And Then (Tuttle Classics) by Natsume Soseki

Author:Natsume,Soseki
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 2011-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

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* Musical instrument somewhat comparable to the lute.

* Ballad-drama

CHAPTER XII

DAISUKE FEARED HIS sister-in-law’s pressures. He also feared Michiyo’s magnetic powers. It was still too early for summering. He lost interest in every form of diversion. Even when he read, he could no longer recognize his own form in the black print. If he tried to settle down and think calmly, thoughts would come to him as thread off a spool; but once he put them together, they were all such as to be fearful to man. In order to stir up his pale brain, as one would a milkshake, Daisuke decided that he should travel for a while. At first he planned to go to his father’s villa. But insofar as he would still be vulnerable to attack from Tokyo, it would not be very different from staying in Ushigome. Daisuke bought a travel guide and began to research where he should go. He felt as if no ideal place existed on the face of the earth. Still, he tried to force himself to go somewhere. He decided that this did not call for extensive preparations. Daisuke got on a streetcar and arrived in Ginza. It was an afternoon when a cheerful wind blew over the streets. Daisuke walked all around the bazaar in Shimbashi then strolled down the wide avenue toward Kyōbashi. The houses on the other side looked flat, as if they were part of a stage backdrop. The blue sky was painted right above the roofs.

Daisuke stopped at two or three haberdashers, equipping himself with a few necessities. Among them was a comparatively expensive bottle of perfume. When he tried to buy toothpaste at the Shiseidō, a young clerk kept pressing a homemade product on him in spite of his protests. Daisuke finally left the store frowning. Carrying the paper packages under his arm, he walked to the periphery of Ginza, and from there went around to Daikongashi, where he crossed the Kajibashi Bridge in the direction of Marunouchi. As he walked aimlessly westward, he ended up thinking that even this could be called a simple trip. He became tired and looked for a ricksha, but none was to be found, and he finally had to take the streetcar home.

When he got back, he found shoes that looked like Seitarō’s neatly arranged in the entranceway. He asked Kadono about it and Kadono answered yes, that was right, Seitarō had been waiting for some time. Daisuke went immediately to the study. Seitarō had settled himself in Daisuke’s big chair and was reading an account of Alaskan explorations. Some buckwheat cakes and a tea tray had been placed side by side on the Western table.

“What’s this, Seitarō, coming over when I’m out and feasting yourself, eh?” Seitarō laughed and stuffed the Alaskan explorations in his pocket, then left the seat.

“If you want to stay there, go ahead.” But Seitarō would not listen. As usual, Daisuke began teasing him. Seitarō knew the number of times Daisuke had yawned at the Kabukiza the other day.

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