Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900

by Shirane, Haruo, ed.

  CHANTER (sings): He unsheathes the sword, but his wife grabs the handle.

  [WIFE]: Now, now, Gappō, you’ve got it all wrong. Does your honor really demand her death, even though she’s been forgiven by her husband? Let’s try to talk some sense into her, make her forget Lord Shuntoku. Let’s have her become a nun. No matter what the crime, it’s a priest’s duty to save a criminal. If she abandons the world, it’s the same as death, and your honor will remain unblemished.

  CHANTER: She points to the back room; trying to calm Gappō, she moves close to Tamate.

  [WIFE] (to Tamate): I understand your feelings, but no matter how much you love him, it’ll never work. You must give him up and become a nun. You’re barely twenty, a young girl, bright and pretty. I want to save you. That’s all. That’s why I want you to enter a convent, to leave the world in the blossom of youth. Your fate—to think that the beautiful black hair that I once combed, that should be cherished all your life. . . .

  CHANTER: She breaks down in tears, hugging her daughter. Tamate jumps back, her expression changed.

  [TAMATE]: What ridiculous talk! I’ll never become a nun, never! Do you think I’d cut off the hair that I’ve spent so much time combing into a fine sheen? No, I’m going to get rid of my samurai coiffure and dress fashionably like the ladies of the pleasure quarters. Then when I meet Shuntoku, he’ll fall for me. Don’t you dare mention nuns or monks to me.

  CHANTER (sings): Determined as ever in love.

  [GAPPŌ]: She’ll never change. I can’t bear it any longer!

  CHANTER: But again his wife intervenes.

  [WIFE]: You have every right to be angry, but just let me have her for an hour or two. I’ll get her to turn over a new leaf and forget him. All these years of our marriage—it’s my only request. Please, let me have this one chance.

  CHANTER (sings): Gappō can hardly refuse her earnest plea and leaves the room without looking back. His wife takes the stubborn Tamate by the hand and forcefully leads her into the backroom.

  Poor Shuntoku, a blind bird in flight, is unable to see even the light of the moon. His constant guide is Lady Asaka, who quietly leads him out from the next room.

  [ASAKA] (to Shuntoku): Hearing all this has convinced me that you can’t stay here even a moment longer. We must leave immediately.

  CHANTER: Shuntoku replies.

  [SHUNTOKU]: I haven’t been able to escape the sins of my past lives. My mother’s feelings, now so extreme, also must be due to karma. If she were to see me now, blind and disfigured, her infatuation would surely end. Take me to her. Then when Irihei gets here, we’ll escape with him.

  CHANTER: Irihei listens from outside the door.

  [IRIHEI]: Yes sir, your servant has heard everything. If the villagers find out that you’re here, word may get out to your enemies. You must leave immediately to avoid danger.

  CHANTER: But as he tries to hurry the couple out, Tamate rushes in.

  [TAMATE]: Oh, how wonderful to see you, dear Shuntoku! I’ve struggled through every imaginable trouble, with every thought of finding you. My effort has finally been rewarded. I’m happy to see that you’re well.

  CHANTER: She hugs him, but he pushes her aside.

  [SHUNTOKU]: Mother, please control yourself. You know that it’s against the law for members of the same family to marry. Even more when it’s parent and child! If I were to agree, I would be adding more sins to those from my past. Can’t you see this wretched body, disfigured and blind in both eyes? Is this what you call caring for me? Don’t you know what shame means?

  CHANTER: Bitter tears have no effect on Tamate.

  [TAMATE]: Ahh . . . what foolish things you say. Your miserable condition is all my doing. I’m not the least bothered by your awful figure. Since I was responsible for that, the more I think of your suffering, the deeper my love grows. I want you more than ever.

  [SHUNTOKU]: Wha . . . what do you mean my misfortune is your responsibility?

  [TAMATE]: About that . . . last winter at the Sumiyoshi Shrine, when I had you drink saké from this abalone shell—it was really poison to disfigure you. The saké that I drank was all right, but yours wasn’t. I was jealous. I hated your face because you had eyes only for Lady Asaka and none for me. After you fled the castle saying you’d choose a life of suffering as penance for past sins, I was delighted and followed you. Seeking you along unknown roads, I’ve held this shell next to my heart to remember you. How heartless of you not to return my love, not to be the other half of this shell!

