Harakiri Page #5

If she'd taken after me,

she'd never have grown so beautiful.

What are you trying to say, sir?

Well, Motome...

I'd like you to take Miho as your wife.

I realize this is all very sudden,

but what do you think?

Will you do it, Motome?

You know as well as I

the state of my livelihood at present.

I offer classes in the Chinese classics

to a handful of children

and live from hand to mouth.

How could I possibly take a wife?

Do you dislike Miho?

All I'm asking

is how you feel about her.

It's not only because

of the promise I made to your father

that I hope you'll marry Miho.

Boorish and dull as I am,

I'm not entirely insensitive

to your feelings for each other.

It was more difficult than I expected

to persuade Motome.

I didn't realize

he had such a stubborn

and willful streak.

But I knew he loved Miho,

and I knew Miho

would have no objections to the match.

The crane that lives a thousand years

A symbol of myriad joys

The tortoise that lives 10,000 years

Bears on its back the three worlds

of heaven, earth and man

The sands upon the beach

Numberless and smooth

May they ever reflect the morning sun

After two years

a child was born.

It was a boy,

and they named him Kingo.

Of course,

I was the one who chose the name.

Hello, Father.

What's this? Asleep again?

Father, you're too generous.

Nonsense.

Even after I married you off,

you still cook for me.

And besides,

I now have only myself to supporit.

I save more money

than I know what to do with,

and I can't take it with me.

Well, well.

Did you wake up?

Now, none of that, you little rascal.

A warrior's son

should not be flashing dimples.

What did I tell you now?

Really? Even the Matsudaira Clan

of Dewa province?

That's right.

I can understand abolishing

the domains of newer vassals,

but to treat vassals who've supporited

the Tokugawa for generations so harshly?

The shogunate's policy toward

the warlords is completely beyond me.

We'll see another jump

in the number of ronin.

Did you hear?

One of them tried to commit harakiri

at the Sengoku Clan's gate.

A ronin named Shume Ooi,

formerly of the Kurume Clan.

I heard the Sengoku

were so impressed

that they offered him employment.

That much was fine.

It's what happened next.

Yes, I heard.

Other ronin who got wind of the story

began presenting themselves at the gates

of daimyo houses all over Edo,

insisting on committing harakiri

and refusing to budge.

In order to get rid of them,

the houses offered them money

to leave.

It's a shameful turn of events.

It ceritainly is.

No matter how hard-pressed

they may be,

it's a despicable thing to do.

In these difficult times,

it's no help growing desperate.

Becoming too impatient

in seeking employment

is a danger we must all

take care to avoid.

You are absolutely right.

If you stop worrying so much

about finding employment,

you can sit here like this

without answering to a superior,

at no one's beck and call.

What's the matter there, little one?

It's time for his milk.

I'll nurse him.

You mustn't give him

your breast every time he cries.

He'll develop bad habits.

Lookee here, Kingo.

Ready?

See my funny face?

All right?

Upsy-daisy. Here goes, Kingo.

In Kanda

At the Myojin Shrine

There's a festival

Tonight

Kingo was the center of our existence,

and the three of us lived happily

with the constant sound

of warm laughter

raising peaceful ripples around us.

It truly was

a time of greater happiness

than I'd ever known in the domain.

However,

good things never last for long.

One day, Miho suddenly coughed up

profuse quantities of blood.

She had always been

of weak constitution,

and with the endless burden

of our piecework labor...

she'd driven her frail body

too hard for too long.

Motome panicked.

The poor fellow.

Date Clan construction site.

Fifty laborers at 40 mon.

Fifty laborers at 40 mon.

Just a minute, samurai, sir!

Are you trying to get me in trouble?

There isn't enough work

even for the townsmen.

If the authorities spotted

a two-sworded laborer,

I'd be in for a real dressing-down.

Hosokawa Clan construction site.

Twenty laborers, 45 mon.

PAWN SHOP:

Poor Motome.

He tried everything, but to no avail.

Miho was gradually wasting away,

and the worst was yet to come.

It's seared forever in my memory.

We'd just barely made it

through the end of the year,

and the plum blossoms

had begun to bloom

shortly after the beginning

of the new year.

What's wrong?

Is it Miho?

Is it Miho?

It's Kingo.

What? Kingo?

A fever.

Like he's on fire.

Why, Miho?

Why did you just sit by

until it came to this?

I thought it was an ordinary cold.

What did the doctor say?

You did have a doctor see him,

didn't you?

You haven't had a doctor see him?

Why haven't you had

a doctor look at him?

Kingo, fight it off.

Your grandpa,

like your mom and dad,

has already sold off

everything of value.

There's not a thing,

not a thing we can do for you.

There's nothing...

nothing we can do, Kingo.

But you're the son of a samurai.

You can't let a little illness

get the better of you.

Don't let it beat you.

Don't let it... Don't let it...

Father.

I have an idea.

What?

I need to go out.

Please look after Kingo.

What do you have in mind?

A former retainer of the Kato Clan

now lives in Nihonbashi

and makes his living

as a moneylender.

His rates are so high

that I didn't dare go to him before,

but I can't worry about that anymore.

You're right. If you know such a man,

hurry and go!

I'm on my way.

I'll be back by evening at the latest.

As you can see, Miho is too weak,

so please take care of Kingo.

Of course.

I know what to do.

But, Motome,

you can see

he's barely hanging on.

You must be quick,

and you mustn't fail.

I'll return by evening without fail.

I'll be off, then.

We're depending on you, Motome!

No, no, I'll do that.

It won't be long now, Kingo.

What's taking him so long?

He's getting worse.

What could Motome be doing?

No, no. Your getting up won't do

Kingo's fever any good.

Where can Motome be?

He swore he'd be back by evening.

What could he be doing?

I waited.

Every moment felt like an eternity.

But Motome did not return.

We never saw him again.

"I'll be back by evening,

so please look after Kingo."

Those were his final words

as he went out the door,

and that was the last I saw

of Motome Chijiiwa.

But then...

around 9:
00 that night,

he did return home.

Only not on his own.

He was borne home by a parity

of retainers from the House of lyi.

Most couriteously.

This was the request

with which Motome Chijiiwa

came to us.

But our forecourit is a busy place

and would have been most inconvenient,

so we offered him our courityard and saw

to his needs with all due propriety,

thus allowing him to fulfill his wish

and perform harakiri.

We understand there have lately been

incidents all across Edo

in which ronin present themselves

at the gates of daimyo houses

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