[To his mistress]
But further on we should inquire again
If you will honourably now proceed.
KAGEKIYO
She who has just been here—Why! is she not
The very child of this selfsame blind man?
Once, very long ago, at Atsuta
I met a woman, and this child I got.
It was a girl,[35] and so I trusted her
To Kamegaegatsu’s châtelaine.
Now grieving parent meets with child estranged;
She, speaking to her father, knows it not.
CHORUS
Her form unseen, although I hear her voice,
How sad my blindness is! Without a word
I let her pass. And yet such action is
Due truly to the bond of parent’s love,
Due truly to the bond of parent’s love.
SERVANT
How now, you there! Art thou a villager?
VILLAGER
And to the Villager what hast thou then
Of honourable business?