Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan/Volume 1/The White Fox

by Jun-ichiro Tanizaki

The White Fox
(“Byakko-no-yu”)

(A Play in Once Act)

By
Jun-ichiro Tanizaki,

Translated by
Haruo Endo & Eric S. Bell.

Jun-ichiro Tanizaki

Jun-ichiro Tanizaki

Jun-ichiro Tanizaki, the author of the following drama, was born at Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan, in the 19th year of Meiji (1886). Upon graduating from the College of Literature at the Tokyo Imperial University, he at once began his career as a writer and a man of letters, and has always kept a most prominent position ever since in the literary sphere of Japan.

This author shows a unique genius by his clever treatment of cases of abnormal sexuality, which was first proved when he published the following books: “Osai & Minosuke,” “The Devil,” and “On the way.”

Besides the above-mentioned works, “The conversation between A and B,” and his very clever “Man and God,” are his most representative books. The latter work is especially interesting, being a kind of autobiography.

Mr. Tanizaki has always something novel to reveal to his reader by his clever method of expression, and in his selection of materials. His works are always very attractive, and have been received throughout Japan with much enthusiasm.

Although “Byakko-no-yu” is not so well known as many of his other plays, it is undoubtedly a fine stage-drama. One of his more famous dramas, “Okuni and Gohei”, appears in the second volume of this book.

Eric S. Bell.

The White Fox (“Byakko-no-yu”)

Persons in the Play

• Kakutaro (Kaku-chan). A young man enchanted by a fox.
• Osayo. His lover.
• Osayo’s Mother. An old woman.
• The Fox.
• The Fox’s Children.
• A Foreign Woman.
• An Old Woman Servant. Attendant to foreign woman.
• A Foreign Man.
• A Policeman.

Scene

(Into the middle of the stage from above runs a deep and narrow stream. Many large rocks and boulders in the bed of the stream prevent the audience from seeing the water, but the rushing torrent can be heard splashing and washing on the rocks below the banks. On each side are high cliffs, and a narrow pathway runs up to a small bridge which crosses the stream above. The path from the stream descends to L.C. to the edge of the river near the front of the stage, and there stands an old cottage. This building is the bath-house of a small hot-spring which is slightly visible through the open door. The water of the bath is only indicated by a line of white.

The cottage has a little window on its left side, but, as the entrance faces the river, some large rocks in front prevent us from seeing much of the interior which seems to be in complete darkness.

It is night-time in the early autumn. On the edges of the cliffs many Shiro-hagi shrubs are in full bloom. Sitting alone on a rock near the entrance of the cottage is Osayo. She is gazing up the river. Presently, an old woman—her mother—comes wandering down the steep descent of the cliff’s edge toward the bridge. She carries a bundle of firewood on her shoulders. When she reaches the middle of the bridge she looks down and notices Osayo. She stops.)

