Busu

Busu 附子

A merchant in old Edo long ago,

on pressing matters took a trip.

Servants Taro and Jiro must know

a box holds a toxin, so don't nip.

“It's Busu”, the Master lied,

Taro and Jiro saw it pure white.

“Someone who smelled it died.

Promise never to take a bite”.

Sugar it was, at that time rare.

After the Master left, the guys

mischievously made a dare,

smell the Busu to see who dies.

Both were alive, they could see,

so a heaping taste then they tried.

It tasted good, what could it be,

and clearly no one died.

In a short time they ate it all.

Soon the Master would be back.

Think! What to do and don't stall,

ah, a valued vase they would crack.

When Master came, they started to weep,

“We broke your vase” they cried.

“In trouble, are we, so deep”.

His wrath, Master couldn't hide.

“So intense a remorse had we,

each other we tried to kill.

We mixed the Busu in our tea,

but didn't die as was our will”.

A doubting Master believed not a bit,

grabbed a stick and flew into a rage.

The two chaps he furiously hit,

as all three leave our stage.

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In this piece I retold the Japanese kyogen drama called “Busu”. A kyogen is a short comic relief play performed during the intermissions of the very long Noh plays. In western dramas comic relief is within the play, whereas in Noh they are separate plays unrelated to the main play. “Busu,” usually translated as “Delicious Poison,” is a popular kyogen. Taro and Jiro are mischievous stock characters who appear in many kyogen.

A Japanese picture of Taro and Jiro investigating the box of Busu.