Pathway to Japanese Literature

Character: Younger Sister Traveler Boastful Thief

Orphan Boy

Location: A solitary house near the woods. to the sisters

the assigned small study room

Time: A windy night just after spring had arrived

(The elder sister and younger sister sat facing each other at desks, studying by the light of a single desk lamp. On the desk was placed a pot of primroses.) (Sound of wind)

"What a terrible wind!"

(Sound of a train)

“Is that the nine o’clock up train?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s the eight-ten down train.” “Ah, I wish Father and the rest would come home soon.” (The lamp goes out) “Oh, a blackout!” “Could it be the bulb burned out?”

(Tries twisting the switch.) “It’s a blackout.” “Ugh, this sucks.” “It will light again soon—just stay still, Sis.”

(Pause) Younger Sister: "It won't come back on. The wind must've snapped the power lines." Elder Sister: "Is that so, I wonder."

“Oh, something’s glowing bluish-white over there.”

“Where?” asked Elder Sister. “Look! Over by the window,” said Younger Sister. “The swamp—that must be it,” murmured Elder Sister. “It reflects moonlight...” “How lovely...” “Exquisite!” “I feel poetry stirring.”

“Tch.” “This is exactly why I can’t stand bookish girls.” “Sis, let’s light Father’s lamp.” “Do we still have oil, I wonder?” “There must be some left.”

(The Elder Sister stood up and groped her way along the wall.) (She exited.)

Younger Sister (humming “Spring Has Come”). (Elder Sister returns holding the lamp.) Younger Sister: “Snicker snicker.” “Did you find it right away?” Elder Sister: “I couldn’t reach it even when I climbed onto the chair, so I ended up climbing onto the table.” “I almost kicked away Father’s precious photo of Yuki-bou.” “Keep it a secret.”

(In the meantime, she lit the lamp.) "You always think this old shabby lamp's useless, but see how handy it is now?" "Things from the past really do have their charm." "It was French-made, right?" "Yes," "When Father went to Marseille on his first voyage, they say he found it at a secondhand shop in the back alleys there." "They say it's from Louis XIV's time."

(Pause) “We lit this lamp like this once before too,” said Elder Sister. “Yeah,” replied Younger Sister. “Remember how frogs were croaking then?” “It was late spring,” said Elder Sister. “A butterfly came through the window and fluttered round our lamp.” “Right,” said Younger Sister. “It kept flapping about till I couldn’t read.” “When I whacked it down with my desk pad – oh how cross you got!” “Why ever did you do something so awful?” “That’s exactly your problem!” “Like when you strip every petal because one rose wilts! Or snap off Chopin mid-sonata saying ‘Time to study!’ That’s what I mean!”

“Sis is such a romanticist,” said the Younger Sister. “I’m a realist, you know. I’ll make sure to start saving money properly.” “What ridiculous nonsense!” retorted the Elder Sister. “Oh, I remember—the last time we lit this lamp, when Yuki-bou was still with us, he begged me to let him strike a match.” “Yeah,” agreed the Younger Sister. “Yuki-bou was in second grade then. He’d just learned how to strike them and would grip the very tip while trembling.”

“At first he got too nervous and threw the match away, didn’t he? It fell on the desk cover and left a slight scorch mark—I wonder if it’s still there after all this time.” (Searching) “Could this be it, I wonder?”

“That’s definitely it.” “It’s already been two years since Yuki-bou died.” “How time flies…” “Sis, and then—remember?—we all did that thing together, didn’t we?” “What?” “That thing…”

Elder Sister: “Look – shadow play.” “We used to project them on the wall like this before, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” “I wonder if we should try doing it again.” “I wonder if we can’t do it anymore.” (Clasping her hands together to examine) “Could you fold a triangular hat with that paper and place it on top?” (The younger sister did so) “Ah, this will do.”

A traveler walking alone through some desolate wilderness. "Traveler, O traveler," "Hurry along your path," "By the seaside, waves murmur;" "Through the field's edge, cicadas' song…" "Younger Sister: I made a really good thief back then, didn't I?" "Elder Sister: Right." "But he was a thief who didn't seem capable of any wrongdoing." "Those hands were just so absurdly large."

“That’s not true.” “They looked menacing.” “I wonder if I can’t do it anymore.” (Trying it out) “There, I did it!” “It projected nicely, didn’t it?” Elder Sister: “Isn’t this thief the sort who’d get startled by a chicken?” “Yuki-bou did something too, didn’t he?” “Yeah.” “Yuki-bou couldn’t manage it no matter how he tried with his fingers—they were too stubby—so we ended up cutting out pictures from a storybook and projecting those instead.” “That one turned out the best.”

“That’s right,” said the Elder Sister. “The picture from *The Orphan*, you know. “Remi, the orphan—traveling with his dog and monkey, a harp slung over his shoulder, searching for his mother—how skillfully he explained it all, wasn’t he?” (The doorbell rang.)

“Oh, someone’s come.”

“Who could it be at this hour, I wonder.”

(Exits holding the lamp.

(Immediately reappeared accompanied by the Traveler) (Younger Sister stared intently at the Traveler) "Younger Sister: Who is this person, Sis?" "Elder Sister: I don’t know." "Traveler: I am a traveler." "I was lost on the road." "When I had just come as far as the other side of that marsh over there, I saw a small light here, so I made my way over." "I am fond of this sort of lamplight." "When I look at the lamp, it feels so very dear to me." "Please let me rest for a while." (Elder Sister brought a chair from near the wall and had him sit.)

“Your hat looks odd, doesn’t it? A triangular one, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I too seem to have seen you both somewhere before,” said the Traveler. He looked around the room. “Not somewhere else—it’s this very room. Ah, I came to this room once before. Yes—on an evening five or six years ago…”

“He says such strange things.”

Elder Sister: “And you—where is your home?”

“I have no home,” said the Traveler. “I am always journeying.”

Younger Sister: “So you’re all alone then.”

Traveler: "Oh yes, that's right. But my friends are everywhere. Children who've lost their mothers, children who are ill, children who love to dream—they're all my friends. Such lonely children often project shadow plays alone on walls and fences. When they do, I go to comfort them." Elder Sister: "So you visit every country?" Traveler: "That's right. I've been to Russia, Hungary, Denmark, Germany, France, Arabia too. And I'll keep going. Every country has pitiable children and daydreamers. Every country has walls and fences. My friends are truly countless."

“But you have such a sad expression,” observed the Elder Sister. “I have seen too many things,” replied the Traveler. “I know too many things.” “When people know too many things, they’re bound to grow sorrowful.” “You must be tired,” she pressed. “I am tired,” he admitted. “Please rest here awhile,” she offered. “Mother will return soon—then I’ll serve you tea.” “Ah, but I cannot linger,” he demurred. “I must go.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

“I don’t know why,” said the Traveler. “My heart compels me onward.” “Are you searching for something?” asked the Elder Sister. “Ah... yes,” he replied.

“For what?” “Did you lose a canary or something?” “No.” “That isn’t it.” “Somehow... even I myself don’t quite understand.” “How strange—searching for something you yourself don’t understand.”

Traveler: “Oh... yes, that’s right. But that is our fate.” Younger Sister: “We?”

“Myself and you both,” said the Traveler. “All of humanity.” “Even us?” asked the Younger Sister.

“I think that’s right.”

“You’re wrong. We have a proper home and are right here.”

“Is that so?” “That’s right.” “Is that so?” “You’re such a bother. Please don’t look at me like that.”

Traveler: “Then I must apologize.” “I must take my leave now.”

(Rose)

“Sis, please take care.” “Please come again next time.”

“Oh, I’ll come again,” said the Traveler. “When next you light the lamp.”

(Elder Sister saw the Traveler off.)

(A thief wearing large gloves nimbly hopped in through the window.) "You startled me!" "Who even are you?" "A thief. I’m a thief." "How crude—announcing yourself as a thief like that?" "Even among thieves, you’re spectacularly clueless."

“That’s not true.”

“Oh my, you shouldn’t say there’s no such thing,” said the Elder Sister. “How can you even be a thief looking that ridiculous?” said the Younger Sister. “You’re wearing those huge military gloves. For starters, your face is too innocent for a thief. If you’re going to steal, you’ve got to wear a proper intimidating mustache or people won’t fear you.” “Oh, isn’t it on?” said the Thief. “There’s nothing there,” said the Elder Sister.

Thief: Darn it, I dropped it again. “Darn it all!” “I paid three sen for that!” Younger Sister: Is it a fake mustache?

“Yes, it’s magnificent,” said the thief. “Curves like this.” He drew a figure-eight beneath his nose. “They call this a bandit’s mustache. Ah! It fell over there!” He scrambled to the window ledge and retrieved it. “Well? Terrifying enough for you?” “What an absolute comedian,” scoffed the younger sister.

“Hand over 100 yen.” “I don’t have any.”

“I don’t have it.” “I’m not scared at all.” “Then hand over ninety yen.” “I don’t have it.” “Then hand over fifty yen.” “I don’t have it.” “Then hand over ten yen.” “I don’t have it.” “Then hand over one yen.” “I don’t have it.” “Then hand over ten sen.”

"Younger Sister: I don’t have it." "Thief: Then hand over one sen." "Younger Sister: I don’t have it."

“Then hand over zero.”

“Here you go.” (forming a circle with her fingers and presenting it) “It’s not much, but I’ll manage with this for tonight,” he said, pretending to receive it and tuck it into his pocket.

“What a peculiar thief you are.” “You clueless thief!”

“That’s not true,” said the Thief. “I’ve got a hundred henchmen!”

“Oh really? You have a hundred henchmen?” “What kind of people are they?” “Ishikawa Goemon.” “And then?” “Nezumikozō Jirokichi.” “And then?” “Arsène Lupin.” “Robin Hood.” “And then?”

Thief: G-men, Al Capone, King Kong, Sergeant Norakuro, Edo no Ko Ken-chan, Susume Fuku-chan—and there's still more.

“That’s remarkable.”

Thief: “You must be shocked.” “And besides, they’ve even got pistols.” “Shall I show you?” Younger Sister: “Yeah.”

“This is it,” said the thief, taking out a toy gun and showing it. “Isn’t this just a toy?” she retorted. “Have you ever actually shot anyone with this?” “Not yet,” he replied. “We’re planning to use them when we raid the London Bank.” “You’re such a braggart!”

“O sorrowful traveler’s boastful one!” “Well then—so long!” “I’ll be back.” (With a brusque flick of his coat, he exited through the window.)

Younger Sister: “Quite the parade of visitors tonight.” “That person too—I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before.” Elder Sister: “That’s right.” “Hush now—be quiet.”

Younger Sister: “What?”

Elder Sister: A cough came from behind the door.

Younger Sister: Who was it? Elder Sister: It sounded like a child. (Goes to open the door. Carrying a harp, the boy enters.) Younger Sister: Oh my, how adorable. "And this visitor…"

The boy coughed—cough cough.

“Please come over here. Do you have a cold?”

“Yes,” said the boy. “It’s cold—come closer to the fire,” urged the Elder Sister. (The boy approached.) “Quit standing around and sit down,” said the Younger Sister. (The boy sat.) “Take that thing off your shoulders,” instructed the Elder Sister. (Helping him remove it) “What’s this?” “A harp,” he replied. (He took off his gloves and placed them on the desk.)

“How unusual,” she said. “I’ve never seen one like this before.”

The boy (looking around restlessly): “That child isn’t here.” Elder Sister: “That child—who do you mean?”

The boy: “That child.” “I don’t know his name.”

Younger Sister: “I wonder if he’s talking about Yuki-bou.”

“Perhaps so,” said the Elder Sister. Then turning to the boy: “Are you speaking of our brother?”

The boy: "Yes." Elder Sister: "Yuki-bou has died, you know." The boy: "He died?" Elder Sister: "Yes." Elder Sister: "It's already been two years."

“Where did he go?”

Elder Sister: “He died.”

Orphan Boy: “Then where did he go?” The younger sister didn’t understand what dying meant. Elder Sister: “That’s right.” “Dying means, you know, that you’re no longer anywhere at all.” “If you put paper into the fire, it would burn.” “And then there would be nothing left at all.” “It’s the same as that.” “But what happens after that—we don’t really know either.” Orphan Boy: “So… he isn’t anywhere anymore?”

“Yes,” said the Elder Sister. “Is it like hide-and-seek—hiding somewhere and never coming out no matter how long you wait?” asked the boy. “Yes, no matter how much time goes by.” “How boring...” he murmured. “I came here to play...” “I came here thinking I’d play the harp and tell you stories about Kapi the dog and the monkey...” “And I’ve got plenty more stories about traveling through the French countryside too, but...”

“Please let us hear them.” “But if that child isn’t here, it’s no fun.” “I hate it when you make such a sad face. You’re making even us feel sad.” “I came here thinking I’d fly kites and pick horsetails on the embankment with that child, but this is no fun at all.”

The sisters…… "I came here thinking I’d ride the swing and play, but…"

“The swing Yuki-bou always rode—it’s still there in the backyard, unchanged.” “When skylarks rise from the pine woods… I thought we’d sing their songs together.”

“Truly，it’s already spring，isn’t it?” “It’s already become spring.” “Tonight is as cold as winter though.”

The boy coughed weakly. “I’ll go now.” (Stood up) “Please don’t go out into this wind—stay here tonight.”

“But I have to go to France, so I can’t linger.” “Why don’t you have our father let you board his ship?” “Our father captains the Berute Maru.” “But I must leave now.”

"Why?" "The lights're gonna come on soon."

“If the lights come on, it’ll brighten up the place—wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

(The lights came on.)

“Ah, they came on.” “Ah, it was so bright.” The boy: “Well, I must be going.” (Shouldered his harp) Elder Sister: “Are you really leaving already?”

“Oh… Goodbye,” said the boy. “Do come again,” said Elder Sister.

“No, I won’t be coming back.”

“Why?” “Even the traveler and the thief said they’d come again.”

“But I won’t come again.” “Why do you say such a sad thing?” “But that child isn’t here anymore.” “Yuki-bou...?”

The boy: “Yes.” (The sisters watched the boy sorrowfully for a while.) Younger Sister: “Here, take this flower.”

(Picking a cherry blossom and tucking it into his chest pocket) The boy: “Thank you.” The boy coughed weakly three times.

“Take care of yourself.”

(Elder Sister opened the door for him.) The boy left. Elder Sister watched outside the door for a while. Eventually she closed it and returned. (Sat down) "It had shut now." (Pause.) Younger Sister: "The wind has died down, hasn't it?" "Yes." "My ears feel odd." "I still feel like I can hear that child's cough."

"I can hear it too." A small cough. Cough-cough.

(Pause.)

“Oh, that child forgot his gloves.”

“Oh, really?” “If we chase after him now, we can still catch up.”

(She stood up)

“Oh, this looks familiar.” “It’s Yuki-bou’s gloves, I’m sure.” That’s right. They’re Yuki-bou’s. Here, it’s embroidered with thread—‘Yuki-bou’. I was the one who did this for him. “Yuki-bou’s gloves…”

(Pause.) Elder Sister (sits down) I understood now.

“Me too.” “It was shadow play after all.” “Yes.” “The first traveler was your shadow play creation.” “The thief was mine.” “And that last child was Yuki-bou’s ‘The Orphan.’” “We’d been seeing illusions.” “That’s right.”

(Car horn)

“Oh, Father and the others have come back.”

(The two stood up.) Curtain.