• Mother.—Who is that down there? Is it you, Osayo?
• Osayo.—(Remains silent).
• Mother.—Good gracious! Whatever are you doing here at this time?
• Osayo.—(Does not answer, but her face shows embarrassment, which her mother notices.)
• Mother.—Why are you sitting there at midnight? In spite of what I have often told you, never to come down here! How long have you been here? At what time did you come?
• Osayo.—(Seems about to answer her, but stops.)
• Mother.—What? what is that you say?
• Osayo.—I didn’t say anything.
• Mother.—Oh, didn’t you? Even though you won’t speak, I know your reason quite well—I tell you to come home quickly! Come home with me!
• Osayo.—(Makes no answer.)
• Mother.—Do you hear what I say? I told you to come home! Anyway, what business have you to leave our house without anyone to watch it? I told you distinctly this very morning that I must go to the neighboring village, and that my return would be late at night. Oh, what a stupid girl you are! (She pauses.) Won’t you come home with me me now?
• Osayo.—Oh, dear Mamma, I will come soon.
• Mother.—Oh, you worry me! (Looking up into the sky) Look! the moon is already hiding among the branches of the pine-trees on Mt. Hanno-ki. I don’t think you can see it, can you?
• Osayo.—Of course I can see it! I am waiting for the coming of the moon!
• Mother.—Waiting for the coming of the moon?
• Osayo.—Yes, I am waiting the coming of a man with the moon!
• Mother.—Pooh! If you are waiting for him, you will wait a long time, for you will never see him again. Kakutaro is already dead!
• Osayo.—But I’ve heard that if he had really died, his body would have been found. At the time of the death of his brother and sister I was told that their dead bodies were seen from the bridge, floating face upwards on the surface of the stream.
• Mother.—Yes, at that time they were said to be seen, but there is some doubt about it. Kakutaro has been drowned in the stream or has died on the mountains, so I am sure his body will never be found.
• Osayo.—But it is said by the old people of this village, that if men are enchanted by foxes they will all fall into the river and will meet their deaths, and after a time their bodies will change to the bodies of human beings, and will afterwards be seen floating on the surface of this deep river.
• Mother.—In spite of what they say, I am sure it will be a long time before his body will be seen in the stream. Why, it is only five or six days since he disappeared!
• Osayo.—Therefore, if it is only such a short time since his disappearance he must still be living.
• Mother.—I wonder if he could live on the mountains without food if he were enchanted by a fox?
• Osayo.—But the mistress of our school told us that if we could get water enough to drink, we could manage to live for some twenty days, so I believe Kaku-chan is still alive.
• Mother.—If he lives, we must never allow a man who is enchanted by a fox to enter our home any more! (She frowns at her daughter, who nods her head sadly. The old woman crosses the bridge, and coming dawn the path, she seats herself good-naturedly near her daughter.) Oh, my dear Osayo, why do you think about him so much? You are still very young, and when you reach a marriageable age, you can easily find a good and ideal husband.
• Osayo.—Why, Mamma, I never think about such things!
• Mother.—Then, why worry so much over Kaku-chan? You had better come home with me now. If such a thing had happened to you I would never know how to answer to our good Buddha; I’ve given up thinking about Kaku-chan long ago!
• Osayo.—But, Kaku-chan is your nephew.
• Mother.—No, I don’t like to think that a man who is enchanted by a fox can possibly be a nephew of mine. All his family, and even his ancestors were enchanted in this way. Why, it was that fox’s trick which caused the deaths of his brother and sister!
• Osayo.—But our school-mistress declares that nowadays fox enchantments do not exist at all.
• Mother.—If your teacher argues such a thing, why can’t we find some logical cause for his disappearance? In Kaku’s childhood this strange enchantment showed itself; but afterwards, when he had secured a good position, he returned home again with the brains and manner of a madman. After that I was obliged to look after him in my home. He never did a stroke of work, and would only wander about the mountains all day long. When his mother became mad, she did just the same thing.
• Osayo.—Oh, dear! I did not know this about my aunt; but, as for Kaku-chan, I am certain it was not the enchantment of a fox that caused him to be so strange, for he was only slightly mad. If we thought of him kindly, he might perhaps find his resurrection.
• Mother.—No, I don’t believe, Osayo, that he was any ordinary madman. People say that at midnight he was often seen walking with a fox that had pure white fur, near this hot-spring of Byakko.
• Osayo.—Mamma, I tell you that you are too easily led to believe all you hear, and it amuses people to tell you these strange and imaginative stories. You know, they are not necessarily true.
• Mother.—But I can’t find any reason for their telling me things which are untrue. Do you know, I was even told that the night before last, a gentleman from the Chitoseya saw him, and again the night before that he was seen by Oroku-san, and also by the servants of this very bath-house.
• Osayo.—Oh, they are all nervous!
• Mother.—Even if they are, there must be some truth in what they say, because they all have seen the man. I tell you, the man I spoke of saw him, and the night before that he was seen by others too.
• Osayo.—Then, if someone saw him, Kaku-chan is still alive!—But why didn’t these people stop him, and bring him home?
• Mother.—Even though you would like them to do so, Osayo, no person would ever venture down to the bottom of this gully at midnight. After the sun sets they are afraid of this place, and no one will approach this cottage then.
• Osayo.—Then, where did they see Kaku-chan?
• Mother.—Look! All of them saw him (pointing toward the upper part of the cliff) when they passed that chestnut-tree on the high-road. They can get a clear view from there of this cottage. Besides, the fox only makes his appearance when it is a moonlight night.
• Osayo.—I wonder if such a thing really does happen?
• Mother.—Oh, of course it happens! You have already been told many times that as soon as the autumn begins, and when the hagi-flowers are in full bloom, the fox is sure to come down to this cottage to take his bath. Look there! At the hour when the moon makes its appearance over the side of Mt. Hanno-ki, and when it becomes as bright as daylight in the valley, and when the moonbeams crawl into the interior of the cottage, the fox always takes a dip in the waters of the bath.
• Osayo.—Who invented such a story?
• Mother.—Who? Why, for many long years people have seen him there. As the bath-water is very clear, the moonbeams creep into it through the door. In the middle of the water, the fox can be seen shaking his pure white fur, and throwing the water over his neck and under his arm-pits with such rapidity that it makes the scene appear as ghastly as the vision of the snow-maiden. Should anyone attempt to peep into the inside of the cottage to see his beautiful body more closely, they will afterwards become enchanted by the fox, and will end their days as madmen. Kaku-chan’s mother, brother and sister all met their ends in this way.
• Osayo.—Then does Kaku-chan always come to watch the fox at night-time?
• Mother.—“Yes, I assure you that every night he comes here and peeps into the cottage, according to the story of a man who saw him from that chestnut-tree up yonder. He said that from there he could not see very much, but he saw the pure white fur of the fox glittering in the moonlight, and afterwards watched him gliding silently out of the cottage and across the bridge. At such a time Kaku-chan follows close behind him.
• Osayo.—After he crosses the bridge, where does he go?
• Mother.—Perhaps they go to the upper part of the river. They say there is a fox’s den in that place. (Osayo looks up at the moon, and then turns her gaze to the upper part of the river. A pause.)
• Mother.—Oh, Osayo, my dear, how long do you intend to remain here? Let us give up talking about it now.
• Osayo.—I will stay here a little longer.
• Mother.—Why do you talk in such a foolish way? Oh, look! The moon has already come over this side of the mountain!
• Osayo.—Yes, I see it. I intend to stay here and wait for the moon, and will then bring Kaku-chan home. Please go home now, and leave me here, Mamma dear. (The moon gradually shines full into the valley.)
• Mother.—You must take your mother’s advice sometimes. You know that, if you stay here, you may be also enchanted by the fox!
• Osayo.—I don’t care what you say, so don’t worry about me any longer.
• Mother.—Good gracious! What an obstinate girl you are! All right, if you refuse to come with me, I shall call the policeman to make you come.
• Osayo.—Very well, mother, do as you please.
• Mother.—Come, Osayo! (She rises, and pulls at Osayo’s hands, endeavouring to make her stand.) Stand up, stand up, I say!
• Osayo.—But have you no pity for Kaku-chan? If you are so heartless and uncharitable, I know that some harm will come to your daughter!
• Mother.—Don’t talk such nonsence! Why don’t you stand up?
• Osayo.—Oh, why can’t you leave me alone? (The mother again pulls roughly at her daughter’s hands, and fitting her to her feet, drags her toward the bridge.)
• Osayo.—Oh, Mother, please let me go! Please!
• Mother.—I won’t, I tell you! However much you may struggle, I will take you home with me!
• Osayo.—But, I hate to leave here! Oh, Mother, please!

