Background Information

This play has two acts; one of them 'Kisshoin Temple' is from 'Sonomukashi Koi-no Edozome' in 1809, and the other 'Fire watching tower' is from 'Shochikubai Yuki-no Akebono' in 1856. Both plays were based to a real incident that happened in 1683. The greengrocer's daughter, Oshichi set fire to her house. She was arrested and was executed by burning. Oshichi is the most famous arsonist in Japan. The first half is a comedy.

Story

Act-1

Scene; Kisshoin Temple

Young girls evacuate to Kissho Temple, because Kiso Yoshinaka is going to attack into Edo. Although Oshichi who is a greengrocer's daughter is one of them, she doesn't arrive there yet. Beniya Chobei is a good-natured rouge seller. He came to Kissho Temple with Oshichi's mother Otaka. Chobei and Otaka have worried about Oshichi. Then Oshichi arrived there accompanied by a maid Osugi. Oshichi has a problem, and she thinks that it is a chance to talk about it to her mother, Otaka. Oshichi asked Otaka to make her marry with Kichisaburo. Everyone there is surprised so much.

Kichisaburo is a youth of Kissho Temple. When Oshichi's house was burnt down before, her family stayed in the temple until their new house was built. And Oshichi fell in love with Kichisaburo at the time. Otaka was confused, because she had a reason that she couldn't accept Oshichi's wish. The greengrocer shop's owner, Oshichi's parents rent money from Kamaya Buhei to build a new house, and there was a promise that if they couldn't repay the money they should make their daughter Oshichi marry with Buhei. So Oshichi can't marry with Kichisaburo. Oshichi was disappointed very much. Chobei comforts Oshichi, and he makes Otaka say that it is all a joke.

Then, Junai who is a retainer of Kichisaburo comes to the temple. Junai told that Kichisaburo was allowed, and that he would be able to come home soon in order to marry with a fiancee. Oshichi is surprised very much. Otaka made everyone leave from the main hall of the temple. Then, Otaka asked Junai to arrange the marriage of Kichisaburo and Oshichi. Junai refused it.

Kichisaburo was a legitimate son of a bushi/samurai family. He was disinherited, because he lost a treasure sword 'Amakuni'. But now, he was allowed. It must be impossible that he marries with a greengrocer's daughter. Junai says that Kichisaburo should marry with his fiancee who is a daughter of the bushi family. Otaka was disappointed, and she left from the main hall of the temple.

Kichisaburo came back to the temple, and met Junai. Junai asks Kichisaburo about Oshichi. Junai intended to scold Kichisaburo if he said that he loved her. Kichisaburo says that Oshichi is just a daughter of a greengrocer's family that stayed in the temple until their house was built again. He says that there is no problem, and that he will find the lost sword. Junai accepts it and they both leave there.

Kamaya Buhei and Naganuma Rokuro come to Kissho Temple with many retainers. Rokuro is a retainer of the warrior Minamoto-no Norinaga. They all are waiting for the Kiso army in order to make them go away. Norinaga heard of a beauty girl Oshichi who was like an angel in the carving of the decorative lintel of the temple worship hall. So Norinaga thought to make her his lover. And Buhei and Rokuro came there in order to search for Oshichi. Buhei asked to the master monk of the temple where Oshichi was, but he said that she wasn't there. So Buhei and Rokuro leave there.

Oshichi and the others were surprised very much. They think that Buhei and Rokuro will come back to the temple sooner or later. Norinaga thought that Oshichi was beautiful like an angel in the carving of the decorative lintel of the temple worship hall, so that they hide Oshichi into the carving. And they leave there in order to hide themselves into something.

Buhei and Rokuro came back to the temple, but they couldn't find Oshichi. And they leave there to search for her. Then Kichisaburo comes by, so that Oshichi calls his name from the decorative lintel. Oshichi came down from the lintel, and asked Kichisaburo to marry with her. At the beginning, Kichisaburo refused it, but he accepted her wish finally, because she made him think that she was suffering very much. They both leave from the hall together.

Buhei and Rokuro come back to the main hall of the temple, and ask a monk where Oshichi is. The monk said that Oshichi and her mother had died, but Buhei and Rokuro didn't believe it. Then some men carried a coffin to the hall, and Buhei opened it. Suddenly, Chobei comes out from the coffin. And Chobei takes a pot of 'odosha' powder from the altar and throws the powder over the people. 'Odosha' is secret powder of Buddhism. It makes rigor mortis soften. If the powder shook over a person, he must become like a mollusc. So all the people fell to the floor like molluscs.

This scene ends, and the curtain-runner starts to pull the curtain, but Chobei throws the powder to him. The curtain-runner fell to the floor like the others, so that Chobei pulled the curtain himself.

Act-2

Scene; By the fire watching tower near the greengrocer's shop

Oshichi is thinking about Kichisaburo all day long. Osugi says that Buhei visited to the greengrocer's shop bringing the sword, Amakuni. And she recommended stealing the sword and bringing it to Kichisaburo. Oshichi accepted it, and she decided to go to Kisshoin Temple to meet Kichisaburo to inform about the sword before she steals it. Oshichi and Osugi tried to go to Kisshoin Temple, but the city gate was locked already. Osugi recalled that all the city gates must be opened if the fire alarm drum was beaten. However, if someone beat the drum with no fire, s/he would be executed. Although Oshichi asks Osugi to beat the drum, of course Osugi refuses it. Oshichi tried to beat the drum herself, but Osugi stopped her. And Osugi went back to the greengrocer's shop.

It is snowing, and Oshichi is outside yet. Oshichi is cornered, and she doesn't know what she should do. This scene is shown like Bunraku, Japanese traditional puppet play. Two men act to look like manipulating Oshichi behind her, and Kikunosuke acts as a puppet Oshichi. Finally, Oshichi decided to beat the drum, and she backed to a real again then. Oshichi runs up the ladder to the top of the fire watching tower, and beats the drum again and again. The city gate is opened. Osugi comes there bringing the sword that she stole from Buhei, and gives it to Oshichi. Oshichi runs through the city gate to Kissho Temple to meet Kichisaburo bringing the sword.

The End

(2003,11,8)