1:25:06
Where can Motome be?
1:25:10
He swore he'd be back by evening.
1:25:14
What could he be doing?
1:25:21
I waited.
1:25:25
Every moment felt like an eternity.
1:25:30
But Motome did not return.
1:25:33
We never saw him again.
1:25:38
"I'll be back by evening,
so please look after Kingo."
1:25:45
Those were his final words
as he went out the door,
1:25:48
and that was the last I saw
of Motome Chijiiwa.
1:26:03
But then...
1:26:06
around 9:00 that night,
he did return home.
1:26:12
Only not on his own.
1:26:15
He was borne home by a party
of retainers from the House of Iyi.
1:26:22
Most courteously.
1:26:26
This was the request
1:26:28
with which Motome Chijiiwa
came to us.
1:26:32
But our forecourt is a busy place
and would have been most inconvenient,
1:26:36
so we offered him our courtyard and saw
to his needs with all due propriety,
1:26:41
thus allowing him to fulfill his wish
and perform harakiri.
1:26:46
We understand there have lately been
incidents all across Edo
1:26:50
in which ronin present themselves
at the gates of daimyo houses
1:26:53
and threaten to commit harakiri
unless given money.
1:26:59
This disgraceful practice has put
many houses at a loss as to what to do.