 INTRODUCTION AND AUTHORS PREFESS OF NAMIKO This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Awaii in August 2019. NAMIKO A realistic novel by Roka Tokutomi. Translated from the Japanese by Sakai Shioya and EF Egypt. INTRODUCTION NAMIKO, a title chosen especially by the author for the English version of his Hototogisu, is one of the most popular novels in modern Japanese literature. The reason for this lies in the absolute truth of the story in the careful and unsophisticated working out of details and in its series of faithful pictures of Japanese life of the present day. The popularity of NAMIKO, however, must also be sought in another conspicuous fact. That is, the novel stands unparalleled in the history of modern Japanese literature in that it embodies the spirit of knighthood in Japan. The China-Japan War of 1894-95 was not merely an historical event in which the two nations came into conflict. It was the first case in which the national consciousness of its existence and possibilities as an independent nation asserted itself. The thirty years that preceded that event was a period of assimilation, struggle and bewilderment in thought and in principle. Slowly, however, the nation saw its ethical ideal in the resuscitation of the old samurai spirit wedded to the broad principles of humanity. The war served to translate into words what had hitherto been only a general tendency. NAMIKO is therefore dear to the Japanese people through the patriotic spirit of two characters, TAKEO and the general. There is one more important point to be noticed, a tendency in the novel which characterizes all the literary work of Mr. Tokutomi and has found thousands of admirers in Japan. Owing to a peculiar Japanese household system, many evils have resulted from an undue exercise of the prerogatives allotted to the head of a family. The question of divorce, as depicted in NAMIKO, is its salient point. The author has settled this vital question for the Japanese and has treated it after the manner of Ugo, Tolstoy or Zola, in whose steps indeed, as he avows in one of his prefaces, Mr. Tokutomi is following. It is for humanity, pure and simple, that he stands, and his object is accomplished in his sympathetic and imaginative treatment of NAMIKO. Kenjiro Tokutomi was born in 1868 in a southern town of Kumamoto, Japan. He was educated at Doshisha College. When his brother, Iichiro Tokutomi, one of Japan's leading essayists, formed a literary society called the Minyusha in 1888, he joined it at once and identified himself with its projects for about 14 years. Slowly but surely he established a position for himself among Japanese writers and his fame was at its height when his first important novel, Hototogisu, the original of NAMIKO, was published in 1900. His other important works are Omoide no Ki and Kuro Shio, the black stream. The former a sort of diary filled with poetic fancy and deep thought and the latter a socialistic novel which is gradually attracting widespread attention. In offering NAMIKO to the American and English public, the translators must acknowledge that the very nature of the two widely different languages has made the task a very difficult one. Literal accuracy has, of course, not been attempted. The endeavor being especially to reproduce the spirit and general effect of the story as an example of modern Japanese fiction. On the whole, however, it is hoped that as full justice as possible has been done to the author. Author's Preface It has been significantly said that one half the world does not know how the other half lives and this is especially true of the outside knowledge of eastern civilization and especially of our Japanese civilization. It was not to reveal our life and customs to the foreigner that NAMIKO was written, however, for at the time of its writing, four years ago, I did not dream that it would ever be translated or indeed that it would ever reach the popularity it has gained in my own country. But the unforeseen result is that the English speaking people will learn by its means something about the great moral struggle now going on in Japan. Incredible as it may seem to the western mind, NAMIKO is founded on fact. I was much moved when I first heard about the unhappy NAMIKO and I determined at once to make her life the basis of a story. It was not, of course, my purpose to attempt to reform the social customs of my country by means of fiction, for I am certainly more novelist than reformer, but as the exposure of an evil frequently paves the way for its destruction I have perhaps built it better than I knew. It is true that divorce laws, securing in some degree the rights of women and tending to uphold the holy ties of marriage, have been promulgated in recent years and that the ideas of humanity, freedom and justice are day by day displacing the worn out Confucian ethics. Yet I regret to say that the old evil does not die easily and that there is much shedding of tears during this age of transition. In truth it is the age of emancipation in Japan. We are struggling to throw off the thousand fetters which have bound us and many a victim consequently falls in the struggle. The present story is merely a picture of one episode among many. If it happened that this insignificant story and many other significant ones I hope served to acquaint you who live on the other side of the Pacific with the manner in which we live, how we feel and what we think, what struggles we are passing through and so tend to tighten the bonds of sympathy between us it will certainly be of service to humanity. Especially do I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to thank the generous American and English public for the sympathy they have always shown to us and which they are now making manifest as we stand in the midst of a great national trial. 1904. End of author's preface. Section 1 of NAMIKO by Roka Tokutomi This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Avae in August 2019. Book 1, Chapter 1, The Honeymoon It was evening at Ikao, the famous town of hot springs in Joshu. A lady stood gazing at the beautiful scene revealed through an open screen in the third story of the Chigira Hotel. Her age was 18 or thereabouts. Her hair was dressed in a tasteful mage and she wore a grey crepe gown relieved by green bows at her breast. Footnote. Mage or in full Madu mage, the headdress of a married woman. End footnote. She was of a fair and clear complexion and though her eyebrows were a little too close together and her cheeks were somewhat thin she seemed to be as gentle in nature as she was slender and graceful in figure. She was not like the plum blossom daring to bloom in the bleak north wind nor like the cherry flower whose petals are blown hither and thither like butterflies in the spring morn. She was indeed like the shy Daisy dimly discovering itself in the dusk of a summer eve. In the evening of that spring day the faraway hills of Nikko and Ashiyo and those on the borders of Ichigo as well as the nearer peaks of Onoko, Komochi and Akagi were glorious in the rays of the sinking sun. Even the calling of the crows flying from a tree just beneath seemed to be toned with gold as two fragments of cloud floated out from behind Akagi. The lady at the screen in the third story was watching their movement. The downy clouds not larger than could be embraced with both arms slowly separated from the summit and glittering like two golden butterflies sailed on side by side toward Ashiyo through the boundless mid-air. With the setting of the sun and the rising of a cool breeze in the tawny dusk they now faded into pink, were blown off one above the other and were seen wandering separate in the slowly darkening sky. But it was only for a short time. The lower grew smaller and smaller and finally faded away almost unobserved. The remaining fragment now turned into dismal gray and wandered aimlessly. Presently the hills and skies were shrouded in darkness and only the face of the lady at the screen in the third story was seen pale in the night. Miss! Oh, what is the matter with me? I am so forgetful! Ikus said, laughingly. Madam, I should have said. I have just returned. How dark it is. Madam Nami, where are you? Nami, as she was called, replied. Here I am. Why are you out there? Come in quick. You'll catch cold. Hasn't Master come home? What is he doing, I wonder, said the lady as she opened the screen and entered the room. You had better ask the clock to send someone for him. Yes, indeed. I will. As she talked, Iku, an old woman of about fifty, groped for a match in the dark and lighted the lamp. At that moment a maid of the house was heard coming up the stairs and, entering, she handed the letter to Iku. Thank you for your trouble, said Iku. The Baron is pretty late, but we have sent a boy for him. He will be in before long. Here is a letter, she added, handing it to Nami-san. A letter from Father. Why does Takeo stay so long? At that the lady in Marumage took the letter in her hand and looked at the familiar handwriting. A letter from my Lord, asked Iku, I should like to know what the news is. Surely he has written us something funny as usual? The maid, after shutting the sliding screens and attending to the fire, went downstairs, and then the old woman put the bundle she had brought into a small closet and approached Nami, saying, How cold it is here! What a difference from Tokyo! You ought to expect that as cherry flowers are blooming here in May. But come and sit nearer, Iku. Excuse me, said Iku, as she sat down beside her mistress. The old woman, looking fondly at the face of her young mistress, said, I can hardly believe that you, who sits so gracefully in Marge, are the same little one I had the honour of nursing. It seems but yesterday that when your mother died you were far on my back. With tears in her eyes she continued, On the day of your wedding I thought how happy your mother would be if she could only see you in your beautiful attire. Iku wiped her eyes. The lady also sat with her head bowed as if she sympathised with the servant. The ring on her right hand, resting on the lid of the firebox, in brilliant luster. Presently the old woman looked up. I beg your pardon. I have been talking foolishly. Old age makes me childish. Miss, Madam, you had so much trouble when a child. It is simply wonderful how you could have lived through it. But everything from now on will be so happy. Your husband is such a tender hearted man. At this moment a servant shouted from the stairway. The baron has come back. Lord, but I am tired. A young man of about twenty-three or so and in foreign dress after removing the native travelling sandals walked up the hall and nodded slightly to the women who came to meet him. Suddenly he stopped and turned toward a lad who bore a paper lantern. Thanks for your trouble. But put those flowers in warm water, will you? Oh, how pretty! said the lady as she came down to meet him. Really, what pretty Azaleas they are! Ikku chimed in. Where