222628 Tayama Katai the Quilt

8/7/2019 222628 Tayama Katai the Quilt

1/32

r - t l q 5 6/ l t 4 ff ' tc* ?A

: j

1>-7"-c l


2/32

36a flower in nature Sving a sort of comfort to those who look uponit. Even assuming or argument's sake that she did love him, hewas the teacherand shewas his pupil, he had a wife and childrenand she was a beautiful young flower just coming into bloom,soperhaps t was nevitable that they should both cometo realizethis. Then again, he had failed to clear the question up whenshe had sent him that one really intense letter, complaining ofher anguish both openly and implicidy, and, as if to oppresshim with the force of nature, conveying her feelings to him fora final time. With her female modesty,how could he now expecther to make things any clearer than that? Perhaps,with her mindin such a state, she had acted as she had now through despair."Anyway, the chance has now gone. She already belongs tosomeoneelse!" he exclaimed aloud as he walked along, andpulled at his hair.He went slowly on down the slope,his figure, in suit of stripedserge and straw hat, bent slightly forward as he thrust out hiswisteria-vine walking-stick. It was the middle of September andstill insufferably hot, but the sky was already filled with a re-freshing air of autumn, and is deep, rich blue vividly stirred theemotions. Round about were fuh shops and saki shops andgrocery shops, beyond them rows of backstreet tenements andtemple gates, and in the lowJying ground of Hisakatamachinumerous factory chimneys poured out their thick black smoke.It was in one of those many factories that he went to workevery afternoon, in a large Western-style room upstairs witha single large table standing in the middle and a Western-stylebookcase, irll of all sorts of geographical works, at ie side. Hewas helping, on a part-time basis, with the editing of somegeographical works for a certain publishing house. A man ofletters editing geographical works! He had taken on the workpretending that he had an interest in geography, but of course,deep down, he wasn't huppy with it. What with his rather tardyliterary career, his despair at only having produced odds andends without an opportunity for putting all he had into a work,the painful abusehe received every month from the young men'smagazines,his own awarenessof what he ought to do some day-it was inevitable he should feel upset. Society was advancingwith each new day. Suburban trains had revolutionized Tokyo'stransport system.Girl students had become something of a force,

THE QUILT 37and nowadays,even f he'd wanted to, he wouldn't have beenable to find the old-fashioned sort of girl he'd known in hiscourting days. And the young men, like young men in any age,had a completely different attitude towards everything, whetherlove, literature, or politics, and he felt an unbridgeable gapbetween them and his own generation.Every day, then, he would go mechanically along the sameroute, in through the same big gate, along the same narrowpassagewith its mixture of vibrating noise from the rotary pressand smelly sweat from the factory-hands. He would casuallygreet the employees n the offi.ce,climb laboriously up the longand narrow steps,and finally enter that room. The east andsouth sideswere open to the sun, and in the afternoon, when thesun was at its strongest, t grew unbearably hot in there. To addto it all the office-boy was lazy and didn't do the cleaning, sothe table was covered with an unpleasant layer of lvhite dust.He sat down at his desk,smokeda cigarette, hen got up againto take down from the bookcasesome bulky statistical works,maps, guides,and geography books. Eventually he quietly tookup his pen to continue from where he had left off the previousday. However, for the last few days his mind had been troubled,and he found it hard to write. He would finish one line, thenstop to think things over, then write another line only to stopagain. The thoughts that fiiled his mind were all fragmentary,intense, hasty, and often desperate.Then suddenly, by somechain of thought or other, he called to mind Hauptmann'sLonej People.Before things had turned out as they had, he hadthought about teaching her this drama as part of her curriculum.He had wanted to teach her about the hero's-Johannes Vocke-rat's-mind, about his grief and the wife who misunderstoodhim.He had read the work some three years before, before he hadeven known of her very existence, and since then he too hadbeen a lonely man. He didn't go so far as to try to compare him-self to Johannes, but he did feel, with great sympathetic under-standing, that if such a woman as Anna, Johannes's studenr,appeared, then it was only natural if things ended in such atragedy. "And now I can't even becomea Johannesr" he thought,letting out a long, deep sigh.Not surprisingly, he didn't teach her LonelyPeople, ut insteadTurgenev's short work Faust. There in the tiny little study,


3/32

38bright with the light of rhe lamp, her heart had been filled withlonging by that colorful love story, and her expressiveeyeshadsparkled with a still deeper significance. The lamplight shoneon the upper part of her body, on her chic and faihionablehairstyle, her comb, her ribbons, and when she had drawn herface close to the book that indescribable perfumed smell, thatfleshy, emale smell. . . . As he explained to her the part in whichthe protagonist reads Goethe's Faust o his former lover, his ownvoice too had trembled with passion."But it's no good nolv!" he exclaimed to himself, and pulledat his hair again.

2He was called Takenaka Tokio.Three yearsbefore,when his wife wasexpecting heir third child,he had already been completely disillusioned ol th. pleasuresofnewly wedded ife. The busy affairs of the world had no meaningfor him, he lacked even tJre enthusiasm to work on his life'smasterpiece,and as or his everyday ife-getting up in the morn-ing, going off to work, coming home at fourln-the afternoonand seeing,ar; ever, his wife's face, eating his dinner and goingoff to bed-as for this monotonous existence,he was thoroughlyand absolutely bored with it. Moving house all the time wasn'tinteresting, talking to friends wasn,t interesting, and he failedto find satisfaction in searching out foreign novels to read. Infact, he even felt that the various forms of nature-the thicklygrowing trees in the garden, the raindrops, the blooming andwithering of the flowers-were making his banal life even morebanal. {9 was desperately onely. As he walked along the streetshe would invariably see beautiful young women, and feel anacute desire for a new love, if only such were possible.His was the anguish which in reality every man feels in hismid-thirties. Many men of this age flirt with low-class womenfor the sake, n the final analysis, of curing this loneliness.Andmany of those who divorce their wives are of this age.Every morning, on the way to work, he would incounter abeautiful woman, a teacher. In those days he saw this encounter

t.i-{f

THE QUILT 39as his only pleasure n life, and would dream a[ sorts of dreamsabout her. what if they were to falr in love, if he were to take herto an assignation house in Kagurazaka, if they enjoyed them-selves_awayrom the eyesof others...? \{hat'if ttreywent fo r1 y.ry through the suburbs, without his wife knowing . . . ?Indeed, at the time his yrfe was pregnant and so, f shesujdenlydied of complications in the uiittr, and then if afterwards hewere to make the other woman his new wife . . . ? Would he thenso calmly be able to make her his second wife . . . ? Such werehis_houghts as he walked along.It was at that time that he had receivedan absorutely dorizingletter from a grrl named yokoyama yoshiko, . gr.ut admirerof his works from Niimimachi in Bitcht, and u popi-tat the KobeGirls' Academy. Under the name of iakenaka kojd he wrotenovels.of -elegantstyle, and was not unknolvn in tlie world, sohe quite frequently received letters fi,'om various devoteesandadmirers in the provinces. He didn't concern himself overmucheven with letters asking him to conect the send.er's exts, orasking permission or the sender o become his pupil. And so,even when he received this girl's letter, iris cUosity had.n,tespecially prompted him to reply. But after receiving three suchenthusiastic letters from this same person, even rokio had totake notice. She said she was nineieen but, judging from thephrases n her letters, her powers of expressiori*.i" r-rrprisinglyskilled. Her one great hope, she said, was to becomehi. piiland devote her whole [fe to riterature. Her characten flfwedsmoothly and easily, and she seemed o be quite a sophisticatedgrrl.He had written a reply from that upstairs room at the factory.That day he had stopped lis daily giographical work after justtwo pages, and the scroll letter which he then sent her *i, .long one, several feet in length. He explained in detail in theletter the imprudence of a woman getting involved in literature,the need for a woman to fulfill her biological role of motherhood,the risk involved in a girl becoming a writer, and then addeda few insulting phrases.He had smilid to himself at the thouEhtthat this would surely make her lose heart and give ,rp f,.,ideas. Then, taking a map of okayama prefectuie from thebookcase,he had looked up Niimimachi in the district of Atetsu.He was surprised that such a sophisticatedgirl could come from


4/32

such a place, in the middle of all those hills some thirty milesor more inland up the Takahashi river valley from the San'y6Line. And yet, somehow Tokio felt familiarly attracted to theplace, and looked carefully at the hills, rivers, and other featuresof the area.He had thought she would be unable to reply, but far from it.Four days later an even thicker letter arrived-three pages ofsmall characters written laterally in violet ink acrossblue-ruledWestern-style paper-in which she repeated over and over againhow shehoped he would not abandonher but make her his pupil,and how, if she could get her parents ' permission,she hoped tocome to Tokyo, enter a suitable school, and faithfully and whole-heartedly study literature. Tokio had to admire her resolve.Even n Tokyo the graduates rom the girls' schoolsdidn't under-stand the value of literature, and yet, to judge from the remarksin her letters, this girl did seem to knorv about everything. Hepromptly sent off a reply and formed a teacher-pupil relation-ship.Ivlany letters and texts were to follow. There were still pointsof immaturity in her writing, but Tokio felt that she wrotesmoothly and without affectation, and that there were sufficientprospects or future development. And then, as they graduallygot to know each other a little better, Tokio started to lookforward to her letters. Once he had thought about asking her tosend a photograph, and had written a request n a corner ofhisletter, but then had blacked it out. Loo}s were essential or awoman. ff a woman were unattractive, then no matter how muchtalent she might have men wouldn't take to her. Deep dorvn,Tokio felt that since Yoshiko was a woman who wanted to writeliterature she was sure to be physically plain. Yet he hoped shewould be as presentableas possible.It was in February the follorving year that, having obtainedher parents' permission, Yoshiko had come to Tokio's house,accompanied by her father. It was exactly seven days after thebirth of Tokio's third child, a son. His wife was still in confine-ment in the room next to the parlor, and was rrruch disturbedwhen sheheard from her elder sister, who h ad come to helpout, how beautiful this young girl pupil was. Her sister was alsoworried about Tokio's intentions in making such a young andbeautiful girl his pupil.

