by A. L. Sadler
KO-KAJI: But Munechika, whate’er betide—
CHORUS: But Munechika, whate’er betide, dares not with mind uncertain forge the blade; for surely then the edge would not be true. And if through that our Sovereign’s righteous rule be hindered anywise–’tis that I fear.
KO-KAJI: Oh, beyond words the crisis now I face! Now verily I must resort to God. Inari Myōjin is the Deity of my house, and to his shrine I will direct my steps.
INARI: Is it Sanjo Ko-kaji Munechika who approaches here?
KO-KAJI: What voice is that? ’Tis strange indeed! Who can it be that calls me thus by name?
INARI: His Majesty the cloud-enthroned Mikado sent to you and bade you forge a blade for him to wear.
KO-KAJI: Strange and more strange indeed the portent! Who can so soon have heard the Imperial order when I have but just received it? Most incomprehensible it is!
INARI: Strange it may be. But if one knows a thing full soon will others hear.
KO-KAJI: Heaven speaks!
INARI: Earth echoes!
CHORUS: Walls have ears and rocks have tongues! What is hid will be revealed! So how much less can the flashing of the sword of the cloud-enthroned one be concealed? Only have faith, and by the favor of the Great Lord why should you not forge a good and proper blade?
CHORUS: The three-foot blade of the King of Han subdued the rebellious land of Ts’in. With his sword Kei the Emperor Yang also seized the glory of the House of Chou!
INARI: In after days Chung Ku’ei, the minister of the Emperor Huan Tsung—
CHORUS: By virtue of the sword stood as a spirit beside his lord!
INARI: And all the ghosts and devils feared the flashing blade, and thus could work no evil. Both in China and in our country the might of the sword—
CHORUS: Was truly wonderful beyond all words! Also in the beginning in our own country the Imperial Prince Yamatotaké, receiving a command from the Emperor Keiko his father that he should subdue the eastern barbarians, set out on his journey to the far remote eastern confines. By the sea-beach of Ise and Owari, envying the waves as they rolled towards his homeland, he wondered when he too should turn his face thither.
INARI: Hither and thither in the battles that followed—
CHORUS: In their caves he smote down both men and horses, and poured forth their blood in flowing rivers; wet to the shield in dark-red gore! Thus the barbarians, many times routed, at last laid down their arms and surrendered. And it was from the age of this Mikado that the pastime of hunting was first begun at Court. Once, when the twentieth day of the tenth month, the No-god month, was past, the prince was viewing the light snow on the distant mountains, where the tints of autumn were fading into winter.
INARI: When the barbarians surrounded him on every side and set fire to the parched plains of autumn. Quickly the flames blazed up, and the enemy beat their drums for the onset. But as they kindled the fire around him—
INARI: Then the divine prince drew his blade—
CHORUS: Then the divine prince drew his blade, and suddenly whirled it about him that the flames retreated, slashing down the grass on every side. The spirit in the sword turned into a blast that blew the flaming grasses backward. Earth and sky were filled with the fire, as it blazed and swept against the foe, and the barbarian horsemen perished in myriads. So was the whole Empire at peace under his rule, and the people forgot to bar the doors of their houses. And all this was due to the might of the blade Herb-queller. Go back to your forge with a quiet mind and fashion a no less worthy blade, O son of a line of valiant craftsmen!
KO-KAJI: The might of the sword in our country, and in the land of Han, it is thrice blessed in due season. But tell me, I prithee, to whom I am speaking!
INARI: It matters not if you but have faith. So go back at once to your dwelling and prepare the mound whereon to forge the Imperial blade. Then do you await my coming, for verily I will attend to give strength to your arm. Without fail I will be there to aid you!
(In the evening clouds over Inari-yama he vanishes, no one knoweth whither.)
