my own vigorous form. . . .
SECOND BOY: Tell us a story about that brave war.
KAGEKIYO: And I can hear the sound of music from heaven.
GIRL: Play your biwa for us.
FIRST BOY: The one that goes beron-beron is the story of the Heike
clan . . . .
GIRL/SECOND BOY: Barari-karari, karari-barari. . . .
The children help Kagekiyo take the biwa from his back. Kagekiyo sits
in a formal posture and begins to chant.
KAGEKIYO: I myself am a general of the Heike clan, known by the
name Aku Nanahei . . . .
That name roars too valiant beyond comparison Kagekiyo. . . .
KAGEKIYO: The Heike’s luck ran out at war, it is painful even to
remember—in the fourth year of Juei at Dan-no-Ura huge numbers of
Genji troops overwhelm the Heike boats. . . .
A nun of the second rank the Emperor’s grandmother always ready she
holds his majesty in her arms and steps to the side of the boat.
KAGEKIYO:The Emperor is only eight years old, he asks—Nun where
are you taking me?—You were born the leader of ten thousand carriages of
war, but now your good fortune has ended. First face the east. . . .
Bid farewell to the great shrine at Ise. . . .
KAGEKIYO: Then face the west and pray to be carried off to the
Western Pure Land, then pray to
Amitabha Buddha. The Emperor puts his dear little hands together. . . .
(Kagekiyo sobs) Now at last the nun holds him in her arms, saying—
Beneath the waves there is another capital. . . .