r.Eri1 aurl.l +lTokio talked in detaii to Yoshiko and her father about thecircumstancesand aims of a writer, and soundedout beforehandher father's views on the question of marriage. He learned thatYoshiko's family was wealthy and one of the lead.ing amilies inNiimimachi, that her father and mother were both strict chris-tians, and that her mother in particular was a devout believer,having once studied at the Ddshisha Girls' college. The eldestson of the family had been to England, and after returning toJapan had become a professorat a government school. yoshiko

!-a{, after leaving the local primary school, gone straight toKobe and entered he Kobe Girls' Acade*y, *Lere she had ledthe life of a sophisticated girl student. compared with othergirls' schools, he Christian schoolswere all open-minded whenit came to literature. At that particular time there was a stipula-tion forbidding the reading of works such as The Wind of theDeuil, the Wind of Loae, and The GoldenDemon,* but before theMinistry of Education had interfered there had beenno problemabout such books,provided they weren't read in the classroom.In the school church Yoshiko had learned the preciousness fprayer, the pleasureof Christmas night, the cultivation of ideals,and she had becomeone of a group that ignored mankind,s baseaspectswhile celebrating its attractive ones.At first she had missedher home and mother and had beengreatiy upset, but eventually she had forgotten all that and hadcome to appreciate above all else the life of a girl student atboarding school.No pampering with tasty pumpkin there, andno side-dishes or your soy sauce either. So you simply learntto put your sauceon your rice instead and to easeyour feelingsby grumbling about the cook, just as you moaned about thecrotchety old dormitory mistressbehind her back. When you'vebeen nvolved in student ife like that, how can you be expectedto view thir$ simplistically, Iike a girl raised in the home?Beauty, ideals, and vanity-these Yoshiko had now acquired,and thus she had all the good traits, and the bad, of a Nleiji-eragirl student.At least her presence broke the loneliness of Tokio's life.Yesteryear's lover-today's wife. That his wife had once been* Makau Koikaza y Kosugi rengai (1903) andKonji*i yashabyozaki K6yo (1897)respectively' The former deals with student life, the latter with a love afftair.-


5/32

+zhis lover was a certain fact, but times had changed. With thesuddenrise of women's education over the past four or five years,the establishing of women's universities, and the fashion forlow-pompadour haintyles and maroon pleated skirts, womenno longer felt self-conscious bout walking with a man. To Tokionothing was more regrettable than his having contented himselfwith his wife, who had nothing more to offer than her old-fashioned round-chignon hairstyle, waddling walk, and chastityand submissiveness.When he compared the young, modern wife-beautiful and radiant as she strolled the streets with her hus-band, talking readily and eloquendy at his sidewhen they visitedfriends-with his own wife-who not only didn't read the novelshe took such pains to write but was completely pig-ignorantabout her husband's torment and anguish, and was happy aslong as she could raise the children satisfactorily-then he feltlike screaminghis lonelinessout loud. Just Iike Johannes n LoneltPeople, e could only feel how insignificant his own domesticallyminded wife was. All this, all this loneliness,was shattered byYoshiko. For who could remain unmoved when a beautiful,modern, sophisticated irl pupil respecdully calls him Senseiasthough he were a man of great standing in the world ?

For the first month she had stayed at Tokio's house. Vhat acontrast her gay voice and charming figure made with his pre-vious sad and lonely life ! She would busy herself helping hiswife, just up from the childbirth, and would knil s66fu m4muffiers, sew clothes,play with the children. Tokio felt as f he'dreturned to his life as a newly-wed. He would feel a senseofexcitement when he approached the door of his house. Whenhe opened that door, there in the porch was her smiling face, hercolorful figure. In the eveningpbefore, his wife and children usedto fall fast asleep,and the lamp, burning brightly but in vain inthat little living room, would actually be if anything a sourceof misery. But now, however late he came home, beneath thatsame lamp Yoshiko's white hands would be nimbly plyrngknitting needles,and on her lap would be colorful balls of wool.Now, it was cheerful laughter that filled the brushwood-hedgeconfines of his home in the heart of Ushigome.But before a month was out Tokio had realized the impossi-bility of having that lovable girl pupil stay on in his house. Hisdocile wife didn't go so far as to complain about things, nor did

{r

THE QUILT 43she show any signs of so doing, but neverthelessher mood gotgradually worse. Amid the endless aughter spread an endlessunease.He knew for a fact that his wife's reiatives had startedto treat it as a major problem.After much worry Tokio had arranged for Yoshiko to stay atthe house of his wife's elder sister, a military widow who livedoff a pension and needlework, and that from there she shouldattend a private girls' school n Kdjimachi.

3Since then until the present incident one and a half years hadpassed.During that time Yoshiko had returned home twice. She hadwritten five short novels, one long one, and several dozen pas-sagesof elegant prose and new-stylepoetry. At her school herEnglish marls were first-class, nd she had bought the completeworks of Turgenev in English, which Tokio chose or her, fromlvfaruzen Boolshop. The first time she had gone home was duringthe summer holidaln, and the second was in compliance withthe doctor's advice that sheshould rela-r n the quiet countrysideof her home, following occasional hysteria-like convulsions dueto neryous debility.The house where Yoshiko was staying was in Kdjimachi DoteSanbanch6, next to the embankment where the Kdbu Linetrains passed.Her study was the guest room, a fairly large roomfronting on a busy road that was a noisy place what with thedin of children and passers-by.Next to her lacguered paper-plydesk was a bookcase ather like a smaller version of the-Westein-style bookcase n Tokio's study, and on top of it stood a mirror,a lipstick tray, ajar of face powder, and a large bottle of potas-sium bromide, which she said was for her nervous headaches.Prominent in the bookcasewere the complete works of K6y6,*Chikamatsu's realistic oruri baLlad-dramas, * English textbooks,

i Ozaki K6y6, 1867-1903,was popular for his combinednodernism and Japanesespirit.** ChikamatsuMonzaemon,1653-1724, asa famousclassical ramatist,consideredessential eading or any studentofiiterature.


6/32

44and in particular her newly purchased complete works of Tur-genev. Iiowever, upon returning from school, rather than sittingat her desk writing fiction or poetry this aspiring authoressofthe future preferred writing numerous letters. She had a con-siderable number of male friends, and a considerablenumber ofletters in male handwriting would arrive for her. These friendsincluded a student from the Tokyo Teachers' College and astudent from Waseda University, who apparently came to seeher from time to time.

There were not many such modern-minded girl students inthat corner of K6jimachi Dote Sanbanchd. Tokio's wife's follslived there, beyond the Ichigaya Approach, and there were aswell many girls from conservative merchant families. ThusYoshiko's Kobe-bred sophistication drew the attention of thelocals. Tokio was forever being told by his wife what her sisterhad said:"She's having trouble with Yoshiko-san, she was saying onlytoday. ft's one thing for her boyfriends o come calling, but inthe evening they go off together round the neighborhood anddon't get back till late, she says. Yoshiko-san always tells herthere's nothing to worry about, but rumors are rumors, mysister was saying."lVhen he heard such things Tokio would always side withYoshiko and tell his wife, "You old-fashioned people will neverunderstand what Yoshiko does. You only have to seea man andwoman walking together and you think there'ssomething strangegoing on, but you only think that way becauseyou're old-fash-ioned. Nowadays women too are aware of themselves,and dowhat they want to do!"Tokio would alsoproudly preach this ideal to Yoshiko. "Nowa-dayswomen have to be self-aware. t's no good having the samesort of attitude of depending on others as the women in the past.As Sudermann's Magda says, t's hopeless f you go straight fromyour father's hands into your husband's, with no pride in your-self. The modern woman in Japan must think for herself andthen act for herself." He would go on to tell her about Ibsen'sNora and Turgenev's Elena, about how rich in both feeling andwillpower were the women in Russia and Germany, and wouldthen add, "But self-awarenessalso involves self-reflection, soyou mustn't simply go throwing your willpower and ego about

THE QUILT 45recklessly.You must realize that you have full responsibility foryour own actions."Yoshiko would listen to Tokio's sermonizing as though it wereof the utmost importance, and her feelings of admiration grewever stronger. She elt it was more liberal than Christian teaching,and more authoritative.Even for a grrl student, Yoshiko's personal appearance wasexcessivelyshowy. Her gold ring, her very fashionable prettywaist-sash,and her carefree posture were more than enough todraw the attention of peoplealong the road. Her facewas, atherthan beautifiil, extremely expressive,and lvhile there were timeswhen it did seembeautiful in the extreme, there were also timeswhen it was somehowugly. There was a sparkle n her eyes,andthis wasvery often used o effect. Until four or five years before,women had beenextremelysimplisticwhen it came to expressingfeelings, and were able to expressonly three or four differentsorts of feeling, with basic looks such as of anger or joy. Now,however, there were quite a lot of women who could verycleverly express heir feelings acially, and Tokio always felt thatYoshiko was one such woman.

