Teika, a No Play
P ERSONS
Traveling Priest
His Two Companions, also Priests
" Woman of the Place "
Chorus
" Man of the Place "
Ghost of Princess Shokushi
T IME AND P LACE
Act I, first half: near the Hut of Intermittent Showers in Sembon, Kyoto, one early winter evening with intermittent showers; second half: in front of Princess Shokushi's grave, later the same evening.
Act II: in front of the same grave, late at night with the moon shining.
ACT I
(The stage assistants bring out a large construction representing a grave mound and place it upstage, in front of the musicians. As the music begins, the TRAVELING PRIEST and his COMPANIONS enter quietly and stand side by side near front apron. Then they face one another.)
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
The northern showers come out of the mountains,
the northern showers come out of the mountains,
but seem to have no place to settle.
PRIEST
(He faces front.) I'm from a northern province, and I am a priest. Since I've never seen the capital, I have now decided to go there.
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
(They face one another.)
When the winter began,
in traveling robes, early in the morning,
in traveling robes, early in the morning
we left, and came away over mountain after mountain,
far and near, with clouds coming and going
( The PRIEST indicates he is walking )
till
we came to the flowering capital,
we came to the flowering capital
where the last crimson leaves hold our eyes.
(He indicates arrival.)
PRIEST
( He faces front .) Hurrying along I've reached a place called Upper Capital. ( Saying , " Let me look around, " he goes to stage center and stands there. In the meantime, his COMPANIONS have taken their seats at front left corner. The PRIEST faces front .)
Curious:
it's around the tenth of the tenth month,
and the treetops are all seared by winter;
but the crimson leaves remaining on the branches,
though only here and there, the way they look —
the scenery moves me more in the capital,
the view is different this evening.
A shower has started! I think I'll stand by this hut until it clears up. ( He starts toward front left corner .)
WOMAN OF THE PLACE
( Calling to the PRIEST from offstage, she enters quietly .) Tell me — tell me, why are you standing by that hut?
PRIEST
( He turns to face the WOMAN at front left corner .) I'm standing here because of the shower that just started. What do you call this place?
WOMAN
( As she walks on the bridgeway leading to the stage .) It's known as the Hut of Intermittent Showers, a place with a history. I thought you were standing there because you knew the story — that's why I asked the question.
PRIEST
Indeed, I see a plaque up there, and it has " Hut of Intermittent Showers " written on it. A coincidence, perhaps, but an interesting one. Would you tell me what kind of person built it?
WOMAN
Lord Fujiwara no Sadaie. Though it's within the capital, this place is so desolate, and the showers so moving, that he built this hut and every year wrote tanka on the subject, they say. ( She stops walking and faces front .) Such is the history of the place, and by coincidence you've happened by, so you might preach the Law and pray for the peace of his soul —
I thought I'd make that request,
and gave you a full explanation.
( She resumes walking and comes onstage .)
PRIEST
I see, Lord Sadaie built it.
Well, now, I wonder
which tanka of his
caused this hut
to commemorate the " showers. "
WOMAN
I must say that's hard to settle.
In the season of showers
every year, he wrote about them,
and I can't say with conviction, " This is it. "
Nevertheless, on the topic, " Intermittent showers know their time, " he wrote:
" No falsity
in this world: another tenth month —
whose sincere heart has caused
the showers to begin again? "
Considering that he wrote " At my house " in the headnote to it, it may be the tanka in question.
PRIEST
How those words
affect me!
True, with intermittent showers, no falsity
in this world where they stay on,
WOMAN
but the one who's no more! We speak
such words now, in this transient world,
PRIEST
because our ties from another life have not decayed.
We " shelter under the same tree, "
WOMAN
" drink from the flow of the same river. "
PRIEST
As if to urge us to realize it,
WOMAN
just then,
( During the CHORUS chanting that follows, the MAN OF THE PLACE enters inconspicuously and takes his seat near right corner upstage .)
CHORUS
here a shower starts
on the old house, the shower of the past,
on the old house, the shower of the past,
and we know how the one with a clear heart
must have felt. The world of dreams
never settles. On Sadaie's
eaves,
the shower falls at dusk —
thoughts of old move me to tears.
The garden and the hedges, no longer separate,
grass bushes, grown ever wilder,
are all seared, dew seldom forming on them.
