Pathway to Japanese Literature

I

Fusae’s excitement turned her face ashen. This was truly the first time such a thing had happened to her—that his business trips were to somewhere in the same alleyway as her own home… She was terrified of the neighborhood’s scornful eyes. Moreover, it was right next door in the same row of houses. She didn’t feel like going straight back to her own home. She entered through the back entrance of the Old Woman’s house—the one she was close with. The Old Woman’s house stood next door, separated by just one of the homes where Fusae worked. The Old Woman sat crafting artificial flowers for her side work.

“Auntie! What does the neighbor’s neighbor do for a living?”

“The neighbor’s neighbor? Seems like an easy job, doesn’t it?”
“He’s a thief—that’s what they say.”

“A thief? How vulgar, Auntie!”
“Does such a profession even exist?”
“A thief, of all things…”

Fusae smiled and pretended to strike with her sleeve.

“Well, it’s a depression. You’ve got to do whatever you can.”
“Thieves or whatever—anyone who can make a living is doing alright.”

“But isn’t it a bit absurd?
“A thief, of all things…”

“If it’s a proper job, there’s nothing strange about it, is there?”
“When you need to eat, these times make you do anything.”

With a solemn face, the Old Woman kept shaping artificial flowers.
Purple blossoms.
Faded crimson buds.
Green leaves.
Vermilion petals.
They were cheap crepe-paper flowers.

“That may be true, but don’t they get caught doing such things?”

“That’s what makes it a profession, you see.”
“If you kept getting caught all the time, it wouldn’t be much of a profession, now would it?”
“My old man says stuff like ‘If you don’t get caught, you should just do it…’ but someone like Noroma could never manage it.”

“But there are really some strange professions out there, aren’t there?”
“Well, my own job is quite strange too, I suppose…”

“When it comes to working to earn money, it’s all the same no matter what. If you only do what you like, you won’t make any money.”

“In that case, I don’t have to feel ashamed anymore either.—Well then, I’ll head home with my head held high.”

Fusae, carrying her red-thonged geta, crossed through the rooms from the back entrance to the front entrance.

“Leaving already?”
“You could just stay and visit for a while though…”

“When I leave your house like this—no matter who sees me—they’ll think I was just visiting you all along! Right?”

She left, gripping the lattice door and smiling brightly.

II

Three days later, Fusae was hired again by the same household and went to work.
The household belonged to a single man around forty.
There were a few pieces of laundry.
The house’s interior remained as she had left it after cleaning three days prior and wasn’t particularly dirty.
However, she went through a perfunctory, merely formal cleaning.

“Take a rest.
“You don’t need to bother with cleaning or anything like that.”

He said while lying prone.

“Well now, have a seat there!”

Putting down the half-read magazine, he said commandingly.

"But I should at least sweep a bit..."

"It's not dirty, so it's fine."
"Come on, sit down there."

"Then I'll leave this here."

After putting away the broom, Fusae tidied herself and went back upstairs.
She sat about three or four feet away from the man.
And she turned her thinly powdered face away.

“Miss Fusae!”
“Your name’s Miss Fusae, right?”
“The day before yesterday—how much did you receive from that old woman?”

“It was five yen.”

“Five yen?
“So not even half of what I gave has reached you? —Is it truly just five yen?”

“Oh.
“It’s true.”

“That damn old hag!
“What kind of thievery is this? —I’d just returned from a business trip and had a bit extra on hand, so even though ten yen would’ve been enough, I thought I’d give you some extra and left fifteen yen there.”
“And she only handed over five yen… —”

He said indignantly.

“Miss Fusae! What do you say? From now on, how about we cut out that old woman and deal directly?”

“But since she introduced us, doing something like that would…”

“What’s wrong with that? Anyway, next time you come, even if I tell you to come with me, make sure to bring that old woman along. When you come the day after tomorrow.”

“Is around this time alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Ah, that’s fine.”

He flung his arm out onto the tatami mat.

“Miss Fusae, you really do have such beautiful hands.”

He took Fusae’s hand as he spoke.

III

Fusae left the house she had been hired at through the back entrance.
Then she entered the Old Woman's house through the back entrance.
The Old Woman was cutting vividly colored crêpe paper as usual.

“Hey,
“Old Woman!”
“Do even thieves have something like companies they work for?”
“That’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”

“A thief’s company?
“What foolishness could that be?”

“But listen…
“Old Woman!”
“That person, you know…”
“The one from two houses over…”

“Was it that place again today?”

“Yes.—You know,
“Old Woman!”
“That person said he’d been away on business.”
“So I wondered if there might be some sort of company involved.”

“That person’s ‘business trip’ means he went somewhere far to steal.”

“Oh!
“You call that a business trip?”
“That’s rather clever, isn’t it?
“But Old Woman, don’t pickpockets have something like companies too?”

