Pathway to Japanese Literature

Sneezing

Kiyonosuke-kun's wedding took two months to materialize, and it still remains a topic of conversation.
The newlyweds, their post-ceremony affection truly intense, remained completely secluded for a month and twenty-odd days.
Perhaps due to his excessive zeal, when Kiyonosuke-kun finally went to work afterward for the first time, he had forgotten how to tie his necktie.
"This wasn't how it should be"—so he thought while sitting in just a white shirt, intently studying methods of strangling himself—when a chill overtook him, causing him to take three or four more days off as precaution.
Having originally taken a five-day leave for the wedding ceremony and honeymoon, it was exactly two months later that he finally showed his unscathed face to colleagues.
Now that they have three children, this belongs to old news, but at the time it caused quite a sensation within the company.

At that time, a global cold—also known as the Spanish Influenza—swept across all of Japan.
This was no proof whatsoever that Japan had become a first-class nation through its participation in the European War—it was truly a most troublesome arrival.
A malignant influenza that would immediately develop into pneumonia once contracted.
In Tokyo alone, hundreds of citizens were being carried off by this pestilence each day.
Schools too reached a state of temporary closure.
Who died here, who died there—even if one's own family remained unharmed, there was scarcely anyone who didn't lose at least some acquaintance or friend.
The remnants of this commotion remain etched in Tokyo’s streetcars even today—a notice stating: "When coughing or sneezing, cover your nose and mouth with a cloth or paper."
Is sneezing such a major life issue that they needed to specify each policy in streetcar notices?
As long as there are no issues in the nasal cavity, one shouldn’t sneeze so recklessly even if prompted.
Yet at that time, it was from sneezes that the Spanish influenza spread.
Whether it was a Spanish man or woman I know not, but upon whoever first sneezed—a thousand curses be upon them!
Sneezing became such a grave incident that it warranted the city authorities establishing countermeasures in this manner.
Having disseminated these provisions, all who valued their lives walked about wearing long-nosed tengu-like masks.
The dogs that had struggled with having their muzzles fastened during the rabies outbreak,

"Well, humans have finally been done in too, I say!"

It is said they opened their eyes wide and shouted in triumph.
It was amidst this raging Spanish influenza that Kiyonosuke-kun held his wedding ceremony.

When she had just taken her seat as the bride, the director's daughter Miss Taeko let out an extremely large sneeze—unbefitting a noble princess—that flushed crimson across her already bashful flower-like countenance.
However, the father seated among them,

“Ah hah, my daughter must be getting praised somewhere.”
"This morning’s newspaper also featured my daughter’s marriage."
“Since her photo was even published as an accomplished woman from Toranomon, people must be praising her beauty far and wide by now.”

the director interpreted it this way.

When they soon moved on to exchanging cups, the bride sneezed twice in succession.
The mother, who had also been waiting there, tilted her head slightly and,

"Oh dear.
Who could hate my daughter?
I had deliberately chosen a family without a mother-in-law to prevent any resentment, but I supposed strange things did happen."

She pondered deeply.
When the cup exchange concluded,Taeko-san sneezed three times and covered her face with both hands.
In the father’s mind:
“Good omen! Good omen!
The son-in-law has fallen for my/mydaughter.”

However, when the presentation of wedding gifts had concluded and the groom was first to rise from his seat, the bride sneezed four times in succession.
The mother scrambled over to the daughter's side,

“Taeko, haven’t you caught a cold?”

the mother asked anxiously.

"I’ve had such an unbearable headache since earlier, you know."

Taeko-san's tears streamed down.
The matchmaker had neglected to mention the Spanish influenza during the presentation of the bride's gifts.

"You don't seem to have a fever."

The mother placed her hand on her daughter's forehead.

“This is troublesome. It’s already time for everyone to have gathered at Seiyōken. Taeko, can’t you hold out a little longer?”

The father did not actually think it was that serious.

“There is a slight fever after all. Perhaps…”
“Perhaps…”

While the mother was saying this, Taeko-san—who had already exhausted the number of sneezes mentioned in the proverb—began to cough,

“I feel such chills running down my back as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over me—I simply can’t stay up any longer.”

and began trembling violently.

“Could this be the flu?”

The father realized for the first time.

“Let’s have you rest.”
“You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“After all, this is your home now.”
“Whether you stay in bed or get up is entirely your choice.”

The mother imparted instructions to her daughter,

“Mr. Kojima! Excuse me, Mr. Kojima—a moment—”

she beckoned the matchmaker over.

“Actually, it seems my daughter has come down with the flu.”

the father conveyed the matter.
Although serving as the matchmaker on this occasion, since he was ordinarily a subordinate at the company, Mr. Kojima—

“Ah—well—that is…”

he said, profusely apologetic,

“What arrangements shall we make?”

“Have her lie down immediately. Then get a doctor. Hurry up.”

The father had fully transformed into the company director.

Taeko-san promptly retired to bed in a separate room.
They had even brought habutae silk nightwear as a precaution for such occasions, but on the groom’s side too, everything had been properly prepared.
Even from this, one could infer just how widespread the Spanish influenza had become at that time.
Be that as it may, the relatives suddenly found themselves at a loss, standing up and sitting down restlessly.

“Everyone—in any case… Not the hotel—please withdraw to Seiyōken.”
“As you can plainly see under these circumstances, we shall only present the son-in-law at the reception.”

The father said.

“You—it’s inauspicious for one side to be missing from this auspicious reception right from the very start.”

Because the mother was convinced contracting influenza meant certain death, she grew particularly anxious.

"But hasn't she fallen ill at this auspicious wedding ceremony? There's no choice but to have only the healthy ones attend!"

“Therefore, might we not postpone it?”

“We can’t postpone it now.
The company people have already all gathered.
We’ll just have Kiyonosuke-kun attend.”

“But I’m telling you that leaves one side missing.”

“If Kiyonosuke-kun doesn’t go, both sides will be missing.
If both are missing, doesn’t that mean the whole family gets wiped out?”

“You shouldn’t speak such inauspicious things.”

“Then what in blazes are we supposed to do?”

The father was growing increasingly agitated.

“Why don’t we have Kiyonosuke-san remain at home while Mr. and Mrs. Kojima and ourselves make a brief appearance? Wouldn’t that suffice?”
“Don’t you agree, Mr. Kojima?”

“Indeed, indeed.”

Mr. Kojima chimed in agreement.

“However, if the principals don’t show their faces at all, there can be no reception.”
“Then perhaps we should line up photographs instead—like at a funeral wake.”

The father had now descended into reckless abandon.

“Now now, given it’s an illness, I’m sure our guests will graciously understand.”