  CHANTER (sings): She throws herself at his knees, weeping. Although he is angry, Shuntoku is constrained by filial duty. He does not show any bitterness; he only weeps, accepting everything as fate. But Lady Asaka, without a tear, bursts out angrily:

  [ASAKA]: The more I hear, the more awful it seems. How horrid! Too horrible! How could you destroy his jewel-like face? You’ve gone too far, lusting after your child. There’s is a limit to depravity. Restore his face!

  CHANTER (sings): Anger shatters her reserve. Tamate jumps up in fury.

  [TAMATE]: Lost in the dark depths of love, I have no ears for morality or reason. Do you think I’d let Shuntoku run away with you? I’ll never let you block my love. Get in my way, and I’ll kick you to death!

  CHANTER: She grasps Shuntoku’s hand. (Tamate seductively cuddles up to Shuntoku, her hand on his lap, directly in front of Asaka.)

  [SHUNTOKU]: How disgusting! (Asaka rushes to push Tamate away from Shuntoku. Tamate erupts into a mad fury, her hair hanging loose and her outer kimono falling off her shoulders. She throws Asaka aside and grabs Shuntoku. The shamisen music is forceful as the two women fight. Tamate pins Asaka down and then drags her around the room.)

  CHANTER: Shuntoku tries to throw off Tamate, but she prevents him from escaping. Lady Asaka tries to intervene, but Tamate kicks her aside, her angry eyes now fiery plums. Her disheveled hair flies about like willow branches in the wind. Jealousy drives her to the edge of madness as she pummels Asaka. Irihei waits outside in a cold sweat. Gappō, unable to restrain himself any longer, rushes in with his sword in hand, grabs her hair, and stabs her in the side with an icy blade. As Tamate cries out in pain, Irihei comes running in. Both Shuntoku and Asaka are in shock.

  [SHUNTOKU]: For him to kill my mother—what a cruel fate! He weeps as Gappō’s wife holds Tamate in her arms.

  [WIFE] (to Tamate): This was all your own doing—the pain must be awful!

  CHANTER: They all join in lamenting her death. Gappō’s face shows his anger, his body taut with emotion. (Angry and accusatory, Gappō keeps the blade in Tamate’s side.)

  [GAPPŌ] (to his wife): Dear, what are you wailing about? You should be weeping that we’ve neglected our duty to Tamate’s husband and to Lord Shuntoku and Lady Asaka. How can you still think of her as your child—this evil woman, this lustful woman? I was so angry I couldn’t bear it any longer. (Gappō regrets his action, realizing that he has broken his priestly vow against violence. The shamisen rhythms bring the emotion of the scene to a crescendo.) For ten years this hand hasn’t harmed a flea—and then for it to kill my own child! How, how could a priest do such a thing, even out of duty to the world! You devil—not only have you violated Buddha’s teachings, but you’re dragging me to hell with you. Fiend!

  CHANTER: His fists tighten with anger. Tamate pushes him back.

  [TAMATE]: You’re right, Father, you’re right. You should hate me. But there’s a reason for all this. Don’t pull out the sword. I want to speak.

  CHANTER: She gasps, trying to catch her breath. (Tamate, in a long emotional appeal, struggles to convince the others of the hidden truth behind her actions.)

  [TAMATE]: It’s because of Jirō, Shuntoku’s half brother. He’s older than Shuntoku and couldn’t accept Shuntoku as the rightful heir to my husband. His anger led him to join with Tsuboi Heima in a plan to kill his brother. My suspicions were confirmed when I overheard their plot. I felt it was my duty as stepmother to save him. I thought that if Shuntoku
did not succeed his father, then Jirō’s anger would eventually subside, and Shuntoku’s life would be spared. So I decided to feign a lecherous infatuation. I got Shuntoku to drink the poisoned saké and tried to get him to run off with me. I thought if he were sick and disfigured, he wouldn’t be killed. It was all a ploy; it wasn’t passion. Proof of my intentions is in the abalone shell that I used for a saké cup when pledging my love. Although Shuntoku couldn’t know the maternal love hidden in my heart, I fulfilled my duty as stepmother. But my husband Takayasu’s scorn for me as a low, beastly woman will keep me from salvation in the afterlife.

