Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [292]
Musashi demurred. “I couldn’t possibly accept it. It’s bad enough for me to stay here in your house so long. Why, that must be a family heirloom!”
“But you do like it, don’t you?” The older man smiled indulgently. “You may have it if you want it. I really don’t need it. Pictures should be owned by the people who really love and appreciate them. I’m sure that’s what the artist would want.”
“If you put it that way, I’m not the one to own a painting like this. To tell the truth, I’ve thought several times it’d be nice to have it, but if I did, what would I do with it? I’m only a wandering swordsman. I never stay in the same place very long.”
“I suppose it would be a nuisance, carrying a painting around with you wherever you go. At your age, you probably don’t even want a house of your own, but I think every man should have a place he can regard as home, even if it’s nothing more than a little shack. Without a house, a person gets lonely—feels lost somehow. Why don’t you find some logs and build a cabin in some quiet corner of the city?”
“I never thought about it. I’d like to travel to a lot of distant places, go to the farthest end of Kyushu and see how people live under the foreign influences in Nagasaki. And I’m eager to see the new capital the shōgun is building in Edo and the great mountains and rivers in northern Honshu. Maybe I’m just a vagabond at heart.”
“You’re not the only one, by any means. It’s only natural, but you should avoid the temptation of thinking that your dreams can be realized only in some far-off place. If you think that way, you’ll neglect the possibilities in your immediate surroundings. Most young people do, I fear, and become dissatisfied with their lives.” Kōetsu laughed. “But an idle old man like myself has no business preaching to the young. Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk about that. I came to invite you out this evening. Have you ever been to the licensed quarter?”
“The geisha district?”
“Yes. I’ve a friend named Haiya Shōyū. Despite his age, he’s always up to some mischief or other. I just received a note inviting me to join him near Rokujō Avenue this evening, and I wondered if you’d like to come along.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“If you really don’t want to, I’ll not insist, but I think you’d find it interesting.”
Myōshū, who had crept in silently and was listening with obvious interest, put in, “I think you should go, Musashi. It’s an opportunity to see something you haven’t seen. Haiya Shōyū’s not the kind of man you have to be stiff and formal with, and I believe you’d enjoy the experience. By all means, go!”
The old nun went to the chest of drawers and began taking out a kimono and obi. As a rule, older people were at pains to prevent young men from frittering away their time and money at geisha houses, but Myōshū seemed as enthusiastic as if she herself were getting ready to go somewhere.
“Now let’s see, which of these kimonos do you like?” she asked. “Will this obi do?” Chattering away, she busied herself getting out things for Musashi as if he were her son. She chose a lacquered pillbox, a decorative short sword and a brocade wallet, then took some gold coins from the money chest and slipped them into the wallet.
“Well,” said Musashi, with only a trace of reluctance, “if you insist, I’ll go, but I wouldn’t look right in all that finery. I’ll just wear this old kimono I have on. I sleep in it when I’m out in the open. I’m used to it.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” Myōshū said sternly. “You yourself may not mind, but think of the other people. In those nice pretty rooms, you’d look no better than a dirty old rag. Men go there to have a good time and forget their troubles. They want to be surrounded by beautiful things. Don’t think of it as dressing up to make yourself look like something you’re not. Anyway, these clothes aren’t nearly as fancy as some men wear; they’re just clean and