Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/328

324 The Shogun asked why I was not present, and when it was reported to him that I was ill, he immediately summoned his personal physician and hade him cure me. When the doctor came to my house I arose from bed and put on a court hat and robes to converse with him. After he had felt my pulse for a while he said, ‘This is most unusual. I cannot discover any specific malady, and I wonder if your illness arises because you harbor resentment toward someone? Or perhaps you are worried over an important lawsuit?’

“I pretended that my indisposition was nothing. ‘Ever since childhood I have been subject to this illness, but if I rest for a fortnight or so I shall certainly recover. Please wait until then. I do not imagine that it is anything serious.’ The doctor then reported to the Shogun, ‘This is no normal illness. Either some grave worry is weighing on him, or he is suffering from the malady which in former times might have been called “love”.’

“The Shogun said, ‘Even nowadays love is not an unknown complaint. I should like to discover what is actually on Kasuya’s mind.’ On being informed that Sasaki Saburōzaemon was my closest friend, he summoned Sasaki and ordered him to visit my house, look after me, and find out what the trouble was.

“Sasaki accordingly visited me. First of all, he asked in a hurt tone, ‘You and I are the closest friends among all the Shogun’s attendants, as close as brothers. Why have you failed to let me know of your illness?’ After he had continued in this vein for a while, I said, ‘It is not that serious an illness. I have not even told my mother about it. I can see why you should be indignant, but I promise you that if anything more consequential develops, I shall inform you of it. But it embarrasses me to have you treat this illness with such undue concern. Please go now. Don’t you think that it will appear rather odd if you neglect your court duties just to watch over me?’

“I several times repeated words to this effect, but he insisted on looking after me. For several days he remained with me, constantly questioning me about my thoughts. I concealed them as long as I could, but, deciding that I was being excessively cautious, I finally revealed to him what had happened. When Sasaki heard the cause of my illness he exclaimed, ‘If all that is ailing you is love, you will