Life of a court Lady
An Art Theatre Guild & Nakasekai Production
Produced by Akira Tojo &
DP Masao Nakabori
Music by Ryohei Hirose
Starring
Janet Hatta
Shin Kishida, Minori Terada, Hananomoto Kotobuki
chisako Hara, Mitsuko Hoshi, Hosei Komatsu, Saburo Shinoda
Directed by Akio Jissoji
In the midst of the 1 3th century, on the Asian continent
Genghis Khan's son Kublai had constructed the Mongolian Empire,
and in seeking to put the Korean Peninsula as well as Japan under its influence
demanded Japan to submit tributes.
The arrival of the letter, which hinted at the use of force, shocked the Kamakura Shoganate
and the lmperial court turned pale with fear by such an unprecedented major event.
After repeated conferences the decision was made to reject the proclamation from Mongolia,
resulting in the attack by large Mongolian forces on the costal region of Kyushu
shortly after 1274, followed by another in 1 281
What's up with them?
Those Mongoloid monsters are coming in droves to attack Kyushu.
Because of that, I heard they've been rounding up crooks to send them over to Hakata.
Shit, we should run away!
Help!
Brother! What's going on?
Damn you! Where are you taking my brother?
Let him go! Let my brother go!
Punish her!
Yes, sir!
Hatsune!
Savages! Murderers! Demons!
What did you just say?!
You'll pay for this!
Murderers like you are destined to burn in the demon's cauldron!
I can't be a murderer if I don't believe in your monk's made up stories.
And more importantly have a look, the crows already have their eyes on her.
We are always the ones who get treated so horribly
Zenkatsuji,
it seems you're still a poor writer of songs.
As I am an old man I can only accompany my lord's whims to a point.
I am as frail as these poems,
and I told you many times how it doesn't fit my personality.
Not making any poems and constantly drinking
You are one helpless chief counselor
Yes, but this is the last. Forgive me.
The relaxing spring sun has lulled my old body
and I feel pleasantly sleepy.
You mean you are sleepy from alcohol.
Such songs of love,
No matter how much preasure is put on me,
at my age they are empty words.
Take a look, Seienji's face is filled with life.
Is there anything the matter, old man?
I'm saying that I'm jealous of you.
"Hidden Love"
"Past Love"
"Love at Dawn"
"Love in the Afternoon"
"Distant Love"
"close Love"
"Love During Travel"
These topics seem like Lord Tameie was coming up with them just for you.
By the way, Lord Tameie
Yes
I hear that you were quite the master of kemari when you were young
No, No. It was not that impressive
No, he possessed magnificent skill
it's unfortunate that I do not have any memory of seeing Lord Tameie play kemari
Though his father Lord Sadaie did seem to have a permanent illness
Indeed. I had a folding screen made of the 1 00 preeminent songs he wrote while at our retreat in Mt.Kokura
but the letters were thick and seemed to have been done with trembling hands
so he probably had a disability, although he still lived a very long life
He also seemed to get long with the samurai from Kanto
Unlike us, he seemed to have an eye for understanding current events.
That, Mr. Sanjyo, is because they welcomed in his wife from Mr. Saienji's house.
Lord Tameie's mother did come from Seienji's house.
Unlike us,
cooped up in the capital obsessed over old traditions like frogs in a well,
Seienji's family is equipped with robust wit,
capable of making friends with the wild bunch in Kamakura.
Isn't that so, Mr. Tameie, Mr. Saienji?
Lord Tameie
What do you think is the secret to improve one's song writing?
Well, my father Lord Teika...
Nevermind about Lord Teika
I would like to hear your personal thoughts
In that case, to write a song,
one does not necessarily need intelligence or education,
but what is important is that it comes from one's own nature and one's heart
Emperor Juntoku and Emperor Gotaba had also mentioned...
Right, right. So now these are the words of Emperor Juntoku and Emperor Gotaba
But as I understand...
What is more important is one's daily practice
Even if one writes a masterpiece one day,
if one neglects their practice the next one will only come out average
resulting in impressions that might have people say, "you got someone else to write it"
Practice?
That is something that is necessary.
By the way, Lord Tameie, do you have fun when you are writing songs?
Well...
whether it is fun... Such matters I don't usually...