And then Kiyonosuke-kun’s brother, who had come from Hokkaido, interjected,

“Moreover, since Kiyonosuke’s reception would only involve colleagues who already know him well, wouldn’t it suffice for him to remain at home with just the matchmaker and one other person?”
“I shall also accompany them.”

and asserted his own presence.
Since this was a marriage between an executive’s daughter and a regular employee, the groom’s side inevitably felt socially constrained.
While over a dozen imposing relatives from the bride’s side stood ready, his side had only a brother from Hokkaido in the transport business—this sole sibling representing both his father suffering from palsy and all their relatives combined.
To be fair, there was an army colonel married to an aunt in Kyushu.
Kiyonosuke-kun, overwhelmed by his sense of vulnerability, had thought to request this person’s attendance and pleaded repeatedly, but due to the remote location, they ultimately did not come.

“If it were only company people, we could manage somehow, but there are many others coming from outside as well.”
“However, since my wife insists on observing these superstitions, I suppose we must yield to your directive.”

“I shall personally attend to explaining this situation to the guests.”

And the matchmaker added his assurance.

“Let it be settled thus.”
“Well then, Kiyonosuke-kun—we rely upon you.”

As time continued to pass, the father finally relented.

"I-I have understood, sir.
The doctor will be arriving shortly, I-I..."

Because Kiyonosuke-kun regarded his father-in-law—that is, the Director—as such, he was being exceedingly deferential.

“I shall conclude matters as swiftly as possible, so please do your part.”

And the mother also urged.

“I-I have understood, sir.
Ha.”

After seeing off the group as they boarded the automobile, Kiyonosuke-kun returned to the room where the bride was resting and attended at her bedside still wearing his haori and hakama.
Even after the ceremony had concluded, they hadn't exchanged a single word, so he couldn't bring himself to think of her as his wife.
No matter how much he mustered his courage, the awareness that she was the Director’s daughter remained.

“Taeko, how are you feeling?”

Though delivering that line would have sufficed, Kiyonosuke-kun proceeded with perfect naturalness,

“Taeko-san, how are you feeling?”

and ended up saying it.
Whether a man surrenders domestic authority to his wife is determined by that crucial first concession.

“My head hurts…”

The bride had already abandoned formal pretenses.
Even if there had been something for her to realize there, it would not have been too late—yet Kiyonosuke-kun,

“The doctor should be arriving shortly, but while we wait, allow me to take your temperature.”

He still kept his haori and hakama on without removing them or even laying them down below.

“Take my temperature.”
“It seems quite high.”

“Please wait a moment. I shall go and fetch the thermometer immediately.”
“While you’re at it, fetch me a cup of hot water—and tell the old maid to prepare it.”

Taeko-san was not putting on airs as the director’s daughter from the very start; she was simply treating him as her husband.
However, Kiyonosuke-kun treated his wife as the director’s daughter,
“Y-yes, I have understood.”

“Y-yes, I have understood,” he responded. There were maids present, and an old woman had even come from the countryside to help—he could have simply ordered them to handle things while taking a smoke break—yet he went to draw the hot water himself. “You have quite a fever. I will place the thermometer here.”

“Come here—I’m already causing you trouble so soon after arriving.”

Even amid her suffering from illness, Taeko-san was deliberately choosing crude language to display her wifely manner—and yet—

“Not at all, it’s no trouble whatsoever.”

Kiyonosuke-kun continued treating his wife as the director’s young lady through and through.
That he later became entirely subordinate to his wife was not at all unreasonable.

Taeko-san’s sneezing had stopped, but she was coughing incessantly.
Kiyonosuke-kun, who had been staring at the clock,

"It should be about time now."

he said, though his words were barely audible.
With that,

“Excuse me, but if I may…”

Having given this warning, he had to extract the thermometer from beneath Taeko-san’s arm.

“This is serious. Thirty-nine point seven degrees!”

“It’s influenza, isn’t it?”

Whispering faintly, Taeko-san closed her eyes. Tears glistened like dew on long eyelashes.

“Well, what could it be, I wonder? Is your chest causing you pain?”

Even when he asked, there was no reply.
Only her breathing could be heard in short, ragged bursts.

“Taeko-san, are you in great pain?”

“…………”

“The doctor will be arriving shortly.”

A wife was not her husband’s slave.
Depending on her whim, a wife needed not respond to her husband’s words.
Particularly when she herself had some worry and her husband was being pestering, she needed not respond to each and every one of his remarks.
If that displeased you,

“Hey, answer me! Are you deaf?”

If pressed,

“You’re quite the self-centered one. Have you ever deigned to buy me what I wanted even once?”

she had every right to retort thus. Now that she was a wife, Taeko-san consciously endeavored to uphold this etiquette. Yet the obtuse Kiyonosuke-kun persisted,

“Taeko-san, would you care to partake of some hot water?”

worshipping and serving your esteemed self with unrelenting devotion.

Just then, a rickshaw pulled up at the entrance, and the old woman and maid escorted the doctor inside.
Kiyonosuke-kun, who had been waiting anxiously, courteously welcomed him, offered a zabuton cushion, and immediately began explaining how the illness had developed.
The doctor,

"Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm,"

nodded while listening.

“Ah, I see… at the wedding. Congratulations to you.”

He gave a slight bow and turned toward the bride,
“...Mm-hmm, you should remain resting as you are... without attending the wedding reception... Mm-hmm, indeed—persisting right to the brink—that is rather unfortunate.”

Then, turning once more to Kiyonosuke-kun, he broke into a broad smile.

The diagnosis, needless to say, was confirmed as the prevailing Spanish influenza.
The next two or three days would be most critical—there was no guarantee it wouldn’t develop into pneumonia.
The doctor explained the treatment methods in detail and took charge of arranging for a nurse before departing.
After that, Kiyonosuke-kun was in no state for formal attire.
He sent the maid rushing to the ice seller.
He then dispatched the old woman to purchase an ice bag.
In the meantime, he set about boiling water for the hot-water bottle himself.
He had been solely focused on taking a wife and had made no preparations for nursing care, so he was truly thrown into a panic.

“You, do you think I’ll recover?”

Taeko-san asked in a heartrending manner.

“It’s all right. Since it hasn’t yet been confirmed as pneumonia, you mustn’t worry.”

Kiyonosuke-kun mustered his strength.

“Has Mother not arrived yet?”

“She should be arriving home shortly.”

“I’m truly sorry for causing you such inconvenience, you know?”

“Oh, please don’t mention it.”

Kiyonosuke-kun's troubles were by no means limited to merely nursing the bride.
Around the time Taeko-san's condition progressed to pneumonia on the third day, just as the doctor had feared, Kiyonosuke-kun too began coughing and developed a fever after dozing off in the evening.
Then came influenza the following day, and pneumonia the day after that.
Both lay in equally critical states, with rumors circulating at the company about which would succumb first.
Yet through the full mobilization of nursing efforts from the bride's family, Taeko-san's fever broke first, followed three days later by Kiyonosuke-kun's.
It became undeniably apparent this was a wife-centered household, with the husband relegated to second place.

When they had recovered enough to converse without difficulty, the mother—who still came daily to direct affairs—removed the fusuma that had partitioned their sickrooms.

