S H O C H I K U

KABUKI PLAY

"KIICHI-HOGEN SANRYAKU-NO-MAKI"

"KIKUBATAKE"

TO BE PRESENTED BY THE KIKUGORO AND BAIGYOKU

TROUPE AT THE TOKYO THEATRE IN NOV. 1946.

SYNOPSIS

This play was put on the stage f r equ en t ly from two reasons.

F i r s t l y , th is p lay is famous fo r the beauty o f i t ' s scenes among

the Kabuki p la ys . Characters in b e a u t i fu l costume act in the

inner garden of a dai myo (a f e uda l lo rd ) where many b e a u t i fu l

chrysanthemums are blossoming. Secondly, each a c to r or ac tress

in th is p lay is conspicuous in his or her r o l e , so that spectators

can appreciate each c h a ra c t e r i s t i c feature very w e l l .

Ushiwaka Minamoto goes in to se rv ic e o f K i i c h i - Hogen, the

forme r r e ta in e r o f the Genj i , d isgu is ing himse l f as a servant

Torazo . M inazuru-hime, the daughter o f K i i c h i , f i nds out that

Torazo i s Ushiwaka and loves him. Ushiwaka t r i e s to take out the

Rikuto Sanryaku (the secret book), which i s cherished in the

treasure-house o f Ki i chi-Hogen together w ith Minazuru-hime and

Chienai,

There a r e many b e a u t i fu l chrysanthemums a l l over the s t a g e .

At the r i g h t part o f the stage there i s a door made o f branches.

About the middle o f the passage lead ing to the stage, there i s

another door made o f branches. A t the f r o n t part of the s tage ,

there i s a bamboo bench, on which Chienai, a servant, s i t s . He

i s p u l l i n g h is beard. A bamboo broom is put on the ground near

him. Curta in draws up with a song o f ho to . (one o f the Japanese

music instruments.)

Song: " In the garden of famous. Yoshioka-Ki ich ihogen ’ s

mansion a t Imadegawa, a servant i s tak ing rest a f t e r

f in ish ed his work o f sweeping. There comes out

Rikusuke and Sampe i whose works are to sweep the

f r o n t garden o f the entrance ."

(There comes out servants Rikusuke and Samp e i . )

Rikusuke: Chienai , have you f in ish ed sweeping o f the inner garden?

Sampei: You must have been pu l l ing your beard. I ’ m surprised

to f in d that you have not yet f i nished the sweeping.

Rikusuke: Tankai-sama w i l l be coming here soon and sure ly scold

you.

Sampei: That ’ s r i g h t . Do you r e a l i z e that you may be scolded

by our merc i fu l Tankai-sama?

Ch i e n a i : Bother i t ! Of course i t ’ s my duty to clean up the

entrance o f the house, but the master doesn’ t order me

to sweep the inner garden and my master i s K i ich i-hogen-

sama, not Tankai-sama.

- 2 -

SCENE:

Chienai: No , no knowledge at a l l , but I s i mp ly f e e l l i k e

laughing at i t .

Samp e i : I f you say you know nothing o f i t , you can' t

be a servant o f the au thor i ty o f the s t ra te g y .

Rikusuke: A11 r i g h t , come on! We ’ l l teach you.

Ch i e n a i : What are you doing with me?

Rikusuke: You s h a l l know what s t ra tegy i s ,

(Rikusuke and S ampei spr ing on Ch ie n a i . But he

tw is ts them down.)

Rikusuke: Oh! p a in f u l !

Sampei: Help me!

Ch i e n a i : You can ’ t be the servants o f the a u t h o r i t y !

(He throws them down. They spring at him once more.

But at th is moment maids appear from the garden,

so they run away.)

R: You f o o l ! You see that Tankei-sama i s the No . 1.

S :

d i s c ip l e o f our master don’ t you?

Moreover i t ' s said that Tankai-sama i s go ing to

marry wi t h the daughter, Minazuru-sama and to succeed

to the headship o f the fam i ly .

R: As such you’ d be t te r render s p e c ia l se rv ice to Tankai-

sama!

Sampei: Do you understand? Fo o l !

Ch i e n a i : What a nonsense you are t a lk in g , comparing our great

master with such a poor f e l low l i k e Tankai-sama!

Rikusuke:

Ch i e n a i :

I f you can laugh a t i t , you must have known something

about war s t ra tegy , mustn’ t you?

What b o a s t fu l f e l l o w s t h e y a r e !Gh iena i :

- 3 -

Maids:

Ch ie n a i :

Ma i d s :

Ch ie n a i :

K i i c h i :

( Two maids come out o f the door at the upper-stage

with a cushion and a toba cco - t ra y .)