did you get them, Master? They are pretty, aren't they? Look, here is a yellow one. I want Nami-san to arrange these tomorrow. Well, I'm going to take a bath now. The lady and the old woman went back to the room. My master is so lively. A naval officer is always lively. Isn't he, madam? Without replying the lady smiled and, brushing carefully her husband's overcoat, she touched it furtively with her lips before she hung it up. A few minutes later the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs suddenly seized at the outside of the screen and the young man entered the room, ejaculating. There! Now I feel refreshed. Well, you have taken your bath in no time, said Ikku. I am a man, you know. He laughed gaily and with his wife's help put on a broad-striped quilted kimono. He sat down upon the cushion unceremoniously and rubbed his cheeks with both his hands. His head, with its close-cut hair, was as returned as a chestnut warm and his sunburned face was as red as an apple. His eyebrows were dark and his eyes were bright and, although he had a Caterpillar-like moustache, his face was still youthful and one could not help smiling at its innocence. Here is a letter for you, dear, and Nami-san gave him the letter. Ah! It looks as if it were from father. The young man changed his position a little and opened the letter. Another sealed letter dropped from it. Here is a note for Nami-san. He seems to be well. Ha-ha! Such a joke! It seems as if I could hear him speak. Smiling, he laid aside the letter. Father wants me to tell you, Ikku, said Nami, looking up from her letter and turning toward the old woman who was setting the table for dinner, that you should take good care of yourself. You are not used to the climate and you will be liable to suffer from your old complaint. Oh! It is very kind of him to say so! Now I want something to eat, said the young man. I have had only two pieces of rice cake and walked all day long. I feel very hungry. Well, what do you call this fish? It doesn't look like smelt. They call it Yamame. Don't they, Ikku? Yes, they do. This tastes good. Very good. Here, another bowl of rice, please. My master is very hungry. Naturally, for today I climbed Mount Soma from Haruna and then over to Futatsutake. It was while coming down over Byobu rocks that I met the boy they sent to look for me. Did you really walk so far? Yes. The view from Mount Soma was splendid. I wanted Nami-san to be with me. On one side is a vast stretch of lowlands through which the river Tone winds away into the distance, while on the other side rolling hills cluster one behind another and over their farthest ridges the white cap of Fujiyama is dimly seen. If I could write verse I might challenge the poet Hitomaro and he laughed merrily. Another bowl, please. How beautiful it must be. How I would like to go there, said Nami-san. Hmm. If Nami-san could climb I would decorate her with the order of the golden kite. I never saw in my life such a steep and rugged ascent. About a dozen iron chains are fastened on the way and you have to help yourself up by them. To me such a task is nothing as my training at Yeda Jima, the naval academy, you know, enables me even now to climb up a mast or suspend myself from the rigging. But you have never touched even the soil of Tokyo with your little feet, I suppose? Bless me, she said smilingly and blushing, I took gymnastics while at school. Poof! One cannot rely much on gymnastics at the Pyrrhus School. I remember once when I visited the school I saw girls with fans doing all sorts of things to the sound of a piano while some were singing a song of nations. At first I thought it to be a fancy dance, but I found that it was what you call gymnastics. He laughed again. You shouldn't say such things. Let me tell you, there was standing next to Yamaki's daughter a pretty girl with her long hair hanging down her back and in... what do you call it? Yes, a plum-colored skirt dancing without the thought of the visitor. I'm sure it was Nami-san. What? Not a word to say. How you talk? You know Yamaki's daughter? Why, my father used to favour him and he still comes to see us, Nami-san. Now you are silent, aren't you? You talk. Husband and wife must not quarrel so said Ikku laughingly. Come, let's have tea and make it up. End of section one. Section two of Nami-ko by Roka Tokutome. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Avae in August 2019. Book one, chapter two Nami-ko. The young man who appeared in the preceding chapter was Baron Takeo Kawashima. He had been married recently to Nami Kataoka, eldest daughter of my count Lieutenant General Kii Kataoka, well known as a soldier. Avelling himself of a leave of absence he had come to Ikao with his bride and the old nurse Ikku. Nami's mother died when she was eight years old. Being then so young, she could not remember clearly how her mother looked. But she knew that her mother was always tender and she remembered that at her death bed she took Nami's little hand to hers and said my dear child, mama is going to a far off land so you must be a very good child and love your papa and little kou-chan. Then she wept you will think of me after I am gone, won't you? And she petted Nami's head whose hair, now long was then cut short on the forehead. These memories had sunk deep in Nami's heart and not a day passed without her thinking about them. A year later her stepmother came. After that everything underwent a complete change. Her own mother was from a Samurai family of note and although she had been strict in all things the servants bore witness that such a peaceful home as hers was rarely to be found. The second mother was also of a noted Samurai family and she had been sent to England in childhood and was so thoroughly Europeanized that her active nature would not give her rest until she had effected a reform in everything that might revive the sweet memory of Nami's real mother. To Nami's father she would express her thoughts on things small and great without the least reserve and he was want to say in jest well all right you know better than I think one day however when his favorite military secretary was talking with him over sake he said laughingly as he glanced at his wife I tell you Namba you must not take an educated girl for your wife because you will be mercilessly ridiculed for your ignorance. Witty as he was Namba was completely at a loss how to answer him and toy awkwardly with his glass. Namba was said to have told his wife afterward that their daughters must not study too much and that their training should be simply that of a public school. Nami was a good and bright child. Her father took pleasure in taking his hat from her hand as in the arms of a nurse when only two years old she was want to bid him goodbye at the porch. The sight of a child is like a blade of grass in spring though it may be covered with late snow yet it grows when the snow is gone and the grass is free from human tread. The sorrow Nami felt at her mother's death was too deep-seated for a child of eight yet who could doubt that she would bloom into a lovely flower if the kindly light of the sun should shine upon her. When she met her stepmother the eyes somewhat oblique the hair dressed in a foreign style and the costume over perfumed she was naturally a little shy at first. But gentle Nami would easily have been won over had not the stepmother been strangely prejudiced against a little child. Being devoid of tact selfish, pedantic and somewhat disagreeable she treated her a simple and artless child of eight or nine as if she were a full grown girl. The poor child was always left alone to feel how sad and cold the world was. Nami had a mother but she could not love her. She had a sister but she could not love her. To be sure she had her father Ikku the nurse and an aunt who was sister to her real mother. But however much she was attached to them her aunt did not live with her and Ikku was but a servant and indeed with Ikku as her stepmother kept her eyes open to everything in the house a little favour shown to or from Nami would in the end bring harm rather than good. Only her father he was all love but even he was careful not to cross her mother though all this was done out of kindness to Nami. He would correct the child in her mother's presence but behind the latter's back he would give comfort in a few but sympathetic words. This vague struggle in his mind was more than appreciated by the quick-witted Nami and her little heart would swell with a tender and grateful feeling toward him which would make her dare to go through fire and water for his sake. Yet if she showed even a shadow of such emotion her stepmother would cause Nami great uneasiness by her dissatisfaction at such an unwarranted intrusion into her rightful domain. But if Nami kept silent and reserved and remained apparently impassive she would be censured ruthlessly for being dull, obstinate and perverse. Once when a slight misunderstanding arose a volley of disparaging words was hurled at her invaluable Choshu speech and in English she read logic and not alone was Nami reviled but her dead mother was openly scoffed at. Whenever she wanted to retaliate however the thought of her father would immediately silence her bitter words. At another time she was suspected so unjustly that she wept bitterly over her misfortune behind a curtain. But had she really a father? Yes she had a father and a loving one but to a girl whose home is her world one mother means more than five fathers put together and with a stepmother like Nami's ten years will easily foster a perverse nature in a child and take away the gloss of her youth and beauty. Really the Viscount used to say there is nothing childish about Nami she's so dull and gloomy ah there is really no difference in flowers whether they bloom in a pot of rude earthenware or in costly china they all need the warming light of the sun but Nami was a flower blooming in perpetual shade. So when Nami became engaged to Takeo and at last the wedding ceremony was over she drew a long breath of satisfaction and her father stepmother aunt and Iku did so too each in his or her own way the old nurse used to murmur that though the Viscountness loved to dress herself fancifully she would get for Nami nothing but homely looking things the old nurse even wept over the scantiness of Nami's bridal outfit and vainly dreamed upon the days long past when her mother was still alive yet Nami was glad to leave her father's house and thought that freedom and happiness yet unknown to her were awaiting her arrival made easy the parting with her dear father end of section 2 section 3 of Nami Ko by Roka Tokutomi this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Awaii in August 2019 Book 1 Chapter 3 Gathering The road that leads from Ikao to Misusabanogwanon is about 3 miles in length and winds like a snake along the side of a naked hill with the exception of one place where the hill dips into a dell and another where the path dives into