(Her mother tugs at the girl’s dress, and drags her on again until they disappear round the path on the right side of the cliff. For a time Osayo’s cries can be heard.) Let me go! Oh, Mother, let me go, I say! (And then her voice dies away in the distance.)

(There is a long pause. The moonlight streams full into the valley, and shines into the interior of the cottage. Many insects can be heard purling, and the ripplings of the crickets fill the air with sound. The only other sound is the running of the stream over the rocks.

Suddenly, Kakutaro makes his appearance among the rocks high up in the bed of the river. He seems to have climbed down the rocks from above. He wears a very worn kimono, with sleeves badly tom. Japanese zori, or sandals, worn threadbare are on his feet. He jumps from rock to rock, endeavouring to reach the bridge. Suddenly he slips on a big rock, and tottering, he falls on his face. He remains very still, as if he were badly hurt.

There is a long pause. Insects sing noisily in the bushes and trees and the rushing of the water are the only sounds heard.

Suddenly, Osayo is seen approaching rapidly round the cliff-road where she disappeared some time before. As she hurries on, she keeps turning her head to make sure she is not being pursued by her mother. After crossing the log-bridge, she reaches the cottage, and seems about to peep into the interior, but fear causes her to resist from doing so. She notices the moonlight shining into the door, and so she decides to come round to the cottage window. At first she catches hold of the window ledges, and tries to raise herself to look in, but fear again seizes her, and in a sudden fit of great terror she steps back to the bridge again, and looks around her anxiously. As she gazes toward the upper part of the river, she notices Kakutaro lying on the rocks above. She jumps down quickly, and runs to him.)