Chienai-dono ! The master w i l l be coming here soon.

So take the bench near to the f low er -bed and put th is

cushion and tobacco-tray there as usual.

C e r ta in ly . Oh, I ’ ve f in ished the sweeping just

in t ime. The master w i l l s i t on th is bench.

Before that I ’ d l i k e t o s i t on. (He i s to s i t on, but

r e f r a in s from i t . ) But i f I dared, I w i l l be

punished by Heaven. Oh, I ' v e thought o f a good idea.

(He puts a sheet o f t o i l e t - p a p e r on the cushion.)

Oh , how com fo r tab le ! But th is warm and comfortable

cushion cannot p ro tec t the master from the d isease .

I ’ m lucky enough to have been brought up with nothing

prov ided .

Chienai-dono. The master w i l l come here soon.

Hurry up!

I 'm sorry .

(He hides h imsel f behind the hedge. )

(Yosh ioka-K i ichi-Hogen appears with many maids

from the door at the upper-s tage . He wishes t o

f o r g e t h i s i l l n e s s by see ing the b eau t i fu l ,

blossoming chrysanthemums. )

Oh, how b e a u t i fu l ! I apprec ia te them most as they

are the l a s t blossoming f lowers o f the year ,

(He walks through the f lower-garden and s i t s down

on the bench in high s p i r i t s . )

Chienai sweeps the f lower-garden everyday, doesn ’ t

he?

- 4 -

- 5 -

Ma i d s : Yes, s i r .

Ki i c h i : Ca l l him up.

Ma i d s : Yes, s i r . Chienai-dono, the master wants to see you.

Chienai-dono, come at once !

Ch ie n a i : I ’ m coming , s i r .

(He comes o u t . )

Maids: Here comes Chienai-dono, master.

Ki i c h i : Chienai, you’ ve swept very w e l l in the f lower-garden,

but under those pine and maple t r e e s , many f a l l e n - l e a v e s

are l e f t . I don’ t think you have l e f t them purposely,

th inking that the whole garden would be f i n e r w ith them.

Do you think they would be remained unnoticed?

You should never be an eye -servan t . Do you understand?

Chienai: Oh, you’ ve misunderstood me, master. A s I was brought

up in Kumano mountain, I ’ m not r e f in ed .

But I can proudly say that I ’ m not an eye -se rvan t ,

Once I heard that some f a l l e n - l e a v e s in the garden

are regarded as dust, while p i l e s o f f a l l e n - l e a v e s

under t r e e s look t a s t e fu l . So I ’ ve prac t ised that saying.

K i i c h i : Oh, how c le v e r you a r e ! Come Ch i e n a i , I wonder why

you are named Ch i e n a i . ( Chienai means no knowledge in

Japanese.) Were you brought up at Kumano?

Ch i e n a i : Yes, s i r .

K i i c h i : I have two brothers ca l l ed On i j i r o and Onisanta at

Kumano.

Ch iena i : Master, were you born at Kumano?

K i i c h i : No; we, brothers were born in Kyo to . Both my fa ther

and I were the samurais (w arr io rs ) served fo r the

Genj i . But as our master Yoshitomo’ s fam i ly were

dismembered in to two and disputed at that time,

/

Ch ie n a i :

K i i c h i :

Song:

- 6

my fa th e r thoug ht that the dec l ine of the Genj i would

soon come. As such he made up h is mind to send

s e c r e t l y h is two l i t t l e boys o f three and f i v e years

old with th e i r mother to Kurama Mountain in order to

l e t them serve the Genji some day. They a r e my younger

br o thers , O n i j i r o and Onisanta . On the other hand,

he ordered me to l i v e long and hand over the secret

book o f w ar-s tra tegy to the one o f the Genii

blood who is worthy of the master. And fa ther h imse l f

died from the anger a t the dispute w ith in the Genj i

fam i ly . Oh, I ’ ve to ld you th is s tory in v o lu n ta r i l y .

You should never t e l l th is to others .

(Chienai wishes to confess that he h imse l f i s

Onisanta-Kiyosumi , but r e f r a in s from i t . )

I deeply sympathize with you. Ma s te r , what w i l l you

do i f your brothers appear just now be fore you c la im ing

that they are r ea l On i j i r o and Onisanta?

I f they are aga inst the Hei ke accord ing to our f a t h e r 's

w i l l , I ' l l bound them up and submit them to K iyomori-ko.

For K i yomori-ko i s the only master f o r me now. Oh,

I won’ t say any more about th i s . You’ d be t te r stop

asking me further and look at these f lo w e rs . We l l ,

now I ’ d l ik e t o smoke.

