The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature (Modern Asian Literature Series)

by Неизвестный

  • The fallen dancer listens intently, rises to her feet, and resumes dancing.

  • The floor becomes stained with blood.

  The long hall of the asylum.

  The handyman’s shadow.

  He stands in front of the dancer’s cell.

  He sneaks up to the door of the next cell, the cell of his wife.

  The wife turns to look. A madwoman, she does not recognize him as her husband.

  The handyman calls her name.

  The wife, wordless, holds out her hand. The handyman moves closer.

  The wife pulls a button from his jacket and expresses delight at it on her palm. The handyman looks on.

  • A guard walks down the hall.

  • The handyman, afraid of the guard’s footsteps, hides.

  • The wife is playing with the button.

  The handyman presses his face against the bars.

  The wife turns to look. Then falls asleep.

  • The rain is blowing against the window.

  • The button falls on the floor. (Superimposed.)

  The dark waters of a pond appear.

  • The handyman’s expression indicates he is remembering the past.

  • The pond in darkness. A baby. The handyman, dressed as a sailor, which he once was. The wife tries to throw herself into the pond; the daughter stops her by holding her back. The baby slips out of the wife’s arms and falls into the pond.

  • The handyman’s pained expression.

  • Two, three scenes showing the handyman as a sailor. The days when he treated her cruelly. Ports and towns he visited while wandering about after abandoning his wife. A long road. The gate to the insane asylum. The handyman walks down the road and comes to the gate.

  • The handyman absorbed in his memories.

  • A rain-soaked cat jumps in the window and runs down the long hall.

  • Morning.

  Morning light shines in the hall through the window.

  A nurse busily walks down the hall.

  • A dog runs about in a big yard.

  The gatekeeper’s son is calling to the dog.

  • The dog runs up to the boy.

  The child and the dog run about the yard.

  The child falls and begins to cry.

  The handyman sees the boy and runs toward him.

  • The daughter opens the door of a Western-style house and steps out.

  She walks down the stone steps and turns to look at the door. Then, looking down, she walks away.

  • The dancer’s cell. She’s leaning against the wall. She bangs her head against the wall—gently.

  • The next cell, the wife’s. The wife awakens from sleep and hears the sound coming through the wall. She lifts her head and looks in the direction of the sound.

  • The wall of the dancer’s cell. A photo of the dancer in her showy stage costume is pinned to it. It is torn. The dancer rises to her feet and walks toward it.

  • The handyman noisily opens the windows along the hall.

  • The gate of the asylum. It is locked.

  The daughter appears. She leans against the gate and looks in as if wanting to say something.

  She is ready to walk away.

  The gatekeeper opens the gate. He looks at the daughter suspiciously.

  The daughter musters her courage and goes inside.

  • The gatekeeper’s son follows her.

  • The receptionist window at the asylum. The daughter requests a meeting with her mother.

  The receptionist refuses.

  The gatekeeper’s son, standing nearby, asks, “What’s the number of the cell of the madwoman?”

  • Cell 25. The handyman is standing in front of the cell of his wife.

  • The receptionist agrees to a meeting with much reluctance.

  The daughter follows the boy.

  • The boy runs up to the handyman in the hall and tells him someone has come to meet the madwoman in Cell 25.

  The handyman looks suspicious.

  • The handyman and the daughter see each other. Both are surprised.

  The daughter blurts out, “Father!”

  (She does not have time to wonder how he has become the handyman of the asylum. . . . )

  There is only time to express her anger toward her father; then she goes straight to her mother’s cell.

  The handyman raises his arms to block her view. He tries not to let her see her mother in such a painful, mad state.

  The daughter pushes her father aside and proceeds to the door of her mother’s cell.

  • Her mad mother.

  • The daughter sneaks up to the bars of the cell and says, “Mother, I’m getting married.”

  Her mother looks at her blankly. It is as though she does not understand.

  The handyman hears his daughter speak of her marriage. He feels pained that she did not disclose the news to him.

  He puts his hand gently on her shoulder. He looks as if he wants to say something.

  The daughter, annoyed, brushes his hand aside.

  And, turning to look at her mother, she is ready to leave. There are tears in her eyes.

  • The daughter passes by the office of the receptionist.

  The handyman sees her off.

  • The daughter goes into the yard.

  The gatekeeper’s son is there.

  The daughter seems to be asking him something.

  The daughter and the child walk across the yard side by side.

  • At the registration office the handyman stands still, looking toward the yard.

  • Down the hall of the asylum walk doctors, assistants, guards, and nurses.

  • Morning rounds.

  • Checking on Madman A.

  • Checking on Madman B.

  • Checking on Madman C, etc.

  • Many of the madmen leave their cells and come into the hall.

  They are the ones who are permitted to take a morning walk.

  • Similarly, madwomen, a great many of them.

  • The wife’s cell.

  A doctor checks on her.

  The handyman stands in front of the door of his wife’s cell. As the doctor exits, he asks him how she is.

