Eleven

by Natsume Sōseki

The next morning, when I woke up, my whole body was in unbearable pain. It was probably because I hadn't fought for a while. As I was thinking that I couldn't really brag about this while lying in bed, my grandmother brought me the Shikoku Newspaper and placed it by my pillow. To be honest, I wasn't keen on looking at the newspaper, but I thought a man couldn't be at a loss over something like this, so I forced myself to lie on my stomach and opened to page two, and to my surprise, yesterday's fight was properly reported.

I wasn't surprised that the fight was reported, but it was written that the middle school teacher Horita and a recently transferred arrogant teacher from Tokyo not only instigated this commotion using good students but also directed the students at the scene and recklessly assaulted a trainee teacher. Furthermore, the following opinion was added. Our prefecture's middle schools have long had a reputation for being good and gentle, envied nationwide, but due to the frivolous actions of these two young men, our school's honor has been tarnished, and since this disgrace has been exposed to the entire city, we must rise up and hold them accountable. We believe that before we take action, the authorities should impose appropriate sanctions on these ruffians and ensure they are not allowed to step back into the education field again.

I added black dots to every word, intending to apply a moxibustion treatment. While murmuring, "Eat shit," I suddenly jumped up. Strangely, the joint pain that had been so intense until now felt light as if I had forgotten it the moment I sprang up.

I rolled up the newspaper and threw it into the yard, but still dissatisfied, I deliberately took it to the back shelf and threw it away. Newspapers are things that indiscriminately tell lies. The biggest blowhards in the world are probably newspapers. They are listing what I should be saying over there. And what is this arrogant teacher who recently came from Tokyo? Is there really a person named "So-and-so" in the world? Think about it. Even so, I have a proper surname and given name. If you want to see my family tree, I can show you all my ancestors since Tada Mitsunaka.

After washing my face, my cheek suddenly started to hurt. When I asked the old lady to bring me a mirror, she asked if I had seen this morning's newspaper. When I said I had read it and thrown it away, she was surprised and backed off. Looking at my face in the mirror, I saw that I had the same injury as yesterday. Even so, it's an important face. It's unbearable to have a scar on my face and be called a cheeky teacher.

If they said I took a day off school because I was fed up with today's newspaper, I thought it would ruin my reputation for life, so I ate and rushed to school first thing. Everyone coming out was laughing at my face. What's so funny? It's not like you all made my face. Then, Yamaarashi came out and, thinking it was a reward for the punch I threw at the farewell party, said, "Oh, yesterday was quite an achievement, a noble injury, huh?" and teased me excessively. I told him to keep his mouth shut and lick his paintbrush. Then he said, "I'm truly impressed." But he continued, "That must hurt a lot," so whether it hurt or not, it's my face. I yelled at him, saying I wouldn't rely on him, and he sat down at his desk on the other side, still looking at my face and whispering something to the history teacher next to him while laughing.

Then Yamaarashi showed up. His nose was swollen and purple, looking like it would ooze pus if poked. Whether it's arrogance or not, he was hurt much worse than I was. Yamaarashi and I sit side by side at the same desk, close friends. Moreover, that desk is directly in front of the room's entrance, so it's bad luck. Two strange faces are lumped together. Whenever the others get bored, they always look over here. They say it's ridiculous, but in their hearts, they must be thinking what a fool. Otherwise, they wouldn't be whispering and giggling like that.

When I entered the classroom, the students welcomed me with applause. There were even a couple of voices saying, "Long live the teacher." I couldn't tell if it was a sign of good spirits or if I was being mocked. While Seiryu and I were the center of attention, Akashirt came over as usual and said, "I'm really sorry about the trouble. I feel sorry for you all. I've already discussed the newspaper article with the principal and have taken steps to request a correction, so you don't have to worry. My younger brother went to invite Horita-kun, which led to this incident, and I truly apologize," as he lined up half-apologetic words.

The principal came out of the principal's office during the third period and said, "The newspaper has started writing troublesome things. I hope it doesn't get complicated," looking somewhat worried. I wasn't worried at all. If they were going to dismiss me first, I would just submit my resignation before being dismissed. However, stepping back when I wasn't at fault would only embolden the boastful newspaper. Therefore, I thought it was only right to have the newspaper issue a correction and to serve with determination. I considered going to negotiate with the newspaper on my way back, but since they said they had already taken steps to retract it from the school, I decided against it.

