OKAYA: As soon as he returns, we’ll send him right away to see you. Take moxa to keep strong. Come back with a healthy face. Wait, wait, there’s something I want you to have. (She thinks for a moment.) Here, take this tissue and fan, you’ll need them. Is there anything else you need? Make sure you don’t stumble and fall and hurt yourself. Take this tea, it suits you well. Drink it morning and night. I must tell you about the pleasure quarter: women are often forced to prove their love by cutting a finger. If you get in that situation, don’t cut your finger or even a strand of hair. Don’t drink too much saké either. Even when pressed to drink, don’t swallow too much. If you have to, just say that you dislike it and refuse. (She pauses to think.) What a cruel fate—to see my beautiful daughter suffer this way.
CHANTER: Teeth clenched, she finally breaks down in tears.
OKARU: Mother, don’t say any more. The more you say, the harder it will be to leave. Dear Kanpei, I’m off now. (Pauses) Farewell. (She begins to hurry out.)
KANPEI: Okaru, wait.
OKARU: What is it? (She rushes back to him.)
CHANTER: Kanpei wants to tell her everything, but in front of the others he suffers in silence.
KANPEI: Take care of yourself.
OKARU: Yes . . . (She breaks down crying. Genroku comes back inside.)
GENROKU: Now, now, it’s never good to have a tearful parting. Hurry. Get in the palanquin.
CHANTER: A pitiful sight: the bearers lift the palanquin and rush off. (Okaya sees them off down the hanamichi.)
OKAYA: Don’t worry a bit about us. Remember what I told you. Don’t do anything rash. Don’t forget the moxa. Oh, show me your face once more! My, are you gone already? I talked too much. It won’t do any good. Off to the mountains with me. Cranes and tortoises bring us luck. (She continues talking as she returns and sees Kanpei.) Um, now Kanpei, you can see how even her mother is reconciled to the situation. Don’t you worry yourself sick over this. You’re all the two of us have to depend on now. (Pauses) Speaking of Father, why hasn’t he come back yet? You met him this morning, didn’t you? Where was it you met? Tell me about it. (She moves closer, urging him to speak.)
KANPEI: Yes, I saw him all right.
OKAYA: Where did you meet him? Where did you leave him?
KANPEI: I left him at . . .
OKAYA: You left him where?
KANPEI: It was at Toba; no, at Fushimi.
CHANTER: Yodo, Takeda, he babbles on. At that moment three local hunters—Yahachi the Babbler, Roku the Musket, and Kakuhei the Badger—arrive, carrying Yoichibei’s body. They set it down just inside the door and come inside.
YAHACHI: I was returning from hunting last night and found Yoichibei.
THREE HUNTERS: Members of the hunters’ guild have brought him home.
OKAYA: What are you talking about? You mean that you’ve carried him home drunk again? No jokes, please. I was already worried sick. Enough of your teasing!
THREE HUNTERS: No, we’re not joking. He’s dead.
OKAYA: You’re still fooling me. (Pauses. Kanpei squirms in agony. The three lead Okaya over to the body. She lifts off the straw mat.)
CHANTER: Okaya jumps back in shock at the sight.
OKAYA: No, who could have done this? Kanpei, who murdered him? You must avenge his death.
CHANTER: “Dear Yoichibei,” she cries out in despair, but to no avail. The hunters try to comfort her.
YAHACHI: Madam, you must be devastated. It’s only natural for you to weep. Madam, your son-in-law here, isn’t he an upright fellow, a former samurai?
ROKU: If that’s the case, then we will make a strong force. In any case, we must report this to the local office and have the murder avenged.
KAKUHEI: With a strong samurai leading us, we’ll be glad to follow with our rifles.
YAHACHI: What a terrible thing to happen. Yoichibei was such a kindhearted man, always praying for salvation in the next life.
ROKU: It doesn’t help to be a believer when facing a murderer. I feel bad for Okaya, who will be alone.
KAKUHEI: Yeah, with Yoichibei gone, it’ll be like a lantern without a candle.
YAHACHI: What do you mean by that?
KAKUHEI: You know, she’ll be alone at night.
TWO HUNTERS: How can you say that at a time like this!
THREE HUNTERS: It’s a pity.
CHANTER: Offering their condolences, they depart for their homes.
OKAYA: Father’s dead, killed! Who could have murdered him? My dear Yoichibei.
CHANTER: While the mother weeps, Kanpei moves closer to her.
