UVa Library Etext Center: Japanese Text Initiative

HAGOROMO
By SEAMI

PERSONS

Hakuryō (a Fisherman). Angel. Another Fisherman. Chorus.

Fisherman

Loud the rowers' cry
Who through the storm-swept paths of Mio Bay
Ride to the rising sea.

Hakuryō

I am Hakuryō, a fisherman whose home is by the pine-woods of Mio.

Both

"On a thousand leagues of lovely hill clouds suddenly close;
But by one tower the bright moon shines in a clear sky." 
[1]1
A pleasant season, truly: on the pine-wood shore
The countenance of Spring;
Early mist close-clasped to the swell of the sea;
In the plains of the sky a dim, loitering moon.
Sweet sight, to gaze enticing
Eyes even of us earth-cumbered
Low souls, least for attaining
Of high beauty nurtured.
Oh unforgettable! By mountain paths
Down to the sea of Kiyomi I come
And on far woodlands look,
Pine-woods of Mio, thither
Come, thither guide we our course.
Fishers, why put you back your boats to shore,
No fishing done?
Thought you them rising waves, those billowy clouds
Wind-blown across sea?
Wait, for the time is Spring and in the trees
The early wind his everlasting song
Sings low; and in the bay
Silent in morning calm the little ships,
Ships of a thousand fishers, ride the sea.

The second Fisherman retires to a position near the leader of the Chorus and takes no further part in the action.

Hakuryō

Now I have landed at the pine-wood of Mio and am viewing the beauty of the shore. Suddenly there is music in the sky, a rain of flowers, unearthly fragrance wafted on all sides. These are no common things; nor is this beautiful cloak that hangs upon the pine-tree. I come near to it. It is marvellous in form and fragrance. This surely is no common dress. I will take it back with me and show it to the people of my home. It shall be a treasure in my house.

He walks four steps towards the Waki's pillar carrying the feather robe.

Angel

entering through the curtain at the end of the gallery.

Stop! That cloak is mine. Where are you going with it?

Hakuryō

This is a cloak I found here. I am taking it home.

Angel

It is an angel's robe of feathers, a cloak no mortal man may wear. Put it back where you found it.

Hakuryō

How? Is the owner of this cloak an angel of the sky? Why, then, I will put it in safe keeping. It shall be a treasure in the land, a marvel to men unborn. [2]² I will not give back your cloak.

Angel

Oh pitiful! How shall I cloakless tread
The wing-ways of the air, how climb
The sky, my home?
Oh, give it back, in charity give it back.

Hakuryō

No charity is in me, and your moan
Makes my heart resolute.
Look, I take your robe, hide it, and will not give it back.

Describing his own actions. Then he walks away.

Angel

Like a bird without wings,

I would rise, but robeless

Hakuryō

To the low earth you sink, an angel dwelling

In the dingy world.

Angel

This way, that way.

Despair only.

Hakuryō

But when she saw he was resolved to keep it . . .

Angel

Strength failing.

Hakuryō

Help none. . .

Chorus

Then on her coronet,
Jewelled as with the dew of tears,
The bright flowers drooped and faded. 
[3]3
O piteous to see before the eyes,
Fivefold the signs of sickness
Corrupt an angel's form.

Angel

I look into the plains of heaven,
The cloud-ways are hid in mist,
The path is lost.

Chorus

Oh, enviable clouds,
At your will wandering
For ever idle in the empty sky
That was my home!
Now fades and fades upon my ear
The voice of Kalavink, 
[4]4
Daily accustomed song.
And you, oh you I envy,
Wild-geese clamorous
Down the sky-paths returning;
And you, O seaward circling, shoreward sweeping
Swift seagulls of the bay:
Even the wind, because in heaven it blows,
The wind of Spring I envy.

Hakuryō

Listen. Now that I have seen you in your sorrow, I yield and would give you back your mantle.

Angel

Oh, I am happy! Give it me then!

Hakuryō

Wait. I have heard tell of the dances that are danced in heaven. Dance for me now, and I will give back your robe.

Angel

I am happy, happy. Now I shall have wings and mount the sky again.
And for thanksgiving I bequeath
A dance of remembrance to the world,
Fit for the princes of men:
The dance tune that makes to turn
The towers of the moon,
I will dance it here and as an heirloom leave it
To the sorrowful men of the world.
Give back my mantle, I cannot dance without it.
Say what you will, I must first have back the robe.

Hakuryō

Not yet, for if I give back your robe, not a step would you dance, but fly with it straight to the sky.