a ravine and emerges on the other side it is so well beaten that you could easily go over it blindfolded behind and below and more lies in full view a grassy stretch of land extends to the right and left of the road and in springtime when from the soil black with burnt ashes of the last year's weeds fresh blades of rushes bush clovers, golden rods bluebells and the like make their appearance they weave themselves into a delicately patterned carpet dotted here and there with pretty flowers and the slender stems of the most veiled ferns to a lover of nature a long spring day spent in such a place will appear to be only too short on a sunny afternoon Takeo and Nami had come here with Ikku and the maid of the house together young ferns a little tired after their work they chose a comfortable spot for a resting place and upon it the maid spread a rug Takeo seated himself curiously on it but Nami took off her sandals and dusting her kimono lightly with her pink handkerchief sat down gracefully saying how soft this is such a couch is fit for a king Oh miss I beg your pardon madam you look beautiful today and I have not heard you sing like that for a long time and Ikku looked into her face I have sung so much and feel thirsty I'm sorry I did not bring some tea apologize the maid and untying a package she disclosed oranges cakes and sushi oranges will do very well rejoined Takeo and peeling one of them he continued look here Nami-san you can't peel an orange like that can you? I'm sure I can my lord interposed maid the ferns you have gathered contain a great many weeds be careful you are trying to cover your own fault by finding fault with others said Takeo but what fine weather this is it makes me feel splendid a beautiful sky indeed a piece of cloth like that would make a fine gown for a lady Nami remarked and perhaps even better for a sailor's coat how fragrant everything smells listen a lark is singing yonder while life had enough to eat what do you say to work again Matsu said the old nurse to the maid and they both went off together more ferns be sure and leave some of the ferns Ikku isn't she lively for her age Nami-san indeed she is Nami-san don't you feel tired no not a bit today I think I have never had such a good time when I'm at sea I often come across fine views but such a beautiful landscape as this from a high hill is especially lovely don't you feel refreshed you see the white glittering wall on the left down there that is Shibukawa where we had lunch on our way up and in this direction you see something that looks like a blue ribbon that is the river Tone you see it don't you and then as you follow the slope of Mount Akagi well it is where you see smoke rising way down the slope there is something nestling that is the town of Mayebashi what is that silvery thread away yonder that is also the Tone you can't see any further it is too hazy we should have brought a field class shouldn't we Nami-san but perhaps the dim and hazy background may be more poetic after all Nami laid her hand on Takeo's knee and sighed how I would like to be here with you forever she said two golden butterflies appeared and touching lightly the waving sleeve of Nami fluttered away and then a rustling sound as a footsteps over the grass was heard and suddenly a shadow fell slantingly before the lovers Takeo-san hello Chijiwakun how did you happen to find us here the newcomer was a man of about 26 dressed in a lieutenant's uniform he was exceptionally handsome even for a soldier and singularly enough his face was not tanned there was however something that marred his good looks and that was a peculiar sarcastic expression of the mouth and a disagreeable staring of the jet-black eyes this young man Yazuhiko Chijiwa by name was a cousin to Takeo he was superior to him in rank he was nevertheless one of the ablest members in the headquarters staff you are surprised to find me here aren't you I had some business yesterday at Takazaki and stayed there overnight this morning I went to Shibukawa where I heard that it was only a short distance to Ikao so I came this way and called on you at your hotel they told me you were out fun gathering and so I followed here but I must go back tomorrow I fear I'm intruding oh nothing of the sort did you go and see my mother yes I did so yesterday morning she looked well but she seemed to be quite anxious for your return casting a sharp glance at Nami's face from his jet-black eyes he added your people at Akazaka are also well at this time Nami's face was growing red and now she colored still more and looked down look here now I have got reinforcements exclaimed Takeo I shan't be beaten anymore this is a union of the military and the naval forces thousands of amazons can't do as a bit of harm now why these women pointing at the nurse and the maid who had just returned tried to find fault with me but I could not gather as many ferns as they or that I gathered weeds and not ferns the old woman started and slightly knit her brows as she said Chijiwa-sama what a surprise to see you here I wired him a short time ago for reinforcements said Takeo you are joking said Iku did you really talking about returning madam we must get back before you in time for dinner yes that's right do so we are to have Chijiwa-kun with us this evening and you must have something nice ready you will find us hungry as wolves why are you going to Nami-san you'd better stay with us are you trying to get away with your confederates don't worry we won't tease you anymore Nami could not refuse and remained while Iku and the maid made up a bundle of the things they had brought with them and departed the three began to hunt for ferns again and as it was not too late in the day they wandered as far as Mitsuzawa-no-kwanon before turning back to retrace their way down the hill the evening sun resting on the ridge of Mount Monokiki blazed in its refulgent splendor the grass on the right and left of the road caught its golden rays and seemed to burn in a single sheet of fire while shadows of lonely pines here and there measured the long length on the hill far away the distant hills were silently bathing in the flood of light and the evening smoke of many hearths rose from the villages at their feet a farmer and his oxen plodding along completed the picture the still evening air resounding the animals at the driver's threads Takeo and Chigibar walked abreast talking while Nami followed behind the three sauntered leisurely crossed the dell and approached the uphill road glittering in the sun Takeo stopped suddenly gracious, I have left my cane it's just where we rested a while on the way back wait a moment please I'll get it let me go with you, dear said Nami's son no, you had better wait it's not very far, I'll run all the way Takeo almost compelled Nami to stay and dropping the bundle of ferns on the grass quickly made his way down into the dell after Takeo had gone Nami stood silent a few steps away from Chigibar Takeo's figure was now dimly seen on the hill across the dell but it was soon plotted out of sight at the turning Nami Cossan Nami, whose face was turned away shuddered at being spoken to so familiarly Nami Cossan he repeated, drawing nearer Nami receded a step or two but was forced to look up and, meeting the stare of those dread black eyes turned her face away again I congratulate you she was silent her face grew red I congratulate you you must be very happy but he added with a scornful tone in his voice you know there's one who is not happy Nami stood with her eyes on the ground and tried to stab the grass with the end of her parasol Nami Cossan like a squirrel terrified by the persistent pursuit of a snake she now faced her foe what is it the rank of baron and money that is not so bad is it why I congratulate you what are you talking about to marry a man of nobility and of fortune even if he is a fool and to scorn the man in love with her if he has no money this is the principle of an upper class girl nowadays though of course you are an exception gentle as she was Nami flushed with anger and looked fiercely at Chijiba what are you talking about repeat that in the presence of taquille you cowered to send me such a litter without first asking my father like a man I won't endure it any longer what Chijiba looked black and biting his lips he tried to approach her suddenly the neighing of a horse was heard below and the head of an old farmer on horseback came into view over the hill good evening to you and the rider removed his hat and passed by looking back over his shoulder and wondering who the young couple might be Chijiba did not move the rigidity of his face relaxed somewhat but gave place to the sarcastic twist of his closed lips hmm send it back to me if you don't care to keep it send what back what you just spoke of the thing you hate I haven't where is it I put it in the fire the filthy thing are you sure of that someone has seen it of course not very sure don't speak to me the enraged gaze of Nami was met by a fierce and disagreeable stare from Chijiba's black eyes which sent a cold shiver through her and made her turn away at this moment at the crest of the hill across the dell Takeo appeared his face rosy as a cherry shining in the evening sun Nami drew a long breath Nami Kousan Chijiba persistently tried to catch Nami's eyes but they evaded his finally he said Nami Kousan one word before I leave you be discreet keep the secret by all means from Takeo-san and from your parents as well if not you will be sure to repent emphasizing these words with a threatening look Chijiba turned away and stooped together some wild flowers with hurried steps and a flourish of his stick Takeo came up the hill saying have I kept you waiting long I'm almost out of wind I've run all the way you know but I found a stick all right why Nami-san what's the matter you don't look well Chijiba fixing the violets he had just picked in a knot on his breast said you took so much time in coming back that she was worried was the salt that you might lose your way and he laughed Takeo laughed in return was she now let's go home three shadows moved slowly abreast along the ground toward Ikao end of section 3 section 4 of Nami-ko by Roka Tokutomi this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Awaii in September 2019 Book 1, Chapter 4 The House of Yamaki in the corner of a second class compartment in the 3pm up train from Takazaki the only passenger was seated with his legs stretched out on the seat taking a paper while he smoked it was Yasuhiko Chijiba he threw aside the paper impatiently Pshaw crushing angrily with his foot the cigarette which had slipped out of his teeth as he spoke he spat out of the window and hesitated a moment presently in a mood of indecision he walked the length of the compartment and then returned to his seat he folded his arms and shut his eyes the black eyebrow was being drawn close together Yasuhiko Chijiba was an orphan his father a samurai of the Kagoshima clan had been killed