Pathway to Japanese Literature

――Author’s Self-Portrait――

1. Mayoral Inaugural Address

“Esteemed citizens of Great Osaka, I have now come to soil this seat as mayor of this Great Osaka. “I consider it both an honor and a dishonor.” The extra edition announcing that Kagawa Toyohiko had become Mayor of Osaka City was distributed to Osaka’s 1.5 million citizens three days prior. It was entirely unexpected by the citizens, and neither the capitalists, the workers, the authorities, nor anyone else had known about it. Only Kagawa Toyohiko knew.

Kagawa Toyohiko drank too much coffee and, on a sweltering night in the slums after suffering through a sleepless night, nominated himself as mayor and conceived Osaka’s air conquest. Thus he alone had both issued and distributed the extra edition throughout Osaka City; not a single person had delivered any copies. He was in a dream where he had become Mayor of Osaka City and was delivering a speech alone in his bed. “—Citizens, I believe there are indeed many undertakings I must accomplish as mayor.” “Above all else, I believe the foremost undertaking must be Osaka’s air conquest.” “If we continue to have skies like today’s—with those chimneys and soot—I do not believe Osaka’s citizens will be able to maintain their health for the next fifty years.” “The establishment of the Osaka spirit must first begin with preventing airborne soot.”

“I am by no means a circumstantial determinist.” “However, character determinists cannot necessarily be said to hold all truth.” “Just as fish cannot survive without water, humans have no path forward without air.” “Therefore, should the people of Osaka seek to forge an Osaka spirit, this cannot possibly be achieved without first breathing fresh air.” “Today it is coal mines that traffic in air.” “There, unless air reaches deep into those shafts, every miner will suffocate.”

However, the air of our Osaka cannot be said to be any better than that of coal mines. The amount of carbon dioxide gas in Osaka’s atmosphere consistently exceeds five percent, and its soot quantity stands unrivaled as the world’s highest. If Osaka City bears the world’s greatest infant mortality rate, reigns as the global capital of lung disease, and persists as humanity’s unhealthiest metropolis, then I—your mayor—hold it imperative that my foremost duty must be guaranteeing your health.

“Since ancient times, doctors have been said to practice benevolent arts, and though their mission lies in striving for society’s people, today’s physicians concern themselves solely with amassing wealth. “They may know medicine for individuals, yet remain incapable of diagnosing social pathology. “They know how to crawl upon the earth, but not how to conquer the skies. “They know how to flatter capitalists, but not how to visit the impoverished. “They know how to conduct funerals, but not how to sustain society as a society. “Herein, as a social pathologist entrusted with air conquest’s great task, I consider it an honor to assume office as mayor.”

“Therefore, as my first undertaking, I wish to begin treating the soot. Next will come unemployment relief, then the destruction of slums, the rectification of Kitahama’s pleasure quarters, urban planning, and the construction of a new morality—I wish to lay out my aspirations for you all one after another and immediately embark on our reform movement...”

Mayor Kagawa’s inaugural address was a bit longer. However, as the newspaper reporter yawned and left the Central Public Hall, the speech was cut off there.

2. The End of Chimney Civilization

What Mayor Kagawa had forgotten to mention during his inaugural address at the Central Public Hall was as follows.

“...Citizens, do you truly believe you are tasting civilization while living in an uncivilized metropolis of chimneys such as today’s?”

Suppose today Mount Ikoma were to erupt and Osaka were to be buried underground just like the ancient city of Pompeii. And suppose that three thousand three hundred and thirty-three years later, today’s Osaka had to be excavated—how tragic that would be. Humans of thirty-three centuries later would find, in the northeastern corner of the Seto Inland Sea near the former Yodo River basin, something akin to a giant’s graveyard.

“Apparently, there was once a city called Osaka here where large-scale industry flourished.”

Even if the “Reformed Japanese” explained it in a tone reminiscent of Esperanto, it would remain utterly incomprehensible to the people of that time. In thirty-three centuries later, chimneys or anything of the sort would be nowhere to be found in any metropolis; all limestone deposits would have been exhausted, every last oil field drained dry, for it would be an age when every power source had shifted entirely to alcohol and electricity—so thoroughly that even the word ‘chimney’ would be absent from dictionaries.

And the region where Osaka City once lay would become known as the “giant’s graveyard,” a place world travelers would be sure to visit. “Cement and iron chimneys—unartistic when compared to obelisk memorials, yet massive as well curbs—would undoubtedly compel even tombstone researchers to confess utter ignorance of their origins.”

Kagawa Toyohiko had intended to deliver such a rousing speech, but he ended up forgetting all of it. “What a disappointment!” “What a disappointment!” He exited the Central Public Hall while grinding his teeth, but the moment he stepped out of the building’s entrance, he had already utterly despaired at the smoky sky.

"The sun's own light brings darkness." When he realized this phrase might have been coined specifically for Osaka's skies, he felt profound sorrow at having to occupy the mayor's chair.

He found it almost incomprehensible that the former mayor had completely abandoned and disregarded the soot problem.

Exactly!

They were far too timid to fulfill this grand mission of air conquest, being former police officers and teachers. They lacked the scientific knowledge necessary to conquer the soot. It was only natural. They were content and unperturbed by an Osaka City so dark that they had to keep the lights on even during the day on the fourth floor of the city hall.

Because the sun’s rays, obstructed by soot, failed to reach even the city hall windows, Mayor Ikegami and Deputy Seki had to keep electric lights on even during daytime hours to conduct their duties—a situation unimaginable thirty-three centuries later, but as it was indeed the reality, there was nothing to be done. In the city hall standing immediately behind the Central Public Hall, electric lights were blazing brightly even during the day.

He... Mayor Kagawa could not help but be indignant when he saw this. When he had once visited New York City, he did not see smoke rising in the metropolis of six million people.

In San Francisco as well, it had been the same. Pittsburgh had once been called the chimney capital of the world, but when a movement to conquer soot arose there, the city finally succeeded in expelling that pollution. In our Osaka City too, if only the citizens had progressed a bit more scientifically and come to understand the unproductiveness of capitalist factory management, a movement to destroy soot civilization ought to have arisen naturally—yet the fact that this could not be done was truly outrageous.

“Alright, I shall now embark on the soot conquest movement.” “First, I will meet with the city councilors, then convene the city council to lay out my plans.”

Mayor Kagawa returned to City Hall and sat down at the desk in the office a little past 3:30 in the afternoon, but the room was so dark that he could not work. He turned the light switch, just as former Mayor Ikegami had done.

With a dissatisfied heart, when he looked out from the city hall window at Osaka’s western sky, he saw thick, cloud-like smoke billowing up from the three stout chimneys of the Sumitomo Copper Works in the Noda and Haruhide areas, and from the thick chimney of the Haruhide Electric Company. He was staring intently at it. And when he thought of the hundreds of thousands of the working class lamenting beneath this smoke, he was moved to tears.

He immediately pressed the button of the installed bell and called the clerk.

III. Chimneys and Adam and Eve

The following day, the city council was scheduled to convene at 1:00 p.m., but due to living in foul air, Mayor Kagawa was suffering from a terrible headache. He paced restlessly about the mayor’s office, lost in solitary contemplation. He suddenly saw Adam and Eve—the world’s first humans painted by Albrecht Dürer and hanging on the wall—engaged in a marital quarrel.

He focused on it as though watching a motion picture. Adam and Eve were shifting the blame for their sin onto each other.

“Look here, you—it’s your fault that chimneys appeared on earth!” When Eve said this, Adam, not to be outdone, “Don’t lie! That’s because you’re greedy! If you hadn’t gone wanting to eat that Fruit of Knowledge in the first place, we wouldn’t have this decayed civilization today—this is all your fault!”

Eve flew into a rage upon hearing that.

“What are you saying?! That is entirely your responsibility! If civilization had consisted solely of gentle women like me, everything would have proceeded artistically with a pastoral, handwoven civilization—but because you made me bear a wicked boy like Cain, this decadent civilization we have today came to be! It’s all Adam and Cain’s sin! As for chimneys, I know nothing at all! That is entirely the result of an ugly man’s sin!”

Adam, having been cornered by Eve, hid behind a chimney. At that moment, God appeared and questioned Eve. “Eve, where has your husband gone?” “He is hiding behind the chimney.” “Summon him here.”

Adam came fearfully before God, still naked. “Adam.” “Was it you who made the chimneys?”

“No, that is Eve’s sin.” “What? Eve’s sin?” “Yes, it is entirely because Eve gave birth to too many children, necessitating mass production.” “What? You’re saying it’s because Eve bore too many children?”

“Yes, it is entirely because You did not teach us the birth control methods that someone like Mrs. Sanger teaches today.”

IV. Chimneys and the Sin of Male Culture God turned to Eve and asked……

“Eve, is what Adam says true?” Eve, ashamed, trembled as she—

“No, God, what Adam says is completely wrong.” “The birth of chimneys is entirely due to men.” “Among Adam’s children, there is a greedy wretch named Cain—like today’s capitalists—and that man created the first chimney.” “The descendants of Cain are today’s capitalists.” “It is said that boys take after their fathers, but since Adam harbored an evil heart, one such as Cain came to be born.” “Adam has insistently emphasized the issue of quantity, but I consider it a matter of quality.” “The erection of chimneys is entirely a matter of quality, and I myself have been telling Adam this all along.” “I consider chimneys to be entirely the result of an incompetent male civilization.”

Adam, incensed by Eve’s declaration that chimneys were the result of an incompetent male civilization, strode over to her unabashedly before God and seized her long hair. "What, you impudent long-haired ape!" he yanked her down.

God stopped Adam, “Now now—no need for such fury.” “Doesn’t this forest of chimneys grieve you? Would you call smokestacks fitting ornaments for Eden’s garden?”

“I feel sorrow.” “But there’s no helping it.” “God, everything is fate.” “I think this fate is something even You—God—cannot alter.” “This fate arose from Eve’s ignorance of not being taught birth control methods.” “Everything is fate!” “We cannot escape this.” “God, I even curse that You created me.” “It would’ve been better had I never been born.” “In a sinless world without evil, being born would’ve been acceptable—yet I was made to be born.” “When I immediately fall into sin’s trap and get punished for it, I truly come to doubt God’s very wisdom.” “God, I am a skeptic.” “Lately I’ve even come to doubt my own existence.” “Therefore, I’ve come to doubt even Your—God’s—existence.” “In this age, believing in God has become nothing but an obstacle to chimney civilization.”

“Wait, Adam—is God’s thought hindering chimney civilization, or is chimney civilization hindering God’s thought?” “God, I think such things don’t matter at all. In any case, because of the smoke, I have lost sight of everything. Everything is fate. Today’s chimneys are a fate that neither God nor humans can alter.”

Eve, seeing Adam vigorously opposing God, gained great strength and, “That’s right, God—today’s chimneys have absolutely nothing to do with us.” “That is something the Earth has produced by fate.” “Or rather, I think they sprouted naturally from the Earth.” Hearing this, God laughed hollowly in a booming voice. The voice was so loud that he awoke from his illusion. And with a god-like booming laugh, he saw the City Council Chairman and three city council members entering the mayor’s office. What he had thought was God’s laughter turned out to be none other than the City Council Chairman’s booming voice.

V. Everyone Recognizes the Need

In the mayor’s office, what the city council members discussed was roughly as follows.

“Now, Mayor, we really must do something about Osaka’s soot.” “All my children are frail—I’ve resigned myself to them likely not living long.” “Every last one of them has pale faces; their lymph nodes swollen, coughing daily, seeing doctors constantly—I truly find Osaka’s skies cursed.”

These were the words of Horie Kiichirō of Nishi Ward. Following that, City Council Chairman Senba Shōjō muttered as if talking to himself, not addressing anyone in particular.

“This is truly a troubling situation. I have a grown daughter I must marry off this year, but her lungs too have been damaged by Osaka’s smoke—she’s currently recuperating in Hamadera—and it’s truly troubling.” As if he had been waiting for Senba’s words, Matsushima Shōgorō of Nishi Ward voiced his agreement. “Hey, Mr. Senba—my son’s been hit by it too. He just graduated high school this year and entered the university’s law department in April, but he came back saying his lungs were bad. Honestly, you can’t have him recuperating here in Osaka—we’ve sent him off to Takarazuka, but really, the air here is just terrible.” “Can’t something be done about it?”

Matsushima Shōgorō was a man elected from the red-light district, but he seemed deeply concerned about his son’s life. He was an old man who had grown flabby and fat from alcohol. Shima Takazō of Higashi Ward was of the same opinion. That was the reason compounded by the fact that the laundry at his house would quickly turn black from the soot emitted by the Artillery Arsenal’s chimneys.

Mayor Kagawa listened silently to the three men’s accounts—all matters deserving of sympathy. Yet no one considered things from social life’s fundamental problems. Senba Shōjō’s concern remained that even were the city council to establish a chimney elimination policy, this plan would end in utter failure due to fierce opposition from coal merchants and large corporations. Senba, Matsushima, and Shima had agreed to Osaka City’s air purification solely out of personal convenience; they seemed not to fully grasp the fundamental issue.

The Mayor asked. “Mr. Matsushima, do you intend to wage a thorough battle against the soot problem?” “Well, if I may ask—what exactly do you mean by ‘thorough’?” “It means demolishing every last chimney.”

“Does that mean even bathhouse chimneys?” “Honestly!” “That would be quite a problem. I have three bathhouses that I rent out, you see. If those chimneys are to be removed now, it would be rather inconvenient. So, Mr. Mayor, I’ll have to hold off on supporting the anti-soot movement for the time being.” The Mayor proceeded to question Shima. “Mr. Shima, will you side with me and fight this battle to the end?” “Well, actually, I too have a relative who runs a brush shop with a large chimney, so after consulting with them, I will give you a proper reply.”

“Well then, Mr. Senba—do you have the courage to fight this battle to the end?” “I will do it.” “This is vengeance for my daughter.” “I will fight with all my might!” “That’s interesting. Then I’d like you to start that explanation today.” “I’m entrusting you—please handle explaining this to the City Council.” “Very well—I accept.” “If it’s for my daughter’s vengeance, I’ll undertake any duty.”

VI. Beastly Council

Because they thought it strange for the mayor himself to give speeches on soot prevention, it was decided to have a key figure in the city council—namely, the City Council Chairman himself—explain the proposal.

The bell rang, and nearly eighty city council members filed into the city council chamber. They all had faces as if scorched by soot, with not a shred of vitality remaining. They were like goldfish in a drainage ditch. Mr. Senba took his seat in the chairman’s podium, immediately declared the session open, stated that he would relinquish the podium to the vice chairman today due to necessity, and stepped down to his council seat. Vice Chairman Umeda Umazō (whose real name was Mizō, but he was called Umazō in the council due to his horse-like long face) took the chairman’s seat.

And so, the proposal for soot prevention was first brought before the assembly.

“At this time, Mr. Senba will provide an explanation of the proposal.”

Having said this, Mr. Umazō sat down in his chair. Mr. Senba opened his mouth and began his speech.

“Colleagues, the issue of Osaka City’s soot has been a long-standing unresolved matter, and its damage has been keenly felt among us.” “This is fundamentally a humanitarian issue. As a saint of old once declared: ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world yet lose his own life?’ Just so, no matter how much we strive to amass wealth, actions that shorten our lifespans serve no purpose whatsoever.” “I hope that you, Colleagues, will give your unanimous approval to this proposal.”

Having said this, he descended from the podium.

The one who stood up and loudly called out “Chairman’s question!” was a coal merchant named Ajigawa Funazo.

“Now, from my position, this sounds downright strange—and I’d meant to stay as reserved as possible in this chamber—but I can’t hold back no more, so I’ll say it straight: If all the chimneys vanish, how’re ya gonna handle us coal merchants? That’s what I wanna hear!” This man, who bore the nickname “Rabbit,” was also famous in the city council for his ears—unlike those of ordinary people, they were remarkably large and protruded prominently from the sides of his head.

When Rabbit stood up, Tanuki immediately rose as well. Tanuki was the president of Osaka Tugboat Company, and his real name was Sakurajima Yasugorō. The reason he was called Tanuki was that he imitated Nakahashi Tokugorō—the two-faced Minister of Education—and had decorated his home’s alcove with hundreds upon hundreds of tanuki pottery figures. “I’ve also been questionin’ that very point since earlier. If we’re talkin’ about abolishin’ all chimneys outright, then ya wouldn’t even allow ship chimneys either, would ya?”

“That’s right! That’s right!” replied Umeda. “Then how on earth are you gonna run the machines?”

“We cannot operate machinery without using coal.” Senba stood up and said: “I would be troubled if there were any misunderstandings. This proposal does not call for the immediate abolition of chimneys. For soot prevention, it seeks to either install devices utilizing electric current to suppress emissions or mandate the exclusive use of electric power.”

“Oppression! Oppression!”

Ajigawa Funazo shouted.

VII. The Abacus Address

The council members chattered with their neighbors and argued among themselves, making Senba’s words completely inaudible. But Senba continued speaking as follows.

“I have a daughter at home who contracted lung disease precisely because she was raised in Osaka City, and now I cannot marry her off.” “I believe I am not the only one who has had such an experience.” “All of this is due to Osaka’s air being bad, and I curse these Osaka skies.” “However, if we awaken even slightly and pass approximately five thousand volts of electricity through the chimneys, the soot will cease to rise.” “We wish to implement this.”

“That is impossible to implement.”

“That’s utopia!” “It’s good for health, but soot prevention destroys industry!”

they jeered in unison. “Why does soot prevention destroy industry?” When Senba posed this question, Tanuki answered that if smoke didn’t rise, the machines wouldn’t turn, and if the machines didn’t turn, industry would decline. “Some sacrifices must be made!” Up to half of them declared. When asked what “some sacrifices” meant, they would answer that for the nation to grow wealthy, one must endure having soot scattered through the air. “They say that even if this results in somewhat more lung disease, it can’t be helped for the sake of increasing the nation’s wealth and power.” Tanuki,

“‘When I climb a high tower and gaze out, smoke rises—the people’s hearths thrive!’ That’s how it goes.” “It’s because smoke rises that we prosper!” they shouted.

“End the debate! “End the debate! End the debate!” A voice shouted from the corner. At this, Mayor Kagawa hurriedly requested permission to speak from the council chairman. The Mayor looked out at the seats from the podium, but there was nothing resembling humans in them. All the council members appeared animal-like. And no wonder. He noticed that besides a horse, a rabbit, and a tanuki stubbornly occupying their seats, there were also chickens, cows, pigs, sparrows, cats, rats, and locusts present. He knew well the sayings “Do not cast pearls before swine” and “Do not give gold coins to a cat.” No matter how much Mayor Kagawa lectured the Osaka City Council members on urban hygiene or expounded on urban aesthetics, he knew full well it would prove utterly futile—they remained dazzled by the golden light.

The one thing Osaka people knew well was the abacus. And so he resolved to deliver an abacus speech.

“Citizens, eighty-one council members—your number, nine times nine equals eighty-one, truly embodies an auspicious number.” “Nine symbolizes growth and represents supreme fortune.” “Now, the population of Osaka City has swelled to 1,333,333 and one-third individuals”—here someone shouted, ‘That contradicts the national census!’—“and continues to increase with terrifying momentum.” “The current mayor is remarkably adept with the abacus.”

There were those who expressed admiration.

VIII. The Sins of Chimney Civilization

“Ahem,” the Mayor said, raising his voice a notch. “However, honorable council members of nine times nine—eighty-one—the population increase in Osaka City does not stem from the difference between births and deaths; it increases entirely due to influx from other regions.” “Within Osaka City, the number of people dying exceeds the number being born.” “Is that so?” The cat and the pig were impressed. “When I calculate with the abacus to determine why this is so, it becomes clear that it is entirely due to Osaka City being an unhealthy place.”

“The current mayor seems quite skilled with the abacus.”

As they said this, the locust and the rat were impressed. “Councilors of Osaka City’s 9×9=81 seats—if we must explain why Osaka’s mortality rate has grown so dire—I declare it stems wholly from chimney smoke.” “Some among you may deem soot inevitable and chimneys mere tools for its production—but this gross error arises from misunderstanding: chimneys exist precisely because coal fails to combust fully.” “No—soot equals scattering coal dust skyward.” “Osaka contains 33,333 chimneys of assorted sizes resembling proper stacks—with 1,999 exceeding 100 shaku—” (“Such exact enumeration!” a voice marveled)—“which yearly spew near 4,444,444 kan and 44 monme of soot.”

――“That’s nonsense! The calculations are off!”―― someone shouted.

――“Those calculations must be accurate—there’s no way it’s any less than that.” ――“No one’s ever calculated it, so how would we know?”

“Order! Order!” someone declared. “In other words, Osaka City is engaging in unnecessary waste.” “Citizens, you say that chimneys too are unavoidable for the sake of profit.” “However, that is what those without an abacus would say. When soot pollutes the air, and polluted air increases respiratory illnesses—if just five more people per thousand die each year—then calculating the costs of medicine, doctor’s fees, and recuperation expenses would reveal that our Osaka City, as a metropolis, suffers truly enormous damages.”

“Assuming one person lies in a sickbed for eighteen days, then for five people it would amount to ninety days. When we apply this to one-third of Osaka City’s population of 1,333,333 and one-third people, the number of days of damage suffered due to soot amounts to 119,999 days, nine *bu*, and nine *rin*. Assuming a daily wage of three yen, this results in damages of 359,999 yen and ninety-nine sen. Further, if we account for medical fees, consultation charges, recuperation expenses, and hospitalization fees at five yen per day, the damages amount to 599,999 yen, ninety-nine sen, and nine rin. This is still without factoring in human value. If human value is factored in, it becomes a grave matter.”

“What the hell’s that moron yappin’ about?” fumed Matsushima, who couldn’t make heads or tails of the calculations.

IX. The Duality of Mayor Kagawa

The mayor continued. “German scholars state that if one were to meticulously craft a human model in waxwork—from internal organs to skeleton, cells to nerves—it would cost two hundred million yen per person.” “Does it really cost that much?” said the tanuki, impressed. “Therefore, if we assume that five more people collapse each year in Osaka City due to lung disease, then over the course of a year, six thousand six hundred sixty-six more people will die, resulting in damages amounting to one hundred thirty-three billion three hundred thirty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand yen.”

“When I add the cost of medicine, the loss of daily wages, and the expense of coal to this, the damages to Osaka City are truly enormous.” “When I present this in a table and read it aloud, it will be as follows.” Osaka City Soot Damages Table

1. ¥1,333,333,330,000 — Lung Disease Death Costs 1. ¥359,999.90 — Daily Wage Loss Due to Illness 1. ¥599,999.99 — Illness Recuperation Fees 1. ¥4,444,444.44 — Aerial Dispersal Coal Costs (at one yen per *kan*) "In addition, damages amounting to hundreds of billions of yen are brought about by the squandering of human vitality and the diminished capacity to appreciate beauty." “Therefore, if you honorable council members of nine times nine—eighty-one—would strive to combat soot in order to curb this great squandering of humanity, I would know no greater happiness.”

With these words, the Mayor left the podium.

“Mr. Chairman.”

The one who stood up and shouted loudly was Ajigawa Coal-kun. “Council members, I am absolutely opposed to the mayor’s proposal.” “If we keep doing as the mayor says, we won’t be able to put food on our tables.” “To prevent soot from being emitted, the chimneys must be demolished.” “If the chimneys are demolished, coal won’t sell.” “If coal doesn’t sell, industry will collapse.”

“Council members, I know the mayor’s true nature,” declared Ajigawa Funazo. “He is a dangerous man through and through. Outwardly meek, yet inwardly treacherous—a man who reeks of revolutionary ideology!” “Gaffe! That’s a gaffe!” shouted someone from the chamber. “No gaffe here!” Ajigawa roared back. “I speak my damn mind! Kagawa Toyohiko! This man’s a menace! Four times fined under the Newspaper Law—four! I tell you, he’s a beast wearing human skin who gets his kicks tormenting capitalists! Traitor! Judas of the labor movement! Keeping this quisling as Osaka’s mayor is downright criminal! I’ll expose his filth—wake every soul he’s duped—that’s my sacred duty!”

X. Chaos in the City Council No sooner had Ajigawa Coal-kun loosed his assault than Matsushima Bordello-kun too threw his support behind him.

“Kill Kagawa! Take down Kagawa!” Chairman Uma-kun, serving as the presiding officer, rolled his bulging eyes and stretched his elongated neck. “I must caution Mr. Matsushima.” “You will refrain from speaking until obtaining the Chairman’s permission!” “Then let me have first turn, Mr. Chairman!”

The Chairman calmly―― “Very well, Mr. Matsushima!” he said. Matsushima moved his large frame to the podium. However, Coal-kun still did not attempt to leave the podium.

“Chairman, I am still speaking.” “Incompetent Chairman! Incompetent Chairman!” voices shouted. “Mr. Ajigawa is monopolizing the floor,” declared the Chairman. “I order you to leave the podium.” “Tyranny! Tyranny!” came the rhythmic chant. As this unfolded, several figures surged toward the chairman’s seat—one struck his head with a sharp crack. The assailant revealed itself as an overzealous locust. From that moment, the council chamber plunged into chaos beyond description.

"Extra! Extra!" The shouts of news vendors and the ringing of their bells resounded throughout Osaka City. A clerk brought in an Extra edition. Mayor Kagawa received it and examined it.

Behold! The chaos in the city council had already made it into the Extra.

The contents of that Extra were as follows.

**Major Turmoil in Osaka City Council** **Debate Heats Up Over Soot Problem!** **Mayor Kagawa Struck Down by Locusts—** **Labor Unions Prepare for General Strike—** The Osaka City Council, which convened today, plunged into unprecedented chaos as heated arguments over the soot problem raged for hours without reaching consensus. The session finally descended into an all-out brawl, with beasts clashing against one another and both sides suffering numerous casualties, prompting the Red Cross Society to dispatch a full battalion of volunteer nurses to the City Council Hall. Furthermore, upon hearing this development, labor groups grew not merely indignant but resolved to confront the council’s tyranny through a general strike. Consequently, congestion within the city intensified severely, and tram operations had been suspended since several hours prior.

The first to be shocked upon seeing this Extra was Mr. Umazō. “Hey! Mr. Kagawa, I can no longer tell future from past—but can you believe this Extra?!” Senba was also making a strange face.

“This can’t be right… It’s like I’m dreaming,” “When I came here, the trams were still running perfectly!” “Oh, I get it! “I get it!” shouted Mr. Umazō. “They finished installing the wireless telephone yesterday, and starting today, every newspaper company in the city could sit in their editorial offices and listen to every detail of the council proceedings.” "Oh no, I messed up!" “If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve done something about it sooner!…”

“Well, there’s no helping it… What’s done is done—there’s nothing else to do.” Upon seeing the Extra, Matsushima Yukaku-kun on the podium grew even angrier. “This is all the mayor’s doing. “That he’s inciting the workers, inciting the newspapers, and throwing Osaka City into chaos—this makes it plain as day! “We must fight until we bring him down!” Mr. Senba approached the podium and whispered to Matsushima. Then even Mr. Matsushima, who had been worked up, grinned wryly and descended from the podium.

11. Lord Taikō’s Speech of Support What Senba had whispered to Matsushima was none other than this: “Lord Taikō Toyotomi Hideyoshi has come to observe—so don’t spout nonsense,” he cautioned.

Sure enough, when Matsushima looked up and observed carefully, Lord Taikō Toyotomi Hideyoshi was present in the visitors’ gallery. Mayor Kagawa was earnestly making a speech. Mayor Kagawa was saying something along these lines to Lord Taikō: “Lord Taikō, I truly apologize for the imposition, but if I might be permitted to hear your esteemed opinion on the soot problem, I would consider it a most fortunate opportunity.”

Lord Taikō made a troubled face, “That’s rather troublesome—since Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō is supposed to arrive later, please ask Mr. Ōshio instead! Mr. Ōshio has been well-versed in labor issues—or rather, social issues—since the Tenpō era... But really, Mr. Kagawa, this Osaka City soot problem is quite troubling.” “That’s precisely it, Lord Taikō! I would like to hear precisely what you mean when you say it’s troubling. Moreover, as Osaka City must undergo urban planning reforms in the near future, I would ask that you thoroughly impress upon its council members not to tarnish the name of that grand Great Osaka you planned three hundred years ago.”

The city council members were all listening with great interest to the conversation between the two. Lord Taikō, "Then I'll keep it very brief!" he declared, stepping up to the podium.

“Long live Lord Taikō!”

The first to shout was Matsushima. “Hey, Boss!” shouted Ajigawa. “President!” shouted the raccoon dog.

Lord Taikō was so short that only his head barely protruded above the podium. Then Mayor Kagawa requested that he stand by the podium and speak. “Ladies and gentlemen, I consider it a great honor that three hundred years after my death, I am able to share my views regarding Osaka City’s prosperity. However, I must say I am one of those astonished by how timid today’s Osaka citizens have become.” When he had said this much, Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō also appeared in the visitors’ gallery. But no one else noticed this except Mayor Kagawa.

“I imagine that aside from Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō and myself, there is likely no one who has given thorough thought to the future of Great Osaka. Of course, I have also paid close attention to Current Mayor Kagawa Toyohiko’s grand plan—just the other day, I had a chat with Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō at the gates of hell—and I wholeheartedly support Kagawa Toyohiko’s soot conquest movement.” Matsushima and Ajigawa were huddled behind placards bearing their seat numbers.

Lord Taikō continued speaking in his composed manner. “Today, look at those stone walls of Osaka Castle that I built.” “I built that castle with a certain plan.” “When I built Momoyama Castle, and when I constructed Jurakudai, I endeavored to create structures that would bring no shame to me as a Japanese.” “That is what is now called the Momoyama style, but I can only conclude that today’s Osaka citizens are hopeless.”

Mayor Kagawa had won Lord Taikō over to his side, so he stood smiling broadly with shoulders raised.

12. Speaker Interrupted

“Lord Taikō truly is in a class of his own,” Shima murmured in admiration to himself.

Lord Taikō drank from the water on the podium desk and continued. "There are those who describe me as imperialist, but that is a grave misunderstanding—I strove with all my might to implement philosopher-king governance." "I find that today’s variety of democracy amounts to mere majority rule—I simply cannot achieve the ideal governance I envisioned." "I firmly believe we must proceed by gathering representatives’ opinions through meetings and associations, just as I once implemented in Osaka." "Of course, there seem to be diverse opinions in society regarding matters like my Korean campaigns, but I must emphasize that they were planned solely to secure Japan’s independence." "I trust you all understand that even when I unified Japan, I harbored absolutely no ambition in doing so." "In the same vein, my Korean campaigns were not motivated by any particular ambition either." "My sole purpose was to allow Japan to stabilize its position in a corner of the Orient."