• Osayo.—Kaku-chan, my dear Kaku-chan! Whatever is the matter? Why are you lying there? What are you doing?—Oh, Kaku-chan! What is it? (Saying this, she tries to lift him on to a rock, and sets him down. His clothes are soaking wet.) All your clothes are wet! (She then takes his kimono in her hands and wrings the water out of it. Kakutaro seems absent-minded and looks around him as if he were dazed.)
• Osayo.—Kaku-chan, where have you been for the past few days? I have been so worried about you! (She gazes at him in fear.) Oh, Kaku-chan! My Kaku-chan! Try and listen to what I am saying. You must be very hungry!—Can’t you walk? If you can’t, I will carry you on my back.—Will you go home with me?—Oh, let us go, Kaku-chan!
• Kakutaro.—(Pushes her hands away.) No, I dare not! I will never go home any more! (As he speaks he looks about him all the time as if he were expecting to see somebody.)
• Osayo.—But why won’t you go? Tell me why!
• Kakutaro.—I hate your mother, and she treats me unkindly!
• Osayo.—I assure you, dear Kaku-chan, my mother has no such ideas about you. She has worried very greatly about you, and her heart has been very troubled. Do you know that not so long ago, this very night, she came down here, and said to me, that if you were enchanted by the fox as your relations were…. (The moon becomes brighter, and Kakutaro, as if not hearing her words, becomes alert, his eyes sparkling brightly, and begins to walk toward the cottage.)
• Osayo.—(Frozen to the marrow by sudden fear) Kaku-chan! What are you… what are you gazing at?
• Kakutaro.—Oh, Oh! Look how the moon shines! Can’t you see how it has crept into the cottage? (Saying this he begins to go nearer to the cottage, as if being drawn by some unseen power.)
• Osayo.—(Begins to run, overtaking him. She tries to take his hands to hold him back. Oh, don’t go there! Don’t look! Kaku-chan!
• Kakutaro.—I tell you I will go. She is in the bath! already!
• Osayo.—Oh, Kaku-chan, can’t you believe me? I tell you that at this hour no one will come to such a place!
• Kakutaro.—No, she is there! She is there! Look (Peeping toward the cottage door) There is a white thing moving about in there. Look! She is there! (He moves closer to the cottage.)
• Osayo.—(Looks in the direction in which he points, terribly frightened.) No, there’s nothing, Kaku-chan. There is nothing in there. I have been near this cottage for several hours, but I have never seen anything or anyone approach this place.
• Kakutaro.—But I have been seeing her every night. Yes, every night, when the moonbeams creep into the cottage door and into the bath, that is usually the time she comes here. Last night, and the night before, at this very hour, I saw her.
• Osayo.—You lie to me, Kaku-chan. Such a thing is not possible! Nobody can be there at this time of night.
• Kakutaro.—I am telling you the truth. If you think that I am lying to you, come with me and look. (Again he peeps into the door-way.) Oh, look! She is already there; look, I say! She has already taken off her clothes, and I can see her naked body…. I can see her in the bath, and the moon is shining upon her pure white naked body, and… oh, oh, Osayo, do look at her!
• Osayo.—(Is afraid, and will not look.) I beg you, I pray you not to look in there, for it must be the fox!
• Kakutaro.—What nonsense are you talking!… I assure you it is no fox…. It is a woman! I know her well, for when I was in Kobe I saw her there.
• Osayo.—It must be the fox!
• Kakutaro.—Who has been telling you such foolish things?
• Osayo.—My mother told me, and not only she, but also everyone of the villagers says the same thing; and when the light shines in there, the fox is always within, and anyone who peeps there will surely be enchanted by him. We must never look upon him while he is there, they say.
• Kakutaro.—(Laughs) Ha, ha, ha! The villagers know nothing about it. She is no fox! Osayo-chan, I will tell you a secret about this woman. Don’t you know that a foreign woman is now staying at that villa on the cliffs avobe the abyss of Chigo-ga-fuchi?
• Osayo.—(Looking sadly at him) But, Kaku-chan, you lie to me, because no foreign woman would come here at this time. I think you must be out of your senses to believe it!
• Kakutaro.—I tell you that all European women hate entering the bath in the presence of others, so that is the reason she comes here at this time, so that she can be alone.
• Osayo.—But where she is staying they have a bathroom where quantities of hot water enter by a pipe from this same spring.
• Kakutaro.—But, she is afflicted with some awful disease, and it cannot be cured except by the spring water, so she comes here secretly. I am sure that none of the villagers know about it.
• Osayo.—(Half believing him) But, how do you know of this?
• Kakutaro.—When she was in Kobe she dwelt in a very old and large foreign-style house very near the office of the company I worked for. Ah, I know her very well!… In that house there were several foreign women living with her. As soon as it was evening, they would always put on pretty red or white clothes, and would paint their faces in a very charming way…. But, after a little time, this woman became indisposed, then some disease developed.
• Osayo.—Even though you may believe that, none of the villagars believe she has any disease. In the evening, she always is seen walking up the valleys or near the stream, and she seems very happy, and is a very pleasant woman, they say. All the villagers admire her greatly, and for a woman they think she is an excellent walker.
• Kakutaro.—Yes, because she is gradually recovering from her sickness, owing to these baths that she takes each night. You can be sure that, if she were in good health, she would never stay here for such a long time. You know very well that it is getting much colder every day, and that no one stays in the village at this time of the year.
