PRIEST.
You love Komachi? Say then, whose spirit has possessed you?
KOMACHI.
There were many who set their hearts on her,
But among them all
It was Shōshō who loved her best,
Shii no Shōshō of the Deep Grass.[105]
CHORUS (speaking for KOMACHI, i. e. for the spirit of Shōshō).
The wheel goes back; I live again through the cycle of my woes.
Again I travel to the shaft-bench.
The sun ... what hour does he show?
Dusk.... Alone in the moonlight
I must go my way.
Though the watchmen of the barriers
Stand across my path,
They shall not stop me!
(Attendants robe KOMACHI in the Court hat and travelling-cloak of Shōshō.)
Look, I go!
KOMACHI.
Lifting the white skirts of my trailing dress,