NARROW
ROADS TO INNER LANDS- SCENE
FOUR
spring waterfall Kurokami
Saga
Trip Genius describes Kurokami mountain thus- Mount
Kurokami offers a splendid contrast between barren rock and clusters
of green trees. The peaceful, deep forest and mountains form a scene
just like a Shan shui painting. Here you can take in plenty of deep
breaths and feel as one with nature in both body and soul. . There
are still Buddha statues, temples and other objects befitting of a
sacred mountain where Yamabushi (ascetic hermits) once pursued
spiritual practices. Because this area was sacred ground not overly
exposed to humans, it is a treasure trove of rare plants, including
the natural monument of a Kanekoshida plant and many more.
Kirifuri Waterfall at Kurokami - Katsushika Hokusai
NARROW
ROADS TO INNER LANDS- SCENE
FOUR
On
Kurokami mountain. A clear light. Offstage the sound of a waterfall
in the distance.
Enter
Bashõ and Sora.
BASHŌ
(with a slight sigh)
Now
let us leave this rising way awhile
And
pause in climbing heights to greater gaze.
(Bashō
and Sora settle on the rocks.)
SORA
Once
more we’ve traced a steep, ascending path
Just
as we took those many humble steps
The
other day, the first day of full moon,
Up
Nikko’s side to find a shrine where we
Were
pleased to pay deep homage. That great shrine,
Tradition
tells, was first built by a priest
Who
changed the very name of that great mountain
When
he, so long ago, laid first foundations
To
bear the sacred, shining walls.
BASHŌ
Indeed,
He
kept the name as sound but newly-shaped
The
written form. For once that mighty mountain
Was
called "Two Wildernesses." So he wrote
The
sound Nikko but altered it to mean
“The
bright beams of the sun.”
SORA
The
name is true -
These
mountains top the general view and so
Are
first to feel the fire of the sun
As
it arises, sounding forth the day.
So
sited thus, the shrine reminds us of
The
radiance of true illumination.
(they
both rise)
BASHŌ
He
must have found facility to see
Into
the coming centuries for now
Mount
Nikko seems to beam a peaceful power
Which
pours across the land like warm sun rays.
Yet
how to speak of such a place? With glory
So
full, all words are empty. I could but write-
O,
speechless with awe,
Saw
young leaves, green leaves, blaze in
Bright
beams of the sun.
(Bashō
and Sora seat themselves again, looking out)
BASHŌ
To
climb a mountain pleases when, as now,
Our
gaze is broadened to world distances.
Look
there, how other mighty mountain tops
Reveal
themselves, arising from far mists.
SORA
Yes,
from this mountain side of Kurokami,
The
scene's encircled with serenity –
So
far above the little deeds of days,
So
far from bustling life and busy time.
BASHŌ
That's
true, my friend, and yet tranquillity
Is
only lasting when it lives within.
From
time to changing time we find our hearts
Still
troubled by the smallest of concerns,
Those
mildly anxious daydreams of the mind.
How
hard it is to free ourselves from such
Soft
worryings and vague-misgiving thoughts.
So
all the little doubts and fears of life
Condense
into a mist which dims the light,
And
troubles truth of clearest sight.
It’s
written- Better than a hundred years
Long-lived
in ignorance is one day lived
In
wisdom and in depth of contemplation.
(Bashō
pauses and rises.)
Enough
of such - let's go and watch in quiet
The
waterfall upon this mountain side.
(Sora
rises. They move towards the waterfall sound and stand as if gazing
out at it. The sound increases.)
SORA
(after a pause,
looking upward)
It
forms a heart- and mind-impressing view.
How
from on high, the hollow ridge above,
Far
higher than man-mighty castle walls,
The
stream leaps suddenly and flies to fall
In
shifting shapes of dizzying, bright veils-
The
plunge of flashing drops completing downward,
Wild-tumbling
ways to splash into the foaming,
Wide,
dark-green pool below. But look! Just look!
The
back of ancient rocks is so carved out,
So
sculptured by the weathering of years,
The
water's patient work upon the stone,
That
we could move behind the constant falling
And
watch the flow, the sparkling, wide descent,
In
peace, dry-hidden in a mossy cave.
(Sora
and Bashō move behind and around a little as if moving into a cave.
Flecks of light- effect of falling water.)
BASHŌ
A
Chinese sage once wrote of water as
A
mirror of true good. I feel, in part,
He
meant that it gives life to everything
Yet
does so through a gentle, yielding power
Which
flows past rock-hard obstacles and harm.
For
even after falling from such height
It
flows along the lowest way in peace.
(Bashō
pauses)
This
waterfall has rightly earned its name –
"See-From-Behind."
It's rather as the constant,
Vast-varied
flow of life with all the changes
Of
shifting circumstance and time and all
The
endless change experienced within,
Are
only rightly viewed and valued when
Seen
from "behind", with some detachment in
Calm
contemplation and a spirit quietness.
That
is, when you are truly centred in
The
sacred ring of peaceful, inner silence.
SORA
That
is a truth, good master Bashō sir,
For
learning in the living proof of seeking.
(Bashō
and Sora pause watching the waterfall. Then they emerge from the
cave.)
BASHŌ
Before
we walk away and set our feet
On
long roads towards our friends in Kurobane,
I
shall record these moments in my manner.
As
it has ever been a country custom
To
bathe in ceremony just before
The
start of harsher, summer sun, so we
Have
done so in a fashion of our own.
(Bashō
takes out brush, slab and paper. He sits down, pauses, then writes.)
Only
for a while
Within
a waterfall - first
Summer
discipline.
(Bashō
packs away his materials and rises.)
Come
Sora, the narrow way is calling us.
We
shall be off, without a further pause,
To
find our path across the summer moors.
(Bashō
and Sora exit. Lights fade and the sound of the waterfall fades
away.)
winter waterfall
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