How desolate this evening,
how desolate this evening!
( While looking off into the distance, the WOMAN steps backward to rear right corner and turns to face the PRIEST .)
WOMAN
This happens to be the day I offer prayers for someone who is dead, and I am going to her grave. Would you mind coming with me?
PRIEST
Not at all. I'll be glad to come with you. ( The WOMAN moves a few steps forward and turns to the grave mound; the PRIEST does the same .)
WOMAN
Look at the grave mound here.
PRIEST
It's strange. The marker looks very old, but the way kudzu vines crawl all over it and cling to it — I can't even tell its shape. Whose marker is it?
WOMAN
It's Princess Shokushi's grave. Those kudzu vines are called " Teika vines. "
PRIEST
How odd. Why are they called " Teika vines " ?
WOMAN
Princess Shokushi was, at first, vestal of the Kamo Shrine, but soon left that position. Then Lord Teika fell in love with her, and their love for each other, though secret, was deep. Soon afterward, Princess Shokushi died. Teika's attachment then turned into vines and crawled over her grave, cling to it. So, in their suffering, unable to separate, they lust for each other, a delusion, of which I will tell you more, if you are kind enough to offer prayers for them. ( She goes to stage center and takes her seat; the PRIEST returns to his seat .)
CHORUS
Unforgettable, though it was long ago;
" the depth of her heart, Mount Secret
I went over to visit in secrecy " — the dew on the grass
by the path — my telling you this is as purposeless.
WOMAN
Now, " string of beads,
if you must break, break. If you last longer,
CHORUS
my resolve to keep it secret " will weaken,
she felt, and as pampas grass shows its tufts in fall,
began to betray her affair,
when it was cut short and fell apart.
WOMAN
" I did not feel at all before then, "
CHORUS
and " my heart since " has remained astray.
" Know the grief
of the sleeve dyed mountain indigo
that decayed from frost to frost throughout
its life " — full of tears, those past days;
to do without the distress of longing she made ablutions,
she became vestal of the Kamo Shrine,
that was what she became,
but the god did not accept it.
Her vow with someone
betrayed its colors — that's what saddens us.
She tried to hide it, in vain in this world
of vanity; her affair came to light,
the rumors grew as vast
as the sky with its terrifying sun,
so that the path to the clouds was cut
and the figure of the maiden could not be kept,
a painful thing for both of them.
WOMAN
Indeed, " I grieve,
I long for you, but there's no way of meeting you:
CHORUS
you are a cloud on Katsuragi peak " —
the feeling that moved him to write it,
we understand, because of that attachment
his body turned into the Teika vines,
and here, where her remains are, from long ago
he's stayed inseparable, vines with crimson leaves,
color scorching,
clinging,
a tangle of hair, bound, binding.
This delusion
that faded and has returned
like frost or dew —
please save me from it.
As we listened to the story of long ago,
soon it's the end of another day, darkening;
mysterious — would you tell us who you are?
WOMAN
Who am I, you ask.
The remains of my dead body have decayed
under miscanthus and frost, only my name
staying on, all to no avail.
( She turns to the PRIEST .)
CHORUS
Placed under grass though you may be,
show your colors, your name.
WOMAN
I would hide it
CHORUS
no longer now:
I am no other than Princess Shokushi.
( She rises to her feet and, with her eyes fixed on the PRIEST , walks toward him slowly, firmly. )
I have been visible to you till now,
but my true figure is like heat haze,
(She faces front)
and even my form left in stone
(She retreats backward to the grave mound)
is invisible under the kudzu vines.
( She walks toward the PRIEST .) Please help me out of this suffering.
(She circles back to the grave mound and disappears into it.)
As soon as she said it, she disappeared,
as soon as she said it, she disappeared.
I NTERLUDE
( The MAN OF THE PLACE leaves his seat, announces himself, indicates that he has come across the PRIEST , and takes his seat at stage center. In response to the PRIEST'S questions, he tells the story of the affair between FUJIWARA NO TEIKA and PRINCESS SHOKUSHI in some detail. He says, among other things, that the kudzu vines that started growing on SHOKUSHI'S grave mound soon after TEIKA'S death used to be cut and removed, but they would immediately grow back; the cutting was continued until some holy person said that the vines were a manifestation of TEIKA'S attachment to the PRINCESS and therefore should be left alone. When the MAN learns about the woman the PRIEST has just met, he says she must be SHOKUSHI'S apparition, urges the PRIEST to offer prayers to lay her troubled soul to rest, and returns to his original seat. He exits inconspicuously after the GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI enters in Act II. )
ACT II
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
The evening passed, and now the moon is out.
