Hanabishi Fusai no Taima-chou

A pale gray crepe kimono with yuzen-dyed wisteria patterns, matched with a purple shibori obi. The haori was also woven with a wisteria pattern, dyed in a gradation of pale purple to fresh green. Although Suzuko thought it was a bit on the gaudy side, the neckpiece was embroidered with wisteria. “You’re a young lady, so it’s perfectly acceptable if you dress a little too gaudily,” Taka said.

“At your age, no matter how glamorously you dress, you won’t be defeated by that.”

Is that how it is? Suzuko tilted her head as Taka fastened her obi. In the mirror, she looked as though she was wrapped in wisteria flowers. Taka tied her obi into a drum knot and fastened it with a dark purple obijime. The metal obidome was carved with the flowers of the four seasons, a work of the master craftsman Katsura Mitsuharu.

Staring at her own reflection in the mirror, Suzuko asked, “Say, Taka, do I have ‘eyes like a dead fish?’”

Taka was about to hang her haori from her shoulders and stopped. She looked at Suzuko in the mirror.

“Oh my…what an apt comparison. Who said that?”

Takafuyu did. However, Suzuko didn’t say that.

“Being calm and collected is one of your strong points, Ojou-sama. An Ojou-sama with lively eyes isn’t you at all.”

“…Is that a compliment…?”

“It is. Isn’t it good to have a personality that other young ladies don’t have?”

“…”

“Isn’t Baron Hanabishi arriving soon?”

""

Taka said as she adjusted the collar of her haori. It was just before eleven o’clock.

“You’ll be going to an eel restaurant in Nihonbashi today. You had sushi the other day, and Western food before that. Baron Hanabishi knows many good restaurants, doesn’t he.”

Takafuyu often invited Suzuko to meals. Since they never spent the entire day together, he must be making time in between his busy schedule.

With their marriage approved by the Minister of the Imperial Household, the exchange of engagement gifts would be this month, and the wedding reception would be held in the fall. Both were being carried out on auspicious days. As the dates for various events leading up to the wedding were set, the fact that she was getting married began to feel more and more real to Suzuko. In the past, there used to be many more arrangements leading up to a marriage, but nowadays it was easier because there was only the exchange of gifts.

“Ojou-sama, Baron Hanabishi is here.”

A maid came to inform them. Suzuko put on her lace gloves. These gloves were a gift from Takafuyu. He told her that the lace was made in the town of Honiton, England. The gloves were delicate and beautiful, with rose motifs linked together with fine net lace. Japanese lace was said to have originated from Honiton lace, which was introduced by an Englishwoman in 1878.

Takafuyu was dressed in a suit as well today. He was wearing a bluish-gray three-piece, and the pin adorning his indigo tie was engraved with keshi pearls and emeralds.

“You look as elegant and graceful as a wisteria spirit.”

Takafuyu commented after taking one look at Suzuko.

“Don’t you mean to say, ‘a woman with the eyes of a dead fish’ instead?”

“You’re holding a grudge about that, I see. You have me there. I apologize,” Even as he said that, Takafuyu smiled. “Shall we be off, then?”

They got into his car and headed to Nihonbashi. The first restaurant he took her to was a restaurant that served Western food such as beefsteak, but finding it not suiting Suzuko’s taste, he took her to eat sushi the second time, and this time it was eel. Both sushi and eel were Suzuko’s favorites.

The cool and clear scent of incense wafted from Takafuyu, who was sitting next to her.

“Today, I have a little request for you, Suzuko-san.”

“Does it concern ghosts?”

“You are quick to understand.”

“Give me the details.”

“Let’s do that after we eat.”

Suzuko looked sideways at Takafuyu. Before, she had cried into his chest. Afterwards, he sent her back to the Takigawa estate as though nothing happened and left.

“Is there something the matter?” Takafuyu looked at Suzuko.

“It’s nothing,” Suzuko answered and faced the front again.

When they arrived at the eel restaurant, they were led to a tatami room on the second floor and settled down. The windows facing the alley were thrown away, and the breeze was cool. The restaurant was off the main street and could be entered, so it was quiet.