OKAYA (pauses): Kanpei, I know that it couldn’t be possible, but something worries me. No matter how much of a samurai you used to be, it seems strange that you’re not at all surprised to see father dead. When you saw him this morning, did you get the money from him? What did he say when he saw you? Speak up! (Pauses to think) You don’t seem to have an answer. The proof is right here.
CHANTER: She lunges at Kanpei and pulls the purse from his pocket.
OKAYA: I caught a glimpse of this purse earlier. Look, it has blood on it! You killed father! (She grabs the lapels of his kimono.)
KANPEI: No, that’s. . .
OKAYA: Don’t give me any excuses. No more babbling from you! Even if you try to hide it, heaven misses nothing. Killing Father and then stealing the money—who’s it for? (Pauses) I get it. You plotted to sell the daughter of your destitute father-in-law. But instead of handing over the hundred ryō, you’re keeping half for yourself. All this time, we took you to be an upright fellow. But we’ve been duped. Awful! Hateful man! A beast! I’m so shocked I can’t even cry.
CHANTER: Pity my dear Yoichibei.
OKAYA: He had no idea that he had a beast for a son-in-law; he wanted so much to restore you as a samurai. Old as he was, he traveled at night to Gion in Kyoto, willing to give up everything to help you. But it was all for nothing, bitten by the dog that he fed, cruelly murdered. You demon! Bring my husband back to life!
CHANTER: Her anger rises and she attacks Kanpei, grabbing his hair and beating him on the head.
OKAYA: Even if I cut you to pieces, what good would it do, what peace would it give me?
CHANTER: Raging in anger and grief, she finally collapses in a flood of tears. Feeling the full weight of his crime, Kanpei too burns with fever, sweating all over. He claws the tatami floor, awaiting heaven’s wrath. Just then, two samurai in large wicker rain hats arrive. (Hara Gōemon and Senzaki Yagorō approach along the hanamichi.) The pair walk slowly up to the house.
GŌEMON: Is this the house where Hayano Kanpei lives? I’m Hara Gōemon.
YAGORŌ: And I’m Senzaki Yagorō.
TOGETHER: We have come to see him.
CHANTER: Their timing is a disaster for Kanpei.
KANPEI: Mother, someone is at the door.
OKAYA: Are you going to flee?
KANPEI: I won’t escape. Hold me tighter.
CHANTER: He takes out his short sword and puts it under his arm to greet the men. (Kanpei, with Okaya at his side and his sword in hand, opens the door.)
KANPEI: My, my, you’ve come a long way to this humble abode.
GŌEMON: It seems that we’ve arrived at an awkward moment.
KANPEI: No, no, it’s just a little family matter. Don’t worry. Please come inside.
GŌEMON AND YAGORŌ: Please excuse us.
CHANTER: Although there is no formal entrance hall, the samurai show deference to their hosts, awaiting permission to enter. Kanpei and Okaya bow to greet them.
KANPEI: Recently, with regard to the incident involving our lord’s demise, I was negligent and absent from my post. No words can ever make up for this terrible error. I have requested a pardon and asked to join the others at the memorial on the anniversary of our master’s death. I ask again for your consideration.
CHANTER: He speaks humbly, begging them to intercede. Gōemon responds.
GŌEMON: Yes, we know about your request, and despite being a r
ōnin of no means, you have raised a considerable sum for the memorial stone. Yuranosuke was duly impressed by your efforts, but since the memorial is for the salvation of our dead master, he has refused your offer. He said that money from someone who has committed such disloyalty and dishonor would not be acceptable to the spirit of Lord Enya. I return the money with the seal unbroken. Yagorō, hand it over.
YAGORŌ: Yes, sir.
CHANTER: He immediately takes the money from his pocket and places it before Kanpei.
KANPEI: Then this money could not be of service? (Reflects) Couldn’t it be used . . .?
CHANTER: He suddenly loses his senses, and Okaya bursts into tears.
OKAYA: What! Does this cruel villain still not know the wrath of his parents? Listen, Mr. Samurai. My husband was quite old, but ignoring his own welfare and going against his religion, he sold his daughter to a brothel. This man waited for him to return with the money and murdered him, stealing the money. Heaven’s will has brought you here. How could he be worried about helping you out? Yes, yes, please, strike him down, beat him to death. I’m furious.
CHANTER: She collapses in tears. The samurai are shocked at this news, and both draw their swords and press Kanpei from both sides. Yagorō yells roughly.