  (While Osayo is thinking over what he says, he gets a chance to escape from her. He suddenly jumps off the bridge, and goes down toward the cottage again.)
• Osayo.—(Follows him, running across the bridge, and when she reaches the cottage she tries to pull him away from the door.) Kaku-chan! Oh, Kaku-chan!
• Kakutaro.—I have some business with her I tell you! If you don’t wish to stay here, please go away. Oh, please, Osayo-chan, go away and leave me here! (He peeps again into the cottage, through the window, by catching hold of the window-ledges.) Why will you interrupt me?
• Osayo.—But what would you do if it were a fox?
• Kakutaro.—(Looks again into the cottage.) Miss Rosa, Miss Rosa! Dont’ you know me? I am the messenger from that tailor’s shop in Kobe!
• Osayo.—Oh, Kaku-chan, please don’t call out like that! (Saying this, she takes hold of him, and with all her strength tries to pull him away toward the right-hand side of the stage.)
• Kakutaro.—There she is! There she is!… Miss Rosa!
• Osayo.—Don’t, Kaku-chan! (This time she goes to the window to look, but shrinks back in terror.) No one answers your call, Kakuchan…. I assure you that there is no one there at all!
• Kakutaro.—(Paying no attention to Osayo) Miss Rosa! Miss Rosa!
• Osayo.—Oh, let us go home quickly, Kaku-chan! You must be crazy!
• Kakutaro.—Look. I tell you. She is there! I can see her washing her body in the water … look! (He holds on to the window-ledges with all his might.) I can see the moon shining into the bath so clearly now, that the water looks as transparent as crystal … Miss Rosa’s body is all shining with something like white snow…. It’s not snow, no, it shines like new silver … oh, now she is combing her hair and … oh, just look now! Miss Rosa’s hair is like gold. Through the steam I can see it floating on the surface of the clear water. Her hair is very beautiful, and I tell you it is the hair of a woman!
• Osayo.—(Goes near the window again as if to look, but stops.) You are mad! It seems like that to you, but there is no sense in what you say!
• Kakutaro.—Oh, she has already undone her hair, and it is hanging down over her shoulders. Now she is washing her arm. Oh, look how Miss Rosa touches the sore on her arm. Rosa, Rosa, when you put your arm in such hot water, doesn’t it hurt you? … what a beautiful colour that sore is! It is reflected in the water like a glittering ruby on a surface of white velvet. But, see! She has other ones too, … one on her leg, and there is another on her shoulder! Perhaps after all they are not sores, perhaps they are rubies. They glitter like … Oh, Osayo-chan, look and see how wonder­ fully white her neck is! I tell you it is the skin of a human being! (Osayo, after a little heitation, at last takes hold of the window-ledge. She seems very frightened, but Kakutaro keeps tempting her to look. She peers through the window, then suddenly draws back terrified at the apparition she has seen. She utters a scream as she steps away.) Oh!
• Osayo.—(Pale and trembling, goes quickly past the cottage, as if to run away. As she does so, she half turns and cries to Kakutaro.) Oh! The … that… that is the Fox! It is the fox, Kaku-chan … I saw the fox!
• Kakutaro.—Oh, she has finished washing and bathing now, and is drying her body with a towel. Rosa, Rosa, are you coming out in a minute? If you are, I shall meet you in front of the cottage.
• Osayo.—Kakutaro, I tell you it is no human-being… it is a white fox! All that Mamma told me is true, absolutely true! I am going at once for the policeman. (After finishing these words, she rushes off in great fear, and, upon crossing the bridge, she disappears along the mountain-road on the right side.)
• Kakutaro.—Now she has quite dried her body, and is beginning to dress. Her gown is made from white towelling. Both her body and her dress are white … she almost deceives me into thinking she is a snow-maiden…. Again she is crouching near the edge of the tank!… Oh, I can see her shadow reflected in the hot-spring water. It is not a clear reflection, but it is like some figure on the moon appearing through a pearly mist. Ah, I know it—did you forget to bring your mirror with you, Rosa? That is why you are bending over the water, so that you can see your beautiful body as in a looking-glass! Now she is dressing her hair, and drops of water are falling from it … the golden drops are falling in showers as she binds it up … She has finished at last! She is squeezing her towel, and commences to dry her feet … and now she is putting on her white linen shoes! … Are you ready now, Rosa? … Are you coming out? … I am here. (He hurriedly goes to the entrance of the cottage.) At last she is coming, and … Rosa?
  (As he says the last word, a fox disguised in the dress and body of a woman appears in the door-way. The figure looks like that of some Occidental woman. A robe made of white towelling covers her body, and on her bare feet are white linen shoes. She carries a basket in which can be discerned a soap-case, sponge and towel. As she moves from the door, the pale opalescent moon-beams that were previously streaming into the door when she was bathing, now follow her as she leaves. The cottage becomes dark again, and the beam of light enshrouds her body and bathes her in a milky light. Upon seeing her closely, Kakutaro steps back a little, as if attracted by her great beauty. The fox glances once at him, then glides with a quiet step past him, and is about to cross the bridge.)
• Kakutaro.—(With some hesitation) Excume me, Rosa-san, Rosa-san! Please tell me if you are Rosa-San?
• The Fox.—(Stops half way across the bridge and looks down at him. She speaks in rather broken Japanese, imitating the accent of a foreigner.) Yes, I am Rosa … I am Rosa. Who are you?
• Kakutaro.—I? … Of course I am the messenger-boy who was once employed by Nakamura, the tailor, in Kobe.