Along with Seiryu, I waited for the right moment to explain the truth to the principal and vice-principal. The principal and vice-principal concluded, "That's right, the newspaper must have held a grudge against the school to publish such an article." Akashirt was walking around the waiting room, just talking to himself while justifying our actions. He was particularly boasting as if it were his fault that his younger brother had invited Seiryu out. Everyone said that it was entirely the newspaper's fault, how outrageous, and that we were truly unfortunate.

On the way back, Yama-arashi warned, "You, the guy in the red shirt, smell bad. If you're not careful, you'll get caught." When I said, "It's not like I just started smelling today," he told me, "You still don't realize? Yesterday, he deliberately lured us into a fight. That was his plan." I see, I hadn't noticed that much. Yama-arashi seems rough, but I was impressed that he is much smarter than I am.

"He let us fight like that and then quickly contacted the newspaper to have them write that article. Truly a cunning man."

"Even the newspaper is in on it, huh? That's surprising. But do you think the newspaper will listen to the red shirt so easily?"

"They haven't. I don't have any friends at the newspaper."

"Do you have friends?"

"It doesn't matter if I don't. If I lie and say the facts are this and that, it will quickly become an article."

"That's terrible. If this is really the red shirt's scheme, we might get fired over this incident."

"If things go badly, we might get hurt."

"In that case, I'll submit my resignation tomorrow and head back to Tokyo right away. There's no point in relying on such a lowly place."

"Even if you resign, the red shirt won't be troubled."

"That's true. I wonder what would trouble him."

"That cunning man does everything in a way that leaves no evidence, so it's hard to argue back."

"That's troublesome. So, it looks like we'll be wearing false charges. That's not amusing. The way of heaven is either right or wrong."

"Well, let's wait and see for another two or three days. If it really turns bad, we'll have to take action in the hot spring town."

"So, the fight incident will be treated as just that?"

"That's right. We'll hold down their weak points from our side."

"That sounds good. I'm not good at schemes, so I'll leave everything to you. When it comes down to it, I'll do anything."

I parted ways with Yama-arashi here. If Akashirt really did what Yama-arashi suspected, he is indeed a terrible person. He is not someone I can defeat in a battle of wits. Strength is absolutely necessary. I see, that's why there is never an end to wars in the world. In the end, it's all about strength, even for individuals.

The next day, I eagerly waited for the newspaper to arrive and when I opened it, there were no corrections or retractions to be found. When I went to school and urged Tanuki, he said, "It should come out around tomorrow." The next day, a small retraction appeared in six-point type. However, the newspaper office had not made any corrections, of course. When I negotiated with the principal, he said, "There’s no other procedure than that." The principal, with a face like a Tanuki and dressed oddly in a frock coat, turned out to be surprisingly powerless. He couldn't even make the local newspaper that published false articles apologize. I was so angry that I said, "Then I'll go alone and negotiate with the editor-in-chief," and was told, "That won't do, if you negotiate, they will just write more bad things about you." In other words, what was written in the newspaper, whether false or true, could not be dealt with at all. I was told in a sermon-like manner by the monk that there was no choice but to give up. If the newspaper was like that, it would be in our best interest to crush it as soon as possible. I understood for the first time today, through Tanuki's explanation, that being written about in the newspaper is much like being bitten by a mud turtle.

About three days later, one afternoon, Yama-arashi came storming in and said, "The time has finally come. I intend to carry out the plan we discussed." I immediately joined in and said, "Alright, then I'll do it too." However, Yama-arashi shook his head and said, "You should probably refrain." When I asked why, he asked, "Have you been called by the principal and told to submit your resignation?" I replied, "No, I haven't been told that." Then when I asked him, "What about you?" he said, "Today in the principal's office, I was told, 'I'm really sorry, but due to circumstances, please make a decision.'"

"There's no such trial. The raccoon probably thumped its belly too much, and its stomach is upside down. You and I went out together to the victory party, watched the shiny dance in Kochi together, and went in to stop the fight together, didn't we? If you're going to ask for a resignation, you should say to submit one fairly from both sides. I wonder why the rural school doesn't understand such reasoning. Don't rush."

"That's the strategy of the red shirt. The red shirt and I are fundamentally incompatible due to past circumstances, but I think you, as you are now, won't cause any harm."

"I won't be compatible with the red shirt either. It's arrogant to think it won't cause harm."

"You're too simple, thinking that even if you leave it as it is, it can be easily deceived."

