THE LIFE of an AMOROUS WOMAN ANO OTHER Vi’Ril‘INC;S
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UNESCO C0LLI:C’t’lO.V (It: Rlfl’Kl~Sl~N’l‘A’l‘II’t: l.I’l‘t:K.4H~’ I1’ORKS THE LIFE OF AN AMOROUS WOMAN ANO OTHER Vi’RIl‘INC;S hy ~I~ARA SAIKAKU Edited nrld trmslnted by IVAN M ORRIS Final two pages of the first edition of 77~ Life c/an Amorous Woman. The text cor- responds to the translation in the present book from “ I fell down to the ground ‘.’ on page 207 to the end of page 208, and the following colophon: Published in the second decade CJJ the sixlh moon of I/W lhird year o/ rhe j?kyo era, the year in which the Elder &o&r of Fire is rombined with the Sign of the T<qer [ 16861: on the presses of K&k Saburaemon, bookseller by the, Shitrsai Bridge at the comer of Cofukuch6 in Osaka. Translation of the cover of the sarne edition (see overleaf); note that the poem breaks off with the implication that nothing clsc could have any beauty or interest: Illus- trated / THE LIFE 01: AN AMOROUS WOMAN / Book I. / Hiding his&e hc cwters the plea- sure quarrers and makes his inquiries, 1 Whereupon he hears of a woman who grows more wanderfirl the more they tell 4 her. / in Ihe ~qital~yirls blossom a$ [hick as the hills, / And in every province there are women to be had. / Bul even among a rhousond women rhere is none 10 compare with this one, / So he pays two hundred*gold koban towards her ransom. / For him who has seen Ihe pleasure quarters of Shimnb~m: / The red bves of autumn, the glory of Ihe moon, [he women ourside tile quarrersj- A NEY DIRECTIONS BOOK 356 \463 FIVE WOMEN WHO CHOSE LOVE THE TALE OF GENGOBEI, THE MOUNTAIN OF LOVE I. How Sorrowfully Ends the Concert ofthe Fluter 189 Gengobei-he of whom they sing in the ballads-hailed from Kagoshima in the Province of Satsuma, but for a native of so out- landish a place he displayedm ish’ taste a most unusual fastidious- ‘90 ness. He shaved his hair, according to the fashion of that region, so that his sidelocks fell down at the back, and he wore his topknot short. The long sword that he carried by his side was most striking, 191 but, this too being a custom ofthese parts, none thought to reprove him. Day and night this Gengobei devoted himself to the love of men; nor had he once in the twenty-six springs of his life dallied with the frail and long-haired sex. For many years now he had been enam- oured of a young boy by the name of Nakamura Hachijuro, to whom hc had from the outset bound himself by the deepest vows of Iifclong loyalty. Hachijuro was a youth of the greatest beauty, Iike in purity to a single-petalled cherry whose blossoms are yet but 192 haIf opened. His indeed was the flavour of a flower endowed with the gift of human speech. One evening as the rain fell gloomily outside, the two young men immured themselves in the little room where Gengobei was wont to stay, and played their flutes in concert. The sound of the music Gengobei and his young paramour play their flutes together for the last tlmc. Out- echoed quietly in the dark, adding to the night’s gentle melancholy. side it is ram@, and the sound oftheir music adds to the Scntle melancholy of the The wind that blew in through the window carried with it the night. fragrance of plum blossoms, scenting therewith the loose sleeves of the young men’s dress; outside, the birds at roost were startled by the rustling of the black bamboo, and the sound oftheir wings as they fluttered to and fro had a mournful note. FIVE WOMEN WHO CHOSE LOVE TIIE TALE OF GENGOBEI As the lamp gradually grew dim, Gengobci and his companion Whenhis parents wcrc informed, rhcir sorrow knew no bounds. stopped their music. On this evening Hachijuro seemed more affec- Yet, so far as the circumstances of his death were conccrncd, they tionate than ever. His fair form was utterly yielding, and the love- were resigned. charged phrases that he uttered each carried a novel fascination. In “Thcsc two,” they said. “wcrc close to each other for many a long the presence of all this grace Gengobei was quite overcome with year. We have no grounds for suspicion about Hachijuro’s end. yearning and he conceived a desire that ill befits this Floating Things have come to pass as they must and naught we can do will World-the desire that this boy’s beauty might never tarnish, that change them.” he might forever wear the forelock of a lad. It