• The Fox.—Oh, yes. You worked once in Nakamura’s shop?
• Kakutaro.—Yes, I once served there … for about three years. I remember very well often coming up to your place with messages and parcels. You had a great variety of dressing-gowns, hadn’t you? Do you remember when I used to go up to your room which was at the comer of the second storey? It was there that I saw your chest of drawers with a great looking-glass on it … it was next to your bed, and I remember it was full of dresses, wasn’t it? … Oh, Rosa-san, I remember everything, quite well.
• The Fox.—Oh, do you? … And your name, what is it?
• Kakutaro.—I’m named Kakutaro.
• The Fox.—Oh, yes, Kakutaro … I know you now. I remember you as the messenger-boy at that tine. (Saying this, she comes back again across the bridge, and standing close to him, looks into his face.)
• Kakutaro.—You were very kind to me then. Whenever you saw me you used to stroke my head, and call me Kakutaro-san, Kakutaro-san. Then you used to give me lovely chocolates wrapped in silver-paper.
• The Fox.—Yes, I remember well. I gave you chocolates, I always thought you were a very smart messenger-boy. I never forgot you, you see. (The fox sits down on a rock.) Why do you stand there? Come and sit here near me!
• Kakutaro.—Oh, thank you, it is very kind of you. (He takes a seat near her, with great delight.)
• The Fox.—Kakutaro-san, why are you here?
• Kakutaro.—Oh, I will tell you about myself. I once was employed there, but unfortunately it was reputed that I was mad. It was untrue … but I had to leave, and retruned again to this part of the country, which is my native place.
• The Fox.—Do your father and mother live here?
• Kakutaro.—No. Both of them are dead, so I was compelled to live with my aunt.
• The Fox.—I see. So you stay here with your aunt, do you?
• Kakutaro.—No, not now. I’ve already fled from her house, for I hate her very much … she treats me very badly, and is always scolding me.
• The Fox.—Then, where are you staying now?
• Kakutaro.—I have no home at all. By day, I always hide myself in the woods and on the mountains, and at night I aways come down here to this valley … Rosa-san, I know that you visit this bath every night, and so every evening I come here and peep at you from this spot.
• The Fox.—What! Have you been here every night? Were you here last night, and other nights before that?
• Kakutaro.—Yes. Last night, and the night before, and each night before that, and I have watched you taking your bath. I have spoken to you each time, saying: ‘Rosa-san, Rosa-san!’ but although I have called your name many times, you have never once replied to me.
• The Fox.—Is what you tell me true? I’ve never known you were here, and I am very sorry for you, Kakutaro-san. Will you forgive me?
• Kakutaro.—I have been very troubled because you would never answer me. But never mind about it now. I am very happy to-night, because I am able to talk to you alone. It makes me think again of the days I spent in Kobe. Don’t you remember, Rosa-san, the many times I came to your room with messages?
• The Fox.—I remember very well indeed. And now I remember giving you those chocolates.
• Kakutaro.—There were many decorations and pictures in your room, weren’t there? Pictures, photos, and clothes, and other things… I remember that you had a cage hanging by the window, in which you kept a canary.
• The Fox.—Yes, you have a very good memory.
• Kakutaro.—How I envied that little bird!
• The Fox.—Why? … Why did you envy it?
• Kakutaro.—Because that canary was able to live near you night and day … all the time, and it could take it’s food from your soft hand.
• The Fox.—Did you love me so much, Kakutaro?
• Kakutaro.—Yes, I did love you very much! The happiest thing in my life was to be able to visit your room. You often played the piano and sang, didn’t you? And I remember once when I called, and walked into your rooms suddenly, you were sitting close to a fat foreigner, who was dressed in a sailor’s uniform. You scolded me severely, and said: ‘Don’t walk into this room without knocking!’ And you frowned at me so much that I was very unhappy!
• The Fox.—Did I? I never meant to be angry with you!
• Kakutaro.—Yes, … the same thing happened twice after that. The second time the man was not a sailor, but was the manager of Kelly & Co., and you were both drinking whiskey. You scolded me very severely that time, and said sharply: ‘Don’t come here, I’ve a visitor! Come again when I ask you to!’ I shall never forget it. I felt very humiliated, and my heart became very sad indeed.
• The Fox.—Forgive me, Kakutaro-san, please forgive me. I am very sorry for you; but, if you knew how I was living, you would understand. I was just like the canary in that cage, and, though I liked you very much, I was compelled to be friendly with that sailor, and the manager from Kelly’s. If I refused their advances, that wicked old woman would have scolded me severely. I was not my own mistress then, can’t you understand?
• Kakutaro.—Oh, do you mean that you loved me then?
• The Fox.—Yes, I was devoted to you only. I hated both those men, but I was obliged to drink to please them, and had to amuse them, or I would have got into trouble.
• Kakutaro.—Rosa-san, I still have the handkerchief that you gave me. (He takes a rose-colored handkerchief made of silk from his dress.) Look at this, the very handkerchief that you gave me, and as you handed it to me you said: ‘I will give you this, Kakutaro-san!
• The Fox.—Yes, that is the same one. Just fancy your keeping it till now!
• Kakutaro.—On the comer of it is written two letters. ‘K’ and ‘R.’
• The Fox.—Yes. (The fox takes it and examines it.) Do you understand what those letters mean? ‘R’ is for Rosa, and ‘K’ stands for Kakutaro.
• Kakutaro.—But do you know that when I showed it to the boys who were working with me at the tailor’s, they said that the ‘K’ stood for Kelly.