"Moreover, since Koga left recently, the successor hasn't arrived yet due to an accident. If you and I are both dismissed at the same time, it will create a gap in the students' time, and it will disrupt the classes."

"So you intend to make me a wedge in between. Damn it, who would fall for that?"

The next day, I went to school and entered the principal's office to start negotiations.

"Why don't you tell me to submit my resignation?"

"Huh?" The raccoon looked taken aback.

"Is there a law that says I should submit mine but not Horita's?"

"That's due to the school's circumstances..."

"Those circumstances are wrong. If I don't have to submit mine, then Horita shouldn't have to either."

"I can't explain that part, but... it's unavoidable for Horita to leave, but you don't recognize the need to submit your resignation."

I see, it's a raccoon, just listing unhelpful things and remaining calm. I had no choice but to say,

"Then I'll submit my resignation too. You might think that if only Horita resigns, I can stay comfortably, but I can't do such an inhumane thing."

"That would be a problem. If both Horita leaves and you leave, the school's math classes will be completely impossible..."

"If you can't do it, that's not my concern."

"You shouldn't say such selfish things. You need to understand the circumstances of the school a little. Besides, if you quit after only a month of being here, it will affect your future resume, so you should think about that a bit."

"I don't care about my resume; duty is more important than that."

"That's certainly true—what you say is completely valid, but please understand my side a little as well. If you really want to resign, then that's fine, but I would like you to stay until we find a replacement. Anyway, please reconsider this at our place."

Reconsidering is pointless given the clear and obvious reasons, but seeing the raccoon looking pitiful as it turned blue and red, I decided to step back for the time being. I didn't even speak to the red shirt. If I'm going to take care of it, it's better to do it all at once and thoroughly.

When I heard about the discussion between the mountain storm and the raccoon, I thought that was about right. The matter of the resignation letter was something that could be left as it is until the time comes, so I decided to follow what the mountain storm said. It seems that the mountain storm is wiser than I am, so I decided to follow all of his advice.

Yamaarashi finally submitted his resignation and went down to the port inn to say goodbye to the staff. However, he turned back without anyone noticing and hid on the second floor of the Masuya in the hot spring town, peeking outside through a hole in the shoji. I am probably the only one who knows this. The Red Shirt will sneak in at night anyway. Moreover, in the early evening, there are the eyes of students and others, so it would be impossible until at least after nine o'clock. For the first two nights, I also kept watch until around eleven o'clock, but I didn't even see a shadow of the Red Shirt. On the third day, I peeked from nine to ten-thirty, but it was still no good. It would be foolish to return to the lodging in the middle of the night. After four or five days, my grandmother began to worry a little and advised me that it would be better to stop going out at night since I have a wife. This night outing is different. This one is a night outing to carry out divine punishment. However, after a week of going without any results, I started to feel frustrated. I have an impatient temperament, so when I get enthusiastic, I work all night, but on the other hand, I have never been able to stick with anything for long. No matter how much of a divine punishment group one is, boredom is still boredom. By the sixth day, I was feeling a bit annoyed, and by the seventh day, I thought about taking a break. In the midst of this, Yamaarashi was stubborn. From evening until after twelve, he kept his eyes on the shoji, staring intently at the gaslight under the maruboya of the Kakuyas. When I went, I was surprised by the various statistics he provided, such as how many guests were there today, how many were staying overnight, and how many women there were. When I said it seems like no one is coming, he would occasionally cross his arms and sigh, insisting that they should definitely come. Poor thing, if the Red Shirt never comes here even once, Yamaarashi will never be able to carry out divine punishment in his lifetime.

On the eighth day, I left the boarding house around seven o'clock and first took a leisurely bath. After that, I bought eight eggs in town. This was a plan for the old lady at the boarding house. I put four eggs in each sleeve, placed the usual red handkerchief on my shoulder, and climbed the stairs to the masuya while keeping my hands in my pockets. When I opened the shoji of Yamaarashi's room, his face suddenly became lively. "Hey, it's promising, it's promising," he said. Until last night, he seemed a bit downcast, and I thought he looked gloomy even while I was watching, but seeing his complexion now made me suddenly happy, and without asking anything, I said, "Delightful, delightful."

"Around seven-thirty tonight, that geisha named Kozue entered the Kadoya."

"With the Red Shirt?"

"No."

"Then that's no good."

"The geisha is with another person, but it seems promising."

"How so?"

"How should I put it, he's that kind of sly guy, so he might send the geisha in first and sneak in later."