  CHANTER: Gappō continues to sneer at her words.

  [GAPPŌ]: If you were so sure of Jirō’s plot, why didn’t you just tell Lord Takayasu? One word would have stopped the need for poison or lechery. A good story, but don’t expect your father to believe that now! (Tamate begs her father to forgive her. His acceptance of her pleas is emotionally brought to a peak through the singing and shamisen accompaniment.)

  [TAMATE]: No, no, Father, you’ve got me wrong. If I had told my husband, an honest man, his anger would surely have forced Jirō to commit seppuku, or he would have simply killed him. Both Jirō and Shuntoku are my stepsons. If I took sides and informed on one of them, causing his death, it would bring me shame in society. Furthermore, what would Takayasu think of his children? Considering everything, I decided to save both lives and give up my own, becoming an evil adulterer and dying. I hoped to repay my husband’s love by saving his children.

  CHANTER: Her explanation begins to make some sense, but Gappō is still not convinced.

  [GAPPŌ] (to Tamate): But dear, if those were your true intentions, why did you leave home and follow Lord Shuntoku? I don’t understand that!

  [TAMATE]: Your doubts are reasonable, but if I didn’t chase after him, his horrible condition would never be cured.

  CHANTER: Irihei, finding her words strange, interrupts.

  [IRIHEI]: Wha . . . what are you saying? If you stayed with him, he’d be healed?

  Tamate and her father, Gappō. (Photograph courtesy of Barbara Curtis Adachi Collection, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University)

  [TAMATE]: Yes. I told the pharmacist about my plans when I went to buy some poison. I asked how any disfiguring effect could be reversed. He said that since it would not be a birth defect, there was an antidote for the poison. The blood taken from the liver of a living woman born in the year, month, day, and hour of the tiger and served to the person in the same cup as the poison would instantly restore his health. How happy I was to find that I could save him! That’s why I’ve carried this shell with me, to fulfill my plan. Dear Father, do you still doubt me?

  [GAPPŌ]: No, no, no more. Since your birth was exactly at the times of the tiger, you had him drink the poison, knowing that you could save him later by giving up your life?

  [TAMATE]: Yes, yes.

  [GAPPŌ]: Such bravery! Such deeds! Daughter, say no more. Please forgive me, forgive me. In all of China, India, or Japan there’s no woman as virtuous as you are. And yet I called you an evil beast and cruelly killed you. I’m a stubborn idiot. Forgive, please forgive me.

  CHANTER: He collapses, weeping tears of regret. Having listened to Tamate’s tale, Shuntoku seeks out and grasps her hand in gratitude.

  [SHUNTOKU]: You have gone far beyond the duty of a stepmother to her son. Your compassion makes you my real parent, the savior of my life. I will never be able to express enough gratitude. I could never repay you even if my body were torn into a hundred, a thousand, pieces. Thank you, thank you.

  CHANTER: He bows his head to the floor.

  [ASAKA]: I never dreamed that you had such intentions. How awful to have called you such terrible names. Please forgive me.

  CHANTER: She clasps her hands in apology.

  [IRIHEI]: A virtuous woman! How harsh, pitiful that you had to suffer such abuse to the end.

  CHANTER: He joins the others in weeping. Tamate’s mother wails uncontrollably.

  [WIFE]: It’s true that my child was born in the year, month, day, and hour of the tiger. Since they say that one should never tell anyone of such a birth, we never dared to mention it to anyone outside the family. Pressed by duty, my child turned against herself and became the tiger of her own destruction. Was it her misfortune to be born at such a fateful moment?

  CHANTER: All sympathize with her grief. Tears flow like the famous springs of Ausaka and Masui. The wounded Tamate lifts her head.

  [TAMATE]: I’ve been ready to die for a long time, but your grief at my passing will only cause my spirit to wander after death. Shuntoku, I want you to report all this to my husband. If he knows and understands the real reasons for my wantonness, I will have no more regrets. As a reward for sacrificing my life, please beg your father to pardon Jirō. You must promise me that.

  [SHUNTOKU]: No, no, you must recover and live on. Your words are too kind. If you die for your child, I will fear heaven’s wrath.

