CHAPTER XXIII

A WINTER SESSION

Aoyama Shu[u]zen was in conference with Chu[u]dayu. Preparations were to be made. It was with something like dismay that the members of the Endurance Society received the missive--"At this season of the great heat your honoured health is matter of solicitude. More and more may it thrive. Hence the condescension of the honoured (your) litter is requested on the coming sixteenth day. The wish is expressed to offer a cup of inferior wine. With fear and respect:--

To...."

Alas! Alas! If they could have but reached the ceremonies of the New Year.[31] This rascal Aoyama would have been too occupied with the official visits to press his right to a meeting in the season of extreme cold (the _tai-kan_). But now--on the 16th day of the 12th month (2nd February): Ah! Ha! He was a wicked fellow. The grudge properly lay against Kondo[u] Noborinosuké who had sweated the juice out of them in the intense heat of the hot season. Now Aoyama proposed to freeze it on the surface of their bodies. But to refuse was out of the question. Charged with weakness and effeminacy one would be laughed at as a fool; be unable to show his face. After all perhaps one could escape the ordeal with life.

The 15th day, on which the invitations were issued, was threatening. The 16th day fulfilled the promise. Cold blew the blasts down from snow clad Tsukuba, with full sweep across the Shimosa plain. As it caught the unfortunates crossing the Ryo[u]gokubashi in their progress toward the Bancho[u], they shook and shivered with more than anticipation. An occasional flake of snow heralded the heavier fall. At the _yashiki_ of Aoyama all was in readiness to welcome the guests. Shu[u]zen stood at the house entrance to greet them. With thin open silken robe thrown over his _katabira_ or summer robe, lacking shirt, and wearing the wide woven grass cloth _hakama_ (trousers) which sought every breeze, he carried a fan in his hand. The _kerai_ met the guests with ice cold water for such as cared to dip the hands--and none dared refuse. Shu[u]zen fanned himself vigorously; and his guests were zealously supplied with fans, or the heat inspired by their progress was dissipated in the draught raised over them by energetic hands. The door-man (_toritsugi_) monotonously sang out the new arrivals--"Abé Shirogoro[u] Sama, Kondo[u] Noborinosuké Sama, O[u]kubo Hikoroku Sama, Yamanaka Genzaémon Sama, O[u]kubo Jizaémon Sama, Endo[u] Saburo[u]zaémon Sama, Kanématsu Matashiro[u] Sama, Okumura Shu[u]zen Sama..."; and Shu[u]zen had greeting for all. "Ah! Ha! Such terrific heat! Not for sixty years has such been experienced. An old fellow in the _yashiki_ will answer for it. But be sure all has made ready for comfort. Truly the honoured presence in these dog days in a gratification. The viands, the drink, all have been carefully cooled. Deign to come within, to a cooler place, away from this desolating heat. Condescend to notice how the very leaves have been withered off the trees."

With inward groans, their teeth chattering and their bodies shivering, they followed this merciless fellow. "Ha! Ha! For tobacco there will be fire in the braziers. At least one's fingers are assured of warmth." They smirked at the anticipated pleasure. Warm fingers and the heated _saké_! But--Oya! Oya! Bare were swept and wide open thrown the rooms. Screens (inner and outer) had all been taken away. From the garden came the cold blast, blowing icily through this wide bare space. For cushions--the straw _zabuton_; for fire in the braziers--punk! Explained Shu[u]zen in all kindness and suavity--"Fires in the braziers in this heat were too terrific even to think of; so punk (_hinawa_) has been substituted.... No need for thanks; the mere duty of the host. And now--no ceremony: off with the garments of all. A middle cloth answers purposes of decency. Deign the trial. Here is cold water to cool the heated body." Promptly he stripped to the skin. The _kerai_ were bringing to the verandah black lacquered basins filled with water in which ice floated. Before this terrific fellow there could be no hesitation. They followed his example in being soused from head to foot. In the wiping--"Let the rag hang loose. Don't wipe with knotted towel. Stupid fellows! The cool wetness clinging to the skin gives a shiver of delight." Thus shouted Shu[u]zen to his officiating satellites. Then all the guests took seats. The mucous was running from the noses of the old fellows who had fought campaigns at Odawara, Sekigahara, O[u]saka. Aoyama noted it with delight; and even Kondo[u] felt a grudge against him, yet was compelled to laugh.

