Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 3.djvu/73

 prepare an excuse by destroying some of his choicest possessions, in order to be able to tell him, on his return, that remorse for their carelessness induced them to attempt suicide by poison. Three men set out on a pilgrimage, agreeing that under no circumstances will they quarrel during their travels. Two of them shave the head of the third during his sleep, and when he awakes and finds what has happened, he forgets his promise, loses his temper, and turns his face homeward. But en route he conceives a scheme of retribution; goes to the wives of his two friends; tells them that their husbands have been drowned in crossing a ford, and that he has shaved his head and become a monk in order to pray for the repose of their souls; induces the women also to shave their heads and become nuns; carries away the hair, and shows it to the two travellers as proof of the deaths of their wives, and thus persuades them also to shave their heads and abandon the world. From such simple materials were these farces constructed, and though the costumes were prepared with the greatest fidelity, and the acting reached a high standard, no attempt was made to adapt the scenery to the incident, nor was the audience expected to look for realistic effects outside the speech, mien, and actions of the performers. The following is a typical Kyôgen:—