“Lord Taikō, enough about the past already! What are we supposed to do about the soot problem?!” Umeda shouted in a loud voice.

Lord Taikō showed little surprise at the voice, “I believe we should abolish the chimneys.” “I am in full agreement with Mr. Kagawa’s air conquest.” “Lord Taikō has grown quite radical lately, hasn’t he?” The sheep made such a remark. Lord Taikō, upon hearing this voice, appeared quite offended, “I had intended merely to offer greetings, yet ended up saying unnecessary things. I thank you for your kind attention.”

With that, he briskly stepped down from the podium.

Mayor Kagawa escorted Lord Taikō to the visitors’ gallery and then went to Ōshio Heihachirō’s location to bow his head. Then, Ōshio Heihachirō also agreed to deliver a speech. He stood at the podium with his large topknot tied, long and short swords still at his waist, eyes sharply upturned. To look at him, he was unmistakably the spitting image of a Meiji 40-style socialist. Mayor Kagawa introduced Mr. Ōshio Heihachirō to the assembly hall. “Hey Lenin!” “Boss of Direct Action!” ...and so on, they jeered in unison.

Ōshio shouted from the very beginning in a loud voice, his tone unmistakably excited. “Chimneys are the enemy of society! They create lung disease patients, create paupers, foster wastefulness, and pollute the air—this is the enemy of all society! Those barbarians who believe industry cannot develop without chimneys—perish at once! There are different kinds of smoke. The smoke of Tenma that I once raised is the most excellent among all smoke!”

“Speaker, halt!” Before Ōshio’s speech could reach its most compelling point, the plainclothes officer had already summoned the Wakamatsu Police Station Chief via telephone, so the Chief triumphantly delivered his “Speaker, halt!” to terminate Ōshio’s address. The council chamber was thrown into chaos.

“Let him speak! Let him speak! Let Ōshio speak!”

And so, the raccoon dogs, dogs, and rabbits shouted like this! The cow protested against the Wakamatsu Police Station Chief. "You're trampling on our right to self-government!" Matsushima lunged at the Wakamatsu Police Station Chief; the policeman and Matsushima grappled.

The Police Station Chief ordered the assembly to disband from the podium.

Mayor Kagawa objected to this. “The autonomy of Greater Osaka has been trampled by the Wakamatsu Police Station Chief!” However, the Wakamatsu Police Station Chief defended himself, stating, “Since the special city system has not yet been implemented, that cannot be treated as an issue.”

13. Heroic Democratic Theory

After the city council was dissolved, Lord Taikō, Ōshio Heihachirō, and Mayor Kagawa drank tea together in the mayor’s office. “Today was truly delightful,” said Lord Taikō. “I’ve never experienced anything quite so delightful…” When this monkey-faced statesman spoke up, Ōshio retorted: “They don’t let me utter a single thing I want to say—the moment I stand at the podium, they immediately silence the speaker. Osaka’s police authorities are utterly deplorable.” “They bear a striking resemblance to the Tokugawa government.” “No—even in the Tokugawa era, there remained some freedom of speech.”

Kagawa Toyohiko asked Ōshio Heihachirō.

“Mr. Ōshio, what exactly is the reason you say the Tokugawa era still had aspects better than today?” “In that era, there were no such things as capitalists, and at any rate, when justice and fairness were strongly advocated, they were upheld in society. But today, since newspapers, magazines, parliament, municipalities—everything has become capitalist—justice and fairness never prevail. They pay lip service to democracy, but in the end, it’s all plutocracy. The Tokugawa era, precisely because it was an age governed by martial valor, remained untainted by money. When I look at today’s city council proceedings, the council members don’t seem serious at all. Everything’s been corrupted by money. No matter how much Mayor Kagawa struggles and devises his air conquest, it’ll all come to nothing in the end.”

“However, Mr. Kagawa, I do have one idea.” “I can’t say it here… but you—lend me your ear…” When Mayor Kagawa brought his ear to Ōshio’s lips, Ōshio whispered in a low voice, “It’s about decisively implementing chimney cleaning days.” Lord Taikō smirked upon hearing what Ōshio had said.

“Mr. Ōshio. Don’t bother with such penny-ante measures as chimney cleaning days—now’s the time to resolutely push for the complete electrification of Osaka City’s entire power supply! If it were me, I’d boldly seize this moment—with the same courage I showed in the Korean Campaign—and raise a resounding cry for the complete electrification of Osaka City’s entire power supply! In that respect, Russia’s Lenin has admirable qualities. I like that sort of man.” Ōshio responded mockingly, “Since you and Lenin share certain similarities, it’s only natural you’d resonate with him. However, if you were entrusted with all of today’s Russia, would you employ the methods that the radicals are currently taking?”

“No, I consider the radicals’ methods clumsy. One must not weary the people’s hearts.” “Human beings are strange creatures—without heroic elements, they grow weary.” “Because everything gets reduced to the mundane, people tire too quickly.” “There must be more idealism.” “I find this aspect regrettable for the radicals.” “Rather, I find the French emphasis on heroism and syndicalism infused with new idealism far more intriguing in this regard.”

“Lord Taikō, when did you ever study something like syndicalism?” “You’re not one to be underestimated, Lord Taikō.” Ōshio Heihachirō said in surprise.

Lord Taikō’s response to that was a bold one. “Well, you see, in the Underworld lately, people from all walks of life have been gathering—just eavesdropping on what those fellows say has made me wiser. They’re all clever—after all, they’re the sort bound for hell.”

14. The Mayor’s Origin “Hey, who the hell brought that mayor here?” Matsushima the Bordello Owner asked Ajigawa 'Coal' at the entrance to the city council chamber. After the city council was dissolved, they decided to go somewhere for a drink and were just about to leave. “I dunno—when the hell did we even get a mayor? Do you know?”

Ajigawa answered thus and asked another question. "He's truly an outrageous fellow. Lord Taikō's one thing, but they didn't need to drag in some guy who's cozying up to a dangerous element like Ōshio Heihachirō. Was that your doing, Mr. Senba?"

Just then, Mr. Senba came from the opposite direction.

“Hey, Mr. Senba! You need to cut this out! What’s your game bringing such a dangerous man here? Trying to burn down Tennō?” “I don’t know anything.”

“You don’t know either?”

Matsushima was taken aback.

“How the hell did that man end up becoming Osaka City Mayor?” Coal asked with a look of wonder. “Well… This is downright troublesome. Given his attitude today, we’ll have no choice but to make him resign.”

“Let’s just drive him out!” Thus shouted Matsushima.

Because Matsushima and Ajigawa’s voices were so loud that even the other city council members who had been about to leave came over. There, at the entrance to the council chamber, Matsushima bellowed in a booming voice.

“Might I inquire—does any among you gentlemen know how our current mayor came to be appointed?”

The cat, the raccoon dog, the mouse, and the horse all turned to each other and whispered in hushed tones. "Do you know?" "I don't fuckin' know."

“I don’t know.” “I don’t know either.” Matsushima saw the wave of denials sweep through. “You all are truly outrageous—serving as current city council members yet not even knowing how our mayor was elected.” “This council stands on shaky ground, doesn’t it?”

The raccoon dog shouted loudly. “So, Mr. Matsushima, do you know?”

The group had been expecting to obtain a clear answer from him. However, Matsushima’s answer was negative.

“I actually don’t know either.”

The group burst out laughing.

The rabbit shouted.

“Let’s ask Mr. Koyama Kenzo—the elders of Osaka’s financial world often bring in mayors, so he might know.” “That’s right, that’s right—let’s ask the Prefectural high-ranking detective!” “Let’s ask Shimadoku or Miyazaki Keisuke—stockbrokers have their ears to the ground, so they might know.”

Thereupon, Matsushima called an attendant and had him make phone calls in all directions. While waiting for the calls, a variety of discussions blossomed. Some argued, “He must be an appointed mayor,” while others claimed, “Since we’ve been without a mayor for so long, he was likely appointed by the prefectural governor.” There were also those who said they didn’t know because it was something unprecedented. One person argued, “Since the current mayor is already mayor, we should just leave him as such.”

Hurriedly, the attendant rushed in. "Mr. Miyazaki, Mr. Shimadoku, the detective, and Mr. Koyama all said they didn't know." "Whoa, this is bad!" The mouse blinked its small eyes.

15. The Mayor Myth Theory

As no one could ascertain the mayor's origins, among the various baseless theories that emerged, the notion that there existed a close connection between Lord Taikō and the current mayor gained prominence.

The reasoning was as follows. Mayor Kagawa, recognized by Toyotomi Hideyoshi—Osaka City’s benefactor—possessed a more powerful recommender than any number of people could provide. From his communion with the main deity of Toyokuni Shrine, they argued he might have become mayor through being versed in the divine path of the gods—or perhaps by the oracle of Amaterasu Ōmikami—though one must not speak too recklessly. This was the assertion made by the gentle ox elected from the Tenma Tenjin region. However, the one who opposed this theory was the cat commonly known as Canis Leo.

“The current mayor’s origins are clear,” declared the Cat. “He’s nothing but a self-appointed mayor aping Russia, trying to impose a proletarian dictatorship! Such a mayor betrays democracy’s very foundations—we must fight him to the bitter end!” When he finished, the Horse countered: “But Cat, Russia at least has a Communist Party enforcing their party dictatorship. Kagawa doesn’t have any party backing him! Your claim about him imitating Russia makes no sense!”

In response to this, the Cat answered. "Even so, seeing as he's connected to Ōshio Heihachirō—it reeks of suspicion!"

The debate showed no sign of ending. In the end, it was decided that the Horse and the Ox would go ask Lord Taikō and Ōshio Heihachirō... for the attendant had said that both Lord Taikō and Mr. Ōshio were still in the mayor’s office. The Ox respectfully bowed to Lord Taikō and inquired: “As a debate has now arisen among the city council members, I humbly inquire: what relationship might there be between Your Esteemed Self and the Mayor? If you would be so kind as to enlighten us on this matter, I would consider it most fortunate.”

“Hmm, we are friends.”

Lord Taikō said rapidly. The Ox could ask no further.

This time, the Horse tried asking Ōshio Heihachirō. “Mr. Kagawa, how exactly did you come to be mayor of Osaka City?”

“Well now, you’re the one who should know better.” “You’ve been involved in city administration longer than I have.” The Horse, who had always prided himself on his knowledge, could ask no further. The two of them immediately returned to the City Council Hall. And the Ox and the Horse said: “Lord Taikō and the Mayor are apparently friends.” “Ōshio Heihachirō isn’t very familiar with city administration from what we hear.”

“Did you ask both men where Mayor Kagawa came from?” Matsushima asked.

The Ox retorted in an agitated tone. "Hmm, we already know that—he said they're friends with Lord Taikō, don't we?" he answered.

Many agreed with the Ox’s answer. Matsushima and Ajigawa opposed it.

“What’s your take on this, Mr. Umazō?”

Umazō gave an ambiguous response to that. “I simply don’t understand. Once he’s become Mayor, I suppose there’s no helping it. If we need a mayor, shouldn’t we just leave him as he is…” “That’s right, that’s right!” “You’re all just blindly obedient—that’s no good!”

That’s what Matsushima said. Then the rabbit started to get angry. “What do you mean we’re blindly obedient? You bastard! You’re the one running a brothel, feeding on human flesh as your daily bread… You’re the real beast here—worse than any lion or tiger!”

There, another fight was about to break out. However, the Horse and the Ox mediated the dispute, and it was decided to maintain the status quo.

At that very moment, like the roar of ten thousand thunders, voices shouting “Banzai!” erupted before City Hall. The roar didn’t seem to come from fifty or a hundred thousand mouths. All the city council members hurriedly stuck their heads out the windows.

Lord Taikō, Ōshio Heihachirō, and Mayor Kagawa—all of whom had been in the mayor’s office—were each sticking their heads out of different windows.

16. Inside and Outside City Hall

The crowd before City Hall was already the massive demonstration reported in the extra editions. Red flags, blue flags, yellow flags, black flags, white flags, triangular banners, streaming pennants—the innumerable flags held by comrade workers filled the streets, and the entire city seethed like a boiling cauldron.

Various slogans were painted on the flags. “Liberate the producers!” “We demand our right to live!” “We mourn the soot civilization!” “Bury the chimneys!” “Cross the Death Line!” “Bury capitalism” and such were chief among them. Lord Taikō was overjoyed. “Even during the Korean Campaigns, I never gathered this many people... How many tens of thousands must there be?” The Mayor answered: “Fifty or sixty thousand, I’d say.”

“In the Keichō era, we could’ve called this half a million.” Ōshio Heihachirō was also impressed. “How well-coordinated they are! If I’d had this many people following me back in Tenpō 8, Second Month, I wouldn’t have lost that battle.” Lord Taikō asked: “Mr. Kagawa, what exactly is the purpose of this procession?”

“I haven’t heard yet myself, but I believe they’re advocating for factory management… Please wait… I’ll go ask right now.” Mayor Kagawa jumped down from the second floor and asked one of the marchers.

“You—what exactly is this demonstration for?” “This? This here’s because capitalist groups all cut wages at once due to the slump—so after making our demands, we moved on to demonstrating.” “You’re Mr. Kagawa, aren’t you?” “There’s no way you wouldn’t know!” “Once you become mayor, you’re still useless after all.” “Like I thought—politics has no place in the labor movement. All this indirect action’s worthless.” “Ain’t gonna get settled ’less we take direct action.”

Having said this, the laborer walked past him. Mayor Kagawa returned to his office, musing that there were indeed workers who made astute remarks. And to Lord Taikō,

“It’s a demonstration against the recession,” he answered. “Ah! Now that I look carefully—it seems fewer chimneys are belching smoke!” Lord Taikō exclaimed. “No—I’ve just noticed this myself—all the chimneys in the city have stopped emitting smoke. To see such a sky is truly rare for Osaka.”

So Mayor Kagawa said. “Now that you mention it, that’s true,” Ōshio marveled. Indeed, not a wisp of smoke now rose from the thousands of chimneys that had been billowing thickly from every company until past noon—as if by prior agreement. Mayor Kagawa was overjoyed. “The skies over Osaka have cleared for the first time in ages,” he said. However, Ajigawa the Coal and Matsushima the Brothel-keeper’s group, who had been peering out from the neighboring window, were astonished. “This is entirely because Kagawa Toyohiko instigated it.” “Kagawa summoned us to the city council, and in our absence, he caused this commotion at the companies we’re involved with—we must thoroughly expel Kagawa after all,” they said.

Moreover, when looking out the window at the city, countless white-uniformed policemen passed by. Seeing that, Lord Taikō asked the mayor.

“What’s that?”

“Those are police officers policing the demonstration.” “Hmm!” Lord Taikō was astonished. “You shouldn’t be surprised by such things. In this massive procession, you can safely assume more than half are undercover police officers.”

“Huh?” This time, Ōshio Heihachirō was astonished.

“So you’re saying this procession isn’t just workers? The authorities are assisting them too?” Lord Taikō inquired. “They’re not assisting,” replied Mayor Kagawa. “Lord Taikō, since there are many dangerous individuals, we assign one undercover officer to tail each participant. Thus a thousand-person procession becomes two thousand, and ten thousand swells to twenty.”

“Hmm, does the Japanese government spend such considerable funds on dangerous ideologies?” “They say prisons and police require 110 million yen.”

“We could conquer Korea,” Lord Taikō said, his eyes wide.

Seventeen: Contemplation at Yodoyabashi Bridge

After the massive demonstration had concluded and Lord Taikō and Ōshio Heihachirō had left, Mayor Kagawa too resolved to withdraw to his private residence.

His private residence was located behind a cheap lodging house in Gokū at Osaka City’s southern edge, with dimensions of nine shaku by two ken—a large landlord’s house comprising a three-tatami front room and a two-tatami back room.

He had waited at the Ōe Bridge stop intending to take the streetcar, but even after ten minutes, then twenty minutes, the streetcar never came. What he realized was that all the city streetcar employees had joined the strike. Having just been confronted with that massive demonstration, only to have forgotten it so soon… Ashamed of his own absent-mindedness, he resolved to hurry straight along Yodoyabashi-suji Avenue back to the slums of Gokū.

He walked along Yodoyabashi-suji Avenue, considering various aspects of urban planning. The urban plan devised during Mayor Ikemi’s tenure—ostensibly meant to expand Yodoyabashi-suji Avenue into a straight thoroughfare and transform it into Osaka City’s grandest boulevard—now occupied his thoughts. Yet he pondered: Osaka lacked both high-speed railways and diagonal arteries cutting across its grid. Every road met another at rigid right angles. One could only conclude the urban planning committee members possessed minds as inflexible as protractors.

And so, if he could still occupy the mayor’s chair for several more months, he thought he must formulate a new idealist urban plan and stir up a storm in the city council. He also thought that even in housing construction laws, instead of today’s bland and uninspired ninety-degree angle architecture, he must mandate buildings with angles of eighty-seven and a half degrees or seventy-seven degrees and three minutes to enhance the city’s aesthetic beauty. As for roads, he thought of paving them not with today’s unnatural asphalt or wooden bricks, but with a substance made by chemically treating black soil to give it rubber-like elasticity while being harder than wooden bricks.

He also thought about the fate of commerce. He wondered when today’s commercial system would be abolished and an exchange system based on consumer cooperatives would arrive. As these thoughts arose, matters concerning the Osaka Kyōeisha Consumer Cooperative he was involved with and the Kobe Purchasing Cooperative came to mind, and he found himself troubled by their monthly deficits as if weighed down by them. Even amid a city-wide strike on Yodoyabashi-suji Avenue, apprentices still scurried restlessly about shopfronts as if in haste. Yet seeing their pallid faces resembling those of lung disease patients, he felt with renewed intensity the necessity of abolishing the chimneys.

It took him about an hour to finally reach Ebisuchō and return to the slums of Gokū. When he returned, dozens of thugs were waiting in front of his house. As soon as they caught sight of him, one of them let out a loud shout. “Hey, Kagawa! They say you’ve been stirrin’ up the workers, claimin’ not a single chimney in Osaka’ll spew smoke anymore… Well? That true? Let’s hear it!”

18. Violence and Truth

I didn’t have to become mayor. But now that I have, the thought of being tormented by thugs again fills me with sorrow.

“Hey, Kagawa! You’re the one sayin’ not a wisp of smoke’ll come from Osaka’s chimneys anymore! Whether that’s possible or impossible—go ahead and try! If there’s no smoke, how the hell are you gonna run the machines?” “Why not run them with electricity?!” “That electricity of yours! If smoke doesn’t rise, it won’t start up, won’t it?!” “It can be generated by hydropower!” “What the hell is this ‘hydropower’?! I don’t understand a damn thing! You’re spoutin’ that crap and tryin’ to wreck my face—! Hey, Kagawa! You know damn well who I am! Me? I’m Janome no Kumagorō—swaggerin’ around as the top underling of the ‘Onbiki Tiger’ crew. Today I’ve come to take one of your heads! You’ve got some nerve, huh—draggin’ a bastard like Ōshio Heihachirō back from the underworld in this Taishō era of ours! Me? Just lookin’ at your face pisses me off somethin’ fierce!”

Having said that, Janome no Kumagorō spat in the Mayor’s face. Mayor Kagawa remained silent, for he understood the mentality of slum thugs all too well. And without wiping the spit that had been spat on him, he waited for it to dry facing the sun. Janome no Kumagorō’s underlings, “That guy’s one thick-skinned bastard.” “He’s lettin’ the spit they spat on him dry in the sun,” they were all saying. This time, Kumagorō struck Kagawa’s left cheek with all his might.

“Hey, Kagawa! You planning to make fools of Osaka’s citizens?” “Me? I’m thinkin’ about the need for chimneys out of loyalty to the emperor and love of country.” “You’re inciting workers to wreck chimneys just to destroy the nation, aren’t you?…… If you still don’t learn your lesson after this—” Janome no Kumagorō grabbed Kagawa by the collar and threw him onto the dirt ground. He and his underlings crowded around, stomping and kicking until their victim lost consciousness. Yet Kagawa offered no resistance. In this violence-ruled world, he knew too well that borrowing paltry force to fight would prove useless. By his conviction that only truth could conquer violence, he remained impassive whether struck or kicked. Strangely enough—even when battered—he felt no physical pain.

The enemy finally flashed their blades in broad daylight and slashed at him. He was stabbed in the groin. Even so, he remained silent.

He remained in silent prayer, knocked to the ground. No one came to help him. Neither officers nor inspectors came. The police, who knew him to be a dangerous element, were delighted to hear of his torment by thugs.

Janome no Kumagorō delivered this parting shot and withdrew. “You… Mayor of Osaka? So insolent.” “What the hell do you know about politics, squatting in the inner palace’s slums like this?” “Politics ain’t for gutter rats to meddle in—our betters’ll handle things proper-like.” “Some beggar-boy turned flashy mayor—who’d trust trash that crawled from Gokū’s filth?” “Hey Kagawa! Know your station!” “I’ll let you keep breathing.” “But once those legs work, you’ll march clear to China’s edge!” “Stay put? Next time I’ll slice you finer than mackerel tartare!” “Mark that!” ”

Having said that, the gang of thugs withdrew.

19. The Two-Mat Palace in the Slums

Because the wounds from being beaten and slashed had not healed, Mayor Kagawa was bedridden for an entire week, constantly confined to the two-mat room in the slums.

Yet during that time, all was tranquil. If he didn’t have to worry about the city council, there was also no need to worry about the workings of the world. Since he thought only of his wounds healing quickly, he forgot all about politics, the economy, philosophy, and art, and simply lay on his back, staring at the ceiling or gazing at the four corners of the narrow two-mat room, lost in one fantasy after another. It was precisely at times like these that he became a poet. He never yielded to difficulties. It was because “poetry” sustained him.

He saw dreams of the Dragon Palace in his two-mat sickbed and painted visions of the Japanese Alps. No—he imagined the two-mat room as a palace’s grand hall and dreamed of traveling within its confines. The northern corner was Matsushima, the southern corner Beppu; the east was Lake Chūzenji, and the west lay near Innoshima in the Seto Inland Sea. Lying in bed, he would travel by boat from Matsushima to Innoshima in his mind, and by train from Beppu to Lake Chūzenji. As he read the newspaper advertisements pasted on the wall, he would discover the shape of a large island there and conjure mountain ranges from Yari-ga-take in the Japanese Alps to Hotaka and Noguchi Gorō’s peaks. Mayor Kagawa suffered from severe acute astigmatism. He often studied beautiful women’s faces with care, but those reflected in his eyes would sometimes lack noses, have protruding eyes, or chins fused to foreheads. That he could conjure the Japanese Alps’ ranges within newspaper advertisements stemmed from this psychological foundation. One never really knows what will prove a blessing.

In any case, he possessed a peculiar eye capable of discovering nature’s wonders in sooty wood grain, torn shoji screens, and crumbling fusuma—an eye so extraordinary that even Lord Taikō had never possessed such a marvel.

While he thus indulged in life’s pleasures within his two-mat palace—this den of demons (?)—there unfolded in the tenements lining both sides of the street tragedies unimaginable in human society. First, in the slums of Gokū’s inner palace, every last tree withered away from the smoke. The old woman next door who gathers rope scraps laughs as she says the morning glory flowers bloom black from the soot, and complains as she says the potted plants are withering one after another.

If it were just the potted plants withering away, that would have been one thing. Babies were dying. Within seven days, two babies in the neighborhood had died. Both had died of pneumonia. The old man from across the street who did chimney sweeping died too. The old man who had shambled about from five in the morning until around eight in the evening, a long split bamboo pole tipped with a resin-coated sasara in hand, was dead. The old man—his forehead, cheeks, chin, neck, his entire body blackened as he made his rounds sweeping chimneys all day—was gone. He lay there paying respects to the coffins leaving the tenements, profoundly contemplating the great fissure in the world.

20. Ebisuya Kichibē Dragging his feet yet gradually regaining mobility, he made efforts to walk to the slums' outskirts. Staying too long in the slums induced nausea. The smoke in Gokū's inner palace slums grew so thick that while cramped quarters didn't trouble him much, his throat tightened from fumes. Coke paving the alleys worsened matters. He felt thoroughly disillusioned with this coke-hued civilization. Lung disease patients teemed throughout the slums. Nightly coughs echoed everywhere. Though nationwide lung disease claims 150,000 yearly, Osaka's disproportionate toll became evident when dwelling here. The wealthy fled suburbsward; paupers trapped without escape faced only smoke-choked demise.

Even while bedridden, Mayor Kagawa further heightened his conviction in Air Conquest. Having become able to walk a little farther, Mayor Kagawa paid a visit for the first time in a long while to Mr. Ebisuya Kichibē, a blanket wholesaler in Bakurōmachi 5-chōme. Since he was on good terms with Mr. Kichibē through their involvement in the consumer cooperative, he went out intending to gauge public opinion in Senba.

As soon as he entered Mr. Kichibē’s shopfront, Kichibē said: “Mr. Kagawa, you must carry out Air Conquest.” “Our pine tree was finally done in.” “What happened?” he asked in return. It was that the pine tree in the garden had withered due to the soot. “Then, do you support my Air Conquest?” he asked. “Of course, Mr. Kagawa—who in the world would actually like this smoke?” “But you see, Mr. Kichibē, there are people who claim this smoke is beneficial.”

“Oh, what’s this now?” “I’ve finally been done in like this because of it.” Mayor Kagawa pointed to his thigh and narrated the entire story of his injury. “Oh, that must’ve been terrible—since nothing about it appeared in the papers, I couldn’t even come to pay a visit...”

“However, I will do it—I intend to fight this through to the end.” “By all means, carry it out… Now regarding that matter, there’s actually an interesting tale.” “Well, do rest here today.” “I’ll share this intriguing story with you.” “Let us dine together.”

Being spoken to so kindly, Mayor Kagawa decided to accept the dinner invitation at Mr. Kichibē’s place. Mr. Kichibē’s wife, Hiroko, also came out. Their daughter Tsuneko also came down from the second floor. And the dinner preparations were hurried. Mr. Kichibē smiled like Ebisu and began speaking in fragments. “Hey, Mr. Kagawa—there was that man named Ajigawa who opposed you at the recent city council meeting, right?” “That man Ajigawa’s daughter is in the same class as my daughter at the girls’ school.”

“Hmm, is that so?” “And what happened with that?” “However, that daughter has lung trouble and is convalescing in Ashiya… Though she’s improved considerably by now.” “She’s become quite taken with your ideas, you see—apparently she’s been having huge fights with her father every single day since then.” “What that young lady says is exactly what you’ve been saying—that she contracted lung disease entirely because Osaka City has so much soot, and that Mayor Kagawa, who’s leading the anti-soot campaign, should truly be Osaka’s benefactor. Yet her father torments him in the council as if he were a business rival—it’s truly unacceptable.” “If my father is such an obstinate man,” she says, “then even if I’m disowned, I want to be counted as one of your allies for the sake of Osaka’s citizens and join the Air Conquest movement.”

“Hmm, so I’ve gained one sympathizer then.” With that, Mayor Kagawa grew proud.

21: The Young Girl’s Anguish

“However, what I want to talk about is what comes next.”

“Heh heh—so the story hasn’t ended yet?” Mr. Kichibē wrinkled the tip of his nose and fixed Mayor Kagawa with an amused look as he spoke. “You see, it’s about what comes next—Mr. Kagawa, are you familiar with a gentleman called Shimamura Nobuyuki? They say he graduated from Waseda and serves as something like the director of the Osaka Machinery Workers’ Union…” “Yes, I know Shimamura-kun well… What about him?”

“That young lady is Kikuko-san, you see—apparently she’s become quite smitten with a Mr. Shimamura… So they’re hoping you could mediate matters and help them formalize their union.” “Well, that’s a problem. Mr. Ajigawa opposes me so fiercely—is it true his daughter’s lungs remain afflicted? And I hear Mr. Senba’s daughter is ill too?” “Every household has one or two with bad lungs these days. Those living in Osaka must consider it unavoidable… But how about it—would you act as go-between for Kikuko-san and Shimamura-san?”

Mayor Kagawa, suddenly pressed, was greatly thrown off balance. “Mr. Ebisuya, it’s no use with Mr. Ajigawa, I tell you. If I say anything to that man, he’ll get angry and never listen. Far better if you went instead.” “No—you see—if it’s me, the father won’t trust it. He believes a daughter’s free love is delinquent girls’ work. Were I to approach Mr. Ajigawa, he’d think I did the tempting.”

“Kikuko-san—what kind of girl is she?” “I would like to meet her.”

“That’s easily arranged.” “Today as well, she has been visiting my daughter since morning and is currently on the second floor, so I will call her…”

Tsuneko, the daughter, dashed up to the second floor and called Kikuko-san down. It was a face he recognized from somewhere. As he pondered, he realized she was the girl who often came to his rallies. He now also recalled her connection to Shimamura. After the greetings were finished, Kikuko-san asked bashfully. “Mr. Kagawa… is free love truly a good thing?” “My father is vehemently opposed to it, but…”

“I believe love must be free.” “I’m so happy!” “Now I can rest assured.” “No one I asked would give me a clear answer, so I found myself weighed down by constant distress.”

At that moment, Hiroko, the wife of Mr. Kichibē, interjected. “Mr. Kagawa, you know Mr. Matsushima—that foul-mouthed brothel owner? Well, I hear her father has already promised her to his son.”

Mr. Kichibē added to this. “The fathers are considering uniting the two this autumn, but the very person in question says no and is fleeing.”

22: Yodo-gimi’s Concern “Kikuko-san, how did you come to know Shimamura-kun?”

Kikuko-san kept her face bowed. “We became acquainted on our way back from a rally.” “And have you been continuing to meet frequently since then?”

Ms. Hiroko smiled, her cheeks dimpling. “Why, those two are so passionate that, since Mr. Ajigawa is being too strict, they’ve been exchanging letters in a soapbox at the bathhouse. They set specific times—Mr. Shimamura goes to the bathhouse near Kikuko’s place just to swap those letters there. Given how devoted they are, I truly think what bliss it’d be if they could be united!”

Kikuko-san, looking embarrassed and keeping her face bowed, was writing characters on the tatami mat.

Tsuneko-san looked amused, "They say about fifty letters have piled up already. Right, Kikuko-san!" "That's a lie! Tsun-chan, you mustn't say such things!" "But it's true! Why not just have everyone say so and make the request, isn't that fine?"