“Taeko-san, you must be feeling quite relieved now,” Kiyonosuke-kun ventured first.

“It went well, didn’t it? You too,” Taeko-san reciprocated with shared relief.

“I truly thought I would never see you again.”

“Me too. But it should be all right now?”

“It’s certainly all right.”

“You brought such an extraordinary souvenir—I’m genuinely sorry for you.”

“Oh, please don’t mention it.”

And Kiyonosuke-kun remained utterly unperturbed, even after being subjected to a near-death ordeal.
Even upon entering convalescence, with nurses attending them both as a precaution, Kiyonosuke-kun found no opportunity to grow intimate with his wife.
Consequently, he still could not regard her as his spouse.
She remained both the director's daughter "Taeko-san" and his formal "you."
To compound matters, Kiyonosuke-kun—who had no relatives in Tokyo—found himself profoundly indebted to his wife's family throughout this grave illness.
Though fully aware he had visibly shouldered Taeko-san's unwelcome "souvenir,"

“Thanks to you, I’ve narrowly escaped death.”

Kiyonosuke had to express his gratitude to the director and his wife. It was a bitter irony, but since even her parents were convinced of that fact, there was no helping it. They never acknowledged that Taeko-san had transmitted it. They treated it as an entirely separate matter—simply that Kiyonosuke-san had contracted influenza. The mother was especially partial,

“My daughter most certainly brought it back from the concert. All by herself would have been quite enough, but then even our son-in-law caught it. And his case required far more meticulous care. They say that the longer the incubation period, the more severe the illness becomes. Because unlike my daughter’s case, he immediately fell into respiratory distress—I was by his side for a full week. Well, it was practically like buying his life through oxygen therapy. But at least it happened after the ceremony was over. After all, others simply couldn’t have provided such involved nursing care, you know.”

she would say.
Deep down, she might have believed that Kiyonosuke-kun's had been transmitted to Taeko-san.
In any case, the bride's family were not only her parents but had also ended up becoming the saviors of the groom's life.
Having received such an immense favor so early in their marriage, it was only natural that his already submissive head became completely unable to lift itself.

Kiyonosuke-kun was from Hitotsubashi.
The sun does not shine exclusively on the company where he was currently employed.
Those with average skills can make a living anywhere.
Even without marrying the director’s daughter, there are countless paths to career advancement.
When his colleague and close friend Tsujimura-kun heard of Kiyonosuke-kun’s marriage arrangement, he deduced this logic and,

“Being the Director’s son-in-law will haunt you for life, you know.”
“No matter how much you get promoted, people will still say it’s all because of that.”
“I regret it for the sake of your individuality.”

Tsujimura-kun warned.
However, Kiyonosuke-kun had already tentatively nodded in agreement, so

“Oh come now—I’ll preserve my individuality just fine. It’s not like I’m being adopted into their family—she’s just one woman. I’ll manage her somehow.”

he had no choice but to defend his position.

Putting that aside, thanks to their youthful vitality surging within them, the newlyweds steadily recovered.
The nurses were dismissed, and for the first time their household became truly their own.
Yet the custom of interference from the bride's family had firmly taken root amid the influenza turmoil, with her mother visiting every other day.
To be sure, as Taeko-san was the youngest daughter, there had been an initial arrangement—half-offered, half-received—that singled out Kiyonosuke-kun, who had no relatives in Tokyo.
The son-in-law had been made aware of this through the matchmaker’s frank explanation, but had interpreted it as nothing more than a hopeful suggestion.

However, one day,

“You see, Mother has come today to discuss something.”

Taeko-san introduced.

“The truth is, a house in our family’s rental properties has suddenly become vacant.”
“You’re aware of it too, aren’t you, Kiyonosuke-san?”
“It’s along the path from our residence to the tram stop—the gate structure beside the red postbox.”

And the mother immediately launched into her explanation.

“It’s considerably larger than here and gets much better sunlight.”
“After pneumonia, a change of air would be best for recovery, but since that’s not possible, come now—let’s move there.”

Taeko-san chimed in.

“Ah, are we... are we the ones who will be moving?”

Finally, Kiyonosuke-kun understood what this meant.

“My, you speak as if it’s someone else’s affair.”
“Oh ho ho ho.”
“Mother, we’re not paying any rent.”

“Oh no, we’ll have you pay even the security deposit.
“Oh ho ho ho.”

The mother and daughter laughed in amusement, and thus the relocation was settled.

Sweet chestnuts

Kiyonosuke-kun had taken the director’s daughter, Taeko-san, as his wife.
To borrow his company colleagues’ phrasing, he had received her as a bestowed gift.
Whether framed as bestowal or reception, it remained that Kiyonosuke-kun had done the receiving—not the Director acquiring him as a spouse for his daughter Taeko-san.

To publicly establish this dynamic from inception, the wedding ceremony was held at Kiyonosuke-kun’s cramped rented house.
Truth be told, Taeko-san’s family had wished to host it elsewhere given their numerous relatives requiring seating—but Kiyonosuke-kun had made this very point his non-negotiable condition.
He would receive her here.
He refused to let it be misconstrued that he was being received into their family instead.
Yet no barrier could stem society’s whispering tongues.
When Kiyonosuke-kun reappeared at work after two months’ absence—his face still gaunt from illness—his colleagues,

“Who’d want to be a stud horse anyway? For us, even weddings last three days at most—but become the Director’s adopted son and the treatment’s altogether different. Two months must be some world record, eh?”

“What nonsense—it’s probably not as cushy as you imagine from the sidelines. Having to suck up till you forget how to tie your own damn necktie.”

they made snide remarks.
Regardless of formalities, they remained convinced that it was Kiyonosuke-kun who had been taken in.

Furthermore, regarding the wedding reception as well—since nearly all the guests were connected to either the company or the bride’s family—there had been a prior request conveyed through the matchmaker Mr. Kojima to allow them to leave everything to the Director, but Kiyonosuke-kun did not consent.
He had thought that unless they maintained complete equality from the very beginning, he would never be able to hold his head up in the future.
As a result, the expenses were to be split equally.
However, all this painstaking effort proved no match for colleagues whose perceptiveness was too keen.
When the matchmaker duly spread word of the bride and groom’s absence at that time, they thought it was a rather peculiar sort of reception to have, but they didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

“What nonsense—it also serves as recognition for the employees’ daily diligence.”

“A two-for-one deal?”
“Cleverly done.”
“If blending public and private matters counts as hospitality, we’ve no objections.”

They whispered such things among themselves.
They were impossible to manage.
They’d all assumed it was a company appreciation event.
The Director’s influence proved too pervasive.
The son-in-law inevitably became secondary.
Hosting a reception grander than average turned out to be truly profitless.

