Characters
Heisaku
An old man working as a porter on the Tokaido Highway from Edo to Kyoto. He is honest, forthright and lovable, but also has the strength of will to give up his life for information on the enemy.
Jubei
A kimono merchant in Kamakura. In a chance encounter, he realizes that the old porter Heisaku is not only his own father, who gave him up for adoption as a child, but a member of the enemy side of a vendetta. This puts him in a bind between duty to his mentor and compassion for his father.
Oyone
Heisaku’s daughter. She was once a famous Edo courtesan named Segawa. She fell in love with Shizuma, who bought out her contract and married her. She endures a poor life and seeks the enemy’s wherabouts in order to help her husband achieve his vendetta.
Ikezoe Magohachi
Wada family retainer. He and Shizuma are hunting for Matagoro. He realizes that Heisaku is seeking Jubei to gain a clue on the enemy’s whereabouts, and chases after him along with Oyone.
Wada Shizuma
Does not appear in this scene. He is Oyone’s husband and the son of Wada Yukie, a sword master in the Uesugi family. He seeks revenge for his father, who was deceived and killed by Matagoro, but is hurt in a battle in Kamakura by one of Matagoro’s henchmen. He is presently rehabilitating from his wounds.
Sawai Matagoro
Does not appear in this scene. He deceives Wada Yukie in order to steal a precious sword from the Wada family, then escapes. He is being targeted by Yukie’s son Shizuma, but is being protected by his son Jogoro. With Jubei’s help, he is hoping to escape to Kyushu.
Karaki Masaemon
Does not appear in this scene. He is modeled after the famed swordsman Araki Mataemon, who assisted his relative in the Iga Ueno vendetta. He eloped with Shizuma’s sister Otani, for which the latter was disowned. When he learns of Yukie’s death, he divorces the pregnant Otani and marries Onochi, Otani’s seven-year old stepsister. This complicated device allows him to assist Otani in her parent’s vendetta. The latter half of the play tells of Masaemon’s efforts in the vendetta and Otani’s tragic end.