“I don’t know about pickpockets, but there’s no such thing as thief companies.”
“It’s all solo work.”
“Even if they existed, he’s not the type to work for such places.”
“He properly understands how the world works—if he got involved with them, wouldn’t idle hands take their cut from him?”
“That’s what makes it ridiculous.”
“As he says—hey Fusa-chan, why not go solo instead of letting that shriveled hag take her cut?”
“Having fifty or sixty percent taken off the top—isn’t that absurd?”

“Even if it’s absurd, I can’t manage such negotiations—there’s nothing to be done. —But no matter how professional it’s supposed to be, it’s still awfully strange, isn’t it? When someone says they want to hire me and the Old Woman leads me there, I follow along wondering where we’re going—only to pass right by my own house. You know the one, right? —No matter what, I simply hate jobs in my own neighborhood.”

“So why not handle everything yourself? When you’re called to a job, if the client seems decent, immediately say: ‘Please call me again sometime. And next time, contact me directly instead. Since I’m based here—’ If you leave it at that, they might actually prefer cutting out the middleman.”

“That sounds good.”
“Old Woman!”
“That person said something similar too.”
“That person suggested we start dealing directly from now on…”

“That person truly understands how things work.”
“That person may be a thief but engages in theft that follows sound logic.—In other words, as that person puts it, rich folks became wealthy by scraping together money that poor people toiled to earn—so if you think about it, they’re practically thieves themselves. If that person skims off those thieves and shares it with the poorest folks who need it most, then even if you call them a thief, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“—Isn’t that splendid?”
“Even in households—when someone’s in a pinch and borrows a little money, they end up keeping it for good…”

“Not bad at all.”
“In that case.”
“Well then, Old Woman, I’ll be going.”

“Trying the basket trick again?”
“Shops might frown on it, but I don’t mind at my place—why not come here when you go out and leave through my back entrance?”

“That’s right. That sounds good.”
“I’ll have you let me do that next time.”

Fusae once again took the red-thonged geta in hand and crossed the room.

IV

Along the brick wall, the flow of the muddy ditch was stagnant.
Something like a white cloud drifted silently through the mouse-gray depths of the water.
And on the water’s surface, cloth scraps and wood fragments that had turned black floated here and there.
From between them, acetylene gas bubbled up in thick, frothy bursts.
The bubbles sparkled in the intense midsummer sunlight before disappearing.
The stench of ammonia that had flowed out from the factory within the brick wall spread fully over the muddy ditch and hung thick in the air.
Especially violently from within the complex stench of the muddy ditch—Fusae continued gazing down at its flow from the second-floor window.

“What on earth has happened to him?”
“Where could he have gone?”

The old woman said.

The old woman was growing bored.
Fusae continued gazing down at the muddy ditch.

“You tell me to come with you, but when I actually come here like this, you disappear somewhere and never come back at all!”
“Just how many hours were you planning to keep me waiting?”

The old woman began hurling insults.
Then, shortly after, he returned.

“Where have you been?”
“You tell me to come along, but when I do come like this, where do you go off to? No matter how long I wait, you never come back—it’s utterly exasperating.”

The old woman continued.

“Oh no—I’m terribly sorry.
There was some urgent business I had to take care of—if I’d come alone and left you waiting in an empty place like this, I thought it’d be too much trouble…”

“What a farce.”
“Ridiculous.”
“So you had me keeping watch here?”
“You leave your own house empty just to watch someone else’s? There’s a limit to how absurd this can get.”
“So you don’t actually have any business here after all?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…”

“Ah, truly—what a fool I’ve been!”

The old woman went back home yelling.
He plopped down heavily beside Fusae.

V

Fusae returned to her house, took off her outer garments, and was resting.

Just then, the Old Woman came bursting in, shouting.
The Old Woman was agitated, veins bulging on her forehead.

“Fusa-chan!
“Fusa-chan! Have you come back?”

“Oh! Old Woman.”
“Please, do come in.”
“We’re truly grateful for your kindness.”
“Lately.”

Fusae’s mother, who had been bedridden with illness, emerged from the three-mat room near the entrance to greet her.
Yet the Old Woman seemed in no mood for such courtesies.

“Well now, something dreadful has happened at my place.”
“Just because I went along with Fusa-chan and left my house unattended for a moment, something utterly preposterous has occurred.”
“Really, truly…”

“What’s wrong? Old Woman!”

Fusae fastened her obi and headed toward the entrance.

“Honestly, could anything be more absurd than this? Leaving my own house empty to watch someone else’s,”
“then getting robbed without even realizing it…”

“Did thieves break in?”

“Did thieves break in?”
“Old Woman.”

“I don’t know how, but while I left it open just for a bit, they took all the money I’d hidden under the long brazier—the portion for looking after Fusa-chan.”

“Oh! Is that so.”
“Goodness gracious...”

“If only I hadn’t gone with Fusa-chan, none of this would’ve happened—now I’m truly in a bind. That person knew full well my house would be empty if I went out, yet he still made me leave my own place unattended…”

“It’s true.”
“That’s too much.”

