ōsaka Barrier
It sees its reflection
The tribute horse from Mochizuki
Will surely shy away." [12]
Have my wanderings brought me to the same place?
In the running stream I see my reflection.
Though my own face, it horrifies me:
Hair like tangled briers crowns my head
Eyebrows blackly twist—yes, that is really
Sakagami's reflection in the water.
Water, they say, is a mirror,
But twilight ripples distort my face.
Sakagami sits at the stage assistant's position, indicating she has arrived at Mount Ōsaka. Semimaru, inside the hut,opens his fan and holds it in his left hand as if playing his lute.
Semimaru
The first string and the second wildly sound
[13]
The autumn wind brushes the pines and falls
With broken notes; the third string and the fourth
The fourth is myself, Semimaru,
And four are the strings of the lute I play
As sudden strings of rain drive down on me
How dreadful is this night!
"All things in life
In the end are alike;
Whether in a palace or a hovel
We cannot live forever." [14]
The autumn wind brushes the pines and falls
With broken notes; the third string and the fourth
The fourth is myself, Semimaru,
And four are the strings of the lute I play
109
How dreadful is this night!
"All things in life
In the end are alike;
Whether in a palace or a hovel
We cannot live forever." [14]
While Semimaru is speaking Sakagami comes before the shite-pillar. Semimaru inclines his head toward her as she speaks.
Sakagami
How strange—I hear music from this straw-thatched hut,
The sounds of a biwa, elegantly plucked—
To think a hovel holds such melodies!
But why should the notes evoke this sharp nostalgia?
With steps silent, as the rain beating on the thatch
She stealthily approaches, stops and listens.
The sounds of a biwa, elegantly plucked—
To think a hovel holds such melodies!
But why should the notes evoke this sharp nostalgia?
With steps silent, as the rain beating on the thatch
She stealthily approaches, stops and listens.
She silently comes to stage center. Semimaru folds his fan.
Semimaru
Who is there? Who's making that noise outside my hut?
Hakuga no Sammi, lately you've been coming
From time to time to visit me—is that you?
Hakuga no Sammi, lately you've been coming
From time to time to visit me—is that you?
Sakagami
As I approach and listen carefully—that's the voice of my
brother, the Prince!
It's Sakagami! I'm here!
Semimaru, is that you inside?
It's Sakagami! I'm here!
Semimaru, is that you inside?
Semimaru
Can it be my sister, the Princess?
Amazed, he opens the door of his hut.
Amazed, he opens the door of his hut.
Taking his staff he rises and opens the door.
Sakagami
Oh—how wretched you look!
She comes up to Semimaru as he emerges from the hut.
Semimaru
They take each other hand in hand
They place their hands on each other's shoulders and kneel.
Sakagami
My royal brother,
is that indeed you?
is that indeed you?
Semimaru
My royal sister,
is that indeed you?
is that indeed you?
Chorus
They speak each other's names as in one voice.
Birds are also crying, here at Ōsaka,
Barrier of meeting—but no barrier
Holds back the tears that soak each other's sleeves.
Birds are also crying, here at Ōsaka,
Barrier of meeting—but no barrier
110
Both weep. During the following passage Sakagami returns to the middle of the stage and kneels.
Chorus
They say that sandalwood reveals its fragrance
From the first two leaves [15]mdash;but how much closer still
Are we who sheltered beneath a single tree! [16]
The wind rising in the orange blossoms [17]
Awakens memories we shall preserve
We who flowered once on linking branches!
The love between brothers is told abroad:
Jōzō and Jōgen, Sōri and Sokuri; [18]
And nearer at hand, in Japan
The children of Emperor Ōjin,
The princes Naniwa and Uji, [19]
Who yielded the throne, each to the other:
All these were brothers and sisters
Bound in love, like us, like linking branches.
From the first two leaves [15]mdash;but how much closer still
Are we who sheltered beneath a single tree! [16]
The wind rising in the orange blossoms [17]
Awakens memories we shall preserve
We who flowered once on linking branches!
The love between brothers is told abroad:
Jōzō and Jōgen, Sōri and Sokuri; [18]
And nearer at hand, in Japan
The children of Emperor Ōjin,
The princes Naniwa and Uji, [19]
Who yielded the throne, each to the other:
All these were brothers and sisters
Bound in love, like us, like linking branches.
Sakagami
But did I imagine my brother
Would ever live in such a hovel?
Would ever live in such a hovel?