  The doctor turns to look at him momentarily but appears unwilling to talk to him. (None of the hospital staff know this woman is the handyman’s wife.)

  The handyman walks away.

  • The wife is also allowed to take a morning walk.

  Before leaving her cell, she tries to wear the button on her head as if it were a hairpin.

  The button falls on the floor many times.

  • The nurses and others laugh at this.

  • The wife does her makeup facing the wall as if it were a mirror.

  A mirror appears on the wall.

  In it she appears beautiful as she once was in the past.

  She exits her cell.

  • The dancer is madly dancing in her own cell. Because she is agitated, she is not permitted a walk.

  • The wife and the other mad people proceed down the long hall.

  • In the yard the handyman is weeding.

  • A great many mad people enter the yard.

  • The wife is seated, looking at the sky.

  • The daughter and the child are sitting on a bench in a flower garden.

  The daughter is asking the boy about her father, the handyman.

  The child replies but looks annoyed by her questions.

  • Mad people walk in front of them.

  • Alarmed, the child runs away.

  Uneasy, the daughter also gets to her feet.

  • The handyman is weeding.

  The child comes running and grabs hold of him.

  He asks, “Is the woman in No. 25 your bride?”

  The handyman fiercely denies that the madwoman is his wife.

  “But . . . ,” the child says and points toward the bench.

  • The daughter is walking in the flower garden.

/>   • The handyman walks toward his daughter.

  • He calls to her. The daughter stops.

  The handyman approaches.

  The daughter, showing resentment, looks away.

  Tears appear in the handyman’s eyes. He asks his daughter for forgiveness.

  The daughter bites her lip.

  The handyman says, “So you’re getting married?”

  The daughter nods.

  The two of them walk quietly together.

  • A group of mad people are resting on the lawn.

  One of them becomes excited, rises to his feet, and pretends to give a speech.

  Many mad people applaud.

  Guards forcibly take the agitated madman away.

  • Amidst the group of mad people, the wife is quietly looking at the sky.

  • A beautiful scene floats in the sky.

  • The wife is looking at the sky.

  • The handyman and his daughter come and stand behind the wife.

  The daughter becomes tearful.

  The handyman hangs his head out of feelings of self-reproach.

  • The wife stretches her arms toward the sky.

  • One madman notices the beautiful daughter and runs toward her as if he were ready to leap on her.

  The daughter starts to run as fast as she can.

  The handyman grabs hold of the man. The guards help him.

  Fast as an arrow, the daughter rushes out the gate of the asylum.

  • The beautiful, illusory scene in the sky disappears.

  • The gate. The eyes of the gatekeeper follow the daughter as she runs away.

  • The dancer’s cell. The dancer is dancing wildly. At a very fast tempo.

  • One of the madwomen who has returned from the morning walk rushes to the bars of the dancer’s cell. An attendant tries to take her away, but she will not budge.

  • The mad dance that the madwoman sees.

  • The madwoman applauding.

  • The dance.

  • Hearing the applause, many of the madwomen come running.

  The guards and nurses try to lead them away, but the madwomen will not move. The mad people, making a commotion, watch the dance.

  • Madwoman A watching the dance.

  • The dance as seen by Madwoman A.

  • Madwoman B watching the dance.

  • The dance as seen by Madwoman B.

  • Ditto, for Madwoman C.

  • The dance as seen through C’s eyes.

  • A group of madmen, hearing the commotion made by the women, come running.

  • The dance.

  • Men and women, mixing together in confusion, make a great deal of noise in front of the dancer’s cell.

  Guards and nurses lead one, then two of them away.

  • Doctors and many members of the staff hurriedly arrive to give assistance.

  The handyman is one of them.

  They take away the agitated mad people one by one.

  Mad people 1, 2, 3, 4 as they are being led away—.

  One madman, who has been wildly swinging his arms, hits the handyman’s wife, who happens to be standing nearby.

  The wife falls to the floor.

  The handyman, enraged, hits the madman.

  The madman grabs the handyman.

  The handyman is pinned to the floor.

  Excited, the mad people surround them.

  Doctors separate the handyman and the madman.

  The mad people are gradually led away. A few remain in the hall.

  The handyman is abject. He bows repeatedly to the doctor to apologize.

  The doctor is very angry.

  • The wife, who was lying on the floor looking as if the events had nothing to do with her, gets to her feet without assistance and quietly enters her cell.

  • The angry doctor leads the handyman away.

  • The wife’s vacant look.

  • The doctor’s office. The doctor is scolding the handyman.

  • The handyman, growing more and more sullen, moves to leave the room.

  • The image of his mad wife emerges in his mind.

  • Having second thoughts, the handyman turns and pleads with the doctor.

  • At the ticket window of a train station. The daughter is hurriedly buying a ticket.

  • The train begins to move.

  • A pitiful old man picks up a silver coin.

  • In the bright, Western-style room, the young man is turning the pages of a magazine. He is waiting for someone.

  A maid shows the daughter into the room.

