[ [4]Twelve o’clock.
[ [5]The samurai’s manner of taking an oath.
ACT III.
ACT III.
RECITATIVE.
Magnificent is the Palace which Lord Ashikaga Sahyoe-no-Kami Tadayoshi has newly built upon becoming the Governor-General of the Eight Eastern Provinces; the daimyo and the shomyo in their fine court dresses are arrayed as brightly as the stars at night on the hills of Kamakura. For the entertainment the no-performers[1] enter by the back-gate and the guests by the front. The officers for serving the banquet come to the palace at the seventh hour. Dazzling is the glory of the military families.
Now towards the West Gate, preceded by servants lighting his way with a lantern, comes Musashi-no-Kami Kono Moronao with a dignified gait. His air is haughty and overbearing; dressed in a blue garment with large crests, he wears an eboshi[2] which stands up as proud as himself. He has left his attendants at the offices on the way; and only a few servants walk before him. Behind him, with perked-up shoulders, struts Sagisaka Bannai, aping his master’s haughty demeanour.
Bannai. Please your lordship. You are in high favour to-day. Men like Enya and Momonoi may be proud enough at other times; but when it comes to etiquette and ceremony, they look as foolish as a puppy thrown upon a roof. Why, it makes my sides ache with laughter to see them. By the bye, I hear that Enya’s wife, Lady Kaoyo, has not yet given an answer to my lord. Do not take it to heart. She is fair, but I do not fancy her. What, between a fellow like Enya and the most powerful Lord Moronao..........