The evening passed, and now the moon is out.
This late, when winds blow through pines, under desolate
clumps of grass she lies, a drop of dew.
Although our thoughts are many as our rosary beads,
how fortunate this chance to pray for her,
how fortunate this chance to pray for her.
(Gloomy, foreboding music is played.)
GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI
(In the grave mound, in a low voice)
Is this a dream?
In this dark reality, on Mount Real,
I trace by the moonlight
the path buried under the vines.
(In a high, painful tone)
Once in the past,
a pine wind or the moon through vines
moved us to exchange words;
pillows laid side by side
in green curtains, on a scarlet bed,
PRIEST
we loved each other
in many ways. But in the end,
GHOST
the blossoms and crimson leaves scatter away;
PRIEST
a cloud in the morning,
GHOST
rain in the evening,
CHORUS
that is an old story, yes,
but my body now,
(Quietly, with emotion)
and dreams, reality, illusions,
all have become part of the transient world,
leaving not a trace.
(In a different tone, reflectively)
Yet, here I am, under the grass —
not in a hut covered with burdock,
but with the Teika vines over me.
Look at this, look at me, holy priest.
( The stage assistants remove the cloth covering the grave mound, revealing the emaciated GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI . She is seated on a chair, stiff, looking down, indicating that she is under the spell of Teika's passion .)
PRIEST
How painful it is to look at you, the way you are. How painful it is.
(He joins his hands in prayer.)
" The Buddha's undifferentiated preaching
Is like the rain, all of one flavor;
But beings, according to their nature,
Receive it differently. "
GHOST
Look at me.
( She turns her face to the PRIEST .)
I stand and sit, uselessly as waves.
Suffering as I am even after death,
I'm bound by the Teika vines;
suffering as I am
without a break —
I'm grateful to you.
What you have kindly recited now is from the " Parable of the Herbs, " is it not?
PRIEST
Indeed, you are right.
The wonderful Law overlooks no grass or tree.
Sever yourself from the vines of attachment,
and become a buddha.
GHOST
Oh, how grateful I am,
yes, indeed, indeed!
This is the heart
of the wonderful Law!
PRIEST
(He turns to face front.)
We receive the blessings
of the universal dew.
GHOST
" Not a second
PRIEST
not a third, "
CHORUS
(Somewhat forcefully)
the one rain, the one Law,
sprinkles,
and all turn moist,
grasses, trees, the land,
becoming buddhas.
Having that opportunity
(Growing quieter)
the Teika vines,
tears shed on them
in large drops,
unbind themselves, spread
( The GHOST indicates she is being freed )
and I, tottering,
like a cart with feeble wheels, leave the burning house. ( Rising to her feet, she steps out of the mound .) How grateful I am. ( She turns toward the PRIEST and joins her hands in prayer .)
In gratitude, may I then
flutter the flowery sleeves, which I once had
above the clouds, and bring back the past,
a dancing princess in the Omi robe?
GHOST
How embarrassing I look,
CHORUS
dancing.
(She dances a slow, quiet dance.)
GHOST
How embarrassing I look, dancing.
CHORUS
How embarrassing. I am embarrassed.
GHOST
The way I was,
CHORUS
my face was like the moon,
GHOST
but it began to cloud often,
CHORUS
and my eyebrows painted crescent-shape
GHOST
lost their beauty, in tears.
CHORUS
Even after I faded like dew,
(She circles back to the rear right corner, then goes to stage center.)
I was pitilessly covered with vine leaves, and am now like the goddess of Kazuraki. I'm ashamed of it, but can't help it. ( She sees the PRIEST and hides her face with her fan .)
Because we can meet only at night,
before this dream ends,
so saying, she returned to the place where she had been. ( She walks to the grave .) Then the vine leaves crawled over her, clung to her, as they used to, those Teika vines. They crawled over her, clung to her, those Teika vines. ( She settles in the grave mound .) And before we knew it, she was buried, she was gone. ( She covers her face with her fan and lowers her body .)