"even think about it" is what you want to say
That must be what a happy life is like
But since I live putting effort in having fun, I undertand you
and still lonely winds blow through your life
Living within the lake of lotus leaves
The turtle drawn to the city of gems
Finally gets to play after an eternity
My lord, I received notice from the capital, the Mongoloids ransacked Tsushima and lchiki,
and after they passed Hizen by Matsura, they landed in Hakata
where they commenced atrocities utilizing a weapon known as a gun
and marched straight to the governmental palace,
but upon returning to their ships there was a sudden downpour and gusts of wind,
with many of their ships sinking, the rest fled to shallower shores
It has come as celebratory news, once the capital received word they were filled with joy
I see
So this country still possesses some luck.
That's good to know.
Yes?
Let us hold a celebration here at the Tominokouji Temple.
I haven't laid my hand on a lute in a while
Gather the women that are good at dancing
And while I'm at it, I'll bully Saienji whose current situation hasn't improved
I'm afraid that Sir Saienji is currently busy dealing with the men down in Kamakura
That's right.
He is a good man but still such a fool
Yes
When Shijo returns to her hometown this Tominokouji sure feels colder
The elegance has faded from this place
I know, I'll write a letter to Shijo.
There is the thing about the maternity belt anyway
It must be hard to give birth with such a supple body
The heart thirsts for frost,
the garden, a moon at midnight
surrounded by fall, unable to see that upside down is the path of love
the water from the fall slipping through the rocks
It is a message from the Lord
He will have a messanger bring the maternity belt tomorrow
He says to take care of my body and to birth a healthy prince
A maternity belt?
We already put the belt on two months ago
Don't even mention such a thing
Such a sinful thing to do.
to deceive the lord in such a way,
he will surely find out at some point
Such a terrible lie is bound to come back to hurt us
Just thinking of that...
makes me shudder
You cannot place all the blame on yourself
It will effect your body
Shijo who received the Lords devoted affection had returned back home
where she was preparing to have her second baby.
But the baby that she bore was not that of the Lords.
Before Shijo had become the lover of the lord
there was another man who devoted himself to Shijo.
The baby she was to have was the child of this man who she met in secret, away from the Lord.
Shijo's maidens called him the chief councilor of Fogs before sunrise.
It was a pure coincience. Shijo, lying to the Lord,
was at the child bearing place of this Fog before sunrise.
It was the God's will
For each long night
with beasts fi lled with milk
she must mourn her baby's lonely trip.
I have an idea
Everybody, do not say a word about how the baby passed away
From the monks who prayed for a healthy birth to the girls who took care of things,
you must not tell anybody outside of this.
Alright.
Let's prepare for the celebrations.
The long awaited baby has been born into the Saienji family.
A baby?
A baby was born?
A baby was born into the Saienji family
A crime...
this body is for the lord himself...
You must not fall asleep
You must not fall asleep!
You musn't! Put strength into your stomach.
Breath deeply!
Ms. Shiho, a girl!
How is the water?
Tell the messanger in the back to be ready to leave at any moment.
Bring a warm blanket.
The baby...
to the palace?
It is for the baby.
As a mother, one must wish only for the best for their child.
Once the Lord sees this child,
what would he say?
To even try to say that a child so round and grown was born premature,
He would see through such a lie.
Yes,
I am aware we can't do such a thing.
Even without that,
I do not know what to say to the Lord.
It is a curse of brutal punishment.
But,
Instead of holding onto compassion and causing a scene which can't be dealt with,
a swift and quick farewell to the baby is...
It's been about twenty days.
Why don't you brush off the filth of birth and take a walk around the garden?
We have already sent word to the Lord that the Princess has passed away.
If you remain so gloomy, I will not know what to do if the Lord comes to visit.
A messanger from the mansion has just arrived with sad news.
The Prince...
The Prince has just passed away.
The Prince?
From the day before he had a cough and his young body didn't stop shivering,
and today in the morning his eyes turned hollow, and by the afternoon he passed away.
Oh, even the Prince, suffered from what his mother deserved.
Such painful words.
child, forgive me.
Your mother was the one who should have gone to the heavens.
When the wind blows,
the bandits of flowers pour over the boulders
and painfully cross rivers of the mountain.
