Blog Post: Matsukaze

Clearly, the drama of Matsukaze expresses the reality of eternal love. Interestingly, Kiyotsugu does not portray such a love in a romantic way. Rather, such a deep and powerful love intrudes on the characters and is the cause of their grief. Considering how such love is viewed today, the contrast could not be much more different. The sisters, seemingly due to the fact of their love for Yukihiri, become ghost fisherwomen that live in sadness rather than as normal, honest women that still may obtain happiness through other mediums. In essence, this loves kills the women as mortals and leads to Matsukaze’s trance by the end of the play. While such devotion and dedication towards a love is usually seen as honorable, Kiyotsugu portrays this everlasting love as a weakness. This assertion is the basis of the short drama.

Lines 307-324

Murasame: For shame! For such thoughts as these you are lost in the sin of passion. All the delusions that held you in life- None forgotten! That is a pine. And Yukihiri is not here.

Matsukaze: You are talking nonsense! This pine is Yukihiri! “Though we may part for a time, If I hear you are pining for me, I’ll hurry back.” Have you forgotten those words he wrote?

Murasame: Yes, I had forgotten! He said, “Though we may part for a time, If you pine, I will return to you.”

Matsukaze: I have not forgotten. And I will wait for the pine wind to whisper word of his coming.

All in all, these lines best exemplify the feelings for Yukihiri of the two sisters, especially Matsukaze. The most prevalent word in the passage is “forgotten”, which is used repetitively by the translator. This further demonstrates the longing which the sisters have for Yukihiri as well as how seriously disillusioned they are. By repeating “forgotten” as well as what Yukihiri mentioned before leaving Suma Bay, the desperation is even more blatant. Also, it is significant that Murasame believes Matsukaze is “lost in a sin of passion”. To begin, a sin of passion is usually not associated with passionate love but passionate hate or passionate animosity. Also, Murasame points out that there is a sin of passion in love but must not realize that she too suffers from this emotion. In this line, Kiyotsugu characterizes the women as ignorant and blinded by their love.

The sense of ignorance pervading to the passage adds to the idea that eternal love is not healthy. While this everlasting love fills the sisters with endless sorrow, Kiyotsugu, in the repetition and usage of “sin of passion”, emphasizes the effect of ignorance of this love. The sisters are so influenced by this love, they become oblivious to reality. In conclusion, Kiyotsugu is adamant that eternal love is devastating. The sisters lose their sanity and become ignorant to any sort of truth or reality due to this love, illustrating the “point” of the drama.