Traveling Priest
His Two Companions, also Priests
" Woman of the Place "
Chorus
" Man of the Place "
Ghost of Princess Shokushi
T IME AND P LACE
Act I, first half: near the Hut of Intermittent Showers in Sembon, Kyoto, one early winter evening with intermittent showers; second half: in front of Princess Shokushi's grave, later the same evening.
Act II: in front of the same grave, late at night with the moon shining.
ACT I
(The stage assistants bring out a large construction representing a grave mound and place it upstage, in front of the musicians. As the music begins, the TRAVELING PRIEST and his COMPANIONS enter quietly and stand side by side near front apron. Then they face one another.)
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
The northern showers come out of the mountains,
the northern showers come out of the mountains,
but seem to have no place to settle.
PRIEST
(He faces front.) I'm from a northern province, and I am a priest. Since I've never seen the capital, I have now decided to go there.
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
(They face one another.)
When the winter began,
in traveling robes, early in the morning,
in traveling robes, early in the morning
we left, and came away over mountain after mountain,
far and near, with clouds coming and going
( The PRIEST indicates he is walking )
till
we came to the flowering capital,
we came to the flowering capital
where the last crimson leaves hold our eyes.
(He indicates arrival.)
PRIEST
( He faces front .) Hurrying along I've reached a place called Upper Capital. ( Saying , " Let me look around, " he goes to stage center and stands there. In the meantime, his COMPANIONS have taken their seats at front left corner. The PRIEST faces front .)
Curious:
it's around the tenth of the tenth month,
and the treetops are all seared by winter;
but the crimson leaves remaining on the branches,
though only here and there, the way they look —
the scenery moves me more in the capital,
the view is different this evening.
A shower has started! I think I'll stand by this hut until it clears up. ( He starts toward front left corner .)
WOMAN OF THE PLACE
( Calling to the PRIEST from offstage, she enters quietly .) Tell me — tell me, why are you standing by that hut?
PRIEST
( He turns to face the WOMAN at front left corner .) I'm standing here because of the shower that just started. What do you call this place?
WOMAN
( As she walks on the bridgeway leading to the stage .) It's known as the Hut of Intermittent Showers, a place with a history. I thought you were standing there because you knew the story — that's why I asked the question.
PRIEST
Indeed, I see a plaque up there, and it has " Hut of Intermittent Showers " written on it. A coincidence, perhaps, but an interesting one. Would you tell me what kind of person built it?
WOMAN
Lord Fujiwara no Sadaie. Though it's within the capital, this place is so desolate, and the showers so moving, that he built this hut and every year wrote tanka on the subject, they say. ( She stops walking and faces front .) Such is the history of the place, and by coincidence you've happened by, so you might preach the Law and pray for the peace of his soul —
I thought I'd make that request,
and gave you a full explanation.
( She resumes walking and comes onstage .)
PRIEST
I see, Lord Sadaie built it.
Well, now, I wonder
which tanka of his
caused this hut
to commemorate the " showers. "
WOMAN
I must say that's hard to settle.
In the season of showers
every year, he wrote about them,
and I can't say with conviction, " This is it. "
Nevertheless, on the topic, " Intermittent showers know their time, " he wrote:
" No falsity
in this world: another tenth month —
whose sincere heart has caused
the showers to begin again? "
Considering that he wrote " At my house " in the headnote to it, it may be the tanka in question.
PRIEST
How those words
affect me!
True, with intermittent showers, no falsity
in this world where they stay on,
WOMAN
but the one who's no more! We speak
such words now, in this transient world,
PRIEST
because our ties from another life have not decayed.
We " shelter under the same tree, "
WOMAN
" drink from the flow of the same river. "
PRIEST
As if to urge us to realize it,
WOMAN
just then,
( During the CHORUS chanting that follows, the MAN OF THE PLACE enters inconspicuously and takes his seat near right corner upstage .)
CHORUS
here a shower starts
on the old house, the shower of the past,
on the old house, the shower of the past,
and we know how the one with a clear heart
must have felt. The world of dreams
never settles. On Sadaie's
eaves,
the shower falls at dusk —
thoughts of old move me to tears.
The garden and the hedges, no longer separate,
grass bushes, grown ever wilder,
are all seared, dew seldom forming on them.
How desolate this evening,
how desolate this evening!
