Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [597]
“I heard you’ve been to Edo. That’s quite a journey for a woman traveling alone.”
“Did the dyer’s wife tell you that?”
“Yes. I’ve heard everything. The people in Miyamoto talk about it too.” “Oh, they would,” said Otsū with a little frown. “It’s so embarrassing.” “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed. If you love a person that much, who’s to say whether you’re to be pitied or congratulated. But it seems to me this Musashi is a little coldhearted.”
“Oh, he’s not—not at all.”
“You don’t resent the way he’s acted?”
“I’m the one to blame. His training and discipline are his only interest in life, and I can’t resign myself to that.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with the way you feel.”
“But it seems to me I’ve caused him a lot of trouble.”
“Hmph. My wife should hear that. That’s the way women ought to be.” “Is Ogin married?” asked Otsū.
“Ogin? Oh, I’m not quite sure,” said Mambei, and changed the subject. “There’s a teahouse. Let’s rest awhile.”
They went inside and ordered tea to go with their box lunches. As they were finishing, some passing grooms and porters called out in familiar tones to Mambei.
“Hey, you, why don’t you drop in on the game in Handa today? Everybody’s complaining—you left with all our money the other day.”
In some confusion, he shouted back, as though he hadn’t understood them, “I don’t have any use for your horses today.” Then quickly, to Otsū, “Shall we be going?”
As they hurried out of the shop, one of the grooms said, “No wonder he’s giving us the brush-off. Take a look at the girl!”
“I’m going to tell your old woman on you, Mambei.”
They heard more comments of this sort as they walked quickly on ahead. Asaya Mambei’s shop in Shikama was certainly not among the more prominent business establishments there. He bought hemp in the nearby villages and parceled it out to the fishermen’s wives and daughters to make into sails, nets and other things. But he was the proprietor of his own enterprise, and his being on such friendly terms with common porters struck Otsū as strange.
As if to dispel her unspoken doubts, Mambei said, “What can you do with riffraff like that? Just because I do them the favor of asking them to carry stuff from the mountains, that’s no reason for them to get familiar!”
They spent the night in Tatsuno, and when they left the next morning, Mambei was as kind and solicitous as ever. By the time they reached Mikazuki, it was getting dark in the foothills.
“Mambei,” asked Otsū anxiously, “isn’t this Mikazuki? If we cross the mountain we’ll be in Miyamoto.” She had heard that Osugi was in Miyamoto again.
Mambei halted. “Why, yes, it’s just on the other side. Does it make you homesick?”
Otsū lifted her eyes to the black, wavy crest of the mountains and the evening sky. The area seemed very desolate, as if somehow the people who should be there were missing.
“It’s only a little farther,” said Mambei, walking on ahead. “Are you tired?” “Oh, no. Are you?”
“No. I’m used to this road. I come this way all the time.”
“Just where is Ogin’s house?”
“Over that way,” he replied, pointing. “She’s sure to be waiting for us.”
They walked a little faster. When they reached the place where the slope became steeper, there was a scattering of houses. This was a stopover on the Tatsuno highroad. It was hardly large enough to be described as a town, but it boasted a cheap “one-tray” eating place, where grooms hung out, and a few low-priced inns strung out on both sides of the road.
Once they were past the village, Mambei declared, “We have to climb a little now.” Turning off the road, he started up a steep flight of stone stairs leading to the local shrine.
Like a small bird chirping because of a sudden drop in the temperature, Otsū sensed something out of the ordinary. “Are you sure we haven’t come the wrong way? There’re no houses around here,” she said.
“Don’t worry. It’s a lonely place, but you just sit down and rest on the shrine porch. I’ll go and fetch Ogin.”
“Why should you do that?”
“Have you forgotten? I’m sure I mentioned it. Ogin said there might