Parting in the Snow at Nanbuzaka

In a long wool rain cape, navy blue,on high clogs with a toe cover,holding a two-stop oilpaper bull's-eye umbrella,¹Ōishi is followed byhis trusted sidekick, Teranishi Yadayū.²They arrive at the celebrated Nanbuzaka.

They stand before the gate of the mansion of Asano Shikibu Shōyū .³

KURANOSUKE.

"Gatekeeper! Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio has come for an audience with Lady Yōsen'in."

GATEKEEPER.

"Pass through!"

Inside the gate, to the left, was still another gate.

The sign reads, "From this point on, men are forbidden."

KURANOSUKE.

"I request permission to pass through the gate."

MAID.

"Who might it be?"

KURANOSUKE.

"Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio has come for an audience with Her Ladyship, the widow of his late lord."

MAID.

"Please wait a little."

After he has waited a little, the gate opens for him; to his right on entering is a waiting room. He hands his umbrella and cape to Teranishi, and on reaching the entry hall, he is greeted by Toda no Tsubone , lady-in-waiting and younger sister of Onodera Jūnai .⁴

LADY TODA.

"My, my, how good to see the Senior Councilor!"⁵

KURANOSUKE.

"I am sorry, Toda, for not visiting in such a long time, and hope that all is well with Her Ladyship."

LADY TODA.

"She keeps wondering when you will visit, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow . . ."

KURANOSUKE.

"I am deeply grateful that she has been waiting for me. Please escort me in."

LADY TODA.

"It is my pleasure."

Led by Toda deep into the women's quarters,he passes through and sees before him,sitting on a cushion of pale blue satin,dressed in white satin with a purple-crested jacket,fingering a crystal rosary,having cut her hair and her ties to the world,Yōsen'in, now nineteen years of age.⁶

Upon seeing her, Kuranosuke prostrates himself.

YŌSEN'IN.

"Ah, it is you, Yoshio, thank you for coming. I have waited so long for your visit."

KURANOSUKE.

"I am most pleased to see you in good health, as always."

YŌSEN'IN.

"Toda, Kuranosuke has come to visit, after such a long time, and

By good chance today is my husband's death memorial,⁷a time of abstinence, but let me join you myself in a cup of sake."

KURANOSUKE.

"I would be happy to do as you say."

At Toda's signal a group of maidscomes quickly with sake and side dishes.This is my cup of farewell to my lord,he thinks, although unable to say so.In fact he has come intending to revealthe plans for the great event that night,but just earlier he had noticed a maid,one whom he had never seen before,her eyes now fixed only on Kuranosuke.This is a person to beware of;the plan cannot be revealed.I must not break the news.

Yoshio drinks several cups, feigning drunkenness.

KURANOSUKE.

"Ah, it's not like me to drink so much. Actually, I came today for a special reason. I have come to bid farewell."

YŌSEN'IN.

"Farewell, Kuranosuke? Where do you plan to go?"

KURANOSUKE.

"Well, as you know, once the memorial services for my lord are finished, I have no need to stay in Edo. At any rate, I will return to Kyoto, and after one night there I plan to move to Osaka, where I will abandon the way of arms and open up a sundries shop. My son left the other day, after the inventory had all been prepared, and I myself plan to leave Edo tomorrow. If I were going to a place just twenty or forty miles away, I could come visit you every month, but in Osaka, two hundred fifty miles distant, even once a year might be rather difficult . . .

So please take care of yourself."Hearing these astonishing words,Yōsen'in asks in great surprise,"Wha, wha, what do you...