( While looking off into the distance, the WOMAN steps backward to rear right corner and turns to face the PRIEST .)
WOMAN
This happens to be the day I offer prayers for someone who is dead, and I am going to her grave. Would you mind coming with me?
PRIEST
Not at all. I'll be glad to come with you. ( The WOMAN moves a few steps forward and turns to the grave mound; the PRIEST does the same .)
WOMAN
Look at the grave mound here.
PRIEST
It's strange. The marker looks very old, but the way kudzu vines crawl all over it and cling to it — I can't even tell its shape. Whose marker is it?
WOMAN
It's Princess Shokushi's grave. Those kudzu vines are called " Teika vines. "
PRIEST
How odd. Why are they called " Teika vines " ?
WOMAN
Princess Shokushi was, at first, vestal of the Kamo Shrine, but soon left that position. Then Lord Teika fell in love with her, and their love for each other, though secret, was deep. Soon afterward, Princess Shokushi died. Teika's attachment then turned into vines and crawled over her grave, cling to it. So, in their suffering, unable to separate, they lust for each other, a delusion, of which I will tell you more, if you are kind enough to offer prayers for them. ( She goes to stage center and takes her seat; the PRIEST returns to his seat .)
CHORUS
Unforgettable, though it was long ago;
" the depth of her heart, Mount Secret
I went over to visit in secrecy " — the dew on the grass
by the path — my telling you this is as purposeless.
WOMAN
Now, " string of beads,
if you must break, break. If you last longer,
CHORUS
my resolve to keep it secret " will weaken,
she felt, and as pampas grass shows its tufts in fall,
began to betray her affair,
when it was cut short and fell apart.
WOMAN
" I did not feel at all before then, "
CHORUS
and " my heart since " has remained astray.
" Know the grief
of the sleeve dyed mountain indigo
that decayed from frost to frost throughout
its life " — full of tears, those past days;
to do without the distress of longing she made ablutions,
she became vestal of the Kamo Shrine,
that was what she became,
but the god did not accept it.
Her vow with someone
betrayed its colors — that's what saddens us.
She tried to hide it, in vain in this world
of vanity; her affair came to light,
the rumors grew as vast
as the sky with its terrifying sun,
so that the path to the clouds was cut
and the figure of the maiden could not be kept,
a painful thing for both of them.
WOMAN
Indeed, " I grieve,
I long for you, but there's no way of meeting you:
CHORUS
you are a cloud on Katsuragi peak " —
the feeling that moved him to write it,
we understand, because of that attachment
his body turned into the Teika vines,
and here, where her remains are, from long ago
he's stayed inseparable, vines with crimson leaves,
color scorching,
clinging,
a tangle of hair, bound, binding.
This delusion
that faded and has returned
like frost or dew —
please save me from it.
As we listened to the story of long ago,
soon it's the end of another day, darkening;
mysterious — would you tell us who you are?
WOMAN
Who am I, you ask.
The remains of my dead body have decayed
under miscanthus and frost, only my name
staying on, all to no avail.
( She turns to the PRIEST .)
CHORUS
Placed under grass though you may be,
show your colors, your name.
WOMAN
I would hide it
CHORUS
no longer now:
I am no other than Princess Shokushi.
( She rises to her feet and, with her eyes fixed on the PRIEST , walks toward him slowly, firmly. )
I have been visible to you till now,
but my true figure is like heat haze,
(She faces front)
and even my form left in stone
(She retreats backward to the grave mound)
is invisible under the kudzu vines.
( She walks toward the PRIEST .) Please help me out of this suffering.
(She circles back to the grave mound and disappears into it.)
As soon as she said it, she disappeared,
as soon as she said it, she disappeared.
I NTERLUDE
( The MAN OF THE PLACE leaves his seat, announces himself, indicates that he has come across the PRIEST , and takes his seat at stage center. In response to the PRIEST'S questions, he tells the story of the affair between FUJIWARA NO TEIKA and PRINCESS SHOKUSHI in some detail. He says, among other things, that the kudzu vines that started growing on SHOKUSHI'S grave mound soon after TEIKA'S death used to be cut and removed, but they would immediately grow back; the cutting was continued until some holy person said that the vines were a manifestation of TEIKA'S attachment to the PRINCESS and therefore should be left alone. When the MAN learns about the woman the PRIEST has just met, he says she must be SHOKUSHI'S apparition, urges the PRIEST to offer prayers to lay her troubled soul to rest, and returns to his original seat. He exits inconspicuously after the GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI enters in Act II. )
ACT II
PRIEST & COMPANIONS
The evening passed, and now the moon is out.
