- (There has been a slight pause on the stage, during which time the Monk is understood to be traveling to Michinoku. Now he goes to the Name-Saying Seat, where he turns and addresses the actor who has been sitting motionless at the Kyōgen’s Seat during Part I.)
Monk: Are you a native of Soto no Hama?
- (The Villager rises and stands on the Bridge near the First Pine. He is wearing a simple plaid kimono and a kamishimo of brocade.)
Villager: Yes, I am. May I help you?
Monk: Please show me the house here of the hunter who died last autumn.
Villager: Why, of course. The dead hunter’s house is that one you see there inside that high stockade made of crisscrossed bamboo. You can reach it in a moment if you please.
Monk: I understand. Thank you for your kindness. I shall go there at once and pay a visit.
Villager: If there is anything else I can do for you, please say so.
Monk: Thank you very much.
Villager: You are very welcome.
- (The Villager resumes his seat. Later he makes an unobtrusive exit.)
Part II
Place: The home of the dead Hunter, both the interior and exterior being understood to be visible.
- (The Monk has moved to the Stage Attendant’s Pillar, where he pauses. The Wife speaks, as if to herself, from her seat at the Waki’s Pillar.)
Wife: Truly, long have I known this world to be a fleeting thing, becoming dreamlike even as it passes. But now more than ever before.