The relationship benveen Yoshiko and Tokio was just toointimate merely for that of pupil and teacher.One female hird-party, having observed he state of affairs between the two, hadremarked to Tokio's wife, "Ever since Yoshiko-san came Tokio-san seems o have changed completely. trVhenyou see he twoof them talking together it's as if their souls were reaching outfor one another. Realln you should watch out, you know!" Toother people, of course, t certainly looked that way, but as forthe two people themselves,were they really that intimate ? . . .The feelings of a young woman, prone to high spirits. Butthen, just when you think she's n high spirits, suddenly she'sdejected. Feelingsarousedby trivial things, similarly often upsetby trivial things. A tender attitude neither of love nor yet devoidof love. Tokio was always confused. The strength of morality,the strength of convention-if only there were once an oppor-tunity, destroying these would be easier han tearing silk. How-ever, such opportunities did not come readily.And yet, Tokio himself believed that there had been two oc-casions n the last year when such an opportunity had at leastcome close. One had been when Yoshiko had sent him a lengthy


7/32

.toletter tearfully stating her belief that she was incompetent andunable to repay his kindnessas her teacher, and that therefore twould be better for her to go back home, becomea farmer's wife,and lose herself in the oblivion of the countryside. The othertime had been when Tokio had chanced to visit her one eveningand had found her alone in the house. fu for the letter, Tokioclearly understood its meaning. He had spent a sleepless ightworrying about how he should reply. Giving searching glancesat the face of his peacefully sleepingwife, he had censuredhim-self or his lack of conscience.And so, the letter which he sent nreply the following morning was that of the stern teacher. Thesecond nstancewas a spring night sometwo months later, whenhe had chanced to call on Yoshiko and found her sitting aloneby the hibachi,* her face powdered and beautiful."!Vhat's going on ?" he had asked."I'm looking after the house.""Where's my sister-in-law gone, then?""Shopping,over in Yotsuya."She had looked him straight in the face as she replied. She'!vasso very seductive.His heart had raced shamelessly t theoverporvering look she gave him. Then they exchanged a fewbanal words, but both seemed o feel that those banalitieswerenot quite so nsignificant. What might have happenedhad theygone on talking for another quarter of an hour or so? Her eyeshad sparkled expressively, her words were coquettish, her at-titude was most definitely something out of the ordinary."You're very pretty tonight," he had said in a deliberatelylight-hearted tone."I've just been n the bath.""Your make-up'svery attractive, that's why you're sopretty!""Now Sensei,what a thing to say!"She had laughed and moved her b ody coquettishly.Tokio had returned home straight ^way. She had tried to gethim to stay, but he had insisted on returning home, and so,looking reluctant, she had seen him off through the moonlitnight. There was certainly something very mysterious containedin that powdered ace of hers.In April Yoshiko had come to look really oflcolor following* A charcoal-burning brazier, the traditionalJapanese domestic heater.

THE QUILT 47numerous bouts of illness, and her nerves had deve loped into ahighly strung state. She took vast quantities of the potassiumbromide, but apparently still couldn't sleep. Constant desiresand reproductive forces never hesitate to take possession f awoman when she s of suitable age. Yoshiko grew familiar with agreat number of medicines.She had returned home at the end of April, had returned toTokyo in September, and it was then that the present ncidenthad occurred.

The present ncident? Yoshiko had a lover! On the way backto Tokyo she had gone off with him to Saga, in Kyoto. fu aresult of those two days spent in merrymaking the timetablefailed to tally berweenher departure from home and her arrivalin Tokyo. Letters had therefore been exchanged between Tokyoand Bitchii, and after questioning Yoshiko it turned out to bea case of "love, pure love-the two of them most definitelyhadn't done anything wrong, and wished desperately,at allcosts, o continue their love in the future." As her teacher,Tokiofound himself obliged to act as a sort of go-between,a witness othis love.Yoshiko's lover was a Ddshisha student, a prodigy from theKobe Church by the name of Tanaka Hideo, aged twenty-one.

Yoshiko swore to her teacher, in the name of God, that theirlove was pure. Her parents back home felt that to have gonesecretly flirting in Sagawith someman, while still only a student,already meant her spiritual degeneracy. She however main-tained, amid a flood of tears, that there had definitely been nodirty act, and that the mutuai awarenessof their love had comeonly after she had left Kyoto. On arrival back in Tokyo shehad found awaiting her a passionate etter from him, and it wasthen that they had first made their promises or the future. Theyhad definitely done nothing wrong, she maintained. Tokio, whilefeeling a senseof martyrdom, was obliged to act in the interestsof their so-calledpure love.He was in torment, greatly depressed t having been deprivedof someonehe cherishedso very much. From the first he had hadno thought of making his pupii his lover. If he had had any suchfixed and clear-cut thought in mind he would not have hesitatedto seize those two earl ier potential opportunities. However, his


8/32

48beloved pupil added beautiful color to his bleak existenceandgave him a sort of limitless strength, so how could he be expectedto endure her being snatchedsuddenly away by someoneelse?He had let two opportunities go by, but the vague hope at thebottom of his heart was to wait for the arrival of a third anda fourth opportunity, and then to build a new destiny, a newlife. He was in torment, his thoughts in confusion. Feelings ofjealousy, regret, and vexation merged together and spun roundin his mind like a whirlwind. To add to his confusion, a sense fhis moral obligation as her teacher was alsomixed in, as was tooa feeling of martyrdom that it was all for the sake of his lovedone's happiness.He drank a great deal of saki with his eveningmeal and went off to sleepas drunk as a lord.The next day was Sunday and it had rained, the steadydown-pour in the woods behind his house seeming twice as miserableas usual, and all for Tokio's benefit. His thoughts dwelled uponhow long the streamsof rain were that fell onto the zelkova trees,falling endlessly rom an endlesssky. He had no enthusiasm orreading or writing. He just lounged in his wisteria chair-coldto the back now that it was coming into autumn-and gazedatthe streaming rain, thinking, in the light of this incident, howhis life had been till norv. He had already suffered similar e.x-periences.He invariably tasted the bitternessof lonely torment,the torment of forever being made to stand on the outside ofthitgp and, becauseof some wrong step, never being able toenter into the heart of destiny. It was the same with literature,the same with society. Love, love, love . . . Was he still beingtossed,even now, by the waves of a negative fate? The thoughtleft him overcomeby his wretchednessand by the ineptitude offate."I am Turgenev's superfluousmanr"' he thought, and wentover in his mind the transient life of that protagonist.

Unable to endure the loneliness, that afternoon he said hewanted to drink sakd. He moaned becausehis wife was slowpreparing fftgp, and then the food he was given was tastelesqsohe inded up getting angry and drinking out of desperation. Onebottle, two botties . . . the number grew, and soon Tokio washopelessly drunk. He even stopped moaning at his wife. Hewould simply yell "Sak6! Sakd " wheneverhe emptied the bottie.He gulped it down. The timid maid looked on in surprise anddisgust- First he hugged and kissed his five-year-old son with

THE QUILT 49a great show of fondness, but then got angry when the childstarted to cry and slapped his behind furiously. The three chil-dren grew frightened and backed away from him to a respecfuldistance, gazing in bewilderment at the red, drunken face oftheir extraordinarily behaved father. He drank close on threepints and then simply coll apsed on t}re spot in a drunken heap,not minding that he sent the table flyttg as he did so. Thenpresently, in strange, disjointed stanzas,he started to chant aninfantile verse of new-style poetry that had been popular someten yearsbefore:I haunt your doorwayLike the dust of the streetBlown about by the storm.More than that storm,More than that dust,It's the remnants of our love,That lie scattered n the dawn . . .Halfway through tJreverse he suddenly stood up, still wearingthe quilt with which his wife had covered him, and, looking justlike a little mountain, moved towards the parlor. His wife, veryworried, followed and asked where he was going. He paid noattention and tried to enter the toilet, still clad in the quilt. Hiswife was flustered:"What are you doing? You shouldn't get drunk like this! It'shorrible! That's the toilet!"Suddenly she pulled at the quilt from behind, and was leftholding it there in the entrance to the toilet. Tokio was relievinghimself in a dangerously erratic manner, and on finishing hepromptly flopped straight down on his side, still in the toiiet.His disgusted wife tried her best to move him, but he wouldneither move nor stand.Yet neither did he fall asleep,but rather,with wide piercing eyes n a face like red clay, he just stared atthe rain pouring down outside.

4Tokio came piodding back at the usual hour to his home n Ushi-gome Yaraich6.


9/32

t ii 'II ,Il rII 'l"

50For three days he had been struggling with that torment.Part of him had a sort of strength that made it impossible forhim to abandon himself to indulgence. He alwaysregretted beingcontrolled by this strength, but sooner or later he was alwaysbeaten and forced into submissionby it. For this reasonhe wasobliged always to taste the bitternessof standing on the outsideof destiny, and was considered by society to bL a correct andtrustworthy man. After three days of anguish he could at reastnow see how things stood before him. The curtain had comedown on the first act of his relationship with Yoshiko. From nowon he would just have to do his duty as a teacher and think ofthe happinessof the woman he loved. ft was hard, but life washard. Such were his thoughts as he went home.His wife came up to greet him assoon as he opened the door.The day was still hot, a late fling of summer, and his under-wear was soaked n sweat. He changed nto a simple unlinedstarched white kimono and sat in front of rjrrehibathi in theliving room. His wife took a letter from the sideboard, as thoughshe had just remembered t." From Yoshiko-san," she said as she handed it to him.He opened it quickly. Just by looking at the t}ickness of theroll of paper he knew it was about the ncident. He eageriystartedto read.It was in the new colloquial writing style, the penmanshipflowing and excellent.Smsei,Actually I wanted o talk thisooer with you, but thingshappmed ooquicklyso I jut adedon m1 own udgment.futerday, at four o'clock,a telegran carnefrom Tanaka saying hewouldarriueat ShinbashiSntion at ix-Iou can't irnagine ou surprisedI was!

I wasreally wonied because belieaedhat tu wasn,tthe rash sortdpersonwho'd comeaboutnothing.Smsei,pleaseforgioe me-I went tomeet im at thesaid time. When methim andasked im whyhe,dcome,it turnedout that, qfter readingn7 letter-in which I explainedeaerlt-thing-he'd been eally wonied that perhaps,becausef this incident,I mightbe aken f batkhome, nd hat he,dbe o blame.So, e,daban-donedhis studies traight awal andcome p to Toklo with the ntentionof explainingeuerlthingto 2ou, apologi{ng, askingfor support, and.trytngto ensurehat euerythingwent snoothll. Thm when exprainedo

THE QUILT 5Ihim abouthow 'd toldyu eaerything,boutltour ind.words,and, bouthow ou'd kindl| becomehe witness ndprotector f ourpureandsincereloae,he was extremrl2moued$t lour kindnessand,was oaercome ithtearsof gratinde. It seemse was extremelyhocked y the ouer-worriednatureof m1t eUn and had comeup to Tolgtopreparedfor the worst.He said lu'd comzutith the ntentionof, if necessary,etiing afiend_who'd gonewith us tlwt time to saga-to actas witneis 0 nata it clearthat nothingdirt| tookplace betweenus,andfu wanted o explain howwe becamewared our loaeonly after we'dparted.He abo wanted,oaskif2ou'd bekind enougho tell all this o ryt parents ackhome.Butseeing ow I'ae jwt aal rashll upsetm1t arents'-feelings, ow could,wedo that? we'ae now comeo the conrlusionhat tfu bit thing to do iswait a uhile andsay nothing, o cfurishour hopes nd deaoti ourselaesto our studies,and wait for an opportunit2o exptain hingseaen f it,sfae or tenears rom now. also old him euerythingltou'd-said.Aid so,things beingsettled, u shouldhaaegoneback, bii wfun I sau howthoroughly ornout he ooked, just couldn't erl hhn to go straightbarkagain- (Pleaseforgiaemy weakrcss.) do try to honorTour ad,aicehatI shouldn't et inaolaedn prailical problemswhile I'm in the middleofm1 studies,but, or tfu time being, got him settled n a traael lodgi,and nre fu'd taken lu troubleo com^eoar, I ended psqing I, d spend,a d_a/ ightsuingwith him.Pleareforgiaeme,seruei. or ali ouipassinnatefeelings,westill haae ommonmse,andweuon't do arrything tot *ightbe misunderstood7 othns, suchas at Kloto wlun we tempoiaiQf;gntourselaes. swear o2ou we won't do arything like that.Best wishu also to your wife,ToshikoAs Tokio read this letter various feelingskindled rike fire withinhim. That twenty-one-year old boy Tanaka had actually cometo Tokyo. Yoshiko had gone to meet him. Who knows what theydid? What shehad just told him might be a pack of lies. perhapsthere'd been physical motives ever since Tinaka had fint metherat Suma bathing resort during the summer holidays, and so,having sought to gratify his desires n Kyoto, he had now cometo Tokyo in pursuit of the woman for whom he could no lon.qercontain his desire.They had no doubt held hands. Their heJnsyould have pressedagainst each otler. \Alho knows what theylaf legn doing upstairs n that travel lodge, out of other people,ssight? Ilwas only a fleeting moment between purity and'im-purity. Tokio couldn't bear such thoughts. ,,This concerns my


10/32

52responsibility as her supervisor!" he cried out angrily- wighinhimself. ,,I can,t leave hings like this! I can't allow such reedomto a woman of capricious mind. I must exercisesupervision,p-ro-tection. 'We are passionatebut sensible'-v[a3'5 this 'we'? Whydid shewrite'we'and not'I '? Why did she use he plural?"Tokio was confused,angry. Tanaka had arrived at six the pre'vious evening. If Tokio went to his sister-in-law's and asked,hecould find out what time Yoshiko had returned that night. Butwhat had they done today? \AIhat were they doing now?The dinner, which his wife had so carefully prepared, includedfresh sliced raw tuna and chilled bean-curd with sirso-plantseasoning,and although he didn't feel much like savoring hismeal, he got through one drink of sakCafter another'His rvife put the youngestchild to bed and then came and satin front of the hibachi.Glancing at Yoshiko's letter at her hus-band's side,she asked:"What did Yoshiko have to saY?"Without replying, Tokyo tossed he letter to her. As shecaughtit shegave him a siarching look, and knew a storm was brewing'She read the letter through and then rolled it up't'He's come, lten?""IJh.""Will he stay on in Tokyo, do you think?""Isn't it written in the letter! He's going back soon, shesays . .""WilIhe go back, though, I wonder?""ll/ho knows?"Her husband's tone was harsh, so she kept quiet' Then, aftera while:"Well, it's really too bad. A young girt like her, saying shewants to be a ttou.iitt or something-she might well want whatshe wants, but her parents should act like properly responsibleparents too, shouldn't theY?""But I dare sayyou were relieved at her affair!" he was aboutto say, but checkedhimself. "Well, don't concern yourself aboutit-people like you just don't understand. . . ' \alhy don't youjust pour some saki instead?"- Hi, obedient wife took up the sak6-pourerand fil1edhis Kyoto-made porcelain cuP to the brim.Tokio knocked back the sakd as though it alone could help

THE QUILT 53him overcome his depression.At the third bottle his wife grewworried."\Mhat's the matter with you lately?" she asked."why?""fsn't it a fact you do nothing but get drunk?""Is there anything the matter, then, if I get drunk?""I'd say so, yes. I think there's something on your mind.Shouldn't you stop worrying about Yoshiko-san?"

"Fool !" thundered Tokio.His wife went on undaunted."Well, it's poison f you drink too much, you knorv, so I shouldstop while you're still all right. If you lay yourself out again inthe toilet, you're too big for me and the maid Otsuru to managebetween he two of us!""Never you mind-let's just have another bottle!"And so he drank another half-bottle. He now seemedverydrunk. His face had turned a copper color and his eyeswererather fixed. Suddenly he stood uP."Get my waist-sash ut!""Where are you going?""I'm off to Sanbanchd.""IvIy sister's?""IJh.""You should forget that idea-you're not in a fit state!""\Mhat!? I'm all right! You can't be given responsibility orsomeone's aughter and then neglect to look after her! I can'tjust look the other way when this fellow comesup to Tokyo andgoesstrolling about with her! I can't relax while she'sover withyour sister Takawa, so I'm going to bring her back here today,if there's time. You go and clean upstairs.""You're going to bring her back to stay here, again . . . ?"t'Of

course!"His wife didn't seemkeen to get out his waist-sashand outdoorkimono."All right, then!-If you won't get my things out, I'll go likethis !"He hurried out, just as he was, without a hat, in his plainwhite kimono with its dirty muslin under-belt."I'm just getting them out! . . . Dear me, what next?" Heheard his wife's words behind him.


11/32

54The summeryday was drawing to a close.The birds were chat-tering noisily in Yarai's Sakai Wood. In the nearby houses heevening meal had been finished, and made-up young womenappeared n the doorways as they set out for the evening. Someboys were playrng ball. He also encountered several couplesstrolling to the Kagurazaka-thinly moustached gentlemen,government officials to judge from appearances,escorting theiryoung wives, with their fashionable low-pompadour hairstyles.

Tokio was thrown into disorder by his agitated feelings anddrunken body, and all his surroundings seemed to belong toa different world. It seemed o him as though the houses n eitherside were moving, the ground Sving way beneath his feet, thesky coming down over his head. Although he had never hada particularly good tolerance or drink he had just drunk heavilyand recklessly,and it had gone straight to his head. All at oncehe recalled how lower-classRussiansgot drunk and fell flat outasleepon the roadside.He rememberedhaving told a friend thatthis shorvedwhat great people the Russianswere-if you're goingto let yourself go, then you should let yourself go all the way!"Fool ! How could love possiblymake any discrimination betrveenteacher and pupil ?" he yelled at himself.By the time he had climbed Nakanezaka Hill, gone past therear gate of the Officers' School, and come to the top of Sanai-zaka Hill, the day had drawn completely to a close.Many peoplein white Tukata were passing by. The tobacconist's young wifehad come out in front of the shop. The hanging curtain in thedoorway of the shop selling iced refreshments luttered in theevening breeze with a suggestionof coolness.Gazing vacantly atthis summery night scene Tokio bumped into a telegraph poleand, on the point of collapse, ell to his knees n a shallow ditch."Drunkard! Stay on your feet!" yelled someworkman contemp-tuously.

Suddenly seeming o come to his senses, okio turned to theright from the top of the hill and went into the grounds of theHachiman Temple. Here there was no one to be seen and allwas peaceful.Tall old zelkovasand pines formed a canopy over-head, and in a corner to the left stood a huge, thick coral tree.Here and there the all-night lamps started to come on and casttheir light. In terrible distress, Tokio plunged into the shadowof the coral tree and laid himself out on the ground at its base.

:,r"'8'

14 '

THE QUiLT s5His mind was excited, his wild feelings and the pleasure of hissadnessmustered all their force, and while on thi one hand hewas carried away by a burning jealousy, on the other he wascoolly and objectively considering his own situation.of course his feelings were not the passionate eelings of afirst love. Rather than blindly following his fate, he was-coollyappraising that fate. Burning feelings and ice-cold objectivlappraisal fused firmly together like entwined threads, urrd pro-duced in him an extraordinary state of mind.He was sad, truly deeply sad. His sadnesswas not the sadnessof florid youth, nor simply the sadnessof lovers. It was a moreprofound and greater sadness, sadnessnherent in the innermostreachesof human life. The flowing of moving waters, the wither-ing of blossoming flowers-when encountering that irresistibleforce which is deep within nature, there is rothit g as wretchednor as transient as man.Tears flowed down over Tokio,s whiskered face.Then suddenly an idea struck him. He stood up and startedwalking. rt was now full rright. The glassamps .r..t.d here andthere in the grounds gave off their light, a;d the three words"all-night lamp" showedclearly on their faces. t upset him toread those three words. Had he not once before looked uponthose three words in a state of great distress When his wife iasstill unmarried and living just below the high ground where henow stood, he had often climbed to this same spot hoping justto catch the faint soundof her harp. so great had been hii p*iio.tthat if he couldn't win her he had wished only to cast himselflway- in some colony in the South Seas,and he had often pon-dered things while gazing at those three qpelds-.c2llnishtlamp"-"od at the haiku poems on the paper lanterns, at ihelemple sanctuary, at the long stone steps, at the temple gates.Below, ust as n earlier days,stood the samehousesand, althoughthe occasional umbling of a passing rain now broke the silence,just as in the old days a light shone bright and clear from thewindows of his wife's house. What a fickle heart! Who would.have thought that things would change so much after just eightyears? Why, with the change of her unmarried. monowarehiir-style into tJre rounded chignon marutage style of a marriedwoman, had their pleasant life become so bleak? l{hy had henow come to feel this new love? Tokio could not help feeling

56 THE QUILT 57


12/32

an acute awarenessof the frightening Power of time. However,strange as it was, the facts of the Present situation remainedcompletely unchanged."faradox it may be, but there'snothing I can do about it'That paradox, that inconstancy, is a fact, and facts are facts'Fad!"The thought echoed through his mind.Like a being oppressedby the unendurable forces of nature,Tokio once again laid down his bulky frame, this time on anearby bench. Chancing to look up, he saw that a large andlusterlesscopper-colored moon had risen silently over the pinesalong the moat. The color, the form, the aPPearance' y:rethoroughly miserable. Tokio thought how well it matched hiso*r, pi.t.t t misery, and once again his heart was filled withunbearablesadness.By now he had soberedup. The evening derv had started tofall.He arrived in front of the house n Dote Sanbanch6'He looked, but could see no light in Yoshiko'sroom' It ap-peared hat she still hadn't returned. His heart raced feverishlyagain. Alone with her lover, on a dark night like tonight! \{hoknew what they might be getting up to ? When they acted asstupidly as this, what was to become of their "pure love," theirclaim to have committed no vulgar act?Tokio's first thought was to go inside, but then, realizing therewas no point in going in before Yoshiko got back, he wentstraight past. As he walked he looked at the face of each womanhe passed, thinking she might be Yoshiko. He loitered-firstoo ih. embankment, then in the shadow of the pines, then atthe corner of the road-so much that he began to arouse thesuspicionsof passen-by. It was now nine o'clock, now almostte.r. Yor. might well say it was a summer night, but there wasno reason for being out quite as late as this. convinced thatYoshiko must have returned by now, he returned to his sister-in-law's house, but no, she still wasn't back after all'He went in.No sooner had he gone through to the small fiving room atthe back than he asked:"What's happened o Yoshi-san?"Before answirit g, in fact before all else, his sister-in-law

noticed in surprise he liberal amount of mud on Tokio's clothes."Well now, what's happened o you, Tokio-san?"Under the clear bright light of the lamp he could see, sureenough, on the shoulder, knee, and hip of his plain white casualkimono, not merely a trace but a very large amount of mud."What? Oh, I just fell over back there.""Really? But it's even on your shoulder! You were drunkagain, I suppose.""What! . . . "Tokio tried to turn the comment arvay with a forced laugh.He co ntinued, not letting up in the least."Where's Yoshi-sangone?""lVhen she went off this morning she said she was going fora walk with a friend, towards Nakano. She should be back anytime now. Anything you wanted with her?""Well, yes,a small matter. . . . Wa s sheback ate last night?""No. She said she was going to Shinbashi to meet a friend,left just after four and came back around eight."She ooked at Tokio's face. "Is anything the matter?""Well, really, after all. . . ." Tokio's tone becameserious. Ijust thought we'd have problems f the same sort of thing thathappened in Kyoto were to happen again, and that thereforeI ought to have her back at my place and keep a proper eyeon her.""Yes, that would be best. Really, Yoshiko-san has such astrong character, and for uneducated people like me . . .""No, that'snot the reason. t's just that to allow her too muchfreedom might turn out to be against her own interests, and soI thought of having her at home and looking after her prop-erly.""Well, that would be best. Really, even Yoshiko-san. . .There's nothing really bad about her, and she's bright andintelligent and a rare sort of person, but if she does have a faultthen it's this habit of hers of walking nonchalantly around atnight with her men friends. I'm often telling her that it's theone thing she should stop, but when I say that she ust laughsand calls me old-fashioned. And then I hear how, at the police-box on the corner, they felt it suspicious that she was alwayshanging around with these men and how a plainclothes detectivehad been stationed outside the house. Of course those things

. I 'HE T'UILI :


13/32

58aren't really going on and so I'm not worried in that sense,but. . . .""When was this?""The end of last yeat.""She's just a bit too sophisticated for comfort." Glancing athis watch, which showed half past ten, he added, "Anyway,I wonder what's happened? Staying out alone as late as this,at her age. . . .""She'll be back soon."

"Does this happen often, then?"t'No, it's to.ry ,tttut.tal. But it's a summer evening, so she'llbe out thinking it's still earlY."His sister-in-law went on with her needlework as she talked.In front of her stood a cutting-board with broad-based leg-supports,while silk cuttings and thread.s nd scissorsay scatteredabout in jumbled disarray. The lamplight shone clearly on thebeautiful colors of women's clothes. The mid-september nightwore on, it grew a little chilly, and a Kobu Line cargo trainpassedby along the embankment behind the house, setting uPa dreadful shaking.Every time he heard the sound of getaTokio felt sure it hadto be Yoshiko, but eventually, just after eleven had struck, aparticular light, mincing sound of a girl's geta cotld be heardresounding through the quiet night."This time it rs Yoshiko-s?n," said his sister-in-law.Sure enough, the footsteps stopped at the entrance to thehouse, and the sliding-door opened with a noisy rattling'"Yoshiko-san?""Yes," replied a charming voice.A tall, biautiful figure with a fashionable low-pompadourhairstyle came quickly and quietly in from the porch'"Oh! lVhat a surPrise!Sensei!"

Her tone was cnough to reveal her surprise and embarrass-ment."Sorry I'm so later" she said as she came to the doorwaybetween the front room and the living room. Then, half-sittingand flashing a searchingglance at Tokio, she took out a Purplecr.p.-*tupped package and handed it to his sister-in-law'';Oh, wtat's this then? A present?Really, you always go tosuch trouble over me. . . ."

"Oh no-it's for me too !" replied Yoshiko cheerfully' Althoughshe had looked as if she ntended to go into the next room, shewa:i now obliged to sit in a corner of the living room, under thedazzhng ighr of the lamp. Her beautiful figure, her fashionablehairstyli, her colorful flannel kimono tied neatly with an olive-green summer-stylewaist-sash,her seductive appeal as she casu-itty tuy back. . . . Sitting facing this figure, Tokio felt a sort ofvaguesatisfaction,and half forgot his earlier distressand anguish.No matter how powerful your rival in love, if you can just Possessthe girl you can at least eel somesort of peaceof mind'"I really am late getting back."She apologizedagain, quiedy, uneasily."You weni to Nakano then, for a walk?" Tokio askedabruptly'"Yes . . ." Yoshiko shot another searchingglance at him'His sister-in-lawmade some tea. On opening the presentshefound it was her special favorite, cream puffs. "Oh, how deli-cious" she exclaimed, and for a moment or two everyone'sattenlion was focusedon the cakes.After a while Yoshiko sPoke:"Sensei,were you waiting for me, then?""Yes, that's right-he's been waiting over an hour and a half,you know !" cut in Tokio's sister-in-law.' With this the whole story came out, about how he had comewith the intention of taking her back with him, that very nightif possible-her luggage could be sent on later. Yoshiko listenedwith head bowed, nodding assent. certainly she felt a certaincoercion, and yet deep down she had absolute faith in Tokio-and after all, it **tt't so bad to go and live in the home ofa teacher who had sympathized so much with her recent loveaffair. In fact, for some time now she had been unhappy aboutstaying in this old-fashioned house and had wished, if only itouereossible, that she could live as she had at the beginning, inSensei's ouse; and so, if only it hadn't come about as it had,she would have been only too huPPy about the plan'Tokio was anxious to find out about her lover. where was henorv? When was he going back to Kyoto? For Tokio this wasa truiy important question. But he couldn't reveal everything byasking in front of his sister-in-law, who knew nothing, and sothat ivening he said not a word about it. The three talked intothe night about trivia.

r.tsullurLl bl


14/32

Tokio had mentioned her moving back that very evening, butsince it was now midnight his sister-in-law thouglt it besl thatYo1liko go the following day. Tokio considered eturning aloneto Ushigome, but he felt hopelesslyworried and so, or, tL. pr.-text ofit being late, he arranged to stay the night at his sister-in-law's and for himself and Yoshiko to leavi earlv the nexrmorning.Yoshiko slept in the front room, while Tokio and his sister-in-law slept in the slightly smaller living room. presently he couldhear his sister-in-law's little snores.The clock struck one. Ao-parently Yoshiko was finding it hard to get to sleep, or from timeto time he heard what seemed o be a loud sigh. A K6bu Linecargo train passedby alone through the still night, setting upa dreadful shaking in the house. For a long while Tokio toowas unable to get to sleep.

5The next morning Tokio escorted yoshiko to his own house.He had wanted to find out about the previous day,s happen-ings as soon as he was alone with her, but when ire ,"on ho*she was following dejectedly on behind him with bowed head,l: tt, rather sorry for her, and walksd on in silence,containinghis impatience.When they reached the top of SanaizakaHill tJrerewere onlya few passers-by.Tokio suddenly turned round and askedabruptly:"Well, what happened?"6(Eh?" Yoshiko frowned as she returned the question."I'm talking about yesterday! s he still here?t'"He's going back on the six o'clock express.',"So, won't you have to seehim ofl tJ:en?""No, that's not necessarynow.t'With this their conversationcame to an end, and they walkedon in silence.In Tokio's house n Yaraich6 they cleaned the upstairs three-mat and six-mat rooms, which had been used till then as store-rooms, and made them into Yoshiko's living quarters. For ages

the storeroomshad been left for the children to play in, and werethick with dust, but, after setting to work with a broom anddustersand after repairing the broken, rain-stained sliding paperscreens, t became so bright and cheerful one would not havebelieved it possible.The place was fi"lled with a pleasant green-nessby the huge, thickly growing trees of the Sakai Cemeteryto the rear of the house, and the view also included the neigh-bor's grapevine trellis, and the abandoned garden with poppiesblooming beautifully amid the weeds.For the alcove Tokio ihosea wall-scroll of morning-glory by a certain artist, and placedsome ate-blooming roses n the hanging vase.Around noon her luggage arrived-a large Chinese trunk,wicker cases,cloth bags, the bookcase, he desk, her bedding-and it was no small task to carry it all upstairs. Tokio was obligedto take the day off work in order to help.The desk was placed under the window to the south, thebookcaseon its left, and on top were set the mirror, the lipstick-tray, and the bottle. The Chinese trunk and the wicker caseswent into one half of the rvall-cupboard; then, as he was aboutto put the set of patterned bedding into the other ha$ Tokiocaught a faint, lingering, feminine smell, and felt rather strange.By two o'clock the place had achieved a degreeof order."Well, how about this, then? It shouldn't be too unpleasantliving here," said Tokio, laughing and looking very pleasedwithhimself. "The thing to do here is study quietly. Really, there,sno sense n getting worried over practical issues.""Yes. . ." Yoshiko hung her head."We can go over things in detail later, but for the moment thetwo of you just have to settle down to your studies.""Yes . . ." Yoshiko raisedher head. "That's just what we bothfeel too, Sensei-for both of us to study now, and hold out hopefor the future, perhaps even for my parents' consent.""That's good. At the moment, if you make too much of afuss,you'll only be misunderstood by everybody, including yourparents, and you'll end up unable to make that special dreamof yours come true.""And so, Sensei, want to devote myself to my studies.That'swhat Tanaka said, too. He also said that he should definitelymeet you and thank you, and he asked me to give you his bestregards . . .t'

b2


15/32

"Really, there's no need . . ."Tokio was unhappy with yoshiko,s use of the word ,,we', and.her thinking in the gl11al, as though they had now openlypledged their betrothal. He was surprised that a still unmarriedgirl of nineteen or twenty and in th- budding bloom of woman-hood could talk like that. He felt, somewhatbelatedly, how timeshad changed. He was surprised how much the iharacter ofmodern girl studentsdiffered from that of the unmarried girls ofhis own courting days. of course, from the point of vi-ew ofprinciple and personal taste, he was certainly pleased o see hischaracter in girl students. old-fashioned education simply could.not equip a girl to be the wife of a modern, Meiji man. Hi, o*r,view was that girls too had to stand on their own feet and de-velop their own willpower. Indeed, he had often preached thisview to Yoshiko. But naturally, when it came to seeing thisnew+tyle sophisticationactually put into practice, he couldn'thelp showing a certain consternation.A postcard was forwarded the folrowing day from his sister-in-law's house n sanbanchd. t waspost-markedK6zu in Kana-gawa and was from Tanaka, saying he was on his way home.Yoshiko, now installed upstairs, would come dolvn ., ,oor, u,she was called. The daily meals would all be taken in a happy

family atmosphere. n the eveningp,as they gathered round'thebright_shining lamp, the conversationwould wa-x ively. yoshikoknitted socks or Tokio. She never failed to present a beautiful,smiling face. Tokio had her completely to himself, and at leastthis gave him a certain relief and satisfaction. His wife too,knowing that Yoshiko now had a lover, completely forgot herfeeiingsof danger and unease.It was painful to Yoshiko to be separated from her lover. Ifonly it had been possibleshe would have liked him to be therein Tokyo with her, and just once in a while be able to see him,speak o him. But she knew this was difficult at the present time.she realized that, until he graduated from Ddshisha n a fewyears' time, they would have to study quietly and wholeheartedly,only exchanging the occasional etter. And so, n the afternoons,-she went as before to her private Engtsh school in Kdjimachi,while Tokio went to his job in Koishikawa.From time to time in the evening, Tokio wourd calr yoshiko

THE QUILT 63into his study and talk to her about literature, about novels,about love. He would give her advice about her future. Hisattitude at such times was fair, frank, and full of sympathy, andone would never have thought him the same man who hadcollapsed blind drunk in theloilet and laid himself flat our onthe ground. Even so, it wasn't that Tokio actually pf"rrrrJ onadopting such an attitude, but rather that, at *o*.rrt *henhe was face to face with his beloved woman, no sacrifice wastoo great in order to gain her favor.And so, Yoshiko had faith in her teacher. she even believedthat when the time -came for speaking to her parents, even ifthere.was going to be a clash betweJn old uoi rr.*'ways ofthinking, then it would be enough just to have the ,rrppo.t ofthis benevolent eacherSeptemberbecameOctober. A desolatewind rustled throughthe wood behind the house, the sky turned a deeper, darkerblue, the sunlight camepiercingly through the clear uir,'u.rJ tn";r.gninS.shadows ave a nerv dipth to iheir surroundings.Rainfell all day long on the remaining taro leaves,arrd mu"shroomsappeared 9n $;nlaf in the gt...tgroc.rr, shops. The cries ofrruects n the hedgesdisappearedwith the dew, and the leavesof the paulownia trees in- the gardens fell frail to the grourra.For one hour each morning, from nine till ten, there "was anexplanation_ f Turgenev,snoveh, and under her teacher,swin-kling eyes,Yoshiko would lean across he desk as she ristened tothe lengthy story of on the Eae. How moved she must havebeen.by-Elena's passionate eelingsand strong, willful character,and by her sad and tragic fate. Voshiko compared Elena,s lovestory with her own and lost henelf in the novel. Her love's fare-the fateful act of placing her future in the hands of someoneunexpected, dth no chance to love tJle man she really wurriedto-this was just how yoshiko actually felt at the dme. Shehad never dreamed that the lilyJeaf postcard she had chancedto receive at Suma Beach would lead to such a destiny.As she looked out on the wood, out there in the rain, in the"F1,, in, the moonlight, yoshiko had various thoughts about heralarr. 'f he night train to Kyoto, the moon over Saga, the beau-tiful suruet over Lake Biwa when they had gone"to Zeze, thelespedezablooming in picturesqrr. profrrion -in the garden ofthe inn. . . . Those two days of-fun seemednow a drIam. Her


16/32

64thoughts went further back, to before the time she had fallenin love with him, to swimming at Suma Beach, to the moon overthe hills at home, to before the time shehad fallen ill-her cheeksflushed instinctively at the particular thought of her distressatthat time.From reverie to reverie . . . The reveries ook the form of iongletters, bound for Kyoto. And bulky letterswould come backfrom Kyoto, almost every other day. However much they wrore,their feelings were inexhaustible. In fact, their correspondencewas so frequent that Tokio waited until yoshiko was out andthen, placating his consciencewith the pretext of supervision,went furtively through her writing-case and the drawirs of herdesk. He read hurriedly through the two or tlree letters fromTanaka which he found.They were full of lovers' sweet words. However, Tokio wastrytng hard to find out something a bit more than that, to dis-cover a certain secret.Was there no evidenceanywhereof theirlips having met, of sexual desire Had their relationship notgone beyond the bounds of pure love? But the real state oftheir love could not be learned even rom these etters.

A month went by.Then one day Tokio took receipt of a postcardaddressed oYoshiko. It was written in English. He read it, nonchalantly.It was from Kyoto, from Tanaka, to the effect that he had savedenough money to support himself for a month and was nowwondering if he could find work in Tokyo to keep him goingafterwards. Tokio's heart raced. His peace of mind wai de-stroyed at a stroke.He askedYoshiko about it after dinner.She looked upset. "Sensei, I just don't know what to do-Tanaka salnhe'scoming to Tokyo ! I've stoppedhim several imesalready, but for semg1sa56n-tre says hat after this affair he'ssickof pursuing religion and leading a life of hypocrisy, or somethinglike that-anyway, he says he's definitely coming to Tokyo.,,"What doeshe intend to do in Tokyo ?""He says he'd like to do literature."" 'Literature'? What's that, then, 'literature'? Writing novels,do you mean?"" Y e s ,I s u p p o s e s o . . . ""How stupid!" roared Tokio.

THE QUILT 65"f just don't know what to do.""Didn't you lead him into this, then?""No I didn't!" She shook her head emphatically. "In facr,I told him that for the time being we were in a fix and that heshould at l east graduate from D6shisha,and I made him giveup this idea of his when he first mentioned it, but now . . . nowhe's acting completely on his own. And it's too late to do any-thing about it now, he says.""Why?""!Vell, you see, n Kobe there's this Christian called K6zuwho's been payrng Tanaka's expenses,or the sake of the KobeChurch. Tanaka went and told him that he wasn't cut out forreligion and wanted to make his career in literature. And thenhe asked him to let him go to Tokyo. Kdzu got angry at thisand told him t}lat if that was the case hen he didn't care anylonger and to do what he wanted, and so now he's made allthesepreparations,and I just don't know what to do.""How stupid!" Tokio snappedagain. "Pleaseget him to stopthis time too. This idea he has of making his career writingnovels-it's not possible, t's just a daydream, a complete and

utter daydream! And besides,f he doescome here to Tokyo, Ishall be in an extremely difficult position over your supervision.I won't be able to look after you, so please,make sure you gethim to stop "Yoshiko looked increasingly worried. "I'Il try to get him tostop, but my letter may be too late.""Too late? Is he already on his way, then?" Tokio's eyesopened wide in astonishment."He said n the letter I just got that I wasn't to send any furtherlettersbecause hey'd be too late.""The letter you ust got? Did one come after that postcard youjust got?"Yoshiko nodded."\,Ve're in trouble, then. That's why they say young day-dreamers are hopeless."His peaceof mind was destroyed a second ime.

66 THE qUILT 67


17/32

6Two days ater a telegram came from Tanaka to say he wouldbe arriving at Shinbashiat six that evening. Telegram in hand,Yoshiko was in complete confusion. She wasn't allowed to goto meet him, however, as it wouldn't have been right to allowa young giri out alone at night.She met him the next day, saying she would remonstratestrongly with him and somehow or other get him to return toKyoto. He was staying in a travel lodge called Tsuruya, in frontof the station.When Tokio came home from work, although he had notexpected Yoshiko to be back by then, there as usual was hersmiling face in the porch. It turned out that Tana ka would def-initely not return to Kyoto after having made up his mind tocometo Tokyo. Yoshiko had clashedwith him almost to the pointof arguing, but all to no avail. He had come to Tokyo with hishopespinned on Sensei,but well, if that was how it was, thenthat was horv it was. He also fully appreciated the inconveniencewith regard to supervision.But it was now impossible or him togo back, and so all he could do was try to support himself andtry to achieve his objective.Tokio was disturbed to hear what Tanaka had said. For a timehe thought of telling the pair to do as they pleased,and of com-pletely abandoning the matter, but how could he remain totallyindifferent, involved as he was?During the next few days there was no sign that Yoshiko hadvisited Tanaka again, and shecamehome punctually from school,but Tokio's heart burned with a jealous suspicion that she mightjust have said she was going to school while actually going toseeher lover. He was greatly @hangefrom momentftho@ *o"ta aiciiF'to be-

- -1 -'- '-comea comprere iitq4-ald-do .".-rytiiirrg-[e-c6nFE-6;- - - - -pair]w-lille-tEenext he would decide-tod6Gby ev_91-yih-ing'at-rilgt; rttot@b tfing to'tt.t- pur."li3.itin his i:T-aenffi t6 taFe_Eimer -ursein practice.

His wife suddenly whispered something to him."Upstairs-this . . ." She imitated someone sewing clothes."She's making something for him, you know-a blue and whitesplash-patternstudent's coat! And she's bought lots of whitecotton cord as well.""Really?""Yes, really," his wife laughed.Tokio felt far from laughing.

With blushing face Yoshiko told him that today she wouldbe back a little late."You're going there, then?" he asked."Oh no! I just have to call in at a friend's for something."That evening, with a certain desperation, Tokio visited herlover in his lodgings."Sensei,really, I don't know what to say . . ." Tanaka madehis formal apologies in a drawn-out, flowing tone, as thoughhe were making a public speech.He was of medium height,slightly plumpish, and of pale complexion, and he spoke as ifseekingsympathy, with a look in his eyesas f at prayer.Tokio was heated. "But wouldn't it be best o do that, if youunderstand? 'm speakingwith the future of the pair of you inmind. Yoshiko is my pupil. IVIy responsibilities rvon't allow meto let her give up her studies. f you insist on staying n Tokyo,then I must either send her back home, or reveal everything toher parents and beg their approval-I must chooseone of thesetwo coursesof action. I don't imagine you're the sort of egoisticperson who would let the girl you love be kept at home backthere in the hills just for your own sake. You say that this affairhas turned you off religion, but that's just one point of view.If you were ust to bear up and return to Kyoto, then everythingwould go smoothly and there'd be hope for your relationship inthe future."

"I fully appreciatewhat you're saying . . ""But yo u can't do it?""Well, I'm sorry, but. . . I've sold my hat and uniform, andeven if I wanted to, I couldn't go back now.""So do I send Yoshiko back home, then?"Tanaka remained silent."Shall I tell her parents, hen?"

68 THE qUrLT 69


18/32

Tanaka continued to remain silent for a while, but presentlyspoke."My reasons or being in Tokyo have nothing to do with allthat. Even now that I'm here it won't particuiarly affect ourrelationship . .""That's what you say. But it means I can't superviseher.You can never tell when love will give in to indulgence.""Well, that's not what I intend.""Can you swear o it?""As long as I can study quietly, there'll be nothing like that.""In that case t's hopeless"They sat facing each other for some considerable ime, con-tinuing this roundabout sort of conversation.Tokio proposedTanaka's returning to Kyoto, on grounds such as hope for thefuture, the sacrificeof the male, the advancementof the affair,and so on. The Tanaka Hideo that now appeared before hiseyes vas not good-looking and tough as he had imagined, nordid he look like a genius. Vhen Tokio first mer him, there inthat cheap travel odge n Kdjimachi SanbanchdRoad, in thatstuffy room hemmed n on three sidesby solid walls, the firstthing that struck him rvas he distasteful,unpleasantattitude ofone raised in the Christian faith, annoylngly smug and toomature for his years. He spoke n the Kyoto accent, his com-plefon was fair, and he had a certain gentlenessabout him, butTokio could not understand why Yoshiko had chosen someonelike him from among numerousyoung men. What he particularlydisliked about him was his formal attitude of trying to justifyhimself, producing all sorts of reasons for his misdeeds andshortcomings,without the least bit of simple and down-to-earthfrankness. But in fact, for all his anger Tokio did feel-notimmediately or spontaneously, ut on seeing, n a corner of theroom, the little traveling-case and the crumpled plain rvhiteyukata-a certain sympathy for this young man suffering andanguishing for love, and he was reminded of his own past andthe dreamsof youth.Facing each other in that stuffy room, not even relaxingenough to sit with crossed egs, the two of them talked for atleast an hour. Their talk finally finished without any real con-clusion. "WelI anyway, try and reconsider thingsr" were thefinal words with which Tokio took his leave and returned home.

Somehowhe felt foolish. He felt as if he'd done somethingstupid, and derided himself for it. He had spoken rvordsof flatterythat he did not mean, and he rememberedhorv, to conceal hesecret n his own heart, he had evenpromised o act as a "kind-hearted guardian" of their love. He also rememberedsaying hewould take the trouble to introduce Tanaka to someone e kner,vin order to get him some minor translating lvork. He cursedhimself for having no pride and for being too nice a chap.He thought things over again and again. Perhaps t wouldbe better to tell her parents. But the problem then was whatattitude to adopt in doing so. fu long as he felt himself to beholding the key to their love, he felt a heavy responsibility. Hecouldn't bring himself to make a sacrificeof his beloved,spas-sionate love affair for the sakeof his own unreasonableealousyand his own improper feelings of love, and at the same time,as their self-styled kind-hearted guardian," he couldn't bearto deal with them like some moralist. In yet another respect,hefeared Yoshiko's being taken off home by her parents shouldthey learn what was happening.It was the following eveningthat Yoshiko came nto Tokio'sstudy and, rvith quiet voice and bor.r'ed ead, talked about herhopes or the future. However much she reasonedwith Tanaka,he would not go back. And yet if her parents vere nformed, sheknew they rvould not give their consent and might even feel itbetter to fetch her back at once.Then again, Tanaka had takensuch pains to come to Tokyo, and moreover their love wasn'tjust common and vulgar and she could swear that there wouldbe no impure act or indulgence between them. Literature wasa difficult path to follow, and perhaps it was impossible forsomeone ike Tanaka to support a family by writing novels, butanyway, if they were going to share the future together, thenthey wanted to rvalk along their chosen path together. Shewanted Tokio to leave things as they were for a while, lettingthem stay in Tokyo.It was mpossible or Tokio simply to refusecoldly this inevi-table request.He did have doubtsabout Yoshiko'schastityduringher stay at Saga, but on the other hand he also believed theexplanation, and felt it very possible hat the young couple'srelationship might still be pure. Considered in the light of hisown youthful experiences, t was by no means easy or physical


19/32

70love to be realized, even if there was spiritual love. And so, hesaid it would be all right to leave things as they were for . *liil.,provided they were not given to indulgence, and went on tolecture her with great earnestness nd sincerity on spiritual love,physical love, the relationship between ove and human life, andon what an educated modern woman should properly preserve.The main points of his lecture were that the fact-thai people ofold paid such heed to a woman's chastity was really, rathei thanbeing one of society'smoral sanctions, or the benefit of safeguard-ing that woman's ndependence; hat once a woman gu.ri h.r-self physically to a man her freedom was completely destroyed;that modern lVestern women well understood such tlings andso never got into difficulties in their affairs with the other sex,and that modern Japanesewomen most certainly had to do like-wise. He talked with particular earnesoress bout trre nerv typeof woman.Yoshiko listened with head bowed.Tokio warmed to the occasion."lVell, just how doeshe propose o live?,'"He's comea little prepared,and he'll be all right for a monthor so, but . . .t '"f t wouldn't be sobad if he had a good ob or something . .""Well, actually he was pinning all his hopes on you, Sensei,and came up to Tokyo not knowing anyone, and so he,sgreatlydisheartened . .""Y:ll, !e was ust too hasty. That's what I thought when Imet him the other day. There'll be problerrs, you know,', saidTokio laughingly."But please, f there is anything you can do to help him . . .f'm very sorry to have to keep troubling you like this . . . "Yoshiko blushed as she sounded so helpless."Don't worry-things will work oui somehow.,,As soon as Yoshiko had gone Tokio's face adopted a troubled,sullen expression. "fs it possible fsy rns-ms !-to help out inthis love affair?" he asked himself. ,.young birds flock onlywith other young birds-the wings of old birds like me aren'tbeautiful enough to attract the young ones any -more.', Thethought overwhelmed him, leaving him with an indescribableloneliness. A wife and children-they call them the happiness

THE QUILT 7Iof the home, but where's he meaning n that? There,sprobablysomemeaning for the wife, who exists or the sakeof the children,but what about the husband? He has his wife taken from himby his children and his children taken from him by his wife,so how can he avoid being lonely?,' He stared at the lamp.- De Maupassant's "As Strong as Death,, lay open on thedesk.

