Hashitomi Text

Author Unknown (possibly Naitō Saemon, or Naitō Tōzaemon, or Ninagawa)
School Version Kongō
Translation Rebecca Teele Ogamo

ACT 1

Waki Enters: Nanori
Waki:
Kore wa miyako kitayama Murasakino Unrinin ni
kyoju no sō nite sorō.
Ware ichige no aida hana wo tate sorō.
Haya ango mo sugigata ni tari sōraeba.
Iroyoki hana wo atsume.
Hana no kuyō ō toriokonawabaya to omoi sorō.
Waki:
I am a priest living at Unrin-in in Murasakino
in the Northern hills of the capital.
Now, I have offered flowers throughout the summer.
As my period of retreat is coming to a close,
I will gather fine blossoms
and perform a memorial service for the flowers.
Waki Enters: Kakaru-1
Waki:
Uyamatte mosu rikkakuyo no koto.
Migi hijō somoku tari to iedomo
Kono hana korin ni hiraketari.
Ani kokoro nashi to iwanya.
Nakanzuku dei wo ideshi hachisu.
Ichijōmyōden no daimoku tari.
Kono kechien ni hikarete.
Sōmo’kokudo shi’kaijō bu’tndō.
Waki:
With reverence I proclaim this memorial service for flowers.
Though they are said to be insentient plants,
these flowers blossom in wide woodlands.
How could they be said to be without feelings?
Especially the lotus appearing from the mud
and that has become the title of the one sublime law.
Drawn by this tie even plants, trees,
all the earth, achieve Buddhahood.
Shite Enters: Song
Shite:
Te ni toreba
Tabusa ni kegaru tatenagara
Miyo no hotoke ni
Hanatatematsuru.
Shite:

As when the hand takes them,1
the hand itself sullies them.
To the Buddhas of the Three Realms
I offer them as they are.

Dialogue: Kakeai
Waki:
Fushigiyana ima made wa
Sōka ryoyō to shite mietsuru naka ni
Shiroki hana no onore hitori emi no mayu wo
Hiraketaru wa
Ikanaru hana wo tatekeru zo.
Waki:
How strange! Until now
I saw them only as flowering grasses, yet among them
I see a single white flower whose brows seem
to unfold in a smile
What manner of flower are you offering?
Shite:
Oroka no osō no ōseyana
Tasokaredoki no ori naru ni
Nadoka wa sore to goranzezaru sari nagara
Na wa hito mekite iyashiki kakio ni kakaritareba
Shiroshi mesanu wa kotowari nari.
Kore wa iugao no hana nite sōrō
Shite:
A foolish question, holy priest.
Though in this twilight hour you see it,
You do not recognize this flower!
Its name seeming human, on lowly hedges it hangs,
that you do not know its name is reasonable.
This is the 'evening face' flower.
Waki:
Geni geni sazo to iugao no
Hana no aruji wa ikanaru hito zo
Waki:

Indeed, it is an ‘evening face’!2
Who is it that has offered this flower

Shite:
Nanorazu to tsuiniwa shiroshi mesarubeshi.
Ware wa kono hana no kusa no kage yori mairitari.
Shite:
Without giving my name you will know it in the end.
I have come from this flower’s shadow.
Shite Exits: Kakaru-2
Waki:
Sate wa kono yo ni naki hito no.
Hana no kuyō ni awan tame ka.
Sore ni tsuketemo na nori tamae.
Waki:
So then, are you one no longer in the world, and
came to attend this memorial service for flowers?
But please, you must tell me your name.
Shite:
Na wa ari nagara naki ato ni.
Narishi mukashi no monogatari.
Shite:
I have a name, though I am no longer alive,
part of an old story.
Waki:
Nanigashi no in ni mo
Waki:

At a certain mansion 3
Shite:
Tsune wa samurō makoto ni wa.
Shite:
I could always be found, indeed it is so.
Shite Exits: Ageuta-1
Jiutai:
Gojō atari to iugao no.
Gojō atari to iugao no.
Sora meseshi ma ni yume to nari.
Omokage bakari naki ato no
tachibana no kage ni kakurekeri.
Tachibana no kage ni kakurekeri.
Jiutai:
Near Gojō, she said, of the 'evening face.'
Near Gojō, she said, of the 'evening face.'
In the moment the eyes turn aside, she becomes a dream.
Only her image lingers behind,
as she disappears in the shadow of the flowers.
She disappears in the shadow of the flowers.

