THE SHITE, OR HERO Ghost of the lover TSURE Ghost of the woman; they have both been long dead, and have not yet been united. CHORUS The 'Nishikigi' are wands used as a love charm. 'Hosonuno' is the name of a local cloth which the woman weaves. NISHIKIGI First Part WAKI There never was anybody heard of Mount Shinobu but had a kindly feeling for it; so I, like any other priest that might want to know a little bit about each one of the provinces, may as well be walking up here along the much travelled road. I have not yet been about the east country, but now I have set my mind to go as far as the earth goes; and why shouldn't I, after all? seeing that I go about with my heart set upon no particular place whatsoever, and with no other man's flag in my hand, no more than a cloud has. It is a flag of the night I see coming down upon me. I wonder now, would the sea be that way, or the little place Kefu that they say is stuck down against it? SHITE (to Tsure) Times out of mind am I here setting up this bright branch, this silky wood with the charms painted in it as fine as the web you'd get in the grass-cloth of Shinobu, that they'd be still selling you in this mountain. SHITE AND TSURE Tangled, we are entangled. Whose fault was it, dear? tangled up as the grass patterns are tangled up in this coarse cloth, or as the little Mushi that lives on and chirrups in dried sea-weed. We do not know where are to-day our tears in the undergrowth of this eternal wilderness. We neither wake nor sleep, and passing our nights in a sorrow which is in the end a vision, what are these scenes of spring to us? This thinking in sleep of someone who has no thought of you, is it more than a dream? and yet surely it is the natural way of love. In our hearts there is much and in our bodies nothing, and we do nothing at all, and only the waters of the river of tears flow quickly. CHORUS Narrow is the cloth of Kefu, but wild is that river, that torrent of the hills, between the beloved and the bride. The cloth she had woven is faded, the thousand one hundred nights were night-trysts watched out in vain. WAKI (not recognizing the nature of the speakers) Strange indeed, seeing these town-people here. They seem like man and wife, And the lady seems to be holding something Like a cloth woven of feathers, While he has a staff or a wooden sceptre Beautifully ornate. Both of these things are strange; In any case, I wonder what they call them. TSURE This is a narrow cloth called 'Hosonuno,' It is just the breadth of the loom. SHITE And this is merely wood painted, And yet the place is famous because of these things. Would you care to buy them from us? WAKI Yes, I know that the cloth of this place and the lacquers are famous things. I have already heard of their glory, and yet I still wonder why they have such great reputation.