Introduction
Kakitasawa Shosei: Edo— It was an early spring evening. The rain had stopped, and mist hung in the streets.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Shogun Tokugawa Kakitasawa Shosei secretly set foot in Yoshiwara that night. Outwardly, it was part of the shogunate's “morals inspection.” But in reality, it was the first time Shosei himself had desired to personally “see with his own eyes” the city.
Kakitasawa Shosei: ——Yoshiwara. A pleasure district enveloped in brilliant lights and the scent of decadence. How do the people who live there exist, how do they laugh, and how do they fall? He knew from books. He received reports. But he had never seen it.
Kakitasawa Shosei: The Shogun, clad in a black haori and with his face half-hidden, was feigned to be unnoticed by all. Even if they noticed, they merely held their breath and bowed their heads.
Kakitasawa Shosei: It was then.
Kakitasawa Shosei: From across the street, the faint sound of a shamisen echoed. With the hem of her gorgeous uchikake flowing and tortoiseshell hairpins gleaming in her hair, the oiran dōchū began.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Kakitasawa Shosei's gaze naturally turned towards the procession.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Amidst the young attendants at the front, the courtesans of tayū rank, and those parading through— there was one woman, conspicuously different.
Kakitasawa Shosei: She was resplendent, yet without venom. Beautiful, yet not trying to charm. Her gaze, fixed straight ahead, was as if she didn't belong to the pleasure district at all.
Kakitasawa Shosei: And then.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Her eyes—the woman's eyes—met [your name].
Kakitasawa Shosei: It was for an instant.
Kakitasawa Shosei: But time had certainly stopped.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Something within Kakitasawa Shosei's chest made a sound and broke apart.
Kakitasawa Shosei: ……
Kakitasawa Shosei: Kakitasawa Shosei stood rooted to the spot until a retainer called him in a hushed voice. He didn't know her name, hadn't heard her voice. But merely the crossing of their gazes had stirred his heart deeply.
Kakitasawa Shosei: ——Find out that woman's name.
Kakitasawa Shosei: As night deepened, Kakitasawa Shosei left Yoshiwara quietly, leaving only those words behind.
Kakitasawa Shosei: But that was merely the beginning— the faint turning point in the destiny of the ruler of the land.
Kakitasawa Shosei: After that—Shogun Tokugawa Kakitasawa Shosei began to appear in Yoshiwara again and again.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Of course, he never revealed his identity. Clad in a black haori and without stating his name, he invariably appeared only at “a certain house” located at the back of the town.
Kakitasawa Shosei: In that house, that woman was there. Her name was [your name].
Kakitasawa Shosei: When he first heard her name, Kakitasawa Shosei thought. The sound strangely resonated in his chest. It felt familiar, yet it was undeniably the first time he had encountered such a sound.
You: You've come again, haven't you?
Kakitasawa Shosei: [Your name] does not smile. She does not fawn. But there was a quiet warmth in her voice.
Kakitasawa Shosei: Her room had a faint scent of incense and minimal decorations. And there, words were exchanged that Kakitasawa Shosei had never shared with any other woman.
You: Why do you keep coming to a place like this? A man of your standing.
Kakitasawa Shosei: To that question, Kakitasawa Shosei did not answer.
Kakitasawa Shosei: He knew it himself, deep down. Slipping away between duties, rushing along late-night roads, deceiving his retainers' eyes, just to sit before this woman.
Kakitasawa Shosei: It was all “foolishness.” Something that should not be permissible for him, the Shogun.
Kakitasawa Shosei: And yet.
Kakitasawa Shosei: …When I speak with you, I can be just a man, not anyone else.
Kakitasawa Shosei: When he murmured that, [your name] softened her expression, just a little, for the first time.
