Page:Tayama Katai and His Novel Entitled Futon (Reece).pdf/177

 stopped over together with her lover for two days at Saga in Kyoto. As the two days' journey did not tally with the number of days that she should have taken between her departure date from Bitchū and her arrival date in Tokyo, Tokio, after an exchange of correspondence with her parents in Bitchū, interrogated her and found the reason for her delay. Yoshiko told Tokio that she and her sweetheart were in love, she meant pure love. They had never committed any sin, however, in the near future they hoped at all costs to get married. Tokio, as her mentor, now knowing of their affair, was obliged to play the role of a go-between.

Yoshiko's lover was a student at Dōshisha University and was a promising young man who attended the Kobe church. His name was Tanaka Hideo. He was twenty-one years of age.

Yoshiko gave her solemn word in front of her mentor that she had not committed any sinful act. She defiantly denied having ever being engaged in any disgraceful acts although her parents back home accused her of a debased mind saying that she, who was still a student, had secretly stayed for two days with a man at Saga. She said it was after they had parted at Kyoto that they mutually realized that they were in love. On her return to Tokyo, she found an ardent letter from him. And only then did she promise him that she would marry him some time in the future; therefore, she said to Tokio in tears, she had not misbehaved. Tokio had no choice but to help them succeed in what they claimed to be their sacred love, although in his heart he felt it an extremely great sacrifice on his part.

Tokio suffered intense agony. Being deprived of what he had