Appendix A
Futon ("The Quilt"), a novel by Tayama Katai
Translated from the Japanese by Motoko B. Reece
I
As he started down the gentle slope which leads from Kirishitan Hill in Koishikawa to Gokurakusui, he reflected. That puts an end to the relationship between us. When I think of how I considered such a thing in spite of my thirty-six years of age and having had three children, I become disgusted. And yet....and yet....could this really be true? Could it be that all the affection she showed me was merely affection and not love?
Many passionate letters--the relationship between the two people was by all standards extraordinary. He had a wife, he had children, there were reputations to maintain, there was a mentor-pupil relationship between them, and for just these reasons they had not dared to fall into ardent love with each other but behind the throbbing of their breasts while they were talking, and the sparkling of their eyes when they looked at each other, there certainly lurked a violent storm. Had they but chanced upon the opportunity, it seemed that their storm deep within them would immediately have gained strength and in an instant torn away any concern for wife and children, reputation, morality, and the relationship between mentor and student. At least he had believed so. Yet even so, judging from the incidents of the last two or three days,
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