AIKYŌGEN

Kyōgen:
Kayō ni sorō mono wa,
Miyako Kitayama atari ni, sumai suru mono nite sorō.
Uketamawari sōraeba,
atari chikaki, Unrin-in ni oite, ichige no aida,
Hana no kuyō no gozasōrō yoshi.
Uketamawarioyobite sōrō hodo ni warera mo, mairabaya to zonzuru.
Makoto ni, kon-mitta mairu hito mo sukunaku,
nani to yaran, mono sabite sōrō yo.
Kyōgen:
I am someone who lives
in the Kitayama area of the capital.
I have heard that near here,
at Unrin-in, there will be memorial services
for the flowers offered over the summer.
This being the case, I too, intend to go there.
Truly, as few people are going there this evening,
it is rather melancholy.
Waki:
Nōnō katagata wa kono atari no hito nite sōrō ka.
Waki:
Ho, there! Are you someone from around here?
Kyōgen:
Nakanaka, kono atari no mono nite sōro.
Kyōgen:
Indeed, I am a person from this area.
Waki:
Sayō ni sōrawaba, mazu, chikō, oniri sōrae mono wo,
tanuzetaki koto no sōro.
Waki:
If that’s the case, first of all, could you come closer?
There is something I would like to ask you.
Kyōgen:
Kokoroe mōshite sōro.
Sate, ontazunenasaretaki to wa,
Ikayō naru, goyō nite sōrōzo.
Kyōgen:
Certainly.
Well then, what is the matter
you would like to ask me about?
Waki:
Oboshimeshi yorazaru mōshi koto nite sōraedomo,
Inishie, Gojō atari ni, Iugao no ue no sumasetamaishi shisai,
onmonogatari sōrae.
Waki:
While it isn’t a circumstance of much import I would ask of you,
I would like you to tell me the particulars of the story of Lady Yūgao
of the Evening Faces, who lived here long ago.
Kyōgen:
Kore wa, omoimoyoranu koto wo, ontazune nasare sōrō mono kana.
Warera wo sayō nokoto kowashiku wa zonzezu sōrōga, oyoso,
Uketamawaritarutōri, monogatari mōsōzuru nite sōro.
Saruhodo ni, Iugao no ue to mōshitaru, onkata wa,
sanminochiūjō no, onsokujo nite,
saru shisai no koto sōraite,
Gojō atari ni shinobi ite goza aritaru to mōsu.
Mata sono koro, Hikaru Genji no,
Rokujō miyasudokoro no kata eh onkayoinasare sōrō ga.
Orifushi, Gojō atari wo, tōrare shikaba,
shōya ni iugao no hana,
mikoto ni sakimidarete sōrō hodo ni,
Koremitsu wo mesare, ano hana,
taorite maire to no onkoto nari.
Koremitsu mizuishin wo motte, sono hana wo shomō mōsare shikaba,
shōya yori warabe wo idashi.
Shibaraku sore ni, onmachiare tote,
sono nochi, shiroki ōgi no, tsumaito kogashitaru ni,
iugao no hana wo soete sashi idasu.
Mizuishin kore wo uketori, Koremitsu ni mairasekereba.
Koremitsu. Genji eh mairasesōrō tokoro ni,
sono ōgi no fuchi ni, isshu no uta no goza sōrō hodo ni,
isogi gohenka wo nasare.
Sono hana yue ni, Iugao no ue no mabite tamai,
onchigiri asakaraneba, sono nochi
nanigashi in eh ontomonari nasare.
Iroiro kiyoku bengi no chigiri
asakaraku sōrō tokoro ni,
nanbō, fushigi naru koto nite sōro.
Iugao no ue wa, mononoke ni okasaretamai,
munashiku nararetaru to mōsu.
Hikaru Genji no onnageki mōsumo,
orokanaru tei nite goza aritaru to mōsu.
Mazu, warera no uketamawaritaru shisai,
ōkata kaku no gotoku nite sōrō ga.
Tadaima wa nani to, oboshi meshite yaran,
ontazune fushin ni zonjisōro.
Kyōgen:
This is an unexpected request you have made of me.
I don’t know about the situation in much detail,
but I will do the best I can to tell you the story as I have heard it.
Well then, the one known as Lady Yūgao was the daughter
of a middle captain of the third rank, and
owing to certain circumstances,
she came to live in seclusion in the area of Gojō.
Also, at that time Hikaru Genji,
was paying regular visits to the home of Lady Rokujo.
On occasion, he would pass through the Gojō area
and it happened that there was a simple dwelling there,
with ‘evening faces’ blooming in splendid profusion.
He called Koremitsu to him,
and requested that he go plucked a blossom.