in the war of restoration his mother was carried away by a plague when the boy was six years old he was taken care of by his aunt sister to his mother and mother to Takeo Kawashima his aunt was kind to Yasuhiko but his uncle did not treat him at all kindly on occasions of ceremony Takeo was dressed in a stiff silk skirt and sat in an upper seat but Chijiba had nothing on but a cheap cotton one and had to occupy a lower seat thus he was early to learn his position that unlike Takeo who had parents fortune and rank he was destined to work his way with his hands and brain naturally he soon learned to dislike Takeo and to hate his uncle he discovered that there were two ways the broad and the narrow to succeed in life and his war by all means to take the easier road so while he was in the military school to which his uncle had sent him and while his classmates were troubling themselves with examinations and great marks Chijiba was not slow to form acquaintance with influential men from his own province and was careful to select such friends as would be of benefit to him in the future his cleverness was first shown soon after his graduation while others had not yet recovered from their joy at the honors they had won he had managed to get into the military headquarters unlike his comrades who were sent to regiments of infantry here and there and ordered to serve in an endless succession of drills and marches Chijiba was settled in an enviable position where the secrets of important military affairs might chance to reach one's ears over the social pipe the next important problem to him was marriage he understood that it was only by a good matrimonial alliance that one could succeed in life just as by interlocking of limbs monkeys are able to reach water he surveyed the fields and found that the daughter of this marquis was to be married to that baron of this count to that high official and of this millionaire to the son of that marquis his sharp eyes had last the lighted on the house of general Kataoka though he was on the reserved list general Kataoka was a man of wide reputation and a special favour at court Chijiba was quick to divine his secret yet powerful influence and he approached him gradually under some slight pretext and made clever advances toward his family his eyes were fixed on the eldest daughter Nami he chose her because he perceived that Nami was the favourite of the general while her stepmother did not care for her and wanted to marry her off at the first opportunity the selection however was not unaided by his love for her quiet and noble demeanour he watched his opportunity the general was a man who never betrayed his feelings and so Chijiba could not easily sound the impression that he had made on him but he was sure that he had gained the favour of Madame Kataoka the second daughter named Koma who was 15 years of age and of a forward nature was also a good friend of his there were two more children born of the second wife but these did not concern him there was however an old nurse Ikku who had served from the days of Nami's mother and was retained by a special desire of the general when all the rest of the servants had been dismissed with the coming of the present lady this nurse was always with Nami and showed little regard for Chijiba he felt a little uneasy at this but made light of it in view of his decision to court Nami directly Chijiba waited a year for an opportunity but he was now impatient and he boldly prepared a love letter sealed it in a double envelope and addressing it in a feminine hand send it to Nami by post on that day he was suddenly ordered to take an official trip when he returned after a lapse of three months he was astounded to find that in his absence through the matchmaking of Viscount Cato a member of Upper House Nami was wedded to no less than his own cousin Takeo Kabashima Chijiba enraged at his unexpected failure tore into rags a piece of beautiful crepe which he had bought at Kyoto as gift to Nami in the hope that its bright colors might be an advantage of his success but Chijiba was not a man to be utterly crushed by failure and he soon recovered from his disappointment he feared however that if Nami should tell her father or husband about his love letter he would suffer a second loss and be deprived of an influential patron discreet as she was he was not quite sure of Nami's feeling toward him and availing himself of his trip he visited the newly married couple at Ikao and slightly investigated matters one feeling now dominated him and that was his hatred of Takeo thinking that he heard someone call Takeo Takeo Chijiba aroused himself suddenly from his reverie looking out of the window he saw that his train had just reached a certain station and that the porter called Ageo, Ageo DM cursing himself Chijiba rose and walked to compartment shrugging his shoulders as if to shake off something obnoxious he resumed his seat a look of scorn was on his eyes and lips the train left Ageo and after passing several stations with the speed of the wind it reached Oji five or six persons entered the second class compartment noisily crunching the gravel on the platform under their heels among them was a man of about fifty with a dark red face eyes whose ends turned downward and with a red mole like a pea under his left eye he was richly dressed in double garments of ichiraku silk with a heavy gold chain wound around a white crate belt and he wore a thick gold ring on his right finger as he sat down his eyes casually met those of Chijiba oh Chijiba san wow how do you do where have you been as he said this the man with the red mole rose and sat down next to Chijiba to Takazaki to Takazaki after scanning Chijiba's face for a while the man added in a low voice are you in a hurry if not let's take supper together Chijiba nodded near the ferry of Hashiba and hurried by the water there stood a house switch but for the sign reading Villa owned by Hyozo Yamaki might have been taken for a fashionable rendezvous in one of the rooms of the second story on whose paper screen a fanciful shimada footnote shimada the headdress of a Japanese singer Geisha as here or of a young unmarried woman end footnote in silhouette might appropriately appear amidst a seductive strain of music or over whose greenish mattings a crimson rug might have been sprayed and cards played thereon in such a room lighted by a shaded lamp in lieu of the more prosaic electric light sat at their ease with glasses and plates lying in disorder Chijiba and the red mole who was no other than the master of the house Hyozo Yamaki that no maid was there to wait upon them was apparently intentional in front of the red mole there was a small open memorandum book with a pencil lying across it the names of many persons with their addresses and official titles were written in it they were marked with such signs as a circle, a square a triangle and numerals and letters of the alphabet some of which were crossed out or had been again restored well Chijiba-san it is agreed then but I want you to advise me at once when it is arranged you are quite sure of success yes, pretty sure already in the hands of the minister but you know the other party is also urgent so you cannot do better than to be liberal pointing to the names in the book this fellow is a regular nave you will have to bridle him pretty closely how about this one ah, he's no good I don't know him well but he is said to be very scrupulous the only way to approach him is to go openly and on your knees if you don't succeed take care I tell you there are many sensible persons in the army but they are quite as many just the opposite last year you know when we were contracted to supply uniforms to a certain regiment everything passed quite satisfactorily in the usual way but there was one captain what was his name with a red mustache that fellow troubled us a great deal by finding fault with our goods so when our manager sent him the customary box of cake he declared that he would not be bribed and that it would be disgraceful for a soldier to be influenced by presence and imagine to yourself how he had last threw the box on the floor you see it was full of silver with a thin layer of hard cake on the top what a fix the autumn leaf cakes mingling with flakes of silver snow rolled all over the floor at this the fellow got still angrier and saying that he had never known such a shameful thing threatened to denounce us publicly we were barely able to keep him quiet it was such a hard task it is on account of such fellows that we have suffered so much trouble talking of troublesomeness Takeo-san is also a man of that character it's almost impossible to bring him to an understanding the other day but Takeo inherited such a fortune from his father that he can afford to do as he pleases to be upright and stiff as a poker as for me you know being single-handed oh I had forgotten the red mole looked for a moment at Chijiwa's face and then took out ten bills of five yen each this is for your carriage fare the real thing is to follow thanks I accept without reserve and he put them quickly into his inner pocket but Yamaki-san yes it's a commonplace truth that one can't reap without sowing Yamaki smiled dryly he patted Chijiwa on the back and said you are a smart fellow it's a pity you are not at least a commissariat Chijiwa laughed but Yamaki the shortest sword of the hero Kiyomasa is more effective than the three feet three inches of a child footnote three feet three inches the length of a large sword end footnote well said but my friend I warn you about this speculation business an outsider will rarely succeed oh well it is only odd money you know but I must go now I'll see you in a few days as soon as I know about it no thank you it will be better to take a kuruma on the way well then sorry my wife can't see you this evening she has to be with my daughter oh Otto your son is she sick that's why my wife brought her here I tell you Chijiwa son don't take a wife or have children rashly nothing is better than a bachelor's life for making money Chijiwa then left Yamaki's villa the master and the maid accompanying him as far as the porch turning from his guest Yamaki went to his room opening the sliding door noiselessly a middle aged woman entered herself by his side her complexion was fair her hair was thin and she had two prominent front teeth has Chijiwa son gone yes he has just left how is Otto your the woman with the prominent front teeth looked grave and said I'm almost out of patience with her Kanne speaking to a servant you may leave the room for a little while why today she again dashed a cup into pieces, rent her clothes and did many other naughty things at the slightest cause and she's 18 years old after all we must send her to Sugamu asaidame poor girl this is no time for joking but I really pity her she said to Takei today ungrateful Takeiwa son how cruel he is I sent him a New Year's gift last year of a pair of worsted socks I knit myself and a