ACT II
KO-KAJI (Then in obedience to the august order Munechika ascends upon the mound. Around him he stretches the sacred straw-rope, sevenfold to banish all impurity. At each of the quarters he sets an image, suspending the white Gohei around him. Gazing up to heaven thus he speaks): That in the fullness of time I, Munechika, in the august era of Ichijo-in, the sixty-sixth earthly Sovereign, do thus bring glory on my craft, is not by my strength alone. First was the spear with which Izanagi and Izanami, standing on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, groped for the Central Land of Reed-plains. Then from Pashimida Sonja of Sogada in India the art was handed down to Amakuni, and from his descendants we too received it. Now I beseech thee—
CHORUS: Yea, I beseech thee! For not to me be ascribed the glory! At the command of the Heavenly Sovereign I forge it. Ye Deities of the Ten Quarters, countless as sand-grains, I beseech you be present and lend me aid! And so within the suspended Gohei he looks to heaven and bows to earth. Now hear the essence of truth and let the mind be made receptive.
KO-KAJI: Profound is my reverence and lowly my adoration!
CHORUS: Verily heaven knows the time for Munechika to forge as his Sovereign commanded! Have faith and trust! The Deities will aid! A youth ascends the mound!
CHORUS: A youth ascends the mound! He bends the knee to Munechika! He asks for the metal. Munechika with fear and worship in his heart brings forth the iron and swings the hammer. Clang! They strike! Clang! Clang! Clang! They strike. The sound of their hammers echoes to heaven. Thus they forge the Imperial weapon. On the front of the tang he chisels his name, “Sanjo Ko-kaji Munechika,” and on the back the divine helper inscribes the words, “Ko-kitsune,” “Little Fox.”
CHORUS: In the form of clouds is the pattern of the edge. Its name shall be called “Ama-no-Murakumo,” “Massed Clouds of Heaven.”
INARI: First blade in the Empire—
CHORUS: First blade in the Empire, twice signed is the Imperial sword! And let the land be ruled therewith!
INARI: So do you present to the Imperial messenger this sword, Ko-kitsune Maru, that is the symbol of the Deity of your clan, the God Inari.
(And with these words he ends his speech and, rising above the clouds, he returns to the peak of Inari in the eastern hills.)
MURŌZUMI
PROTAGONIST FIRST A COURTESAN. SECONDLY, FUGEN
BOSATSU
DEUTERAGONIST A TRAVELING PRIEST
TIME UNCERTAIN
PLACE MURŌZUMI IN THE PROVINCE OF SUWO
PRIEST: I am the Priest Shoku of the Temple of Shosha in the province of Harima, and I have founded that temple and built its halls, wherein, fulfilling an ancient tradition, the chief object of our worship is a cherry-tree, through which we adore Nyoi-rin-Kwannon. And I have, moreover, added thereto a chapel. Now though the sole aim of devotion to the Law of Buddha is the sinking of the Six Senses into the perfect tranquility of Samadhi, I have yet a great desire to behold the manifestation of Fugen Bosatsu, and being directed in a dream to go and meet a certain courtesan of Murōzumi in Suwo, to that place I am now hastening.
PILGRIM-SONG:
His well-loved temple left behind,
That well-known temple left behind,
Over the unknown watery path
He journeys to a far-offshore.
On a moving couch he makes his bed,
The breeze of dawn fills out the sails,
By many a port they plough the waves,
And soon they reach Murōzumi.
PRIEST: Thus quickly have I reached Murōzumi, and now I look to find the lady’s house. Ho! I am the Priest Shoku of Shosha in Harima and at the behest of the Deity of my temple have I come to meet you.
LADY: Indeed you are an unexpected guest. But since you are so famed a holy man, I hold myself thrice blessed that I can see you and receive your instruction in the law and thus acquire great merit and enlightenment in the life to come. I pray yo
u tarry here some days to rest yourself. And now the day is drawing to its close, and with the moon the wine-cup too is due.
(With her own hands she fills his cup, urging the holy priest to sip the fragrant liquor. And so conviviality begins. Then the priest lifted up his voice and sang again and again this refrain)
“On the Lake of Amida Nyorai the surface of the water is always rippling.” When we ponder this, how deep is the saying: Passing strange are the affinities of one who is reborn among men! Th ough he be reborn again and again as man, he may be reincarnated in the body of a harlot, so that the mist of the Five Infirmities and the Three Obediences obscures the Moon of Truth!
