Anthology of Japanese Literature (45 page)

NARRATOR
: He throws the note in Tokubei's face
And glares at him in feigned innocence.
Tokubei is filled with rage and cries aloud.

TOKUBEI
: You've been damned clever. You've put one over on me. Oh, what mortification! What am I to do? Am I supposed to let you get away shamelessly with my money? You've planned everything so cleverly that even if I go to court I'm sure to lose. I'll take it back with my fists!

Look here! You're dealing with Tokubei of the firm of Hirano, a man with a sense of honor. Do you get me? I'm not someone to cheat a friend out of his money. Come on, let's have it out!

NARRATOR
: He seizes hold of Kuheiji.

KUHEIJI
: You insolent little apprentice! I 'll knock that out of you.

NARRATOR
: Kuheiji grabs him by the front of his kimono,
And they exchange some hard and heavy blows.
Ohatsu, barefoot, rushes up to them.

OHATSU
: I beg you everybody, help stop them! I think I know the men who are fighting. Where are my chair-bearers? Why doesn't somebody stop them? Oh—it's Tokubei!

NARRATOR
: She writhes in anguish but is powerless.
Her customer, country bumpkin that he is,
Bundles her into a palanquin and says,
"There's no point in your getting hurt."

OHATSU: NO
, please, just wait a moment! Oh, I'm so unhappy.

NARRATOR
: Leaving only her tearful voice behind,
The palanquin is rushed back to her house.
Tokubei is all alone;
Kuheiji has his five companions.
The teahouse owners, anxious for their trade,
Drive them with sticks as far as Lotus Pond.
Who tramples him? Who beats him? One cannot tell.
His hair is disheveled, his sash undone,
Again and again he stumbles and falls.

TOKUBEI
: Kuheiji, you swine! Do you think you're going to escape alive?

NARRATOR
: He staggers about searching for him,
But Kuheiji has fled and vanished.
Tokubei falls heavily in his tracks,
And weeping bitter tears, he cries aloud.

TOKUBEI
(to the bystanders)
: I no longer have the face to appear before you. I'm ashamed of myself. I didn't say a word about Kuheiji but was the truth. I've always thought of him as a brother, and when he came weeping to me, saying he would never forget my kindness as long as he lived, I gave him the money so that it would help both of us, even though I knew that if I didn't have it tomorrow, the seventh, I would have no choice but death. He made me write the note in my own hand and put his seal to it, but it was a seal which he had already reported as lost. Now he has turned the tables on me. Oh, it's humiliating and mortifying to be thus kicked and beaten, unable to assert my manhood or to redeem my debt. I wouldn't have regretted it if I had died after tearing and biting him to death.

NARRATOR
: He strikes the ground and gnashes his teeth,
Clenches his fists and laments aloud,
And all who watch are struck with sympathy.

TOKUBEI
: There is no sense in my going on talking like this. Before three days have passed I, Tokubei, will make amends and show to all of Osaka the purity of my heart.

NARRATOR
: The meaning of these words is later known.

TOKUBEI
: I have bothered you all a great deal. Please forgive me.

NARRATOR
: He speaks these words apologetically,
Picks up his battered hat and puts it on,
His face downcast in the sinking rays of the sun
Clouded by the tears in which he is plunged,
Dejectedly he makes his way back home,
A sight so sad that all avert their eyes.

      Scene II: Inside the Temma Teahouse

NARRATOR
: The breezes of love are clamorous
Where Shijimi River flows, and the denizens
Like empty shells, bereft of their senses,
Wander the dark ways of love lit each night
By burning lanterns, fireflies that glow
The four seasons, stars that shine every night,
By Plum Bridge, which blossoms even in summer,
⁵
Rustics on a visit, city connoisseurs
All following the twisting roads of love,
Where wise men may get lost and fools get by;
Behold the new gay quarter's liveliness!

      But pitiful indeed is Ohatsu
Of Temma Teahouse, after she returns,
Nought can she think of but the day's events,
She cannot drink her sake, her spirits are low,
And as she sits weeping, some courtesans
And others of the quarter come up to her.

FIRST COURTESAN
: Ohatsu, have you heard about it? They say that Tokubei was given a thrashing for something bad he did. Is it true?

SECOND COURTESAN
: No, I had it from a customer that he was trampled to death.

NARRATOR
: They say Tokubei was fettered for fraud,
Or trussed for counterfeiting someone's seal,
Not one decent thing have they to report:
Every question of condolence brings her grief.

OHATSU
: Oh, please don't say any more. The more I hear the worse my breast pains me. I think that I'll be the first to die. I wish that I were dead already.

NARRATOR
: She gives herself to tears, then with one hand
She brushes them away and looks outside—
There in the dark, with covered face, is Tokubei.
At just a glimpse of his anxious, furtive form
Her heart leaps and she wants to rush to him,
But in the back room are the master and his wife,
And by the front gate stands the cook,
While in the garden sharp-eyed waits the maid.

OHATSU
: I'm feeling so oppressed. I think I'll step out for a breath of air.

NARRATOR
: She steals out sofdy.

OHATSU
: What has happened to you? I've heard all kinds of rumors and I've been so worried I've almost gone crazy.

