a tanzaku and handed it to Asojirō, with downcast eyes.
"For him I long, nigh past control,
Who's barred from me and from my heart;
Would that a pitying breeze would start,
And waft to him my love and soul!"
At sight of this poem Asojirō comprehended her meaning and said:
"Is it possible, Miyuki, that you have such a regard for me who am only a humble samurai?"
The girl blushed rosy red as she responded: "Oh, Asojirō, you are the only desire of my heart. Pray—." But with that came a long embrace and vows of eternal fidelity.
But suddenly a raucous voice bawling, "Asojirō! Master Asojirō!" broke in upon the blissful conversation of the young lovers. This ill-timed interruption came from Asojirō's henchman, Shikanai, who brought a letter, sent in urgent haste by his master's uncle, Komazawa Ryōan. This letter had been carried post haste by a messenger from Asojirō's native town. The gist of the letter was that his liege lord, Ōuchi Yoshi-oki, then domiciled at Kamakura, the seat of the