handkerchief I embroidered and also gloves and other things besides last New Year's day I made him a present of a red worsted shirt and all this out of my own purse and mark you without the slightest notice to me he married that ugly cross and proud Namiko son oh how cruel I'm a daughter of Yamaki why should I be eclipsed by Namiko son how unkind and cruel and she wept my dear can anything be done for her she's so much in love with him nonsense like mother like daughter as the saying is you are truly mother to that naughty girl you know Kawashima is a newly created noble and has a large fortune and he is in no way a fool I did what I could to make Otoyo his wife but everything came to naught the marriage is over and the thing is settled unless Onami son dies or is divorced there is no hope so give up such foolish notions and try to get her married to some better man you are an un-enterprising woman that's all folly I cannot think as you do you are so clever as you are you who at your age of 50 still make a fool of yourself with women I am by no means a match for your eloquence but if you are indeed that is you easily get angry I love Otoyo just as much as you do she is our daughter so instead of dreaming over impossible things I am trying to find some place where she can be happy all her life Osumi let us go and talk to her a little while they went together through a corridor to Otoyo's room Hyozo Yamazaki was a man of obscure origin but he was now countered a gentleman merchant at the beginning of his career he had received no little favor from the deceased father of Takeo and he still remained faithful to the Kawashima family this some avert was due to the fact that the Kawashima house was one of the richest among the new nobility but such criticism was too exacting he had his residence in Shiba and a villa near the Hashiba Ferry formerly he had been somewhat of a usurer but now his chief business was as a contractor to the army and other government departments his son was now in America for a commercial education while his daughter Otoyo had till lately been attending the terrorist school his wife no one knew where and how he came to marry her was only known as a Ciotonian she was a homely woman and some even wondered how Yamaki could remain satisfied with her but the fact was that he had several mistresses to whom such adjectives as charming, lovely and the like could be applied and who were constantly awaiting his visits and of this well aware in the alcove, a harp, a mandolin and a glass box containing a large doll are placed in one corner there is a beautiful writing table and in another a Cheval glass wondering what Piresse might be the occupant of this beautiful room you attempted to look at a bit all in silk placed in the middle on it a girl of about 17 is lying on her side tossing wildly her corn silk here in a large Shimada her complexion is rosy and her cheeks are full and round you might imagine from this that she was pretty but as a matter of fact her features are altogether too rotant her lips are parted as if she were too weary to close them and the eyes under her delicate eyebrows are surrounded by superfluous flesh and look as if veiled in a spring haze they had just awakened from a pre-existent sleep ejaculating fool to the maid who had just left the room laughing in her sleeve at her mistress's commands the girl feverishly threw off the bed clothes got out of bed and took from the alcove a large picture in which a group of school girls were represented in uniform Hakama she looked earnestly at it with eyes slender as a thread and then snapped her fingers at the face of one of the figures to show her dislikes still more she scratched a picture with her fingernail the sliding door was heard to open who is it? Take? yes I am Take a bald-headed Take and laughingly her father Yamaki and her mother came in and sat by the bed while tried to conceal the picture and bent over in a half reclining posture how do you feel Otoio? better? what is it that you hid just now? let me see let me see let me see what it is oh this is Namiko-san's face isn't it? mercy how you have spoiled it a hundred times wiser to offer a cursing prayer at some shrine in the dead of night than do such a naughty thing his wife making a rye face exclaimed don't suggest such a thing Otoio you are a daughter of Hyozo Yamaki aren't you? be brave and try your luck again instead of remaining faithful to such a petty fellow who does not return your love my dear child make bold to catch a millionaire son such as Mitsui or Mitsubushi or the son of a marshal a prime minister or better than that some foreign prince how can you be so spiritless fret and cry as she did in the presence of her mother her ladyship Otoio was utterly helpless before her father she remained moody and made no answer no answer my child you can't forget Takeo-san Takeo-san well well you still love him do you say Otoio wouldn't you like to go and see Kyoto for a change it is such a pleasant trip there are many interesting sites worth seeing and besides you may go to Nishijin a famous weaving district and get a beautiful obi or triple robes how would you like that you can't afford to miss it can you it's a long time since you were there or Sumi he said turning to his wife you had better go without Otoio you will go with us I suppose she asked him I, oh nonsense you don't know how busy I am then I shan't go either how is that you don't mean to obey me ha ha what ha ha I don't like to hear you laugh like that tell me why you won't go I can't let you out of my sight said his wife shah how dare you say such a thing before Otoio Otoio what your mother says is false don't pay any attention to it you can't play the hypocrite with me or Sumi rejoined a truce to such talk but come Otoio don't worry cheer up have patience and all will come right end of section 4 section 5 of Namiko by Roka Tokutomi this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Avae in September 2019 book 1 chapter 5 the general at home on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of June when the chestnut trees by his house at Akazaka were in bloom the Viscount Lieutenant General Kataoka was sitting comfortably in his study chair he was not much over 50 but his forehead was somewhat bald and his hair was turning grey his copulent body weighed about 200 pounds and even an Arab courser would be likely to sweat under him his thick neck was almost buried in his square shoulders and his double chin seemed joined to his breast his abdomen was large his thighs thick as those of an ox his face was brown his nose large his lips thick his beard scanty and his eyebrows thin his eyes however out of harmony to the rest of his body were narrow like those of an elephant and mild to look upon there was also a smile lurking constantly about this mouth giving a humorous cast to his countenance it happened that in the fall of some years ago the general was hunting in a hilly district he was clad in his ordinary clothes and, chanting to ask for a cup of tea at a small hut where an old woman was living alone she carefully surveyed him and expressed her admiration how big you are you've shot some game I suppose the general smilingly said no, not any oh, you can't make a living out of hunting work as a day laborer with your big body I tell you and you could make 50 yen in a month oh no in a year of course but come and get to work I'll let you have a job any time well, thank you I may come again and ask your advice do so by all means your big body is too good to waste on hunting this humorous incident was one of the favorite anecdotes with which he amused his friends by one unacquainted with the man he might be judged no better than the old woman judged him but to one who knew him well the self-reliant soldier was a living wall of iron in times of trouble his body massive as a little hill and his spirit serene as that of the gods would make easy the hearts of a host of soldiers trembling before impeding danger on the table nearby was placed the blue pot of straight growing dwarf bamboos high up on the walls were hung pictures of the emperor and empress lower and on the farther side was hung a tablet on which were two characters written by nanshu signifying be charitable on the bookcase some rows of books on the mantelpiece and on the triangular shelf in one corner a half dozen pictures of Japanese and foreigners some of whom were in uniform the green curtains being drawn aside the six windows on the east and south were opened wide to the east over across the crowded streets of tamimachi below the eye could command the leafy hill of renan over which the spire of the atago tower raised its tiny head a kite was seen circling over it to the south there lay a garden shaded by blooming chestnut trees and through an opening in them could be seen a poplar in the compound of the hikawa shrine resembling a green spear the early summer sky as seen from the windows shown like blue satin here and there among the fresh leaves creamy tassel-like chestnut blossoms bloomed in profusion painted against the azure of the sky one branch jutted out near the window ungraceful as it was it was loaded with flowers like epaulettes and its leaves filtering the light of the sun broke into rays of emerald sapphire and amber at the slightest breath of wind the fragrance was wafted stealthily into the study and the lavender shadows from the window danced over a page of the present condition of the Siberian railroad held in the general's left hand closing for a moment his narrow eyes he drew a breath and then turned them as they slowly opened to the pamphlet somewhere outside the sound of a well pulley was heard like the rolling of a ball but it soon stopped the quiet of the afternoon now settled upon the house when suddenly two little rogues were seen looking for a chance to steal into the house through the slightly opened door they stealthily thrust in their heads and then drew them back then the sound of tittering was heard outside one of them was a boy of about eight dressed in a sailor suit and the other was a girl younger by two or three years with her hair long over her brow and clad in purple striped clothes with a red obi the two little rogues hesitated a while but as if unable to wait any longer they threw the door open burst into the room and easily scaling the fortress of piled papers and attacking the general's chair straight ahead captured the knees of the massive soldier the sailor from the right and the ringlet from the left papa school out the general smilingly said with a voice deep from his chest as with his heavy hands he patted the sailor on his back and the ringlet on her head how about the test good papa I I got an A in arithmetic papa teacher said my needlework was good the ringlet took out her kindergarten work and placed it on her father's knees ah that's good and then be in writing and reading and the rest all see I was beaten at last by Minakami I feel very bad over that well