Scene 1 Summary

The play is set in a sparsely furnished room, where the only decoration is a vase of colorful flowers. A Japanese Woman pours tea for a Japanese Man and offers him food. He accepts. As the Woman is out preparing something to eat, the Man takes a flower out of the vase and puts it in his pocket. The Woman returns with food, and as the Man eats and drinks, the conversation reveals that the Woman doesn't have many visitors. She doesn't know when the last one was, and she's glad to hear the sound of a voice. The Man reveals that he is from the city. He is accustomed to a lot of sound, and silence frightens him.

When the Woman says she feels the same way, the Man asks how she can sleep in so quiet a place. She says she...