Shijo often thought how nice it would be
to abandon the ways of the world
Iike Priest Seigyou did.
The mother of our Lord hardly looks like she turned 60.
I'll say. She still looks so young.
Oh, it was a fun celebration. I am completely drunk.
Of course you are.
Your lover the Lieutenant General with his marvelous singing.
Even our masterful Lord was surprised.
Anyway, Ms.Shijo was so beautifully decorated.
What did you think?
Showing off the devoted love she gets from the Lord.
When they went to see Omiyain she accompanied the Lord in his cart.
There were people saying, "Here comes the Empress,"
but Ms.Shijo pretended like she didn't hear.
It's understandable that doing such things makes the Empress jealous
and causes her to treat her harshly.
I kept Shijo close by my side since she was four years old,
and since I raised her like my own she understands all my feelings
and can act upon them before I even ask.
Because of that I frequently have her accompany me,
but the gossipy folks who told the empress of about this
have recently begun to harshly criticize her.
Is that so?
Her mother was the late Sukenodai.
As I am sure you know.
Oh, her daughter.
I do remember.
She was a beautiful person.
I do recall you had a strong liking for her when you were young.
Now that you mention it, she does look a lot like her.
Her father the chief councilor Masatada had recently passed away,
so now I am like her father in many ways.
So, Shijo
this saintly man is a brother of mine,
though our mothers are different.
Sir Ajari, please keep Shijo in mind from here on.
By the Lords whim I have to deliver this letter to Sir Masano ltsukinomiya,
and at first I thought it would be a dreary errand,
but once I left, for no reason my feelings brightened and I feel lifted.
Who is Sir ltsukinomiya?
Mei, you don't even know that?
She is an imperial princess who served at lse Shrine.
Very pure hearted. I met her once when I was very young, so I feel really nostalgic.
They're the Monks of the Dancing Nembutsu.
They've just arrived from the capital.
Monks of the Dancing Nembutsu?
It's their teaching, that regardless of whether one has a strong belief,
as long as you keep chanting Lord Amida's name you are guaranteed a passage to heaven.
So it's different from the teachings of the monks on Mt. Ei?
I would not know much about that,
but the Tendai sect and the Shingen sect's teachings are both for a respectable class people such as you and our Lord.
The Dancing chanters sect teaches that even beggars can also achieve passage to heaven.
You seem to know quite a bit, Mei.
What is the matter?
That monk looks unnaturally similar to Sir Ajari.
And maybe my eyes are mistaken, but it seems his eyes are red.
"Though it is unknown the moment one sees a visage, it flings the heart up"
I just returned from a long service at lse Shrine.
I know nothing of society.
How should I respond to such a song?
Furthermore, though our mothers are different, I share the same father with my Lord.
The fi rst response ought to be words that compliment.
But I was told the lord loves you more dearly than anything else.
You have some wonderful scrolls.
Your Father had helped a lot with my preparations when I was going to lse.
Though only vaguely I do remember the time when you were born as well.
I was about five or six.
Your father got drunk and was happily dancing after being spoken to by the lords.
It has been alreadythree years since he has passed away.
Even at lse such news was hard to come by.
It must have been nice to play and catch sun bathed crabs by the beautiful cove.
Such times were only sparse
But we did travel the sutra's by boat to the cove of Futami, Toushino island, Gosenno island, and Toru islands.
We picked the codium in Gosenno to give as gifts to the gods,
and at Toru we passed under rocks that spread above like roofs,
watching the fish dancing about under the shimmering waves,
and enjoyed such plays that are different from those one finds in the city.
It is also a place that Priest Seigyou has a connection with too.
I have always kept it in my heart to visit there someday.
Mother, you are looking well.
Today you seem even brighter than usual, which fills me with delight.
My Lord also seems well.
I am so happy for you.
coincidentally, the princess who was just released from her duties has returned to the capital and will be coming for a visit.
Is that so?
I heard that you have yet to meet her.
Yes
I hear that she is a person as pure as the river that run through lse.
I birthed my Lord and the new emperor,
and just you two brothers, but faith in bloodlines are a funny thing,
and the fact that you will meet your half-sister today must be one of those faithful meetings.
On another note,
I have heard gossip that there has been some miscommunication
between you and the new Emperor.