Chorus
Had no music come from that straw-thatched hut
How should I have known? But I was drawn
By the music of those four strings,
How should I have known? But I was drawn
By the music of those four strings,
Sakagami
Drawn like the water offered to the gods
Chorus
From deep wells of love and far-reaching ties.
The world may have reached its final phase [2O]
But the sun and moon have not dropped to the ground.
Things are still in their accustomed place, I thought,
But how can it be, then, that you and I
Should cast away our royalty and live like this,
Unable even to mingle with common men?
A mad woman, I have come wandering now
Far from the Capital girdled by clouds,
To these rustic scenes, a wretched beggar,
By the roads and forests, my only hope
The charity of rustics and travelers.
To think it was only yesterday you lived
In jeweled pavilions and golden halls;
You walked on polished floors and wore bright robes.
In less time than it takes to wave your sleeve,
Today a hovel is your sleeping-place.
Bamboo posts and bamboo fence, crudely fashioned
Eaves and door: straw your window, straw the roof,
And over your bed, the quilts are mats of straw:
Pretend they are your silken sheets of old.
The world may have reached its final phase [2O]
But the sun and moon have not dropped to the ground.
Things are still in their accustomed place, I thought,
But how can it be, then, that you and I
Should cast away our royalty and live like this,
Unable even to mingle with common men?
A mad woman, I have come wandering now
Far from the Capital girdled by clouds,
To these rustic scenes, a wretched beggar,
By the roads and forests, my only hope
The charity of rustics and travelers.
To think it was only yesterday you lived
In jeweled pavilions and golden halls;
You walked on polished floors and wore bright robes.
In less time than it takes to wave your sleeve,
111
Bamboo posts and bamboo fence, crudely fashioned
Eaves and door: straw your window, straw the roof,
And over your bed, the quilts are mats of straw:
Pretend they are your silken sheets of old.
Semimaru
My only visitors—how rarely they come—
Are monkeys on the peak, swinging in the trees;
Their doleful cries soak my sleeve with tears.
I tune my lute to the sound of the showers,
I play for solace, but tears obscure the sounds.
Even rain on the straw roof makes no noise.
Through breaks in the eaves moonlight seeps in.
But in my blindness, the moon and I are strangers.
In this hut I cannot even hear the rain—
How painful to contemplate life in this hut!
Are monkeys on the peak, swinging in the trees;
Their doleful cries soak my sleeve with tears.
I tune my lute to the sound of the showers,
I play for solace, but tears obscure the sounds.
Even rain on the straw roof makes no noise.
Through breaks in the eaves moonlight seeps in.
But in my blindness, the moon and I are strangers.
In this hut I cannot even hear the rain—
How painful to contemplate life in this hut!
Both weep.
Sakagami
Now I must go; however long I stayed
The pain of parting never would diminish.
Farewell, Semimaru.
The pain of parting never would diminish.
Farewell, Semimaru.
Both rise.
Semimaru
If sheltering under a single tree
Were our only tie, parting would still be sad;
How much sadder to let my sister go!
Imagine what it means to be alone!
Were our only tie, parting would still be sad;
How much sadder to let my sister go!
Imagine what it means to be alone!
Sakagami moves toward the shite-pillar.
Sakagami
Truly I pity you; even the pain
Of wandering may provide distraction,
But remaining here—how lonely it will be!
Even as I speak the evening clouds have risen,
I rise and hesitate; I stand in tears.
Of wandering may provide distraction,
But remaining here—how lonely it will be!
Even as I speak the evening clouds have risen,
I rise and hesitate; I stand in tears.
She weeps.
Semimaru
The evening crows call on the barrier road,
Their hearts unsettled
Their hearts unsettled
Sakagami
As my raven hair,
My longing unabated, I must go.
My longing unabated, I must go.
Semimaru
Barrier of Meeting, don't let her leave!
Sakagami
As I pass by the grove of cedars
She goes to the first pine.
Semimaru
Her voice grows distant. . .
112
By the eaves of the straw hut. . .
Semimaru
I stand hesitant.
Chorus
"Farewell," she calls to him, and he responds,
"Please visit me as often as you can."
Sakagami goes to the third pine and turns back to look at Semimaru.
"Please visit me as often as you can."
Her voice grows faint but still he listens,
Sakagami starts to exit. Semimaru takes a few steps forward, stops and
listens. His blind eyes gaze in her direction.
She turns a final time to look at him.
Weeping, weeping they have parted,
Weeping, weeping they have parted.
Weeping, weeping they have parted,
Weeping, weeping they have parted.
Sakagami exits, weeping. Semimaru also weeps.
| Semimaru | |