NARRATOR
: She lifts his hat and gazes at his face,
And weeps without a sound, in silent grief,
Sad and painful tears—he too is lost in tears.

TOKUBEI
: I've been the victim of a clever plot, as no doubt you've heard, and the more I resist it the worse off I am. Everything has turned against me now. I can't survive this night. I've made up my mind to it.

NARRATOR
: As he whispers voices come from inside.

VOICES
: Come on in, Ohatsu. You don't want people to start gossiping about you.

OHATSU
: We can't talk here any longer. Do as I show you.

NARRATOR
: She hides him in the skirts of her great-robe:
He crawls behind her to the central door
Then slips beneath the porch next to the step.
Ohatsu sits inside next to the door,
And nonchalandy lights her tobacco.
Just at this juncture Kuheiji bursts in,
With two or three of his foulmouthed friends
And a couple of blind musicians.

KUHEIJI
: Hello, girls. You're looking lonesome. How about it if I become a customer? Hello, boss. I haven't seen you in a long time.

NARRATOR
: He strides arrogantly into the room.

HOST
: Bring the tobacco tray and some sake cups.

KUHEIJI
: No, don't bother with the sake. I've had all I want to drink. There's something I've got to discuss with you. You know Tokubei, the number one customer of your Ohatsu? Well, he found a seal I lost, and tried to cheat me with a forged note for two k
ammc
of silver. The facts were too much for him, and he was lucky to get out of it alive. Now he's completely discredited. Everybody will tell you that what I say is the truth, so even if Tokubei says the exact opposite, don't you believe him for a minute. You'd best not let him in at all. Sooner or later he's going to wind up on the scaffold.

NARRATOR
: He volleys forth his words convincingly.
Beneath the porch Tokubei gnashes his teeth,
And trembles all over in helpless rage.
Ohatsu, afraid he might reveal himself,
With her foot calms him, calms him splendidly.
The host is loath to answer yes or no,
For Tokubei's a customer from old.
Instead he asks, "How about some soup?"
And covering his confusion leaves the room.
Ohatsu lost in tears exclaims.

OHATSU
: You're very clever, but I can't let you get away with it. I know everything about Tokubei. We've told each other all our inmost secrets ever since we became lovers years ago. He doesn't have the least particle of deceit in him—unfortunately for him. His generosity has been his undoing. He's been tricked by you, but he doesn't have the evidence to prove it. Now Tokubei has no choice but to die. I wish I could hear him say that he is resolved to die.

NARRATOR
: She says these words as if but to herself,
Then questions with her foot: he nods his head,
And taking her ankle strokes his throat
To let her know that he is willed to die.

OHATSU
: I knew it. I knew it. No matter how long one lives it comes to the same thing. Only death can wipe out the disgrace.

KUHEIJI
: What's Ohatsu talking about? What's all this about Tokubei dying? Well, if he does die, I'll take good care of you after he's gone. I think you're really soft on me too!

OHATSU
: You're most solicitous, I'm sure. If you bestow your favors on me, I'll kill you for your pains. Is that agreeable? Do you imagine that I could go on living even for a moment if I were separated from Tokubei? Kuheiji, you dirty thief! Nobody could hear your nonsense without being amazed. No matter what happens, I'm going to die with Tokubei. I shall die with him.

NARRATOR
: She taps him with her foot; beneath the porch
He reverently takes it in his hands,
Then embracing her knees he weeps for love.
She too can scarcely keep her features calm,
And though no word is spoken, heart to heart
Answering each other they softly weep.
That no one knows makes it sadder still.

KUHEIJI
: This place gives me the creeps. Let's get out of here. It's a funny thing how the whores here seem to dislike customers like us with lots of money to spend. Let's head for the Azaya and have a drink there. By the time we've tossed around a couple of gold pieces we'll be ready to go home to bed. Oh, my wallet is so heavy I can hardly walk!

NARRATOR
: Thus spewing forth all manner of abuse
They noisily depart.

HOST
(to the servants)
: It's time already to put out the lights. Lay out beds for the guests who are spending the night. Ohatsu, you sleep upstairs. Get to bed early.

OHATSU
: Master, Mistress. I shall probably never see you again. Fare well to you both. And farewell to you too, all of you who work here.

NARRATOR
: Thus lightly taking leave she goes to bed.
They fail to mark her words and only later know
That this was her farewell to them for life.
The foolishness of men is sad indeed.

HOST
: Look after the fire under the kettle. Don't let the mice get at the relishes.

NARRATOR
: They shut the place for the night and bar the gate,
Then soon asleep are snoring merrily.
So short the night, before they'd time to dream
The second hour of the morning comes.
Ohatsu dressed for death in robes of spotless white
And black kimono dark as are the ways of love,
Tiptoes to the staircase and looks below.
Tokubei appears from underneath the house,
Beckons, nods, and points, speaking with his heart.
Below the stairs a servant girl is sleeping;
A hanging lantern brightly lights the room.
Ohatsu, wondering how to escape,
Attaches to a palm-leaf broom her fan,
And from the second step of the staircase
Attempts in vain to blow away the flame.
At last by stretching every inch she puts it out,
But tumbles from the stairs with a crash.
The lamp is out and in the darkness
The servant girl turns over in her sleep.
Trembling, they grope for each other.
The host awakens in his private chamber.