Chapter 27 Chapter Twenty Seven

Mameha believed that Hatsumomo was a woman bent on self-destruction, and that all we had to do was lure her into the path she was bound to take sooner or later.Indeed, in the years after I "Mizuyo", Hatsumomo gradually revealed certain flaws in her character.For example, she had lost control of her drinking and her temper tantrums.In the past, her ruthlessness was targeted, just as a samurai draws his sword not to slash, but to stab the enemy.But now Hatsumomo seems to be unable to tell who is the opponent, and sometimes she even gets angry at Pumpkin, and even offends the guests when she is accompanying the banquet.Plus, she's not as pretty as she used to be.She had a sallow complexion and puffy features, or so it seemed to me.A tree may always be beautiful, but even the beauty of the branches takes away from its beauty once you notice that it is worm-eaten and its tops are yellow.

Mameha wants to make life harder for Hatsumomo, insisting that we follow Hatsumomo in Gion. "If you want to break a board," Mameha said, "making a crack in the middle is just the first step. You hammer the board with all your might until it snaps in two, and that's a success." So every night, except for the invitations that we had to go to, Mameha always came to our art hall in the evening, and Hatsumomo followed when he went out.The first night we did it, Hatsumomo pretended to laugh it off.But on the fourth night, she squinted her eyes and glared at us, and she forced a smile on her face while serving the guests.On Monday or Tuesday of the following week, she suddenly turned around in the alley and stopped us.Holding Mameha and hitting, I screamed, which made Hatsumomo stop.She stared at me for a while with burning eyes, and left before the fire came out.Everyone in the alley saw this scene, and a few came over to check if Mameha was okay.She said she was fine, and said sadly: "Poor Hatsumomo! It must be what the doctor said, she has something wrong with her brain."

Of course, no doctor said that, but Mameha's words worked as expected.Soon rumors spread around Gion that a doctor said Hatsumomo was mentally unstable. For several years, Hatsumomo has been in close contact with the famous kabuki actor Bando Shojiro VI.Shojiro is a "female form", which means he always plays female characters.Once in a magazine interview, he said that Hatsumomo was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he often imitated her posture on stage to make himself more attractive.So every time Shojiro came to town, Hatsumomo would visit him. Anyway, around nine o'clock that night, we crossed the river to Pontocho.It was slightly cold in autumn that night, but Shojiro's banquet was still held outdoors on a wooden loggia.No one paid special attention to us as we walked through the glass doors.Paper lanterns are lit on the loggia, which is quite emotional, and the lights of a hotel on the opposite bank reflect the golden river water.Shojiro was sitting in the middle, telling the story in his cadenced voice, and everyone was listening.When Hatsumomo saw us, her face drooped.I couldn't help but think of a rotten pear I'd held in my hand the day before, and Hatsumomo looked like an ugly bruise on a smiling face.

Mameha walked over and knelt on the mat next to Hatsumomo, and I walked across the open corridor, kneeling beside a kind-hearted old man. He turned out to be Yoshisaku Tachibana, a koto player. record.I found out that night that Orange Blossom was blind.I wanted to put aside the purpose of my trip and have a good chat with him, because he was an interesting and gracious guy.But before we could talk, everyone burst out laughing.It turns out that Shojiro is very talented in imitation.He pretended to be a monkey enough to make the monkeys think he was a real monkey.He was impersonating a geisha of about fifty behind him at the time.His lips are pursed, his eyes are moving, and he assumes all kinds of female accents, which are very similar to her, so I don't know whether to laugh out loud or cover my mouth in surprise.

Finally the director of the theater said: "Okay, okay, Mr. Shojiro, save some energy for tomorrow's performance! Anyway, don't you know that you are sitting next to one of the best dancers in Gion? I propose that we invite She dances." Of course, the director was talking about Mameha. "God, no. I don't want to see any dances right now," Shojiro said.I understand that he means he wants to be in the public spotlight. "Besides, I'm happy." "Mr. Shojiro, we cannot miss the opportunity to see the famous Mameha," said the director.Several geisha agreed, and Shojiro finally agreed to invite Mameha to dance, but he looked displeased like a little boy.I've seen Hatsumomo upset.She poured wine for Shojiro, and he poured wine for her.They looked at each other for a long moment, as if to say that their party had been spoiled.

Mameha stood in front of the teahouse set and performed a few small pieces.Almost everyone thought Mameha was beautiful, but very few thought she was more beautiful than Hatsumomo, so it's hard for me to say what caught Shojiro's eye.Maybe it was because he drank too much sake, or maybe it was Mameha's outstanding dance moves, after all, Shojiro was a dancer himself, anyway, when Mameha returned to the table, Shojiro seemed to like her very much, and asked her to sit beside him.As she sat down, he poured her a glass of wine, turning his back to Hatsumomo, as if she were just another apprentice admiringly.Then a geisha asked Shojiro if he had a letter from Mr. Bajiro.