The viands were brought--to send a chill down the spines of all; macaroni in cold water (_hiyamugi_), and the equally heating sea ear in frozen salt water (_mizugai_). Shu[u]zen urged the latter, as better fitted for the season. As piles of _sashimi_ (sliced raw fish), resting on neat beds of shaven ice, were brought eyes looked to heaven--to hide the expression. When the wine appeared, the bottles immersed to the neck in tubs filled with salted ice, the more recondite parts of the room echoed groans. Even Shu[u]zen smiled with complacence. He felt he had scored success. It was Endo[u] Saburo[u]zaémon who showed no sign of discomfiture. "Naruhodo! Aoyama Uji, in this great heat how explain a thing so strange? Deign, honoured sir, to look. This white substance falling from the sky; if it were not so hot, one would call it snow." Said Aoyama undisturbed--"Not so, Endo[u] Uji. It is but from wild geese fighting in the sky, their feathers; or perchance _kanro_--the sweet dew which falls from heaven when a virtuous lord condescends to rule. Who more virtuous than the honoured suzerain?" All bowed in heartfelt enthusiasm and respect. Then said Saburo[u]zaémon--"'Tis a thing to note closer at hand; a stroll in the garden, to seek its coolness in this heat." He leaped down into the fast accumulating snow.

Others too stole away, at least to get protection from the outrageously cold blasts of the exposed rooms, and the further exactions to be anticipated from the ingenuity of their host. Growled Kanématsu--"It is the value of one's life risked with such a fellow as Aoyama. Where Kanématsu sits the snow drifts in on his shoulders. He is without consideration or mercy."--"For any: his women must find service in such a _yashiki_ a substitute for the torments of Emma Dai-O[u]."--"Not so," sneered Kondo[u]. "Even the wife is but a wooden figure; much like Kondo[u]'s fingers." An idea seemed to come to him. He left them for the time being. The others stood sheltered from the wind, to talk and shiver, Endo[u] joined them from his garden stroll. Seeing Kondo[u] on his return, said Abé Shiro[u]goro[u]--"Eh! Naruhodo! The smile of pain relieved! Kondo[u] Uji, has he found means to unbend, to thaw out those fingers? Ha! The rascally fellow knows the way about. There is hot water at hand. Deign to give the hint, Kondo[u] Dono." Kondo[u] leaked a smile, then snickered--"It was but an idea. Hot water in this _yashiki_ on such a day there is none. But it is always to hand for the effort. The fingers of Kondo[u] were turning white, were in danger, and so...." He held out his fingers for inspection. Abé looked with envy. "They fairly steam!" Then suddenly putting his fingers to his nose--"Oh! Oh! The filthy fellow! Kondo[u] Uji! Deign to wash your hands. Indeed hot water is always carried on one's person. But...." All grasped their nasal members and protested. Noborinosuké laughed outright, and submitted to the ablution. Abé in malice gave the hands a copious libation. For the nonce his fingers had been saved and Kondo[u] was satisfied with the outcome.