This disadvantageous position might have been salvageable had the bride’s chill not worsened into pneumonia—but misfortune breeds misfortune, and even that pneumonia became another bestowal upon Kiyonosuke-kun.
As for the substantial expenses accrued during their two-month convalescence, nothing could be done.
Though they’d long prepared for wedding costs, the unforeseen medical burdens left them no choice but to accept Taeko-san’s family’s charity unconditionally.
Rather than future prospects—he felt he couldn’t hold his head up even immediately after the ceremony,

“Kiyonosuke-san’s life was entirely bought through oxygen therapy—there was a time when I truly thought he might not remain among us.”

The customary remarks from Taeko’s mother now sounded laden with implication, to his profound discomfort.
He felt vaguely self-conscious.
Then came the relocation issue, and without any proper consultation,

“You—let’s relocate.”

he was almost overbearingly compelled to accept.
Since they framed it as an alternative convalescent relocation, there remained no grounds for objection.
On the following Sunday, student boarders and maids from Taeko-san’s family home descended en masse to assist.
The mother naturally orchestrated every detail with sweeping commands,
and he found himself installed in a residence whose upkeep demanded disproportionate consideration relative to his current salary,

“You—it’s splendidly modern, don’t you agree?
“Though larger properties exist, we simply had to evict the tenants here since it lies nearest my family’s estate.
“Being rent-free outweighs all else.”

When Taeko-san said this, Kiyonosuke-kun felt more and more like a true son-in-law.
However, since it came just as he had resolved never to rely on her family’s support again,

“Taeko-san, please allow me to pay rent by having you set the amount.”
“Otherwise I’ll find myself in dire straits.”

he insisted, but Taeko-san—

“No, it’s quite all right.
After all—I’ll be receiving a house regardless.
Unfortunately, the best one happens to be the farthest—quite a disadvantage being here—but well, let us endure it.
In exchange, we have the promise of having a telephone installed.”

With that, his proposal was flatly rejected.

The newlyweds lived in harmony.

Kiyonosuke-kun was as faithful a husband as the Director had appraised.
Taeko-san, aside from the willfulness typical of a youngest daughter raised in an affluent household, was an impeccable wife.
Moreover, since both were still new to each other, there was as yet no room for misunderstandings to arise.

“You—buy chestnuts today and return home exactly at five-thirty.”

When ordered, Kiyonosuke-kun would go all the way to Ginza even in the rain, and shove through train crowds to ensure perfect punctuality.
Even if he weren’t a son-in-law, any slightly dull man would do this much.
However, when the chestnuts continued for four days, Taeko-san—

“I’m tired of this already,”
she said and paid no heed.

“I too gave considerable thought today about what to do, but I feared it might put you in ill humor again...”

“Oh my, am I really being so selfish?”

“No, that isn’t the case, but I thought perhaps you were waiting…”

Kiyonosuke-kun ended up rather stirring up trouble and, immediately after the meal,

“Taeko-san, might I listen to the violin again tonight?”

he had to placate her by enduring Western music he didn’t particularly care for.
Taeko-san, being a young lady of refined upbringing, was rather fastidious.
However, Kiyonosuke-kun had taken it for granted that this could be mended over time through his guidance.

“Taeko-san.”

“What is it?”

…………

“What is it? You’re just smirking like that.”

“Rather than the marumage… Well, the marumage is certainly fine too, but how about that Prince Shōtoku style instead?”

“Hoho, Prince Shōtoku was nice, don’t you think? You!”

“What is it?”

“I have a request too. I’ll be going to my aunt’s place in Nihonbashi from noon tomorrow, so could you stop by to pick me up on your way home from work? From there, let’s stroll over to Ginza and have dinner somewhere.”

“That sounds fine too.”

“Please come a bit earlier.”
“If possible, around three o’clock.”

“Yes, I’ll manage to arrange it somehow.”

And Kiyonosuke-kun readily agreed.
Even if one weren't a son-in-law, one would occasionally leave work early for one's wife.
Particularly in civilized countries, all gentlemen end up obeying their wives' every whim.
Be that as it may, when he paid a visit to her aunt's house on his way home from work the next day, Taeko-san—far from wearing her traditional hairstyle coverings—was waiting in Western attire, and Kiyonosuke-kun became completely delighted, thinking that daughters from established households might not be so impossible to deal with after all.

In this manner, the newlyweds' first several months passed pleasantly by.
Even when occasionally irked by Taeko-san's self-centeredness, Kiyonosuke-kun felt no particular dissatisfaction as a husband, being sufficiently respected in that role.
As for Taeko-san, with her own will prevailing in all matters, there naturally remained no grounds for complaint.

One Sunday evening, after seeing Tsujimura-kun—who had come to visit—off at the entrance, Kiyonosuke-kun,

“Taeko-san, are you feeling unwell?”

he entered the tearoom while saying this.

“No.”

Taeko-san put down the evening paper she had in her hand.

“Then it would have been nice if you’d come out for a bit.”

“But I dislike Mr.Tsujimura.”

“If you dislike him then come to like him．After all，that man has been your close friend since school days．”

And Kiyonosuke-kun sat down by the long hibachi.

"If they harbor resentment, then we can't possibly feel goodwill."

With that, Taeko-san stood up with a huff.

This marked the second time Kiyonosuke-kun had stared in astonishment at Taeko-san’s willfulness.
The first time had been when she had expressed displeasure with the maid who had long served at Kiyonosuke-kun’s household and replaced her with one from her hometown that she favored.
At that time, he thought he ought to say something, but upon reconsidering that maid replacements inherently fell under the housewife’s authority, he had remained silent.
However, this time he simply couldn’t let it go.
Just because she disliked him didn’t mean there was any rule permitting neglect of a husband’s guest.
In that case, it would become increasingly impossible to socialize with friends and colleagues whom Taeko-san disliked.
A wife’s willfulness becoming known to others was truly unbearable.
He could tolerate any amount if confined to the household, but when it came to such matters, a son-in-law was instinctively oversensitive.
Feeling it his duty as a husband to seize this opportunity for corrective measures, Kiyonosuke-kun’s chest began pounding.
Yet he couldn’t remain silent.
It would become habitual.
This wasn’t nagging.
Nor was it picking a fight.
Since he meant to appeal through sincere reasoning for reflection, he continued deliberating even after dinner before resolutely broaching the subject.
Admittedly, his approach differed from other husbands.
The more formal he became, the more excessively polite he grew.

“Taeko-san.”

“What is it?”

“You were just now…”

It wasn’t that he had reached an impasse yet, but noticing his voice was trembling, he paused.

“Just now?”

Taeko-san asked in return,

“Oh my, what’s come over you? You look pale,” she remarked suspiciously. It never occurred to her that this man might actually be preparing to lecture her.

“No, I’m not pale. You did say earlier that you dislike Tsujimura-kun, didn’t you?” Kiyonosuke-kun finally broached the main issue. The exchange was becoming rather drawn-out.

“Haven’t we had enough of this? Such trivial matters.”

“No, I’m concerned precisely because he’s my close friend.”

“You’re awfully fond of someone like that?”

Taeko-san stiffened the moment she grasped her husband’s intent.