It seems we have tainted your ears with trifling matters.
It's just something that doesn't sit well with me.
What was the matter?
It concerns the next Emperor.
Now the Emperor is my brother and he controls the government,
but I was promised that my son would be next to take over the throne.
But it appears that the promise has been overturned.
I even heard that you may renounce your family.
I was upset and I did say that.
I learned that when it comes to one's own child,
one can easily be taken over by anger.
But I heard that Lord Tokimune was finally able to change it to your favor.
At this point, even the internal matters of the palace
can't be solved without the assistance from those in Kanto.
They saythe pure waters of the forest makes a woman beautiful,
and the princess seems to be a shining example of that.
For a person who spends their time oblivious to the rapid changes of the outside world,
I am lost for a response to such a comment.
I'm sure your mother is delighted by your return
I would like to communicate my feelings to ltsukinomiya.
Shijo, please take me to her.
You are so restless.
I am supposed to show Ms. Itsukinomiya around Ajari,
so wait at least until tomorrow night.
To enjoy the cherry blossoms in full bloom one must not even waste a single day.
You choose words to suite your feelings.
Regardless, just show me the way
cherry blossoms are beautiful,
but the branches are weak and the flowers easily fall off.
Once you pluck it off you are already thinking of your next love.
Going about it that way makes a woman gloomy.
Whether it be a woman or a man, one must be smart.
Once you get attached love becomes tainted.
Only in moments of truth, the flowers of love bloom beautifully,
then the petals start to come off.
A graceful heart is one that feels a slight regret
yet does not lament over it and get saddened.
I feel bad for Ms. Itsukinomiya.
Are you not jealous, Shijo?
You just said such jealousy is not part of a graceful heart.
You are absolutely right.
You must be the only woman, Shijo, who can understand my heart.
Yet I fail to understand it.
It has already been three years since your father passed away.
Who takes care of you now?
My mother's uncle Sir Zenshoji.
But recently, in his old age, he seems lonely.
That is understandable for Zenshoji.
For a wife that serves the palace, one needs a powerful caretaker.
There also are those other things to consider.
What do you think of the cinerary here in Fujimi?
There is a song by Lord Fujiwara Toshinari that goes,
"Opening the morning door in Fujimi and letting the Uji rivers dew flow in."
I always wanted to welcome the morning like that,
and I finally was able to make it come true.
Thank you.
Indeed, it would be nice to be here and see the visage of a lady
through the spring rain that divides the dew.
I see that even someone like Saienji, who prefers politics,
can't help but remember the songs of Lord Toshinori.
Or is it that you have a new woman in the capital?
Lord, before the alcohol goes around too much,
I wish that you tell me the secrets of singing.
After receiving such a reception there seems no way I can refuse.
Here, let us move over there and I will grant your wish.
I also have a small request to make.
My child?
Where and what is my child doing right now?
She is growing healthy. Very healthy.
Under your care.
That daughter was born by our sins,
and I can not help but be concerned of her.
Please, please tell me.
I beg you!
I feel the same way.
The girl is growing healthily. Please have faith in my words.
If I say under my care it will just cause more chaos in your heart.
That is why I will only say healthily.
I hope you understand my painful situation here.
Please, please raise her to be healthy and pure.
They will hear us in the other room.
By the way, you appear to be even more beautiful as of late.
Sir Konoe's newly found obsession is understandable.
Sir Konoe?
It's the first time I have gotten drunk in a while.
Suddenly I am hit by a strong drowsiness.
It was a very fun day today.
Ms Shijo?
There is something I would like to speak to you about.
Will you come out here just for a moment?
Ms. Shijo, I know you're in there.
Just go.
It does not bother me.
But Lord
What a thankful turn of events.
The Lord is just so understanding of my sorrows.
Oh, this beautiful skin.
It has been a such a long time since I've felt this way, Ms. Shijo.
Leave it to me.
I will gladly accept the role of your caretaker from here on.
I promise you will not feel inconvenienced.
Oh, such dainty arms
Lord, why such miserable treatment?
At this point the demons have started to distance themselves.
For five days the demons hid in your body
and caused a terrible fever.
It made you scream and moan,
and I was very lonely.
You're telling me I was out for five days?
