Beholding the Youth sweeping the petals, the PRIEST asks him if he is the flower keeper. To this the YOUTH replies in the affirmative, saying that he serves the Goddess of the Temple and that as he always sweeps the petals in the season he may be looked on as the flower keeper, or at any rate as one in the service of the Temple.
The PRIEST then asks him to relate minutely the history of the Temple. Into this narrative the Youth plunges directly, stating that the Temple was built in the second year of Daido[48] and founded by the wish of Tamuramaru of Sakanoue. He continues to relate that there was once a priest called Kenshin who had a great desire to behold the real form of Kannon, and after his prayer he once saw a golden-coloured light on the upper stream of the river Kotsu. He followed it and found an old man, who said that he was Gyoe-Koji and told Kenshin to discover a patron who would found a magnificent temple. But this so-called Gyoe-Koji was really Kannon herself, and Tamuramaru was the patron of whom she spoke. The CHORUS then speaks, for the Youth, of the universal benevolence of Kannon, symbolised by her thousand merciful hands, every one of which is ready to be extended to those in need, in answer to their prayers.
The PRIEST declares that he has met an interesting person, and asks for further information about the famous places around, questioning the Youth about one to the south, where a mound is to be seen, and then one to the north, whence an evening bell is heard. The YOUTH, after replying that the one is the Seikan Temple and the other the Temple of Washinowo, both famous in poetry, calls the attention of the Priest to the moon rising from behind the Otowa mountain, and observes that as the moon casts its peaceful light upon the cherry blossoms it is a sight truly worth seeing.
The PRIEST says—
This is a season to be prized indeed,
This passing moment of a heartless Time
That flies so swiftly in the midst of Spring.
The YOUTH and the PRIEST both repeat: “A precious moment indeed!” Then together they recite an old poem: “As precious as a thousand pieces of gold is one moment of a spring evening with flowers of pure perfume and the moon of silver brightness,” the YOUTH adding, “Ay, more precious still is this very moment!”
The CHORUS chants in further praise of the flowers in the Temple ground—
The moon between the cherry trees shines clear
And petals softly falling in the breeze
Dance in the air like gleaming flakes of snow
And make our hearts dance with them, light and glad.
A second chant of the CHORUS enlarges on the beauty of the flowers, the greenness of foliage, the softness of the breeze and the charm of the waterfall of Otowa, and concludes by referring once more to the merciful light of the Goddess of the Temple, which is extended even to inanimate objects, such as trees, and which accounts for the exquisite scenery of the surroundings.
The CHORUS then asks (for the Priest) the name of the Youth, who does not appear to be an ordinary person. To this the YOUTH replies: “A nameless man am I, but if thou wishest to know who I am, observe where I am going.” The CHORUS explains that the Youth then opens the door of the Shrine of Tamuramaru, which is brightly lit by the moon, and disappears within.