“When Tsujimura-kun visited last time, you said he was a cheerful and interesting person—has something happened to upset you?”

“If you insist on pressing me so, then I’ll tell you plainly.”
“I despise anyone who opposed our marriage.”
“And I utterly loathe those who dared object yet now have the gall to come snooping around or meddle with advice!”

“Taeko-san, you’re mistaken.”
“Tsujimura-kun is—”

Kiyonosuke-kun had barely begun speaking when the maid reappeared to clear away dishes.
Seizing this interruption, Taeko-san—

“Otomi, go on over there. I’m currently being scolded by my husband, you see.”

Taeko-san jabbed. She had implicitly declared war. The spoiled daughter, through her repeated clashes with her mother, had mastered the art of troop deployment. A novice like Kiyonosuke-kun was no match at all.

“I’m not scolding you. I wish to hear the reason.”

“I have already stated my reason.”
“Don’t you remember?”

“What recollection are you referring to?”

“The recollection of Mr. Tsujimura opposing our marriage proposal and giving you meddling advice.”

“I have no such recollection.”

“You’re lying.”
“What now?”
“Didn’t you say it was unexpected—that your worries had been groundless?”
“Did you think I was such a villain?”

“Well, that’s…”

And Kiyonosuke-kun had been completely forced into a defensive stance.
If this were a play, their back-and-forth would have reached an impasse by now.

“See?”
“Can’t even give a proper response, can you?”
“You dare to ask for reasons now?”

“That is your misunderstanding. I was concerned about whether you would approve or not. Tsujimura-kun was also concerned about it. He was saying that it turned out to be an unfounded worry after all.”

“Well, well.
“So you’re under the impression you’ve pleased me?”
“You.”
“I dislike people who tell lies.”

“It isn’t a lie.”

“No—it’s a lie! A lie!”
“Lying endlessly… trampling me down thinking I know nothing… Infuriating!”
“Infuriating! Infuriating!”

Despite being in an utterly dominant position, Taeko-san suddenly burst into tears.

"Oh, Young Mistress."

Otomi ceased her eavesdropping and emerged from behind the sliding door.

Kiyonosuke-kun was quite flustered.
If matters were going to escalate this gravely, he should have simply kept his mouth shut from the start—though such belated regrets proved useless now.

"Taeko-san, if I've caused offense, please show mercy."
"Please, Taeko-san."

he drew close and rubbed her back.

“It’s too much.”
“It’s just too much.”

Taeko-san made her shoulders undulate like waves as she continued to let him rub them.
He was the one who had gone too far.

“I went too far.”

Kiyonosuke-kun had no recollection of having said anything excessive, but he wanted her to stop crying as soon as possible.
Before tears, even logic kneels.
When a woman weeps, it is said she moves men through hydraulic power.
Taeko-san, needing to secure a complete victory in the first battle of their new household, had utilized that hydraulic power.

“I had resolved to endure everything, but since you brought it up yourself, things ended up like this.”

And Taeko-san, having fully achieved her objective, raised her face.

“I won’t mention it again.”
“Please cheer up.”

“Since I have evidence, please don’t tell any more lies, alright? You.”

“I won’t lie.”

“Isn’t that a lie? And yet it says I’m not even a woman worth Tsujimura opposing.”

“It says that? Where was that written?”

“It was clearly written in your diary.”

“Did you read my diary?”

“Was I being improper?”

“The diary poses difficulties.”

“But you declared there should be no secrets between husband and wife, didn’t you? I was foolishly honest in keeping to that resolve, and what with not going out much these days and being bored, I ended up taking just a little peek.”

“Even if there are no secrets, the diary poses difficulties.”
“I can’t allow that—the diary.”

And Kiyonosuke-kun kept repeating the same things over and over.
If he reproached her, it would only lead to another commotion, so there was nothing else he could say.

“Because there are various secrets.”
“If I thought you were working late at the company, you’d actually be stopping by a café and fooling around with that waitress O-Nakasan.”

“That—you see, in social interactions, occasional indulgences are unavoidable. If I keep scurrying home like that, they’ll all mock me mercilessly.”

“So I won’t harp on every little thing. But when I consider it properly, it’s utterly humiliating. You can’t bear being spotted strolling with me by your precious colleagues, can you?”

“How could such a notion exist? That time I’d slipped away early—running into company people would’ve been disastrous.”

"But you're the one who kept bringing up that troublesome matter time and again to make me feel indebted, aren't you? If you think that doesn't apply to O-Nakasan, then I don't feel good about it either."

Taeko-san made extremely effective use of even the slightest scraps of material. Kiyonosuke-kun interpreted this as jealousy and took it as a compliment, taking Taeko-san's hand as he said:

"Taeko-san, please don't say such things. Otomi will fabricate things that never happened. I don't recall writing about any waitresses or such matters."

And now he had come to regard having his diary read as an inevitable outcome. Because he was too kind-hearted, he could be manipulated at will.

"No, you have written it two or three times."
"So your male confidant is Mr. Tsujimura and your female confidant is O-Nakasan, is that it?"

“Please stop talking about the waitresses.”
“Alright, I apologize.”
“If you go to a café, anyone would make those sorts of jokes.”

“I don’t want you making such jokes.”
“With someone so vulgar!”

Taeko-san brushed away Kiyonosuke-kun’s hand.

“Ah, I’ll never do it again. And regarding Tsujimura-kun...”

“If it’s about Mr. Tsujimura, I don’t even want to hear it.”

“Now, now, please don’t speak that way. Tsujimura-kun wasn’t opposing you. It’s just that compared to a woman of high standing such as the Director’s daughter...”

“You were advised to marry O-Nakasan the waitress, weren’t you?”

Taeko-san would not accept this. Kiyonosuke-kun offered a few more words of explanation before falling silent.

About an hour later, Otomi announced the arrival of Kinoshita-kun, another company colleague and a very close one at that.

“It’s been a while since I last went to pay my respects to Taishou.”
“I thought it’d be rude to just pass by without stopping on my way there or back, so I…”
The visitor was promptly shown to the sitting room.

“Thank you for stopping by.”
“Since it’s still early, please take your time and talk.”

Kiyonosuke-kun was pleased; however, after the earlier events, he wondered whether Taeko-san would come out.
At that moment, Kinoshita-kun,

“How’s it going? Still keeping up that domestic harmony?” when he joked,

“Thank you. However, my wife mentioned she isn’t feeling well tonight, so I may need to excuse myself.”

He had hinted at this just in case. Even when the conversation turned to certain topics, having been chastened by earlier events, he made sure to avoid anything related to his personal affairs.

However, Kiyonosuke-kun had been worrying needlessly. Taeko-san not only soon appeared personally to serve black tea but also, after chatting amiably, proposed a game of cards. From the third or fourth round,

“Since just playing for free isn’t any fun, let’s bet something.”
“Let’s bet next month’s Kabuki tickets.”

