The Sound of the Mountain (28 page)

‘To me,’ said Yasuko. ‘Do they die when they’ve laid their eggs and gone down to sea?’

‘I believe that’s the way it went. Though of course there were occasionally trout that spent the winter in deep pools. They were called “remaining trout”.’

‘Maybe that’s the kind of trout I am.’

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to stay on,’ said Fusako.

‘But you’ve put on weight since you came home,’ said Yasuko, looking at her daughter, ‘and your color has improved.’

‘I don’t want to put on weight.’

‘Being at home is like hiding in a deep pool,’ said Shuichi.

‘I don’t want to stay all that long. I’d rather go down to the sea, Satoko.’ Her voice rose. ‘You haven’t anything there but bones. Stop worrying them.’

‘Your talk about the trout has spoiled the flavor of the trout,’ said Yasuko, a quizzical expression on her face.

Fusako looked down, and her mouth was working nervously. Then she gathered herself to bring out the words: ‘Father. Won’t you open a little shop for me? A cosmetics shop, a stationery shop, anything. I don’t care what part of town it’s in. I don’t mind if it’s just a street stall. A drinking place.’

‘You think you’d be able to manage that kind of business?’ asked Shuichi in surprise.

‘I would. Customers don’t come to drink a woman’s face. They come to drink sake. Are you comparing me with your pretty wife?’

‘That’s not what I meant at all.’

‘Of course she can do it,’ put in Kikuko, to the surprise of the others. ‘And if she decides to have a try, I’ll ask her to let me help her.’

‘A very fine plan indeed,’ said Shuichi.

The dinner table fell silent.

Kikuko alone among them flushed. She was crimson to the ears.

‘How about next Sunday?’ said Shingo. ‘I’d been thinking it would be good if we could all go to the country to see the maples.’

Yasuko’s eyes sparkled.

‘Kikuko too. Kikuko hasn’t seen our old home.’

‘I’d love to,’ said Kikuko.

Shuichi and Fusako sat in perverse silence.

‘Who will watch the house?’ asked Fusako at length.

‘I will,’ said Shuichi.

‘No, I will. But I’d like to have your answer, Father, before you leave.’

‘I’ll let you know my decision,’ said Shingo. He was thinking of Kinu, said to have opened a small dressmaking shop in Numazu, the child still inside her.

The moment the meal was over Shuichi left the table.

Shingo too got up, rubbing at a cramp in the small of his back. He looked absently into the living room and turned on the light.

‘Your gourds are sagging,’ he called to Kikuko. ‘They seem to be too heavy.’

She apparently could not hear him over the sound of the dishes.

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Early in September.

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The portable shrine used in Shinto festivals.

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It is common for a husband to take his wife’s name when her family is without male heirs.

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The name is Kinuko in the original. It has here been shortened, with Mr. Kawabata’s permission, to avoid confusion with Kikuko.

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A quilt-covered frame over a sunken brazier for warming the extremities.

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With
bancha
, two lines below: two varieties of tea. Shingo and Kikuko are drinking the former.

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Father-in-law of Emperor Hirohito’s youngest brother. His death, in 1948, is commonly believed to have been at his own hand.

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A reference to a story (1947) by Niwa Fumio.

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Fatsia japonica.

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1878–1942.

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November 15. Children those ages are presented at shrines.

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Poet, 1757–1831.

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Sometimes called bell flowers.

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A large, harmless snake.

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A common saying in pietist Buddhism.

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A singlet worn under a kimono.

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A pine, to judge from the name. Not identified in botanical dictionaries.

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Zelkova serrata
, related to the elms.

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Writer, 1862–1922.

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Scholar and painter, 1793–1841.