Two or three days later, when Tokio came home from workat the usual hour and sat in front of the hibarhi, his wife saidquietly to him:"He came today, you know.""Who?""You know . . . upstairs-Yoshiko-san's young manr,, his wifelaughed."Really?"'(!ss-21611nd one o'clock today, someone ame to the porchasking if anyone was at home, and when I went to see who itwas, lvho should it be but a round-faced young student in asplash-pattern coat and white-sriped hakana trousers. Well, Iwondered, is this yet another student with a manuscript orsomething, when he went and asked f yokoyama-san livedlhere.Strange, I thought, and asked him his name, and it was noneother than Tanaka. So that's him, is it, I thought. Horrible,isn't he?-She could have had plenty of better students thanthat for a boyfriend. She'sreally peculiar, yoshiko-san. There'sno hope for her at all if this is anything to go by.""S o what happened?""I suppose Yoshiko-san must have been pleased, but shelooked sort of embarrassed.When I took them iome tea she wassitting at her desk, and he was there too, facing her, and theysuddenly stopped talking and clammed right up. I thought ita bit odd so I came straight dorvn again. . . . But, you know,it really is strange the things young people get up to nowadays.In my day we women used to get really embarrissed if a manjust looked at us ""Times do change, though.""Well, however much times change, got the idea she's ustloo modern. She'sno better than some drop-out student. WeI,

72 THE QUILT 73


20/32

to go by appearances hat's how it seems, hough I suppose nher heart she's not like that. But anyway, it really is quite ex-traordinary.""Never mind all that! \Alhat happenednext?""Yoshiko-san went out and bought somerice cakesand bakedsweet potatoes-our maid Otsuru said she'd go for them, butYoshiko-san said it was all right and went herself-and thenthey made a right royal feast out of them. . . . Even Otsuru hadto laugh, you know. When she went up to offer them some hotwater, there were the pair of them, stuffing themselveswiththesesweetpotatoes. . ."Even Tokio had to laugh.His wife continued. "They were talking for quite some time,and very loudly too. It seemedto be some sort of discussion,and Yoshiko-sanwas really holding her own in it.""So when did he leave?"'Just a little while ago.""And Yoshiko-is she n?""\[6-shg said he didn't know the way, so she went out toseehim home."Tokio frowned.

As they were having dinner Yoshiko came in through theback door. She seemed o have been hurrying and was pantingfor breath."How far did you go?" asked Tokio's wife."As far as Kagurazaka." With this Yoshiko turned to Tokio,gave him her usual greeting of "Welcome home," and hurriedoff upstairs. They thought she would come straight back down,but in fact quite a while passed with no sign of her. Tokio'swife called her several times, and she answered with a long,drawn-out "O-kay," but still didn't come down. Otsuru finallywent to fetch her and presently she did come down, but sheignored the dinner set out for her and lounged near the wall-support."What about your dinner?" askedTokio's wife."I don't feel like anything just now-I'm quite full.""I suppose hat's because ou ate too many sweetpotatoes!""Oh, nolv really, what a terrible thing to say!" she retorted,looking indignant.Tokio's wife laughed. "Yoshiko-san really is a strange one."

"Why?" Yoshiko's one was measured."Oh, no particular reason.""Now really, let's stop this, shall we ?" Yoshiko looked indig-nant again.Tokio watched this playful bantering in silence. Naturally hewas upset. Unhappiness illed his heart. Yoshiko shot a searchingglance at him, and immediately realized his unpleasant mood.She promptly changed her attitude."Sensei,Tanaka came today.""S o f hear.""He wanted to meet you to give you his thanla, but said he'dcome again. . . . He gave his regards. . . .""Oh, really?"Tokio suddenly stood up and went off into his study.fu long as Yoshiko's lover was in Tokyo, Tokio was unable torela-x,despite having her upstairs under his supervision. It wasabsolutely mpossible o prevent the two of them meeting. Andnaturally neither could he stop them sending etters to eachother,nor say anything about Yoshiko blatantly going off with "I'mcalling in at Tanaka's oday so I'll be an hour or so ate." More-

over, he could not now prevent Tanaka from visiting her, how-ever unhappy he might feel about it. Before he knerv t, he foundthat the couple had firmly accepted him as that "kind-heartedguardian" of their love.He was constantly irritable. He had numerous manuscriptsto write. He was pressedby the bookshops.He needed money.Yet he just couldn't get himself into the right settled frame ofmind for getting down to writing. When he did force himselfto try, he couldn't collect his thoughts. When he tried reading,he lost interest after a few pages. Every time he saw the warmthof their love his heart would burn feverishly,'and he would drink,and take his anger out on his innocent wife. He would find faultwith the vegetablesn the evening meal and kick the table away.Sometimes he would come home past midnight, drunk. Yoshikowas not a little worri ed about Tokio's violent and extraordinarybehavior. "It's my fault because causehim so much trouble,"she would say apologetically to his wife. And so she tried tokeep her correspondenceas much out of sight as possible; andto make her visits seem ess requent she would, about every third

t a


21/32

visit, take time off school and go on the sly. Tokio found outabout this and became even more unhappy.In the fields the autumn drew to a close and a cold wintrywind started up. The leaves of the gnkgo trees in the woodbehind the house turned yellow and added a beautiful colora-tion to the evening sky. The fallen leaves, curled and crackly,tumbled along the hedge-lined lanes. The cries of the shrikefilled the air. It was about this time that the young couple'slove grew just too open for comfort. fu supervisor, Tokio couldnot look upon such a state of affairs, and persuaded Yoshiko toreport everything to her parents back home. He himself alsosent a long letter to her father about the love affair. Even in thiscaseTokio tried to win Yoshiko's gratitude. He deceived him-self and, telling himself he was a tragic sacrifice,he became hat"kind-hearted guardian" of their love.A number of letters arrived from the hills of Bitchfi.

7January the next year found Tokio on a geography trip to thebanla of the Tone River, the boundary between the K6zukeand Musashi regions. He had been there since the end of theprevious year and was therefore anxious about his householdaffairs, especially Yoshiko. However, he could do nothing toavoid the duties of his work. On the second of January he hadbriefly returned to Tokyo, to find his secondson suffering teethingtroubles and his wife and Yoshiko busy nuning him. Accordingto his wife, Yoshiko seemed o have become even more indulgentin her affair. Apparently, on New Year's Eve Tanaka had, withno meansof support, been unable to return to his lodgings andhad spent the night on a train. His wife had alsocome to a vagueexchangeof words with Yoshiko over the two of them seeing oomuch of each other. When he learned of these and various otherhappenings,Tokio realized what a fine pass hings had come to.He stayed one night and then went back to the Tone River.It was now the night of the fifth. In the wide, open sky themoon was ringed with a halo, and its light sparkled on the centerof the river like broken fragments of gold. Tokio opened a letter

THE QUILT 75that lay on his desk,and lost himself in thought over its contents.The inn maid had brought the letter to him a short while before,and the writing was Yoshiko's.Sensei,I reall2 must apologi.


22/32

/ ohad asked or her parents' complete support for the young coupleand for consent o their relationship. He knew they would nevergive that consent. In fact, he had hoped rather that they wouldcompletely oppose the relationship. And sure enough, theycompletely opposed it. Her father had even written back thatunlessYoshiko obeyed her parents they would disown her. Thetwo lovers had received due reward for their love. Tokio hadargued painstakingly on Yoshiko's behalf, writing how her lovehad no impure intentions, and he had asked or oneof her Parentsto come without fail to Tokyo to sort the problem out. But theyhad not come, sayrng that it was useless o go to Tokyo sinceTokio, as her supervisor, elt the way he did, whereas hey them-selves could definitely not bring themselves o give their ap-proval.Tokio now consideredYoshiko's etter.The two lovers' situation now called for immediate action.He took sufficient warning from the bold words with whichYoshiko had expressed er wish to live with Tanaka, away fromhis supervision. Indeed, perhaps they had already carried thesituation a stage further. Yet he was also so annoyed at howthey had reduced all his good efforts on their behalf to nothingthrough this ungrateful and inconsiderate decision that he feltlike washing his hands of the whole business.To calm his agitated mind he went for a qralk along the em-bankment of the river, which was bathed in a misty moonlight.Although it was a winter night, with the moon ringed by a halo,it was quite warm, and a peaceful light shone quiedy from thewindows of the houses below the embankment. A thick misthung upstream, broken occasionally by the gentle sound of apassingboat. Downstream someonewas calling for passage crossthe river. The sound of a cart crossing on the ferry filled theair for a while aad then all was silent again. Tokio thought overvarious things as he walked along the embankment. It was thelonelinessof his own home that upset him so, rather thaLYosl4-.a life thai a man in his mid--.-e"--l- ?'i -thirties shoulcl-exp.Uather io enjoy, his unhealthy- thqughts- . - . - " ; - 1 - 1 - : , . r - - - -aboirt his gb,-U-s-ss.xud t,lggud*. . . . He felt terribly depressedbyiuih thitgt. Yoshiko had been the flower and the substanceof his banal existence.Her beautiful power had made flowersbloom again in the wiidernessof his heart, had made rusty bells

peal forth again. Thanks to Yoshiko he had been fiiled witha new zest for life, been resurrected. And yet now he had toresume that former existence, banal, bleak, and lonely. . . . Hefelt it was unfair, he felt jealous, and hot, burning tears rolleddown his cheeks.He thought seriously about Yoshiko's love, about her futureIife. He thought, in the light of his own experience, about theboredom, the tedium, the callousness hat would come into theyoung couple's ife after they had lived together for a while. Hethought about the pitiable situation of a woman once she hadgiven her body to a man. His heart was now fi"lled with world-weariness, vearinessof that dark power lurking in the hiddenreachesof nature.He concluded that a serious step was called for. He felt thatup to now his own behavior had been very unnatural and notseriousenough. That same evening he wrote with great convic-tion to Yoshiko's parents back in the hills of Bitchfi. He enclosedYoshiko's etter and gave a detailed account of the young cou-ple's atest situation. Finally he added:"I believe the time has now come for you, as her father, forme, as her teacher,and for the couple themselveso meet togetherto discuss his problem properly. You have your point of viewas her father, Yoshiko has her freedom asherself, and I too havemy opinion as her teacher, and while I appreciate that you aree.xtremely busy, I would be obliged if you rvould without failcome to Tokyo. I am full of expectation."Finishing the letter, he put it in an envelope, addressed t"Yokoyama Heiz6, Niimimachi, Bitchir" put it to onside, andstared fixedly at it. This letter is the hand of fate, he thought.Making up his mind, he called for the maid and handed it to her.H

Documents

222628 Tayama Katai the Quilt