So she proposed.
The match grew lively, ultimately ending with Taeko-san, its instigator, footing the bill.
Kinoshita-kun was thoroughly satisfied.
Company employees who went so far as to pay their respects at the Director’s house did not find it regrettable to receive special treatment in his son-in-law’s household.
Kiyonosuke-kun, contrasting with Tsujimura’s case, was also pleased, so when he saw off the guest,

“Taeko-san, thank you very much.”

he expressed his gratitude.

"My, how formal you're being."
"Is this payback for earlier?"

Taeko-san made a show of glaring with her beautiful eyes imbued with coquetry.
Having cried and then fixed her makeup, combined with being flushed from the card game, she looked especially alluring.
Kiyonosuke-kun became entranced and forgot everything—both the matter of having tried to voice his opinion only to be rebuffed and all else besides.

Telephone

Kiyonosuke-kun maintained a prolonged silence after his first attempt to reform his wife ended in utter failure.
He realized that even if he inadvertently broached the subject, should the other party come prepared with additional ammunition, not only would he be unable to counter, but he would end up being defeated in turn.
From what I later heard, when Taeko-san had been tidying Kiyonosuke-kun’s desk area the previous day, her attention had been caught by the current diary protruding from the bookshelf.
Anyone knows one shouldn’t read others’ diaries.
Taeko-san hadn’t read it right away.
After first rationalizing that spouses should have no secrets between them, she opened it.
Then, having noticed something that didn’t quite sit right, she grew investigative and dug out even last year’s entries from the depths of the bookcase.
Her objective lay in the pages from their marriage negotiations.
When she uncovered the attitude Tsujimura-kun had adopted and his self-important advice from that time, Taeko-san decided he was an unpleasant man.
Moreover, she disliked that her husband kept such a man as his closest companion and constant associate.
As for Okana-san at the café, she amounted to nothing more than a genuine by-product.

However, since this left her feeling thoroughly displeased, just as she was waiting for an opportune moment to bring it up, not only did Tsujimura-kun come over, but Kiyonosuke-kun attempted his first corrective measure. Given that her husband had unsheathed a blunt sword just as she was lying in wait for something to happen, his timing couldn’t have been worse.

However, Kiyonosuke-kun was somewhat comforted by the fact that immediately afterward, Kinoshita-kun had been treated so kindly. Subsequently becoming entirely delighted by the coquettish demeanor Taeko-san had displayed, he even came to think that tonight’s events had arisen from his own resentment. Even if one weren’t a son-in-law, it was entirely possible to end up with a wife this selfish. In fact, even among my colleagues, there are two or three who are under their wives’ thumbs all year round. It is ill-advised for me to dwell on being a son-in-law. Since a wife must have parents, any man who becomes a husband is inevitably someone’s son-in-law. In the broadest sense, there exists no husband in this world who is not a son-in-law. By sheer coincidence, I happen to be the son-in-law of the Director of the company where I work. There's no need to qualify one's thoughts. Moreover, it is not because I am a son-in-law that I work for the company. Up to this point, it makes sense, but when I consider that I became the Director’s son-in-law because I was working at that company, it starts to feel a bit odd.

The next day, Taeko-san naturally went to her parents’ home. Even when there was no particular business, she never let three days pass without visiting, so with such an incident occurring, it was only natural she would go out. Admittedly, the very purpose of moving to such a nearby location had been to facilitate frequent commuting between the two households. As soon as they met face to face:

“Mother, I had a fight with Kiyonosuke last night.”

With this proclamation:

“My, what in the world happened?”

The mother’s eyes widened.

“We had a huge fight. Mother, has a man named Tsujimura ever come to the house? He’s from the company too, after all?”

Taeko-san was equally willful with her mother, starting with the questions she wanted answered first.

“Tsujimura-san?”
“I’ve only heard his name—now let me think—he’s the one who visited Kiyonosuke-san repeatedly during his convalescence, correct?”

“Exactly.
He’s not someone who would casually visit our home in any case.
That man is Kiyonosuke’s closest friend—the one who advised him against marrying me.
Isn’t that utterly detestable?”

“More importantly, you—why did you go and have a fight with Kiyonosuke-san?”
“Go on, tell me.”

“We argued about that person.”
“I knew everything, so when Tsujimura-san came yesterday, I deliberately didn’t show myself.”
“Then later Kiyonosuke started complaining as if he had grievances, so I thought this was the perfect moment and really gave him a hard time.”

“My, you put him through such an ordeal?”

The mother felt somewhat relieved, though,
“Because you’re so willful, I worry.”
“Kiyonosuke-san is still angry, isn’t he?”

“No, when it was time to retire for the night, he apologized profusely saying it was all his fault, so I forgave him.”
“I’ve found Tsujimura-san rather irritating for some time now.”

Taeko-san omitted only the fact that she had read the diary and delved into a detailed discussion of the circumstances.
Even while acknowledging her daughter’s selfishness, when hearing it from the daughter’s own mouth, the mother naturally became convinced that her own child was in the right.
She particularly had no sympathy for employees who occasionally came as far as Kiyonosuke-kun’s place yet not even once inquired after my well-being.

Ultimately,

“Mr. Tsujimura may be Mr. Tsujimura, but both of you are being selfish.”
“In a quarrel, both sides are at fault.”

For Kiyonosuke-kun, this proved truly fortunate.

Several more months passed, and when mid-autumn arrived, a considerable amount of things he wanted to say had accumulated within Kiyonosuke-kun, who had been maintaining his silence. What particularly displeased him was Taeko-san’s frequent visits to her parents’ home. Even when Kiyonosuke-kun returned home precisely at dusk, there were times when Taeko-san was absent. At such times,

“Madam has gone to her parents’ home.”

Even the maid Otomi putting on such airs of her mistress’s family was galling,

“She certainly has frequent business at her parents’ home, doesn’t she?”

He could only vent his frustration to that extent before having to sit down to a lonely dinner.

One evening, Kiyonosuke-kun returned home slightly late.
Because Otomi alone came out to greet him,
“Where is Madam?”
When he asked,
“Madam had been waiting until just moments ago, but as it has grown rather late, she concluded you must have gone somewhere else and has departed for her parents’ home.”
came the reply.
This was undoubtedly a lie.
She must have been gone since daytime without a doubt.
“Late? It’s only thirty minutes past.”
“With the trains as they are, you’d be delayed about thirty minutes.”

Kiyonosuke-kun puffed up indignantly.

“Shall I go to fetch her?”

said Otomi.
This 'if you like' proved galling yet again to Kiyonosuke-kun,

“Then I’ll have you go and fetch her.”

he inadvertently let slip.
Otomi immediately went to the kitchen.

Kiyonosuke-kun felt a twinge of regret.
However, he found himself unable to chase after her and retract his order.
It was past the point of no return.
With a sense of unease, he finished changing and went to the dining table, but having sent someone to fetch her, eating alone now would defeat the purpose.
Having realized that he might instead face interrogation, he was poring over the evening paper when Taeko-san returned home with Otomi and—

“I must apologize.
Even though it wasn't all that late, I went and jumped to conclusions for my own convenience.”

and cheerfully served him.
Kiyonosuke-kun felt relieved.
Given how things stood, he even began to think that asserting himself a bit more might be preferable.

