The Scent of Sake (29 page)

O-Natsu and O-Yuki came to peer out from the main corridor next to the storeroom.

“You can always tell how angry she is by the way she washes the barrels,” O-Natsu said in a low voice. “She’s furious because Yoshi didn’t return last night. He was out with his father.”

“Well, what can she do? It was bound to happen sooner or later. Still, she can’t be pleased about it. No woman is,” O-Yuki said, “except the geishas.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at O-Natsu.

“I’m not even sure about them,” O-Natsu said.

Rie scrubbed until her hands were raw and chilled, her fury abated. Then, exhausted by emotion and exertion, she went to her room to change clothes and comb her hair.

Later, she decided to speak to the girls in their room before dinner.

“Kazu, Teru,” she called and slid open the shoji to their room. Now sixteen and fifteen, the girls were able to read simple stories and do sums. Fumi was elsewhere. Kazu was a bright, active girl, and Teru had already attracted attention with her sultry beauty. When Rie entered the room the girls were lying on their stomachs on the futon giggling, a book in front of them. They turned and sat up simultaneously as Rie entered the room.

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“It’s nearly dinnertime,” Rie began. She glanced at the book. “What is it you’re reading? May I see?” She knelt and took the book on her lap.

“Oh, you’re reading Saikaku. “
Five Women Who Loved Love,
” she read aloud. “Yes, I read it myself just recently. I hope you have understood what Saikaku is telling us? These five women did not know how to behave properly, to control their emotions. They led lives of reckless abandon, and where did it lead them? They ended in tragedy, in disgrace and death by execution or suicide.”

She knotted her fist, knowing only too well the consequences if one was not vigilant.

“I’ve told you often you must be very careful not to meet with any boy alone before you are married. And some of the girls in the stories were no older than you. I hope you’ll read all five of these stories carefully and think about them.”

If she could not control the nightly exploits of the men in the family, Rie was determined to protect the girls, to give proper guidance until she was able to arrange their marriages.

One morning Rie walked out to the garden for a breath of fresh air, needing relief from the stifling humidity that always hung over the city just before the monsoon rains broke. Only here could she find solitude and respite from the burdens of business, the luxury of time to reflect. She was pleased that Seisaburo showed signs of real ability when it came to the brewing business, but she needed to turn from thoughts of her youngest son to the eldest. Yoshitaro, heir to the house, had just celebrated his twenty-first birthday and had been visiting the geisha O-Sada more than she deemed necessary. The thought that Jihei had or-chestrated their meeting still burned. And she had been doubly annoyed to learn that O-Toki had told their son that he was adopted. She fanned herself, her anger boiling over every time she thought of how it had put a wedge in her relationship with Yoshi these last two years. But be that as it may, the time had come to think of his marriage, and to do more than think of it. She started at the realization that she herself was beyond forty.

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For a merchant class family, marriage was a matter of momentous import. The selection of a spouse for the head of the house would inevitably affect the business and welfare of the entire house, beneficially if the selection was made wisely, adversely if adequate care was not taken. Yoshitaro was just one among many things to consider in the plan of arranging the marriage. Choice of a spouse depended on many factors, least among them the emo-tional preferences of the two individuals. And yet, it had made her parents’ relationship much smoother to have some common ground from which to work, unlike with her and Jihei.

Rie fanned herself with her sandalwood fan and watched as her three daughters entered the garden and strolled single file from one end of the garden to the other and back. Their wooden geta struck a rhythm on the stone steps.

It was time to speak to Mrs. Nakano, the ample matron who had negotiated her marriage to Jihei, a woman who delighted in arranging other people’s lives.

Rie’s thoughts were interrupted by the girls’ singing. She glanced at each of them: Fumi, now nearly nineteen and as energetic as herself; Kazu, a tall, willowy eighteen; and Teru, seventeen, with a hint of a geisha’s sensuality in her every gesture. Marriage was not so far off for any of them, and Mrs. Nakano’s good offices would be required repeatedly over the next few years, for the boys as well as the girls. Rie closed her fan and tapped her knee with it in time to the folk song the girls were singing. Fumi was actually of marriage age already, but Yoshitaro had to be married first.

Rie still smarted at the memory of Jihei taking Yoshi to the Sawaraya. She wished Seisaburo could be spared the experience, but some patterns of male behavior were so deeply ingrained that there was nothing she could do to alter them. She needed to assure that her daughters behaved properly before marriage.

What she must do, no matter what, was to safeguard the interests of the house. This was becoming increasingly difficult to do,

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what with Jihei’s heavy drinking. He was no longer functioning effectively as house head even where formalities were concerned. Rie saw to it that Yoshitaro always accompanied his father whenever a negotiation or meeting was involved. It was simply not safe to leave matters to Jihei alone. Within the house everyone now realized that for all practical purposes Yoshitaro was head of the house.