  [TAMATE]: Your words are kind; thank you, but this deep wound will be my end. I’ve wanted to die for some time. If you believe you’ve caused your parent’s death, it will weigh down my soul in the next life. I am not your mother. I am the maidservant Tamate and am giving up my life for my lord. It will bring fame to this samurai house. Don’t grieve over me. Father, cut here below my breast bone and take some blood from my liver. Hurry and put it into the shell, quick!

  CHANTER: She gasps in pain.

  [GAPPŌ]: I was able to stab you in a fit of anger, but how can I cut my precious daughter’s flesh now! No . . . this is a task for a younger, steadier hand. Irihei, can you do it?

  [IRIHEI]: An awful request. I’d do anything to save my master Lord Shuntoku, but how can I stab Lady Tamate? Don’t make me do it . . . please.

  [TAMATE]: You are too kind. I won’t ask anyone.

  CHANTER: She readies her dagger, but Gappō intercedes.

  [GAPPŌ]: Now, please wait, a moment, dear. While you’re still alive, please pray to be reborn on the lotus. May the power of Buddha lead you to rebirth in paradise, carried along by our prayers. Let’s form a circle, holding the prayer beads. (Tamate and Shuntoku are encircled by a large string of prayer beads, which the others hold up. Tamate prepares to extract the blood from her liver. Tamate slides up to Shuntoku’s lap just as before, but this time to offer farewell.)

  Tamate and Shuntoku. (Photograph courtesy of Barbara Curtis Adachi Collection, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University)

  CHANTER: Tamate sits up in the middle of the circle, Shuntoku near her knees, the sword in her right hand, the shell in her left. Off to the side her father chants a Buddhist sutra while ringing a prayer bell. Her mother’s tearful eyes remain shut. Earlier they had thought their child was dead and had held a memorial service; now after discovering that she was alive and well, she must disappear with their prayers, like the morning dew. (Tamate strikes a grand pose, with dagger in hand. Gappō strikes the prayer bell. Tamate weakens and collapses, but then, riding the rhythms of the shamisen, she stands again and hugs her father in an emotional farewell. Tamate’s mother holds up Tamate’s funeral tablet and then embraces her daughter. Tamate and her mother strike a pose during a dancelike sequence. Tamate hugs Shuntoku in a final farewell.)

  [ALL] (sing): Hail Amida Buddha, hail Amida Buddha.

  CHANTER (sings): Tamate stabs herself, letting the blood flow into the cup. Her hand shaking, she passes it to Shuntoku. (To the quick rhythms of shamisen music, Tamate drains blood into the shell for Shuntoku to drink.)

  [SHUNTOKU]: I take this gift of a mother’s incomparable love.

  CHANTER: In one gulp he drains the cup. Remarkably, both his eyes open, and in an instant, the disfigurements disappear; his face blossoms like a flower. Tamate smiles painfully to see his face.

  [TAMATE]: It’s worked. (Tamate rejoices to see Shuntoku’s beautiful face restored.)

  CHANTER: All rejoice. Tamate suffers the four pains and the eight sufferings as she
approaches her end. The prayer bell rings louder. (Tamate collapses. Her parents weep over her body, and the others break down into tears.)

  [ALL] (sing): Praise to Amida . . .

  CHANTER (sings): They chant loudly that her virtue will bring her rebirth in paradise, clinging to her body, wailing tears of grief and gratitude, which flow like waves into the garden. Tamate’s mother, restraining her tears, flings back her white hair. She cuts a lock of her daughter’s hair, making the dead woman a nun. Lord Shuntoku holds back his tears.

  [SHUNTOKU]: My stepmother’s compassion was as wide and deep as that of the Buddha. To repay her, if only in part, I’ll build a temple in this area after I succeed my father. I will have a nun become the head of the temple. And since my stepmother was a model of womanly virtue, with an unclouded heart, her virtue will live on, reflected in the moonlight on the clear waters of the bay. I’ll call it Gekkō-ji, Temple of the Moonlit Bay!

  CHANTER (sings): Shuntoku’s words have come true, and the temple still stands today. In the sound of its bell and sutra chanting can still be heard the echoes of sorrows long past. Gappō, dedicating his life to the spread of Buddhism, says: