Pathway to Japanese Literature

Music: Girls' chorus (not in a melodic tune, gradually approaching from afar)

On days when snow falls, we awaken
On days when snow melts, we sleep
Without sadness, without anger
Without joy, just quietly
We breathe
Dance in the wind and rest upon the earth
Snow is our life
Snow is our guise
White / Cold / Brittle
Softly / Softly

We talk to the lonely one.

Girl A: “I wonder about that old man? He’s always all alone, living in that hut by the riverside.”

Girl B: "That's right. He'd been there seven years already, hadn't he?"

Girl C: "He wasn't alone when he first came."

Girl A: "He'd evacuated here with his family just before the war ended. They rented that disused watermill."

Girl D: "Exactly. Back then there were three others besides the old man - his son's two wives and the youngest daughter..."

Girl E: "But when they all went back to Tokyo, why does the old man alone refuse to return?"

Girl F: "He must have taken a liking to this land."
Girl G: "Because Tokyo is hard to live in."
Girl A: "That may be so, but first and foremost, that old man dislikes people. He doesn’t want anyone near him."
Girl B: "He’s being selfish."

“He’s eccentric.”

“That’s not how it is.”
“He gets along well with the children, you know.”
“Everyone loves the old man, and he’s truly kind to them too.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

Girl D: “That’s exactly what’s strange about it.”
“Look.”
“Since yesterday, the eldest son and his wife and the youngest daughter have come all the way from Tokyo and are earnestly trying to persuade him to come back.”

“It’s useless,” said Girl A. “As if…the old man would ever budge.”
“Anyway,” said Girl B, “let’s go check on him.”

Music: An independent piece; may overlap with preceding and following sections.

[Music: Bridge for this section only.]

Girl C: “How strange... The snow around here has been neatly shoveled aside.”

“Ah, it seems they all did snow removal this morning.”
“They’re still outside—two of them.”

“What are they doing, those two?”
“They’re making a snowman.”
“My, at their age... and what’s more, as a married couple...”

“That son’s a sculptor, you know,” said Girl A. “Look. It’s a proper half-body of a woman.”

Girl B: "The old man is squatting on the veranda, grinning."

Girl C: "The youngest daughter is already clinging to the stove, making a face that says it's ridiculous."

Music: …………

Shunji: "Snow sculptures—seems they've started appearing here and there lately. Quite interesting things."
"But they're rather cold work."

"Haruko, does the shoulder look right like that?"
"Why not add a bit more roundness?"

Shunji: "Hmm."
"Shall I take a short break?"
"Father—what expression are you making?"

Haruko looked so happy... She wanted to tell him something.

Shunji: “Go tell him to come here and have a look.”
“Ah, we’ve gone and taken over the boots between us.”
“Lend him yours.”

Haruko moved closer and spoke coaxingly: “Grandfather, won’t you come nearer to see?”

“I’m not cold at all.”

Haruko raised her voice even more: “Wouldn’t you like to see it from closer up?”
“Would you like to put on the boots?”

Old Man (finally realizing): "The cane is in the corner of the kitchen."

Haruko: "Please wait... I'll bring it right away. Yoshiko, help Grandfather into his overcoat, won't you?"

Yoshiko: "But Grandfather always walks without an overcoat anyway. Ugh, I just want to go back to Tokyo already!"

Haruko: "There's snow in your boots - you must be uncomfortable. Here, your cane... Are you all right...?"

Music: …………

Shunji: “Look at it from the side too.”
“This angle shows it best, I think.”
“A little more this way.”

Old Man: “Hmm…”
Music: …………
Girl A: “The old man’s eyes are shining so brightly now.”

Girl B: “The Old Man’s hands are trembling so much.”

Shunji: “Material—so to speak—is a mysterious thing.”
“Snow… I feel it connects to a certain kind of woman’s soul.”

“Keep quiet.”

Music continued.

The old man murmured, "She looks alive."
"No—she looks exactly as she did when she was alive."

Girl C observed how he pressed his face against the snow sculpture, staring fixedly at its nape.

"Yukiko... Yukiko..." he whispered into the frozen neckline.

"That's his wife's name," Girl D informed the others. "The one who died twenty years ago."

The sound of wind.

“Oh! I thought the sun had clouded over, but now the sky’s taken a turn for the worse.”

“Ah, it’s already started falling.”
“Father, wouldn’t you like to come inside?”

The sound of an avalanche.
The cry of a jay.

Girl E: “The old man simply won’t leave that spot.”

Girl F looked back reluctantly many times.

Haruko: “Oh no, the stove isn’t warm at all. Yoshiko, were you just sitting there without even adding firewood?”

Yoshiko: “Holding firewood gets my hands dirty.”

Haruko: “Come now, princess—this isn’t some playground; this is where Grandfather sits.”

Yoshiko: “Hey—what are we supposed to do now? Let’s just drag him back by force. Staying in a place like this for two whole days—it’s so boring.”

“I thought three of us could handle him together, but he’s proving rather stubborn…”
“Here you are, Grandfather – dry tabi socks and fresh footwear.”

“My socks are soaked through too.”

“If you’d just remove them for a moment, I’ll have them dried straight away.”
“You’ve utterly captivated Grandfather with this.”
“That snowman… it looks so much like Grandma…”

“It does resemble her.”
“I merely tried shaping the vague impression I remembered – how much of it came through, I wonder…”
“I’m parched.”

Haruko: “I’ll make some tea now.”

Yoshiko: “Huh? Is that… Mother? I’d only thought Yoshiko was the model.”

“Idiot!”
“Even Haruko looks old compared to me.”
“I can’t even imagine what Grandma looked like when she was young… but then, I’ve never even seen a photo of her.”

“Ah, they all burned down along with the house.”
“My mother died twenty years ago; she was around forty then, but I can picture her most clearly not as she was then, but even younger—around your age.”
“She was somehow... a person who felt almost translucent.”

The sound of Haruko making tea.
The sound of everyone sipping the tea.

“Hey Yoshiko—take those earphones there and give them to Father.”

“I don’t want to…”

Shunji laughed. “You’re impossible.”
“Father—please listen to us a little longer.”
“I know this must be tiresome, but somehow… I still can’t settle this in my mind.”
(Lowering his voice to normal speaking volume to indicate he’d put on earphones) “As we’ve said repeatedly since yesterday—you may claim not to mind living uncomfortably, but from our position as your children, we can’t simply stay silent and leave things be.”
“We’ve consulted with Eizo and his wife too—how about staying at each of us siblings’ homes for a month at a time? Or perhaps alternating between them as you prefer?”

“No matter how many times I hear it,” said the old man, “it’s always the same tune. Best leave me right here as I am. Daily costs could stand more trimming yet. As for Haruko’s ‘emergencies’—I’ll see that nobody’s burdened. No need fussing over doctors or medicines anymore. I’ll either drop dead sudden-like or slip away in my sleep like vanishing smoke. Whoever finds me can spread word after burning what’s left. I’ll set things straight myself. That should do well enough.”

“Oh, that simply won’t do.”

Shunji: “I do understand your feelings, but making Father’s later years flawless isn’t something we can achieve.”
“To put it plainly—even if you keep living here as you are, it would mean having someone suitable assigned to handle your daily care.”

Old Man: “That’s why I keep saying such arrangements aren’t needed.”
“They’re not just unnecessary—they’d actually get in the way.”

“I think so too,” said Yoshiko. “What does someone who wants to live alone even need? ……Well—unless some young bride comes along……”

Haruko: Again—Yoshiko-chan...

“Brother and Sister-in-law—you really shouldn’t get so sentimental.”

“You needn’t say that—it’s what we’ve all been thinking.”

“To have outlived one’s time brings nothing but hardship,” said the old man. “My sole wish was to spare others this burden—yet even that escapes my grasp.”

Shunji leaned forward. “That very consideration weighs heavier upon us than you know. Father.”

“Perhaps it does.” The old man’s voice roughened like bark splitting. “Which is why I meant to keep silent.” His cane struck the floorboards. “Let them call me a stubborn old nuisance—I’ll not bend.”

Haruko: “Perhaps our way of putting things is clumsy.”
“Should we give up?”

“Well, it does seem better to give up,” said Yoshiko. “It wasn’t going to work from the start.”

Shunji lowered his voice. “I know this must sound repetitive, but if you ever need someone by your side going forward—truly need someone—please tell us at once.” His fingers tightened around the teacup’s rim. “We’ll send Haruko or whoever else required.” Snow whispered against the watermill’s shutters as he stood. “In that case... we should take our leave now.”

The old man plucked at the wires trailing from his ears. “Can I remove these contraptions yet?” His voice carried the rasp of unplaned wood. “Makes a man feel wretched—this muzzling.”

“Even if I were the one staying here alone, would you ever use this?”

Old Man: “Yeah, come springtime, I start wanting to hear those dawn birdsongs, you know.”

Yoshiko: “Sister-in-law.”
“I’ll wear a white sweater for the return trip.”
“Wouldn’t that be better?”

Haruko wondered whether white suited one in the snow...

“You – what time was the next train again?”

Shunji: “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Grandpa?”

“Grandfather… Oh, where have you gone?”

Girl A: The old man came out onto the veranda and gazed intently outside.

Girl B gazed intently at the snow sculpture from earlier with eyes like burning coals.

Girl C: Ah—the old man descended barefoot.

Girl D came walking unsteadily, leaning on her cane.

Music..........

Girl E: The old man steps into the snow, one foot at a time.

Girl F: The powder snow that began falling earlier turns the old man’s shoulders, head, and then back pure white.

Girl G: The old man approached the snowman and circled around it once.

Girl A eventually stroked the side of its face with her hand.

Old Man: Yukiko... Yukiko... Do you understand what I'm saying?

“Yes, I understand… I’d been wanting to hear your voice.”
“Ah… Your voice… Your voice I hadn’t heard in so long…”
“You’ve grown quite old, haven’t you?”
“Now don’t say that—are you still keeping yourself so young?”

“Shunji restored my youth,” said the snow sculpture. “This shows me at my most beautiful age. Yet that very beauty made me begin feeling loneliness more keenly than ever.”

The old man gripped her icy shoulder. “You’d secretly made peace with dying young—I only realized it afterward.”

“Parting was so very painful for me.”

“I... I... I... how much I suffered... Yet I... I couldn’t make you happy in the end.”

“That’s not true,” said the snow sculpture. “I was happy.”

“No,” the old man countered. “You never once said that to me.”

“Even if I didn’t say it, I felt that way.” Her voice softened like settling snowflakes. “Is that enough?”

“Just once—I wanted to hear you say it.”

“I couldn’t speak those words before you.” The sculpture’s frozen lips seemed to tremble. “That’s the sort of woman I was.”

“It’s not that you were bad,” said the Old Man. “If you had lived until now and aged alongside me, I surely would have understood even without words.”

“Why didn’t you take another wife after me?” asked the Snow Sculpture.

The Old Man: ………….

“I wouldn’t have minded at all…” Her voice softened. “At the time of our parting, I meant to say it, but ended up letting the chance slip by without telling you.”

“You were worried about the children, weren’t you?”

“No—for the children’s sake, to be honest—I found that difficult. More than anything, I thought you being alone in so many ways would be troublesome. You’re clumsy in many matters, often forget things, a poor correspondent who never replies to letters... And truthfully, you’re someone who can’t even comfort yourself on your own. If no one discreetly lifts your spirits from nearby, you’ll quickly grow despondent. Don’t you agree? Was I at least somewhat useful in that way? Why didn’t you find someone to take my place?”

Old Man: "There was no reason. I just... somehow couldn't muster the confidence."

Snow Sculpture: "I suppose that's how it was."
"That's about how it was."

Old Man: "Of course, I could also give the reason that I couldn't forget you."

Snow Sculpture: "That's a different matter altogether."
"I'm not saying I want you to forget me."
"That's how it is."
"You didn't truly have confidence even toward me."

“Now that you say it, I suppose there was that side of me,” said the Old Man. “You should’ve found yourself a man far better than me—that’s what I kept thinking all along.”

“That right there is your flaw,” countered the Snow Sculpture. “An outright vice.”

“That vice won’t cling much longer anyway.”

“No—you’re wrong to think so,” she persisted. “I too... since back then... still haven’t managed to shed my own flaws.”

“Did you ever have any flaws?”
“If there were any, it would’ve been something like viewing the world a bit too kindly.”