YAGORŌ: Kanpei, how could you cleanse your past crime with money tainted by the vile murder of your father-in-law? Shall I make it clear for you? No one, as filthy and as inhuman as you are, could ever understand the way of the samurai. Killing your father-in-law is the same as murdering your father—to steal money. The vilest villain! I’ll skewer you like meat on a spear.
CHANTER: Goemon’s eyes spit anger.
GŌEMON: Wait, Yagorō. Your words strike home, but wait, sit down. (Thinks) Listen, Kanpei. They say an honest man will not drink from a thieves’ spring even when desperately thirsty.5 Did you really think that money stolen from a father-in-law whom you murdered would serve the spirit of your dead lord? How perceptive Yuranosuke was to have refused your money, realizing that you were rotten to the core.
CHANTER (for Kanpei): Ah, forgive my crimes.
GŌEMON: The pity of it all is that news of this incident will get out and people will say, “Look at that Hayano Kanpei, a retainer of Enya Hangan; his disloyalty and crimes are notorious.” Don’t you see that the mud will soil not only you but also our dead lord? You idiot! Such wickedness could not be yours alone. What demon has entered your soul? What a twisted soul, a warped man! (Pauses) Yagorō, no matter what we say, it’ll fall on deaf ears, like reading sutras to a cow. Just speaking with him will taint us. Let’s leave at once.
YAGORŌ: Certainly. Let’s be off. (Kanpei tries to stop them leaving.)
KANPEI: Wait a moment, both of you, please. Since you say I have shamed our master, let me explain. Please sit down and listen. (Pauses) Last night I saw Yagorō, and after we had parted, I was wondering how on earth I could raise the money needed for the memorial. I was lost in thought when I saw a wild boar on the mountain. I fired two shots and knew that I had hit it. But when I rushed to find it, I realized that it was a man, not a boar, that I had killed. I was desperate in the dark and checked his pockets for medicine and found instead a purse full of money. I knew it wasn’t right, but I felt that the gods above had given me the money. Thankfully I accepted it. I set off immediately to hand over the money to you. Thinking that I might be allowed to join the vendetta, I returned home with hope, but I soon realized that the money was from the sale of my wife and that the man whom I had killed . . .
TWO SAMURAI: The man whom you killed was. . . (Kanpei takes out his sword and stabs himself.)
KANPEI: My father-in-law.
TWO SAMURAI: What!
KANPEI: (A bamboo flute accompanies Kanpei’s monologue.) No matter what has happened since, I, Kanpei, was born the heir of Hayano Sanzaemon. At the age of fifteen I became a personal retainer of Lord Enya, receiving a stipend of 150 koku. My family received the beneficence of the Enya clan for generations, but I had a brief lapse: I forgot the gratitude that I owed my lord and let myself be overcome with carnal desire at a critical moment. I failed him at the palace when he needed me most. I felt the force of heaven’s wrath for my crime and hoped to join the vendetta to clear my name. The gold did no more good than a stone tile. Like the crossbill’s beak, everything I do goes the wrong way. I have no excuses, but please, both of you, witness my seppuku to the end.
CHANTER: Blood seems to run through his eyes, tears of shame and regret. Yagorō gets up after listening to his tale and goes to Yoichibei’s body, checking the wound.
YAGORŌ: Look, here! It looks like a bullet wound, but it’s from a sword.
GŌEMON: Where? (Pauses and then checks the body) You’re right, Yagorō. You’ve made me remember something. Remember that on the way here, we saw a traveler dead from a bullet wound. Looking closer, we realized it was Ono Sadakurō, a treacherous villain, disowned even by his own father, the wicked Kudayū. We heard that he had turned into a highway robber who had joined roving gangs. No doubt, he’s the one who murdered Kanpei’s father-in-law. Kanpei, you’ve acted too soon.
CHANTER: At this revelation Kanpei is shocked; Okaya, too, is aghast.
OKAYA: Then, Father’s murderer was not Kanpei?
TWO SAMURAI: That’s right.
OKAYA: Listen, son. I beg with my hands folded in prayer. An old woman’s stupid heart cursed you. It was all a mistake. Be strong, Kanpei. You mustn’t die.
CHANTER: Her tears and warmth make Kanpei look up.
KANPEI: Mother, have your doubts been cleared? Are you both now sure of my innocence?
TWO SAMURAI: All doubts are gone.
KANPEI: Oh, how happy that makes me. My prayers have been answered. Mother, don’t grieve. Father’s death, my wife’s service won’t be wasted. The money will aid the cause. Hurry, hand it over!