(Maid brings the tobacco- tray and he smokes)

Ushiwakama ru , the eighth son o f Yoshitomo, has studied

the w ar -s t ra tegy and fenc in g under the tu i t io n o f

Tokobo at Mt . Kurama f o r s ix teen years . He wishes to

r e e s ta b l i sh the Genj i fam i ly and now i s in K i i c h i ’ s

mansion as one o f his servants . He c a l l s h imse l f

Torazo .

Ushiwaka:

Maid:

K i i ch i :

Ushiwaka:

K i i ch i :

Ch i e n a i :

K i i ch i :

Ch ienai :

K i i c h i :

- 7 -

(Ushiwaka d isgu ised him se l f in servant costume

appears with a l e t t e r - b o x in h is hand . )

I ’ m Torazo. P lease send in my name to the master .

Ma s te r , Torazo has come back.

Torazo alone? I wonder why my daughter has not

yet come back with him. I ’ m anxious t o know the

reason. Wh a t ' s the matter?

The pr incess ordered me to t e l l you the f o l lo w in g

message a f t e r she saw Kiyomori-ko.

I have to c a l l on Shigemori-ko at once. As I ’ m

a f ra id i f my fa ther i s anxious about me, I ’ l l send

back Torazo with th is message. K iyomori-ko wishes

you to submit the secre t book o f the Genj i to him,

though you are i l l . as f o r O n i j i r o and Onisanta,

as they are your r e l a t i v e s l a t e r he w i l l send Tankai

to catch them. He w i l l in v e s t i g a t e them s t r i c t l y . "

In v e s t ig a t e O n i j i ro and Onisanta, eh? (He is very

much su rp r ised.)

Torazo, do you say that he w i l l in v e s t ig a t e O n i j i ro

and Onisanta , our master 's brothers? I wonder why.

Oh, I see , you' ve mistaken K i t s u j i and K itsuna i ,

g o ld - s e l l e r s , who are h igh ly spoken in Kyoto now f o r

O n i j i r o and Onisanta , haven’ t you?' I see, I see.

No, no, Torazo has not mistaken. I heard that my

brothers were h e lping the Genj i to reconstruct the

fam i ly . But as I have no connection with i t a t a l l ,

I don 't care, anyhow I cannot f o r g i v e Torazo.

Come, Chienai ! Beat Torazo with th is s t i c k !

What?

Beat out Torazo with th is .

*

- 8 -

Ch i e n a i : Why?

K i i c h i : Why? Don't you understand? Every servant has his

own duty. Torazo should have kept my dau gh te r ' s

f o o t - g e a r s , and yet he worked as a messenger f o r g e t t in g

his own duty. Why d id n ' t he go to Rokuhara

Shigem or i-ko ' s mansion, w ith my daughter? When

you think o f th is you see Torazo 's behavior o f to-day

is e n t i r e l y wrong. Or am I wrong?

Ch iena i : Yes, you 're r i g h t , ma s t e r . But please f o r g i v e him

fo r he i s too young to no t ice that p o in t . I say,

Torazo, you must come up here and beg the master 's

pardon. I beg your pardon f o r him. I 'm more than

gr a t e f u l i f you f o r g i v e him.

K i ic h i ; No, I won't f o r g i v e him. Beat him a t on ce !

Chienai: Yes.

(He takes up the s t i c k but dares not to beat him.)

Kiichi: Beat him at once !

Chienai: Yes.

Ki i c h i : Why don 't you beat him?

Ch ie n a i : W e l l ------

Ki i c h i : Dare you to d isobey my order?

chienai: No, not at a l l .

K i i c h i : Then beat him at once.

C h ien a i : Ye s .

Ki i c h i : Do i t at o n c e ------- Give the s t ick t o me.

Chienai: Yes.

Ki i c h i : I say you must g ive the s t i c k to me.

(Just when he holds the s t i c k a l o f t , Minazuru-hime

app ea rs . )

Minazuru: Wai t a moment! (She c l in gs to h im .)

He has just done wha t I o r d e r e d to do .

I cannot stand as you scold him so much.

See, Torazo i s a lso begging your pardon.

So please f o r give him, Father.

K i i c h i : No, t h i s i s no matter with you. Loose y o u rs e l f !

Minazuru: No, I won’ t . P lease f o r g i v e him.

K i i c h i : No, I can’ t f o r g i v e him. Go away I ’ l l -----

Minazuru: P le a s e , f a th e r !

( A maid appears hur r i ed l y . )

Maid: Master !

Ki i ch i : Wh a t ’ s the matter?

