Yuranosuke monologue (Act 13) — Chushingura; Or, The Treasury of Loyal Retainers

Ah, wait, wait. Why, you are not light of foot, but very, very light of tongue. Why do you not become a jester? Well, I did feel indignant in a slight degree and form a league of forty or fifty men. But what of that? I pondered upon it. If we fail, off our heads will go; and if we succeed, we must cut our bellies. Either way there was but death for us; it was like taking a decoction and then hanging ourselves. As for you, you are an _ashigaru_ with a salary of five _ryo_ and three men’s rations. Now do not be angry. For you who received no more than a dole we might give to a begging priest, to throw away your life for vengeance upon our enemy, why, you might as well give a grand dancing performance in return for a present of a few seaweeds. My stipend was fifteen hundred _koku_; and compared with you, I might take the enemy’s heads by the bushel and yet not be on a level with you. And so we gave it up. Do you see? Such is the way of the world. And when I hear music going _tsutsuten, tsutsuten, tsutsuten,_ I can hardly contain myself.