I see...
And Ajari continued to pray through the whole time?
He put his whole heart into his prayers.
He hardly even slept.
The amount of feelings a man puts into a woman is quite incredible
What?
In my dreams
Ajari was able to enter my dreams,
telling me how much he was in love with you.
In order to cure me
the highest ranking priest in the world risked his life to pray.
But his heart was also divided into two,
and without a way to control it
he stuck by your side and would not leave
My Lord. You must be joking.
Why would you say such terrible things?
I am not joking.
It's not as though I am disgusted by my brother,
I am just concerned of you.
All I am saying is the curse of man is strong with you.
and you risk taking your soul down to hell.
Ajari seems to be completely absorbed by his feelings.
If such feelings heighten,
regardless of being a monk or a bandit,
they try to clear their mind by means of becoming a beast.
You should know this already from reading the Tales of Genji.
How terrible
His prayers will be done by tomorrow.
Once done, it will only be for one night.
As for Sir Ajari,
why don't you cover his night in darkness?
My lord,
why such terrible things?
One after another.
I feel that my lord is the most terrible of them all
Lord Ajari! Such violence!
Forgive me.
Please spend the night with me!
Whether I go to the depths of hell or atop the lotus leaves,
right now I have no feelings but to throw myself to you.
I beg of you.
Listen!
Please listen.
Ever since I defamed the mystery of enlightenment at age seven,
I started my days of penance bythe fire altar,
there I prayed for the eternal prosperity of the empirical court.
and further more
I prayed for the mercy of all living creatures.
Since I first laid eyes on you a demon inside me has made an obsession,
I long for you in the night
and even before my sleeves are dry from the tears as I open the sutras,
I see you smiling at me from the sacred letters, and beckoning me from the smoke of incense.
Since I shaved my head and adorned these black robes,
I'd never imagined I would spend the night with a such a woman,
Oh, the demon in me.
From the eight ancestors of the Shingen sects l pray and give my offerings,
and from the Sun Goddess to the myriad of Gods of Shouhachiman shrine
I pray and give my offerings,
so now either I must terminate this love,
or you realize this love for me, please choose tonight.
choose from your heart.
I beg you.
Sir Ajari,
please show mercy.
I don't matter.
As long as I am with you
whether I become a salted crab on the coves where the wind is rough,
with my skin burned bythe sun
or become a hermit
up in the mountains, far from civilization
where bandits come by, I will be fi ne,
as long as I can spend it with you and our child, I am fine with that.
I have no regrets
to the three states of existence,
my universe is already up in flames.
Even when I am copying the five most important scripts,
no matter how hard I try
my handwriting starts to look like Shijo's.
I wrote this prayer
by mimicking your handwriting.
When I am reincarnated
I hope that I will be able to be with you again.
I know this obsession I have is very shallow.
You would do such things for me?
When I pass away
I plan to use this scroll of prayer as part of the fire for my cremation,
and with the smoke that rises from the pyre,
I will be around you forever.
Sir Ajari
Why do say such terrible things?
On the days I can not see you,
I will adorn this robe we exchanged
and pray that we will be born into the same rank
The baby that was born between them
was secretlytaken into its rightful house by the Lord's messenger.
The baby that was born
between the high ranking priest and a maiden
was secretly taken care of
as the Lord disliked gossip of any sort.
The mongoloids second invasion
was met with another storm of winds, shipwrecks, defeat,
the arrival of the holly tree of Kasuga into Kyoto,
chaos and unrest,
Bakufu instigates a draft to prevent the arrival of Mongols by Yamato Yamashiro
prevalent epidemics
Lord
What is it?
How is my child with Sir Ajari being raised?
I apologize.
Sleepless nights with my breasts fi lled with milk makes me wonder about my unfortunate child.
You think it unfortunate?
You think raising the child you had with Ajari by your side
will only bring happiness to the child
Well...
Regardless, to at least have one look
It seems like my half brother has implanted you with his rough nature.
That child is being raised by the appropriate family by an appropriate person.
You should feel at ease.
Would a child not seek their true mother and father?
I see you as you are!
A child always goes a different path from their parents.
Shijo, you listen now.
When I was a child,
my father never thought anything of me
I see,
in the end, I'm still a son to him.