When the meal ended, Taeko-san said,
“You, tonight’s *nagauta* is on the radio.”

“Is *nagauta* the radio?”

“Oh, I was mistaken. Tonight’s radio program is *nagauta*.”

“That makes sense then. I thought something was certainly off. There’s no such thing as *nagauta* being the radio.”

Kiyonosuke-kun felt he had momentarily gained the upper hand.
The humor of practical men generally doesn’t extend beyond this level.

“You do remember.”

“The other time, it was Kiyomoto on the radio, wasn’t it?”

“Very well then.
“Then tonight’s nagauta is on the radio.”
“Since the nagauta is on the radio, I want to listen.”
“Let’s go.”

Taeko-san had invited Kiyonosuke-kun because she wanted to go once again to her parents’ home.

“Well...”

Kiyonosuke-kun gave a noncommittal reply. In truth, he had no interest in traditional music. He wanted to avoid going to her parents’ home as much as possible. Moreover, having worked all day, he was exhausted.

“Do you dislike it?”

“Well, what should we do?”

“If you dislike it, let’s drop it.”

"I'll stay behind, so you take Otomi with you."

"No, I'll drop it. It's not as though this opportunity is limited to tonight alone."

Taeko-san relented.
Kiyonosuke-kun withdrew to the study.
Since matters had settled down with unexpected calmness, he thought that perhaps it truly was better to refuse occasionally after all.

After about an hour had passed, Taeko-san briskly entered the study and—

“You, as I mentioned before, let’s have the telephone installed.”

—she said while sitting down close to Kiyonosuke-kun.
It might have seemed abrupt, but this was a long-standing issue.
The telephone her parents’ home had offered to install at their own expense remained untouched due to Kiyonosuke-kun’s stubborn refusal, leaving Taeko-san perpetually agitated.

“Hey, you.”

“The telephone? We don’t need a telephone.”

While answering nonchalantly, Kiyonosuke-kun recognized this as retribution for his earlier response and regretted his momentary whim of selfishness.
The dream of splendor never lasts long.

"You may not need it, but I do."
"I've felt particularly keen today about needing a telephone, so please have it installed."
"Let me have it installed—please, you."

Taeko-san was already showing signs of agitation.

"Taeko-san, I beg you to spare me this telephone matter."
"If you insist on doing this much for me, I'll be truly troubled."

“You’re still keeping up this formal act!”
“It’s not a matter of formality, but please consider my position.”
“If you need a telephone, wouldn’t it be fine to borrow the one at your parents’ home?”
“After all, you go there every day anyway.”

Kiyonosuke-kun pleaded methodically.

“I won’t be going every day.”

Holding a grudge over being called back after going to her parents’ home, Taeko-san inadvertently let her voice carry,

“You’re absolutely keeping up formal airs!”
“There’s no one as distant as you.”
“If my visiting home displeases you, why don’t you tell me directly?”

“There’s no need to mention it, is there?”
“I never gave it any thought to begin with.”

“Would someone who truly doesn’t care ask Mr. Kojima to make my mother speak about it?”
“You start lying the moment you’re cornered, don’t you?”
“How utterly unmanly.”

Taeko-san grew increasingly vehement.

“Now, now, Taeko-san—please calm yourself and listen.”

Even if he managed to voice that much, once matters had developed to this point, Kiyonosuke-kun couldn’t sustain his argument and found himself constantly interrupted.

“Don’t you yourself stop by places as you please on your way home from the company?”
“Did I ever make a fuss about that?”
“You sweep your own matters under the rug, and then what?”
“Thanks to you, I got scolded by Mother tonight. ‘What kind of wife doesn’t know when her husband will be home and just idles about?’”
“Hey, you—if we just had a telephone, none of this would have happened.”

said Taeko-san.

"I know exactly why you detest the telephone."
"If there were a telephone, you would have to inform someone each time you went elsewhere, and if your whereabouts became known, you think I would call and be a nuisance—that's why you dislike it, isn't it?"
"Hey, you—but no matter where you go, I won't interfere."
"Do you think I'd be jealous of someone like you?!"

she added.
Moreover, she tried saying various other things, but since there was absolutely no response,

“Since I’ve come from a house with a telephone to one without, you can’t imagine how inconvenient it is.”
“And I’ve been enduring that without saying a word, keeping it all bottled up.”
“Even if I occasionally return home at an unusual hour, there’s no need to send the maid over and humiliate me.”
“Tonight, not only were several family members present, but my sister-in-law from Meguro had come as well.”
“You know how much I detest her, don’t you?”
“And right in front of them, I was scolded by Mother.”
“Even after all this, do you still insist we don’t need a telephone?”
“Well? You.”
“You—!”

she pressed on with her interrogation.
Officially, they would persist with the telephone matter to the end.

“Taeko-san, I do acknowledge the necessity of a telephone.
However, please wait a little longer.”

“When you say ‘a little while,’ how long exactly do you mean?”

“Please wait until I can have it installed through my own means.
I have already conveyed my feelings to your father at the family home.
You must also be reasonable.
Look, Taeko-san—that is conjugal affection.”

Kiyonosuke-kun pleaded once more.

“Stubborn thing!”
“False pride.”
“You’ll just keep at it forever—”

…………

“That’s false pride.”
“After all the trouble we’ve gone through relying on my parents’ home—”

And so, the indecorous Taeko-san finally went too far.

Kiyonosuke-kun covered his ears with both hands and plunged face-down onto the desk.
No matter what was said to him now, he remained silent.

“Hey, you.”

When Taeko-san, wearied by her monologue, tugged at his sleeve, he slowly raised himself.

“If you insist on that course, I shall consider it.”

he said.

“Please consider.”
“And then have it installed quickly.”
“It isn’t about the telephone.”
“Then what are you considering?”

Taeko-san involuntarily let her voice tremble.
While persisting in her selfishness, she now faced the very situation she had occasionally thought of as an unlikely worst-case scenario.
Kiyonosuke-kun clutched his head and reverted to his previous posture.
When Taeko-san twisted her body to peer closer and saw tears plopping onto the desk,

“You… oh, you—”

Taeko began to panic.

“If I have offended you, please forgive me.”
“Oh… you.”
“Oh… you.”

Taeko-san then began to cry.
This time, it was Kiyonosuke-kun’s relentless pressure that moved Taeko-san.

The next morning when leaving for work, Taeko-san hurriedly saw him off,
“Please hurry back,” she said, having now transformed into an exceedingly chaste wife.

“How about your umbrella? It looks a bit cloudy, I notice.”
“It’s looking rather overcast.”