When Koremitsu spoke to his attendant, expressing this desire,
a child came out of the house,
and having asked that he wait there for a while,
soon after offered him a white fan, its edges perfumed with incense,
on which rested a blossom of the 'evening faces.'
The attendant took this and returned with it to Koremitsu.
Koremitsu went with it to Genji, who,
seeing then that there was a poem on the edge of the fan,
quickly wrote a verse in reply.
Because of that flower, he was drawn to the Lady Yūgao,
of the 'evening faces,' and as the vows they shared were not shallow,
after that he came to stay together with her there at her dwelling.
Even as the purity of the many pledges
they exchanged were profound,
by the Sacred Treasures! - Mysteriously, Lady Yūgao was possessed
by some sort of vengeful spirit, and it is said that
all was lost. As to Kikaru Genji’s grief,
its depth was limitless,
as there was nothing to be done for her, it is said.
In any event, those are the details,
at least in broad terms, as I know them.
But why are you interested in this and asking me
about this matter now? I find it suspicious.
Waki:
Nengoro ni uketamari sōrō mono kana.
Soregashi ichige no aida, hana no kuyō wo
onokonai sōrō tokoro ni,
nyoshō ichinin shiroki hana wo mairare sōrō hodo ni.
Hana no aruji wa ikanaru hito zo,
tazunete sōraeba, sore ni tsuki
Iugao no ue no on koto wo waga mi no ue no yō ni iitsuke,
sono mama hana nokage nite sugata wo
Miushinaite sōrō yo.
Waki:
I’m grateful that you described the matter so thoroughly.
When I was performing a memorial service for the flowers
offered during the summer, a woman appeared
and gave me a white flower.
I asked who, and what sort of person, she was with the flower,
to which she replied speaking of the Lady of the Evening Faces
as though she spoke for herself.
Then, she disappeared in the shadow of the flower.
That’s what happened.
Kyōgen:
Gongodōdan, fushigi naru koto wo
Ōsesōrōmono kana.
Sate wa warera ga suiryō mōsu ni,
kayō ni hana no kuyō wo no gozasōrōaida.
iugao no hana no sei, matawa, inishie Iugao no ue gobōshin.
Araware idetaru to zonjisōrō ga shika to wa zonzezusōro.
Sarinagara, osō tattoku mashimasu ni yori
ontamurai nimo azukaritaku oboshimeshi,
Iugao no ue no gobōshin
araware idetaru to zonjisōro.
Sayō ni sōprawaba kore yori Gojō atari eh oniri sōrawaba,
kidoku naru koto mo gozasōrō hodo ni,
sono nochi nengoro ni tomurōte
ontōri arekashi to zonjisōro.
Kyōgen:
How astonishing!
What a wondrous thing you have related to me.
Now then, if I may say what I suppose, it can only be that
when you were performing the memorial service for flowers,
the spirit of the “yūgao flower”, and also the ghost of Lady Yūgao,
Lady of the Evening Faces, of long ago appeared before you. It can only be that.
This being the case, I believe that due to
the merit emanating from your Reverence,
the spirit of Lady Yūgao appeared to you in order
to ask that you offer prayers for her deliverance.
If that is the case, you should go now to the Gojō area,
where a miracle will surely occur.
Then, you should pray for her enlightenment,
as she requested of you.
Waki:
Warera mo sayō ni zonjisōrōaida,
Gojō atari ni tachi ni ide,
Iugao no ue no onato wo tomurai mōsōzuru nite sōro.
Waki:
As I also believe this to be true,
I will go to the Gojō area and pray there
for the ghost of Lady Yūgao and her deliverance.
Kyōgen:
Sore wa chikagoro nite sōro. Osō onide nite sōrawaba,
warera mo onato yori mairōzuru nite sōro.
Kyōgen:
As you will be going there shortly,
I’ll follow after your Reverence in a while.
Waki:
Yagatte atoyori shitarare sōrae.
Waki:
In due time then, I will expect you there.
Kyōgen:
Kokoroe mōshitesōro.
Kyōgen:
I’ll do as you say.