"That might be the case. It should be around nine o'clock now."

"It's about nine twelve," he said while taking out a nickel watch from between his obi. "Hey, turn off the lamp. It would be strange if two monk heads were reflected on the shoji. The fox will get suspicious right away."

I blew out the lamp that was on the desk. The shoji was slightly bright from the starlight. The moon had not yet risen. Yamaarashi and I pressed our faces against the shoji, holding our breath. The clock struck nine-thirty with a chime.

"Hey, do you think they'll come? If they don't come tonight, I don't want to do this anymore."

"I'll keep doing it as long as I have money."

"How much money do you have?"

"Up until today, I've paid for eight days, five yen and sixty sen. I'm calculating every night so that I can leave at any time."

"That's well-prepared. The inn must be surprised."

"The inn is fine, but it's troublesome because I can't relax."

"In exchange, you'll take a nap during the day."

"I will take a nap, but it's cramped and unbearable since I can't go out."

"Heavenly punishment is also hard work. If something goes wrong with this, it would be boring."

“What, they will definitely come tonight. -- Hey, look, look,” he said in a low voice, and I couldn't help but feel a jolt. A man wearing a black hat passed by, looking up at the gas lamp of the corner house before heading into the darkness. Something is off. I thought to myself. Before long, the clock at the front desk struck ten without hesitation. It seems tonight is finally a bust.

Things have quieted down considerably. The sound of the drums from the pleasure quarters can be heard distinctly. The moon peeked out from behind the hot spring mountain. The street is bright. Then, I began to hear voices coming from below. Since I couldn't stick my head out the window, I couldn't make out their figures, but they seemed to be getting closer. I could hear the sound of wooden clogs scraping along the ground. When I glanced diagonally, I could finally see the shadows of two figures getting close enough.

“It's all right now. I've chased away the intruders,” I heard Noda's voice clearly. “There's no strategy since you're just putting on a brave face, so it can't be helped,” said the man in the red shirt. “That man resembles a brash fellow, doesn't he? That brash fellow is a spirited young man, so he has a certain charm,” he continued. “If he wants to resign because he hates the pay raise, there must be something wrong with his nerves,” I thought as I opened the window, jumped down from the second floor, and contemplated giving him a good beating, but somehow I held back. The two of them laughed heartily as they passed under the gas lamp and entered the corner house.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“They've come”

“They finally arrived”

“Now I can finally relax”

“That bastard Noda called me a spirited young man”

“The intruder refers to me, you know. How rude”

Yama-arashi and I had to lie in wait for the two on their way back. However, I had no idea when they would come out. Yama-arashi went downstairs and asked me to keep the way clear just in case he might have to go out in the middle of the night. Looking back now, it's surprising that the inn staff agreed to that. Usually, one would be mistaken for a thief in such a situation.

Waiting for the red shirt to come was truly painful, but waiting for him to come out was also agonizing. I couldn't sleep, and staring through the gap in the shoji was unsettling. I had never felt such distress before. I suggested that we boldly enter the Kadoya and secure the scene, but Yama-arashi dismissed the proposal with a single word. Even if we jumped in at this time, we would just be stopped as troublemakers. If we talked about our reasons and sought a meeting, they would either escape saying he wasn't there or guide us to another room. Even if we forcibly stepped in, we wouldn't know where he was among the dozens of tatami rooms. Bored as I was, I had no choice but to wait for him to come out, and in the end, I had to endure until five in the morning.

As soon as I saw the shadows of two people coming out of Kadoya, Yama-arashi and I immediately followed. Since there was no early train yet, both of them had to go to the castle town. After leaving the hot spring town, a cedar-lined path continued for about a block, with rice fields on both sides. After passing through that, we came out to a dirt embankment that ran through houses with thatched roofs scattered about. Once we left the town, it didn't matter where we caught up, but I wanted to catch them in the cedar-lined path where there were no houses, so I followed stealthily. Once out of town, I suddenly quickened my pace and caught up from behind like the wind. When I told the surprised one to wait and put my hand on his shoulder, Noda, looking flustered, tried to run away, so I moved in front to block his path.

“Why is someone with the position of vice-principal staying at Kadoya?” Yama-arashi immediately pressed him.

“Is there a rule that says it's bad for the vice-principal to stay at Kadoya?” The red shirt continued to speak politely. His complexion was slightly pale.