“Yes, that may be so—but more than anything, I despised the very idea of passion.”
“Not so much because I lacked it myself, but rather because I hated having others point it out.”

“Not from others.”
“It was from the man himself.”

“Precisely.”
“In other words, from you…”

Old Man: “From me…”

Snow Sculpture: “Unknowingly, I had come to learn the loneliness of loving more than being loved.”

Old Man: “But you never knew that the reverse of that is also lonely.”

“Becoming alone made me realize that.”

“It’s not simply because you became alone. Is it because you went to a world disconnected from the flesh?”

“Is that how you see it? I am not concerned with what remains after losing my body. I feel myself through my skin, and I feel you. My skin may be cold, but through it, I can accept both pain and joy.”

“I want to ask you something—in the world where you exist, can married couples live together?”

“I do think it’s possible,” said the Snow Sculpture.
“There are ever so many who live that way…”

“I suppose there are those who never meet again?”

“There are plenty of those,” said the Snow Sculpture. “Far more than the others.”

“Can’t people make new partners there?” asked the Old Man.

“That’s not it at all,” she replied. “In this world, there’s no romance or affairs. Only the binding of past-life memories remains.”

“Fascinating,” he murmured. “Memories binding... Yours and mine... All those countless memories... I’ve grown tired of living. But like this, I probably can’t reach your side.”

“Just one last breath now.”

Old Man: “I understand that.”

Snow Sculpture: “The children should be alright now, I suppose.”

“Ah, they’ll be just fine…”

“In that case, come quickly.”
“What should I do?”
“Hold onto my shoulder.”
“I can’t see anymore.”
“Just endure a little longer. Soon your eyes will brighten.”

Old Man: “This is unexpected.”
“It’s a blessing.”
“Take me anywhere.”

“You mustn’t let go of my hand.”

Music…………

The old man had been kneeling before the snow sculpture for some time now, talking quite happily.

The old man’s body was buried in snow up to his waist,
From his waist up was gradually being enveloped by the accumulating snow,

Girl E eventually became a single snowman.

Girl F: Steadily, silently, the snow continued to fall.
The snow continued falling without end.

Girl G: Steadily, silently, the snow continued to fall.

The Old Man's voice stopped abruptly.

Girl A: Steadily, silently, the snow continued to fall.
The old man's snowman remained motionless forever.

Music…………

“Grandfather... Grandfather... Where have you gone, I wonder...”
“It’s not like he’s in the bathroom or anything.”

Shunji: “He can’t possibly be outside.”
Haruko: “His boots are right here…”
Shunji: “I don’t see the cane.”

“Oh, it’s true,” said Haruko.

“Wait—wait—a snowman’s appeared out of nowhere,” said Yoshiko. “Right over there…”

“Ah—you—!” Haruko’s voice turned shrill.

Music…………

The sound of three people breaking into a run.

The Girl A trio timidly approached the new snowman, and the three of them each began scraping away at the snow’s surface with their hands.

No matter how much Girl B scraped away, there was nothing resembling that texture.
Of course there wasn't... Grandfather wasn't there anymore...

Girl D: The snowman had been completely demolished, leaving no trace.
A single cherrywood cane stood upright.

Haruko: “What could this be?... What does it mean?...”

Yoshiko: “What meaning could there possibly be?
Grandfather capriciously made a snowman by himself.
And he just left his cane behind and is wandering around aimlessly over there.”

Shunji: “Grandfather can’t make this snowman.”

“Then how was it made?”

Shunji: “I don’t know.”
Haruko: “Let’s at least search around there more thoroughly.”

“I’m not a child—I’ll manage just fine.”
“Let him do as he pleases.”
(perfunctorily) “Grandfather…”

“Grandfather……!” Haruko screamed at the top of her voice.

“Grandfather…! Father…!” Shunji called out with equal intensity.

Girl E: How far will they go searching for what’s already gone…

The voices of three people calling out for THE old man gradually grow distant.

Music: Girls’ Chorus (gradually fading into the distance)

On days when snow falls, we awaken
On days when snow vanishes, we sleep
Without sadness, without anger
Without joy, just quietly
We breathe
We dance in the wind and rest upon the earth
Snow is our life
Snow is our raiment

White, cold, fragile

Softly, softly

We

They search for the solitary one.