CHORUS: Nevertheless, illumined by the rays of the holy law, Devadatta of the Five Deadly Sins became a celestial Bosatsu, while the Naga maiden of eight years old who presented a wondrous jewel to Buddha was straightway changed in form and became a male, being reborn in the Pure World of the Southern Region. The eternal spring flowers of the sacred mountain waft their fragrance on the winds to the farthest quarters of the world, even as the tranquil beams of the autumn moon of this our land illuminate even the most remote confines. And whosoever will incline the ear and have faith in this wondrous law, even though it be a woman, shall forthwith attain to Buddhahood.
Humbly confessing her guilt before the holy man she tells of all her offenses.
PRIEST: Ah, how admirable is her resolution! Most efficacious is the virtue of this Sutra for all who trust in its power.
FUGEN: And now the cup has circled many times, and being drunken beyond measure she goes to her chamber to sleep away the wine before again talking with her guest. The priest also retires to his room to rest a while.
PRIEST: And as he waits there, from her chamber comes forth she who has been his hostess, but wondrously transformed— diffusing golden rays and strange sweet odors—most marvelous to see, she now stands forth as Fugen Bosatsu, seated upon her white elephant and shining with supernatural light. How blessed was the vision! Then from the sky sweet melodies were heard, and on a purple cloud appeared a host of Bodhisats who floated down to earth playing twelve kinds of celestial music. Stepping down from her seat Fugen danced to the heavenly strains. Marvelous was her divine condescension!
FUGEN: And now the dawn draws near, and the Bodhisats gently float away on the cloud and return on high, while the priest, bowing his head in low obeisance, adores Fugen with tears of joy. He says farewell and departs, and when he has gone a little distance from the gate he looks back again with longing gaze, but now the diadem of jewels and robes of brocade have faded and vanished, and he sees but the form of the courtesan of Murōzumi.
THE SHŌJO AND THE BIG JAR
PROTAGONIST IN FIRST ACT A YOUTH. IN SECOND ACT A
SHŌJO
DEUTERAGONIST KŌFŪ. OTHER SHŌJO IN SECOND ACT
TIME THE NINTH MONTH
PLACE CHINA
ACT I
KOFU: I am one Kōfū who dwells at the foot of Mount Kanekin in China. And because I was most filial to my parents I have gradually become more and more wealthy. Now of late a number of youths have come to buy my liquor and I can’t think who they may be. So when they come today I intend to ask them their names and whence they come.
SHŌJO (sings): See the dawn comes up from the fathomless depths of the ocean!
KOFU: Ah, here come those fellows, though not so early as usual.
SHŌJO (sings):
Ho, ho! How jolly! This is where we go in to drink the lovely liquor!
Lute, and lay, and liquor!
The friends from which we never want to part!
Ever most praiseworthy indeed is liquor.
And to those who love it are we always drawn.
For the cup goes with the lute,
And the cup goes with the lay,
And drinkhards are the only friends we need.
But quiet now, or we shall be the jape of these townsmen.
KOFU: I pray you tell me who you are, for I wish to know whence you come.
SHŌJO: Now why should we conceal it any longer? We’re really Shōjo, the Drinkhard Baboons, who live by the Bay of Jinyo. And because heaven has been touched by your filial conduct, we hereby present you with a perennial liquor-spring. And have no doubt about it.
CHORUS: And now as dusk approaches they bid him farewell and mingle with the people in the streets, and their bright red visages are seen no more, their bright red visages are seen no more.
(Exit Shōjo)
ACT II
CHORUS: Ah, now as for liquor! What fine stuff is liquor! In chilly autumn–the month of chrysanthemums. When autumn tints are glowing, and all the hills are reddened. Then make a fire of maple-leaves and warm the splendid liquor! How comforting it is on a cold autumn evening!
SHŌJO (sings):
Now why is our friend so late?
’Tis strange that he does not come.
We’ll go to the strand and see
Why he has not arrived.
Oh that he soon may come.
CHORUS:
And now many Shōjo appear,
And present to Kōfū the jar,
The perennial source of liquor
By the shore of the Bay of Jinyo.
On that autumn moonlight night,
While the waves lapped peacefully,
A Shōjo climbed on the jar
And heaved with strength on the bung.
