They were in the neighborhood of samurai mansions, and the street was almost empty. “Ochō,” Tanjirō finally said, “Why are you crying like that? Hey, how about trying to cheer up?”
After looking around to see if anyone was coming, Ochō looked into Tanjiro’s eyes. Then she put both arms around his left arm and clung tightly to him.
“Tanjirō!”
“Yes?”
“You know, I really hate you.”
“Why?”
“Do you need to ask? When I saw Yonehachi in the street, you pretended you didn’t even know who she was. And now suddenly you’re married to her!”
“No, no. You don’t understand. I was in trouble and I didn’t have any way to survive, and then I got sick. Then she suddenly showed up and did a lot of things for me, and we ended up, well, you know, doing it.”
“Did you end up getting married?”
“How could we possibly be married?”
“Maybe not yet, but later. You’ve promised to marry her, haven’t you?”
“No, no, no. We’re never going to be married.”
“Then who are you planning to marry?”
“I know a young woman who’s ten times prettier and more irresistible than Yonehachi.”
“Oh really? Where is she?”
“Hey, she’s right here,” Tanjirō said, putting his arm around Ochō and holding her tightly as they walked.
Happily, Ochō held onto Tanjirō. Then she reached up and softly pinched the upper part of Tanjiro’s arm. A smile came to her face, and she grew flushed around the eyes. To Tanjirō she looked even more attractive. Luckily no one else came down the street, because after that the two said some very foolish things that only lovers could ever understand.
Suddenly a loud voice burst out of a side street: “Pans! Pots! I fix everything!”
Surprised, Ochō and Tanjirō ran across the stone bridge spanning a drainage canal, vowing never to part. It was spring and the thin ice below was melting, much as they melted into each other. By the time they passed through Nakanogō, where Tanjirō lived, they were sure they were already wife and husband, and then they reached the plums of Koume, heading for the secluded stylish house where Ochō was staying. Afraid someone might see them, they let go of each other and held hands in their minds as they went by houses surrounded by spindle-tree hedges and bushes. As they passed a public well with a hanging bucket, they walked farther apart, sure someone was watching. Even a warbler in the eaves made them feel shy. Was it laughing at them? Unsure any longer of where they were really going, they made their way back toward Ochō’s house.
Blossoming plum branches,
whip-like, urge warblers to come,
“Quickly! Quickly!”
Hakei
One night, sleeping beside Oyoshi, Ochō has a vivid dream in which debt collectors come to the house while Oyoshi is away and threaten her, trying to force her to tell them where Tanjirō is hiding. Alarmed, the next morning Ochō visits Tanjirō in his squalid room, and just as they are becoming intimate, blackmailers come and threaten Tanjirō. Then a high official of the Hatakeyama clan who is investigating the theft of the tea canister arrives and reduces the amount Tanjirō must repay. Tanjirō, however, has nothing except what Yonehachi has given him, so Ochō decides to contract herself to a woman who runs an entertainment agency that sends out jōruri chanters and singers to parties, and she gives the contract money to Tanjirō, who uses it to pay off his debt. Ochō, who does jōruri singing and chanting under the professional name of Chōkichi, is skilled and popular and is invited to perform at many mansions. Meanwhile, Yonehachi remains true to Tanjirō despite Tobei’s repeated, strenuous attempts to seduce her and test her love for Tanjirō. At the same time, Tōbei has completely stopped visiting Konoito, and Konoito suspects Yonehachi of actually having an affair with Tōbei, although he is simply trying to test Yonehachi. After Yonehachi swears she loves only Tanjirō, Konoito reveals that her true lover is actually Hanbei, now far away. Yonehachi becomes very successful as an independent musician and is in great demand. Then one day both Ochō and Yonehachi are invited to perform at the same mansion.