After a short wait, the unaju was served to Suzuko, and as soon as she opened the black-lacquered lid, she could smell the fragrant aroma of kabayaki, and that alone filled her heart with happiness. The sauce was glistening brightly, and the faint fragrance of sanshu peppers whipped up her appetite. The eel meat gently came apart when she put her chopsticks into it, and the combination of the well-cooked skin, the sweetness of the sauce, and the fat of the meat made for an extraordinarily delicious dish. Takafuyu was talking to her, but none of his words registered in her head, so she was simply making vague responses.

She put down her chopsticks after finishing her meal and looked up to see Takafuyu, who had apparently finished his meal earlier, smiling at her with his chin in his hands.

“What is it?”

“The eel here is delicious, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she nodded honestly. Takafuyu’s eyes narrowed into a smile.

“There are still many good restaurants out there. I want to take you to all of them. What do you want to eat next?”

Suzuko sipped her green tea and replied, “My head is currently filled with the lingering taste of the eel, so I’ll think about it later.”

Takafuyu burst out laughing. “Ah, I see…”

“Thank you for treating me to this wonderful meal,” Suzuko bowed her head. Just then, a voice called out from behind the sliding door.

“Baron Hanabishi, have you finished your meal?”

“Yes, please feel free to open the door.”

The door opened, and a plump, middle-aged woman dressed in royal-purple silk crepe poked her head in. Suzuko thought that she was probably not a waitress, judging by her attire. “This is the proprietress of the restaurant,” Takafuyu introduced her.

“It is my pleasure to meet you for the first time, Miss Marquis Takigawa. I hope the eel of our establishment is to your liking.”

“Please, call me Suzuko,” Suzuko turned to the proprietress. “It was very delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the propriestress’ face broke into a smile, making her seem more friendly. The wrinkles on her neck were expected of her age, but her plump cheeks were smooth and youthful. Perhaps it was all thanks to the eel.

The proprietress glanced at Takafuyu for a second. Takafuyu nodded as though he understood and invited her to enter the room. The proprietress stood up, entered the room, and closed the door. She turned to the two of them again and placed her hands on the ground.

“Baron Hanabishi, I asked you to listen to this unreasonable request of mine…”

“No, no, I’m happy to listen to any request from you, madam,” Takafuyu said in an affable manner and turned his head to the window. “Is it almost time?”

“He always comes at noon.”

Suzuko looked between Takafuyu and the proprietress. “What are you two talking about?”

Just then, the noon gun sounded. It was now midday. The noon gun was a gun that fired a blank, signifying noon, and it was fired by the army at the inner citadel of the Imperial Palace. It was a custom that continued since 1871.

The call of a peddler was heard over the noon gun. “Kinzanji, selling Kinzanji here!” The peddler was selling Kinzanji miso. There was also the sound of a bell ringing.

Flower sellers, seedlings sellers, ice sellers, candy sellers, tofu sellers, medicine sellers. Razor sharpeners, geta repairers, umbrella menders…there were all kinds of peddlers walking around town. Whether it was food, groceries, or repairs, one didn’t have to go all the way to the store, but simply stop a peddler passing by one’s house.

Around this time of year, summerly peddlers such as goldfish vendors or wind chime sellers were already coming and going. Sellers of stomach medicines to ward off the heat called josaiya also appeared around Boys’ Day.1 Peddlers for summer appeared from nowhere, roughly in early May, making one think, Oh, it’s that season already. The Takigawa family had a morning glory vendor that Chizu favored, and in the summer she invited them to the mansion to buy morning glories that suited her fancy. A goldfish vendor also came to the house, but Chizu didn’t buy from them because she heard there was a house where the goldfish released into a pond were all eaten by a night heron.

On the other hand, there were also peddlers who came regardless of the season, such as natto sellers, bread sellers, kamaboko sellers, The same was true for Kinzanji miso peddlers.

“That’s him,” the proprietress said upon hearing the peddler’s call. “The old man who sells Kinzanji. Poor man.”

Suzuko looked at her face. The proprietress shook her head slowly. “It’s been about thirteen years, I think, since that old man passed away.”