Angel

No, no. Doubt is for mortals;

In heaven is no deceit.

Hakuryō

I am ashamed. Look, I give back the robe.

He gives it to her and she takes it in both hands.

Angel

The heavenly lady puts on her garment,

She dances the dance of the Rainbow Skirt, of the Robe of Feathers.

Hakuryō

The sky-robe flutters, it yields to the wind.

Angel

Sleeve like a flower wet with rain. . .

Hakuryō

The first dance is over.

Angel

Shall I dance?

Chorus

The dance of Suruga, with music of the East?

Thus was it first danced.

The Angel dances, while the Chorus sings the words of the dance, an ancient Shintō chant.

"Why name we
Wide-stretched and everlasting.
The sky of heaven?
Two gods 
[5]5 
 there came of old
And built, upon ten sides shut in,
A measured world for men;
But without limit arched they
The sky above, and named it
Wide-stretched and everlasting."

Angel

Thus is the Moon-God's palace:
Its walls are fashioned
With an axe of jade.

Chorus

In white dress, black dress,
Thrice ten angels
In two ranks divided,
Thrice five for the waning,
Thrice five for nights of the waxing moon,
One heavenly lady on each night of the moon
Does service and fulfils
Her ritual task assigned.

Angel

I too am of their number,

A moon-lady of heaven.

Chorus

"Mine is the fruit of the moon-tree, 
[6]6 
 yet came I to the East incarnate 
[7]7
Dwelt with the people of Earth, and gave them
A gift of music, song-dance of Suruga.

Now upon earth trail the long mists of Spring;
Who knows but in the valleys of the moon
The heavenly moon-tree puts her blossom on?
The blossoms of her crown win back their glory:
It is the sign of Spring.
Not heaven is here, but beauty of the wind and sky.
Blow, blow, you wind, and build
Cloud-walls across the sky, lest the vision leave us
Of a maid divine!
This tint of springtime in the woods,
This colour on the headland,
Snow on the mountain 
[8]8
Moonlight on the clear shore,—
Which fairest? Nay, each peerless
At the dawn of a Spring day.
Waves lapping, wind in the pine-trees whispering
Along the quiet shore.
Say you, what cause
Has Heaven to be estranged
From us Earth-men; are we not children of the Gods,
Within, without the jewelled temple wall, 
[8]9
Born where no cloud dares dim the waiting moon,
Land of Sunrise?"

Angel

May our Lord's life
Last long as a great rock rubbed
Only by the rare trailing
Of an angel's feather-skirt. 
[10]10
Oh, marvellous music!
The Eastern song joined
To many instruments;
Harp, zither, pan-pipes, flute,
Belly their notes beyond the lonely clouds.
The sunset stained with crimson light
From Mount Sumeru's side; 
[11]11
For green, the islands floating on the sea;
For whiteness whirled
A snow of blossom blasted
By the wild winds, a white cloud
Of sleeves waving.

Concluding the dance, she folds her hands and prays.

NAMU KIMYO GWATTEN-SHI.

To thee, O Monarch of the Moon,
Be glory and praise,
Thou son of Seishi Omnipotent! 
[12]12

Chorus

This is a dance of the East.

She dances three of the five parts of the dance called "Yo no Mai," the Prelude Dance.

Angel

I am robed in sky, in the empty blue of heaven.

Chorus

Now she is robed in a garment of mist, of Spring mist.

Angel

Wonderful in perfume and colour, an angel's skirt,—left, right, left, left, right.

Springing from side to side.

The skirt swishes, the flowers nod, the feathery sleeves trail out and return, the dancing-sleeves.

She dances "Ha no Mai" the Broken Dance.

Chorus

She has danced many dances,
But not yet are they numbered,
The dances of the East.
And now she, whose beauty is as the young moon,
Shines on us in the sky of midnight,
The fifteenth night,
With the beam of perfect fulfilment,
The splendor of Truth.
The vows 
[13]13 
 are fulfilled, and the land we live in
Rich with the Seven Treasures
By this dance rained down on us,
The gift of Heaven.
But, as the hours pass by,
Sky-cloak of feathers fluttering, fluttering,
Over the pine-woods of Mio,
Past the Floating Islands, through the feet of the clouds she  
flies,
Over the mountain of Ashitaka, the high peak of Fuji,
Very faint her form,
Mingled with the mists of heaven;
Now lost to sight.

HAGOROMO By SEAMI

PERSONS

Footnotes

HAGOROMO
By SEAMI