  The young couple leave at once. They can hardly contain their happiness.

  • The wife behind the bars of her cell.

  • The dancer’s cell. The dancer lies on the floor, her arms and legs bound.

  • In his room the handyman is lying down, lost in thought.

  • A shot of the daughter biting her lip and the handyman in the yard.

  • The handyman is worried about his daughter’s marriage. Noisily opening the door, the gatekeeper’s son sticks his head in, shouts, “Here comes something exciting!” and rushes out.

  The handyman gets to his feet and looks out the window.

  • A band of musicians drumming up business passes the asylum.

  Banners and other signs announce the Big Sale and Lottery.

  • The handyman watches.

  • The trumpet in the band. The banner saying “Big Lottery.” Handbills strewn on the street.

  • (It is a night scene now.)

  • The lottery booth at night. Decorative lights. Banners. Mounds of prizes and other items. Throngs of people.

  The people, carrying their purchases, take turns in drawing lots.

  Young women in the “cloven peach” hairstyle are handing out prizes. Nobody is winning anything of value or interest.

  The handyman, carrying a small number of items, appears.

  He picks up one of the round cookies that are used as lots and hands it to one of the young women.

  The young woman opens it, shows surprise, and smiles. She shouts, “First prize! First prize!”

  Everyone gathers around them.

  Another young woman shakes a bell.

  The throng presses close and makes a good deal of commotion.

  The man in charge of the lottery takes down the first prize: a tansu chest.

  One of the young women also hands a formal party dress to the handyman. It is marked with a tag that reads, “To Go with the First Prize.”

  The handyman’s joy.

  The lottery people all help the handyman strap the chest on his back.

  • The handyman walks down the street with the chest strapped to his back. A noisy throng follows him.

  • The daughter, coming from the opposite direction, joyfully runs up to the handyman.

  The handyman joyfully tells his daughter, “Now we have a wedding present for you.”

  • The dancer’s cell. The dancer, wearing the formal party dress, dances joyfully.

  • The window of the handyman’s room. Noon. Awaking from a daydream, the handyman laughs and closes the window.

  • The dancer’s cell. The dancer, her arms and legs still bound, is writhing on the floor.

  • Down the hall the man in charge of food and the handyman are carrying lunch to the mad people.

  • The mad people, sensing that it is mealtime, peer from their cells.

  • In an elegant furniture store the daughter and the young man buy an elegant tansu chest.

  • In her cell the wife is quietly eating her meal.

  The handyman, cautious lest others notice him, approaches his wife and takes two cakes out of his pocket.

  His wife takes them casually, sets the bowl of rice aside, and eats the cakes first.

  The handyman looks about, casting a wary glance.

  • Two, three mad people eating their meal in other cells.

  • In the hall the man in charge of food call
s to the handyman.

  The handyman, surprised, leaves his wife and, pretending to be very tired, puts the dirty dishes in a basket and carries them away.

  • The kitchen of the asylum. There is no expression on the face of the kitchen help who is doing the dishes.

  • Water is dripping from the faucet.

  Opening the door, the handyman comes in. He puts down the basket filled with the dirty dishes.

  A rice bowl falls and breaks.

  The handyman looks at it gloomily.

  The dishwasher is expressionless as he does the dishes.

  • The gate of the asylum. The young man’s friend asks the gatekeeper about something and then walks away.

  • The bright, Western-style room. Told by his friend that his lover’s mother is insane, the young man’s face assumes a gloomy look.

  The young man sits, facing a table, looking intently at one spot.

  The friend walks about the room. As he goes to light his cigarette, he happens to look at the balcony.

  Sitting in a chair on the balcony, the daughter has overheard the conversation.

  • The friend notices the daughter, laughs as if his story were a joke, and takes his leave.

  • The daughter stands outside the glass door.

  The young man, looking cheerful as always, welcomes her.

  The daughter looks dejected, suffering.

  Seeing her this way, the young man looks slightly depressed.

  The daughter silently leaves the room.

  • In his room the handyman is lying down, exhausted.

  • Near the fence of the asylum. Children at play.

  The gatekeeper’s son approaches them.

  To catch the other children’s attention, the gatekeeper’s son mimics Madman A.

  The children are amused.

  • The handyman watches from his window.

  • The children egg on the gatekeeper’s son.

  The boy mimics Madman B.

  The children egg him on.

  The boy stops.

  The children threaten him.

  The boy mimics the handyman’s wife.

  • The handyman’s face in the window.

  • Despite the children’s threats, the boy refuses to mimic any more mad people.

  • The children taunt him. In the end they make him cry.

  • In his room the handyman lies down again, exhausted.

  • The door opens a crack, noiselessly. There is a feeling of hesitation outside the door. The handyman turns to look.

  Saying “Father,” the daughter comes in.

  The handyman looks at his daughter.

  The daughter, looking as if she is about to burst into tears, quietly approaches and sits down with a distracted look on her face. The handyman tries to learn what is bothering her.