“The Kinzanji-ya not only sold Kinzanji miso, but he also sold things like pickled vegetables and cooked beans. Umeboshi, eggplants pickled in mustard, and zazen beans. There are shops that buy from wholesalers and others that sell homemade items, but that old man’s goods were all homemade. They were delicious, whether it was the pickled vegetables or the cooked beans. That’s why he had many regular customers, and his shop was prosperous. That kind of business is tough if you can’t get regular customers. When I heard his call, I would rush to stop him and run out of my house. The old man must have been around fifty at that time. He was originally from a hatamoto family,2 and after the Meiji era, they went through a lot of hardships. It was most likely the same for hatamoto families everywhere. Hatamoto were often said to be arrogant and unbearable even though they lost their status and stipend, but the old man was not like that at all. He would pull his boxcar from morning to evening and was friendly to everyone. He had a nice voice suited for peddling and a somewhat sophisticated air to him. He lost his wife early and raised his daughter by himself. When the daughter became of age, her marriage was decided. But just as we were congratulating them on the wonderful news…”

The proprietress, who was speaking quickly and fluently as befitting someone who worked in the service industry, paused, and her face clouded over.

“The old man said, I can’t do anything for the wedding preparations, but I want to at least buy a hairpin for her, and he would pull his car around late to sell his goods. That turned out to be a bad thing. He got entangled with a drunk and died. He was terribly kicked and beaten, and his head was hit badly. The drunk was immediately arrested by a police officer, and they found out that he was an official of the Ministry of Home Affairs or Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When he sobered up, he was shocked and couldn’t remember anything. Of course, just because he was a government official, it didn’t mean he would be exonerated. He went to jail, but that wouldn’t bring the old man back. Everyone was very sad and angry, but then I started to hear his voice——”

In between the breaths of the proprietress, the calls of the Kinzanji-ya could be heard again right at that moment. It was closer than before.

“At first, I thought I misheard. I thought that I had misheard the voice of another Kinzanji-ya. But they were too similar. I went outside, thinking that it wasn’t possible, and I saw no one there. I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t see anyone. The peddler’s voice simply approached and went away. That was all. The people at this restaurant, people around here, they all heard it. But no one could see him. Ah, that old sir, I wondered if he had appeared as a spirit, but it was only his voice. Before long, everyone stopped caring. They assumed that he would eventually pass on to the other side and disappear. And so, it has been more than ten years.”

The proprietress smiled wryly.

“I’m running a business, so I can’t pay too much attention to every little thing. I hear a lot of strange and weird stories. That’s why—”

She turned her gaze to Takafuyu.

“The other day, when I talked to you, Baron Hanabishi, you said that it wasn’t a good idea to leave him alone and that we should help him pass on. After all, he’s a priest (kannushi). Oh, my mistake? Your title is chief priest (guuji), right? So, I decided to leave it to him. But are you don’t mind? You’re currently eating with your fiancée.”

Suzuko was already only half-listening. That was because a jourou in juunihitoe had appeared behind Takafuyu. The jourou’s eyes were downcast with a smile on her face. She was dressed in sumptuous clothing. Her green short coat (karaginu) was woven with tortoiseshell patterns, and they were further painted with gold. Her uwagi jacket underneath was a lined purple twill weave with arabesque patterns, and underneath that, crimson underwear, and layered robes (uchiki) that gradated from pale purple to white. The smell of incense was thick in the air.

――Awaji no Kimi.

Goosebumps rose on Suzuko’s skin, and her chest felt cold. Awaji no Kimi remained motionless, her head still hanging down.

“Suzuko-san…Suzuko-san!”

Realizing that Takafuyu was calling her name, Suzuko shifted her gaze to him with a start. He was smiling. Just like Awaji no Kimi.

“This is the reason. I’m sorry I had you go along with me today. I just couldn’t find an available date no matter what—”

“No—”

Did the “request” Takafuyu talk about meant dealing with this?

“Kinzanji, selling Kinzanji here!”

The voice came from right below them. Awaji no Kimi slowly raised her head. Before Suzuko could think anything, she was leaning forward towards the window.

“Kinzanji-ya-san!”