“Why did a proper person, who shouldn't even enter a soba shop or a dango shop due to the inconvenience of being seen, stay at an inn with a geisha?” Yamaarashi pressed. Noda tried to escape when he saw an opening, so I immediately stood in front of him and shouted, “Who are you!” He replied with a poker face, “No, I wasn’t talking about you, I really wasn’t.” At that moment, I realized I was gripping my sleeves with both hands. It was troublesome because the eggs inside my sleeves were swinging around while I was chasing him, so I had been holding them tightly. Suddenly, I reached into my sleeves, took out two eggs, and threw them at Noda's face while saying, “Finally.” The eggs splattered, and the yolk dripped down from the tip of his nose. Noda seemed quite shocked, as he shouted, “Wow!” and fell on his backside, saying, “Help me.” I had bought the eggs to eat, not to throw, but out of sheer frustration, I ended up throwing them. However, seeing Noda sitting on the ground, I realized my success. “You bastard, you bastard,” I said as I wildly threw the remaining eggs, and Noda's face turned completely yellow.

While I was smashing the eggs, Yamaarashi and Akashatsu were still negotiating.

“Do you have any evidence that you stayed at an inn with a geisha?”

“I saw your acquaintance, the geisha, enter Kadoya in the evening. You can’t deceive me.”

“There’s no need to deceive. I stayed there with Yoshikawa-kun. Whether the geisha entered in the evening or not is none of my concern.”

“Shut up,” Yamaarashi said as he punched him. Akashatsu staggered but said, “This is violence, it’s a disturbance. Resorting to physical force without discussing right and wrong is unlawful.”

"It's fine to be lawless," he said as he hit again. "A scoundrel like you won't answer unless you get hit," he hit again. At the same time, I slammed Noda around. In the end, both of them were curled up at the base of the cedar tree, unable to move, their eyes flickering, not even trying to escape.

"Is that enough? If it's not enough, I'll keep hitting you," we hit them repeatedly, and then he said, "That's enough." When I asked Noda, "Are you also enough?" he replied, "Of course, that's enough."

"You are scoundrels, so this is how you receive divine punishment. Since this incident, you should be cautious. No matter how eloquently you defend yourselves, justice will not forgive you," said Yama-arashi, and both of them fell silent. Perhaps they were too embarrassed to speak.

"I won't run or hide. I'll be at the port inn by the beach until five o'clock tonight. If you have business, send a policeman or whoever," said Yama-arashi, and I added, "I won't run or hide either. I'll be waiting in the same place as Hotta, so if you want to report to the police, feel free to do so," and we both started walking.

I returned to my lodging just before seven o'clock. As soon as I entered the room, I started packing, and the old lady was surprised, asking, "What's wrong?" I replied, "Grandma, I'm going to Tokyo to bring my wife back," settled my bill, and immediately took the train towards the beach. When I arrived at the port inn, Yama-arashi was sleeping on the second floor. I thought about writing my resignation letter right away, but I didn't know what to write, so I wrote, "Due to personal circumstances, I am resigning and returning to Tokyo. Please be informed," and sent it by mail to the principal.

The steamer departs at six o'clock in the evening. Both Yama-arashi and I were tired and fell into a deep sleep, waking up at two o'clock in the afternoon. When I asked the maid if the policeman had come, she replied, "No one has come." "Neither Akashirt nor Noda reported us," the two of them laughed heartily.

That night, I and Yama-arashi left this unclean land. As the ship departed from the shore, my heart felt lighter. From Kobe to Tokyo, it was a direct route, and when I arrived at Shinbashi, I finally felt as if I had stepped into the real world. I parted ways with Yama-arashi immediately and have not had the chance to meet him again until today.

I had forgotten to talk about Kiyo. -- When I arrived in Tokyo without even going to my lodging, still carrying my leather bag, I rushed in to Kiyo and said, "I'm back," and she dropped tears, saying, "Oh, young master, how quickly you have returned." I was so happy that I said, "I won't go back to the countryside anymore; I will have a home with Kiyo in Tokyo."

After that, through an introduction from someone, I started working as an engineer for a local railway company. My monthly salary was twenty-five yen, and the rent was six yen. Kiyo seemed very satisfied even though it wasn't a house with a front entrance. However, unfortunately, she contracted pneumonia in February of this year and passed away.

The day before she passed away, Kiyo called me over and said, "Young master, I have a request. When I die, please bury me in your temple. I will be waiting eagerly for you to come in my grave." With those words in my heart, Kiyo's grave is at Yōgen-ji in Kohinata.