keep at it what story did you read today the sailor brightening up said papa the story of Masatsura I like Masatsura so much which is greater Masatsura or Napoleon oh both are great papa I like Masatsura but I like the navy better papa is in the army and I'm going into the navy the general laughed you will be a sailor under Takeo san why he's an ensign I want to be lieutenant general they don't call it so in the navy it's real admiral but won't you be admiral but papa is lieutenant general papa lieutenant general is greater than ensign isn't it ensign or general he who studies most is the greatest papa say papa and the ringlet jumping on her father's knee exclaimed teacher told us such a good story the story of a rabbit and a tortoise shall I tell you about it once upon a time there were a rabbit and a tortoise ah here comes mama as the clock struck two a tall lady of about 40 came into the room her hair was dressed in foreign style her bang being curled and parted on her high brow her large eyes were set a little obliquely bespeaking her rather acrimonious temper her somewhat dark face was slightly painted and the teeth seen at times were polished to the last degree she was dressed in showy crepe with an obi of black satin and she were valuable rings you are again hanging on your papa why I was just asking about their schoolwork well now it is time for papa's lesson you go out and play we will all go for a walk afterward oh how nice said the ringlet hooray shouted a sailor the two children hand in hand dancing for joy went out of the room and the cries of hooray let me kichan were heard far off say what you will you are too lenient with your children the general said smiling no not exactly but children thrive better when they are loved but my dear you know severe father and kind mother are coupled together even in popular notion but since you fondle them so much the saying is reversed and I have always to correct them dear me I alone have made an object of dislike well you need not reproach me like that and pray be a little milder well professor have a seat if you please the general laughing took up an old copy of the royal third reader from the table and began to read slowly in his queer English with the satsuma accent the lady listened attentively and corrected an occasional error this was the general's daily lesson having raised himself as a soldier at the restoration of 1868 he at once found himself entered upon such an important career that no time remained in which to indulge in the study of foreign languages it was only in the last year that he was transferred to the reserved list some of the leisure hours thus obtained he devoted at once to reading English for teacher madame shige was at hand she was a daughter of a noted choshu samurai and had been in London so long that a better English scholar would sell them to be found in Japan the lady was so thoroughly imbued with western ideas that she wanted to conduct the management of her household affairs just as she had seen and learned in that far of the land but unluckily things generally fell short of her endeavour the servants laughed in their sleeves at her inexperience and the children naturally made much of their generous father alone these mistakes and the oriental high-mindedness of her husband who never cared for trifling matters often put the poor lady frightfully out of humour at last the general finished reading one page and was about to translate it when the door opened and there entered a pretty girl of about fifteen with her hair tied with a red ribbon seeing her father holding a small book in his large hand and reading it with the docility of a pupil she involuntarily laughed as she announced mother aunt kato is in the sitting room is she the lady, knitting her brows almost imperceptibly waited for the general to speak the general raising himself deliberately and drawing a chair to his side said show her in here good afternoon said an attractive looking lady of about forty-five as she entered the room she wore blue glasses presumably on account of her weak sight she looked somewhat like nami's son and not without reason for she was sister of the first wife of general kataoka she was married to viscount kato member of upper house and it was she who with her husband acted as go-between in the marriage of nami and takio smiling the general gave her a chair and drew the little curtain at the window opposite it saying please have a seat I haven't seen you for a long time your husband is pretty busy I suppose oh yes he is just like a gardener always shears in hand it's a little early for irises but the pomegranate trees of which he is very proud are in full bloom and the roses are still blooming please come and see them he especially wishes me to ask you to come turning to madame kataoka and bring ki-chan and mi-chan with you to be frank the viscountess did not like madame kato very much owing to the difference in education and temperament a mutual understanding was almost out of the question moreover the idea that she was sister to the first wife always came up in the viscountess's mind and caused her much uneasiness she herself wanted to monopolise the general's heart and wield the sceptre as queen of the household but here was a sister of the former wife who not only brought before the general the very picture of her now gone but by stealthily sympathising with nami and nurse iku reminded him of times past and by reviving the memory of the dead one in many ways to fight for supremacy this was what she could not bear now that nami and iku were gone the rite of exterritoriality had been removed to her great satisfaction but as often as she saw the face of madame kato she felt as if the dead one had risen from the grave to contend with her for her husband her authority as mistress and the system and management of every household matter had planned so carefully madame kato took some confectionary from her silk bag with my love to kichan and michan is school not yet out i don't see them oh i see giving an artificial flowerpane to the girl with the red ribbon who had just come in with cups of tea with my love to koma san thank you for all of them they will be so pleased thus saying madame kato laid the confectionary on the table at this moment a servant announced that a man from the red cross society wanted to see the mistress and she immediately left the room on going out she beckoned to the girl and whispered something into her ear the girl came back stealthily and placed herself behind a curtain within hearing while the lady went through the corridor on her way to the parlor the red ribboned koma was a daughter of the first wife but was much loved by the vicountess while her sister nami was not the vicountess took the silent and reserved nami for an obstinate and morose girl and was pleased with the younger sister whose forward nature was quite in harmony with her own and in order to give an indirect snub to nami and also to show the world what a stepmother could do she favored koma as her husband favored nami it is usual for a self-willed man to do as he likes without deference to others but on the other hand he is apt to be uncritical such a man always loves to be thought well of while he never desists from the pursuit of self-interest no one is so fond of flattery as he madame kataoka was a refined and spirited lady who in argument always got a better of her husband so renowned for his military skill but unlike him who gained friendship wherever he was she was always left alone and in her loneliness she welcomed those who hung upon her sleeve blunt and artless servants were dismissed one by one while their places were filled with courteous honey-tongued ones koma-san had of course no reason to dislike her sister but finding that her stepmother loved to hear her speak ill of nami she contracted the bad habit of telling tales and the times caused iku to make a right face this however seemed to be of some use to the vikunters who occasionally even after the marriage of nami made her render service in petty affairs like this standing close by the second window under east veranda koma could hear the hoarse laugh of her father alternate with the ringing laugh of her aunt but soon the voices grew low the words faint and the more indistinctly the words mother-in-law nami-san and like-phrases came through the window the more attentively the red ribboned girl listened a host of foes one million told now come from out the land so vast what need come kura men so bold to fear not beaten for ages past the little sailor who came marching along singing this song was at once attracted to the red ribbon standing still on the veranda in spite of her endeavour to express her meaning by covering her mouth shaking her head or turning her back on him she rushed forward calling koma-chan and asked what she was doing she still tried to silence him but being annoyed with so many what she cried aloud fire unwittingly upon which she ran away hurriedly shrugging her shoulders at her untimely mishap are you coward saying this the sailor proceeded to his father's study and on seeing his aunt made a smiling bow and went at once to his father's knees well my dear kichan you seem to have grown taller since I saw you last you go to school every day you did eh in arithmetic good come and see aunty with your papa and mama where is michi look here's aunty's present you like it don't you giving him the cake the general added do you know where mama is still in the parlor tell her aunty must go the general seeing the child leaving and looking at the visitor thoughtfully said well then be sure and arrange about iku without trouble please I feared at first that the matter would turn out in this way I should not have sent her but it was nami's desire as well as hers yes exactly well now you understand what I want the conversation was interrupted by the coming of madame kataoka who glancing at madame kato said you are leaving us so soon I'm very sorry I was called away by the visitor no he has just gone why it was about the charity bazaar again not much to be made out of it I fear must you go now please give my love to jizuko son I miss her very much since nami went she has not been well and has neglected her calls for a long time goodbye goodbye I will go with you a little way said the general well just a little come on ki and me now for a walk madame kataoka sitting herself in an easy chair in the sitting room and looking over the prospectus of the charity bazaar nodded to koma koma san what was the talk about well mama I could not hear well but it was something about iku iku yes it was like this takeo son's old mother has been ill on account of rheumatism and is very irritable one day iku happened to be talking to nami son in her room why is the old lady so peevish she said I pity you madame for that but as she is old it will not belong before she dies wasn't iku foolish to say such a thing mama she is always making mischief the meddling old woman