She called out. In the alley just below, she saw a man pulling a box cart. She couldn’t see his face because of his hat. The man stopped at Suzuko’s voice. He raised his hat and looked up. She saw the face of a man in his fifties with a close-cropped, half-gray head.

“Ah, thank you for your business.”

The man looked at Suzuko and his sun-tanned face crinkled into a smile.

“I want to buy some miso. Wait there, please. I’m coming down.”

Right after she said that, Suzuko got up and ran out of the room, ignoring Takafuyu, whose eyes were widened, and the astonished proprietress.

She ran down the stairs and asked a waitress to borrow a bowl. After getting it, she thrust her feet into the restaurant geta sandals and went out into the alley. The man was waiting for her. He was wearing an indigo cotton livery jacket, a workman’s apron, a tightly fastened sanjaku obi, and navy-blue trousers. His bare feet were in straw sandals.

Suzuko’s shoulders heaved as she panted for breath and walked in front of the man. The man was sturdily built from drawing a cart every day, but his expression was gentle. Was it because he had a daughter that he looked at young girls so softly.

“Some miso, please…”

As she said this while catching her breath, the man laughed and opened one of the drawers of his box-car. His box-car was a small cart equipped with drawers, and each drawer contained various goods, such as Kinzanji miso, pickled vegetables, and boiled beans. The drawer the man opened was partitioned, and in addition to Kinzanji miso, eggplants pickled in mustard, and umeboshi. They all looked delicious. The man picked up a pair of chopsticks and put Kinzanji miso into her bowl. The sweet smell of miso wafted through the air.

“…I heard your daughter is getting married, sir…congratulations.”

“Ah, thank you,” the man smiled embarrassedly. “I raised her on my own, so she’s a bit unrefined, but if she has a beautiful hairpin in her hair, she’ll look a little more graceful.”

“In that case, I would like to gift her with a hairpin as a congratulatory gift. I am Takigawa Suzuko of Akasaka, daughter of Marquis Takigawa. I will prepare a lovely hairpin. I promise,” Suzuko insisted vehemently.

“Heh, thank you for that,” the man squinted his eyes kindly and bowed his head. “I’m looking forward to it.”

As soon as she accepted the held-out bowl, the man disappeared. The scent of miso and the box-car faded away like mist. Not a single bit of miso was left in the bowl.

“Suzuko-san.”

At the sound of Takafuyu’s voice, she turned around. He was looking at her with a faint smile on her face. Awaji no Kimi wasn’t there.

“He passed on…” Takafuyu murmured as he looked at where the man had been.

“I’m sorry,” Suzuko apologized. That ghost was supposed to be offered up to Awaji no Kimi.

“No, it’s fine. That ghost didn’t seem to be to the jourou’s taste anyway.”

“Taste? She has preferences?”

“She does. That jourou loves ghosts who suffered terribly and carry deeply resentful grudges.”

“So you’re saying the Kinzanji-ya from earlier wasn’t like that…”

“That gentleman was still walking around to sell his goods in order to buy a hairpin for his daughter even after his death. But there aren’t any customers who would buy from invisible ghosts. So he had no choice but to keep walking around. And then, you promised to give his daughter a hairpin to congratulate her, so he was able to find peace of mind.”

Even after he died, in order to buy a hairpin——. Suzuko clasped her hands together.

“I have to prepare a fine hairpin. Because I made a promise to him.”

“I shall prepare it for you. We should send it to his daughter.”

“Do you know her address?”

“I don’t, but I can find out.”

“Huh…”

Would he have his reporter friend look into it? Would it be easy because the incident would have been recorded at the time?

“Um…would it be okay if I went with you when you deliver it?”

“Of course. You were the one who made the promise.”

Suzuko looked up at Takafuyu’s smiling face. Before, when she thought that Awaji no Kimi was going to eat the Kinzanji-ya, her body moved before she could think. The ghost of the geisha who had been eaten before had appeared in her mind.

I didn’t want to see that.

However, that was Takafuyu’s role. If he didn’t do that, he would be cursed.

With mixed feelings, Suzuko looked down at her clasped hands.

Footnotes

Boys’ Day is on May 5th.Hatamoto were high-ranking vassals in the Tokugawa shogunate.