But my father who was an emperor fell out of love with me from when I was very young.
When I was three I was sat in the emperor's throne
and when I was only 1 6 the throne was taken from me and given to my younger brother.
My rank as a retired emperor is only in name
and for the past 20 years I have done nothing while my father was getting used.
In me, the blood of a poetry and music runs deep, but not of a politics.
My father noticed this and thought of me as a threat.
But look now,
our politics are in the hands of those in Kanto.
Tokimune who was taught by the monks
disdained the mongoloids and has been doing a lot of work.
And what has the capital done.
My younger brother did nothing but go to lse to praywhile the country faced this turmoil.
I never thought of trying to be like my father.
And my father never even cared for me.
It seems the disease that has spread from the capital shows no signs of subsiding.
It does seem to be spreading.
I've heard that it is rare for a family to not have had a death already.
And in order to avoid the illness
people have locked themselves up
and the streets show no sign of people.
I'm sure Sir Ajari is busy with his prayers
Sir AJ ARl has...!
There now, stop crying and tell me what happened.
Three days ago
he was hit by a high fever and collapsed
and just now...
he passed away
How dreadful...
I was told to bring this to Ms. Shijo
Right before he passed away
though it caused him great pain, he got up to adorned the gown that he had from Ms. Shijo.
His fi nal words to me before he died,
were that I should leave the gown on him
so that he could be cremated with it.
Mei
The princess has gotten used to traveling, haven't you?
Mei, there is no princess here.
I've told you many times but you still say that.
We are now nuns...
Yes, yes
Anyway, my stomach has been hurting for a while.
I wonder what it is
Hm... and your face is pale,
maybe it's because we have been walking the whole day.
See Princess, I told you so
we should take a break
but you insisted we arrive at ltsuku island before sunset
Princess!
I am terrible sorry.
My body just suddenly...
Don't worry. Women carry a Tying karma,
we need to help each other.
It must've hurt a lot
Karma?
You had the child of Sir Ajari in your stomach
You had not fully realized yourself yet
So you had a miscarriage
A nun with Sir Ajari, huh? I guess the paths of women and men are not all that different
You had some unusual customers before me
Oh, it's you
You were talking about that monk with red eyes,
but now you have nuns too!
Don't be stupid.
They were having a hard time so I let them rest here a while
Just wait a bit.
It seems the lady next door is out.
Go over there and wait, we'll use that place
The red eyed monk,
that man was just speaking of him,
but could it be a dancing monk?
You're very observant,
That's right.
He has a red line that goes through his eyes.
He tells us that as long as we chant the Lords name,
even poor women like myself
or crooks can be held by God.
He says it's not that complicated.
He is a very thankful man,
and many other prostitutes have stuck by his side.
I stayed here but, I mean, I do like men!
And its hard to stop when what you like is also your source of money.
Now get as much rest as you need
So crude
What a noble person
Until now it seems I spent my life not understanding and not doing anything
My deceased father said that if I should ever feel that way,
I should become a nun
and I think I finally understood why.
Once out traveling,
Shijo realized
that up until that point
her life was like a shallow dream
Ms. Nun you are quite the painter
She really is.
I have never seen a painter who could depict the capital so perfectly
See. It is a car, I told you so!
I wonder if a person is pulling it?
Stupid. It'll be a cow.
Hey don't push!
Stay back
My brother was right. It is a cow. A black cow
Ms. Nun, why don't you stay here for a while.
Right?
Yes, I would love to hear about the capital,
and I would love for my kids to learn how to write
You said you were going to Kisyu?
Yes, sir, that is where we are going.
That is going to be a tough passage for a nun.
Well, why don't you stay and rest a while and then head out?
What shall we do?
Yes. Well, it is a very nice offer,
so maybe just for a few days.
Wonderful.
Afterall, now that the townspeople have heard
that we have such a beautiful nun from the capital painting our doors
our house has become quite popular.
We are very proud
And our children keep insisting
that you teach them something.
Hey, bring it out
Here it is
This is just a token of our appreciation
The song by the Holy Seigyo,
My unknown feelings
that disappear into the smokey sky
that surround the majestic Mount Fuji."
Today is not so hot.
Long ago I would hum a certain song
and cry over the fickleness of a human life.