Mayor Kagawa was impressed upon hearing about Ms. Ajigawa Kikuko’s passionate love.

“Hmm, times really are changing—to think that girls in Osaka can now have such passionate love affairs. I had thought girls raised in this smoke-filled Osaka were nothing but pale gourds incapable of love or anything else.”

“Oh, how dreadful!” Kikuko cried out.

“That’s true. That’s true.”

Mr. Kichibē agreed with Mayor Kagawa. “In truth, up until now, they’ve kept daughters locked away in inner rooms, raising them as pale gourds, then attaching ceremonial labels like commodities and sending them off to some other household.” “Senba’s daughters were practically synonymous with sheltered daughters.” “So even when boys were raised in that manner, they often made mistakes—ending up getting maids pregnant and causing family scandals.” “Currently, the eldest son of Mr. Matsushima—the one Ms. Kikuko is supposed to marry—caused a huge commotion by eloping with his house courtesan this past New Year.” “……And now they want Ms. Kikuko to marry into that family—it’s truly an impossible situation, isn’t it?”

The clerk approached Mayor Kagawa and informed him, "A visitor has arrived."

“Who is it?” asked Mayor Kagawa. The clerk made a peculiar face and...

"A refined yet peculiar person," said the clerk. "They’re wearing a kimono like one would don for a grand imperial ceremony." "Hmm?" Mayor Kagawa wondered aloud. Who could it be? "Someone of noble bearing," the clerk added. "Then I shall go and see," said Ms. Hiroko.

Having said that, Ms. Hiroko ran off. And she immediately returned, “What a rare visitor! She says she’s Lady Yodo and is looking for Lord Taikō... Shall I show her in?” “When we receive the protagonist of Air Conquest as a guest, such strange things occur that we can’t quite fathom…” Hiroko exclaimed in surprise. “If your household doesn’t mind, could you please show her in?” ”

Ms. Hiroko guided Lady Yodo back from the shop to the inner room.

Indeed, Lady Yodo was dressed in ceremonial robes befitting a grand imperial occasion, wearing thick makeup and a twelve-layered underrobe. And now, she looked as though she had just emerged from the inner chambers of the Toyotomi household.

23. Love Smolders in Osaka Lady Yodo had no particular business there, but it was said she had been searching about out of concern because Lord Taikō had left the castle about a week prior and had yet to return. What Lady Yodo said proved intriguing. “When I emerge from the inner chambers for the first time in three hundred years,” she declared, “the world appears truly unsightly. In days of yore when those smoke-belching chimneys did not yet exist, the world did present cherry blossoms and wisteria in their splendid beauty—but in this smoke-choked present day, flowers and autumn leaves alike lie shrouded in haze.”

Lady Yodo today spoke quietly in a dialect reminiscent of people from the mountain depths of Mikawa. By her graceful, beautiful words and demeanor, Mayor Kagawa was considerably moved.

Mayor Kagawa, having been asked by Lady Yodo about his wife, “Actually, Lady Yodo, as she’s currently pregnant and it would be dangerous to leave her in the slums, I’ve sent her to the countryside,” he replied. Lady Yodo smiled and, “I do find it most auspicious. Moreover, with the city being so bustling and smoke-filled like Osaka, it would indeed be harmful to your wife’s health.” Mr. Kichibē introduced his daughter Ms. Tsuneko and Ajigawa’s daughter Ms. Kikuko to Lady Yodo.

Lady Yodo remarked that she knew Ms.K ikubo well. Ms.K ikubo was startled, “How do you know me?” she asked in return. The lady replied that she knew because Ms.K ikubo often came for walks by the moat with a young man.

Kikuko blushed and looked down. Lady Yodo comforted her,

“To love in youth’s springtime is meet and proper.” “To surrender oneself without love belongs to the courtesan’s realm.” “In elder days they confined unwanted daughters to inner chambers for strategy’s sake, yet even now I witness maidens bartered for commerce—this doth indeed become sin.” “Verily, a maiden lives through love alone—this alone gives worth to her days,” she proclaimed.

“In that case, Lady Yodo, do you approve of freedom in love?” “Indeed. Without love, a person’s life becomes as insipid as a flower without color or fragrance.” Lady Yodo’s response was brisk and efficient. Everyone present felt this demonstrated the capability of the woman who had single-handedly managed state affairs after Lord Taikō’s death. “Wasn’t Lord Taikō somewhat of a libertine?”

Upon hearing Mayor Kagawa’s pointed interjection, Lady Yodo— “Until true love was discovered within me, even Lord Taikō remained lost,” she replied. When the Mayor remarked, “Love proves most troublesome indeed,” Lady Yodo— “For the proletariat, love may never be attained,” she answered. Everyone burst out laughing when Lady Yodo enunciated “proletariat.” Lady Yodo continued undeterred: “In a city like Osaka, where smoke billows thick, even love of surpassing beauty cannot be fulfilled.” “Dread naught but love’s smoldering haze.”

Indeed, when Lady Yodo said something wise, Mayor Kagawa was deeply impressed.

“In Osaka, even love smolders. “Even love smolders!”

When Lady Yodo said something truly wise, those assembled could not help but marvel.

When dinner was ready, they invited Lady Yodo to join them for the meal, but she said she could not rest easy until she met with Lord Taikō and tried to take her leave.

So Mayor Kagawa, “Lady Yodo, do you have any idea where Lord Taikō might be?”

“No, no—though I have searched these seven days, I find no trace of him, and being wholly at a loss for any stratagem to pursue, I am sorely weakened indeed.”

At that moment, Mr. Kichibē interjected, “Mr. Kagawa, this is surely Matsushima Shōgorō’s mischief.” “Lord Taikō has surely become a captive of Matsushima’s pleasure quarters.” “…I’ll try making a call.”

24. Lord Taikō Captured Alive

When he made the call, they only managed to confirm that Lord Taikō was at Matsushima’s pleasure quarters.

Lady Yodo was delighted and leapt for joy, but Mr. Kichibē remained tactful, “Lady Yodo, it’s dangerous for you to go to Matsushima’s pleasure quarters alone.” “Especially looking like that—it’s a place crawling with ruffians and libertines even at noon. There’s no telling what violence might occur. Let me accompany you.” “No—I’ll go.” Mayor Kagara shouted. “Aren’t you and Matsushima sworn enemies in the city council?” “You’ll get beaten up again.” “I’ll go in your stead.”

Then Lady Yodo and Mr. Kichibē sped by automobile to Matsushima’s pleasure quarters. And when they arrived at Matsushima Shōgorō’s residence, a parent-child quarrel was now in full swing at Matsushima Shōgorō’s residence.

Because they thought it would be improper to enter right away, Mr. Kichibē and Lady Yodo remained standing in the entranceway. The argument appeared to revolve around the son’s romantic entanglements. “I can’t stay in this house any longer with my dignity being trampled on—I’m leaving today.”

“If you’re leaving, then get out.” “Go cough up blood and die already!” “Instead of leaving, I’ll take Yūko with me.”

“Go ahead and take her! That’s something I’ve sunk three thousand yen into! You think you can just have your way with her? Try it!”

“What’s three thousand yen?!” “Can love be bought with money?!” “Shut up!” “Damn insolent! This business runs on allure!” “It’s the allure trade, got it?!” “Don’t you understand?!”

It seemed to be Lord Taikō’s voice. “Enough! Enough!” came the voice.

Seizing the moment, Mr. Kichibē raised his voice loudly, “Sorry! Forgive me!” he bellowed.

The son was glimpsed wiping his tears as he passed from the inner room to the next.

The maid came out from the inner room to relay the message. “Is Lord Taikō present here? I had some business to attend to—I’ve just come to escort the person I brought with me.” “Just a moment, will ya?” The maid went inside and was exchanging some words with her master, Shōgorō.

Before long came Lord Taikō’s voice— “Hey, Shōgorō! Let me go already, I say!” Because something felt off, Mr. Kichibē strode alone into the inner room. What shocked him was Lord Taikō crouching inside a cage, mimicking monkeys. The moment Matsushima saw Kichibē’s face, “Who the hell’re you?!” “You…! Mr. Shōgorō, you know Ketōya Kichibē, don’tcha? You’re a right bastard—how dare you cage Lord Hideyoshi, Senior First Rank, Regent and Grand Minister Hashiba Chikuzen no Kami! What’n blazes were you thinkin’?!”

“No matter what ya say or do, I’m keepin’ Lord Taikō caged up ’cause he pissed me off!”

“What on earth happened?” “No matter how you look at it, Lord Taikō went and interfered with our business! That’s why we’ve had him cooped up for seven days as punishment… Gotta admit though—he’s still got grit. True to his name, hasn’t shed a tear.” “What’s the cause here?” “Ask Lord Taikō yourself… I’m too pissed to talk.”

Mr. Kichibē tried asking Lord Taikō, who was crouching nonchalantly inside the cage, why he had been confined.

25. Ordinary Corruption

“Lord Taikō, what on earth happened?” “It’s nothing. They’re scolding me like a madman because I said keeping so many prostitutes gathered in one place was improper.” “It seems Mr. Shōgorō has gone mad of late.” “Mr. Kichibē, you should stop this now.” “I am not the least bit mad—merely acting as ordinary folk do.”

“Since when is running a brothel what ordinary folk do?!” “That’s right—it’s because they want money that they run brothels. Wanting money is just ordinary, isn’t it?…… You’re no different—running that Ketōya business of yours purely for the sake of wanting money yourself, aren’t you?” “No, Mr. Shōgorō—I’ll have you know, even I haven’t been thinking about making money at all lately.” “Don’t try to deceive me!”

"I ain't lyin'. For your information, I'm a director of a consumer cooperative myself." "A consumer what-now?" "Let Lord Taikō outta that cage first. Then I'll explain." "This is a fine mess... Well then, outta respect for Ebisuya's smarmy grin here, shall we spring the monkey?"

Shōgorō borrowed Kichibē’s help, removed the large stone that had been placed atop the cage, and took Lord Taikō out from the cage.

Lord Taikō, “Ah, now I’m saved. You must’ve been fretting over me.” “Well then, farewell.” “Lord Taikō, Lady Yodo awaits you at the entrance.” “Hmm. Is that so?”

Lord Taikō quietly exited through the entrance. Shōgorō too ran out to the front hall upon hearing Lady Yodo's name. He stared intently at Lady Yodo's face. Standing alone in admiration, he watched Lord Taikō and Lady Yodo depart through the gate, "That jewel's a fine piece—for that I'd pay ten thousand ryō! Lord Taikō still keeps a splendid jewel there, hasn't he!"

“Don’t talk nonsense!” scolded Mr. Kichibē from the back room. Noticing this, Matsushima rushed into the back room, but upon seeing the cage now empty, “What a mistake I’ve made.” “I was taken in by Mr. Kichibē’s sweet talk and ended up letting Lord Taikō escape.” *He’d been saying something like that.* “Mr. Ebisuya, you were sayin’ there’s a business that don’t think ’bout makin’ money.” “In other words, what’re you sayin’? Then does that mean we don’t gotta pay bank interest or nothin’?!” “The truth is, I’m in a bind with twenty thousand ryō in interest payments. If I’d kept Lord Taikō confined, I was thinkin’ maybe there’d be at least one loyal retainer who’d bring me one of those thousand-ryō chests buried in Karahori.” “Then you showed up right then, didn’t ya? I was thinkin’ you’d brought me at least one thousand-ryō chest.”

“There you go again, thinkin’ nothin’ but greedy thoughts… But Mr. Shōgorō, if you go ’round doin’ things like lockin’ up Lord Taikō, you’ll surely be punished for it.” “I s’pose that’s how it is.”

“What on earth did you do?”

26. Lord Taikō’s Voluntary Abolition Argument

Matsushima found himself drawn into Kichibē’s questioning and began to speak.

“Well, y’see… I thought we’d let Lord Taikō have a bit o’ fun, so after that city council meetin’ ended, I went with Mr. Ajigawa an’ the rest by car to fetch ’im from his place. We even called over thirty geishas—spent a fortune that night, we did.” “Now, when I asked, ‘Which lady catches your fancy?’ Lord Taikō declared, ‘I consider licensed prostitution an evil institution plaguing this land—I support its voluntary abolition. The very notion of toying with women bought by coin has never crossed my mind!’ As if deliverin’ a Salvation Army street sermon, he insulted us right there in the teahouse’s upper room—a public venue!—an’ I seethed with anger,”

“Then I pressed him: ‘Lord Taikō, allow me to ask—did you not keep concubines yourself?’ But he just said, ‘I have never used wealth to toy with women’s charms,’ which got under my skin, so…” “In this world where chimneys stand tall, assigning women to workers starved for companionship is an act of philanthropy!” “Then Lord Taikō declared, ‘That’s utterly wrong! The true path is ensuring everyone can equally obtain proper brides. To think of running brothels just to satisfy the carnal desires of workers gathered under chimneys—such base calculations are unthinkable.’” “‘Humans aren’t commodities,’ he went on lecturing like some damn sermon, so…”

…I told him. “Let ’em spout whatever they want! The licensed prostitution system’s essential for preventin’ syphilis—can’t do without it!” I declared, putting on airs like this. Then Lord Taikō fired back…“Syphilis wasn’t even known in Japan during Keichō times.” “The whole world got obsessed with makin’ money, and that’s how it spread globally! And when Yoshiwara’s brothels popped up in Edo, that’s how it infected Japan—that’s the rotten fruit of your precious licensed system!” he lectured me like some damn scholar. Knowin’ I couldn’t win this argument, I locked him up in that cage. “Truth be told, even while keepin’ him caged, I kept worryin’ ’bout curses from Toyokuni Shrine.” “…Still, folks shouldn’t meddle in the nightlife trade.” “My damn son won’t listen—tryin’ to bolt with some jewel I shelled out three grand for!”

“Your son—was that Ken'ichi who asked me the other day to let him have Miss Kikuko from the Ajigawa family, but you refused?” “Yes!” “Weren’t you having a huge argument about that earlier?!” “Well now, I s’pose that’s the punishment then. The family just can’t get along no matter what.” “Profiting off others’ daughters’ blood and flesh ain’t right…” “But Mr. Kichibē—didn’t that arrangement work out?”

“By ‘that matter,’ do you mean Miss Kikuko?” “As for me, if I take that girl and get the twenty thousand yen I borrowed from Mr. Ajigawa written off… She’s a tubercular daughter anyway—even if I tack on twenty grand these days, ain’t no one gonna take her.” “There’s no shortage of buyers—starting with you, Matsushima Shōgorō!” “Don’t go mockin’ me like that!” “But Shōgorō—listen well! Ain’t your boy sayin’ he’s gonna run off with that jewel you paid three thousand yen for?! Who’s your son gonna take as a bride? To you, or to your son?”

“That’s for my son, obviously.”

“But didn’t you say your son won’t marry a lung disease patient?”

"To be honest, I don't want no lung-rot daughter neither—but I do want the cash. Once I get that money, I'll just toss her out in some field or mountain and be done with it." "How dreadful... how dreadful... Mr. Shōgorō, I must take my leave now. For it'd be a right trouble if she were cast out in fields or mountains."

Mr. Kichibē bowed three or four times and exited through the gate of Tokiwadō.

At the entrance, the faces of prostitutes for sale were lined up in great numbers.

27. Higashiyokoborigawa River

After the matter with Lord Taikō was settled, Mr. Kichibē hurried back to Bakurōmachi, but Mayor Kagawa and Miss Kikuko were no longer there. When he asked Hiroko, she explained that Shimamura had coincidentally come to visit Mayor Kagawa, so the three of them—Shimamura, Miss Kikuko, and the mayor—said they were going for a walk and left.

In truth, the three were strolling around the Higashiyokoborigawa River area without deciding on any particular destination. However, Mayor Kagawa was not a man so incapable of discerning Shimamura’s intentions that he couldn’t read the young man’s heart; therefore, he promptly cut short the conversation and, leaving the two behind, returned to the slums. Their conversation was truly as sweet as honey. At the same time, it was pessimistic. “Kiku-chan, lately I can’t help but feel so pessimistic. …I wonder what’s wrong with me.”

“Me too... I... I’ve come to want to die.” “I wonder what’s wrong with me.” “Love is truly painful, isn’t it?”

“Really… Maybe I shouldn’t go home at all tonight?” “Father will scold you again!”

“Being scolded by Father is nothing—isn’t love stronger than death?”

The two of them came to the edge of Kōraibashi and stopped. Kikuko was crying.

“Kiku-chan, why are you crying?!”

“………………” “Kiku-chan, if you cry, I’ll be sad too.” Shimamura was also crying.

The two of them leaned against the railing of Kōraibashi and cried for a while. However, since continuing to cry wasn't doing any good, Kikuko stared intently at the gaslight's beautiful reflection on the water flowing beneath the bridge. Shimamura was still crying. The light flowing on the water stretched and contracted, truly beautiful. That murky Yokoborigawa River, when seen under the electric lights, looked like a spring in the Dragon Palace. Kikuko was so drawn to that beauty that she nearly forgot Shimamura was crying.

When she compared in her mind the flowing water, her own love, and Osaka’s nightscape made beautiful by electric lights’ glow, she found herself so peculiar that she marveled at her own peculiarity. What struck Kikuko as especially absurd was how Shimamura—a grown man—leaned against the bridge railing weeping with such novel-esque sentimentality; she found herself suppressing giggles at its sheer theatricality. Then Shimamura too hid his face in his sleeve, caught between tears and laughter. When this laughter had continued awhile，Shimamura—

“That’s strange, Kikuko. Why does love make people so sentimental?” “Even though I don’t need to cry, I just end up tearing up without knowing when.” When he said this, Kikuko, who had been laughing, started crying again. “Hey, Nobu-chan… What makes me sad is that humans have to laugh.” “In this world suffused with sorrow, why did God create something as contradictory as laughter?”

When she said this, Shimamura, who had been laughing just a moment before, began to cry again. “Really now, Kiku-chan—I wasn’t the type to lose myself in cheap laughter, you know? But I did have this grand mission to smash bourgeois culture to pieces. I’ll never laugh again in my whole life! I’ll make tears my lifelong sustenance—marinate my corpse in them and offer it up to proletarian sorrow.” He said this, but his own words—so sentimental, declaring that making tears his lifelong mission—had barely left his tongue before he burst out laughing.

28. Death's Victory: Part II

Drunk on youthful passion, they cried and laughed as the night grew late, until midnight had long since passed.

Finally, Kikuko declared she could no longer return home. “I’ve come to want to die.” “Mr. Shimamura—won’t you die with me?”

Since Shimamura thought he was being tested by Kikuko,

“Kiku-chan, if it’s for your sake, I’d give not just this one life—if I had seven lives, I’d give all seven to you.” “Then, will you commit double suicide with me?” “If it’s with you, I’d gladly do it—double suicide or anything else.”

“Then, let’s die by the riverside where Osome-Hisamatsu died.” Having said this, Kikuko walked toward Azumajima, practically dragging Shimamura along. Shimamura was eager to die. Now, thinking he could finally approach the world of nothingness he had always contemplated, he looked forward to it. Kikuko was delighted, thinking she could imitate D’Annunzio’s *The Triumph of Death*, which she had finished reading the day before yesterday. “Nobu-chan, death is victory!” “That’s right, Kiku-chan—nothingness is our final resting place! All is nothingness! If nothing is given to us, then we shall accept nothing. If our love cannot succeed, then we have no choice but to choose death! Everything? Nothingness? Ah! We are finally life’s defeated ones!”

“We are not defeated! Nobu-chan, I refuse to die as some defeated person… If you say such things, I won’t die at all!”

Kikuko wavered now before death.

“Please forgive me. “Kiku-chan, for you, death was victory.”

“Death is victory!” “You declared death was defeat, so I no longer want to die… And now you claim to consider death victory?” “I don’t understand! “I understand nothing. “Everything is nothing… to me.” “How unreliable. “You must proclaim death as victory!” “Nothingness is the end of all things.”

“Then I can’t die… You must say exactly what Giorgio says in D’Annunzio’s *The Triumph of Death*!”

"I haven't read that novel." "You're hopeless! If you want to do a modern double suicide, you need to have read at least one book like *The Triumph of Death*!"

“So Kiku-chan, are you imitating that novel?” “It’s not exactly imitation… but I want to experience the emotions described in it.”

Shimamura knew he was out of sync with Kikuko's emotions. Yet Shimamura himself was thoroughly weary of life and driven by a curiosity that sought some grand transformation—he was fully prepared to die. What's more, Kikuko—who tempted him toward death—was so beautiful that he found himself willing to follow wherever the demon of beauty led him.

The two walked from Azumajima to the riverbank near the Mint Bureau, searching for a good place to die. Every time they thought they’d found a spot, an old angler would be fishing in the dead of night there, and just as they settled on a place there, a boat would come along the river—making it quite impossible for them to die.

So they briskly followed the river and ended up heading into the countryside.

XXIX. Double Suicide Couple, Wait!

In the reeds along the nameless banks of the Yodo River, as the two of them bound each other's hands and tied their torsos together, something began making rhythmic splashing sounds in the water. The two of them, trying to hasten their deaths before anyone could stop them, hurriedly stood at the water's edge. And then,

“Namu Amida Butsu!”

as they were about to leap into the water, “Hold it!”

A voice called out from the middle of the river.

How strange this was. Thinking no one was around and that it would be a waste not to die after all their preparations, the two of them peered intently into the river—when there, on the water’s surface, a graceful sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl and a townsman-like dandy of twenty-four or twenty-five with a topknot abruptly thrust up two heads side by side like turtles. “Don’t act rashly, young ones!” Startled by such shouting from within the river, the nihilistic youth was utterly flabbergasted, while the young girl—who had believed in the gospel of *The Triumph of Death*—could only blink her eyes and exchange glances with him.

“What’s that?” Kikuko shouted like this. “What could it be? Looks like a drowned corpse, huh?” “That’s no drowned corpse!” “We too are a double suicide couple!” “Wait a moment, if you please.” “Right now, the two of us will come ashore.” Having said that, the woman’s head and the man’s head swam up to the shore. Even these two, who had no fear of death, could not help but be terrified when admonished against dying by the topknot man emerging from the river. The hairs on their bodies stood on end as they were startled, as if Orie’s discarded head had surfaced in Rokutan Pond.

Then, the man with the samurai topknot and the woman with the Chinese-style topknot quietly came ashore. And then respectfully bowed,

“I am Hisamatsu from Nozaki Village….” “This young lady is Osome of the oil shop.” Shimamura and Kikuko, never expecting to encounter Osome-Hisamatsu in such a place, found themselves at a loss for what words of greeting to offer, and so remained silent with bowed heads.

Then Osome, opening lips as utterly adorable as flower buds, asked Kikuko: “Pray tell, Miss—what hardships led you to such resolve as to attempt a lovers’ suicide?”

Kikuko, seizing her moment, “Are you familiar with D’Annunzio’s novel *The Triumph of Death*?” Osome, her face as motionless as a corpse’s, “Miss, what about it?” Kikuko blushed, her cheeks reddening as Osome’s reply strayed so far from her own question. “You’re not worth speaking to. You don’t even know D’Annunzio’s *The Triumph of Death*.” “Miss, what about it?”

“The way you commit double suicide is outdated.” Kikuko seized Osome and began lecturing about suicide pacts. “You see, Ms. Osome, we’re different from your era.” “Compared to your feudal times, the economic system has changed—so much that even love suffers under capitalism’s oppression.” “In your day, you only had to fight the family system—but we must battle the bourgeois class.” “And my father is bourgeois.” “That’s why my love can never be fulfilled.”

30: Into the People

Osome had been deep in thought about what Kikuko had said for some time, but—

“Ito-san, I don’t understand a single thing you’re saying.” “It seems to me that your double suicide comes from books, does it not?” ” “Books? What do you mean by ‘books’?” “Might you not be overly infatuated with Western books?” ” “You think committing double suicide means being infatuated with books?” ”

Kikuko answered, her eyes blazing.

“Well then, Ms. Osome—what exactly were you two infatuated with when you committed double suicide?” “Ours was nothing special. There was simply no other path left for us.” “Then we’ve no other path either!” “I won’t have you say that!” It was Hisamatsu—silent until now—who shouted this. “Though I’m but a lowly former errand boy unworthy of advising a young lady by Osaka’s customs, we’ve been tailing and listening to your conversation all the way from Kōraibashi.”

Kikuko was startled. “We are ghosts who threw ourselves into the river three hundred years ago…” “Ghosts?… You mean ghosts—the same as spirits? Eek!” Kikuko was utterly flabbergasted and burst out with a string of exclamations.

Hisamatsu continued. “Ms. Kikuko, if all it takes is hearing we’re spirits to shock you, then you’re not qualified to die yet!”

“So, I’ve failed the suicide test?” “That’s correct. You’ve failed Hisamatsu’s criteria for double suicide… Because when attempting it, you’ve failed to introduce any innovation whatsoever. Isn’t it just antiquated? Mere imitations of us or copying Italian novels!” “Then what should I do?” Kikuko listened, trembling.

“You’re choosing the wrong place to jump.”

“Eek! Can’t we do it here? Would a bit upstream be better?” “That’s not it! What I mean by ‘jumping in’ is this—if you seek a place to discard your life, you should stand on the front lines of proletarian liberation and meet a glorious end in battle!” “My, Mr. Hisamatsu, I never thought I’d hear proletarian liberation theory from you!” “Young lady, there it is… The times are changing! Even the romanticism of double suicide must be reinvented for this new age! There’s no need to seek such a cowardly place as this riverbed to discard your life. The era when we sought that in the riverbed was ours. In today’s age of liberation, we must discover a new form of double suicide! You must cross the death line!”

“My, Mr. Hisamatsu, you know an awful lot about various things.” “Of course I do. In the underworld, I serve as secretary of the Salarymen’s Union, organizing apprentices, errand boys, shop managers, and the white-collar workers who’ve been dying off lately to oppose the tyranny of the blue and red demons. First, I intend to implement the abolition of monetary discrimination—the very system where even hell’s judgments depend on wealth. So I believe that in the near future, even in hell, a world where the departed govern themselves will be realized. In particular, it is I who am striving in hell to have young lovers who couldn’t be united in this world united.”

“So does that mean such a movement is happening in hell right now?” “That’s right…”

“I understand, Mr. Hisamatsu. Thank you. I will consider myself as having sunk into the Yodo River—and just as you devote yourself to reforming hell, I shall wage battle in this world. Thank you. Do we discover double suicide within the class struggle? The corpse is to be left exposed there, correct?” “That’s right! Today’s girls catch on fast—how delightful! That’s the new double suicide! In other words, the new idealist double suicide refers to men and women in love fighting together hand in hand for the liberation movement and falling in battle without drowning in water!”

“My, Mr. Hisamatsu, you’re quite the scholar… I never imagined I’d receive such practical lessons by the reeds of the Yodo River.”

“Understood? Well then, we’ll take our leave now.”

With those words, the figures of Hisamatsu and Osome vanished into thin air.

Kikuko simply stared with wide, astonished eyes, watching the water’s surface.

31: Dialogue Between the Sun and the Gas Tank

It was a time before Mayor Kagawa had become mayor. When he timidly ventured out from the slums of Gokō and was strolling around Taishō Bridge to the south around eleven in the morning, he once heard a gas tank and Mr. Sun having a conversation. “Well now, Mr. Sun—good day to you.” When the Gas Tank said this, Mr. Sun responded, “What do you mean ‘good day’? This is my second sunrise today isn’t it!”

As someone huddled on Taishō Bridge listened to all this being said, the Gas Tank burst into loud laughter. “Mr. Sun, you must be joking! Ain’t no such thing as a second sunrise!” To this, Mr. Sun also let out a hearty laugh, “What’re ya talkin’ about? The first sunrise’s at 6 AM, and the second’s at 11! “You oughta know that…” “The reason you’re so prized in Osaka City is that Osaka’s electric lights are always dim, and because I make two sunrises and two sunsets during the daytime, so that there are three nights in a twenty-four-hour day here—all that’s swelling up is your damn belly!” “Ah ha! Ah ha ha ha!”

he said.

Gas Tank was impressed by this, “Mr. Sun, you’re somethin’ else. From up in the sky, wouldn’t all the people of Osaka look like fools?” he asked. Mr. Sun’s response to that was striking. “Gas Tank, the people of Osaka all resemble you quite closely. All flashy on the outside but hollow inside…… and stinking gas packed in their bellies.” “Mr. Sun, if you’re gonna spout such poisonous words, I’ll order my relatives’ chimneys to smoke you clean outta this world starting today… After this day, I won’t let you lay eyes on Osaka’s soil ever again!”

Having said this, the Gas Tank grew furious. And so it has been ever since.

In Osaka, the smoke grew increasingly thick, to the point that even during the day, Mr. Sun became invisible. Not long after that, the man who had heard the conversation between the Sun and the Gas Tank became the Mayor of Osaka City. Having become mayor, he strove to eliminate the smoke from Osaka—a city that experienced three nights and two sunrises each day. However, not only did the first city council meeting end in failure, but the workers’ grand demonstration also lasted merely a day, yielding no results.

He considered various options for what to do. He decided that before convening the city council again, he would first hold a conference of inventors to devise a plan to make all of Osaka’s smoke disappear.

Thus, on the day following Lord Taikō's confinement incident and Miss Kikuko's elopement incident, he went to City Hall and resolved to gather not only all of Osaka's inventors but every inventor across Japan to the city.

When he was in the mayor’s office after a long absence, just before noon, a large number of newspaper reporters came in to gather material.

“Mr. Mayor, how’s that injury of yours?” “Has it healed already?” “Do you still have the courage to continue the anti-soot movement?” They bombarded him with questions like this and mocked the mayor. Therefore, Mayor Kagawa stated that he still had the courage to continue the anti-soot movement and announced that he had decided to hold an inventors’ conference in Osaka City in the near future. That evening’s paper featured a third page adorned with articles about Lord Taikō’s confinement incident alongside coverage of the All-Japan Inventors Conference concerning the anti-soot movement.

32: The Emergence of Chestless Creatures Since preparations for the inventors' conference were taking too long, Mayor Kagawa decided to gather educators and spread anti-soot movement propaganda to households. As he scheduled the educators' conference for the next day—an event that could be arranged immediately—he summoned all educators in the city. When he prepared to convene the Social Hygiene Educators' Conference at the Central Public Hall, the Education Section Chief brought an astonishing report. “Mayor, these are the most recent statistics—as you see, while Osaka’s children exceed the national elementary school average in height, their chest measurements have grown alarmingly narrow due to living amidst smoke…” “In other words, Osaka’s children resemble pea plants cultivated in shade.” “They stand tall yet lack substance.”