CHAPTER 13
Although he’d been reduced to being a lowly luggage carrier for Yonehachi, Tanjirō’s love for her is as true as hers is for him. Today Yonehachi has been asked to perform at Lord Kajiwara’s country mansion in Kamedo,26 a farming area east of Edo. A number of guests have gathered there for a tea ceremony, and at the party afterward, professional comedians serve saké while music is provided by many different women performers. Tanjirō, however, sits in a small waiting room for visitors’ hired help and has nothing to do. As the mere carrier of Yonehachi’s shamisen, he keeps out of the way, ashamed to be seen by anyone.
Tired of sitting, Tanjirō went into the kitchen and gazed out the door at the wide field of autumn grasses and flowers that spread out beyond the mansion garden. Excited and drawn by the moonlight, he found himself going outside and then climbing a low hill at the back of the garden. At the top he found a stylishly designed one-room pavilion surrounded by a low veranda. He stepped up onto the veranda and gazed down. Beyond a carefully landscaped pond he could see part of the mansion’s largest room. From inside came music and animated voices. The drinking had been going on all day, and guests and hosts mingled intimately. At this point, no one cared any longer about rank or ceremony. Tanjirō could see all the excited people so clearly that he felt as if he could reach out and touch them.
As Tanjirō gazed, he began to feel drowsy. Suddenly he saw someone running through the garden, breathing hard. Strangely, the person was running barefoot. The figure came up the hill, threw open the wicker gate, and ran right toward the spot where Tanjirō was standing. Surprised, Tanjirō and the figure stared hard at each other in the moonlight.
“Tanjirō?”
“Is that you? Ochō? What are you doing here?”
Ochō started sobbing and was unable to answer. Tanjirō held her and pushed open one of the sliding doors of the pavilion. He helped Ochō inside, had her sit down, and tried to comfort her.
“You know, your heart’s really thumping!” he said. He rubbed Ochō’s chest for a while until her heart finally slowed and she calmed down.
“Oh! I was really afraid,” she said finally. “What are you doing here, Tan?”
“Me, well, no reason, really.”
“Did you come all the way out to this mansion with Yonehachi because you’re worried about her?”
“No, that’s not it at all. I came because I had to ask her for something.27 But who cares about that? Tell me why you came running up here so fast.”
Ochō rested her head against Tanjirō’s lap. “All right. I’ll tell you. The steward of the mansion is Banba no Chūda. He has a son named Chūkichi, and Chukichi’s always saying fresh things to me whenever I come here to perform. He wants me to go with him and do whatever he asks. It’s disgusting. I can’t stand it. Well, today the guests are completely drunk, as is everybody else, and nobody can tell what’s going on, so Chūkichi grabbed me. Luckily they decided just then to play hide-and-seek. I went and hid in the bath, but he came and hid in the same place. He told me that this time he absolutely wasn’t going to be refused. He stood there staring at me, his hand on his short sword. So I ran at him as hard as I could and knocked him over and ran outside. He’ll be here any second. I don’t know where to go now.”
“You’re in a real fix, aren’t you,” Tanjirō said. “Then again, if he’s the son of the steward, it’s in your interest to be on his good side. You really ought to go back and fix things up.”
“Tanjirō!” Ochō said, her eyes flashing. “You, too? Do you want me to do whatever party guests or other men ask me to? You sound just like my manager. Whenever I go back to my manager’s house after a party and explain what’s happened, that heartless old woman tells me to agree with what the men say and to do what they ask. But she just wants me to make more money so she can get her hands on it.
She’s always telling me to find a patron and become his mistress. A lot of men drop by her house, and she’s always pointing out the rich ones to me. And she tells me to greet them pleasantly and make them feel good. She just wants me to think of ways of getting their money, that’s all. I have to hear disgusting things like that every single day, from morning till night. I know I’m not able to support you yet, but still, I’m true to you, and I always think of you. It makes me want to cry whenever I have to play in front of those kinds of men. Show me a little sympathy.”
“Yeah, well . . .” Tanjirō said. “Actually, I never stop thinking of you, either, even for a minute. But I can’t see you at your place the way I can drop in on Yonehachi. But you know, not being able to see you makes me love you even more. But there’s nothing I can do right now. . . .”
