Oh double-wet our sleeves
With the tears of troubled dreaming and the dews
That wet our grassy bed.
We leave Sagami; who shall point the way
To Tōtōmi, far off not only in name?[70]
Over the sea we row:
And now the eight-fold Spider Bridge we cross
To Mikawa. How long, O City of the Clouds,[71]
Shall we, inured to travel, see you in our dreams?
ATTENDANT.
We have journeyed so fast that I think we must already have come to Miyazaki in the country of Hyūga. It is here you should ask for your father.
(The voice of KAGEKIYO is heard from within his hut.)
KAGEKIYO.
Behind this gate,
This pine-wood barricade shut in alone
I waste the hours and days;
By me not numbered, since my eyes no longer
See the clear light of heaven, but in darkness,
Unending darkness, profitlessly sleep
In this low room.
For garment given but one coat to cover
From winter winds or summer’s fire
This ruin, this anatomy!
CHORUS (speaking for KAGEKIYO).
Oh better had I left the world, to wear
The black-stained sleeve.
Who will now pity me, whose withered frame
Even to myself is hateful?
Or who shall make a care to search for me
And carry consolation to my woes?
GIRL.
How strange! That hut is so old, I cannot think that any one can live there. Yet I heard a voice speaking within. Perhaps some beggar lodges there; I will not go nearer. (She steps back.)