Mayor Kagawa was utterly shocked upon seeing the statistics presented by the Education Section Chief. “Hmm, Education Section Chief—this is truly a grave national issue! If this trend continues, Osaka’s children will become chestless creatures like gourds in fifty years! This is absolutely dire! We must not create chestless, gourd-shaped children! Let’s launch a major campaign! Education Section Chief, see to it properly! I’ll go all out on this occasion too!”

The educators’ conference held the following day was truly lively. To escape the soot, they passionately advocated for forest schools, seaside elementary schools, and farm-city elementary schools as essential solutions. Yet none dared criticize the reckless chimney civilization rooted in capitalist production that lay at the foundation of it all. Of course, some offered colorful remarks. "If a century from now Osaka City still suffers this same soot plague," one declared, "its citizens will lose their lungs entirely! They’ll have to carry gill-like contraptions instead. Osaka’s no place for humans anymore. It’s fit only for tadpoles!"

No sooner would one hear such statements than,

“There’s no use entertaining such fanciful ideas.” “There’s no other way but to extend physical education periods.” There were those who said such things. In response to this,

“The air in the playground is even worse than in the classrooms. My school stands next to a glass factory—smoke never stops billowing from its chimney day or night. We keep our classrooms sealed tight to block out the soot. What should we do in such situations?” Some argued that oxygen generators should be installed in every classroom at city expense. Others insisted on installing dust absorbers throughout schools, like those used in spinning mills.

However, what struck as most tragic was that elementary school teachers in Osaka had the highest nationwide rate of contracting respiratory diseases, and that those who taught in factory districts for over five years would inevitably collapse as respiratory disease patients.

The report was far too tragic. However, when it came to determining how to proceed with the anti-soot propaganda campaign, there was not a single person who advocated a specific approach.

33: The Failed Educators’ Conference

When Mayor Kagawa looked out from the podium at the nearly two thousand elementary school teachers and middle school instructors who had gathered, not a single one among them had a face that looked human. Many were like earthen clay figurines. These people were spring-driven puppets employed by machines that taught reading, arithmetic, and calligraphy—beings that did not belong to the lung-bearing human race. They feared the ward education committee members above all else. The ward education committee members were mostly wealthy individuals who owned one or two chimneys, and delivering speeches advocating chimney destruction meant being destined for expulsion from that ward’s schools.

Indeed, there was no place where the wealthy could throw their weight around regarding education as much as in Osaka. Even with a two hundred million yen urban plan in place, the previous mayor had barely touched upon unifying all of Osaka’s school districts. In an Osaka that could not even unify its school districts, there was no hope of propagating chimney destruction through its schools. Teachers nonchalantly taught their students such things... “Those who are diligent and thrifty and apply themselves to learning will always prosper, while those who are uneducated and lazy will always remain poor.” “Yasuda Zenjirō valued diligence and thrift, amassing a fortune of 800 million yen over fifty years, and there are those who rose from miners to build copper palaces.” “They praise his virtues beyond all measure.”

As they taught such things, among the students,

“Teacher! Why are you poor?” asked. The teacher became flustered. “It’s because we’ve been poor since our parents’ generation—there’s nothing to be done about it.” the teacher retreated. A clever student,

“Teacher, I hear that both Yasuda Zenjirō and Itō Den'emon’s parents were all poor,” [the student] said. Then— “Both of them were just lucky.” “Teacher—what exactly *is* luck?” asked the student. “Luck is luck… It’s naturally becoming wealthy!” In an Osaka with teachers like these, how could the proper way for humans to live ever have been taught with integrity? They devised Forest Schools and Seaside Schools for the children of the wealthy but had never given a thought to the poor.

When Mayor Kagawa looked out from the podium, nine-tenths of the elementary school teachers were dozing off. And the remaining one-tenth were merely going through the motions. Their dozing stemmed from both overwork and oxygen deprivation—this passive state being preferable to standing up to speak and incurring ward council members' reprimands. As for those feigning attention, the issues simply held no interest for them. Elementary school teachers were academic instruction machines. They were not instructors imparting life strategies. Matters like social hygiene or school sanitation concerned others; they considered it sufficient if they could wring one more yen from their monthly salaries.

The Education Section Chief had been speaking for about an hour on the necessity of the anti-soot movement, but the teachers were all completely dozing off. And when the speech ended, they all woke up as if by prior agreement and departed for home. Even Mayor Kagawa was utterly astonished at how well-made the spring mechanism was.

In any case, Mayor Kagawa came to fully grasp one thing—that the anti-soot movement conducted through educators had ended in utter failure due to the teachers’ insufficient oxygen intake.

34: The Women’s Conference and Miss Kikuko

That evening, Shimamura Nobuyuki and Miss Ajigawa Kikuko came to visit the slums of the rear palace. And then, the two of them declared their new resolve to Mayor Kagawa.

Mayor Kagawa listened to this with pleasure. After discussing various topics, Mayor Kagawa spoke about how the educators’ conference had ended in failure. At this, Miss Kikuko became greatly indignant and declared, “The anti-soot movement is a major issue for women’s home lives. Let me lead the movement!”

“That would be excellent. We’ll promptly convene an Osaka Women’s Conference—when that time comes, I should very much like you to address them, Miss Kikuko.”

"I will do that. And I have another friend, so I'll ask that person to give a speech as well." "Are you referring to Yodo-gimi when you say 'this friend'?"

“No, Ms. Aburaya Someko.” “Who is this ‘Ms. Aburaya Someko’?” “It’s Ms. Someko! Mr. Kagawa, you’re rather slow on the uptake!”

“Oh, is that so? That sounds interesting. Then let’s proceed with that request—how about the day after tomorrow?” “I’ll bring Ms. Someko no matter how many days it takes.”

The two of them left.

Two days later, the Osaka Women’s Conference was held.

What an enormous crowd—thousands upon thousands of people—so large that they couldn’t possibly fit into the Central Public Hall. The chairperson of the women’s conference was, of course, Ms. Ajigawa Kikuko. Dressed in Western attire, she delivered her maiden speech with a dignified bearing. “Ladies and gentlemen—the civilization of men has already decayed. I believe we must create a women’s culture with new courage. As our first undertaking, what we must do is conquer Osaka City’s soot.” (Applause erupted) “Because of this, Osaka City holds the world’s highest infant mortality rate—nearly three hundred out of every thousand babies born here die each year. We, who should be mothers—(she started to say ‘mothers’ but hesitated)—must fight thoroughly for this cause.” (Thunderous applause) “On that matter, we cannot settle for indirect action. There is no path but through direct action!”

“Speaker! Order!”

The monitoring police inspector, hidden behind the screen, issued a warning. The audience erupted.

“Outrageous!” “Outrageous!” Their voices shook the entire hall. Miss Kikuko calmed the audience and, “This isn’t a cancellation—it’s merely a notice… Please remain calm. Even if we are ordered to halt, we have nothing to fear. We intend to fight thoroughly, crossing the line of death. We will not hesitate to die in order to liberate Osaka City from this oppression of soot. …After all, we are already being killed by lung disease—if we must die in the smoke, I believe it would be better to fight against that smoke and fall in battle.”

Having said this, she descended from the podium—but among the audience, some were so moved that— “Goddess of Air Conquest!” There was even a youth who shouted those very words.

35. Osome’s Rhythmic Speech

But no matter what anyone said, the main attraction of the women’s conference was that Osome and Hisamatsu were to give a speech together. Osome appeared at the podium wearing her beautiful Chinese-style chignon.

“Hey, Ms. Osome!” “Romanticism above all!” “Patron saint of love suicides!” “New Woman!” They jeered and heckled with all sorts of remarks. Osome began her speech in a tone even more courageous than that of the café girls’ alliance, as if singing in the style of Kiyomoto. “—At Naniwa’s reed-fringed shore, plovers weep and cry—” When she reached this point, a youth in the corner, stirred by her beautiful voice, “Better than Ryoshō!” he shouted. “The ebb and flow of people’s hearts—” “Hey, Female Kumoemon!” someone shouted.

"Seeing a beautiful woman gets you excited, huh?" someone whispered. Osome remained unfazed.

“...When I climbed a high tower and looked, only smoke rose—oh how sorrowful it stood. Even at midday, they relied on gas and electric lights, never seeing the sun’s face—pale complexioned and long-necked, their gasping breaths mixed with blood—how sorrowful their exhalations, how pitiful the lung-diseased girls of Naniwa’s port...”

The entire hall fell silent; not even a single cough could be heard. “Smoke mingles with darkness, and those who walk the streets proceed through the gloom.” “In this dark world’s manifold affairs—the raw hell of Toribeyama, before one’s eyes are even closed—the wailing of scorching hells, love and passion vanishing like smoke… How pitiful the fate of Naniwa……” As Osome’s speech increasingly took on the rhythm of Kiyomoto, matching her melodic cadence, “Now as in the past—the tile-roofed streets, / The renowned maiden stands alone.” There was even a man who sang.

Osome paid no heed to such things and took up the melody from the man’s preceding verse, “Though red demons and blue demons are absent here, capitalism prospers through the plunder of human flesh markets. Smoke-clouded hearts find no peace; the dead and lung disease multiply. This city of smoke is a city of death—but if you’re prepared to walk the road to death, let’s do some good instead.” “As long as the smoke remains unstopped, even if we lament our firstborn’s pneumonia, it will amount to nothing.” “Lady Osome, Lady Osome, please do return to the mountains,” someone called out.

Ms. Osome calmly continued her rhythmic speech.

“Though mocked as suicide lovers and scorned through the ages—even I, Osome, a coddled daughter—am flesh and blood! Until we remake the world, we who rally beneath the proletarian banner shall become guardians for those who fall pursuing love’s freedom. Now let us begin liberation’s journey and conquer the skies!”

The youth on the second floor shouted loudly, “Bravo!”

Osome continued on, “To live strongly is for love; preventing soot is also for love! So that a beloved husband’s only child need not die of pneumonia from smoke—this devoted heart is what I believe to be the duty of Naniwa’s women! Thus I return to this present age, where smoke withers all plants and male and female flowers alike droop—I, Osome, who became a specter of Nozaki Village—my obsession has condensed and focused for others’ sake! With the single-minded resolve of love-suicide hearts, I preach soot prevention!”

Having said this, Osome vanished as if being erased.

The audience of nearly eight thousand people had been listening to Osome’s voice as if intoxicated, but when her figure vanished abruptly, they shouted all sorts of things! “Was that Osome’s ghost?” “She was a real beauty!” “No wonder Hisamatsu got so worked up!” “After all, we’ve got to prevent the smoke.”

36. Kikuko’s Detention

When Osome’s speech concluded and Kikuko stood once more at the podium to pass a resolution for smoke prevention through the women’s conference’s formal procedures, a dozen or so burly men appeared abruptly from nowhere, scattering into view. “Female orator! We’ve got questions!”

“Please save your questions for later,” Kikuko replied,

“What? You impudent bitch! A woman like you dares side with Kagawa—the one destroying Japan’s industry?… Fine! Let’s beat her down!” It was Janome no Kumagorō—one of Onbiki Tora’s top henchmen—who had called out. Kikuko was not a non-resistance advocate like Mayor Kagawa. Though her lungs had been troubling her recently, necessitating recuperation in Ashiya, she was a woman who remembered well the skills that had earned her a first-degree black belt in judo during her girls’ school days. “Just wait a moment!”

With her lovely mouth requesting a reprieve while simultaneously hiking up her skirt hem, she declared "Now, Tomoe Gozen!" with composure and confronted Janome no Kumagorō. The audience stood dumbfounded, rising en masse to watch what would happen. Seeing that things were getting too chaotic, the inspector and officers all withdrew in a rush. Janome no Kumagorō firmly grabbed Kikuko’s shoulders, but Kikuko seized his right hand with both of hers, executed a shoulder throw, and slammed him down onto the stage with a thud. Janome no Kumagorō crawled up and lunged at Kikuko again, but Kikuko applied a leg sweep and threw him. Having witnessed this, four or five of Bear’s associates scattered and lunged at Kikuko. Kikuko used her final move and drove off those two as well, but the other two sank their teeth into her arm—blood trickled down. Kikuko’s white dress was stained with blood.

Seeing this, the crowd surged onto the stage.

Some called for the police. There were those who supported Kikuko and grappled with Janome no Kumagorō. Finally, Kikuko, protected by a large group of laborer-style youths, entered the speakers' room. Janome no Kumagorō's gang continued to clash with Kikuko's sympathizers—who had mingled among the audience—on the stage, in the hall, and at the side of the public hall, persisting in their struggle.

The inspector who had once fled now reappeared from nowhere and ordered the audience to disperse. The audience filed out in disarray, seething at the police’s conduct. Some cursed the police as lapdogs of the capitalists. Those who had shouted such insults were all detained. And Kikuko was also detained. The audience who saw this were all indignant. However, since the police held authoritative power, they barked: “Save your pit arguments for later! Keep grumbling and we’ll detain you!”

“What a dreadful police force we’ve got here! What era—no, what century’s police force is this from?” they shouted in unison.

Then, the man taking Kikuko into custody gave this reply. “What does the era matter? Keep grumbling and you’ll be coming with us!” Those who obediently followed along were all detained. Those who protested the detentions became detained themselves, and those who accompanied those being detained were detained. And those who went to deliver tissue paper to the detainees were also detained.

However, the cells were too cramped, so they could detain no more. The police officers kept repeating they were busy, busy.

37. Father and Daughter

Due to Kikuko being detained, the women’s association fell apart completely.

Forty-eight hours later, Ms. Ajigawa Kikuko was released from detention and returned home for the first time in a long while, but her father stubbornly refused to let her into the house.

“Kikuko! A flighty creature like you has no right coming back to this house!” “Out with you!” “You’ve sullied the Ajigawa name!” “And to top it off—letting that idiot Kagawa rile you up into playing revolutionary, getting hauled off by the cops!” “You damn brat! Don’t you know our family trade’s coal?!” “Keep tearing down smokestacks and our coal goes unsold—don’t you get it?!” “Then who’ll pay for your precious dowry?”

“Father, I don’t need any dowry!” “How dare you! Aren’t you going to Matsushima?!” “I refuse to marry into a household that traffics people… I’d rather die than set foot in such a place.”

“So you’ve gone and gotten yourself another man behind our backs…?” “Yes, I’ve already made my commitment.” “You damn gangster! What do you think you’re doing forming some lover-boy arrangement without even telling your parents?!”

Kikuko’s father flew into a rage like wildfire, struck her mercilessly with his fists, and still not satisfied, kicked her to the ground with his foot. Kikuko did not resist and simply collapsed there in tears.

At that moment, Kikuko’s mother and the head clerk arrived, coaxed and calmed her father, and led him to the next room. Kikuko collapsed in tears and fell asleep like a child. When she awoke, it was already nearing evening.

When she took a bath, applied light makeup, and felt refreshed, her ambition for air conquest welled up again with renewed vigor. So, she resolved to go out with Aunt Hiroko from Bakurōchō and Ms. Tsuneko to deliver roadside speeches advocating for the ban on soot. She visited Bakurōchō after obtaining her mother’s permission. In Bakurōchō, they welcomed her warmly.

“Ms. Kikuko, you’ve become quite the distinguished figure, haven’t you? Your recent spectacle was like the Ashura King himself.” Hiroko teased. “When I returned from the police station, my father got angry—I was hit and kicked, and it was just awful.” “Just what do you plan to do?” Since Hiroko asked, Kikuko replied.

“I intend to fight to the very end. Tonight too, I came out meaning to give roadside speeches for the soot prohibition movement. For myself, rather than roundabout things like women’s suffrage, I consider the movement to purify the air I breathe every day an urgent matter. So I want to recruit members and fight this through thoroughly. As I must become a mother in the near future, I don’t want to raise chestless children like that.”

“That’s true,” said Hiroko. “Then what sort of campaign will you undertake?” “I want to form a housewives’ boycott alliance,” Kikuko replied, “so we refuse to buy any products from those evil capitalists running factories with chimneys that poison citizens’ health. If that proves too lenient, I believe we must stage women-only demonstrations. We should join processions carrying as many Osaka-born children with stunted chests and hacking coughs as possible, then march directly to negotiate with Sumitomo Shindōjo and Harunide Power Plant—don’t you agree?”

“That sounds intriguing.” “Then shall we make preparations for a major demonstration?”

38. People Peddling Their Heads

Shimamura, stimulated by Kikuko’s impetuous activism, thought he must make new efforts. So, from his own position, he earnestly contemplated from which front he could contribute to smoke prevention. However, the ever-growing crowds of unemployed people due to the economic depression created an atmosphere of widespread unease, resulting in a situation where it was impossible to predict when a major incident might erupt.

While the soot problem was important, he thought the unemployment issue was even more critical; thus, early in the morning, Shimamura visited Mayor Kagawa in the Kōkyū slums and asked what should be done. Mayor Kagawa did not have any particularly new plan. “Demands for unemployment insurance and severance pay are merely stopgap measures—there is no way to solve the unemployment problem unless the capitalist economic structure is fundamentally reformed.” “However, if our workers face further hardships, the city must take action. Therefore, we will promptly implement urban planning measures to ensure job opportunities for twenty to thirty thousand workers over these next two to three years.”

Mayor Kagawa said.

After finishing their conversation, they left the house and were hurrying toward Nakanoshima when— “Need a head?” “One head!” “Buy my head!” “Heads! Dirt cheap!” they encountered several men shouting in unison while holding their own severed heads—detached from their bodies—peddling them through the streets. Mayor Kagawa stood utterly astonished at this sight. “You—those people are unemployed, aren’t they?” “That’s correct. Since they can no longer make ends meet, they’re peddling their own heads.”

“That’s pitiful, isn’t it? We must do something about it, mustn’t we?”

Mayor Kagawa, while contemplating the true emptiness of politics, approached the headless man, “Are you selling that head?” “Yes, won’t you buy one?” “How much is it?” “I’ll sell it for two yen a day.”

“Are you selling it piecemeal at two yen a day?”

“That’s correct. I can sell it for a lifetime too, but that’s a bit pricey.” “How much is it?” “I won’t name a price—just give enough for my wife and children to eat.” “Why have you all lost your heads?”

“You’re aware of the recent mass demonstration, I take it?” “Hmm, I know of it. What about it?” “We were the leaders who opposed the wage cuts back then—that’s why our heads were severed.” “How dreadful.” “We’re a type of slave… Wage slaves.” “While unemployed, we must always detach our heads from our bodies and peddle them about.” “Come along then—I’ll ensure you’re fed at least.”

“No—we are not beggars, so we do not wish to rely on your charity.” “We want work.” “Please give us work.” “If you give us work, my head will naturally reattach.” “Is there any work?” “There’s no work—” When the mayor said this sadly, the headless people also went off looking sorrowful.

Mayor Kagawa hurried toward City Hall, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Smoke and the Unemployed" If this wasn't resolved—it would be truly shameful for an industrial city like Osaka—he thought，weeping inwardly.

39. The Red-Tape Doctrine of Municipal Employees

What surprised him upon arriving at City Hall was that today of all days, every department was frantically busy—it resembled a scene from a fire disaster.

“What’s going on? What happened?” he asked. “A call came in earlier today that an aristocratic observation group from Kyoto is coming for an inspection, so we have to make it look a bit busy—otherwise it’d be bad for appearances,” they answered. “There’s no need to go out of your way.” “Well, just organizing the unified education system proposal that Mayor Ikegami abandoned over a decade ago is more than enough work.”

they said. After all, the municipal employees of City Hall were autonomous organizations in name only, with everything operating in a non-autonomous, mechanical manner; thus, the longer they worked at the city office—year after year—the more their mental faculties deteriorated, until everything came to be handled mechanically and reflexively. Everything was bound to be incapable of adaptation, and binding came to be regarded as their official duty.

To obtain a one-sen-five-rin pencil, one had to fill out five application forms: one addressed to the mayor, one to accounting, one to general affairs, one to the historical records research section, and one kept for personal records. Even Mayor Kagawa found himself utterly astonished by City Hall’s red tape. They ought to have been busy. To register a single birth certificate, the registry clerks first declared the main text flawed—the “及” character missing from “and respectfully.” They ordered its insertion; when resubmitted a second time, they claimed the address was wrong and demanded another correction; on the third attempt, they insisted the father’s name was incorrect—that the “yoshi” in “Tameyoshi” must match the “yoshi” in the original registry—and commanded a revision; at the fourth submission, they required the mother’s name, written in kana, to conform to the original ledger; after that fourth amendment and a fifth submission with her full name in kana script, they rejected it again, now demanding use of the newly amended address numbering. When one paid ten sen to have the address verified by the investigation department and submitted it a sixth time, they retorted that no residence registration existed for the current address—that must be filed first. To submit this residence form, applicants made special trips home to confirm details; upon presenting it a seventh time, they were told the address didn’t exist in City Hall’s registry. After finally having investigators validate it and rushing to submit, they invariably missed that day’s office hours. When submitted an eighth time the next day—believing it flawless at last—they were informed they’d exceeded the legal deadline and must pay a fine.

When they protested, “That’s unreasonable,” the clerks would retort, “Then go correct the time of birth.” They would go out again, revise the birth time for the ninth time—distorting historical facts by writing falsehoods as the clerks dictated—and finally submit the application, only to be told it was now too illegible and ordered to rewrite it neatly.

Bursting with rage and trembling violently, they rushed to the free scribe’s office—only to find it packed! Having no choice, they rushed into a paid scribe’s office and had them write it—the scribe licked his lips and scrawled it out in a flurry. When they looked at the finished product, it had been rewritten into an even messier form. The scribe affixed his seal.

“Is this acceptable?” “It’ll be fine—as long as my seal is there.” “Eh, that’s just how it is.” Marveling at this yet dreading an eleventh correction, they timidly submitted the form at the registry window. The clerk examined the scribe’s seal and— “Approved.” —declared. The applicant began their journey home, tears of relief mingling with fury at the bureaucratic ordeal. The mayor now grasped his employees’ true busyness—a red-tape frenzy, eternal sabotage disguised as diligence.

The mayor thought that unless this internal reform was carried out, it would cause great harm to the citizens' lives. The mayor immediately embarked on a major overhaul.

40. Snail-like Revolutionary Neurasthenia At the very moment Mayor Kagawa declared disciplinary reforms, the first voice of opposition came from the Public Works Department. The Public Works Department had the peculiar distinction of housing the greatest number of employees wearing top-tier Western suits purchased through installment plans.

Those who opposed Mayor Kagawa’s restructuring of “sabotage-laden perpetual busyness” were not limited to just a portion of the Public Works Department. They were nearly all the officials in City Hall. Their reasoning was simply that "the old way was easier." As Mayor Kagawa, he wanted to introduce a new approach to the city’s administration. What he desired was to convert all municipal administrative tasks into a contract system—having municipal employees bid for responsibilities across departments like Public Works, Sanitation, General Affairs, Civil Registry, Education, Social Services, Accounting, and Urban Planning—introduce competitive tendering, and establish rates for efficiency bonuses based on work performance.

Since there were already companies handling municipal administration in the United States, Mayor Kagawa thought that Japan too should have companies to take on administrative tasks.

The mayor resolutely announced a major reform of the municipal employees' work processes. And he had all current section chiefs resign, then ordered each department anew to conduct efficiency contract bidding. Now, it was chaos. Every department was in utter turmoil, turned upside down. Some advocated for mass resignation, while others went around promoting a general strike by all municipal employees. On the other hand, there were also those who proposed going to advise Mayor Kagawa to resign. Some of the more hasty ones rushed to the city council members. Some visited city council members. The result was like poking a beehive.

He had known full well that things would turn out this way. He remained unfazed. He thought about helping the registry clerk who had resigned in frustration, but he couldn’t do that either; agonizing alone over what to do next, he realized he was instead succumbing to neurasthenia. It was a condition that could be called snail-like revolutionary neurasthenia—a disease where work doesn’t progress, nerves are sharpened to a razor’s edge, and one desires to act in some revolutionary way.

At the very moment municipal employees were declaring a general strike, thirty-four Kyoto court nobles descended into the chaos. First they were ushered into the mayor’s office, but recoiled at the filthiness of Mayor Kagawa’s clothing. The mayor wore his usual Consumer Cooperative-special Kogura Western suit—three yen and sixty sen’s worth—with rubber boots on his feet. One Kyoto noble addressed Mayor Kagawa by way of greeting: “Can nothing be done about Osaka’s smoke?”

“I’ve been thinking of ways to address it and have tried various measures, but I’m troubled that no results have come of it.” The mayor answered evasively, trailing off. “Oh, this too is a sign of prosperity—quite splendid indeed,” said Count Tomikoji of Sanjōnishi.

The Kyoto court nobles then circled through City Hall's interior and lavishly praised its splendid structure.

“This surpasses even the Shishinden in splendor, Ah.” “In former times, there existed no administrative work." “Such architecture would have been unnecessary then, Ah.” “How true that rings, Ah. When considering section chiefs of Dainagon rank, they would customarily compose three poems each morning and three each evening. One might well have termed it poetic labor.” The speaker was Count Senbonmitsuchō of Tako-Yakushi—a scion of an ancient Dainagon lineage now lodging at an elementary school teacher’s residence in the Tako-Yakushi district.

What delighted the Kyoto court nobles most during their tour of City Hall was matters pertaining to the registry section’s duties. They took such profound interest in genealogies that they were overjoyed to see how these were preserved in modern times. One of them flipped through the family registry himself while exclaiming.

“Oh my! This registry contains nothing but commoners!” Some were further informed that there were cases where applications had been rejected eleven times during family registry entries,

“Otherwise, the genealogies wouldn’t be fully preserved for posterity,” they remarked delightedly.

41. Municipal Contracting Corporation The municipal employees’ respect for and fascination with the Kyoto court nobles were tremendous. They displayed their joy at becoming friends with counts and viscounts across their faces, entirely forgetting about the general strike as they frolicked about. After the lords had left, City Hall suddenly became idle once more. And they did no work, thinking only of how to be idle and how to draw as much monthly pay as possible. In reality, how many municipal employees viewed their work at the town hall as something akin to a personal hobby? As a path toward a free society, they of course had no ambition to implement urban socialism; everything was governed by inflexible adherence to protocol.

Just four or five days prior, employees from the Public Works Department and the Accounting Department had gotten into a fight. This was because a Public Works Department employee was required to make a business trip to Nagoya with a mandatory stop in Nara, but late at night there were no trains operating in Kansai, forcing him to detour through Kyoto to reach Nara. The Accounting Department staff deemed this routing improper and refused to approve the travel expense reimbursement.

“But there were no trains—what else was I supposed to do?!” he said, “Then list it as ‘having business discussions with Kyoto Prefectural Office’—if you do that, we’ll approve the travel expenses,” they answered.

“Fine! Then we’ll list it as ‘coordinating train schedules with Kyoto Prefectural Office’—that satisfy you?” he jeered, sparking an explosive brawl. With all affairs in such disarray, even Mayor Kagawa found himself utterly confounded.

However, many municipal employees entered the office through connections with city council members, while others became civil servants through ties to wealthy individuals. They couldn’t exactly be weeded out, nor could efficiency improve; with them repeating this sabotage-masquerading busywork, the municipal office seemed stricken with paralysis.

Those who had been visiting city council members also returned. And, centered around the dismissed section chief, they began a grand council. The ousting of Mayor Kagawa had now become a decided matter. Moreover, since all the city’s capitalists supported this movement, it gained even greater momentum. Mayor Kagawa now clearly acknowledged, as if belatedly, that City Hall existed not for the citizens but for the wealthy. The municipal administration had become thoroughly enmeshed in a spider’s web of capitalism spread out in all directions, rendering the Mayor’s power utterly powerless to change anything.

The main instigator behind the mayor’s ousting was the Education Section Chief. He entered the mayor’s office fuming, the corners of his eyes narrowed in anger. “Mr. Mayor, I demand your resignation.”

“Hmm, do you think I should resign?”

“There’s no question of good or bad. You’re undermining the nation’s very foundations!... Y-Y-You say you’ll turn City Hall operations into a contracting system—th-th-then what happens to municipal sovereignty?!” “The city’s authority lies solely in its citizens’ moral solidarity. There can be no other authority beyond that.” “Then what do you intend to do with Osaka City?” “Like the universal postal system—by trusting in the people’s inherent social nature to serve public needs—I aim to rebuild everything as a free society rooted in mutual aid.”

“Mayor, then what becomes of our jobs?” “It’s because you forgot you’re public servants of the citizens and acted too high and mighty that I dismissed you, but I’ll hire you back as janitors.” “Mayor, I will not become a janitor. I am a younger cousin of the husband of the daughter of a grandchild of a relative of Kōnoike Zen’emon. I will not stoop to becoming a City Hall janitor!” “Then you should resign from City Hall.” “I’ll resign… but in return, you should resign as well.”

“That is not for you to say.” “I cannot resign as mayor unless I fundamentally reform today’s municipal administration, which is centered on the wealthy.” Upon hearing this, the Education Section Chief flew into a rage and shouted as he stormed out of the mayor’s office: “You’ll fucking remember this! Just you wait—I’ll have your head!”

42. Love School Graduate

The Education Section Chief immediately visited five or six city council members and went around urging them to attend a consultation meeting to oust the mayor.

That night, the consultation meeting was held at a geisha house in Shinmachi. This was at the residence of Ajigawa's mistress, where the Tammany faction of municipal administration centered around Ajigawa always held their secret meetings.

The attendees numbered thirteen, including Umeda and Matsushima. Of course, Ajigawa was the central figure. The Education Section Chief was diligently trying to please Ajigawa’s mistress. People had gathered, but the consultation meeting showed no sign of commencing easily. They spent a full two hours on women’s gossip, the issue of the soot ban, the incident of Lord Taikō’s palanquin ambush, and Matsushima’s critique of Yodo-gimi’s face.

Matsushima shouted loudly to Ajigawa’s mistress.

“Miss Ohana, Yodo-gimi’s a real beauty—even you couldn’t hold a candle to her.” Ohana was quite proud of her own face, but she deliberately assumed a modest smile, “Oh my, someone plain-faced like me could never compare—it’s downright impossible to put me next to Lord Taikō’s concubine now, isn’t it?” “No, Miss Ohana here’s quite a beauty herself.”

It was Umeda who had shouted this. “Truly, I don’t think there’s another beauty in all of Osaka who can compare to you, Miss Ohana.” It was Shimamura who added this.