“That’s fine,” Ochō said. “Just fine. Please be good friends with Yonehachi, because pretty soon I’m going to be dead anyway.”
“How come you’re so angry?”
“Why? You never come to see me, Tanjirō, so you have no way of knowing this, but my manager’s the same woman who used to call herself Okuma. Remember, she was a matron at the Karakotoya. She still resents the fact that she had to do whatever my parents told her, so she’s extra mean to me now. Really mean. She keeps talking to me, saying every unpleasant thing you can imagine. The only way I can stand it is by thinking about how maybe you and I’ll be together someday. I can’t be sure of it, but it helps me endure each day. Meanwhile all you’re really thinking about is Yonehachi. You even come all the way out to these country mansions with her and then wait to go home with her. Why should I want to live and suffer like this? There’s no reason for me to go on living. So I won’t, that’s all.”
“Stop talking nonsense, will you?” Tanjirō said. “I’m working for Yonehachi. I carry her things so I can save a little money and get you back to Oyoshi as soon as I can. How can I act like a self-respecting man if I don’t? At least that’s what I tell other people. Actually, your being like this really worries me. I don’t like it at all.”
“What are you so worried about?”
“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? You’re getting more attractive and desirable every day. And while you’re far away from me, you’re surrounded by all those other men. It bothers me a lot. When I imagine how those men aren’t going to want to leave you alone, I get really upset. Especially at night. Some nights I dream about them doing something to you, and I can’t stand it.”
“Tanjirō, I really don’t like you when you lie to me.”
“Why am I lying? Just look at what happened tonight. You have to be very careful.”
“What are you talking about? It’s Yonehachi you’re worried about. That’s why you go with her when she goes out to perform.”
“No, really, that’s not why. Listen, I’m not the one. . . . You, didn’t you, you must have come up here because you’ve promised to meet some man in this nice secluded little house. And I’m in the way. All right, I understand. I’ll go back down to the mansion and wait in the servants’ room.”
Tanjirō stood up, but Ochō held onto him. “How? How could you say such a cruel thing?” She was crying again, and her body shook.
In the dim light of the room, Tanjirō thought he could see redness around Ochō’s eyes, although he wasn’t quite sure. He pulled Ochō to him. “I was just joking,” he said. “Will you forgive me? Really, we’ve never had a good heart-to-heart talk alone until now. You’re suffering all this because of me and . . . and I know how hard it is for you. But be patient just a little longer, please. Pretty soon I’ll get together enough money to buy out your contract and get you out of there.”
“Listen, I realize I can’t be with you right away. But you’ve got to come see me for a little while every two or three days. Just long enough so I can see your face.” Ochō held Tanjirō as hard as she could, her arms twining around him like the vines turning crimson on the autumn slope outside. Cries of insects filled the deepening night.
From the great room in the mansion came the sounds of superbly played shamisens and two women singing. It was an old song, but people still liked to hear it.
Before I met you I heard you were stylish
and when we met you were oh so refined
even down to your clothes—so full of wit and grace,
so direct and self-possessed, you’re such a handsome man
I’ve fallen in love with you—is there karma between us?
“Hey,” Tanjirō said, “isn’t that Masakichi and Daikichi from Futagawa?”28
“Yes, you’re right. It’s them.”
“What did you chant tonight?”
“Well, I performed with Imasuke from Nakachō,29 and we sang the duet from the scene where Chichibu Shigetada has the geisha Akoya play her koto while he asks her about Kagekiyo.30 That’s all we did. Tonight everyone was so wild and noisy, it felt funny to be playing a jōruri piece. I got impatient and kept wanting to play too fast.”
Ochō and Tanjirō were so happy that they felt they as if they were floating. They forgot everything and looked deeply into each other’s eyes, silently understanding each other. Then came the sounds of shamisens playing a lively song in a typical geisha tempo with strong, expressive pauses:
I fell in love, I’m burning up,
but all, all for nothing—tonight we met
and only talked of this and that and didn’t do a thing.