CHANTER: At this, Okaya, still weeping, hands over the two packets of money, placing them in front of them.
OKAYA: This purse holds the spirit of Kanpei. Take it and think of it as Kanpei that goes with you on the vendetta.
GŌEMON: This gold is worth more than its weight.
YAGORŌ: Son and father-in-law, each presented fifty.
GŌEMON: Together, they make one hundred, a memorial for their spirits. The mother’s duty is to pray for their salvation. (Pauses) May they achieve buddhahood.
TWO SAMURAI: Hayano Kanpei.
KANPEI: No, achieving buddhahood is defiling, not for me. I won’t die. My spirit stays here on earth, to join you in avenging his death!
CHANTER: His voice grows weak as the torments of death grow fiercer. Mother still weeps.
This is one of a series of actor prints produced by Utagawa Toyokuni III (1786–1864) at the end of his career. Toyokuni made this print for the 1860 production of Chūshingura at the Nakamura Theater, starring Nakamura Fukusuke I (1830–1899) as Hayano Kanpei. This is a close-up portrait (ōkubi-e) of Kanpei committing suicide, graphically depicting his disheveled hair; the blood-smeared palm marks on his arm, chest, and face; and blood gushing from his stomach. (Courtesy of the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, Waseda University)
OKAYA: Listen, Kanpei. I want to tell Okaru. Don’t die now. Let me bring Okaru to see you.
KANPEI: No, no. You mustn’t tell her about father’s death or mine. She was sold to help the vendetta. If she hears about all this, she won’t do her job as well and be disloyal to our master. Now that my honor is restored, I can help father across the Three Rivers of the netherworld.6
CHANTER: He pulls the sword across his stomach.
GŌEMON: No, Kanpei, don’t. Stop! I have something to show you. Yagorō, bring it. (Yagorō rises, opens the door, looks around, and returns.)
CHANTER: From his pocket Yagorō takes out a scroll and rolls it open.
GŌEMON: Recently a group of us pledged to take revenge against our lord’s enemy Kō no Moronao. Your sacrifice to get this money will impress Yuranosuke. This is the list of our league.
C
HANTER: Before he can finish reading, Kanpei interrupts.
KANPEI: Then, who’s on the list?
YAGORŌ: Ōboshi Yuranosuke is the first, followed by forty-four.
GŌEMON: Adding you to the list brings it to forty-six loyal retainers. Take this as a present with you to the other world.
KANPEI: Yes.
CHANTER: He takes out a brush and writes his name.
TWO SAMURAI: Seal it with blood.
KANPEI: Yes sir.
CHANTER: He cuts further into his stomach, creating the shape of a cross, and grabs his entrails, pressing them to the oath.
GŌEMON: We witness the seal of blood.
TWO SAMURAI: We accept you into the league. (After signing the vendetta conspiracy list with his blood, Kanpei slumps down for a moment. Yagorō gratefully accepts the money, and the samurai take their leave. They stand outside the house and respectfully bow farewell. Inside, Kanpei collapses again in pain. Okaya is desperate as she tries to hold up her son-in-law. She panics at the realization that she will be left alone, her husband dead, her daughter sold to a brothel, and her son-in-law dying before her eyes. She begs him not to die. She weeps behind Kanpei, who reaches out weakly to find his sword. He takes a kerchief, grabs the blade, and slits his own throat. He then struggles to sit up straight, puts his hands together in prayer, and strikes a defiant pose. His face shows the rising pain, and with one last attempt to hold on, he finally collapses. Yagorō and Gōemon bow from outside. Okaya weeps in despair, left alone.)
CHANTER: Pity this life cut short. (Memorial bells ring. Gōemon and Yagorō leave the house. Okaya clings to him weeping. Kanpei dies as Gōemon and Yagorō depart.)
[Hattori Yukio, ed., Kanadehon Chūshingura, pp. 143–182, translated by C. Andrew Gerstle]
NAMIKI SŌSUKE
Namiki Sōsuke (1695–1751), the chief author of Chronicle of the Battle of Ichiotani (Ichinotani futaba gunki), had also collaborated a few years earlier in writing Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy, Chūshingura, and Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees. He had completed the third act of Ichinotani when he died in September 1751. Other writers completed the remaining two acts, and the full play opened two months after his death. However, since the premier production, only the “Atsumori’s Camp” and “Suma Bay” scenes from the second act and “Kumagai’s Battle Camp” scene, which is translated here, from the third act have been staged.
Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900 Page 59