Thus, Matsushima began defending his position. “Well, I’ve never laid eyes on such a beauty in all my born days!” “Speaking of which, I hear that Osome of Osome-Hisamatsu gave a speech at the recent women’s conference—is she truly such a looker?” “I’ve always thought renowned women from history were bound to be plain, but Osome... I can’t say she strikes me as any great beauty either...”

Umeda asked the Education Section Chief.

The Education Section Chief responded to that,

“Ah! What a regrettable thing,” said the Education Section Chief. “I never did get a proper look at her in the end.” He turned to Ajigawa Funazo with feigned concern: “You must have heard about your daughter’s reputation from her own lips.” “Well now,” Ajigawa growled back through clenched teeth, “I’ve disowned that girl.” “Good heavens!” “It’s true! These days she’s lost in her damn fantasies—listens to every word that idiot mayor spouts! Makes me hate her all the more!” Ajigawa spat these words with bitter indignation. A heavy silence fell over the gathering until someone muttered: “But why do daughters these days refuse to heed their parents?”

Ajigawa’s mistress Ohana responded to this. “It’s the parents who are at fault here. Even in Ms. Kikuko’s case, I sympathize with her.”

Matsushima sneered upon hearing this. “Miss Ohana, you best quit now—keep yappin’ like that and Mr. Ajigawa’ll blow his top.” “What’s it matter if he does? I’ve been sayin’ all along we oughta let your daughter follow her heart!” “Love school grads sure are different beasts,” Umeda taunted. “Looks like you can’t win against Miss Ohana either, Mr. Ajigawa,” Shimamura ribbed.

"That's where you find true human feeling," said Matsushima with a knowing flourish. The Education Section Chief grew increasingly agitated as the critical matter made no headway. "Mr. Ajigawa," he pressed, "we really must begin proper deliberations about removing the mayor." "Well now," Ajigawa retorted, "since booting that fellow's a done deal, no sense belaboring it."

Ajigawa answered thus. Hanako, the mistress, suddenly, called out “Mr. Section Chief,” requesting to speak. “I think everyone trying to oust Mr. Mayor is wrong.” “I think he’s Osaka City’s benefactor.” “You’ve really gone and sided with that grand Mayor, ain’t ya?”

Matsushima teased Hanako.

43. Café Abunai

The geisha Hanako added further. "I'm uneducated, see—a poor woman who's gotta be someone's mistress just to scrape by—but I can't help thinkin' Mr. Mayor's tellin' the truth." "Erectin' chimneys that produce tens o' thousands o' sick people every year's a grave mistake, I tell ya." "On that point, I'm against my man, I tell ya." "I don't mind if my man disowns me—I'm all for Osaka's anti-smoke movement!" "You're just against it 'cause your face powder gets dirty," Matsushima butted in.

“I ain’t never once met Mr. Mayor, but I can’t help thinkin’ my man’s ideas lean too heavy on makin’ money… If I’d graduated from a girls’ school like Ajigawa’s daughter and got proper schooling, I wouldn’t be stuck doin’ this mistress work—I’d be up there givin’ speeches at Central Public Hall myself.”

From Ohana’s beautiful mouth came a speech in support of the Mayor—and so the entire gathering fell into disenchantment, with not a single soul raising any opposition. Ohana continued. “I find Mr. Education Section Chief utterly outrageous.” “At the recent Educators’ Conference, you gave such a grand speech supporting the Mayor’s ideas—and now just ’cause you got dismissed, you’re tryin’ to oust Mr. Mayor? I think that’s downright unprincipled… Me—even though I make my livin’ as a geisha—I ain’t never let two men touch my skin… Men who don’t stick to their own claims really get under my skin, I tell ya.”

With such sarcastic criticism directed at him, the Education Section Chief had completely lost face. Ajigawa, too—finding Ohana too endearing to oppose her directly—simply maintained his silence. Because Ajigawa remained silent, Matsushima Shōgorō—that scatterbrained bastard—also fell quiet. The Education Section Chief glared at Ohana for a while but suddenly stood up and left. When the Education Section Chief left, the ten-odd city council members—starting with Shimamura and Umeda—all departed. And afterward, only Matsushima and Ajigawa remained.

“That Education Section Chief’s not one to be underestimated either, y’know? Listen here, Mr. Ajigawa—word is he’s getting reeled in by some waitress at Café Abunai down south.”

When Matsushima said this with feigned curiosity, Ajigawa started, "No way—who's been sayin' that?" "Rumors spread quick in this town," Matsushima drawled. "In my line o' work, I got people keepin' me right informed." "Puts on such a proper face, but hell—you never know what these modern educators get up to behind closed doors." Ajigawa's voice dripped with contempt. "Seein' how the papers keep reportin' teachers messin' up left an' right—makes you wonder what that bastard's really about."

“But Mr. Ajigawa, we gotta do somethin’ ’bout Osaka’s cafés—they’re just like whorehouses, I tell ya.” “With that setup, once the girls go rotten, the customers’ll rot too.” “I say we make them café girls get their clap checks!” “Don’t spout such filth!” “But honest now, Mr. Ajigawa—there ain’t no place more dangerous these days than them cafés.” “Why, a young fella can’t even sit down to a plate of stew without gettin’ accosted!” “Then what’re we doin’ ’bout the actual whorehouses?”

“Brothels are still better—cafés are worse ’cause they tempt young men into corruption. Especially that Umeko from Café Abunai—the one the Education Section Chief’s hooked on—they say she’s such a seductress she could rein in a runaway stallion with a single strand of nose hair!” “You’ve gotten yourself tangled up with quite the troublesome one, Ohana—” (Ajigawa turned to Ohana) “—did you know about Mr. Section Chief’s relationship with Umeko from Café Abunai when you said all that tonight?”

“Oh, I heard about it from Mr. Matsushima the other day and had been thinkin’ I oughta tell him off once and for all.” “Mr. Education Section Chief oughta act a bit more like the teacher he’s supposed to be, I say.” “In that case, I think someone like me—a geisha—comes across as far more genuine than that.”

Before the mistress, they couldn't even lift their heads, and the meeting to oust the Mayor collapsed completely.

44. Two Severed Sleeves That night, Mayor Kagawa also went to consult with Shimamura in Nishikujo. Shimamura offered various words of encouragement to the Mayor. “Well, if all the city hall staff go on strike, why don’t we just replace them all with workers? Or perhaps have women’s groups occupy city hall entirely—that might do the trick.”

Since Shimamura said such encouraging things, the Mayor too found his resolve greatly strengthened and spoke.

“To tell the truth, I wish groups like Ittōen would step forward more actively—instead of just cleaning individual households’ toilets, they could clean up the city’s filth.”

“Shall I go and ask them?” “With so many educated people there, they should be perfectly capable of managing the city’s administration properly, I’d think...”

Just then, Kikuko arrived for a visit, accompanied by Mrs. Hiroko of Ebisuya and Miss Tsuneko. They had come to request that labor groups lend their support, as the women’s organizations were planning to hold a major demonstration the day before the Inventors’ Convention.

“You know, Mr. Shimamura, while the Women’s Labor Union will naturally participate, we need as many workers’ wives as possible to join us too…” When Kikuko said this, Mrs. Hiroko took over: “And those with infants—we want every mother who can to bring their smoke-withered babies along.”

Mayor Kagawa, as if he couldn’t wait for the two women’s words to end, “So have the two of you finished your business?” “No, that’s all.”

Kikuko glanced at Tsuneko and said.

“Well then—if I may ask—there’s something I’d like you three to carefully consider.” Mayor Kagawa straightened his posture and spoke in solemn tones: “What is it? Has another catastrophe occurred?” “No, nothing so grave... Actually, all municipal employees have entered a strike state since this afternoon. Therefore—whether we request assistance from Ittōen or student groups remains uncertain—but given that many ladies in the women’s organizations appear to have ample leisure time, I wish to ask them to undertake penitent volunteer labor, approaching it as if embarking on Ittōen-style alms rounds.”

“Oh, it’s nothing!”

Brave Kikuko cried out like that. "Hmm... I wonder if we can manage."

Hiroko, ever the worrier, answered like this. “It’ll be fun if we do it!”

The mischievous Tsuneko said this. “Do it, do it! It’s the age of complete overhaul! Aren’t the train ticket sellers and the post office savings clerks all women? Organizing family registers or handling the Education Section’s work—is there any reason women’s groups can’t manage such tasks?!”

Shimamura encouraged them thus.

At these words, Hiroko,

“I’ll do it. I’ve made up my mind. If we don’t do it now, there’ll never be another time to demonstrate women’s abilities.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Let’s do it.”

Kikuko and Tsuneko also agreed with Hiroko. Mayor Kagawa was pleased with the three women’s resolve but asked them once more to confirm their commitment. “You will certainly do this, won’t you, Mrs. Hiroko?” “I’ll definitely do it. If you doubt me, I’ll offer both my sleeves as proof.” With that, Hiroko borrowed scissors from Shimamura and—with a grating *snip-snip*—cut off both sleeves, placing them before the mayor.

“Mr. Kagawa, Japanese women’s sleeves have been slightly too long until today.” “As of tonight, we have cut off Japanese women’s sleeves.” “From now on, we will venture into the world of reform.” “Please watch over us.” “Starting tomorrow, we solemnly pledge to undertake the reform of Osaka’s municipal administration...”

Mayor Kagawa respectfully bowed before the three.

45. The Founding of Women's Culture

The next day, as expected, all city officials went on strike. However, the women’s groups, having coordinated in advance, immediately took up positions across all departments of City Hall. Kikuko's breathing was rough. “Isn’t Japan’s first woman said to be the sun deity Amaterasu Ōmikami?” “It’s because we left politics entirely to men that things went wrong.” “If women were to take charge of politics, they would never erect hideous chimneys like these!” “As mothers of humanity, we women will never clothe our children in chimney-stained rags… From this day forth, we shall weave a female-centered culture across Osaka… Men possess no power whatsoever to govern cities beautifully.” “Look!” “In the West, don’t all cities have female guardian deities!” “In Athens, Paris, Ephesus, and Rome alike—all have female guardian deities.”

"Entrusting Osaka entirely to men was a grave mistake. From now on, we shall become Osaka's guardian deities—we will destroy this hideous chimney civilization built by men and realize a female-centered artistic culture in our city!"

Thus she declared to the leaders of various women's groups. Being people accustomed to managing kitchens at home, they all proved adept at organizing City Hall's administrative affairs. For the Accounting Section, female bank clerks took charge. Female teachers assumed positions in the Education Section; female clerks from the Communications Bureau handled General Affairs; and female doctors and nurses staffed the Health Section at their respective posts. Ms. Kikuko and Ms. Hiroko effectively served as Senior Deputy Mayors for the time being. However, having gathered through voluntary service, none acted arrogantly.

City Hall’s administrative work did not stagnate in the slightest. Everything proceeded perfectly.

At this, even the city officials who had gone on strike were utterly astonished. "Well now—the womenfolk have become strikebreakers opposing our mayor ouster. This has taken a strange turn," they fretted. Some grumbled in consternation that while the mayor stirred up workers to strike, it was wrongheaded for him not to acknowledge the city officials' own strike. Kikuko and the women's group leaders countered this by declaring:

“Municipal administration exists for the people. These employees fundamentally differ in character from capitalist employees. In a free society, strikes are not permitted. If strikes are permitted even within a free society, the public must suffer fatal harm. Therefore, in public autonomous organizations, strikes are a moral evil. Especially for public officials to go on strike is a moral evil.” Having said this, they defended the women’s groups’ actions. Thus, conflict between the women’s groups and the striking municipal employees became unavoidable.

However, the women’s groups had no time to concern themselves with such matters. They could not let this golden opportunity to realize their ideals slip away. They resolved to exert their utmost efforts. Since bringing it before the city council would prove cumbersome, they decided to immediately commence implementing women-led reforms that could be enacted without council approval.

The expansion of daycare centers; the organization of a women’s association for free nursing care for the poor; public milk distribution centers; public laundromats; the establishment of public drying areas; a citywide organization of mothers’ associations; the closure of geisha and prostitute referral agencies—all these were implemented as their first day’s work.

Even newspaper reporters were actually astonished at the swiftness of the women’s groups’ activities.

46. The Earthbound Doctor

The city officials’ strike and the women’s groups’ administrative work became the talk of the town, and that evening, all sorts of outlandish rumors began circulating everywhere. Among these, the most widely circulated rumor claimed that the mayor intended to dissolve the current city council and elect an all-female assembly. That night, the Mayor returned to the Kōkyū slum and retired early in the evening. But when a woman’s weeping pierced the night from next door, he leapt up to investigate—only to find his neighbors, a mother and her only daughter known as “Ms. Matsue,” clinging to each other in desperate sobs.

Ms. Matsue had long been a factory worker at a hosiery company, but due to the foul air of the smoky city, she had finally contracted lung disease and had been bedridden for over two months now. She felt ashamed to go to Saiseikai and had been seeing the town doctor instead. However, as the cost of medicine had piled up to a terrifying amount, they had pawned all their belongings, leaving only the futons they and her parent wore and slept in. After they had borrowed another forty yen for medicine, the doctor said he would no longer make house calls. That night, as her pulse had worsened and she was growing faint, they decided to call the doctor, but what weighed on their minds was the medicine debt they owed him.

The father took his own sleeping futon and one of the futons his daughter used to the pawnshop. With this, he barely scraped together a quarter of the medicine costs. But when he requested a saline injection, the doctor stated, "One injection costs five yen—you do understand that?"

The daughter pleaded, "Please, just save my life," and finally managed to get a saline injection, but after the doctor left, the father and daughter clung to each other and wept. That sound reached the Mayor sleeping next door. Mayor Kagawa wept after hearing the full account from the daughter. And he promised he would do something about it tomorrow. He then thought about various things. He pondered deeply and repeatedly on the doctors' inhumanity, the necessity of a dedicated nurses' association, and the need for a volunteer medical corps.

"That's right—I was elected mayor for these poor people. I must do my best from now on." Mayor Kagawa steeled himself and returned home, but finding sleep impossible, slipped out once more to wander alone through the labyrinthine alleys of the slums. "Why must I alone bear this burden?" "Why don't I choose an easier path?" "Why does the world hold such endless suffering?"

While lost in such thoughts, he staggered out of the slums and wandered through Osaka’s midnight streets, weeping as he went.

No one knew. The world was deep in slumber. But when he thought of the sins and fallacies of Osaka City, he simply could not sleep. He walked alone from street to street, shedding tears as copious as if he were insane.

47. Flood of Tears

"What an utterly desolate night!"

"Is there no salvation in this life?! When will life's darkness ever lift?!"

As he walked lost in such thoughts, he found himself forgetting who he was. “Anyway, I’ll cry and cry until I’ve drenched Osaka in tears.”

He continued to cry as he thought, one after another, exceedingly romantic thoughts about the destruction of industrial civilization and the day of capitalist culture’s final collapse.

As his nerves became heightened, he heard the sound of his blood boiling within his veins. By the time he noticed his blood boiling, his body was already swelling rapidly. He expanded as mercury does when heated. He looked down upon the city like a superhuman. Tennōji’s Tsūtenkaku Tower now appeared far below him. He could not predict how much larger he would grow. He worried that he might grow so large as to trample the Earth.

Growing so large was still a cause for worry. He grieved that he had grown too large. And so, the tears fell with a thunderous roar into the ground below. His crying had become dangerous both to himself and to society. So he endeavored to restrain his weeping as best he could. However, as the inertia had built up, he found himself utterly unable to stop it. Tears fell like a heavy rain.

Before long, he saw disturbances breaking out throughout the city. And

“A flood!” “Flood!” “Flooding!” “Flooding!” “Help!” “Houses are being swept away!” He heard these cries. Paying attention, he looked in the direction from which the cries arose—and indeed, houses were being swept away. When he checked where the water came from, it was flowing from his own eyes. At last, his tears became a flood. He too wondered in amazement at how such water had emerged, but upon reflection found it unsurprising after all. A large amount of liquid will always become a flood. Osaka City was now drenched with his tears.

He had done a terrible thing. It was truly regrettable that his excessive love for Osaka and weeping over its sins had instead caused a great flood. He racked his brains over how to make amends, but there was simply no good method. He concluded that stopping his tears was the only way to save the city from flooding. He considered wiping his eyes with a handkerchief and even mopping up the fallen tears, but feared his movements might create a low-pressure system and trigger a violent storm. Since he also worried it would be disastrous if citizens discovered his role, he resolved to remain motionless while they clamored.

The citizens' commotion over the flood was tremendous. With sudden heavy rain having brought water to areas where floods never occurred even under normal circumstances, everyone stood amazed. Yet not one person looked up or noticed this was the superhuman's rain of tears, so he too felt relieved.

Before long, the water flowed along the gutters from the Yokoborigawa River into the Ōkawa River, and the roads became parched once more. The citizens closed their doors again and slept. Left alone in Osaka’s sky, he too finally regained his composure. The heat of his blood also gradually subsided. And so, without anyone noticing, he returned to his original small stature; thus, pretending as if he knew nothing about the tears, he went back to the slums and slept until morning.

**48. Softness Conquers Hardness**

The next day, the mayor went to City Hall wearing an expression of feigned ignorance. Before City Hall, a massive crowd had formed where municipal employees' strikers and women's volunteer corps were locked in fierce combat over surveillance rights. The women's groups remained absolutely determined to safely usher their members into City Hall. The strikers tried just as hard to keep them out. Amid this standoff, violent clashes erupted. Having long anticipated such resistance, the women interlocked their hands and charged toward the monitors, devising a way to safely guide their comrades into City Hall.

The leader guarding those entering City Hall was Miss Ajigawa Kikuko, and hearing she was a judo master, the strike monitors kept their distance. Some among them edged closer hoping to glimpse her beauty, but fearing retaliation, none dared approach outright. Yet they maintained their watch. Still the Women’s Army held firm. This brought both factions to a tense stalemate—the Women’s Army and officials’ monitors locked in a glaring standoff. Spectators multiplied by the minute; citizens who’d come on municipal business now gawked at the spectacle, cheering as if watching a matinee thriller.

The police declared strict neutrality and maintained an air of feigned ignorance. The Women’s Army adopted a strategy of endurance, and the escort team decided to focus exclusively on that approach for the time being.

However, as men and women seemed to possess a strange compatibility, among the officials who had come to monitor, there emerged those who surrendered to the Women’s Army, bringing soda or treating them to milk caramels. In the end, it reached a point where the enemy had taken charge of guarding the Women’s Army. In other words, by morning, the municipal employees’ strike group had come to realize they simply couldn’t win against the women. Inside City Hall, the Women’s Army worked diligently on administrative tasks. Even if surrendering their stronghold to the enemy was imminent, they labored with the sole aim of achieving the best possible results in the meantime—thus their work proceeded remarkably.

The day’s work program included organizing consumer cooperatives citywide, municipalizing lodging houses, combating unethical doctors and establishing health cooperatives (an idea the mayor conceived after Mrs. Matsueda, his neighbor, fell ill—with the aim of hiring doctors through the cooperative and eliminating profit-driven physicians), converting all tram vehicles to rubber wheels, installing soot monitoring personnel, imposing fines on those wantonly emitting smoke into the air for pollution control purposes, and researching a smoke tax.

The registry staff were courteous and helpful, eliminating the need for eleven or more corrections. This was because all corrections were now being made by the officials themselves using Japanese typewriters. The citizens' joy regarding these reforms was tremendous. The Health Department was also receiving tremendous acclaim. Thanks to the women’s fastidiousness, they beautifully cleaned every corner of the city. Because of this, it was thought that Osaka City would become an artistic city unlike any seen since its founding.

The belief that women lacked political ability was conclusively proven utterly false by this. No—rather, women's obedient nature proved eminently suitable for undertaking the joint projects of this new civilization, so the mayor concluded that future culture must inevitably become one centered on artistic women.

49. A Doll’s House and a Human House When the municipal employees saw their strike failing, they went to seek aid from the General Labor Union. The General Labor Union’s strike investigation committee consequently convened an inquiry. The members were Suehiro Nishiō, Minami Tadashi, Shimamura Nobuyuki, Ishioka Bunshichi, Takafuji Kunimatsu, and two others—seven in total. After investigating, the committee resolved to maintain an observational stance for the time being. They had concluded that not all aspects of the strike were justified; even if the mayor had been somewhat autocratic, since the employees had initiated the strike despite declaring they would autonomously manage municipal affairs, they were overly entrenched in bureaucratic factions. However, being unable to sever ties completely, they announced they would adopt this position of neutrality.

Thus, the municipal employees' strike group found themselves completely at a loss. With no other solution left, they concluded that convening the City Council to arrange the Mayor's ousting was their only recourse, and thus divided their efforts to visit City Council members.

The City Council members' intentions were ninety-nine percent aligned toward ousting the Mayor. Even so, those who possessed the courage to resolutely voice calls for the mayor's ouster were limited to Matsushima Shōgorō and Ajigawa Funazo. As citizens, they had little interest in who assumed control of city administration. However, since the women's groups had taken the lead and begun taking action, efficiency had improved markedly, leaving many thoroughly delighted. Therefore, fearing that ousting the mayor would provoke citizens' counterattacks and create further complications, they should have convened the City Council—yet it never materialized.

On the third day, City Hall's efficiency improved even further compared to the previous day and the day before. As the ousting was deemed invalid, it was called off. On the contrary, the women's groups declared they must proactively advance their social reform program. They decided to establish a policy of municipalizing all urban necessities—including "improvement of home-based labor," "eight-hour workdays for housemaids," "destruction of the licensed prostitution system," "expansion of municipal monopolies," "municipalizing stock markets," "municipalizing banks," "municipalizing warehousing," and "municipalizing pawnshops"—to be executed through public administration.

However, more than half of the city council members were troublesome elements parasitizing these central institutions and throwing their weight around. The struggle was not easy. To implement these reforms, they had to wait for an opportune moment. Until then, they reasoned, women must at least establish qualifications to have a voice in municipal governance. Yet when women's suffrage might come into their hands remained entirely uncertain. Ultimately, they resolved to begin implementing the most feasible policies first. Thus did all the city's women unite in full solidarity to demand suffrage through their households—should any household refuse to recognize this right, the women's groups would execute a total strike against it.

Women’s suffrage was not an end in itself in politics. However, it was considered necessary to cleanse today’s filthy cities and civilization and transform the chimneys built by Adam into an artistic “Tree of Life.”

50. The Activities of the Soot/Smoke Inspectors

“Hey, Minami! Way too much smoke’s comin’ outta the knitwear company’s chimney!” Having shouted this from the watchtower, the soot inspector waited as “Alright—I’ll go take care of it right now—” Minami called back. With that shout, the inspector dashed off in that direction. Smoke billowed from the knitwear factory’s slender chimney as if to scorch the sky. The supervisor marched into the office and jabbed his finger upward at the offending stack. “That was this company’s chimney, correct?”

The clerk widened eyes in surprise at what was happening,

“Yes, that’s ours. What seems to be the issue?” “That chimney’s belching out a bit too much smoke.” “I wouldn’t normally make a fuss over a little smoke, but given how it’s harming local residents’ health, I’ll need to collect a five-yen fine.” “A five-yen fine—?” “Correct—we’re obliged to collect fines in such cases.” “We’ve heard nothing about this.” “Five yen’s getting off light. You lot might not realize how much misery your soot brings—year after year Osaka’s lung disease cases climb, more folks dying by the day. People who ignore public safety deserve execution! But to set an example, we’ll let you off with just a five-yen fine this first time.”

“We ain’t payin’ nothin’.” “Very well. Then I order the prime mover’s operation halted.” “What a terrifying show of authority… Is puffin’ out smoke really such a crime?” “Up till yesterday an’ the day before, no matter how much coal we burned an’ smoke we belched, not a soul gave a damn!” “Who the hell decided this anyway?”

“It’s the current mayor.” “Who is this current mayor?” “It’s Mr. Kagawa.” “Oh, that idiot… Who on earth made a man like that mayor?”

“Well, my job is collecting fines—let’s just get this over with.” “No way we’re paying some lawless fine like that.” “Then I’ll order your machinery shut down.” “Go ahead! If you’ve got the muscle to pull that off, try it whenever you like! Where’s the law saying what spewed free yesterday can’t spew today?” “You’re too busy lining your pockets to care about citizens choking on your filth.”

The supervisor said earnestly.

“Ridiculous! Not being able to emit smoke from our own chimney…! Why’d they even allow such chimneys in the first place?! A chimney’s meant to emit smoke, ain’t it? If it ain’t emitting smoke, then it ain’t a chimney at all! You idiot, can’t you think a bit before spoutin’ off?!”

“Until yesterday, each citizen did exactly as they pleased.” “But since we’ve come to recognize how harmful that was, smoke prohibition monitors have now been appointed starting today.” “You have no right to make such selfish demands.” “If you’d just modify the furnace construction to prevent smoke emissions—!” “This could be done for a mere hundred or two hundred yen—a trivial expense! To neglect this and keep harming citizens constitutes gross negligence.” “A five-yen fine is merciful.”

The clerk from the knitwear company reluctantly brought a single five-yen note from accounting and handed it to the supervisor. The supervisor hurried back to the fire watchtower.

51. The Hectic Routine Life

Rumors about the flood began to circulate. It wouldn’t have been strange if rain had fallen over all of Osaka City,* but since* **the flood occurred so locally,** **even** **the meteorological observatory claimed** **not** **to** **understand.** **The night watchman** **didn’t** **know,** **and** **the police officer** **didn’t** **know.**

Some people claimed it was "fox's piss," while others said an iron water main pipe had burst. Dōjima and Kitahama too showed slight signs of unease because of this. The Kitahama brokers grumbled that if such strange floods were to occur frequently hereafter, Osaka's soot problem would pale in comparison—they would never be able to sleep soundly again. Some said it was wondrous rain sent down by Kōbō Daishi, while others claimed it was an omen of war or some ill fortune befalling the nation.

However, no one knew the cause of it. The rumors only grew larger with each passing day. It was an era where women occupied City Hall and a man of unknown identity sat as mayor—who knew what conspiracies might be afoot. Perhaps a golden-haired nine-tailed fox had come from the distant lands of Tang and India and was disguising itself as the Mayor of Osaka. Or perhaps radicals were employing strange tactics to trouble Japan, some began to say with conviction.

For some reason, a rumor spread among the citizens that on the night of the flood, the shadow of a giant spectral monk had been cast over all of Osaka City. The story expanded from an incident where a man from Kobe went out to relieve himself that morning and, upon seeing a giant spectral monk towering over all of Osaka standing in the sky, fainted and died. Since this was a story told by a dead man, how much of it deserved belief remained unknown; in any case, the superstitious citizens of Osaka had now come to believe it completely.

“Hey, they’re sayin’ a giant spectral monk appears in Osaka’s sky every night!” “But it’s true! Ain’t a soul left who don’t believe it now!”

“Hey, don’t go saying things that scare people like that.” “But it’s true! There ain’t a soul left who doesn’t believe it now!”

“Well then, I’ll start praying to the gods so I don’t see that damn thing.”

All citizens of Osaka had now become fervently devout. The Shōten deity of Ikoma, Nose's Myōken Bodhisattva, Takatsu Shrine, and Tenma's Tenjin Shrine were packed daily. It was precisely like making shrine visits to ward off calamity in an ill-omened year. Mayor Kagawa found himself utterly exhausted by these rumors. Even if he declared the truth plainly, no one would believe him—yet remaining silent might invite greater disaster. If I were to confess that giant spectral monk was myself, people might die of shock. This left him completely perplexed.

He grew weary of handling politics earnestly. Humans were ultimately like laboratory rats busily running around and around on the same spinning wheel; in today’s civilization as it stood, there was neither progress nor development. Even if they survived for hundreds or thousands of years hereafter, the result would remain the same. Everything was weariness. The conquest of the skies, women's civilization—all were meaningless endeavors. He thought that he must dig deeper into a somewhat stronger world of truth.

Upon what foundation do all social movements ultimately stand? Marxist socialists would say, "Upon material production." But for what purpose does this material production exist? In the end, is it not simply to live! And for what purpose does one live? Ah, all is surface upon surface. Humankind must dwell in somewhat deeper places. Social movements and labor disputes alike—unless they arise from life’s fundamental purpose, all is in vain. When he gazed at Osaka’s sky while thinking this, even the city’s smoke seemed but utter emptiness.

52. The World of Human Abuse

He no longer wanted to be Mayor of Osaka City. However, he could no longer resign now, struggling against the fate he himself had determined. He thought there was nothing more tedious than being mayor—expending mental energy only to be criticized by others, becoming unable to study proper subjects, twisting archaic laws that served no practical purpose while vociferously advocating legal action or whatnot—but in the end, even that amounted to empty nothingness. There was neither invention nor discovery. He thought it far wiser to study the evolution of skeletal structures in organisms or investigate changes in the zygomatic bone.

For one thing, he had grown tired of urban life. Everything was superficial. Beauty had vanished from every part. Chimneys, iron bridges, zinc-plated roofs, desert of roof tiles—and weary workers—prostitutes and streetwalkers to satisfy their carnal desires—all was weariness, all was afflicted with revolutionary neurasthenia. Living in a decadent city like today’s, it’s only natural to start craving revolution as a substitute for morphine.

And the slums! Tens of thousands of disabled people had no hope of getting food and were starving. On the other hand, there existed a noblewoman who—with so much gold coin in her safe that she feared burglars, living all alone with no one to lavish her affection on—doted solely on dogs instead of people. He deeply lamented the aberrations of modern civilization. To live more beautifully and truthfully, he concluded that the only way was to destroy urban civilization. The destruction of chimney civilization meant, in other words, the destruction of urban civilization. It meant eliminating those who kept their hands clean and wouldn’t even wash their own bowls.

Even if he said such things, it wasn’t something that could be resolved immediately, and he felt completely at an impasse. In such moments of impasse, he had developed a habit of seeking solace from inanimate objects. He left work at four o’clock and, without returning to the slums, went out for a walk to the countryside. There, he wanted to leave behind the two-legged animals, the soot, and the slums, and maintain contact with nature even for a short while. He took the Keihan Electric Railway from Tenmabashi to Hirakata, climbed the eastern hill from Hirakata, and emerged at his beloved Katano Plain in Kitakawachi. He wandered all alone through the fields. From Yamada Village to the large pond of Tsuda Village, he thought of nothing but the beauty of nature.

Frogs were ribbiting in the rice fields. Dragonflies were flying. In a beautiful stream, killifish were swimming.

He sat by the stream and recalled his childhood. How I long for when I was six or seven, keeping killifish in jars and catching snails. A loach stuck its head out from the riverbed. A water beetle was whirling frantically in the water.