You would wipe away my tears.
Princess, you have become very robust.
I don't know why, but
now when I hum that song it reminds me of my Lord
A woman carries five burdens,
and though she may walk the path of the Gods,
she will inevitably fail
to achieve the goal of enlightment.
A woman carries five burdens,
and though she may walk the path of the Gods,
she will inevitably fail
to achieve the goal of enlightment.
It is said a woman has five sins
thus can not even go to heaven
However,
even the lotus leaves are born from the dirt.
And even the incarnation of lust,
once she chanted the name of the lord,
was able to become a merciful being.
Princess, this way!
Sisters, please use this as an umbrella.
It's nothing fancy, but it is better than getting wet.
I'm just returning home from business for the first time in three months.
Thank you for your consideration
You're welcome, it's nothing.
This rain is too strong.
It might cause flooding.
I think it will be better if you wait and head out later.
My house is over there.
It may smell moldy but I don't mind.
Your noble companion will have too hard of a time with this rain.
Princess
Mei,
you are still merely a woman.
I will not say how vulgar it is.
He seemed like a gentle man.
I used to do such things when I was in the capital.
But
Unlike you,
I never volunteered
to enter a man's bed.
I was a pitiful woman.
Mei,
I hope you will be happy now.
Dear Mei,
I leave this note for you.
As the sun rose,
the birds sang to greet the morning,
which lead me to decide
to leave here without you,
so I can enjoy my travels alone
Reconnect the palanquin the other way!
But...
That is how it must be done for someone who has been relived of there duties.
Make it backwards!
Ms. Shijo,
I have received a request from Jirouzaemon
to help his wife sew a gown from material that she got as a gift.
It is for a person living here in Kamakura
Would you please accept the offer on my behalf?
I have not revealed your identityto them.
The sleeves are a bit wrong
For this kind of garment,
the sleeves need to be flat, not rounded.
What a high strung nun.
Acting as though she is someone special
But she certainly is very pretty
My husband probably has an eye on her.
A few days ago,
when I first saw you,
I thought you were some high ranking person who was dressed in disguise,
and alas...
those dainty arms...
and gorgeous neckline
That pale skin, so unlike that of my own daughter.
Do not laugh as I am a boor,
and as a boor I can not help but long for a woman like you
Hey
Even though you're a nun, you are still a woman right?
Hey!
I wonder...
how it would have been if he was like Sir Hokujo Tokimune?
I wonder...
Did something happen at the Lord's estate?
Even a nun is not allowed to come in.
Though I am a nun, I have a relation here.
Please tell me.
What has happened to our Lord?
I regretfully say, the Lord
has passed away.
My Lord!
Once upon a time in my life,
through a connection with my late father
I had an affiliation with the Lord of this mansion, Sir Nyudo
Alas, I have aged.
and although your face is familiar, I simply can not remember you.
Who exactly were you?
I have thrown away my name a long time ago.
I have come here today
because I wanted to ask you something
Forgive me, for I have a question for Sir Nyudo
A question for me?
A long time ago,
was there not a child that you took into your house
which you raised as your own?
It's you!
Sir Nyudo,
I am just a nun who has forsaken her own name.
I was told by her mother
that her child is the same princess
who has now become quite a famous singer.
Is it not the same person?
The mother would like to know about her child.
Please tell this to the mother.
The princess who has become a famous singer is indeed the child that was born into this family.
The woman that bore her
was indeed a very beautiful woman.
And now I have become a very old man,
bereft of seeing such a wonderful dream since.
How I long to see her again.
Thank you very much.
I am sure her mother
will be delighted to know
that the child grew healthy.
And if it's possible
I have another request,
through you, who acted as her father,
to give this scroll drawing to her.
Throughout my travels.
Painting has helped me greatly.
I now live my life without desire,
therefore I have very little,
so this is the only gift that I have available to give to her.
It is only a modest gift that I wish to give.
It is a wonderful scroll
In all my years,
I have never seen such beautiful work.
Such kind words
A long time ago,
I seem to recall a monk who looked like this
Is that so?
I see...
Yes, he looked like...
that's right,
That looks exactly like Sir Ajari.
the brother of the late emperor did look a lot like him,
but he did not walk around in such rags.
DREAM