was time now to see the boy laid in his last place of rest. His body, They shared the same pillow and soon their disorder bespoke the lovely as when it still held life, was placed in an urn and buried in a passion that they felt. As dawn approached, Gengobei fell into a field near where the grass was sprouting forth its springtime vcr- sleep. Then Hachijuro, overcome with pain, awakened him, saying, dure. Gengobci prostrated himself bcforc the grave and lamented “Alas, will you thus waste the night in idle dreams?” most grievously. But tears brought no relief and the only course Drowsy and confused, Gengobei listened as the boy continued: he could conceive was to cast away his own lift. After much deep I “In case you have aught to tell me, Gengobei, tonight is your final thought he came to his resolve: “Alas and alack, Hachguro, how chance. Have you no message to bequeath me ere we part?” frail you were! For just three years will I linger on and mourn over Though still half asleep, Gengobei was much dismayed and said, your remains. Then on this same month and day will I come once “You may speak in jest, Hachijuro, yet you give me great concern. more to this place and put a term to my dewlikc life.” ‘93 If I failed to see you even for a single day, your vision would haunt Forthwith, in front of the grave hc cut off his topknot. Thence me like a phantom till we met. Though it be merely that you wish he repaired to the Saicn Temple, where he addressed himself to the to ruffle me with your talk of present leave-taking, desist, I pray Father Superior, explaining to him the circumstances, and then you.” himself took the carnest vows of priesthood. They took each other by the hand and Hachijuro smiled wanly. Each day during the summer period of retirement he culled “Evanescent,” he said, “is this Floating World and uncertain the life flowers for Hachijuro’s grave burned incense and said mass for the / of man.” The words were not out of his mouth when his pulse sud- repose of the dead boy’s soul. Thus the time passed as in a dream and drille y ceased its beating and the talk of parting that had seemed to soon the autumn season was at hand. The morning glories that be in jest proved to have been all too earnest. flowered on the hedgerows, only to fade at night, brought to Gen- “What now?” exclaimed Gengobei, and, quite forgetting that his gobei’s mind the impermanence of the world. Even the dew that love was of a secret nature, he set up a great wailing and shed bitter sparkled on these fragile blossoms seemed to him less fleeting than tears. Startled by his cries, people hastened to the room. Various the life of man. So thinking, he recalled the past and the death that medicaments were administered to the boy, but all to no avail. could never be revoked. As now it was the very eve of that season Most grievous to relate, Hachijuro had irretrievably departed this at which the spirits of the dead return, Gengobei set to preparing a 194 f world. welcome. He cut some branches of purple clover to spread upon 102 FIVE WOMEN WHO CHOSE LOVE THE TALE OF GENGOBEI the holy shelf, thereon quaintly adding cucumbers, eggplants, dried Yet.he did not succeed in ensnaring a single one, and a look of dis- green soybeans and other offerings. By the dim light of the square 195 may settled on his face. Gengobei stood there, feasting his eyes upon 196 Iantcm he busily recited sutras for the dead, and in front of the the scene. “To think that there exists in the world a lad of such houses the hempcn reeds burned away in the sacred bonfires. ‘97 exquisite beauty !” hc murmurc.d to himself. “111 years hc hardly However, in the gathering dusk of the fourteenth day, the &&ers from Hachijuro when yet he lived. But in beauty he far cx- peaceful air was rent with thr clamours of the bill collectors; for 198 cd him !” even tcmplcs arc not spared their debts. Mcanwhilc the sound of AU Gengobci’s pious resolutions were forgotten as he stood drums beating the Bon dances rcsoundcd outside the temple gates. ‘99 gazing in rapture on the boy. As dusk fell, hc approached his side. For one who had retired here like Gengobei to fly the tumult of the “Though I be a priest, ” he said, “I am not unskilled in catching world all this was nothing short of odious, and he resolved forth- _. birds. Pray lend me your stick.” with to make a pilgrimage to Mount Koya.