53. The Temptation of Nature He thought that if he could become part of this great Nature itself, he might find far greater happiness than in being Mayor of Osaka City.

So, he decided to ask his childhood friend Killifish. “Hey, Mr. Killifish, I’m so terribly worn out by life. Won’t you let me join your group?”

Killifish heard this and curtly refused. "It's no good. Unless one is born anew, they cannot enter the realm of killifish." "But as I am now, I simply can't muster the courage to return to Osaka." "Please—if only you'd consider that I want to help even one person—let me join your ranks."

Since he pleaded once more, Killifish appeared to grow earnest. “Will you practice humility?” “However much it takes, I will practice humility.” “You mustn’t go around thinking you’re some know-it-all. Do you admit that the knowledge you’ve accumulated thus far has been utterly superficial?” “Of course, I admit that.”

Killifish continued questioning further.

“You can’t join our ranks while still thinking like a human.” “If you want to join us killifish, can you become a ‘killifish’ at heart?”

“I do want to become one. “I do want to become one. “The truth is, I’ve grown weary of humans.” “If you’re so weary of humans, do you entertain hope of becoming a fish forever?”

When asked this，he was at a loss. “No answer yet? One，two，three，four…” “What exactly is your question? Are you asking if I have hope of becoming a fish forever?” “That’s right!” “Wait a moment…”

“Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten……… Still no answer? …If you can’t answer by the time I reach twenty, you will never be able to join our group. We are extremely busy. Summer is our busiest season—if we don’t evolve by summer’s end, there will be no other opportunities… Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen—still no answer?” “Mr. Killifish, even if you rush me, I still can’t make up my mind…”

“If you keep this up, you’ll fall behind the evolution of the universe. Plants are making even greater efforts than animals, you know. I can’t waste time on a leisurely fellow like you… 14, 15, 16, 17… You’ve only got three seconds left!” “I don’t want to become just a killifish. I want to become all of nature.” “Very well, that settles it. Since you’re not one to be bound by a single rope, I’ll give you seven and a half.”

No sooner had Killifish spoken than the spider that had been dangling from the tree since earlier came gliding down and wound seven and a half strands of spider's silk tightly around Mayor Kagawa. Then the spider vanished somewhere.

Killifish shouted from the small ditch.

“You have become nature’s captive. “You shall never return to the human world.”

No sooner had he spoken than the birds in the trees, the water beetles in the stream, and the striped frogs on the bank all burst into loud cackles.

As he wondered who could be laughing in such a peculiar way, he felt his body grow ecstatic and his consciousness begin to fade away.

“Ah, I’ve finally been captivated by nature,” the Mayor felt, but by then he had already sunk to the bottom of the stream.

54. The Snail Philosopher’s Philosophy of Life

At the bottom of the stream, enveloped in silent stillness, he noticed his body had contracted under both the water's pressure and nature's solemn force. Due to the profound transformation occurring within his own flesh, he felt overwhelming fatigue. Just as silkworms enter slumber before and after molting, he too greedily drank in sleep. What he feared was whether he might slip into eternal slumber. All creatures inhabiting nature seemed to exist in an ecstatic state of half-wakefulness. Observing crabs and loaches move—they would crawl one shaku only to doze off, then dart five shaku before resting again. Whether from depleted energy or life's harshness, the stream-bottom dwellers appeared to have entered a "realm of slumber."

He longed for a deep slumber. Beneath the soot's oppression, he lay utterly spent. Yet his yearning for nature sought not this eternal sleep. What he craved was respite—not oblivion. What he demanded was awakening. Human existence stretched before him—monotonous, unroused. It was this very stagnation that drove him to nature's embrace, seeking sharper wakefulness still.

Yet, the one saving grace was change. In nature, there were many changes unseen in human society. Everything appeared as though dependent on fate, yet there was considerable change. He quietly buried his body in the mud at the bottom of the stream—and, much like a loach would, gazed at the ever-changing surroundings. The water was transparent, the duckweed was beautiful, the sunlight was dazzlingly bright; when it beat down on the water’s surface, ripples like rainbows formed. Water chestnuts lay hidden beautifully beneath their leaves, with killifish swarming around them. Crabs were busily eating soil beside holes. The snail was buried deep in the mud, comporting itself like a Cynic philosopher. The algae and the reeds along the bank stood in silence, tracing beautiful lines through the space.

The dragonfly larvae sank and rose, leisurely going through the motions of exercises at the base of the buds. The only busy one was the Water Beetle, circling thirty-three times in figure-eight patterns within the same area before advancing a little further in its peculiar motion. Unlike when observed beneath Osaka’s smoke, watching this was pleasant. Since the seven and a half strands of spider’s silk still hadn’t come undone, he considered himself a captive of “nature,” put on display before all eyes. After some time, the riverbed philosopher Snail Cynic Philosopher came crawling slowly and sluggishly to where the captive Mayor lay, his dwelling still clinging to his body.

“Hmph!” “Child of man, the human world must be quite noisy, eh?”

Because the Snail Philosopher suddenly posed a philosophical question, the Mayor was thrown for a loop.

“It must be noisy. It must be noisy,” said the Snail Philosopher. “After all, there can be no peace among those who’ve risen from tadpoles. Even in this little ditch, those who disturb the peace are always limited to lordly frogs preying on killifish. Child of man, you’re all upstarts from tadpole stock. There’s no reason peace should ever be found among your kind.” Mayor Kagawa wanted to protest but found himself unable to open his mouth. He realized his very lips had become captive. The Snail Philosopher continued soliloquizing.

“In the world of frogs it’s true, and among you human children too, I suppose it’s the same. They go on producing children, but when it comes time to raise them, it’s survival of the fittest—a brutal free-for-all where might makes right. Word has reached even here that you human children have grown terribly corrupt—are you too one of those defeated stragglers who lost the struggle for survival? The world of you human children is truly wretched, I suppose. Especially you Japanese—they say you’re inherently wicked! In Japan, aren’t there just slightly too many humans? You’re all nothing but scum! What a blasted predicament! You too were crushed under that, nearly killed, and managed to escape down here, I suppose.”

55. A Battle on the Snail's Horn “Hey there, tadpole child!” called out the Snail Philosopher. “Come over here for a moment! I’ll show you something interesting.”

The Snail Philosopher called the little mayor over to his side,

“Can you see? That snail on the branch tip?” he said, pointing to the tip of a zelkova tree branch on the bank. “Where? Where?”

“That snail on the zelkova tree standing on that bank over there.” “I see it. I see it!” “Can you see them waging war?” “I can see them. I can see them.” Now that it was mentioned, there on the snail’s horn were two small men resembling warrior dolls—both clad in armor and straddling chestnut horses—locked in combat.

With a spirited “Hiyah!”, they thrust their spears and crossed blades. Pitifully, the one who thrust was the first to fall. And the one who was stabbed also fell immediately after. Just when he thought the war had ended, another set of armored warriors came rushing up onto the horn. And then, they were fighting a battle for control over a space less than one square millimeter on the horn. “There! “There!” “Tadpole child, do you understand now?” “Humans are such wretched creatures.” “Among my snail relatives, there’s a space on that horn not even one square millimeter large, yet they assert ownership over it and make a commotion day after day, carrying on like that.” “Whether rain falls or winds blow, the battle atop the horn continues year-round ’tis.” “We’ve grown so accustomed to it that we hardly take notice, but for those seeing it for the first time, it must seem quite remarkable.”

The Mayor was utterly astonished. He had long heard of battles on a snail’s horn, but viewed from the stream’s depths, it appeared as tangible reality. “It’s precisely because humans are like that that they’re so troublesome! And yet there are those who keep doing such things while shouting about human evolution! Your fellow philosophers must be utter imbeciles! Lately there seem to be many materialist philosophers clamoring about class struggle—I suppose they too are theorists of battles on a snail’s horn? What a blasted nuisance ’tis!”

Just then, a group of killifish emerged from the shade of the water chestnut leaves. "At it again, are they?" "Today, since the weather is fine, they've been at it since morning."

The snail answered. "It’s remarkable how they’ve maintained such perseverance." "That must be innate... Though you often hear of murderous madness among humans, it seems they inevitably have homicidal blood coursing through them." The snail roundly berated humankind. But there was no helping being berated. Humans had indeed continued fighting since the dawn of their history, just as the snail said. Mayor Kagawa—having been shown humanity’s foolishness by the snail—remained silent and crouched in the mud. The Killifish, seeing this,

“Perhaps we should release him from his restraints now,” asked the Killifish. “Release him,” said the Snail Philosopher. “After all, he’s a defeated warrior of the Horn-top War—he likely won’t act too recklessly now. I’ll take responsibility for his custody.”

Since the Snail Philosopher had provided his guarantee, Killifish removed the seven and a half strands of spider silk from the little mayor’s body.

56. Riverbed Democracy

When the restraints came off, he immediately regained his ability to speak.

In his joy, he sang a hymn at the top of his voice. “Farewell, Yukine—night’s dream, The morning sun’s light comes shining. My confusion is clearly shown Thou art indeed my Lord—Es.”

When he sang this, all the animals in the water began to sing. “Gurgle gurgle, squeak squeak squeak squeak, gurgle gurgle squeak squeak squeak squeak.”

The Crab, the Killifish, the Water Beetle, the Frog, the Loach, and the Snail all joined the chorus.

Killifish informed Mayor Kagawa.

“From today onward, you are nature’s free citizen. You may now converse freely with all beings—with the Crab, the Snail, the Killifish, even Frogs… But do take care. That Lord Frog is a wicked one. Many of our comrades have been devoured by him. Stay vigilant. You too must guard yourself lest you be eaten. Are you adept at fleeing? He swims with dreadful skill—unless you escape swiftly, he’ll catch you. Though fearsome in appearance, the Crab is quite mild-mannered and esteemed among our kind… But when it comes to Frogs—ah, they defy all reason.”

While Killifish was speaking alone, Lord Frog approached. “Welcome, sir!” He was quite charming.

The Killifish was startled and hid somewhere. “Where have you come from today?” “From Osaka?” “From Kyoto?” “This place is exactly halfway between Kyoto and Osaka, and it’s said to be five ri to either.” “Where have you come from?”

“I am from Osaka.” “I see. Welcome.” “Therefore, sir, there are two factions in this riverbed. Anyone who comes here must align themselves with one side or the other.” “Which side will you align yourself with, sir?” “I do not wish to align with either side. “I have always detested factions.” “Even so, you must align yourself with one side; otherwise, you cannot live there.”

“Now, why must that be? “I am far too exhausted to involve myself with political parties or politics. “I have no desire to engage in factional disputes even here in the riverbed.” Upon hearing this, Lord Frog rolled his bulging eyes while

“If you keep talking like that, you’ll soon meet a terrible fate.” Evidently having received Killifish’s alarm, all the riverbed’s animals came gathering. Led by the Snail “Cynic” Philosopher, seven members in total—the Crab, the Loach, the Dragonfly Larva, the Water Beetle, and the Killifish couple—approached with solemn dignity.

At the gathering place, the Killifish couple proved remarkably bold. They sat beside the frog without showing the slightest fear. The mayor made himself small and watched. Soon, Killifish shouted “Chairman!” “Number six!” declared the Snail Philosopher, pointing at Killifish. The Snail Philosopher appeared to be the chairman. “I demanded that the frog withdraw.” The Frog glared with bulging eyes upon hearing this and seethed with anger. “I will not withdraw.” Killifish let out a tearful voice, “Didn’t you devour my siblings?” “You beast!”

The Snail spoke with the utmost calmness,

“Mr. Killifish, please be quiet! I shall expedite the proceedings. Gentlemen, we have convened this special assembly today for no other reason than—since a new guest member has joined us in this riverbed—to determine their affiliation. Gentlemen, I ask for your deliberations.”

57. The Snail Faction and Lord Frog

“Chairman!” called the Loach, twisting his famously thin mustache as he addressed the chair. “First!”

When "First" was called, the Loach stood up. “Chairman, I wish to take him as my adopted son. My family is unpopulated, and I was searching for someone to succeed us. Fortunately, my daughter also graduated with honors from the Higher Loach School this year, so I would be most grateful if he would come to our family as an adopted son.” “Chairman!” called the Water Beetle. “I oppose the Loach’s proposal. He is far too self-serving. He is a lowly creature who does nothing but strive to expand his own influence, wallowing in mud from morning till night. Giving a two-legged animal as an adopted child to someone like him is the very foundation that would destroy riverbed democracy.”

“Chairman!” came the loud cry of Lord Frog.

“I support expelling that two-legged animal. He is a murderous lunatic imported by that crybaby Killifish. He will undoubtedly disrupt our nation’s peace and order in the future… Just now, the Killifish couple here seemed to imply that I devoured their siblings, but I must insist we have no recollection of such an act. I believe it was likely the doing of that two-legged animal standing over there.”

Voices of “Boo! Boo!” arose from all directions. The Crab, who had been silent until now, swung his large claws and glared at the Frog with his long eyes.

“You liar!” he shouted.

The frog, evidently quite frightened by the crab’s claws, hunched his neck and shrank back.

“I would very much like to hear the Chairman’s honorable opinion,” Killifish shouted. The Snail Philosopher opened his heavy lips and spoke: “Having adhered to individualism since ancient times, I’ve never troubled myself with social issues and thus have no particular opinion to offer. But as one whose nature stands diametrically opposed to frogs and their ilk, I detest empty debates. Ideologically speaking, I cannot align with a frog espousing mass democracy—though we both invoke democracy, I support Mr. Killifish’s principles. I am by nature an individualistic anarchist. However, I cannot accept Proudhon’s interpretation that ‘to be rich is to steal.’ My dwelling is an appendage of my body, never fashioned by thieves.”

“Off topic! “Off topic! Off topic!” shouted Lord Frog. When the Crab swung his claws, the Frog hunched his neck again.

“I assert absolute freedom. Therefore, if the two-legged animal wishes to dwell in our world, we should guarantee him freedom; and if the Loach desires to adopt him, that too is acceptable. I wish to restrain no one. Nor do I wish to be restrained by anyone. However, I absolutely oppose those narrow-minded frogs.”

Killifish and Loach were delighted. They clapped with all their might.

Lord Frog saw this, turned bright red in the face, and stood up.

“That is bourgeois democracy. “The Crab has a hole, the Snail Philosopher has a shell, yet we Tree Frogs—proletarians—have not even a place to rest our heads. “If you try to steer the world by the Snail Philosopher’s and Crab’s ideals, we empty-handed proletarians will have no choice but to starve to death!” “So that’s why you eat Killifish!” jeered the Water Beetle. The Snail Philosopher declared: “It is absolutely impossible for liberals and centralists to take joint action. “This meeting can only end in deadlock. “Does anyone have opinions on this matter?” ”

The Loach inquired. “In that case, would there be any issue with him coming to our family as an adopted son?” “Let’s leave that matter to individual freedom. Does anyone have any objections?”

“Objection! Objection!” shouted Lord Frog. “Agreed!” “Agreed! Agreed!” chanted all the others in unison. “We shall not take a vote.” “Since majority votes are trifling matters, let us leave it to individual freedom.”

Having said that, the Snail Philosopher looked around the assembly hall with a composed face.

No one opposed it. However, wherever he had gone, Lord Frog’s figure was no longer visible in the assembly hall.

58 Loach’s Bride

The meeting was settled with that, he was thinking, when the Loach declared: "I will now conduct the wedding ceremony immediately." As he wondered what they were about to do,

The Loach pulled along a girl decorated with algae and waterweed flowers.

“With all honored guests as witnesses, we shall now proceed with adopting a son.”

The Loach maintained perfect composure. "I do not consent!" With a sorrowful cry, the Mayor objected. "There is absolutely no need for you to give consent." "As this matter was decided by me alone, I shall execute it exactly as planned."

Finding it strange—"What a strange thing to say"—the Mayor asked the Snail Philosopher for the first time. “Is marriage possible there even if one party doesn’t consent?” “Well, you see—in the world of fish, since the females don’t require the kind of union mammals engage in to become pregnant in their bellies, you bear absolutely no responsibility. There’s no need for concern. They’re making their own decisions and carrying on with their own commotion—just leave them be.”

When he heard this explanation, he realized that in fish reproduction, unrequited love posed no complications whatsoever.

And so, he stood there in silence.

The Loach couple and their daughter were reciting something like a spell together. And then they said loudly.

“The wedding ceremony has been completed.” “I humbly request that you come to my home as our guest.” The Mayor, utterly unable to make sense of what was happening, stood silently watching—whereupon the Crab rolled its eyes and glared at the Loach.

“This two-legged animal belongs to all of us! He isn’t yours alone!”

Having said that, the Crab embraced the Mayor with its two legs.

To this, Killifish objected. “I was the one who brought this person here. He is my guest. Taking him back to my residence is the proper course of action.” The Crab brandished its large pincers and shouted.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” “Fool! You can’t keep him all to yourself!” “He belongs to society as a whole!” Killifish had not been defeated. “If he belongs to society as a whole, doesn’t that mean he belongs to no one?” “Who will host him?” “Even if you preach communism, isn’t this just communism when it’s convenient for taking—a communism that’s never given anything to anyone!” “I don’t agree with such communism.” “True communism begins with giving.” “It’s precisely because I believe he belongs to us all that I’m guiding him to my home.”

The Mayor was impressed by what Killifish said. So he wanted to go to Killifish's house. He hadn't eaten anything since Saturday lunch and was hungry. But he kept quiet, thinking that saying he wanted to go to Killifish's house would surely cause an uproar.

The Loach grew impatient, "The feast will get cold." "The guests are starting to leave one by one." "Please come quickly." The Crab bellowed loudly. "Unacceptable! I won't allow private ownership!" "All superior specimens are public property... All of you, get out!" "I am communism's protector!" "I alone will protect him... I'll take him back to my hole to keep him safe in a secure zone."

With that declaration, the Crab—foremost in violence among the riverbed’s inhabitants—clamped the diminutive Mayor in its massive claws and hauled him off to its own hole.

59. The Crab’s Loneliness

“I’m lonely. “I’m lonely. “There’s a deep reason I had you come here.”

The Crab began to speak in a sorrowful tone, haltingly. "The world says I'm awfully strong, ah." "The truth is, I've grown sick to death of myself." "Looking like some street thug like this—no one wants to come near me, I guess." "I'm so lonely I can't stand it." "Now these big claws have become nothing but a nuisance." "Because of these claws—whether it's Killifish or Loach—they all run when they see me."

The Crab shed tears and lamented his own misfortune. While being held captive by the Crab, he too grew sorrowful in the same way one does when made to listen to the Crab’s tales. “You’re a non-resistance advocate?” the Crab abruptly asked. “Well, people do say that. However, I am a thoroughgoing advocate of conflict. I simply don’t wish to wage that struggle through violence.” “Is anything besides violence acceptable?” ” “Well, that’s right.” “That’s wiser, Ah.”

“I’ve come to want to return now. Could you let me return?” “Talk to me a bit more. I’m lonely. Tell me about military reduction... Whether the world can truly become safe by reducing armaments. Tell me about that! To what extent is the struggle for survival necessary? Tell me about that too, for I am tormented now! Ever since I was born, I’ve been made to wear this heavy armor, and that very thing has become the source of my torment.”

“Mr. Crab, that’s precisely what I wanted to ask you. I too am constantly being bullied by thugs, so I’ve been thinking about how to escape that threat.”

The Crab widened his eyes. “What’s this ‘thugs’? What kinda animals are they?” “They’re parasites.” “Want me t’crush ’em with my claws?”

“There goes your advocacy of violence!” “Hmm, I still believe in the efficacy of my claws! At times I become a denier of violence, at times an advocate—I don’t debate—I just act! There’s only action!”

While they were mumbling on and on, night fell over the riverbed. When night came, the Crab hurriedly retreated to the back without paying any mind to his guest and fell asleep. And so, the Mayor slipped out of the Crab’s hole and took a solitary stroll along the riverbed. The riverbed at night was truly mysterious. The stars reflected on the water’s surface, appearing like fireflies. Phosphorescent creatures made their way through the algae.

60. The Marvelous Method of Transformation

He meditated quietly beneath the waterweed roots. Apparently his neurasthenia had healed. With this renewed vitality, he resolved to embark once more on Osaka's air conquest.

And so, he resolved to rise to the water’s surface. Although his stay at the water’s bottom had been brief, it seemed his body had undergone such a drastic transformation that he found himself utterly unable to rise to the surface. He felt somehow pressed down. And so, he decided to descend to the riverbed once more. While thinking as if he had been cast into the abyss of despair, he wept at the base of the waterweed until morning. When the water's surface whitened slightly and the starlight began to fade, he noticed a dragonfly larva toiling diligently in the shadow of the algae. And so, he asked.

“Good morning. Mr. Dragonfly Larva, I see you’ve been preparing since early morning—where might you be off to?” The dragonfly larva smiled as it replied, “Today I intend to leave the water.” “Oh? Leaving the water? Now why would that be?” “Because the time has come—I’m thinking of growing wings and flying up.”

“Ah, I see. I understand.” “You are evolving, I see.”

“Yes, I intend to make that leap.” “Won’t you teach me the method of that leap as well!”

The Dragonfly Larva asked while shaking his large head. “And what do you intend to do once you’ve learned it?”

“I want to return to my home.” “Where is this home of yours?” “It’s Osaka.”

“That city of smoke?”

“You’re quite knowledgeable about that, aren’t you?”

“There’s a legend passed down through generations that the city of Osaka is dangerous because of its smoke… So what are you doing there?”

“I work at the government office.” “I hear labor issues have become quite tumultuous in Osaka lately… Are they progressing steadily?” “Lately, they seem to have become quite revolutionary.” “When you say ‘revolutionary,’ what exactly do they mean by that? Are they saying they’ll resort to destructive actions?” “Well, that’s about it.”

The Dragonfly Larva knitted its brows and asked. “Do those people truly understand the real meaning of revolution?” “Well, who knows…” “True revolution seems beyond the grasp of humans, ah.” “Well, what do you think it should be?”

“To fly! “To transform from within. “You must gain the power to leap from water-dwelling insect to airborne being, as I did... Yet humans cannot soar as we do, can they? “Those lacking inner metamorphosis will achieve nothing through crab-like pinching or frog-like croaking revolutions enforced by violence and authority. “They’ll merely keep crawling across the earth’s surface. “True revolution must erupt from the soul’s depths. “Without this, you can never attain life’s great leap forward. “Eternal slaves to circumstance! “Apply yourself properly! “I shall render appropriate assistance.”

The Dragonfly Larva, being young, spoke with remarkable clarity.

“Then, about that matter I requested earlier—might you be able to fulfill it?” “That’s easily done.”

With those words, the Dragonfly Larva kindly retrieved several young leaves from a cluster of water weeds. And he said to him.

“Please eat this.” “If you do that, not only will you be able to return to the ground again like me, but you will also be able to freely soar through the air.” “This is called the ‘Metamorphosis Herb.’” “Well then, I must take my leave now.” “For I shall depart immediately…”

With those final words, the Dragonfly Larva swiftly detached from the water's surface and soared into the air, departing. The Mayor ate a single leaf exactly as the Dragonfly Larva had instructed him. Then, miraculously, he felt his body grow light as if rising into the air. He became ecstatic and forgot his very self.

61. I and I

When he emerged onto the ground again, he saw a young man deep in meditation under a zelkova tree in the field.

He sat in meditation, unaware of the night dew settling upon him. The time was already past nine in the evening, and fires were burning here and there in the fields. That closely resembled the phosphorescence of water insects at the riverbed.

He called out to the young man sitting in meditation after feeling pity upon seeing his utterly exhausted appearance.

“You! You!”

The young man snapped open his large eyes, “What is it? Do you have some business with me?”

Mayor Kagawa, who had emerged from the riverbed, silently watched the young man's face. However he considered it, that was his own face.

So he asked. "Weren't you Mr. Kagawa Toyohiko?" "Yes, I am Kagawa Toyohiko... Who are you? You seem familiar somehow, but I'm too exhausted for my consciousness to be clear... Aren't you also Mr. Kagawa Toyohiko?" The mayor who had emerged from the riverbed answered clearly.

“I am Kagawa Toyohiko.” The man who had been sitting in meditation smoothly stood up, “I understand now—I was in a daze.” “You are the spirit Kagawa Toyohiko, aren’t you?” "I am the physical Kagawa Toyohiko." “My apologies.” “No—I am not the spirit Kagawa Toyohiko. I am the current Kagawa Toyohiko.” “You are the Kagawa Toyohiko from five hours ago.” “I am your self… You see, I must inform you—it has been five hours since we parted.” “In that brief span, I became an entirely new person.” “Nature has bestowed upon me great lessons and power.” “At the riverbed, I was taught how trivial human beings are, and how human beings must strive even harder.…”

“…I learned life philosophy from the Snail, non-harm principles from the Crab, and evolutionary divergence laws from the Dragonfly Larva. And I drank an herb that lets me soar freely through air…” “…Didn’t that Dragonfly Larva fly through here moments ago! That very Dragonfly Larva taught me transformation arts. With the present differing from past , I find nothing strange about two s existing. It’s like larvae versus adult insects. Silkworms versus butterflies.…”

“The current me is a free spirit, while the past —though it’s impolite to say ‘you’—is a human bound by... a spider’s thread. “Living creatures cannot survive without change. “Yet it was humanity’s great failing that until now we considered only external revolutions, never once contemplating methods of metamorphosis. “I have already become a transformed spiritual form. “Through five hours at the riverbed, the Dragonfly Larva taught me evolution’s principles—I am now a liberated being. “You mustn’t waver—between your path and mine in evolution’s course lies an impassable gap... The me of yesterday is not the me of today. “This present self might be called my resurrected form. “The former me was timid and earthbound. “Of course I vow to aid you. “But know that I may deliver severe critiques—prepare yourself accordingly. “I shall now return with you to Osaka’s slums. “There I’ll devote myself to supporting your work. “However, regarding your continued involvement in those rootless populist movements—expect my utmost criticism. “Is this clear? “Come—let us depart together, Past Mr. Kagawa Toyohiko! “Has your mind grown clearer now?”

“I understand! Spirit Kagawa, I will strive to align myself with your intentions.” The spiritual Mr. Kagawa looked back at his past self and spoke.

“You seem to distinguish between soul and body, but I don’t wish to separate them.” “Still, there’s no harm in tentatively calling my present self and my past self .” “But take care—this often gets misunderstood as spirit-body dualism.” “I believe the me stretching through time and the me spreading through space are one.” “That’s why it’s best we stay together whenever possible.” “Though when necessity demands, we’ll work separately.” “Understood?”

“I understand.” “I humbly ask for your continued support.”

The two of them set off amicably together and returned from Hirakata to the City of Smoke.

62 Sparrow’s Funeral

What they discovered upon returning to the slums was that the girl next door had died that afternoon. They felt deeply sorry for having failed to get her into a hospital and thought it inexcusable to have let her die. With nobody to keep the night vigil, Mayor Kagawa and his spirit ended up keeping watch together. The dead person's eyes remained half-open. Through them peered the dead girl's soul. The grandfather wandered about half-weeping. The candle before the Buddhist altar flickered faintly. With each sway, the corpse seemed to speak.

The grandfather was a terrible coward and could not bring himself to stay near the dead person. The grandfather kept saying there was no money for the funeral, turning his wallet inside out three or even four times to check. The Mayor was also terribly poor, and his wallet contained only fifteen yen. He had the habit of giving away everything he possessed, and a bad habit of going into debt to give even what he didn’t have, so when he said there was only fifteen yen, that truly was all there was.

However, that was more than enough to hold a modest funeral. 1. Death notification proxy writing fee: 10 sen 1. Coffin fee: 4 yen 50 sen 1. Two laborers: 3 yen 1. Palanquin rental fee: 1 yen 1. Two floral arrangements with laborers: 2 yen 70 sen 1. Miscellaneous laborers (20 sen each): 80 sen 1. Urn: 25 sen 1. Undertaker miscellaneous (two persons): 40 sen

1. Bone collection miscellaneous: 40 sen Total amount: 14 yen 80 sen He couldn't help feeling it somehow pitiful that burying a soul required merely fourteen yen and eighty sen. Around midnight, funeral workers brought the coffin. Since they warned that leaving the body through a hot summer day would make it rot unless taken to the crematorium that very night, they hurriedly disposed of the corpse. The grandfather was too terrified of the corpse to touch it. Thus, the Mayor himself undertook the encoffining. He boiled water, washed the corpse, completed placing it in the coffin, conducted secret Christian rites as requested by the grandfather through missionary incantations, saving only on fees for a monk's sutra recitation.

The prayers concluded, and the departure was set for just past midnight, around two o'clock. Four laborers wearing black undertaker's uniforms entered the street. The palanquin was placed in front of the house. And the coffin was placed into the palanquin. The grandfather broke the bowl his daughter had used daily at the entrance. The sparrows under the eaves, startled, flew out from the gutter. The grandfather remained leaning against the entrance pillar, crying loudly.

Quietly, the palanquin bearing the coffin departed from the street. There was no one to see them off. The slums slept quietly. Following the palanquin, the only ones proceeding to the crematorium were the Mayor and the Mayor’s spirit. The grandfather said he couldn’t come along to help with the cleanup.

When the coffin departed from the street, the sparrows made noise again. Suddenly, upon looking closer, over a dozen sparrows living under the eaves stood in the darkness as mourners. That was not visible to Mayor Kagawa in the flesh. However, Spirit Mayor Kagawa saw it. Threading through the darkness, the coffin was sent to the crematorium. And the plaintive hymn of little sparrows could be heard from the crematorium's roof gutters. Mayor Kagawa was praying before the coffin while crying.

63: Save the Infants!

The next morning, while he was still asleep, there was someone waking him up. That was Shimamura.

“Nearly all of the demonstration’s leadership has already gathered at Tennōji Park, so won’t you join us as well?” he came bringing this demand. Though he hadn’t rested nearly enough, deeming it his public duty, when he went to Tennōji Park, they kept coming—thousands upon thousands of ladies troubled by smoke gathering in uncountable numbers. They all carried underdeveloped infants and newborns on their backs due to the smoke as they joined today’s demonstration.

It was truly a tremendous sight. The departure time had been set precisely for 8:00 AM. With Miss Ajigawa Kikuko as commander-in-chief and the female section chiefs who had occupied City Hall serving as battalion commanders, they marched out of the park with dignity. When they arrived at the front of the factories they deemed suitable, “Save the infants!” Shouting this, they lifted their children upward in unison. Witnessing this scene, the Mayor was deeply moved. Even in Osaka—a city with an unparalleled infant mortality rate—he became convinced that if women awakened thus, something could be achieved.