"Mr. Bajirou," said Shojiro in his theatrical tone, "has abandoned me!" I didn't know who Shojiro was referring to, but the old actor Tachibana kindly explained to me in a low voice that "Bajirou" was the British actor Basil Rathburn, although I had never heard of him at the time.A few years ago, Shojiro visited London, where a kabuki performance was held.Actor Basil Rathburn raved about the show, and they struck up a friendship through translation.Shojiro might look after women like Hatsumomo or Mameha, but he's actually gay.Since the trip to England he has made a string of jokes that his heart is doomed because Mr Bajirou has no interest in men.

"The difference between me and Mr. Bajirou is here. I'll show you a show." Shojiro said and stood up, inviting Mameha to perform with him.He took her to a clearing at the end of the house. "This is how I do it." He said, swaggering from one end of the room to the other, waving a folding fan with his nimble wrist, rolling back and forth like a ball on a seesaw. "And Mr. Bajirou did it like this." He took Mameha with one arm, and put her on the ground in spite of her surprised face. This action seemed to be an affectionate hug, and then kissed her all over his head and face.Everyone in the room cheered and clapped.Except Hatsumomo.

"What is he doing?" Orange Blossom asked me quietly.I don't think anyone else heard that, but before I could answer, Hatsumomo called out, "He's embarrassing! That's what he did." "Oh, Miss Hatsumomo," said Shojiro, "you're jealous, aren't you?" "Of course she's jealous!" said Mameha. "You have to show us what you two do. Come on, Mr. Shojiro. Don't be shy! You have to kiss her like you kissed me! It's only fair. Kiss the same way." Be the same." Shojiro was a little embarrassed at first, but he quickly pulled Hatsumomo up.Walking in front of the crowd, he put his arms around Hatsumomo and made her lean back.But suddenly, with a cry, he jumped up, covering his lips.Hatsumomo bit him, and although it didn't bleed, it was enough to shock him.She stood with bared teeth, squinted her eyes angrily, and then waved and hit him.I think she was too drunk, her arm was not working well, and she hit him on the side of the head instead of the face.

"What happened?" Orange Blossom asked me.There was silence in the room, and his words were as clear as the ringing of a bell.I didn't answer, but he heard Shojiro's muttering and Hatsumomo's heavy breathing, and I'm sure he understood. "Miss Hatsumomo," Mameha said, her voice was very calm, as if she was staying out of the matter, "do me a favor... try to calm down." I don't know if Mameha's words worked like a magic trick, or if Hatsumomo's spirit has collapsed, Hatsumomo threw herself on Shojiro and beat him up.I do think she's insane in a way, not because she's out of her mind, but because her mind is out of touch with everything at the moment.The director of the theater got up from the table and ran to stop her.At this moment, Mameha slipped out somehow, and brought back the hostess of the tea house a while later, when the director of the theater was hugging Hatsumomo from behind.Shojiro started yelling at Hatsumomo, and the echo echoed through the house, across the river, and into Gion.

"You devil!" he cried, "you bit me!" If the hostess of the tea house hadn't been calm-headed, I don't know what we should do.She comforted Shojiro softly, and at the same time signaled to the director of the theater to take Hatsumomo away.I later learned that instead of taking her to another room, he dragged her downstairs to the front door and pushed her out into the street. Hatsumomo didn't return to the art hall all night.When I came back the next day, I smelled bad, as if I had vomited, and my hair was a mess.She was immediately called to her mother's room. A few days later, Hatsumomo left the art gallery, wearing only a single cotton robe her mother had given her, with her hair draped over her shoulders in a way I had never seen before.She didn't leave voluntarily, Mom kicked her out.In fact, Mameha believed that Mom had been trying to get rid of Hatsumomo all these years.Whether it's true or not, I'm sure Mom is happy to have one less mouth to eat, because Hatsumomo isn't making as much money as she used to, and food is getting harder to come by. If Hatsumomo hadn't been famously mean, even after what she did to Shojiro, there would still be other art houses willing to take her in.But she is like a teapot, even if it is good, it will be hot.Everyone in Gion knows this. I don't quite know what happened to Hatsumomo.A few years after the war, I heard that she worked as a prostitute in Miyagawa Town.She wouldn't be there for long, because I heard someone at the party swear that if Hatsumomo became a whore, he'd go find her and make her work for him.He did look for it, but couldn't find it.Over the years, she may have died of alcoholism, and she is not the first geisha to end up like this.