Up welled the generous drink,
The “sake” came gushing forth
A never-ceasing spring,
That poured forth copiously
However much they drew.
Ah how they drank and danced!
SHŌJO:
Hail, the chrysanthemum dew!
The never-failing spring!
We leave it at your inn,
Your never-failing inn!
CHORUS:
And even when he rose,
Thinking that he would wake
From a drunken dream,
The liquor ne’er gave out,
Even when he gathered in,
Everyone he could find,
Both men and women too,
And gave them all their fill,
Until they tottered off with tipsy gait,
Repeating o’er and o’er the glad refrain:
“How blest the tranquil realm of our Great Lord,
Ten thousand autumns may his peaceful reign endure!”
KAMO NO CHOMEI
PROTAGONIST KAMO NO CHOMEI
DEUTERAGONIST A MAN OF THE CAPITAL
TRITAGONIST HIS COMPANION
A YOUTH THE COMPANION OF CHOMEI
TIME THE THIRD MONTH
PLACE THE PROVINCE OF YAMASHIRO
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: I am one who resides in the lower district of the capital. And now that spring has come I intend to invite a congenial companion to go out to the hills with me that we may enjoy the flower-viewing, as is my custom. And today I think of visiting Hinoyama at Daigo to see its blossoms.
PILGRIM-SONG:
The cherry blossoms,
Though every spring we view them,
They never pall
Though every spring we view them,
They never pall.
Nay, every year,
They seem to flower finer.
And thus from hill to hill
We satisfy our senses
Taking deep draughts of beauty
Until we come to Daigo,
So far renowned for flowers,
To Toyama by Hino.
CHORUS: As we have lost no time on the way, so soon are we arrived at Toyama in Hino, and here we will rest for a while.
COMPANION: But see! There is a small hut over there, which I think must certainly be the ten-foot square cell of Chomei. “Would it not be well to go there and rest a while?
WAYFARER: It would indeed. Let us proceed then, and I will give notice of our presence.
CHOMEI: Ceaselessly the river flows, and yet the water is never th
e same, while in the still pools the shifting foam gathers and is gone, never staying for a moment. The impermanence of this life is like foam on the water. Like the dew on the morning glory is its evanescence. Ah, how transient is this world of ours!
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: Do you then announce me to him who is within.
COMPANION: And who are you then?
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: I am one from the lower district of the capital who has come to view the flowers, and I would stay a while in this hut.
COMPANION: I will announce it to the master of the cell. Within there! We are people from the lower district of the capital, and we have come hither to view the flowers. I pray you let us rest in your hut a while.
CHOMEI: I would do so, but this hut is very small and so there is no room for anyone to rest in it. Do you say thus to your companion.
COMPANION: I will. He says it is a very little hut, and there is thus no room for you within.
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: So he may say, but I have heard that in the ten-foot cell of Vimalakirti of Bihar there was space made for thirty-two thousand lion thrones.
CHOMEI: Ah, that was Vimalakirti’s mystic power. But I am a mere hermit.
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: But even the whole universe of ten thousand worlds attains enlightenment at last.
CHOMEI: You may say so.
CHORUS: This matchless gate of entrance to the Buddhist law is thus forced open by this city-dweller. Let him enter here. These cherry-blossoms of Daigo Temple, like clouds that hang over Toyama Hill, like snow they seem when scattered by spring breezes. ’Tis said in ancient story an angel from on high has scattered them on earth.
MAN OF THE CAPITAL: Indeed I thank you. This spot, so far removed from human habitation, it is more fit than any in our Empire to lodge a holy hermit. How long have you been here? And pray relate the manner of your coming.
CHOMEI: I will. I am a man of the village of Kamo, and by the time I reached the age of forty I had experienced all the terrors of whirlwind, fire, and earthquake, wherefore I was thus convinced of the impermanence of life. And when I was fifty I abandoned the world and retired, and since I had neither wife nor child, it was not difficult for me to leave it, nor had I any rank or revenue to be a tie to hold me. And so I have come to spend I know not how many useless years hidden in the mists of Mount Ohara. And thus, not far from the capital, at the age of sixty, I am spending here my last remaining years.
