Oishi. Humph, that is interesting. If she is his wife, her husband divorces her; I divorce her in my son’s name.
Recitative. With these words she stands up and going out, shuts the sliding-door behind her. The daughter bursts out crying.
Konami. I came here relying upon your promise to let me see Master Rikiya, to whom I was betrothed as we loved each other, and now his mother divorces me; but I have done nothing to deserve it. Please, plead for me, mother, and let the marriage ceremony take place.
Recitative. She clings to her mother and weeps; and the mother gazes long at her face.
Tonase. It may be due to a parent’s partiality; but your beauty appears to me to be more than ordinary. We looked for a good husband for you and betrothed you to Rikiya; and now our journey has been in vain. I understand now. Being a ronin with no one to turn to, Rikiya has, on the strength of his high birth, become the husband of a wealthy merchant’s daughter and lost all sense of duty and justice. Come, Konami. That fellow’s spirit is as I have just said. Since he has divorced you, you will find many a one anxious to marry you; and have you no wish to go elsewhere? This is a critical moment. Answer firmly without weeping. Come, what do you say?
Recitative. The mother’s nerves are tense as a bow.
Konami. You say cruel things, mother. When I left home, my father said to me that Oboshi Rikiya, ronin as he is, is unexceptionable in conduct and ability and I was fortunate in having such a husband; since a chaste women never looks upon a second husband, I was not, even though I parted from him, to take another husband, for that would be the same as the infidelity of a married woman; asleep or awake, I must not forget to be tender to my husband and be dutiful to Yuranosuke and his wife; I was not, though I lived on good terms with my husband, to be in the least jealous and thus run the risk of being divorced; and when I was about to become a mother, I was not to conceal it from fear of causing my father anxiety, but to let him know at once. These were my father’s words and I remember them well. If I am divorced and go home, I shall only increase his anxiety; and whatever excuse or plea others may offer, I will marry no one, if I cannot Master Rikiya.
Recitative. On hearing Konami show her determination to persist in her love, Tonase can endure no longer and, overcome with tears, she draws her sword.
Konami. What are you going to do, mother?
Recitative. As Konami restrains her, her mother raises her face.