Maid: Here comes Kasahara- Tankai-sama to ta lk w ith you

something about Kiyomori-ko ’ s order .

Ki i c h i : Show him her e.

Ma i d : Yes, s i r .

(She hurries away, Kasahara-Tankai appears . )

Tankai: I heard that you were i l l . But I ’ m glad to f in d

you l o ok b e t t e r . What happened?

Kiichi: One o f my servants has done wrong, so I ’ m now going

to beat him.

Tankai: That’ s i t ! You are i l l and you have no h e i r . A nd

your only c h i ld , Min azuru-hime i s a fem a le . S o your

servants become d isobed ien t . Why don’ t you k i l l

those who are impudent? By the way, I ’ ve come here by

the order o f Kiyomori-ko. I wish to t a l k with you s e c r e t l y

Ki i c h i : I ’ m your teacher and you are my pupi l , but th is is

a p r iva te matter. Since you’ ve come here by the

order o f K iyomori-ko, you are the envoy o f my master.

- 9 -

Ma i d s :

K i i ch i :

Minazuru:

Ki i c h i :

Tankai:

K i i c h i :

Tankai:

K i i c h i :

Tankai:

Ki i c h i :

Ushiwaka:

Chienai:

W i l l you go in to the house? Now, maids,

you must show him in to the room.

C er ta in ly , s i r .

W e l l , I ' l l dismiss both o f you.

W hat? Do you mean that both o f them ------?

You needn’ t i n t e r f e r e w ith me. Now both o f you

sha l l go away at once!

Yes, t h a t ’ s a good idea l They look very impudent.

I ’ d ra th e r shoot th e m ----

Why! S ince I ’ ve dismissed them, you needn’ t th ink

o f them any more.

Bu t ----

They’ re not your servants .

B u t ----

You shouldn 't be meddlesome. Now , Minazuru,

Come w ith us.

(They a l l go out o f the garden through the door a t

the upper stage and disappear in to the gre enroom.

Chienai (Onisanta ) and Torazo (Ushiwaka)

are l e f t behind.)

Onisanta! For wha t w e ’ ve d isgu ised ourse lves and

served here? Why d id n ' t you beat me when you were ordered

by Ki i c h i t o do so? Even i f I was beaten by you, I don 't

care at a l l . We can take a chance to get the secret

book only by s tay ing here . When s h a l l we be able to

r e a l i z e our wish since we are dismissed?

(He i s i r r i t a b l e and looks d isappo in ted . )

I t ' s q u i t e natural that you are so much d isappoin ted .

I not iced i t a t that time, but how can I beat you?

Anyway, now I beg your pardon that I d idn ’ t beat you.

- 10 -

- 11 -

Ushiwaka:

Ch i e n a i :

Ushiwaka:

Ch ienai :

Ch ie n a i :

Ushiwaka:

Ch ie n a i :

Ushiwaka:

Chie n a i :

W e l l , th e re ’ s ju s t i c e in what you’ ve s a i d !

You are r i g h t , too.

When we think o f how the Genji i s u n fo r tu n a t e ------

we can’ t help cursing the des t ing .

(They look each other and lament.)

By the way, Kiyomori wants to have the sec re t book

tomorrow and at the same time l e t s Tankai in v es t ig a te

O n i j i ro and Onisanta . And that Tankai is now t a lk in g

with Ki i c h i in the room s e c r e t l y ! I ’ m sure they are

ta lk in g on me. We can’ t id le away the time in

lamenting . L e t ’ s think over the r e l i e f measure.

I t ’ s too la t e to think th is and th a t . I know the ins ide

o f the treasure-house where the sec re t book i s cherished.

L e t ’ s s t e a l in to i t to take back the boo k and run away.

You must watch on a l l s ides and i f you f in d anyone against

us, you should k i l l him. Don’ t r e f r a in from i t , i f he

is Tankai or Ki i c h i . D o you understand?

Your idea is good. B u t as K i i c h i i s my e lder brother,

I hope you’ l l allow me not to k i l l him.

a man o f courage dares to k i l l even h is fa th e r

or brothers f o r ju s t i c e . I ’ m sure you know i t w e l l - - -

We l l , I see, you are go ing to dr ive away th is Ushiwaka

s e c r e t l y consult ing with your brother K i i c h i ,

aren ' t you?

Oh, you’ ve misunderstood me. I f K i ich i knew that

I ’ m his brother, I can k i l l him. I t ’ s not

r i g h t to k i l l him with my hand when he doesn ’ t know

that I ’ m his brother Santa. I ’ l l s t e a l in to the

treasure-house, so I wish you to keep guard.

