number who’ll be more attentive. If you don’t dismiss her . . .” Kazu broke off and burst into tears. “Even when I’m at home I’m so worried I have trouble sleeping at night.”
Noguchi opposed her with his silence. He was counting the jasper-like fruit on a plant in his garden. He listened a while to Kazu’s grievances; then, as if he had just remembered it, picked up the spiced saké container again. Kazu, her hands covered by a handkerchief soaked with her tears, took the large cup he pressed on her, only abruptly to fling it on the tatami. She wept, her head pressed against the stiff silk of Noguchi’s hakama at the knee. She was careful at the same time to spread the dry part of the handkerchief against the hakama so that the silk would not become soiled.
Noguchi’s hand quietly stroked the back of her obi. As he did so Kazu knew for a certainty that her smooth-skinned back, its rich, white resilience discernible through the pulled-back collar of her kimono, had caught Noguchi’s eye. Kazu recognized in the gentle, absent-minded movements of Noguchi’s hand something like a familiar melody. It was afterward that they first kissed.
7
The Omizutori Ceremony in Nara
Noguchi had a long-standing engagement to go with Kazu to Nara to see the Omizutori ceremony, but at the same time he was to be the guest of a friend, a newspaper executive. Naturally enough, all the arrangements of the journey were made by the newspaper. Besides Noguchi the party included an octogenarian journalist, an industrialist, and an aged financial columnist. Kazu could not understand when she learned the details why Noguchi should have invited her on what seemed a semi-official excursion.
It was highly improbable that Noguchi, who always distinguished between public and private matters, would bring Kazu along on the same invitation without telling the others. But if they were to travel at his expense, it would be better for the two of them to go somewhere by themselves. There was no reason why they must take a trip on which they would be so conspicuous. It was clear to Kazu from the reports of people who had attended the Omizutori ceremony that even if she and Noguchi made their way to Nara independently of the newspaper party, they would certainly run into the others that night at the Nigatsu Hall.
On top of everything else, Kazu was uneasy about the strain the trip would cause on Noguchi’s finances. She also disliked the prospect of feeling small before his distinguished friends. Kazu felt no hesitation in dealing with the most influential men in the country in her capacity as restaurant proprietress, but she disliked being obliged in her private capacity to talk to such people professionally.
Kazu could only make various conjectures. She was irritated with Noguchi for not furnishing her with an explanation. She finally became depressed about the whole thing, and went to visit Noguchi with an envelope containing 200,000 yen. She intended to offer it to him for the expenses of the journey.
Kazu was accustomed to seeing famous politicians calmly accept presents of cash. She had in the past been touched for gifts of one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and even a million yen by Genki Nagayama, who needed the money for his personal expenses. But with Noguchi it was different. The money became the occasion for their first quarrel She discovered that Noguchi looked on the forthcoming journey in truly uncomplicated terms. “All I need pay is your railway ticket and hotel room. I was invited from the start and my expenses are taken care of. When I told the others I was taking the proprietress of the Setsugoan with me, everybody was delighted. The newspaper people offered to invite you too, but I insisted on paying for your share. Doesn’t that make sense to you?”
“But the way I see it, this is our first trip together and I’d like to go to some quiet place where we can be alone.”
“Would you? I thought I’d
Noguchi opposed her with his silence. He was counting the jasper-like fruit on a plant in his garden. He listened a while to Kazu’s grievances; then, as if he had just remembered it, picked up the spiced saké container again. Kazu, her hands covered by a handkerchief soaked with her tears, took the large cup he pressed on her, only abruptly to fling it on the tatami. She wept, her head pressed against the stiff silk of Noguchi’s hakama at the knee. She was careful at the same time to spread the dry part of the handkerchief against the hakama so that the silk would not become soiled.
Noguchi’s hand quietly stroked the back of her obi. As he did so Kazu knew for a certainty that her smooth-skinned back, its rich, white resilience discernible through the pulled-back collar of her kimono, had caught Noguchi’s eye. Kazu recognized in the gentle, absent-minded movements of Noguchi’s hand something like a familiar melody. It was afterward that they first kissed.
7
The Omizutori Ceremony in Nara
Noguchi had a long-standing engagement to go with Kazu to Nara to see the Omizutori ceremony, but at the same time he was to be the guest of a friend, a newspaper executive. Naturally enough, all the arrangements of the journey were made by the newspaper. Besides Noguchi the party included an octogenarian journalist, an industrialist, and an aged financial columnist. Kazu could not understand when she learned the details why Noguchi should have invited her on what seemed a semi-official excursion.
It was highly improbable that Noguchi, who always distinguished between public and private matters, would bring Kazu along on the same invitation without telling the others. But if they were to travel at his expense, it would be better for the two of them to go somewhere by themselves. There was no reason why they must take a trip on which they would be so conspicuous. It was clear to Kazu from the reports of people who had attended the Omizutori ceremony that even if she and Noguchi made their way to Nara independently of the newspaper party, they would certainly run into the others that night at the Nigatsu Hall.
On top of everything else, Kazu was uneasy about the strain the trip would cause on Noguchi’s finances. She also disliked the prospect of feeling small before his distinguished friends. Kazu felt no hesitation in dealing with the most influential men in the country in her capacity as restaurant proprietress, but she disliked being obliged in her private capacity to talk to such people professionally.
Kazu could only make various conjectures. She was irritated with Noguchi for not furnishing her with an explanation. She finally became depressed about the whole thing, and went to visit Noguchi with an envelope containing 200,000 yen. She intended to offer it to him for the expenses of the journey.
Kazu was accustomed to seeing famous politicians calmly accept presents of cash. She had in the past been touched for gifts of one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and even a million yen by Genki Nagayama, who needed the money for his personal expenses. But with Noguchi it was different. The money became the occasion for their first quarrel She discovered that Noguchi looked on the forthcoming journey in truly uncomplicated terms. “All I need pay is your railway ticket and hotel room. I was invited from the start and my expenses are taken care of. When I told the others I was taking the proprietress of the Setsugoan with me, everybody was delighted. The newspaper people offered to invite you too, but I insisted on paying for your share. Doesn’t that make sense to you?”
“But the way I see it, this is our first trip together and I’d like to go to some quiet place where we can be alone.”
“Would you? I thought I’d
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