A woman dressed in the summer garb for service came from a room close by. The opening and closing of the _sho[u]ji_ gave Endo[u] Saburo[u]zaémon a glimpse. At once--"This way...." His tone commanded attention. Abé Shiro[u]goro[u], Kanématsu Matashiro[u], O[u]kubo Hikoroku followed him. It was the maids' sleeping room they entered. "Aré! Aré! Have not the honoured sirs made a mistake? Deign to return to the other apartment. This is the maids' dressing room."--"And in no better place can one be," grumbled Shiro[u]goro[u]. His eyes took in the room with avid curiosity. Here the girls quickly slipped into winter garb, until called to the banquet hall for service. But it was not the glimpse of shoulders of the one so engaged at the moment, as the brazier covered by a quilt and placed in the centre of the room. From this the girls had emerged in confusion. Said he reprovingly--"Eh! Eh! In this great heat to have a brazier--it is more than out of season. Surely it is against the order of the master of the house." The girls, uneasy and at a loss, had but for answer--"It was the idea of O'Kiku...." The beauty, still flushed with the suddenness of her effort, came forward smiling. The attention of all was riveted. A little taller than the average of her sex, very fair of skin, the sparkling eyes in the pure oval of the face framed in tresses reaching almost to her feet, the tiny feet and long fingers appearing from the edge of the robe, the incomparable poise of head and neck, this woman was a beauty, to be rivalled by few in Edo town. The voice too was as musical as were her words to the frozen men--"It is but a water _kotatsu_; so that one can be cooled in this extreme of heat.... Within? Ice--of course. Deign to enter." The suppressed groan of Abé was cut short. He looked fixedly at the bright laughing face before him. The smile was pained and stereotyped, but the sympathy was evident. He understood. "Ho! Ho! Endo[u], Kanématsu, O[u]kubo, deign to try this delicious coolness. Ah! Ha! This water _kotatsu_ is a splendid idea. In this great heat it restores one to life. Truly Kiku is as clever as she is beautiful; one apart from all the others." The men crowded together under the _kotatsu_--"More ice! More ice! The _hibachi_ grows warm." Laughing O'Kiku brought the necessary supply with the tongs, blew it into life with a little bellows.

All the time Endo[u] observed her closely. To Abé--"Truly she is a beauty.... Your name is Kiku.... And age?... Twenty years only!... So Kiku is sempstress in the house of Aoyama Uji. So! So!" He and Abé regarded her attentively. They praised her beauty. The crimson blush spread over face and neck, adding to her charm. Thoroughly warmed the men left the room. Said Endo[u]--"Oh, the liar! This Aoyama poses as a misogynist, takes a wife--perforce, and charges those of us who like women with effeminacy. O[u]kubo, how about this Kiku.... The Sempstress? Oh, you stupid fellow! Why--there is no more beautiful woman in Edo. She is the mistress of Aoyama; who deceives and mocks us all. And now--to bring him to open shame." Aoyama Shu[u]zen, quick to note their absence, and the return so refreshed, was much put out. "Where have these fellows been?"

Endo[u] Saburo[u]zaémon was not slow in the attack. "Truly, Aoyama Uji, words do not fit deeds. Are you not a bit of a rascal?"--"Why so?" was the calm reply of Shu[u]zen, always ready to a quarrel. "You pretend to hate women; you charge us with effeminacy who have wives; and take your own but on compulsion. Yet in this very house there is not only a wife, but the most beautiful woman in Edo for concubine." Shu[u]zen's astonishment was too manifest. "Who?" said Endo[u], with some misgiving that he had missed fire. "This Kiku; would you deny it?"--"Surely so," was Shu[u]zen's assured reply. Then seeing the curiosity of those around he added with courtesy--"This Kiku is a slave girl, a criminal under judgment, a _yatsu-ho[u]ko[u]nin_ by favour. Would you know about her? She is daughter to the robber Jinnai, not long since put to death. The law may be harsh, yet it condemns the line of such men to extinction, and sends their issue to the execution ground. Whether through good will, or mistaking the Aoyama Harajuku, the resort of this Jinnai, for this _yashiki_, the villagers brought the two girls Kiku and Yui from near Tsukuba. In pity one was taken into the life service of the _yashiki_. For his business Jinzaémon of the Yoshiwara Miuraya considered the younger Yui as more fitting. To him she was bound as _yatsu-yu[u]jo[u]_.... Husband? No: and thus all posterity of the robber is stamped out. Yui serves for life as harlot in the Yoshiwara, with no recognized issue. Kiku serves for life at the _yashiki_. The case is a pitiable one." All present echoed what he said. "It is the offence, not the person, which is to be hated. Truly it is a hard lot." They were curious to see her. Said Shu[u]zen--"Surely she has been rated too high, but--summon Kiku here." As the girl stood in the midst for all to observe, blushing and panting a little with fright at all these eyes upon her, there was no gaze more intent than that of Aoyama Shu[u]zen. The pity expressed and the praises lavished reached his ears. He studied her from head to foot, heard the caustic criticisms--"Such a beauty, and a serving wench! Aoyama is a fool."