“What happened at the Brewers Association meeting last evening?” Rie asked Yoshitaro one morning when they were alone. “Did you speak for your father?”

“I did, Mother. It was all right. Father nodded as I spoke. I managed to acquire ten more shares. The Sumidas were willing to sell. They’ve been having difficulties for some time.”

“Good, Yoshi. I’m glad. Now you can see the danger of all that drinking. I know you go to the Sawaraya,” she said, fearful that any mention of it would drive a further wedge between them, and yet knowing that he might very well be on the same path as his father if she didn’t. “But drinking to excess is ruinous. If it weren’t for you we’d be in bad shape now, even with Kinnosuke’s management. Appearances are important. People notice. And your father’s condition could destroy us, without your efforts. The whole house rests on your shoulders now, Yoshi. This is a heavy responsibility. I’m grateful that you are able to carry on.” She smiled at Yoshitaro, who straightened and adjusted the collar of his kimono.

Rie gazed at his face, the face that so vividly reflected his fa-ther’s, even to the eyebrows. Yoshitaro did not share his father’s nervous habit of pulling his eyebrows, a habit that had always given her a vague unease, a sense that Jihei was not quite up to the responsibilities he was being called on to assume. Yoshitaro seemed to take after Kinnosuke’s brusque but efficient manner-isms. It was natural enough, since Yoshitaro had been trained not by his father but by Kinnosuke, and by herself.

Rie picked up the teapot and poured for Yoshitaro.

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“You know, Yoshi, I don’t know how much longer your father can keep up even the appearance of being house head. It’s such a worry.” She sighed and sipped her tea. “He’s really too young to retire, you know. My father was over sixty when he retired, a bit later than usual, to be sure. But your father is only forty-nine. He has a while to go before he can retire respectably. But he may have to retire next year. I know you’ll do your best until then, Yoshi. Every public appearance counts where our house’s reputation is concerned.”

“I know, Mother. I’m aware of it. I’m doing my best to cover for Father at the Brewers Association.”

Rie nodded. “Another thing, Yoshi. I was going to talk to you about this before I became so concerned about your father. Now that you’re nearly twenty-two and really acting house head, it’s time we thought about your marriage. And we need to do more than think about it. I’ll speak to Mrs. Nakano soon. You know she arranged my marriage to your father.” Rie removed her comb from her hair and reinserted it. She reached for the teapot and poured again for Yoshitaro.

He frowned. “Already, Mother? Can’t we wait a year or two?” His bond with O-Sada must be greater than she’d feared. She must put a stop to it, soon. “Not really, Yoshi. Fumi is almost nineteen, and we can’t wait much longer for her either. Your father and I want to see your marriage settled first. It’s most important for the house, far more than the girls’ marriages.” Yoshitaro pursed his lips and sighed.

“I’m so glad we had this chance to talk, Yoshi. We’re both always too busy or we aren’t alone. All right, then. Mrs. Nakano will be very circumspect. She’ll help us make the best possible choice for you, so you needn’t worry.”

Yoshitaro put down his cup, rose, and bowed before leaving the room, yet she couldn’t help but notice the slightest bit of curtness in his bow.

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*

Rie put on one of her better kimonos, a formal silk. She must

appear properly, if not elegantly attired for her meeting with Mrs. Nakano, who was due to arrive at any minute. Rie hurried down the stairs and instructed O-Yuki to serve tea and the choicest cakes from the Kadatoya as soon as Mrs. Nakano arrived. She glanced into the reception room to make sure that a tasteful vase and ikebana arrangement had been placed in the tokonoma alcove.

Rie trusted that Mrs. Nakano kept in mind all the factors that needed to be considered in the choice of a spouse for a large house like the Omuras, including the presence or absence of contagious or hereditary disease in a family. Only after painstaking investigation by the go-between and due consideration by both families could the go-between arrange the preliminary meeting, the o-miai. After the date was fixed for the meeting, great finesse was needed by the go-between to see that neither party lost face should negotiations not proceed further. To agree to the formal meeting was proof that both sides were serious.

Rie went to the entrance herself to greet Mrs. Nakano. Rie bowed low, crossed hands pressed on her thighs.

“How wonderful to see you again after so long,” Rie said. “We are so grateful that you were able to spare time from your busy schedule to visit our humble house.”

Both women bowed as Rie ushered her plump visitor into the drawing room and indicated the seat of honor backing against the tokonoma.

“And how is your family, Mrs. Omura?” Mrs. Nakano asked. “They are all well, thank you, growing faster than I can keep

track.” Rie laughed, her hand politely over her mouth.

O-Yuki brought in a tray with green tea and small cakes. “And how old is your eldest son, Yoshitaro, now?” Mrs.

Nakano inquired pointedly, her body inclining forward at each utterance.

The Scent
of
Sake