ACT 2

Waki Waits: Kakaru 3
Waki:
Arishi oshie ni shitagatte
Gojō atari ni kite mireba
Genimo mukashi no imashi dokoro
Sanagara yadori mo iugao no
Hyōtan shibashiba munashi
Kusa Gannen ga chimata ni shigeshi.
Waki:

Following what I was told earlier
I have come to Gojō to see:
Indeed, the mansion, as in the past,
the dwelling and its evening faces.
Gourds now often empty,
and (Genken’s) Yen Yüan’s home overgrown with weeds4.

Shite Re-enters: Issei
Shite:
Reijō fukaku tozaseri.
Sekiyō no zansei aratani.
Mado wo ugattesaru.
Shite:
Densely closed off by goosefoot,
the evening sun creates mountain shadows,
comes through the window and then leaves.
Jiutai:
Shiutan no izumi no koe.
Ame Genken ga toboso wo uruō su.
Jiutai:
The faint sound of a hidden spring.
Rain dampens (Genken’s) Yüan Hsien’s gate.
Shite Re-enters: Sageuta
Shite:
Saredomo sode wo uruosuwa
Rosan no yuki no akebono.
Shite:

But what dampens the sleeves is
dawn on the snow on Mount Lu.5

Shite Re-enters: Ageuta 2
Jiutai:
Sōtō no mukō rōgetta.
Sōtō no mukō rōgetta
Kinsht’n ni atari
Shiushō no aki no yama.
Monosugo no iubeya.
Jiutai:

Through the east window the limpid moon
Through the east window the limpid moon
on the zither stand casts its light.
Beyond the hedge, the autumn mountains.
Such a desolate evening!6

Dialogue: Rongi
Jiutai:
Geni monosugoki kaze no oto.
Mado no takegaki arishi yo no.
Yume no sugata wo mise tamae.
Bodai wo fukaku tamurawan.
Jiutai:
Indeed, the desolate sound of the wind,
the wicker bamboo fence as in the past.
Please show me your form in a dream.
I will pray in earnest for your soul.
Shite:
Yama no ha no kokoro mo shirade yuku tsuki wa,
uwa no sora nite taeshi ato no.
Mata itsuka ōbeki.
Shite:
The moon, uncertain of the mountain ridge as it went
and disappeared in the sky high above without a trace.
When will they meet again?
Jiutai:
Yamagat’n no kaki wo aru tomo oriori wa.
Jiutai:
Though the mountain dweller’s fence has fallen into ruin, from time to time
Shite:
Aware wo kakeyo nadeshiko no.
Shite:
Show compassion for the wild pink.
Jiutai:
Hana no sugata wo mo mamienaba.
Jiutai:
Blossom, if I reveal the form
Shite:
Ato tō beki ka.
Shite:
Will you pray for my soul?
Jiutai:
Nakanaka ni.
Jiutai:
Certainly I will.
Shite:
Saraba to omoi iugao no.
Shite:
Thinking, “well then,” the “evening face”.
Jiutai:
Kusa no hashitomi oshiakete-n,
tachi-izuru onsugata.
Miruni namida mo todomarazu.
Jiutai:
The vine-covered lattice shutter pushes open,
revealing her form as she steps out.
At the sight tears flow without stopping.
Shite Performs: Kuse
Jiutai:
Sono koro Genji no.
Chiujo to kikoeshi wa,
kono Iugao no kusa makura.
Tada karibushi no yo mo sugara,
tonari wo kikeba Miyoshino ya.
Mitake Shōji no onkoe nite.
Namutōraidōshi Mirokub’to zo tonaekeru.
Ima mo ta’toki okuyō ni so no toki no omoi
iderarete sozoro ni nururu tamoto ka na.
Nao sore yori mo wasurenuwa
Genji kono yado wo misome tamaishi iutsukata.
Koremitsu wo maneki yose. Ano hana ore tono tamaeba.
Shiroki ōgi no tsumaitō kogashi tarishini.
Kono hana wo orite mairasuru.
Jiutai:

At that time, Genji, 7
the Middle Captain as he was called,
shared the grass pillow of this ‘evening face’ for a brief rest.
Through the night they heard from next door,
a pilgrim’s voice in prayer
about ascending the sacred peak at Miyoshino.
“Save us, holy guide of the way in the future, Maitreya Buddha!” he chanted.
Even now this service has brought back the memory
of that time and unwittingly tears dampen my sleeves.
But more than that, I cannot forget the evening
when Genji first saw this house.
Beckoning to Koremitsu,
“Pick that flower for me,” he ordered.
On a white fan, its edges perfumed with incense,
the flower was picked and presented.

Shite:
Genji tsukuzuku to goranjite
Shite:
Genji, gazing at it intently,
Jiutai:
Uchi watsu ō-chikatahito ni tō totemo.
Sore sono hana to kotaezu wa.
Tsui ni shirademo arubeki ni ai ni ōgi wo te ni fururu.
Chigiri no hodo no ureshisa.
Oriori tazune yoru naraba.
Sadamenu ama no kono yado no.
Aruji wo tare to shiranamino-n.
yorube no sue wo tanoman
to i-ishu wo eiji owashimasu.
Orite koso...
Jiutai:
“Of you passing in the distance…” he asked,
and if I had not answered about the flower
forever we must have remained strangers. We were brought together
by the fan touched by our hands, in a joyous pledge of love.
If from time to time
I visit this dwelling of a homeless fishergirl
not knowing the owner’s name, I hope
to be as white foam finding at last the shore, he thought,
and composed a poem.
If you pick it...
Shite Exits: Waka
Shite:
Orite koso
Soreka tomo mime
Tasokare ni
Shite:
If you pick it
Then, indeed, you will know it
In the twilight
Shite Exits: Kiri
Jiutai:
Honobono mieshi.
Hana no iugao.
Hana no iugao.
Hana no iugao.
Jiutai:
Faintly visible:
The flowering 'evening face'
the flowering 'evening face,'
the flowering 'evening face.'
Shite:
Tsui no yadori wa shirase mo-ōshitsu.
Shite:
“As my final home I have shown you
Jiutai:
Tsune ni wa tomurai.
Jiutai:
Always pray for me
Shite:
Owashimase to.
Shite:
I beg of you,” she said, and
Jiutai:
Iuzuke no tori no ne,
Jiutai:
As she spoke the crowing of the cocks,
Shite:
kane mo shikiri ni.
Tsuge wataru shinonome.
Shite:
the tolling of the bells, too,
announce the coming of dawn.
Jiutai:
Asama nimo narinubeshi.
Akenu saki ni to Iugao no yadori.
Akenu saki ni to Iugao no yadori no.
Mata hashitomi no uchi ni irite,
sono mama yume to zo nari ni keru.
Jiutai:
As nothing will be hidden in the morning light,
“Before dawn breaks, to the dwelling of the 'evening face',
before dawn breaks, to the dwelling of the 'evening face'",
she says, and again goes within the lattice shutter,
just so, becoming one with the dream.

  1. Tanka by Sōjō Henjō (816-890) from the Imperial anthology of waka: Gosen-shū, compiled in 951. ↩︎

  2. The reference to the yūgao flower may allude to the occasion when Prince Genji met Lady Yūgao in Genji Monogatari : Chapter 4: ‘The Twilight Beauty.’ ↩︎

  3. Allusion to Lady Yūgao’s mansion from Genji Monogatari : Chapter 4: ‘The Twilight Beauty.’ ↩︎

  4. The poem by Tachibana no Tadamoto (10th century) is about two Confucius disciples Gannen and Genken, who pursued their spiritual studies in great poverty. The hyōtan is a flower that looks like small gourds. The reference to ‘gourds are often empty’ is a metaphor for poverty. ↩︎

  5. Based on a poem by Po Chū-i (772-846). ↩︎

  6. Based on a poem from the Shinsen Rōei-shū by the T’ang poet Fang Kan. ↩︎

  7. The poetic text includes two references to Genji Monogatari, both from letters written by Lady Yūgao. ↩︎