Along every street through which the procession passed, dozens of police units stood guard. However, today of all days, the police refrained from intervening. The reason was that their own wives had joined the procession.

The demonstration procession wound through the city and safely disbanded at Nakanoshima Park. Yet this did not conclude the Women’s Army’s schedule. The mothers bearing children on their backs divided into groups and set out to directly negotiate with factories lacking smoke prevention equipment. Some went to negotiate at the Kujō Sulfur & Soda Company, some to the Sumitomo Copper Works, some to the Haruniden Electric Company in Haruniden, and some to the Tenma Knitwear Company in Tenma.

The state of panic among the small factories in the Tenma area was truly pitiful to behold.

Miss Ajigawa Kikuko had heard that the soot fallout was most severe in the Tenma area, so she headed in that direction. The first place she headed straight into was the Osaka Copper Works. The guard was taken aback to see Miss Kikuko and a group of ladies carrying infants on their backs. “What’s all this?!” the guard asked Miss Kikuko. “I would like to meet with the company president.” “Today is Sunday, so the company president is out.” “Then, the factory manager…”

“The factory manager isn’t available either.” “Then, the section chief…” “The section chief isn’t available… Since today’s Sunday, everyone’s off.” “Then why is smoke coming from the chimney?” “We’re only doing our work.”

“Then please let me meet the duty officer.” “I urgently need to speak with someone about the soot issue.”

The guard ran off to where the duty officer was stationed. And then immediately came back, "The duty officer is... also taking the day off today." The crowd laughed upon hearing that. Miss Kikuko said in a strengthened voice, "In that case... I must speak with the person in charge regarding the soot issue."

The guard dashed into the back again. Finally, the person in charge came out, "What business brings you here... As everyone is taking a holiday today, I'd ask you to kindly attend to your matters tomorrow." "If everyone's on holiday, then why is that smoke coming out?" "That's what naturally gets produced when burning coal." The crowd laughed again. The person in charge looked awkwardly... "We'll pay whatever fines you want, so please let this go for today... If you keep making such a fuss, we can't run our business." "If we burn our own coal in our own boiler and get fined just for smoke coming out, we can't take it." "Even burning straw makes smoke—you'll have to endure it a while longer!"

The person in charge prostrated himself in abject apology, so Miss Kikuko and her group promptly withdrew.

The day’s demonstration was, in any case, a great success.

64 Crash!

Crash!

It seemed they couldn’t overcome the recession, for the brokerage firms in Kitahama were also sniveling every day. Even if they consulted fortune-tellers or visited the Shōten-san Shrine in Ikoma, not a single favorable oracle appeared. Even praying to Inari-san proved futile. Stocks kept falling every day, and many shops emerged that couldn't even pay their rent. The number of mistresses was decreasing, and though they could reduce how often they went out for pleasure, in the end, when there were no profits to be made, even those predatory individuals who lived by skimming off others' earnings found themselves in disarray.

The brokers had made a great fuss over the Imperial Enthronement and Victory Dances, but once the war ended and the cherry blossoms of Taisho 9 had scattered, Kitahama too became utterly desolate. To make matters worse, as the clamor for social reform and overthrowing capitalism grew louder, their reputation worsened further, and business became impossible to manage. And when an era arrived where bands of female outlaws gave speeches, making the world seem turned upside down, there was nothing enjoyable about it at all.

The day after the Women’s Army’s “Save the Babies” demonstration, Kitahama suffered another stock crash, and with the extra edition proclaiming the collapse of Aikoku Bank, the brokers looked as wilted as spinach sprinkled with salt.

Ajigawa Funazo, a regular client of Kitahama, suffered an especially severe blow that day. The stocks of the Kitakyushu mining company became not even worth three mon due to that day’s crash. He could not believe the broker’s phone call. He tried calling three times, four times. He thought about making a fifth call, but being too anxious, set out for Kitahama himself. There, he checked the market price of his own stock holdings. Indeed, what the broker had said was not the slightest bit wrong. Yet he simply could not bring himself to believe it. He rubbed his eyes three times, four times, but it remained unchanged. He stood there blankly, on the verge of tears. Today of all days, there was no one who would deal with him.

He had become penniless within a single day. He could not believe it. He wondered if he was dreaming and twisted his body. But he was still alive. He had Aikoku Bank provide him with funds and established a mining company. And during prosperous times, he had provided financial assistance to both Matsushima and Shima. However, when the bank collapsed and the company’s stocks crashed, there was no recourse left. He now rushed back to his house in a half-crazed state. And then he drank alcohol and went to bed.

But there was no comfort in it. Before long came a call from the manager of Aikoku Bank. He knew what it meant. It meant repayment was demanded. So he ordered the maid to say he wasn't home and burrowed back into his futon.

He couldn't sleep at all. So he headed to his mistress’s residence in Shinmachi. Even when looking at a geisha’s face, he found nothing amusing. He returned to his home again in the middle of the night.

The maid said the phone had been ringing incessantly.

“Where’s it from?” he asked. “From the manager of Aikoku Bank,” she replied. Even the bold Ajigawa Funazo was utterly worn down. It was no small sum. It was a matter of nearly a million yen. But no matter where one might search for that money, there could be no source to produce it now. The stocks were not even worth three pennies.

He had even grown to despise being alive.

65. The Man Who Fell from the Rainbow

"I’m done for."

Ajigawa Funazo was tormented. "I'm being punished! The coal miners must be delighting in my downfall. Starting from being a labor boss in Orio, Kyushu, I did plenty of bad things to rise to become an executive at the Kitakyushu Mining Company. In my coal mines, dozens—no, hundreds—of miners have died. However, I haven’t done what I should have for those people. The punishment has now struck! ……My rainbow has already vanished. I... was thrown down from the rainbow! It’s all fate! But there’s no other path but to move as fate guides me. But... now that it’s come to this, everything’s at a dead end. All that remains is to die. I’m too terrified of death to die. It’s as if the spirits of the hundreds of miners who died in the coal mines are now swarming around and attacking me all at once—”

He saw his past misdeeds unfolding before his eyes like a panorama.

Born the eldest son of an innkeeper in Gotoji, Fukuoka Prefecture, he had been a troublemaker since childhood. Before even properly graduating elementary school, he learned gambling and eventually quit school altogether. Entrusted to his father’s close friend—the great boss of Wakamatsu—he was made to work as a coal-loading apprentice. Through these connections, he built labor barracks in Orio, learning to skim wages from miners’ pay and turning moneylending at exorbitant interest into a business. By the time he was around thirty, he had already come to own four or five coal mines in Tanukibori. As his finances flourished, his conduct deteriorated in inverse proportion, and with the number of women involved in his affairs gradually increasing, he followed a friend’s advice and married a relative of the great boss of Wakamatsu—this being Kikuko’s mother.

Even so, his dissolute behavior did not cease. It was said there was not a single geisha in Hakata or Nogata whom Ajigawa had not laid hands on—such were his extravagant indulgences. Amidst the post-Russo-Japanese War economic boom, he abruptly rose as a war profiteer and relocated his headquarters to Osaka as a leading industrialist. Thereafter, his fortune only swelled—every venture succeeding one after another. He attained status to freely maneuver millions of yen, was elected to the city council, joined the board of aldermen, and thus emerged as Osaka’s Tammany-style political operator, finally drawing society’s keen attention.

However, since his financial foundations still lay in the North Kyushu coal mines, whenever coal went unsold, he invariably sank into gloom. The era of the European War had passed—when coal costing merely four yen per ton was sold in Osaka at four or five times that price. In the ensuing depression, with coal demand plummeting, production dwindling, and wages refusing to fall, he devised plans to expand his mining operations further. Securing a 1.5 million yen investment from Aikoku Bank to establish the Kitakyushu Mining Company became the root of his ruin.

He realized the coal fields he had bought were duds; that the mining output was exceedingly low; that nearly three million yen in equipment costs had vanished in an instant; and that the company’s collapse was imminent—all of which he had foreseen several months prior. However, because the manager of Aikoku Bank was supporting him single-handedly, he thought there was still time left.

However, due to Aikoku Bank’s reckless lending policies, it faced a run in Nagoya and was forced to post notices suspending payments. And the collapse of Aikoku Bank itself led to the plummeting stock prices of Kitakyushu Mining Company, ushering in the time when he had no choice but to take his own life.

66. The Exploiter's End

No matter how decrepit the mine's facilities became, no matter how violent the gas eruptions grew, he paid them no mind—whether ventilation shafts crumbled, elevators broke down, or labor barracks rotted through. Ajigawa Funazo's cruel methods of squeezing every last drop from the workers struck even himself as appalling at times. When cave-ins crushed miners to death, he'd have their corpses hauled outside—since recognizing these as workplace accidents meant paying hefty compensation—then passed it off as carelessness, claiming they'd fallen down shafts. This deception became routine. Even when entire families—parents and four children—perished together in gas explosions, he wouldn't give a single sen in compensation. Around Orio and Nogata, a song spread among the miners.

Demon Ajigawa Torments with iron clubs Pitiful miners Living hell During the Rice Riots of August 1918, Ajigawa’s coal mines were the first in Kyushu to erupt in unrest. At that time, Ajigawa hurried from Osaka, borrowed hundreds of gangsters from the great boss of Wakamatsu, seized seventeen recognized ringleaders, subjected them to torture, left three half-dead, and killed one. To this day in Kitakyushu, such things remain daily occurrences, but at the mining company managed by Ajigawa, they were particularly egregious. Thus among the miners of Orio spread the song: “Demon Ajigawa torments with iron clubs.”

Ajigawa Funazo saw with his own eyes the miners who had been killed. And he had firmly believed that someday retribution would come back to him. However, he did not think it would come this soon. He reflected on his ugly half-life unfolding like a panorama and pitied himself, thinking that if he became poor now, not a single person would care for him.

Then, like a phantom, the terrifying corpse of one who had been killed before his very eyes during the Rice Riots began to move. The eyes were tightly shut. The muscles were all rigid. Blood was oozing from the mouth, nose, and ears. The head was split here and there. The dead corpse seemed to stretch out its hand and beckon to him. Just as one becomes entranced by a beckoning cat, Funazo could not resist the corpse’s summons. He stretched out his hand. Then, still lying down, the corpse took him outside and dragged him smoothly toward the Ōkawa River.

He tried to shout, “Help me!” However, his tongue stuck fast to his jaw, stifling all sound. He writhed to anchor himself. Yet the corpse dragged him effortlessly onward. At the river’s brink, the cadaver instructed him: “Fill your sleeves with stones.” He obeyed, cramming stones into his sleeves. Then plunged into the water with the corpse, heedless of his surroundings. When he thought he’d reached the riverbed, the corpse at last released its grip.

"Ah... Now I can finally rest easy!" At last, he surrendered to sleep. Yet his eyes would never open again. The next day, he became a corpse floating beneath Tanmino Bridge.

67. Sutoku-in Jigon Eichi Daikoji At the Ajigawa household, great uproar erupted when the master could not be found. They called the mistress's residence in Shinmachi; they called Matsushima Shōgorō's house; still his whereabouts remained unknown. They waited anxiously through the night hoping he might return by morning, but at dawn came a police call revealing he had thrown himself into the river. Kikuko received this report while eating breakfast at Ebisuya. Leaving her meal untouched, she went out to claim the remains.

By the time she reached Tanmino Bridge's banks, the street had turned black with people gathering to see the drowned corpse shrouded in a mat. Kikuko pushed through the crowd and saw her father's mat-covered corpse, but even this bold daughter found herself unable to rise from that spot for some time. The first to come rushing to the scene after Hiroko's call had been Shimamura. He arrived by automobile. Then he asked permission from the attending police inspector to load Ajigawa's corpse into the vehicle and transport it home.

The attending police inspector refused permission for some reason. "We cannot move the corpse until the prosecutor completes his inspection." After about an hour's wait, the prosecutor arrived. At last they managed to move the corpse. By then however, both Matsushima Shōgorō and Shima Takazō had reached the scene. Among the spectators were those who recognized Kikuko's face and began whispering.

That night, there was a wake. Around nine o'clock in the evening, the priest of Senzen-ji Temple in Tanimachi 5-chome arrived. Although he was quite advanced in years, he was a man of imposing presence. After reciting Sanskrit sutras at length, he bestowed the posthumous Buddhist name. “Sutoku-in Jigon Eichi Daikoji”

This priest explained the posthumous name to Matsushima. “We address him as Sutoku-in because the deceased was truly a paragon of virtue—he tenderly nurtured numerous miners and exerted himself to the utmost for their welfare—thus we conferred this name in profound admiration of his moral excellence.”

Matsushima listened to this and was impressed.

“Well now, compared to someone like me, the deceased was a man of great virtue, Ah.” “After all, I’ve borrowed plenty from him myself… But Reverend, what’s the meaning behind adding ‘Jigon’?” “This stems from how the deceased was truly a man of boundless compassion—he understood the common folk’s struggles, and we’ve often heard how even geishas and tavern maids found solace in his mercy. Thus we bestowed it so.”

Matsushima grimaced, “Hmm… Well! I see—the geishas and barmaids the deceased patronized must number in the hundreds, eh? So then, Reverend—what d’ya say? When someone like me, running brothels for a living, kicks the bucket… could I get a posthumous name like ‘Jigon-in’ too?” “Well, that stands to reason… For someone like you, providing poor children with respectable jobs and helping them make ends meet—one could say you’re engaged in a sort of charitable enterprise, Ah.”

“Hah! How grateful I am! So in Buddha’s way, even brothel-running counts as charity work, eh?…” “Buddha’s compassion makes no distinction between good and evil—everything becomes compassion. Even managing brothels forms a link to salvation.” “How gracious of you! So you don’t oppose the brothel trade… unlike Ms. Kikuko here… eh?” “I believe brothels remain necessary for our present age.”

“How truly gracious of you—all the more so, Ah. “Reverend, I’m thinkin’ of addin’ about five head of prime stock to my stable in the near future.” “And once I turn a profit again, I’ll be sure to make a donation to your temple.” “Well now, I shall hold you to that request.” After the priest had left, Matsushima began gossiping about him.

“That bastard’s such a smooth talker.” “That guy’s got a mistress properly set up in Minami no Shinchi—he’s a sly fox.” “Since I know that, he’s spoutin’ such sweet talk.” “There’s no dealin’ with today’s half-baked priests.” Kikuko heard that and merely laughed.

68 Funeral Parlor Critique Session

At Ajigawa’s funeral, eighty to ninety percent of the city council members had gathered. And various pessimistic discussions about the current state of municipal administration were conducted. “Who on earth instigated the municipal workers’ strike anyway?—It’s only made things worse!” So Mr. Uma Umeda asked in a loud voice.

On a hot summer afternoon, Abeno Funeral Hall was especially sweltering. The city council members huddled in a corner of the rest area, cooling themselves with round fans and folding fans.

In response to Mr. Uma’s question, Matsushima answered. “It’s not that anyone instigated it. That’s just the trend these days.” “But is the strike still going on, I wonder?” “The word is they’ll keep the strike going like this until the Mayor resigns.”

City Council Chairman Senba Shōjō answered in a small voice. “That might be a good idea, Ah—they say those competent female clerks are gettin’ praised left and right. If that’s true, why not just sack all the men while we’re at it? Keep the women workin’ like this forever, eh?” Matsushima said loudly.

Matsushima declared these things in a booming voice.

“That’s just drunken nonsense too, Ah.”

Shimamura responded in kind. “Then wouldn’t that end up amounting to approving the Mayor’s policies?”

So Umeda asked Matsushima. “That bastard’s no good. But havin’ female office workers ain’t a bad idea… I hear there’s even some real beauties among ’em, Ah.”

When Matsushima brought up the topic of women again, Shimamura teased him. “Mr. Matsushima would agree with anyone when there’s a pretty face involved… But how’s that going to turn out, I wonder?”

Umeda answered clearly. “We’ll drive out the mayor—leave that bastard in place and Osaka’s capitalists are gonna be wiped out, I tell ya…”

Shimamura questioned Umeda. “I understand that. But the problem remains how to drive him out.” “Well, there’s your answer. If the city council passes a resolution, that should settle it.” Umeda answered casually, as though it were nothing.

Matsushima appeared as though he harbored absolute certainty, "But look, just passing a city council resolution ain't gonna make that bastard budge. The quickest way'd be to cook up some criminal charge and throw him in the slammer, Ah." "But even there—do you have some angle in mind?" "Look, it's nothing—just pin it on Ajigawa's suspicious death, eh? Undoubtedly, the Mayor does share responsibility for Mr. Ajigawa's death, Ah."

Shimamura spoke thus.

At that moment, the first bell of the funeral proceedings rang. And hundreds of mourners had taken their seats in the municipal funeral hall. The city council members likewise took their seats. The Mayor was sitting in the family seating area alongside the bereaved family representative, Miss Kikuko. And Shimamura sat down next to him. Umeda pulled Matsushima's sleeve, “Who’s that sitting next to Miss Kikuko?” asked. “That’s Shimamura—Ajigawa’s daughter’s lover and some labor agitator… Hey, the Mayor’s puttin’ on one hell of a dignified front, Ah.”

The priest of Senzen-ji and seven attendant monks from other temples, draped in brocade Buddhist robes, lined up before the coffin. “Hey, some real beauties showed up, eh?” Matsushima said to Umeda. Umeda stretched his horse-like long neck to peer behind the family seating area. There sat Hanako—Ajigawa’s mistress—alongside fifteen or sixteen geishas from Shinmachi, their hair arranged in cascading waves. “So what’re we gonna do about Ohana? “Why don’t you take care of her?” ”

Matsushima said this.

Umeda responded to this, “That one ain’t under my thumb anymore. Lately she’s been goin’ on about startin’ some women’s suffrage movement.” Throughout the sutra chanting, Umeda and Matsushima were evaluating each geisha in detail. Even so, when the incense offering began, Umeda came forward to offer incense on behalf of the city council. After the funeral, the city council’s Tammany once again flooded into Shinmachi’s geisha houses.

69. The Doctrine of the Christian Missionaries

The next day’s newspaper reported a bizarre rumor. It went as follows. "Due to suspicions that Mr. Ajigawa Funazo, a pillar of the financial world, had been murdered, the prosecutor’s office launched a full-scale investigation." "It appears labor organizations held grudges in this matter, and certain central figures in municipal governance were also implicated," it stated.

That afternoon，what reached Kikuko’s ears was this： “Ajigawa’s murder was carried out through an exceedingly cunning method—unlike previous poisonings or assassinations，he was psychically cursed to death．According to reports from a certain credible source，the Mayor possesses the power to resurrect even corpses through Christian missionary doctrines．When that power is reversed，it becomes a curse surpassing even Kōbō Daishi’s own．Ajigawa’s killing was done by **the Mayor** cursing him to death—in fact，they say **the Mayor** hides in Gokō’s slums precisely to hone that sorcery．”

This was something a certain newspaper reporter had talked about. “Who was saying such things?” When Kikuko asked the newspaper reporter, “It’s the talk among the funeral workers.” “The Mayor is a Christian missionary sorcerer—sleeping with corpses at midnight, conducting funerals without summoning Buddhist priests but praying alone with missionaries instead—truly a bizarre figure, they say.”

When she asked the newspaper reporter whether he had met the funeral workers spreading the rumors, “I met them.” “They were saying there are two Kagawa Toyohikos—one being Mayor Kagawa the sorcerer, and the other being the current Mayor Kagawa Toyohiko—and now nobody can tell which is which.” “Apparently it started when the old man west of Mr. Kagawa’s place saw his true form on the night their daughter died—or so they claim.” “And they say Mr. Kagawa even gives wisdom to the sparrows under eaves and dragonflies in fields.” “When that old man’s daughter died west of Mr. Kagawa’s place, they say at Mayor Kagawa’s command all the eaves’ sparrows chirped up a racket.”

Kikuko listened quietly. And the newspaper reporter shared another curious tale. "They say if you strain your eyes just right, Mayor Kagawa appears doubled." "You need sharp vision to see it, but in dim light—if you peer through—it becomes clear." "...That's what the funeral workers claimed..." "...So that giant monk business then?" "It's come to light that was Mayor Kagawa's doing."

“Then it becomes clear he’s connected to the recent flood too—indeed, all disturbances arising in the city lately relate to him, you see. A terrifying man, isn’t he? That fellow’s like Russia’s Rasputin, I tell you!”

Kikuko found the newspaper reporter’s words so intriguing that she kept listening. “Why, it’s a new Ōmoto-kyo cult, isn’t it? They say he’s confident he can move all creation through incantation prayers. When he prays, they say even streetcars and trains screech to a halt.” “My, what outrageous stories you tell!”

Saying this, Kikuko laughed at the newspaper reporter’s bizarre tale.

“I can’t believe it. The idea that the Mayor cursed my father to death—such a thing...” “However, there are indeed credible reasons to believe it. The first reason is that he greatly disliked Mr. Ajigawa. The second reason is that the coal miners of Northern Kyushu greatly detested Mr. Ajigawa. The third reason is that the Osaka labor groups—particularly those affiliated with Mr. Shimamura—hated Mr. Ajigawa. Hating is killing. Mr. Ajigawa was cursed to death by evildoers. Psychic power is a terrifying thing, isn’t it!”

The newspaper reporter spoke as though he had witnessed it himself. Kikuko laughed loudly upon hearing that.

70. Kikuko’s Mother

“Kikuko, there’s no need to cry so much. “We must break through the black soil and live fiercely, mustn’t we? “Steady yourself. “You can’t afford such pessimism!” It was Shimamura Nobuyuki who offered these words of comfort. After her father’s unnatural death, Kikuko had become utterly listless. Until the funeral rites concluded, she had maintained a strained composure that showed no outward change, but once the ceremony ended, her strength abruptly failed. She grew nearly hysterical, unable even to perform household tasks.

She entered her room and had been crying since morning. Of course, underlying this was her anguish over her own romantic troubles. Matsushima had told Kikuko’s mother that he absolutely intended to take Kikuko as his bride at this juncture. Kikuko’s timid mother appeared inclined to comply with Matsushima’s wishes. “After all, even Sutoku-in’s esteemed opinion was that Kikuko should go to Matsushima...”

Trailing off, her mother said something odd to Kikuko. That was the very problem that weakened Kikuko more than anything else. If she were to simply throw herself into Shimamura’s arms, all her problems would be solved; yet mindful of her maidenly purity, she lacked the courage to act rashly and could only agonize.

However, her mother, having seemingly perceived Kikuko’s anguish, finally spoke to Shimamura.

“Mr. Shimamura, I fear it would be unfortunate if anything more were to happen regarding Kikuko’s circumstances. So please—if it’s for Kikuko’s sake, no matter what may come—please watch over her.” Thus Shimamura too thought it undesirable for Kikuko to grow overly pessimistic, so he met with her and had a quiet, earnest talk. Naturally, their discussion served to deepen the relationship that had already existed between them. And at this critical moment, agreeing it would be best to resolutely decide on marriage, the two made their promise.

Kikuko immediately went to her mother and made the request. In response to this, Mother could not oppose it at all. "Do as you wish. After all, it would be troublesome if something were to change in your circumstances now that Father has passed away." Mother answered. "Well then, Mother... I'll go." So Kikuko asked bashfully. "Well, if you think it's best, then you should do so... But can Mr. Shimamura really make a living like that? If he's working for a labor union and such, wouldn't you be in trouble if a child were born?"

“Well, Mother, I’ll work too, so we’ll manage.” “Even if you insist so confidently you’ll be fine, I can’t help worrying—you were raised spoiled from the start.” “You’ve never cooked rice in a clay pot before, have you?” “Mother, I can at least cook rice in a clay pot.” “You, household work isn’t like playing house!” ” “I know that much.” “If you’re truly resolved, I’ll let you go to Shimamura… If you’re prepared to cook rice in a clay pot and serve your husband even in poverty, then you can endure life at Mr. Shimamura’s.” “It’s different from before, so you must work diligently.” “If you go around speaking harshly and participating in protest marches like this, you won’t be able to raise a child.” “Do you understand that?” ”

“I understand.” “Then please summon Mr. Shimamura.” When Shimamura entered the room, her mother formally transferred Kikuko to him. Kikuko and Shimamura dissolved in joyful tears and momentarily lost speech, then heedless of her mother’s presence embraced fiercely, their twin souls soaring through celestial heights.

71. The Inventors' Arrival in Osaka

“Hey, Tengu-sensei. What do you make of this sky? Sure was a good idea we brought those oxygen inhalers after all!” “The rain must be causing trouble for folks coming to the convention… But I’m downright shocked by this sky. Following your advice to bring inhalers was spot-on!” “When it rains, seems the smoke can’t rise—looks like all the soot’s pouring down instead. How’s this for darkness? Practically midnight! Should’ve brought paper lanterns while we were at it!”

“Hmm, I’ve brought just the right thing.” “I have a flashlight.” “Let’s light our way with this.”

The arrival in Osaka of Tokyo inventors Professor Hanatare and Professor Tengu was truly a sight for the ages. They disembarked at Osaka Station with oxygen generators resembling school backpacks strapped to their backs, bags in hand, and Mr. Tengu holding a flashlight in one hand. All the passersby were astonished at their bizarre outfits. “What in tarnation is that there, I wonder?” “Well, turning on a flashlight in broad daylight… They must be quite the eccentrics, I say.” Tengu-sensei, apparently irritated upon hearing this, came to a halt.

“Hey Zeiroku! We ain’t carryin’ lights in broad daylight for funsies! Compared to Tokyo I tell ya, Osaka’s streets are so damn dark you can’t walk two steps! What’s wrong with you lot—marchin’ through this murk without even a lantern? Lived here so long your eyes turned owl-like? We Tokyo folk ain’t used to this gloom—gotta light our flashlights just to see our feet!”

The Osaka citizens nodded,

“What’s that on your back there, eh?” “This? This here’s an oxygen generator.” “Oxygen generator!” “Don’t tell me you folks don’t know oxygen generators? We brought these because Osaka’s air’s so rotten.”

“That so? Is Osaka’s air really that bad, ya think?” Before long, curious Osaka citizens came swarming around Tengu-sensei and Hanatare-sensei in a noisy cluster. “Hey! Freaks! Freaks!” “Sea-spawned freaks!”

Hanatare-sensei appeared to be greatly irritated by this,

“Hey Zeiroku, we may be freaks, but we’re not freaks of the water—we’re freaks of the gas!”

“What’s that metal helmet, I say?” “This?… You don’t get it, do you? This here’s an oxygen inhaler, ain’t it? The air in Osaka’s so terrible that when we come from a forest city like Tokyo to a smoky one like this, we gotta use this thing to keep from suffocating from lack of oxidation. … How in blazes can you folks live in such foul air?”

The Osaka people raised their characteristic eyebrows and stared intently at Professor Hanatare’s face as they spoke.

“Smoke doesn’t seem to harm the human body at all.” “I can function just fine without carrying such a thing.”

“But isn’t it said that Osaka citizens’ chest measurements decrease every year?”

Tengu asked loudly.

“That’s right, that’s right—but the decrease is only slight, wouldn’t you say? They were saying things like one inch or one and a half inches. Once we adapt, it should be fine.” “Hey! A one-inch decrease in chest measurements translates to reducing oxygen’s oxidative effect by about fifty thousand cubic feet per day! It’s not as simple as you make it out to be!” “However, we’ve already gotten used to it, so it’s no problem at all!” “That’s why there are no inventors in Osaka. It’s all due to oxygen deficiency. But there’s no point dawdling around like this any longer. Hey, let’s go.”

72. Aerial Residences and Aerial Farmlands

Tengu and Hanatare hurried to the designated inn, astonished at the Osaka people’s indifference toward the smoke.

Rain fell heavily. Raindrops fell densely from the tips of the umbrella ribs. When they suddenly noticed, it was all black like ink. Tengu was startled and said, “Hey, Hanatare! Your umbrella’s a cheap one, I tell ya! Looks like the dyed color’s bleeding out in the rain!” “That so?” “Where?” “Look at this!” Tengu caught the raindrops falling from the umbrella ribs in his hand and showed them to Hanatare. Indeed, they were black like that of ink. “Good heavens! This is astonishing!”

For a while, the two walked through the city believing the umbrella’s dye had dissolved in the rain and was leaking out. However, upon looking more carefully, they saw that all the rain—whether falling on roofs or flowing through gutters—was ink-colored.

“Hey! Hey! Tengu! This ain’t from the umbrella! Osaka’s rain’s actually ink-colored! Look—all Osaka’s roofs have turned ink-colored! The gutter water, river water, even water from buckets—it’s all ink-colored!” “This’s gotta be soot dissolved in the rain!”

“Ah, now I get it,” said Tengu. “Come to think of it, when I compared it to Tokyo’s rain, I did think this rain looked somewhat soot-blackened. It’s absolutely clear—the soot is dissolving in the rain and falling down.” The two men arrived at their inn, utterly astonished. However, having been utterly shocked by Osaka’s soot, they never let go of their oxygen generators whether bathing or eating.

The next day was the first day of the Inventors’ Convention. Mayor Kagawa went to Central Public Hall, the convention venue, thinking the inventors who had gathered from across the nation must surely be an energetic group. Yet despite it being 9:00 AM—the designated opening time—there were merely two attendees. Moreover, he was astonished by those two's truly peculiar attire. When he asked the female clerk handling convention affairs, she reported that while roughly 450 inventors had gathered nationwide, all claimed headaches and remained bedridden at their lodgings. When he asked “Why?” she answered it was entirely due to Osaka’s foul air quality—the oxidation process in lungs wasn’t being sufficiently carried out.

Indeed, he had to admire how thoroughly prepared the Tokyo inventors were.

Then, Mayor Kagawa politely greeted the two and expressed his desire to hear their opinions, whereupon Professor Tengu, puffed up with pride,

“My theory is extremely simple,” said Professor Tengu. “I specialize in fluid dynamics, but... ultimately, if today’s combustion science can only achieve a certain degree of smoke prevention, then I believe there’s no alternative but to create an aerial cultural village beyond the reach of the smoke.” Mayor Kagawa was utterly astonished upon hearing about the aerial cultural village. “An Aerial Cultural Village, you say? How on earth are we supposed to accomplish that?” “That isn’t particularly difficult,” replied Professor Tengu. “As methods for achieving sufficient stability in the air through today’s fluid dynamics have been discovered, we can modify Zeppelin airships to create absolutely stable residences in the sky. Fields can also be created in the sky. Factories can also be built in the sky.”

