THE WAKI A priest
THE SHITE, OR HERO Ghost of the lover
TSURE Ghost of the woman; they have both been long dead, and have not yet been united.
CHORUS
The 'Nishikigi' are wands used as a love charm.
'Hosonuno' is the name of a local cloth which the woman weaves.
NISHIKIGI
First Part
WAKI There never was anybody heard of Mount Shinobu but had a kindly feeling for it; so I, like any other priest that might want to know a little bit about each one of the provinces, may as well be walking up here along the much travelled road.
I have not yet been about the east country, but now I have set my mind to go as far as the earth goes; and why shouldn't I, after all? seeing that I go about with my heart set upon no particular place whatsoever, and with no other man's flag in my hand, no more than a cloud has. It is a flag of the night I see coming down upon me. I wonder now, would the sea be that way, or the little place Kefu that they say is stuck down against it?