Even when prompted as if he had to say something, Kiyonosuke-kun left without breaking his silence from the previous night.
Instead of going to her family home today, Taeko-san sent Otomi to summon Mother.
Of course she had confessed everything from start to finish, but her approach this time was entirely different from before.

“Now that I think about it, everything was my fault.”

and never asserted her own position.

Kiyonosuke-kun remained obstinately silent until noon while attending to his duties, but at mealtime,

“Kasai-kun, can you handle your liquor?”

he addressed a relatively new colleague with whom he had become fairly close.

“Well now, is this a temptation? Or a character assessment?”

Kasai-kun was quite the witty man.

“Well, let’s call it a temptation then.”

“In that case, I’m a man who can hold his liquor appropriately.”

“If it’s a background check?”

“I won’t touch a single drop.”

“Ha ha ha! Honest, aren’t you. In that case, I’d like to do the tempting—will you oblige?”
“I’ll join you.”

Given this exchange, after the company closed for the day, the two of them agreed to go out for drinks together.

And so, while Taeko-san was meticulously preparing the evening meal and doing her makeup as she anxiously awaited her husband’s return, Kiyonosuke-kun was savoring whiskey with Kasai-kun at a Ginza bar.

“By the way, Kasai-kun, is it true you’re still genuinely single?”

“Well now.
Is this a matchmaking offer, Hara-san?
Or perhaps a character assessment?”

Kasai-kun invariably began by interrogating the premise behind any question.

“As ever, you’re thoroughly prepared. You won’t get promoted unless you go that far. Ha ha ha ha!”

Kiyonosuke-kun, cheered by alcohol,

“It’s nothing like that.”
“Well, just curiosity, I suppose.”

“In that case, I’ll leave it to your imagination.”

“Imagining things would be a problem.”
“However, that’s rather suggestive.”
“Well then, let’s consider me officially a bachelor.”
“And if it were matchmaking, how would you respond?”

“I’m single.”
“If a good one comes along, I’ll take her.”

“If it’s a character assessment?”

“I have a wife.”
“However, at present, she has returned to her family home due to a parent’s illness.”

Kasai-kun replied.

“Kasai-kun, I hear you used to be in education. Why on earth did you join such a trivial company?”
“I’d very much like to hear that story, you know.”
"There seems to be some story there."
“Now then, fine fellow—confess everything in detail!”

As he drank, Kiyonosuke-kun grew more talkative.

“I became a rabbit.”
“So this time, I’m starting over completely fresh and being extremely cautious.”

“A rabbit?”

“Well, it’s a play on words where ‘dismissal’ closely resembles ‘rabbit.’”

“So it’s dismissal then? I see. Now tell me exactly how you got dismissed—out with it, fine fellow!”

Kasai-kun began calmly recounting how he had received an administrative dismissal a month and a half after his transfer due to his involvement with a certain woman.

“……When the principal first asked, ‘Are you single?’ I should have given an evasive answer, but I ended up honestly saying, ‘I’m single.’ Then within less than a month, didn’t that Namiko come chasing after me?”

“Heh heh heh. Not so simple, eh?”

“I thought about sending her back immediately, but I couldn’t very well do that to someone who’d followed me all the way out to Hokkaido’s backwoods out of devotion."
“I’d meant to let her stay just one night to make her see sense of things, but ended up cohabiting with her right then and there.”

“I see—I can well imagine."
“Well now, you certainly made her ‘see sense’ in spectacular fashion.”

Kiyonosuke-kun interjected with knowing nods at each crucial point.

“To tell the truth plainly, our relationship had existed from before.”
“In other sectors of society, one might manage to paper this over somehow, but the education world is stifling.”
“If a teacher were cohabiting with a mistress, dismissal would be inevitable.”
“While you may have your own circumstances to consider,”—here Kasai tapped his own forehead—“I was made to understand by the principal that this commercial school exists not merely for intellectual education but moral cultivation.”

Kasai-kun struck his own forehead.

“I see—there’s no escaping it.
“And what became of that?
“And Mrs. Namiko?”

“I tried once more to make her see reason, but she still hasn’t submitted so much as a resignation letter—not even a formal inquiry.
“This might sound presumptuous of me to say, but she’s become convinced there’s no other husband for her besides me.
“When I think about it, I can’t help but feel sorry for her.”

“Why don’t you just marry her then?
“You’re in love with her too, aren’t you?”

Kiyonosuke-kun, his eyes glazed with alcohol, licked his lips.

“It’s not that I’m entirely without lingering feelings myself, but my parents are opposed, and no matter how determined she might be, having a barmaid for a wife would cause complications down the road.”

“It’s become this strange relationship that’s neither completely severed nor fully intact.”

“Therefore, if it’s an inquiry through matchmaking, I’m single.”

“If it’s a character assessment, I already have a household—though I’ve currently sent my wife back to her family home.”

Kasai-kun clarified his own position.
His experience in Hokkaido appeared to have left him thoroughly chastened.

“So you’re going to marry that Ms. Namiko after all.”
“In the end, you’ve got to shoulder responsibility for what you yourself started.”

With that, Kiyonosuke-kun clutched his head in both hands, just as he had the night before.

After a short while, Kasai-kun noticed that Kiyonosuke-kun had fallen asleep.
When he took out his watch and looked, it was already past ten.

“Mr. Hara! Mr. Hara!”

Kasai-kun called out.
When there was still no response, he placed his hands on his shoulders and shook him.

“I don’t need a telephone.”

Kiyonosuke-kun uttered in a sleep-addled voice.

"It's not about the telephone."
"Let's just head out on our own now."

"Please understand my position."

"What's wrong—can't get up?"
"You drank far too much."

Kasai-kun muttered.

Kiyonosuke-kun was escorted home by Kasai-kun around twelve o'clock.
Taeko-san was, of course, meticulous in her care.
The next morning when he went to work, Kiyonosuke-kun was summoned along with Tsujimura-kun and over ten others from the director’s office to the executive office.
It was a regular salary increase.
However, he was not a little surprised to have been abruptly promoted to section chief.
Admittedly, Tsujimura-kun had been promoted to department head.
The previous section chief had been honorably transferred to become branch manager in Osaka; the elderly Mr. Tamechika, who should have rightfully succeeded him, chose to retire; Tsujimura-kun, the second-in-command, was promoted to section chief; and Kiyonosuke-kun, previously third-ranked, leapt up to become chief.
As the chief position was equivalent to department head level, one could have a telephone installed by the company.
Kiyonosuke-kun, having had that incident two nights prior, speculated whether there was some connection between that and this, but upon learning it had been decided among the executives a month earlier, he relaxed.
However, those who had been excluded from the salary increase,

“If they’d made Tamechika-san section chief, Tsujimura-kun would’ve become chief, and the telephone wouldn’t have gone to Hara-kun.”
“To make Hara-kun chief, they had to get rid of someone above him.”
“What an embarrassment for Tamechika-san!”
“Who wouldn’t want to be the Director’s son-in-law!”

they remarked to one another.

(September–November 1925, Shufu no Tomo)