“Oh? Aerial fields?” Even Mayor Kagawa was astonished by Tengu-sensei’s statements. “How on earth are you suggesting such a thing is possible?”

73. The Spinning Top Scholar’s Aerial Island

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Professor Hanatare sniffled and answered. While we’re on the subject, let me explain why he was nicknamed Professor Hanatare (“Dripping Nose”): after developing rhinitis and undergoing nasal surgery, he dripped so much nasal mucus that he needed to change as many as five handkerchiefs a day. “I specialize in the study of spinning tops, but if we install gyroscopes on modern airplanes, we can achieve proper stability in the air.” “It attaches six propellers—each with a diameter of sixty-six *shaku* rotating at six thousand six hundred sixty revolutions per second—in six directions: up, down, front, back, left, and right.” “Thus, due to the equilibrium of forces, one can create a fixed plane in the air that neither rises nor descends, neither advances nor retreats—much like the solid earth.” “Therefore, for starters in Osaka, I think it would be fascinating to build an aerial cultural village covering a three-square-kilometer area above Nakanoshima… There would be fields, factories, parks, schools—truly, I believe it could become an independent nation floating in the air.” “……How about it, Mr. Kagawa—have you considered building that Aerial Cultural Village?” “Japan simply can’t go on with such limited space as it has today.” “Even if we were to build three- or five-story structures on the ground, we still couldn’t sustain enough farmland to keep up with population growth.”

Mayor Kagawa was impressed by Professor Hanatare’s outlandish arguments but found himself resonating with the eccentricity of the concept. “So—in that case—we wouldn’t need to make such a fuss about immigration issues anymore? It would suffice?” “According to your theory, then, we can create as many new islands in the sky as we desire?” “Absolutely correct.” “If you wish to create a one-tanbu field, simply place soil averaging one shaku eight sun (approximately 54.5 cm) deep on that number of airplane wings—the wings are all made of aluminum—and that will suffice for cultivation.” “If you wish to create five tanbu (approximately 0.5 hectares) of fields, you need only connect five such airplane-like planes in the sky.” “If you make them too wide, sunlight won’t shine on the front surfaces, so it would be better to stack as many narrow planes as possible in parallel.”

“Is such a thing truly possible?” “That surpasses even the ancient Tower of Babel.” “That surpasses even Babel.” “I believe that in the near future, all humanity will migrate to the skies.” “When crawling on the ground, it’s inevitable that the struggle for survival intensifies.” “In reptilian society, even today, an intense struggle for survival rages on—but those who washed their hands of reptilian society and soared skyward became what we now call birds.” “Birds lead truly blissful lives.” “This occurs because ascending into thin air diminishes competitive strife… I implore you to consider this matter and act swiftly to bring it to fruition.”

Having said this, Professor Hanatare blew his nose again. “That is indeed most splendid. However, please grant me a brief postponement. I will give it my most earnest consideration.”

Having given this answer, the mayor tilted his head. However, the mayor reached a firm resolution in his heart. He parted ways with Professors Hanatare and Tengu and immediately set out to inspect factories throughout the city. This was to conduct fundamental research on the smoke pollution problem. The conclusion he reached through factory inspections was that nothing wasted energy as much as today’s steam engines. Useless efforts! Wasteful consumption of coal! And the production of unsanitary soot! He discovered that ultimately, these makeshift modifications would prove utterly useless as things stood.

74. The Residents of the Aerial Village

The second day of the inventors' convention also came to nothing. This was because no truly worthwhile ideas emerged in Osaka, so everyone declared they wanted to return home immediately and departed. The only ones who stayed behind were Professor Hanatare and Tengu-sensei. Since the pair had brought oxygen generators with them, genuinely excellent concepts kept surfacing. The Aerial Village plan stood as one such notion, but ideas continued welling up incessantly—not merely physicochemical inventions like aerial factory complexes, aerial pastures, aerial schools, and an aerial communist state complete with transport links between the floating village and terrestrial ground below, but even psychological and spiritual breakthroughs.

Professor Hanatare and Professor Tengu visited Mayor Kagawa in his office and told him about various fascinating social science inventions. “Mr. Mayor, social organizations must be invented as well.” Professor Hanatare sniffled and said. “I completely agree with that... Have any good ideas on the matter come to mind?” “Therefore, I have invented an aerial communist state.” “What kind of social organization is that?”

Mayor Kagawa widened his eyes and asked. “You see, it’s about having all those who dislike asserting land ownership rights migrate to the Aerial Village and manage everything through love and mutual aid.” “Is that feasible in practice?” “Of course, I believe it to be the true paradise.” “Is it because it’s in the sky?” “You mustn’t joke about this… My proposal is entirely serious.” “Since there are no boundaries in the air, asserting ownership rights would be rather tenuous, don’t you think?”

“No—what I’m referring to is something more fundamental,” said Professor Hanatare. “I believe that all people living in the sky must be new humans, transformed from those of today. In other words, aerial humans must not be descendants of Adam but rather humans with wings.” “I see—so what exactly are you saying?” Mayor Kagawa tilted his head. “You mean they’d become bird people?” “Exactly,” Hanatare sniffled. “They must be reborn anew—just as wrigglers become mosquitoes and caterpillars transform into butterflies, humanity too must undergo a complete metamorphosis, you see.”

Mayor Kagawa made a strange face upon hearing this, but bringing his mouth close to Professor Hanatare’s ear, he whispered a few words.

Professor Hanatare was nodding repeatedly.

It was only natural for Professor Hanatare to nod. For there beside Mayor Kagawa—whom he had believed to be alone—the spiritual Mayor Kagawa adorned with dragonfly wings had properly manifested. “Aha! This is it! The human we’ve been wanting to invent—this is it!”

Hanatare and Tengu cried out in unison. Tengu asked. “Mr. Mayor, who is this winged person?” “This is still Kagawa Toyohiko.” “Then, what about you?” “I am still Kagawa Toyohiko as well.” The spiritual Kagawa Toyohiko stood there in silence. Then Tengu-sensei asked. “Does this gentleman not speak?” “He does not speak to others.” “He always speaks to me, but...” “In that case, it differs slightly from what I aim to invent… The humans I seek to patent with my new invention are ones who speak to anyone—not reserved individuals like this second Mr. Kagawa here.” “This second Mr. Kagawa is just like a Trappist monk… He isn’t suitable for the new society… However, perhaps the first residents of my Aerial Village should be of this type… Wait a moment.” “This gentleman… Allow me to measure the second Mr. Kagawa’s weight.”

At that moment, the spiritual Mr. Kagawa spoke to the physical Mr. Kagawa in front of others for the first time. “I have no body weight!” “Ideal! Ideal!” And Professor Hanatare shouted. “Having no body weight makes one perfectly ideal as a resident of the Aerial Village. I will promptly begin constructing the Aerial Village. Please watch. Because it is truly ideal.” With those words, the inventor left in a hurry.

75 Human Transformation Machine

The first thing Mayor Kagawa noticed upon waking the next day was a strange drone resonating in the sky. Thinking that perhaps the Aerial Village had been built overnight, he went out to the slum's path to see.

Incredible! Incredible! Hundreds upon hundreds of airships and airplanes were visible in the sky. Moreover, they remained completely stationary overhead—exactly as Tengu-sensei had explained to him two days earlier—without moving an inch. Certain now that the Aerial Village had finally materialized, he raced toward City Hall with his heart pounding.

Citizens along the streets too, since a marvelous aerial structure had appeared high above Osaka overnight, were gazing up at the sky with their eyes round with wonder.

In the mayor’s office, Professor Hanatare and Tengu-sensei were waiting. “Mr. Mayor, it’s completed. Fields have been constructed as well. Flowers have been planted as well. A design that allows for the migration of all Osaka City residents has also been completed. How about trying some tilling in the aerial fields today? There’s no smoke at all! Since it’s about two thousand feet higher than the smoke, it truly offers a splendid view. If you wish, how about having all city hall officials relocate to the aerial village as well?”

“That’s most kind! Then, first allow me to inspect that Aerial Village.” Mayor Kagawa beamed with a smile as he exclaimed. Then immediately, Mayor Kagawa—accompanied by the spiritual Mr. Kagawa and the two inventors—inspected the Aerial Village by airplane. To Mayor Kagawa, everything appeared wondrous. In the sky lay fields, factories, pastures, and schools—arranged in such fashion that it seemed exactly like the New World Columbus had discovered.

As Mayor Kagawa patrolled the Aerial Village, there was one machine he couldn’t comprehend. That machine had been installed in the beautiful factory at the center of the village. Beside it, beautiful Greek sculptures and works by modern master sculptors were crammed into every available space. “What on earth is this place for?” ”

Mayor Kagawa asked Tengu-sensei. “This?” “This is a place to recast humans… This must absolutely exist in the sky because if left as they’ve always been, humans would inevitably start wars in the Aerial Village or find amusement in revolutionary disturbances—thus it has been decided to recast them here.”

“I see!” “What is this machine called?” “It’s called the Wagner Foundry—an improved version of what that human transformation engineer Wagner from Goethe’s Faust used.” “I see… So if one is recast here, will they grow wings or something?” “Wings are a given.” “You can eliminate body weight like the second Mr. Kagawa.” “Oh, is that all it does?”

“No—it’s not merely that.” “Humans become completely new.” “In other words, they can be reborn in their souls.” “Then, won’t you recast me first?” “You no longer need to be recast.” “Because there already exists the second spiritual Mr. Kagawa.” “Have you all already been recast?” “No—we’ve installed the machine according to scientific principles, but due to an energy shortage, we don’t know how to operate it.” “This is a machine that must be operated by universal motive force—that is, the power of God—or it will not operate.”

“What a strange machine.”

“That’s correct. It’s an evolved form of a mammalian uterus.”

“Could you show me how to operate it?”

Tengu-sensei made a strange face and said. "That cannot be done." "If it were possible, I would have evolved into a spiritual body long ago... Probably, the second Mr. Kagawa has that power." "Could you please ask the second Mr. Kagawa?" The ever-silent spiritual Mr. Kagawa resolutely approached the machine, gripped its handle, and prayed briefly; when he turned what appeared to be a power switch, something resembling a rotary furnace began operating with a resonant hum.

76: Bugs That Hatched on the Abacus

“That’s how it works! That’s how it works. Through that rotation, the rust gets removed, melted by heat, and poured into a new mold. When they come out of the mold, they emerge as proper winged humans.” Thus Tengu-sensei said, wriggling his prominent nose. Mayor Kagawa was watching the world below from the aerial factory’s railing. “How about this filthy Osaka! Doesn’t it look exactly like an overturned trash can!”

Hanadare-sensei responded to that and said.

“When viewed from the heavens, human life is truly a sorrowful thing indeed. Especially when it comes to modern urban life—there is nothing as wretched.” Mayor Kagawa apparently took those words to heart,

“Exactly. “Osaka people are like insects hatched upon an abacus bead. I feel this acutely. They waste their whole lives talking of booms and busts, market rises and falls. Some are born upon the abacus, some die upon the abacus. There are those who miscalculate by a single digit and hang themselves from its frame—truly pitiful creatures.” Tengu-sensei seized this moment to exert himself,

“Therefore, this Human Transformation Machine becomes necessary, you see.”

“It’s true. It’s true. For the many around me—those who’ve lost limbs in accidents, those who’ve failed in life and want to start anew—I’d greatly like to make use of it.”

Mayor Kagawa said happily. “With this machine, we can achieve the human transformation that eugenics attempted. ...And if that cannot be done, no matter how much revolution we carry out, it will ultimately amount to nothing.” “I agree. Even if they built a new communist state in this same ugly human form today, it would bring no happiness whatsoever. A proletarian dictatorship created by alcoholics, neurosyphilitics, and murderous maniacs would ultimately be like living next door to hell. I refuse to place any faith in externally imposed revolutions. I must insist on making human transformation itself the primary principle of revolution. In this sense, I wholeheartedly celebrate the invention of the Wagner Foundry.”

“I had thought you would be pleased to say so. Therefore, these must be the people migrating to the Aerial Village, I suppose. First of all, who should we welcome?” “First, shouldn’t we invite the people from the Rear Palace Slums where I live! There are so many people there struggling without even a house. And if we tell them that people whose noses have rotted from syphilis or whose skulls are full of holes can be recast anew, they’d surely rejoice!”

Mayor Kagawa answered with his heart racing, as the vision of the slums being immediately transformed now floated before his eyes. “Then let’s do that… But wouldn’t that cause the general citizens to get angry?”

“Then let’s proceed like this.” “Let’s make an official announcement that anyone wishing to migrate—not limited to paupers—shall be permitted to relocate to the aerial village.” “That would be best.” With their consultation concluded, the mayor’s party of four descended once more into Osaka City’s smoke-choked atmosphere.

At that moment, Hanadare-sensei shouted.

“Waste!” “Waste!” “In Osaka, humans and energy are being recklessly squandered.” “The final days of abacus civilization are truly pitiful indeed!”

77 Migration to the Aerial Village

“Hey there! Mr. Mayor. Can I go to the Aerial Village too, please?” O-Tora of the "Explosive Bomb," famous among the Rear Palace prostitutes’ circle, spotted Mayor Kagawa standing before the Human Transformation Machine’s suction pump and said this. And Mayor Kagawa gladly welcomed O-Tora.

“Now, now. The Aerial Village is spacious—anyone who wants to go can go.”

“Would you mind even a woman like me with a missing nose?” “Is there any need to worry about such things? The Aerial Village has a proper Human Transformation Machine—those with missing noses will get new ones attached, those with bad legs will gain freely moving limbs, and those who can’t see will receive eyes that see.” “Is that so? You mean there’s really such a marvelous contraption?” “This suction pump here does exactly that… You’ll get drawn up through this, then when you reach the top, there’s a funnel that’ll catch you. Further along lies a machine that melts humans down—it scrubs off the rust, dissolves them into liquid, then pours them into molds to emerge as winged celestial beings.”

“If it’s such a marvelous place, I’ll have you send me up right away. … Since I’d be lonesome going alone, I’ll bring a whole passel of friends along.” O-Tora of the “Explosive Bomb” had briefly returned to her tenement, but came back trailing behind her—my word!—a veritable army of hundreds. “Mr. Mayor! “Please send me up too!” “Please send me up too!”

When he investigated those who came making such appeals, he found each and every one to be people who wanted to become even slightly better human beings. Even Mayor Kagawa was surprised by this, but since this was precisely the transformation's purpose, he rejoiced that these people had finally attained self-awareness. The Human Transformation Machine began operation at precisely 9:00 AM, and by 11:00 AM, the number of people sent to the Aerial Village had reached 888.

The commotion in the slums grew so intense that day that thousands of gawkers came to see the suction pump of the Human Transformation Machine leading to the Aerial Village. "Well I'll be! They actually built such a contraption!" "What the heck is that thing?" "That's the machine what takes you up to the sky." "What happens when you get up there, y'think?" "They say it gobbles you up like dragon feed—that true?" "So this 'Aerial Village' place—folks can really live there?"

“Nah, seems like we’re all being tricked by that magician Kagawa and will end up as dragon food, I tell ya. As proof, ain’t a single one of those who went up since mornin’ come back yet, I tell ya.” “Come to think of it, you’re right! From the recent flood to Mr. Ajigawa’s strange death, folks are sayin’ it’s all connected to the mayor’s Christian missionary magic… Seems like this Aerial Village and Human Transformation Machine are just another one of his tricks! I tell ya, there ain’t many men as brazenly deceptive as this mayor!”

“So then, it really is a scam after all, I tell ya?”

Surrounding the suction pump of the Human Transformation Machine, the hecklers were engaged in various deliberations and rumors.

However, the people of the slums, rejoicing eagerly and dancing lightly as they were being drawn upward.

Just as lunch break began, Spiritual Mayor Kagawa, who was operating the Human Transformation Machine, descended from the sky. The physical Mayor Kagawa saw it clearly.

The two were discussing the operation of the Human Transformation Machine. To those watching from the sidelines, this appeared as if they were chanting incantations. The hecklers did not overlook this. “Hey, look! The Mayor’s chanting those Christian missionary spells again.”

“So that’s what it is? That’s downright eerie.” “We might get caught and killed by that machine any moment now, I tell ya.”

78 The Reign of Violence

The operation of the Human Transformation Machine continued into the afternoon. By around two o'clock in the afternoon, the number of people who had ascended into the sky exceeded six thousand. However, strangely enough, after two o'clock in the afternoon, the applicants abruptly stopped. “Someone must have been spreading opposition propaganda,” the Mayor was thinking when Mrs. Shimamura—the former Miss Ajigawa Kikuko—came rushing in. Kikuko, in a panic and without even explaining the situation, “It’s a huge commotion… It’s a huge commotion. City Hall is in an uproar,” she said.

“What has happened?”

“The coup has begun.” “Whose?” “Matsushima Shōgorō’s faction incited the National Constitution Party members, and around five thousand armed toughs have occupied City Hall... Anarchist elements are mixed in among them.” “I barely escaped with my life and made it here.” “What do you intend to do?” “I want to escape to the Aerial Village.” “Shimamura will also come right after.” “Hurry, please send me to the Aerial Village.”

“Very well!”

As soon as the Mayor said that, the suction machine sucked in Mrs. Shimamura Kikuko.

Immediately after that, Shimamura rushed over in work clothes.

“It’s terrible, Mr. Kagawa! Everyone’s been taken down. “It seems Ms. Hiroko and Ms. Tsuneko were caught too. “Most of the other executives have been dragged away.” “It was fortunate that Ms. Kikuko alone managed to escape.” “Has Kikuko fled here?” “She’s already gone to the Aerial Village… How did she escape?” “Well, I was having a standing talk behind City Hall. “Matsushima’s faction barged in during that time, so Kikuko immediately fled to your place.”

“What stance are the labor groups taking?” “The labor groups are remaining extremely calm. However, the Bolshevik faction is opposing you.” “I thought as much. The more fundamental reform I speak of probably can’t be understood by materialist socialists.” “The socialism you advocate is Utopian Socialism that doesn’t apply to the real world—they say it’s actually becoming a hindrance.” “I thought as much.” “But Mr. Kagawa, you need to escape somewhere too. They’re saying they won’t rest until they’ve captured you first and foremost.”

“I don’t mind being captured. Since I am doing what must be done, I will never yield to violent hands.” “Truth has never been defeated before, I tell ya.”

“There they come!”

No sooner had Shimamura screamed than Janome no Kumagorō and his gang of dozens rushed toward the Mayor standing before the suction machine. “Hey, Kagawa! You bastard dare to deceive us with your Christian missionary tricks!” “You’ve steeled yourself for today, haven’t you?” “Quietly submit to the rope!”

Mayor Kagawa quietly submitted to the rope. Janome no Kumagorō, swelling with pride, withdrew to Matsushima’s residence.

79 Migration to Mars

The sound of the Aerial Village being shelled resounded deeply from morning. The airship burned up, and the airplane crashed in flames. A cowardly spirit that knew only to rely on violence and feared evolution and development took control of the entire Osaka City. The Mayor, confined in his cell, endured it all in silence.

Boom—the sound of cannons resounded even into the cell. And the clattering sound of various things falling from the sky could be heard.

Each time that sound reached his ears, the Mayor grieved as his ideals were being utterly shattered.

In the Aerial Village, as the bombardment had begun, everyone resolved to evacuate elsewhere. As for the evacuation site, it was left entirely to Spiritual Mayor Kagawa, chief of the Aerial Village.

Spiritual Mayor Kagawa declared he would migrate to Mars. Fortunately, all residents of the Aerial Village except Master Hanatare and Master Tengu lacked body weight and were thus unaffected by universal gravitation. Their connection to Earth's gravity had been severed from the moment they entered the suction device. Spiritual Mayor Kagawa issued a proclamation to all people.

“The people of the Aerial Village shall all migrate to Mars immediately. “The transportation shall be light ray trains... Based on Einstein’s theory of relativity, although the light ray train’s trajectory curves somewhat, it can travel ninety-three million miles in eight minutes. “Thus I calculate it won’t take three minutes to reach Mars. “Never stick your head or hands out of the light ray train’s windows—if you do, when passing through space at absolute zero, you risk freezing and falling away.”

The Mars-bound light ray train departed carrying approximately six thousand heavenly beings.

The two who remained behind—Tengu and Hanatare—exchanged glances and laughed.

“Hey, we’ve ended up in quite a place, haven’t we?” “What should we do? Should we make a quick landing and return to Tokyo?”

The two made a promise to return to Tokyo. So they landed before being shelled and walked to Umeda acting nonchalant. “Hey, the smoke really is terrible. After living in the Aerial Village and returning to this smog-filled underworld, humans look downright inferior, I tell ya.” “It seems we’d advanced a step too far ahead, I tell ya. Preventing soot oughta be our first task, I tell ya.” “But today’s capitalists would never understand that.” As they were calmly crossing Yodoyabashi Bridge,

“Hey, wait! Where the hell are you lot headed?” With large eyes gleaming, the thug called out to stop them. “We intend to return to Tokyo and are heading to Umeda.”

Tengu answered boldly. "What's that thing on your head?" "This is an oxygen inhaler." "Oxygen inhaler? What's it for?"

“Because Osaka has so much smoke, we use this to shield against it.” Hanatare answered clearly. “Soot prevention? So you’re on the Mayor’s side, ain’t ya?” “That’s right.” “Then get over here... Don’tcha know there’s orders forbidin’ any talk ’bout preventin’ soot? Moron! Soot ain’t harmful one bit to folks! Makes lungs stronger, purifies the air, cuts down lung sicknesses, an’ helps young’uns grow proper! Moron!”

“Take off that oxygen inhaler!” “If I remove this, I will die.” Hanatare protested. However, that was not heeded. The thugs forcibly took the oxygen inhalers from the two. Deprived of their inhalers, the two collapsed from the impact and fell unconscious.

“Find an empty cell and throw ’em in!” Thus barked the thug leader. The unconscious bodies of the two were placed beside the mayor’s cell.

80 The Agitator on the Cross

That night, Mayor Kagawa was dragged before the private court. There, all the council members opposed to Mayor Kagawa had gathered. Matsushima was the chief judge, while Umeda, Shima, Horie, and others held the positions of associate judges. Of course, since it was a private court, there were neither prosecutors nor judges. Everyone was a prosecutor and everyone was a judge.

Matsushima asked in a loud voice.

“Hey, Kagawa! Did you curse Ajigawa Funazo to death?” “……” The Mayor remained silent and did not answer. “You claim to use Christian padre’s magic—to make rain fall and summon floods whenever you please. That true?” “……”

The mayor remained silent. “You—with your smoke prevention racket—destroyed industries! Wrecked national order! Cooked up this aerial nation scheme! Threatened our Yamato Shimane’s sacred constitution! Outrageous!” “They say fifty thousand flew up to your sky village! Starved stiff! Now corpses go plop-plop from heaven! Ain’t that God’s honest truth!” “……”

"You have deceived the realm's womenfolk, disrupted city governance, made women meddle in politics to harm our nation's fine customs, and violated the national constitution. All of these are capital crimes; therefore, I sentence you to death."

Kagawa Toyohiko received the declaration of his death sentence but remained unperturbed. “This guy’s one brazen bastard." “Ain’t even fazed by getting sentenced to death!”

Thus said Umeda. "It’s terrifyin’," Shima said.

Shima said this.

At Abeno Cemetery, Kagawa Toyohiko was finally to be crucified. The jeering crowd, finding it amusing, trailed after them in a disorderly mob. “Hey, looks like the agitator’s finally getting crucified.” “How pitiful.” “What’s so pitiful? It’s better that such a hypocrite was killed! That guy’s undoubtedly the sort who’d support counter-revolution when push comes to shove!” “That’s right! That’s right! That guy is the Judas of the labor movement! His preaching of non-resistance doctrine has dulled the working class’s class consciousness and diminished their militant spirit, forcing workers to remain eternal slaves... With him killed, revolution has become all the easier! Now that the man who spouted all that nonsense is gone, we can finally stretch our legs!”

Amidst the jeers, the radical faction members mixed within were talking triumphantly. At Abeno, Kagawa Toyohiko was crucified on a cross and immediately died after being stabbed with spears from both sides. The spectators laughed loudly upon seeing Kagawa Toyohiko die. “Serves you right! You got yourself killed because you were too damn arrogant! If you’d known your place, you wouldn’t have gotten yourself killed!” Some spat at him. Some threw stones. A lone red dragonfly passing by widened its eyes in surprise and soared into the air.

A lone red dragonfly that happened to pass by there widened its eyes in surprise and soared into the air.

Chapter 81: Mars and the Red Dragonfly

The group that arrived on Mars received a grand welcome from the Martian residents. “Despite having repeatedly sent wireless messages to Earth up until now without receiving any response, we had resigned ourselves to the idea that no living beings existed on its surface—but well, you actually came!”

The people of the Martian Republic were overjoyed. The Martian residents were exceedingly kind to the six thousand Celestial People. They showed them every corner of the Martian world. To overcome geological difficulties, the Martians excavated two canals from the North and South Poles into desert regions directly under the equator and channeled meltwater into the desert. Even Spirit Mayor Kagawa was astonished by this grand civil engineering project.

“I see! Such grand civil engineering projects could never be accomplished on Earth’s surface. Even channeling Atlantic water into the Sahara Desert remains merely a topic of debate—diverting water from the North Pole to the Gobi Desert would naturally be an unimaginably colossal undertaking.”

Upon hearing this, the Martians said as follows. “Among us there is no war or quarrels, so there’s no waste of energy. Since we all work together in perfect harmony, diverting water from the North Pole to the desert is truly an easy task. Of course, this cooperation was undoubtedly born from necessity. In the past, even on Mars we often waged wars over trivial matters and engaged in class struggles. However, once we realized Mars itself was gradually drying up and discovered that continued conflict would bring our race’s extinction near, we absolutely ceased all warfare. The results are as you see before you.”

Spirit Mayor Kagawa was deeply impressed by each and every thing he was told. Martian youths came visiting, saying that Earth's maidens were beautiful. Many were immediately proposed to for marriage. Moreover, among the youths who had gone from Earth, there were those who fell in love with Martian girls and even became engaged. For this reason, the residents of Mars rejoiced by putting up illuminations every day. Above the canal—dug straight for thousands of miles from the North Pole—gondola boats beautifully decorated with electric lights floated every night. And they raised a toast, declaring that the birth of a cosmic free society was not too far off.

At that moment, a red dragonfly came flying in. Spirit Mayor Kagawa, who was hosting the essence of the red dragonfly, immediately realized that the dragonfly's urgent report had come to deliver news of the scandal.

Red Dragonfly said sorrowfully. "Mr. Kagawa has finally been crucified at Abeno." "The corpse has now been taken by laborers to the slums." "The funeral will likely be conducted by your wife when she comes from the countryside." "That is all I have to report to you."

Having said that, the Red Dragonfly vanished without a trace.

Spirit Mayor Kagawa immediately rose from the banquet table upon hearing this, boarded the Moonlight returning from lunar orbit, and descended to Earth. Spirit Mayor Kagawa, having returned to the slums, grew sorrowful at the vast disparity between the stellar realm and the smoke-choked underworld of poverty. The corpse of Kagawa Toyohiko's physical form lay with a desolate expression in the slums' two-tatami-mat palace.

82: The Final Moment of Shattering the Coffin

That evening, the funeral was held late. The mourners were a group of laborers and thugs who had come to monitor the corpse.

Spirit Kagawa Toyohiko delivered a eulogy. “...I, Kagawa Toyohiko, mourn your death—that is, the death of Kagawa Toyohiko." “Death is a transformation.” “I celebrate that you have met your destined death to attain a higher stage of evolution.” “Death is a form of selection.” “God has the right to select humankind.” “Even if you do not necessarily rejoice in your own death, you cannot refuse it as God’s selection.” “Furthermore, since you are the Kagawa Toyohiko of five hours ago, you yourself must acknowledge that you are a creature belonging to the past.”

The corpse from inside the coffin “No! No!” shouted the corpse. “Even if you cry ‘No! No!’, there’s nothing to be done about it. “You are already an animal of the past. “All that belongs to the past are dead things. “Death is the rope ladder leading to eternal life. “In order for life to be purified and revered, life buries the old into the past and unearths the new from the future. “Have you not already become a person of the past, sufficient to rest in peace? “In your time among the living, you roamed about spouting self-serving ideas, wrote novels to scrape by, composed works that misled people without compunction to turn profit, revered no authority, bowed to no capitalist, honored neither Marx nor Lenin, pursued a free society yet failed to articulate its path, advocated spiritual revolution while shunning class struggle with such equivocal posturing that you pleased neither ally nor earned enemy’s respect—a luckless orphan of fate who ultimately fell upon the cross.”

“To bury you with smoke is the ultimate loyalty—you who became smoke through your effort to conquer smoke. Truly, you are admirable. Ah, how worthy of celebration! How worthy of rejoicing!”

The eulogy concluded, and the coffin was transported to Abeno Crematorium. The gravedigger threw the coffin into a third-class hole, handed over the master key, spread soil over it, and lit the fire. Having confirmed that the fire had spread beneath the coffin, the mourners dispersed. “Finally, Mr. Kagawa has turned to ash!”

Having said this, one of the laborers laughed forlornly.

×　　　　×　　　　× As the fire and smoke spread around him, Kagawa Toyohiko inside the coffin began to regain his consciousness. "Hey! Where is this?"

Because the corpse in the coffin spoke, the gravedigger fled. “A ghost! “A ghost!” “Hey, I’m not a ghost! I’m still human! It’s not that smoky!”

Kagawa Toyohiko shouted while choking on smoke. But there was no one to answer. The fire seemed to have engulfed the entire coffin. Wherever he touched—whether neck or shins—every spot that stung with piercing pain oozed blood. "This guy's finally getting cremated," he resolved.

As he steeled himself, fierce smoke came invading through the gaps in the coffin lid. Since he thought there was no choice left but to suffocate like this, he resolved to break through the coffin lid as a final effort. "Ungh!" With a forceful exertion, he broke through the coffin lid. The moment he thrust, his eyes opened. When he opened his eyes, he found himself still lying in his two-mat palace in the slums. He had drunk too much coffee and been unable to sleep all night, but just as he began to doze off toward morning, he felt as though he might suffocate from the smoke wafting in from the nearby fertilizer company. Moreover, as always, fifty or sixty bedbugs that he would catch each night launched their usual fierce assault, leaving his entire body swollen. What he had thought was crematorium smoke turned out to be the fertilizer company’s fumes, and what he had believed to be blood oozing from his body was in fact blood sucked out by bedbugs.