All the World's a Stage

STORYTELLER (beating very rapidly on his drum and declaiming briskly)

Sharp is the killer’s blade, his movements swift!
Both from the front and from the side he makes his thrusts!
But Soga well deserves his title of ‘First Sword’,
And in the swordsman’s art he truly is the best of all.

Eventually, following a precisely aimed blow from Soga, the ‘monk’ falls dead. The Ronin freezes in the pose of his thrust. Everyone else also freezes motionless: some with their hands over their faces, some with their arms raised in the air.

The light dims. The curtain closes.

The stage revolves.

Scene two

The front section of the stage represents the garden of the Yanagi tea house. This is the basic stage set, which remains unchanged. There is a small, decorative bridge, a young apple tree and a large stone lantern. A little farther back there is a narrow, raised veranda, or engawa, running round a pavilion. At each end of the engawa there are oil lamps, which are lit or not, depending on the time of day. The shoji (the paper walls of the pavilion) can also either be parted or moved together. At the moment they are closed. A light is burning inside and we can see Izumi’s silhouette as she sits there, slowly strumming on the strings of the shamisen. A sad, faltering melody is heard.

Night. The garden is dark.

The Storyteller strikes his drum – Soga walks soundlessly along the engawa and disappears, holding the hilt of his sword in his hand.

STORYTELLER

When mayhem broke out at Yanagi’s gates
Our thief was quick to seize this easy chance.
He gave his stolen booty to his partner
And in the noisy clamour crept into the tea house.
He hid until night came, but once the darkness fell,
The sly rogue went in search of further loot…

He beats on the drum.

Kinjo appears. He gazes all around and sees the geisha’s silhouette. He freezes, enchanted by the music.

STORYTELLER

Since the attack this afternoon a mere six hours have passed.
Izumi is not sleeping, she cannot overcome her trepidation.

Yuba enters the garden, walking backwards. Bent over double, she is sweeping the path with a broom.

She bumps into Kinjo with her backside. Both of them cry out in fright and turn to face each other.

YUBA Who are you? And how could you have got in here?

KINJO (keeping his presence of mind) Ah, what rare good fortune! Oh, what a lucky man I am!

YUBA (suspiciously) What is it, my good sir, that makes you so delighted! Upon my word, I’ll call the guard this very moment!

KINJO (taking hold of her sleeve) There is no need call the guard. I made my way in here with only one intention – to meet you once again! Today I saw you there beside the stage, close to the gates, and my poor reason was stunned by an insane love. I crept into the garden here by stealth and I am wandering about, bewildered and bemused. I did not think or dare to hope to meet you at this hour!

YUBA (relenting, but still on her guard) My mistress is out of sorts today, she keeps shouting. She has sent me out to sweep the paths in the middle of the night…

KINJO (trying to keep her talking) Did you see that sword fight here today? What a performance! I was absolutely fascinated. I thought at first that it was all in earnest, that at any moment blood would spurt out in a fountain. Hey, hey, a classy trick. It was only a pity that the noble guest left without seeing it, the actors played the deadly fight so deftly.

YUBA What actors? I’m still shaking even now. It was our enemies who tried to kill Izumi yet again!

KINJO Your enemies have tried again? What do you mean, I do not understand…

YUBA Probably you’re not from hereabouts. Why, it’s the talk of all the town that our Izumi has a secret enemy. This is the third time he has sent a man to kill her. But every time she is saved by Soga-san. He is a homeless samurai, with no wealth but his sword, and he is boundlessly devoted to her, like a faithful guard dog. Being a famous geisha is no easy fate. The love of men can sometimes be quite dangerous. Some admirer, spurned by Izumi, must be seeking his revenge for the insult that he has suffered.

KINJO You geishas are so cruel! A beauty such as you can pierce a man’s heart like an arrow, but you care nothing. It’s wrong to dance and sing your songs to us and then pretend to be a touch-me-not.

YUBA Well, I am not a geisha yet. I’m only learning to be one, although my mistress thinks I do not have an ounce of promise.

My lady O-Bara knows all about men, and no one could call her a touch-me-not. She tells me that lady Izumi arranges everything herself. That in this way she wishes to acquire scandalous fame, to be on everybody’s lips. That her faithful Ronin, the fearsome Soga-san, deliberately hires tramps and vagabonds, and then he kills them, the unfortunate fools. For after all, he knows them all by sight. And with his skill, why it’s nothing at all to slice some blockhead hireling into shreds. And all this means a double profit for the mistress: the geisha’s fame increases, and the bold warrior’s fame spreads far and wide.

KINJO Oh, but that monk did not look like a simpleton. His swordplay was quite glorious, he was clearly a master.

YUBA All that’s none of our business. But why don’t you tell me where you are from and what your name is?

KINJO Call me Kinjo. I dare not reveal my family name to you until I know that our feelings are mutual, that your response to my passion is love and we have become one. I am the young heir to a trading house and it would be indecorous for me to blacken the honour of my father’s firm.

STORYTELLER

When she heard that, the lovely girl thought this:
‘Perhaps I will “become one” with him then.
He has good looks and his manners are bold.
And in addition he is rich, so what else could I want?’

Kinjo starts embracing Yuba. She does not resist very strongly. They put their arms around each other passionately.

Once a thief, always a thief. In that ardent moment
Kinjo looks to see what he can filch.

Kinjo feels inside Yuba’s belt, glancing over her shoulder. He hides a tortoiseshell comb and little mirror in his sleeve and then cautiously removes a beautiful slide from her hair.

But Yuba also is no fool. She wishes to discover
Whether her gallant wooer is truly rich.

At the same time Yuba feels behind the belt of her passionate admirer. She discovers a thin purse and rummages in it.

But what bad luck is this! The purse is almost empty!
His embraces have lost all their sweetness for her now.

The young woman stamps her foot angrily and tries to free herself.

Suddenly Soga appears at the end of the engawa. He jumps down without making a sound, runs over to Kinjo and grabs him by the collar.