The Politics Of Life

Asa Ga Kimashita (Morning Has Broken)

AsaGa Kimashita (Morning Has Broken) Velina Hasu Houston CAST OF CHARACTERS Kiheida Shimada, 60 Fusae Shimada, 53, his wife Setsuko Shimada, 20, their daughter Haruko Shimada, 25, their daughter Hajime Takemoto, 30 Fumiko Kitagawa, 30, Kiheida's niece Creed Banks, 33, an African American Mitchell Daniels, 38, an African American Dr. Watanabe, 44, a physician Yoko Sagami, 18, the Shimada maid Time and Place 1945-1946. Ehime Prefecture, the cities of Matsuyama and Imabari; island of Shikoku, Japan. Setting A remote, provincial estate consisting of a home, yard with flower garden, and the beginnings of a persimmon orchard, which leads offstage. Of the house, an anteroom, a "living room," bedchambers, and a hallway are visible. Playwright's note: This play is meant to be performed without an intermission. 220 Prologue (Matsuyama, 1945. Twilight fades in downstage, center, simultaneously with a cacophonous blend ofclassic Japanese music and World War II-era American music. This is accompanied by the sound of B-29 bombs exploding and the offstage cries of people fleeing for their lives. Enter SETSUKO SHIMADA, a demure, petite girl of twenty with a gentle, pretty face. But, at this moment, that face is smudged with dirt. Her kimono is torn; she is generally disheveled. She has lost one shoe. She stares straight ahead at the audience and the cries and explosions fade to a bare murmur. She removes a handkerchieffrom her kimono sleeve, takes locusts from it, and eats them contemplatively .) SETSUKO: A beast wrestles with my soul. It comes at night, hiding in the crash of the midnight tide, arrogant and white, powerful and persistent. Who owns this creature? Who unleashes him here, as he comes to abort our lives and devour our dreams? Yesterday, I climbed in my persimmon orchard to stare at the stars of Obon, the sea in July, and happy children.... I was one of them. Today, I eat locusts. (extends a locust toward the audience and smiles gently as she withdraws the offering) The stars move over to make room for the terror. Its eyes flicker fire and bodies go up in smoke. My schoolmate jumps into the river, curling in death, breasts melting into belly into thighs. And I am whole and unmelted. The beast spares me and yet my heart is on fire. (a beat) Mother? Can you hear me? They can take my country, but they cannot take you. (The bombs and cries fade up as SETSUKO gathers her locusts hurriedly and looks around in fear. Enter KIHEIDA SHIMADA, her portly, dignified father. They stare at one another with great sadness and urgency. He carries a futon [thick Japanese coverlet ], which he "soaks" in the river. He takes rope out of his sleeve and hoists SETSUKO on his back. SETSUKO climbs onto his back and clings to him in her fear. He pats her hand to calm her. The bombs grow nearer and louder. He pulls the futon over her back, and ties her and the futon around his torso. He begins crawling as the sound of the atomic bomb detonating 221 VELINA HASU HOUSTON fills the theater, and the offstage cries ofdeath and pain echo. The lights cast an eerie glow as he crawls offstage. They exit. Blackout with the voiceover bridging into Scene One.} Scene One (Imabari, 1946. In the darkness, the sound of a voiceover is heard, that ofGeneral Douglas MacArthur's announcement of the Japanese surrender to the United States, signifying the end of World War II. It is brief, simply the announcement of the surrender ofthe Imperial Forces. As it ends, the twilight darkness of the predawn fades in simultaneously with the sound of offstage bombing. It is a faint and dreamlike reverberation mixed with traditional shakuhachi music. The bombing crescendoes as a light fades in on the face of KIHEIDA SHIMADA, who sleeps in the living room of his home. The remnants of his sake drinking are evident on the table. KIHEIDA awakens in fright. Anguished, he tries to stop the sound of the bombs, which are being imagined in his head. As he shakes his head furiously, the sound of the bombs and shakuhachi fade and are replaced with the somber instrumental music of "Kimi Ga Yo," the Japanese national anthem. He touches objects in the room as if to affirm his reality. He steps onto the porch and stretches as the light ofmorning fades in. He shakes the nightmare out...