Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/271

Rh back to Kyōto. The old samurai wept for gratitude.

Naozané, having killed his beloved son, was weary of the military profession. He resolved to forsake the world, and spend the remainder of his days in praying for the soul of the deceased. That very day he had obtained Yoshitsuné's permission to retire from the army. He thereupon became a Buddhist priest, and prepared to start on a pilgrimage to the holy places throughout Japan. His sorrow-stricken wife was also weary of life, and became a nun, with the determination of accompanying her husband. Both were on the point of setting out on their journey, when they looked at each other, and calculated Kojirō's age.

"Alas!" they exclaimed, "these sixteen years have passed away like a dream."

They again burst into tears.