• Osayo.—Oh, no, it’s you. I stitched it on specially for you because I loved you.”
• Kakutaro.—Yes, I know. I told them that, but they laughed at me, saying I had made a mistake, and it made me madder and madder, and the whole time I worked there after that they made all kinds of fun of me, and played jokes upon me.
• The Fox.—Oh, did they laugh at you?
• Kakutaro.—Yes, they did. They still say that I am enchanted by a fox, and as the villagers don’t know that you come down here to take your bath, they cannot believe that it is a real person who comes at night, and think it is a fox.
• The Fox.—Ha! Ha! Ha! (She laughs very loudly.) And do they say I am a fox?
• Kakutaro.—Yes, they do. Your skin is so white that they believe that such a person as you could not possibly dwell upon this earth, and so they declare you are a fox.
• The Fox.—Ho! Ho! Ho! It is funny, very funny! … I’m no fox, I am Rosa, and you know that I am and believe me, don’t you?
• Kakutaro.—Of course I do, but since you are staying at the villa, I have been thinking that perhaps you have some disease, and so come here to take the hot-spring baths. Oh, Rosa-san, are you not already cured?
• The Fox.—Yes, I am quite well now. The hot-spring water here is wonderful and would cure any disease. Look! (She rolls up her sleeves and shows him her wrists.) My body is all as beautiful as this. It is very white as you can see.
• Kakutaro.—But, on that… that elbow you have some sore. It is quite a pretty one, just like a ruby!
• The Fox.—Oh, do you mean this? (She rolls up her sleeve still further, and shows him something.) This is not a sore at all. I assure you it is a pure ruby. People are apt to think it a sore, but I am deceiving them, and it is really a bright ruby that you can see… come, touch it gently with your fingers, and you will see.
• Kakutaro.—(touches it, and finds that it is a pure ruby set very skifully into her shin. He also notices downy hair like velvet growing on her pearly white arm.) Oh, it is a ruby! … It is truly a ruby! It is just as I thought, and no sore at all!
• The Fox.—Ha! Ha! Ha! (She laughs again loudly.)
• Kakutaro.—How it glitters, Rosa-san! If you had a real sore on your skin, would it glitter like that ruby?
• The Fox.—Ho! Ho! I have had another one set here. Please look! (Saying this, she shows him her leg, on which soft hair is also growing like white velvet. A dark ruby glitters there also.)
• Kakutaro.—(kneels before her, places her foot on his knee, and touches the ruby on her leg.) Oh, it is true. This is a ruby too…. But what lovely shoes you have on!
• The Fox.—Ha! Ha! Ha! (She stands up.) Now I must go home, Kakutaro-san. Will you come with me? I will take you to me home if you have no place to go. I will show you the lovely avenues and streets in my native city.
• Kakutaro.—Oh, I suppose the streets where you were born must be very beautiful. Oh, please forgive me for bothering you, but tell me when you expect to leave here, Rosa-san?
• The Fox.—To-night … I will go there, to-night.
• Kakutaro.—To-night? … But isn’t your native place in France?
• The Fox.—Yes, my country is France… I was born in Paris.
• Kakutaro.—In Paris? … To get there, it would take me many, many days, and I should have to travel by boats and trains, shouldn’t I?
• The Fox.—No. It is not necessary to go there by boat or train. I will show you an easy way to get to Paris, for I know it quite well. Paris is over yonder. (The fox points toward the upper part of the river.) We must walk up the river for many miles, and soon we shall reach Paris. Won’t you come with me, Kakutaro-san? (She places her hand on his shoulder.) Come, I will take you with me. I will treat you kindly, so won’t you come?
• Kakutaro.—(nods his head, and rises to his feet.) Yes, Rosa-san, I will go anywhere with you, and will you always love me deeply?
• The Fox.—Of course I will, dear boy. You are truly a very ‘nice’ boy, and I promise you that, as soon as we reach my home in Paris, you shall have a new suit of clothes, and I will give you every kind of delicious food. Come, we must hurry! (As they prepare to leave, a rustling is heard among the hagi-flower bushes on the right bank of the river, and the fox’s two children, in the guise of girls, make their appearance. They have been crouching there for some time listening to the conversation between the fox and Kakutaro. Both of them are wearing shinking white dresses. They jump on to the bridge, and bow many times.)
• 1st Child.—Rosa-san, Rosa-san.
• 2nd Child.—Kakutaro-san, Kakutaro-san.
• Both Children.—We have come to meet you.
• The Fox.—Oh! (Looking back at Kakutaro,) These girls are my maids, and they have come to meet us and to welcome you.
• 1st Child.—Kakutaro-san, Kakutaro-san, I will carry you on my back, for as you have had nothing to eat, you will be very weak, and will not be able to walk.
• Second Child.—Kakutaro-san you know that the bed of the stream is full of rough boulders, and it is very hard and dangerous to walk there, so we shall both be very proud and happy to carry you. (Both children walk up to Kakutaro, who is very exhausted, and gently lift him in their arms. One of them holds him by the shoulders, and the other holds his legs, and Kakutaro remains lying there very still. They run with him toward the middle part of the bridge, and as they reach it Kakutaro collapses in a dead faint.)
• The Fox.—At last we have succeeded! (making the sound of a fox.) Kon, Kon, Kon!
• Both Children.—(Swaying his body up and down, they answer their mother.) Kon, Kon, Kon! (Then the three of them, bearing Kakutaro, jump quickly down to the bed of the stream. The Fox keeps in front, and the others follow behind, and they move off toward the upper part of the stream, crossing many rocks and boulders on their way, and gradually disappearing from view on the right side.