And then came the sounds of a different song:
I worry that he doesn’t think of me
the way I think of him—when we’re apart
I act just like a fool and let it get me angry.
“Listen to that,” Ochō said. “They talk about it even in songs. You have Yonehachi, so you never remember me.”
“You still don’t understand, do you? If you have to remember someone, it means that sometimes you’re thinking about somebody else. It means that you’ve forgotten them for a while. So no, I don’t remember you. I think about you all the time.”
“Hey, Tanjirō, now you’re lying again. Yonehachi’s the one you never forget.” As Ochō spoke, she tickled Tanjiro’s side below the armpit.
“What are you doing? That tickles. Stop it, or I’ll tickle you back.” As they lay there holding each other, Tanjirō reached up Ocho’s wide sleeve and began lightly touching her breast.
“Hey, that really tickles!” Ochō’s face flushed, and she stared into Tanjirō’s eyes.
“Well,” Tanjirō said, “everything’s quiet down there now. I can’t hear a single shamisen, but people are sure laughing a lot. I wonder if one of those Sakuragawa comic storytellers is putting on a show.”
“No, it’s another one, Ryūchō. He’s telling one of his funny stories now. This afternoon Yūchō told one and started chanting part of a romantic puppet play31 right in the middle. It was really interesting.”
“Hmm. Really? I guess pretty soon Yucho’s going to be the best of all the young comic storytellers.”
“Yes, he’s not stiff at all. He’s really relaxed and smooth.”
“Hey,” Tanjirō said, “I thought you were praising his stories. But no, you’re praising him. I see. I guess I’d better pay more attention. Now you’re telling me how much you love him. And I didn’t even notice.”
“There you go again, you liar. Why would I fall in love with Yūchō? One of the women I work with, Okiku, she’s completely crazy about him. They’re so close it makes even me feel jealous.”
“Have you ever slept with him?”
“Tanjirō! Stop it, will you? If I liked him that much, I’d never go through all this just for you. You’re horrible!”
Ochō and Tanjirō meet unexpectedly at a hilltop pavilion overlooking a pond and, beyond it, a mansion. The pavilion door is still partly open, suggestively showing a pillow, and the lovers wipe their hands with tissue paper, much as in an erotic print. The two are now preparing to leave, so the time is later than that mentioned in the
text.
“And I think you’re charming. Hey, prove you’re not in love with Yūchō.” Tanjirō pulled Ochō tightly against him and lay down on the floor.
“Let go a minute, will you?” Ochō said, turning around. She pushed open one of the sliding paper doors and looked down at the party room in the mansion. Then she banged the door shut again.
Inside the room, Ochō and Tanjirō loved each other again and again. They spoke to each other of all the difficult things that had happened to them and revealed their innermost secrets. The people in the mansion never realized they were there, and luckily no one thought to search as far as the hill at the back of the garden.
The author is aware that some people hate such scenes and believe that publishing them in a book amounts to teaching women and girls to become loose and immoral. Some even loathe my books intensely. Surely they are wrong! Confucius said that if you are with two people, you should make the good one your teacher and avoid the bad one.32 And a venerable proverb says, “Watch others’ actions; change your own.” Since my books are meant mainly for women readers, they are of course unsophisticated and hardly high literature. But while the women characters may look lascivious, the love they feel is deep, and they are always true to their lovers and to their principles. They never have sexual relations with different men at the same time, do indecent things for the sake of money, or stray from the Way and act in a manner improper for women. Many amorous words are exchanged, yet the affections shared by the lovers, both men and women, are pure and beyond reproach. In this book, Konoito, Ochō, Oyoshi, and Yonehachi all differ in style and appearance, but each remains true to her lover, showing as much bravery as any man. Please read on to the very end and see for yourself how things finally turn out well for these virtuous women and how they act faultlessly and protect the men they love.
[Shunshoku umegoyomi, NKBT 64: 47–149, translated by Chris Drake]
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