NARROW
ROADS TO INNER LANDS SCENE 10
Bashō
and Sora arrive at Matsushima which is a collection of islands in a
bay regarded as one of the great scenic views in Japan, Despite its
beauty Bashō experiences somer unexpected feelings while seeing his
desired “moonrise over islands”.
Matsushima
is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260
tiny islands (shima) covered in pines (matsu) – hence the name –
and is ranked as one of the Three Views of Japan. From
WIKIPEDIA
In
20011 the islands lessened the damage onshore from the Tōhoku
earthquake and tsunami.
...the
area was protected by the islands and suffered relatively little
damage.The initial tsunami was 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) with the second
3.8 meters (12.5 feet). Electricity was restored by March 18, water
fully restored by April 16th and the Senseki Train Line between
Takagimachi Station and Sendai by May 28. Nevertheless, 3 people were
confirmed killed in Matsushima (including by aftershocks) with 18
killed while out of town. from Wikipedia
SCENE
TEN
Island
of Ojima. Sandy beach. The sound of waves. Lights- late afternoon
to dusk. Enter Bashō and Sora.
SORA
At
last our wanderings have lead us here-
To
these wide sands spread by this wild, blue bay,
This
sight so praised for most abundant beauty,
With
its far scattering of windy islands.
BASHŌ
Yes,
Ojima's long island where we are
And
all of Matsushima's bay are famed
For
wonder views right-thought equal those
Of
great and wide-spread lakes in Chinese lands.
SORA
And
it didn’t take so many walking days
To
reach here from the monument of Taga.
BASHŌ
Yet
many-seen were scenes upon the way.
Remember,
Sora, how we came upon
Dark
pine woods near the temple Masshōzan.
And
there we saw a multitude of tombstones,
The
graves of many people past, all scattered
Amongst
the ever-needled trees, reminding
How
all that we perceive must pass- the waves
Must
break at last, white-foaming on the shore,
For
young and old, and loved and loving, all
Must
lay the body down at their life's ending.
Then
entering the town of Shirogama,
We
heard the sounding of the curfew bell.
The
May-rain sky was darkening but clearing.
Faint,
early moonlight shining showed the shape
Of
close Magaki island, near to shore.
Faint
voices of far fishermen dividing
The
catch of day called up strange loneliness
And
brought an instant grasp of ancient verses
Which
pity their precarious existence
Upon
the changes of the restless sea.
(Bashō
and Sora walk on.)
SORA
But
dawn dissolved our sombre mood when we
Arose
to view the beauty of these parts.
BASHŌ
I
paid my homage at a hallowed spot
The
famous shrine of Shiogama where
The
morning sunlight lit vermillion fencing
As
I approached - so brightly, almost dazzling.
I
was most deeply moved to note how far
Divine,
bright power can penetrate: such warming,
Such
shining rays reach even this far north.
SORA
Yes,
certainly this scene is blessed by beauty.
I
am reminded of the Chinese poets.
Just
as the river Sekkō there is filled
At
each swell by the ceaseless tide, so here
The
bay brims with waters of the ocean.
BASHŌ
And
countless islands scatter on that sea:
Tall
islands point their peaks up toward the sky
And
level ones bow down before long billows
In
seeming servitude to ceaseless change:
The
battering of waves and wind. Yet all
Are
like a steadfast soul that holds its own
Against
the forms of ever-changing life,
Not
swept away by each impression's power,
But
able thus to stand in inmost strength,
Within
the sea of endless changing form,
Firm-anchored
in the ever-lasting law.
SORA
Indeed.
Here islands almost pile on islands-
Some
join to other islands so they seem
Like
rocky parents patting smaller offspring
Or
strolling with them, arm in arm. The pines,
Of
freshest green, have branches curved and bent
By
constant blowing of sea breezes, yet
Their
boughs do not seem all distorted, but
Formed
in the finest, most exquisite lines.
BASHŌ
(thoughtfully)
Yes.
Beauty as is found here only finds
Comparison
with finest female features.
For
who could form such balanced beauty but
The
great god of all nature? I fear my pen
Would
strive in vain to equal this wild grace.
Yet
Sora, I believe you wrote a verse,
A
poem on this place some while ago?
SORA
(extracting it from his pack)
Yes,
master Bashō, this is the very verse.
Clear-voiced
cuckoo, you
Need
the wide crane's silver wings
To
span these islands.
(Bashō
rises)
BASHŌ
Yes,
Sora, that is fine. But for myself
I
cannot find a single line to speak.
(The
light reddens and darkens. The sound of the sea
grows,
mixed with the sound of wind.)
SORA
The
light's already failing in the west
And
strong sea wind is driving darkening clouds
In
ragged streaks across the glooming sky.
I
saw some houses back behind the shore,
With
pale, blue threads of rising smoke, amid
The
scattered forest of the pines. I'll see
If
I can find a place for us to sleep.
BASHŌ
Yes,
I shall join you in a little while.
(Sora
exits.) (The scene grows darker.)
BASHŌ
I
feel a strange and restless yearning here.
Yet
if, as though to interrupt such musing,
I
look out to the far-spread eastern skyline,
Full
moon is rising, mirroring its shine,
Upon
the wide waves of the darkened waters.
(There
is a gradually growing moonlight.)
Its
whiteness wakes an almost eerie feeling.
As
if I were within another world,
Quite
different from my familiar realm.
And
though I long have longed to view this beauty,
To
see the silent moon rise over islands,
I
feel a little flooded by its fineness,
And
search for lost serenity. I shall
Not
linger long here in this passing splendour
But
join the ruling of the road quite soon,
For
I've not found the secret of my searching,
Here
- in the islands of fair Matsushima,
Beneath
the rising beauty of the moon.
(Bashō
exits)