Do you agree w ith me?

Ushiwaka: Indeed, you're right.

(W hile they are consulting, Minazuru-hime stealthily

appears behind them and is much surprised listening it.)

M inazuru: Torazo, torazo! Both of you are still here. Torazo!

Ushiwaka: Yes.

Minazuru: A re you going to take leave?

Chienai: Though both Torazo and I have been dismissed by the

master, we don’t want to go out. W i l l you kindly

persuade your father so that we may stay here, please?

Come! Torazo, you should ask for the kind consideration

of Her Ladyship.

Ushiwaka: If you kindly beg your father to forgive us.

Both: How glad we are!

M inazuru: Certainly it's easy for me, but do you really wish

me to do so?

Chienai: Yes, of course, ----

Minazuru: I don’t ask you. Torazo, do you really w i s h ---- ?

Chienai: Torazo! Why d o n ’t you answer?

U: Yes, if you please.

C: Please do for him, as he wishes earnestly.

M : W ell, I will, but in return y o u ---- .

Chienai: W hat?

M: That.

C : That?

M : That you ---

C : That he?

M: That y o u ---I

- 12 -

- 13 -

Chienai: W e l l , I see. Torazo! Her Ladyship i s w i l l i n g

to beg her fa ther in favour o f you. I f we can s tay

here , we’ l l accomplish our a i m ------- Thank

her at once!

Minazuru: Ch i e n a i !

Ch i e n a i : What?

Minazuru: Does he understand?

Ch ie n a i : Yes, he i s just going to a n sw er ------- .

Minazuru: Answer what? Doesn’ t he agree with me?

C h ien a i : Oh, no!

M: But he looks d iscontented.

C : Oh, no; he i s contented.

M: Why doesn ’ t he answer?

C: He i s going to s a y ------

M: Does he d i s l i k e to be loved by a woman?

C : He l i k e s i t very much.

M: I don’ t th ink so. This is the evidence ---- (plucks

a spray o f chrysanthemum) What’ s th is?

Both: I t ’ s a chrysanthemum.

M: Do you know the waka (the Japanese t r a d i t i o n a l poem)

dea l in g w ith the chrysanthemum o f autumn?

Ushiwaka: Do you mean that famous one which ana log izes women’ s

ch a s t i t y with the chrysanthemum?

M: Just l ike th is waka, I wish y o u ------Torazo, you are so

handsome ------, I ’ d l i k e to express the flame w i th in ,

i f you doubt.

Song: "Though she is a daughter o f samurai, she can’ t

help f a l l i n g in lo v e . And she begins to weep. Her

tears in the proo f o f her s i n c e r i t y . ”

- 14

Ushiwaka:

Minazuru:

Ch i e n a i :

M:

C:

M:

C:

Tankai:

Ushiwaka:

Wait a moment p lease . You're the daughter o f my

master and I ’ m a servant.

That ’ s a l i e . I n r e a l i t y , you are Ushiwaka-sama of the

Genj i . and Chienai i s my uncle Onisanta-sama.

W h a t ? Y ou 've heard o f our conversat ion, haven’ t

you?

Yes, I ' v e heard a l l of i t .

Although I p i t y my n iece , th is i s the v ery important

ca se . S o I ’ ve to k i l l you f o r the sake o f my master.

Yes, I see. Ki l l me. Ushiwaka-sama , please l e t me

c a l l your w i f e in the heaven.

Good ! You won’ t r e g re t i f you die fo r the man you

love so much. You w i l l be w a i t in g fo r him in the

heaven. God help h e r !

( When Chienai i s t o k i l l her, Tankai suddenly a p p ea rs . )

Wa i t ! How can I l e t you k i l l my beloved one?

You are Ushiwaka and Onisanta , O.K. I ’ l l a r r e s t you and

i nform to Kiyomori - k o .

(Then Tankai is to take Minazuru away w ith him,

Ushiwaka cuts him in to two a l l of a sudden.)

Santa! Now you needn 't k i l l Mina zuruhime.

We l l , I ' l l go and see K i i c h i to ask him to hand over the

secre t book exp la in ing the circumstances. I f he denies,

I ' l l k i l l him, Wh e re ’ s K i ich i?

Song: " Even i f he is despera te ly against me,

i t ’ s ve ry easy f o r me t o outwit him by the

s k i l l which I acquired during the t r a in in g

in Kurama mountain."

Minazuru:

Ushiwaka:

M inazuru:

He i s in the room over there through the garden.

O.K. Come on, Onisanta! Minazuru, guide us!

Yes, I w i l l .

(They a l l run in to the inner garden.)

Curtain

- 15 -