Tokubei: There is no sense in my going on talking like this. Before three days have passed I, Tokubei, will make amends and show to all of Osaka the purity of my heart.
Narrator: The meaning of these words is later known.
Tokubei: I have bothered you all a great deal. Please forgive me.
Narrator: He speaks these words apologetically,
Picks up his battered hat and puts it on,
His face downcast in the sinking rays of the sun
Clouded by the tears in which he is plunged,
Dejectedly he makes his way back home,
A sight so sad that all avert their eyes.
Scene II: Inside the Temma Teahouse
Narrator: The breezes of love are clamorous
Where Shijimi River flows, and the denizens
Like empty shells, bereft of their senses,
Wander the dark ways of love lit each night
By burning lanterns, fireflies that glow
The four seasons, stars that shine every night,
By Plum Bridge, which blossoms even in summer,[1]
Rustics on a visit, city connoisseurs
All following the twisting roads of love,
Where wise men may get lost and fools get by;
Behold the new gay quarter’s liveliness!
But pitiful indeed is Ohatsu
Of Temma Teahouse, after she returns,
Nought can she think of but the day’s events,
She cannot drink her saké, her spirits are low,
And as she sits weeping, some courtesans
And others of the quarter come up to her.
First Courtesan: Ohatsu, have you heard about it? They say that Tokubei was given a thrashing for something bad he did. Is it true?
- ↑ Umeda Bridge, the name of which means “plum field.”