and just at that moment the old lady happened to be passing by the room heard all iku said and was very angry there that's the penalty of eavesdropping she was so angry that nami son was greatly troubled and went to see aunt kato to see aunt nami son always sees her aunt about everything the lady smiled dryly and what else then father said that he would send iku away to take care of the villa did he she remarked uneasily is that all I would have listened to more but kichan came just then and end of section 5 section 6 book 1 chapter 6 the mother-in-law takeo's mother's name was k and she was now 53 with the exception of frequent attacks of rheumatism she was very healthy it was said that she could readily cover on foot the distance of 10 the distance of 10 the distance of 10 the distance of 10 miles each way between her house and the cemetery where her husband was buried she weighed over 150 pounds and there were few ladies of nobility who exceeded her in this respect her copulancy however began after the death of her husband michi take some six years ago for before that event she was pale and as lean as a rake some observed jestingly that she must be a sort of rubber ball which swelled up as soon as the pressure was removed her late husband was a petty samurai of the Kagoshima clan and he was pretty badly off at the time of his marriage but he came into prominence in the restoration war and was for a long time a successful local governor under the okubo ministry however a very willful nature which cut him off from friendly intercourse with all of his associates except a few of whom the by count Kato was one after okubo was gone he did not enjoy much public confidence he was created barren simply because as they say he was lucky enough to have been born in that favored quarter Kagoshima thus michi take the opinionist and tartare always drank away his irrepressible discontent and when after draining five bowlfuls of sake each holding about a pint he faced a local assembly with his shoulders drawn back and his face red as a demon there was not a soul in the assembly who dared oppose him such a miserable household as Kawashimas was rarely to be met with the whole house was under the despotic rule of a tyrant and the family lived as if in a thunderstorm under a tall tree unprotected by a lightning rod with the exception of Takeo who in his childhood had made his father's knees his dancing place and knew no better playmate than he no one neither his wife nor the servants nor even the pillars of the sitting room was unacquainted with the pain the master's hand had inflicted upon them even Yamaki now well known as a gentleman merchant was an occasional recipient of this gift but of course he never refrained from calling on the Kawashima family thinking that this was rather a cheap toll considering the gain he became entitled to through his favor or disfavor whichever you please when it was rumored that his lordship was out of humor even a mouse in the kitchen would stop knowing and if his angry voice like a sudden thunder club was heard from the interior of the house even a dull servant was wanted to drop her knife from the shock it is said that the subordinate officers who wanted to see him had first to find out from the servants in which quarter the wind lay think what an enormous amount of patience was required by Madame K his mate for nearly 30 years while her husband's parents were living she saw nothing very extraordinary in his nature as compared with theirs but once they were gone one at the heels of the other the real character of her husband was brought boldly into relief and her patience was tried to the extreme at first she offered some resistance but she soon learned that it was all to no purpose she no longer showed a bold front but either wisely submitted like a bent reed before the wind or else did what is said to be the crowning method of safeguard took to flight in the meantime she came to understand somewhat how to turn the tide and was successful at least in every third attempt but the nature of her husband remained without the shadow of change the last three or four years of his life were especially spent in such a fury of passion inflamed by alcoholic droughts that fortified as she was by the experience of over 20 years she felt deeply the bitterness of her miserable life not unfrequently forgetting her dear son Hale and her grey hairs she would even think she preferred the peaceful life of a poor sexton's wife to the enviable honor of being a vicountess and wife to a governor but time went by swiftly as an arrow and thirty years had already passed when she beheld her heartless husband Michitake lying stark in his coffin with his lifeless face turned toward heaven she drew a long breath and yet poor soul the tears ran freely down her cheeks she wept but she was relieved and with her freer breath there came to her something of power while her husband was alive she was almost of no importance by the side of the copulent and loud voiced man but now she walked out of her corner and low instantly she swelled and broadened the eyes of the house those who used to notice her shyness by the side of her husband remarked that the change was simply wonderful according however to the view of a certain scholar men and wife become more and more alike both mentally and physically with increasing years true or no such was really the case with her whose build, carriage, roughness and above all, quick temper were nothing but a copy of the ways of her deceased husband to kill at Nagasaki one's enemy at Yedo so runs a common saying stating a peculiar law of action and reaction in nature an anti-government member of parliament may make a very eloquent attack in the house against the government it is all very fine I realize that one half of his fire is called forth to satisfy his vengeance on the Yuzura who drove him hard the night before again a low atmospheric depression in the South China Sea causes a flood in the central part of Japan and landslides in the depth of Toskakura cause tidal waves along the coasts nature is only seeking a balance and in securing this balance a mean fellow so says one well versed in human affairs proceeds just as a miser done for a debt impatient at the delay of even a single day while a great man trusting his whole account to the management of heaven's bank simply does his part with heart and soul mark further the way a low-minded person seeks his balance as if he were mere matter he follows the law of motion that is to attack where the resistance is leased Madame Kawashima whose patience had been taxed to the utmost for thirty long years thought that she was now to have her day and no sooner was the lid of her husband's coffin closed than she opened once for all the flood gates which had withstood the pressure of her patients the one whom she had most dreaded was now gone and there was no more fear that his detestable hand would rest heavily upon her again she now appeared as if she wished to show that she had not been silent because of her own helplessness and wishing it clear that she thought herself his better half she began to done those people to whom money had been loaned at one time or other the amount becoming considerable by years of neglect there was however a great difference in the nature of their irritability the deceased Baron was a man of heroic spirit and though troublesome his anger had a dash of something that was almost pleasing but the temper of his wife who was selfish, suspicious and narrow minded and totally devoid of manful audacity was simply unbearable and the servants had by far the harder time of it and this was Nami's mother-in-law to every young bride there comes soon after her marriage a trial due to her still unsettled mental state of newly imposed wifehood the Marumage which only the decorum of married life requires may be put aside for any other fashion of dressing the hair nevertheless it is not unlikely that an uninformed Kuruma man might for safety's sake address her as Miss a form of salutation certainly embarrassing to a woman who has not courage enough to explain the mistake at home however she will be worried by the servants with a Madam an appellation which is yet too much for her but soon she realizes her new situation and begins to see in their true light her surroundings he the two only dimly understood through the misty veil of her bashfulness it was at this stage of her life that Nami had now arrived since customs differ greatly with each family it was incumbent upon her that she should not measure her new home by the standard of the old and that she must not forget that Nami Kataoka was gone and that henceforth she must become new Nami Kawashima these were the words her father uttered with heartfelt tenderness when she was in her wedding dress and the carriage was waiting for her departure she remembered the advice too well and on finding herself in her new home she saw that the contrast was something amazing the property of the house of Kawashima exceeded perhaps in value that of her paternal home the house was counted one of the greatest among the new nobility for the wealth amassed during the governorship of Takeo's father was immense she found however that while the Kataoka family was so popular owing to the fame of her father and that their things looked bright as the sunrise here everything was stagnant as a pool of water the relatives were few the acquaintances were not many and even those who used to call while Takeo's father was alive kept away after his death moreover the widow was not sociable in any sense while the master who was to establish the prestige of the house was yet young and low in official rank and stayed most of his time away from home again Nami's stepmother loved anything gay and novel and of course she was particularly at home in lecturing on housekeeping she practiced economy in a strange way evoking at times the criticism of the servants whose common sense was fully developed in matters of everyday usage but say what you will as is usual with the intercourse among military men everything there was on the whole showy and quite extravagant but what a difference here at her newer boat the old usages and rather coarse country customs were adhered to closely as if they were the only usages in the world the widow's methods of housekeeping remained just as they were 30 years ago when she was the wife of a poor samurai and the habit of managing everything by herself done formally out of necessity had grown into a second nature making a certain Tazaki a plain honest fellow who had been no more than a mere domestic her steward she herself calculated the monthly expenses in firewood charcoal and so forth item by item such being the case when Ikku came with Nami as her maid the widow was heard to say in surprise what heirs these illustrious families put on indeed the expulsion of Ikku might not be due wholly to the widow's wrath at her slanderous remark bright as she was the bride