The evening passed, and now the moon is out.
This late, when winds blow through pines, under desolate
clumps of grass she lies, a drop of dew.
Although our thoughts are many as our rosary beads,
how fortunate this chance to pray for her,
how fortunate this chance to pray for her.
(Gloomy, foreboding music is played.)
GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI
(In the grave mound, in a low voice)
Is this a dream?
In this dark reality, on Mount Real,
I trace by the moonlight
the path buried under the vines.
(In a high, painful tone)
Once in the past,
a pine wind or the moon through vines
moved us to exchange words;
pillows laid side by side
in green curtains, on a scarlet bed,
PRIEST
we loved each other
in many ways. But in the end,
GHOST
the blossoms and crimson leaves scatter away;
PRIEST
a cloud in the morning,
GHOST
rain in the evening,
CHORUS
that is an old story, yes,
but my body now,
(Quietly, with emotion)
and dreams, reality, illusions,
all have become part of the transient world,
leaving not a trace.
(In a different tone, reflectively)
Yet, here I am, under the grass —
not in a hut covered with burdock,
but with the Teika vines over me.
Look at this, look at me, holy priest.
( The stage assistants remove the cloth covering the grave mound, revealing the emaciated GHOST OF PRINCESS SHOKUSHI . She is seated on a chair, stiff, looking down, indicating that she is under the spell of Teika's passion .)
PRIEST
How painful it is to look at you, the way you are. How painful it is.
(He joins his hands in prayer.)
" The Buddha's undifferentiated preaching
Is like the rain, all of one flavor;
But beings, according to their nature,
Receive it differently. "
GHOST
Look at me.
( She turns her face to the PRIEST .)
I stand and sit, uselessly as waves.
Suffering as I am even after death,
I'm bound by the Teika vines;
suffering as I am
without a break —
I'm grateful to you.
What you have kindly recited now is from the " Parable of the Herbs, " is it not?
PRIEST
Indeed, you are right.
The wonderful Law overlooks no grass or tree.
Sever yourself from the vines of attachment,
and become a buddha.
GHOST
Oh, how grateful I am,
yes, indeed, indeed!
This is the heart
of the wonderful Law!
PRIEST
(He turns to face front.)
We receive the blessings
of the universal dew.
GHOST
" Not a second
PRIEST
not a third, "
CHORUS
(Somewhat forcefully)
the one rain, the one Law,
sprinkles,
and all turn moist,
grasses, trees, the land,
becoming buddhas.
Having that opportunity
(Growing quieter)
the Teika vines,
tears shed on them
in large drops,
unbind themselves, spread
( The GHOST indicates she is being freed )
and I, tottering,
like a cart with feeble wheels, leave the burning house. ( Rising to her feet, she steps out of the mound .) How grateful I am. ( She turns toward the PRIEST and joins her hands in prayer .)
In gratitude, may I then
flutter the flowery sleeves, which I once had
above the clouds, and bring back the past,
a dancing princess in the Omi robe?
GHOST
How embarrassing I look,
CHORUS
dancing.
(She dances a slow, quiet dance.)
GHOST
How embarrassing I look, dancing.
CHORUS
How embarrassing. I am embarrassed.
GHOST
The way I was,
CHORUS
my face was like the moon,
GHOST
but it began to cloud often,
CHORUS
and my eyebrows painted crescent-shape
GHOST
lost their beauty, in tears.
CHORUS
Even after I faded like dew,
(She circles back to the rear right corner, then goes to stage center.)
I was pitilessly covered with vine leaves, and am now like the goddess of Kazuraki. I'm ashamed of it, but can't help it. ( She sees the PRIEST and hides her face with her fan .)
Because we can meet only at night,
before this dream ends,
so saying, she returned to the place where she had been. ( She walks to the grave .) Then the vine leaves crawled over her, clung to her, as they used to, those Teika vines. They crawled over her, clung to her, those Teika vines. ( She settles in the grave mound .) And before we knew it, she was buried, she was gone. ( She covers her face with her fan and lowers her body .)
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