How now, you in the thatched hut, I would ask A question of you.
The Boist'rous Kagekiyo is he called, And of the Taira house, a warrior.
Yes, yes, I think that I have heard of him, Though being blind the man I've never seen. Miserable, his honourable state! To hear of which stirs pity in my breast. Pray then inquire elsewhere the full account.
But further on we should inquire again If you will honourably now proceed.
She who has just been here--Why! is she not The very child of this selfsame blind man? Once, very long ago, at Atsuta I met a woman, and this child I got. It was a girl,[35] and so I trusted her To Kamegaegatsu's châtelaine. Now grieving parent meets with child estranged; She, speaking to her father, knows it not.
Her form unseen, although I hear her voice, How sad my blindness is! Without a word I let her pass. And yet such action is Due truly to the bond of parent's love, Due truly to the bond of parent's love.
And to the Villager what hast thou then Of honourable business?
Dost thou know Where lives an exiled man?
What sort of man-- An exile though he be--of whom you ask?
A warrior of the Hei house, and called Kagekiyo the Boist'rous, him I seek.
Just now as thou hast come along this way Upon the hill-side, was there not a hut, A hut with thatch, and somebody within?
Aye. That blind beggar is the man you seek, The very Kagekiyo whom you seek! How strange! When I said Kagekiyo's name That honourable lady there did deign To show a look of sadness. Why was that?
Thy wonder is most reasonable. Naught Shall I conceal from thee. Kagekiyo's Most honourable daughter is the maid Who hopes once more her honoured sire to meet. That being so, and as from far away She has come hither, I pray thee devise Some proper way of speaking face to face With Kagekiyo.
Oh, unutterable! Is she his honourable daughter then? Well, calm your heart, and pray you deign to hear. The sight of both eyes Kagekiyo lost; So helpless, he cut short his hair and called Himself Kotau of Hiuga and he begs For his poor living from the travellers, And with the pity of such lowly folk As we ourselves, he just sustains his life. And that he doth not tell his name must be Shame for the contrast with the olden days. At once I shall go with you and call out "Kagekiyo"--and if it is his name Then will he answer and you can observe Him face to face, and of the distant past And of the present you shall tell him all. Pray come this way.