was still young and there's little wonder that she lacked the tact to face so suddenly the widely different customs of her new home but Nami understood well the full import of her father's council and made up her mind to resign herself to the new situation an opportunity to put her determination to the test was near at hand not long after his return from Ikao Takeo was ordered on a cruise married to a sailor Nami was quite prepared for an occasional absence but a parting in so short a time after their union almost broke her heart and she was left for a while quite stupefied his father met Takeo before the engagement and liked him very much she took her father at his word and married and the result proved that she was right she found Takeo a manful and high-minded man frank to the core and loving in heart a man in whom there was not a particle of meanness a very miniature of her dear father yes even his manner of walking a bold step and rocking gate and his laughter like that of a child were but a copy of her father how happy she thought to be with such a husband and so she loved him with her whole heart Takeo on his part felt unbounded love towards such a loving creature and being an only child he felt as if he were given a sister as well as a wife her as his own dear Nami son three months had not elapsed since their marriage but they loved each other as if they had been acquainted from the previous world and the sadness of their parting though temporary was to both almost unbearable but Nami was not allowed to weep long over her sorrow soon after Takeo's departure her mother-in-law had a severe attack of rheumatism and her characteristic irrescability was much increased and after Takeo was gone poor Nami had specially a hard time of it a new cadet is teased for a time by the older ones but after a year or so he himself finds no greater pleasure than to tease freshmen coming after him a mother-in-law who knows only too well the painful experience she had when she first joined the family should not on principle treat the bride with injustice but such is the frailty of human nature that when the flower of her youth has faded away and she finds herself transplanted to the position of mother-in-law her tyrannical nature gets the upper hand and she becomes the very mother-in-law she's so much detested look here you have made a mistake in the width of the gore make it four inches and turn it in like this chat, dear me she will say to a bride that is not the way here, let me have it bless my heart, you must have been sleeping all these twenty years and you mean to be a wife, eh? if she can find in this situation something that brings before her the horror of a bygone sarcastic voice and look as real to her even as it is real now to the one before her she may feel sorry for it and even try secretly to make amends such a woman may still be said to be heaven-born but not a few are ruled by the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and try to avenge on the bride of Nagasaki the wrong done to them by the mother-in-law of Yedo as they unconsciously seek retribution during their own life the mother-in-law of Nami was this sort of person to work under the eyes of the Europeanized step-mother and again to suffer at the hands of the old-fashioned mother-in-law such was the lot of poor Nami many a time Nami offered her service out of pure and sincere sympathy for the old widow in her sick-bed who wanted a maid too often being unfamiliar with the task however her tender efforts would be scarcely satisfactory to the patient the widow then thanking Nami at one moment would purposely scold the maid at the next with such a loud and almost savage voice as to terrify Nami accustomed as she had been for ten years to the sarcastic eloquence of her step-mother this however was but for the first few weeks after that the attack was directed straight at Nami when Iku the only sympathetic soul in the house had gone she felt at times as if she had returned to the sunless corner of her past days but when she went to her room and saw on the table in a silver frame the silent picture of the robust officer all other feelings would give way to the one which gained in tenderness as she took it up in her hand she would feast her eyes on it kiss it fondle it and whisper to it as if she could be heard come back soon dearest for his dearest's sake she could willingly quaff the bitterest cup and denying herself minister unto her mother in law end of section 6 section 7 of Nami Ko by Roka Tokutomi this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Avahi in October 2019 book 1 chapter 7 on duty Hong Kong, July dearest Nami I write this to you in a heat of 99 degrees with myself in a reeking perspiration you read my letter posted at Sasehowa, I believe since weighing anchor there the weather was fine day after day and so hot that even we the sailors of the invincible islands had to give in a little bit about a dozen of our officers and men suffered from sunstroke but I am all right I have never once been an inmate of the sick ward by being burned by the brooding sun near the equator my dark complexion has got such a finish as to surprise even me on landing today I went to a barbershop and looked carelessly into a glass when low there stood a new man one of my merry comrades suggested to me to send you my picture in my present condition but of course I don't want to do that it being fine all the way except once when we were overtaken by a monsoon we all arrived safely here yesterday morning amidst ringing cheers at Sasehowa I got your loving letter which I read and reread I was sorry to learn that my mother has been attacked by her old malady but I feel very much at ease this year since you are with her I wish you would look after her in my place when sick she is specially hard to please and I very much sympathize with you in your difficult task I trust the folks at Akazaka are all well how about Uncle Kato still busy with shears in hand nurse Iku has gone I understand I don't know how it was but I feel very sorry it happened so give her my love when you write and tell her that I shall bring her many souvenirs I am very fond of her she is very jolly and I suppose you miss her too do Aunt Kato and Chizuko son call on you occasionally Chijiba comes often I hear we have few relatives of whom Chijiba is one and I know mother thinks much of him to be cordial to him is to please mother he is a bright and smart fellow and I hope he may be of help to you in case of need your is most affectionately Takeo P.S. please read the enclosed letter to mother P.S. will stay here for a few days after buying provisions etc will sail for Sydney via Manila and then to San Francisco by way of New Calcedonia Fiji and then come by way of Hawaii expect to be packed as full P.S. send letters care of Japanese consul San Francisco USA Sydney August Dearest Nami last May I was at Ikau with Nami-san gathering ferns now I am at Sydney far down in the southern hemisphere as I look up at the southern cross at night and dwell upon the days gone by I cannot help thinking how changeable the world we live in is when I was cruising last year I was occasionally seasick but this time I am surprised to find myself so well a strange and new feeling is my constant companion on this voyage when I am alone on the bridge on duty and look up at the dark southern skies studded with myriads of diamonds this feeling is especially strong I seem to see before my eyes your lovely face don't laugh at my folly among my comrades I feign to be careless and sing with them what care we for tears at home for feet so bold but please don't laugh a picture of Nami-san is always in my inner pocket even while I am writing I see clearly the figure of one who will read this in the small room at home overshadowed by the palm trees at Sydney Bay there are many families yachting for pleasure a thought comes over me that when we succeed in life and Nami-san and I are grey-headed we shall own a large yacht of at least 5000 tons displacement I shall be captain and our sons and grandsons will be the sailors and we shall sail the four seas we shall come to Sydney and I shall tell you then a white-headed Nami the dreams a young naval officer had in the years gone by yours most affectionately Takeo Tokyo my dearest Takeo I read over and over with such interest your loving letter dated Hong Kong July 15th I am so glad that you are so well in spite about weather mother is getting well and I hope you will feel at ease about her I spent my lonely days in one way or another I try to please mother especially since you are away but I am so dull that I am sorry to say my effort falls far short of my wishes I am looking impatiently to the day when I shall see you safe home again the folks at Akazaka are all well they have gone to the villa at Zushi the katoes went to Okitsu and we are left very lonely at Tokyo Iku is also at Zushi and is doing well I wrote her about your wishes and she thanked me in tears for your kindness I have come to feel that I have left several important things unlearned the management of domestic affairs my father counseled me to take special interest in I neglected at the time and I am now much worried about my inefficiency I wanted to follow your advice to study English but I am afraid that mother will not think well of me if I sit at the desk too much so at present I am devoting myself all together to housekeeping I hope you will not think I am neglecting my studies I am ashamed of myself but sometimes I feel so sad and lonely and want to see you so much that if I had the wings of a dove I would immediately fly to you my only consolation is your picture and that of your ship I did not pay much attention to universal geography while at school but now I take out an almost forgotten map and take a great deal of pleasure in tracing the progress of your ship sometimes I wish I had been born a man and could be a sailor for then I could be with you on all your cruises do pity my foolishness dearest for my thoughts are all for you I have not noticed here to further weather indications in the paper but now I look for them every day and though I know that you are sailing far beyond the places they cover I am very anxious for you when there is warning of high winds I hope you will take good care of yourself your loving wife Nami Tokyo October my dearest Takeo dreaming of you every night I longed to see you very much last night I thought I went with you to Ikao by ship to gather ferns when somebody came in between us and while you were fading away into the distance I fell overboard I cried out and mother woke me up I was greatly relieved to find it was only a dream but still there is something that seems to trouble me so I am very anxious for your speedy return wishing to talk over everything personally I watch every day the eastern sky in your direction this letter may cross you on the way but I am sending it to you at Honolulu your loving wife Nami end of section 7