All the World's a Stage

The Storyteller strikes on his drum and lightning flashes.

VOICE OF THE INVISIBLE ONE (a rumbling sound, it is hard to tell where it comes from) I am here, now we can get straight down to business. It must be important, if you have asked to meet with the Sinobi.

Futoya almost jumps up in the air in surprise. He does not know which way to look. In the end he speaks to the statue.

FUTOYA Yes, yes, a most great need has brought me here to you. I simply cannot kill a certain person. Four times have I sent assassins to her. Wandering samurais and intrepid bandits… But alas, the woman is well guarded. I cannot manage this without the help of the Sinobi.

THE INVISIBLE ONE What is her name? When? And how much? This is all that I need to know.

FUTOYA Her name? Izumi, a geisha. When? There is one difficulty here. It would be best not to carry out this commission straight away, but only at the moment when I give the signal. In the garden of the Yanagi tea house there is a little apple tree. I will break off one of its branches to show when the time has come…

THE INVISIBLE ONE Aha, a delayed commission, requiring readiness to act at any moment. That is a contract of the highest class of difficulty.

FUTOYA (hastily) Your go-between informed me of your charges. And I have brought the sum – this is exactly one thousand ryo.

He holds up the sack, but does not know how to hand it over.

THE INVISIBLE ONE And did the go-between tell you that, once having placed a commission, you can never cancel it? Such is our ancient law: those who have been condemned must die.

FUTOYA (bowing) Why would I cancel the request, if I have paid the money?

THE INVISIBLE ONE Put the sack at the statue’s feet. Our contract is concluded.

The Storyteller strikes his drum.

Futoya places the sack at the feet of the statue and backs away.

THE INVISIBLE ONE My finest warrior will fulfil your request. ‘Inaudible One’ is the name that I myself have given him.

FUTOYA (timidly) I have been told that it is usual for you to give a certain item in place of a receipt…

THE INVISIBLE ONE Yes, my jade dragon. I have a dagger with a dragon on the hilt – the symbol of my rank. You must return the sacred talisman to me when our contract with you has been fulfilled.

FUTOYA How shall I know to whom to give it?

THE INVISIBLE ONE My messenger will show you a dagger with a blade like a snake.

A single drumbeat. The beam of a spotlight illuminates the statue of the Buddha. We see a hand thrust out from behind it, holding a long dagger with a sinuous blade like a snake. The other hand unscrews the pommel from the handle and tosses it to the merchant, who picks up the jade dragon, presses it respectfully to his forehead and bows. The beam of light goes out.

THE INVISIBLE ONE But know this, merchant Futoya, you are responsible for this token. If it is lost, you will pay for it with your life.

The merchant freezes in a pose of horror. A simultaneous drumbeat and flash of lightning. Darkness.

The curtain closes.

The stage revolves.

Scene four

The garden in front of Izumi’s pavilion. The shoji are closed. Okasan is sitting on the engawa, with her adopted daughters beside her. At the sides are the pupils Yuba and Sen-chan, holding large fans in their hands. The sun is shining brightly. It is hot.

Soga is peeping out from round the corner. As always, he is on the lookout.

STORYTELLER

Following the advice of wise Kubota,
Okasan spread the rumour through the city:
‘The venerable Yanagi tea house wishes to invite
Jugglers, acrobats, comedians and jesters’.
This call spread though the fairs and circuses
And next day all the show folk came along.
The choosy owner, though, was difficult to please,
Being concerned for the honour of the tea house.
No one suited her taste, but then, at close of day,
A most strange man arrived at the Yanagi…

The Storyteller strikes his drum. Everybody starts moving: the ladies and the pupils with the fans; Soga, who appears and disappears by turns.

The Inaudible One walks out onto the stage. He is not dressed in a kimono, but in a close-fitting black leotard painted with jester-like varicoloured stripes. His face is completely covered by a silk mask with a foolish face drawn on it, the mouth stretching from ear to ear. He is carrying a bag with his props. The Inaudible One walks over to Okasan with a waddling, clown-like gait. Sen-chan giggles and puts her hand over her mouth.

With the gesture of a conjuror, the Inaudible One produces a paper rolled into a tube, seeming to extract it from the very air, and holds it out to the owner.

STORYTELLER

He handed her the sheet of paper with a bow.
She took it and read what was written there:
‘I have been dumb from birth. My name is Nobo-ji.
My face is disfigured and I always wear a mask,
And I shall show you now what I can do.’

Okasan shrugs and shows the letter to one of her adopted daughters, then to the other. She gestures for the show to begin.

The beam of a spotlight rises and illuminates a tightrope stretched above the stage. The Inaudible One takes a rope with a hook out of his bag, deftly casts it onto the tightrope and clambers up in a jiffy. He walks along the tightrope, acting the fool, pretending that he is about to fall off at any moment. He starts juggling with knives that he takes out of his belt. The spectators watch admiringly. Sen-chan forgets to wave her fan and squeals in delight.

STORYTELLER

It is not hard to guess that this indeed is he,
Whom the Sinobi leader dubbed ‘Inaudible’.
His face is hid beneath a mask for a good reason:
A Ninja may not show his face to strangers.
He can only appear unmasked in token of
Absolute trust – and then only among his own.
And he has not been dumb from birth. The tale
Of how he lost his speech is worth the telling here.
One day he was instructed to assassinate the leader
Of another Ninja clan – an extremely dangerous order.
The killer might be taken alive by the bodyguards
And tortured to set his tongue wagging.
Not hoping to remain alive, before the mission
He cut his own tongue out with an untrembling hand.
And from that time his friends called him ‘Inaudible’ –
For them he was a paragon of honour and of skill…