  There is rather a long pause, then a policeman, carrying a Japanese paper lantern, Osayo, and her mother appear round the comer of the road. They are looking in every direction as they walk, and seem to be searching. They come to the middle of the bridge and pause.)
• Osayo.—(Looking down from the bridge toward the cottage,) Kaku-chan, Kaku-chan, please answer me, dear!
• Mother.—You see, he has already disappeared. I am sure the fox has taken him!
• Policeman.—(Peeps into the cottage, and then looks round the outside of the building.) I wonder where he is. I am sure he is not down here.
• Osayo.—(Looking toward the upper part of the stream, calls.) Kaku-chan, Kaku-chan! Where are you? Where have you gone?
• Policeman.—(To Osayo.) My girl, are you sure that you saw the Fox here?
• Osayo.—Oh, yes, I am certain. While Kaku-chan and I were peeping into the cottage from the window, we both saw a large white fox in the bath.
• Policeman.—It is very curious! (He stops and thinks deeply for a moment.)
• Mother.—Now, my girl, you know that what I told you was true. How many times did I advise you! You can see plainly that he is not here!
• Osayo.—(Calling again toward the upper part of the river,) Kaku-chan! Kaku-chan! My dear Kaku-chan!
• Mother.—Though you may call his name over and over again, you will never see him any more, I am sure. Come, Osayo, my child, let us return home. (To the policeman) Sir, I beg your pardon for troubling you. I am very grateful to you for being so kind as to come down here with us at this time of night.
• Policeman.—What do you think about searching for him in the upper part of the stream?
• Mother.—No, Sir, I am sorry, but I don’t think it is worth while, Sir. Please don’t worry about him any more. Sir, I have quite given up hope of ever seeing him again. (From the left side of the mountain there uppers a foreign woman, robed in a light walking-dress. She is holding the arm of a foreign man. Following behind them is an old woman servant. Noting Osayo and the others wandering about there, they are about to pass the other way. After a little hesitation, the policeman calls to the old woman:)
• Policeman.—Excure me. Madam! (The three of them stop on the bridge.) Excuse my rudeness, but tell me where you have been at such a late hour.
• The Old Woman Servant.—(looks very annoyed.) My mistress and this gentleman went out for a stroll this evening, and as it got very late and they did not return, I came to meet them. (The two foreigners look very disgusted at being so closely questioned.)
• Policeman.—Well, Madam, please tell me where they have been.
• The Old Woman Servant.—The lady told me that, as the moon was so beautiful, they have been wandering around the lake on the mountain.
• Osayo.—(notices the handkerschief still lying upon the rock, where Kakutaro left it. She picks it up, and shows it to the policeman.) Sir, I found his handkerchief here. He told me that while he was in Kobe, Miss Rosa gave this to him, and he always kept it near his heart.
• The Foreign Woman.—(Hears the name of ‘Rosa,’ and comes toward the policeman, and glances at the handkerchief.) What! This handkerchief is my property. It was stolen from me in Kobe! (angrily) Who had this handkerchief?
• The Old Woman Servant.—Why, Rosa-san, surely it is yours, look! There are the marks ‘R’ and ‘K’ worked upon it! (She turns to the foreign man.) Mr. Kelley, it is your souvenir handkerchief.
• The Foreign Man.—Oh, yes, so it is! I am very glad that it has been found, for it was a valuable keepsake to me. It is surely the same one! How was it found in this place?
• The Old Woman Servant.—(As if suddenly recollecting something,) Oh, that lout of a boy in Kobe must have stolen it… how disgusting! What a horrid fellow he is! (to the Policeman) Do you know that idle-looking boy who has been wandering about here lately, and who was working for some time in Kobe?
• Policeman.—Yes, I know him quite well. You know, he is enchanted by a fox, and wanders about here at night.
• The Old Woman Servant.—Yes, it must be he. He knows that my mistress always comes here to take her bath, and every night he wanders about here. Last night she told me that she saw him, and when she returned home, he followed her. When she came in she looked very frightened and pale.
• Policeman.—Then you mean that this lady took a bath here to-night also?
• The Old Woman Servant.—Oh, no. She got such a fright last night that she would not come here this evening. Besides, her sickness is almost cured, and tomorrow she intends to return to Kobe. This gentleman came here to take her back, and to see the fine scenery of the place at the same time.
• Policeman.—Oh, I see. I can understand fully now, and will give this handkerchief back to the lady.
• The Foreign Woman.—(takes the handkerchief rather proudly, and turns to the man.) Let us go! (to the policeman) Good-bye!
• Policeman.—Good-evening, Madam! I am very sorry to have detained you. (The two foreigners leave arm in arm, and the old woman servant follow behind them. Soon they disappear round the cliff-road on the right. The three on the stage watch them as they go. There is a short pause. Shortly afterwards the light of a lantern can be seen far up in the bed of the steam. It is very indistinct, as it is a long way off. At the same time a voice can be heard in the distance, calling:)
• The Voice.—Hallo, down there! Come here, everybody! Kakutaro’s body has been found!
• Osayo.—What! Kaku-chan is dead? (She jumps quickly down into the bed of the stream, and is seen climbing hurriedly toward the upper part of the river. Then the policeman and Osayo’s mother follows. The light of the lantern gradually gets nearer, and the voice can be heard clearer than ever.)
• The Voice.—Hallo! Come quickly! Kaku-chan’s body has been found floating on the stream in the abyss of Chigo-ga-fuchi! (The three figures gradually pass out of sight as they climb to the upper part of the stream.)

(The End)