“I need compensation.”
“When you think about it, this was all for that person and Fusa-chan—so Fusa-chan and that person should…”
“They need to make up for this…”

“Me too?”
“Old Woman!”

“But Fusa-chan—working half a day would earn five yen! Wouldn’t covering that much be reasonable?”
“It’s not like I followed you for fun—without that compensation,I simply can’t manage…”

The old woman kept shouting while standing at the entrance.

VI

Today, Fusae entered from the direction of the Old Woman's house entrance.

“Old Woman! At that old woman’s place, apparently a thief broke in.”
“A thief?”

Even the Old Woman widened her eyes in surprise.

"I think it might be that person…"

"That person? Oh—that person."
"That’s right."
"That might be the case."
"It’s definitely him—given who he is, if he thought he’d taken too much extra, he wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that."

"It does seem that way."

"—He apparently lured that old woman into staying at his house and did it while she was away. As long as he didn’t return home himself, he could assume she was waiting there—that way he could search her place thoroughly."
"I’m utterly appalled."

"But to plan something that thoroughly—that's quite remarkable."
"After all, it's the sort of feat only he could manage."

"You dreadful old woman!"
"How morbidly fascinated you sound."

With a smile, Fusae spat out her words and crossed through the room toward the back entrance.

VII

Fusae had finally come to clearly understand his profession.
She looked at his face anew with fresh surprise.
In her hand were clutched two banknotes he had supposedly retrieved from that old woman’s place.

“You might find this strange, but think carefully.”
“You’re not doing this because you want to either.”
“If you don’t do that—with your mother ill and no one else to work besides you—you can’t survive. So you have no choice but to do it, right?”
“There’s no justice in idlers stealing twice what workers earn—this is rightfully yours. Keep it without worry.”

He even demonstrated dignity.
“Isn’t that so?”
“Because of that, you end up having to endure something unpleasant twice where once should suffice.”
“There’s no such foolish thing—don’t you think so?”

……

“I don’t consider what I’m doing to be good by any means—but I don’t consider it bad either.
“Even if you try to work—there ain’t no jobs—and if you can’t survive—what choice do you have but to take from those who’ve got plenty?
“It’s not that I hate working.—You might act all calm doing this—but aren’t you really fine with it?
“If you could get a decent job and make ends meet—you'd want that—I see right through that…”

At that moment, someone came rushing into the entrance.
He was a young man wearing a cloth belly band and a suit.

“Excuse me. Could you hide me for a moment? I’m being pursued.”

“They’re after you? What else can you do? That’s a clumsy approach. Well, come on up and get in the closet.”

“Comrade! Thank you!”

The Unemployed Youth kicked off his muddy boots and, still clutching the cloth bundle, dove into the closet.
He left large muddy bootprints across the tatami mats before pushing the unlit brazier in front of the closet.
Then, he had Fusae hold a rag and pretend to clean, while he himself sat down in front of the brazier.
Before long, a man in a white linen suit peered into the entrance.

“Hey! You plannin’ to go tramplin’ through someone else’s tatami room with those muddy boots too?”

He stood up and left while shouting.

"No.—Did that fellow just now run through here?"

“Quit screwin’ around and look at this mud!”

“—So, which way do you suppose he went?”

“How the hell should I know? What the hell are you bastards pullin’? Quit screwin’ around.”

“……”

The man handed him a business card.

“Ah, I see.”
“Well, well…”

The man left immediately.
He returned to the brazier with a smile.

“He’s left. You can come out now—it’s safe.”
“Well… thanks to you—but really, I’m only doing this because I can’t make ends meet either…”

The young man emerged from the closet and sat down there.

“So, what exactly did you swipe?”

“Huh? I didn’t swipe anything.”
“No way I’d go that far.”

“Are you trying to say you didn’t steal anything?”

“I was distributing propaganda.”
“We unemployed—since we couldn’t do anything about it—were handing out leaflets.”
“Eventually, I ran out of leaflets, so I went to headquarters to get more.”
“When I got there, all my comrades had been detained, and since I’d gone back to that place…”

“If you can’t make ends meet, instead of doing that sort of thing, why not go to those who have something and take what you need? How’s that sound?”

“You mean... become a thief?”

“Well, a thief, yeah.”

“But even if all unemployed people became thieves, society’s structure wouldn’t change.”
“As long as society’s structure remains unchanged, unemployed people will keep emerging one after another. If they all turn to thieving, what on earth will become of society?”

“So you’re saying even those who can’t make a living shouldn’t turn to thieving?”

“Well?”
“Here—read this.”
“I’m in a hurry.—If you mean it’s acceptable to steal when you want work but there are no jobs, then read this and think it over properly.”

The Unemployed Youth said while grabbing five or six leaflets from his cloth bundle.

And then he passed them to him and hurried outside.

—Showa 5 (1930), *Bungaku Jidai*, August Issue—