“Wow! What a crowd! What happened? – Hey! Hey, mister! Excuse me, hey!”
“What?”
“It’s so crowded, here’s very large mob. Would you tell me what’s going on there?”
“Oh, sorry, I can’t. I don’t know that.”
“You don’t know? You’re standing here when you don’t know anything?”
“Look, there are so many people before us. I can’t see beyond them what’s happening at the center of this crowd.”
“You may say so, but I’d love to see what that is. How do you think I can reach the core through this crowd?”
“Well, why don’t you go through between ones’ legs?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea, I got it! Well, well, well, go through their thighs…”
“Hey! Wait! Hey! – Ah, he’s gone…”
“Oh!”
“Hey!”
“Ah!”
“Here’s the thief!”
“Thief? Me? Hey, man, what have I stolen from you!?”
“When you go between my legs, you peeled my plaster on the ointment with your head.”
“Shit! It’s so dirty…”
“Wow! I made it! I’ve reached the center…”
“Hey, you, go back! I’ve said none can come closer. Hey, get back!”
“Oh, hello, what are you doing? Are you a street performer?”
“Eh? What do you think is going on?”
“A juggling?”
“No, it’s not a juggling, it’s a dead person lying on the roadside.”
“What? Will you play that? When it’s starting?”
“Oh, my… Listen, it’s not a play, look carefully at this man.”
“Oh, he’s sleeping so tight. Hey, hey, wake up. It’s beautiful morning, hey, wake up.”
“Don’t do that! Don’t touch him! Don’t you understand? He died. You know, he is already dead!”
“Oh, I got it. That’s why he’s turning his face away. He must shame on his way of dying.”
“Sigh… hey, have you been satisfied yet? It’s over, enough, isn’t it? Please go back.”
“Hey, don’t talk in such a way. Why can’t you let me see him?”
“U-huh, let you see him, well… oh, yeah, you might happen to be his acquaintance, O.K., please, this way.”
“Thank you. – Oh! Ah! Shit! Oh my God! Hey! Kuma! Kuma-ko! Why are you here!?”
“Do you know him?”
“Me? Know him? YES! Yes of course! Listen, He and I are living next door to each other, and we treat each other like real brothers. And we promised though we were born separately, we’d die separately!”
“… Ordinary, isn’t it?”
“Of course, ordinary! Do you think it so bad to be ordinary?”
“I didn’t mean that… By the way, could you please inform his wife of his death?”
“He’s a bachelor. He’s a lonely man.”
“Oh, then inform his family of this…”
“No, no. He doesn’t have any blood relation; he’s a really lonely, poor guy.”
“Oh, he’s poor. But, what should I do… Oh, can you conduct his funeral?”
“Really? May I take his body home? – But won’t you say, ‘that guy took the body though he’d come so late’? I don’t want anyone to say such a thing afterwards…”
“No, I won’t. You know him well, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know him very well. I met him this morning too.”
“Wait a minute. Did you meet him this morning?”
“Yeah, I see him every day.”
“Oh, you’re making a big mistake. This man has been dead here since last night.”
“I know it. He’s such a man, it must be that he hasn’t recognize his own death.”
“What?”
“He hasn’t notice he died last night, and returned home leaving his body. I know he’s such a man.”
“Are you sane? Do you know what you yourself are saying?”
“What? Do you doubt me? Well, well, well, well. So I’ll fetch him here. Then you’ll understand he is he.”
“Who do you bring? The dead man’s brother?”
“NO! Didn’t you hear me? He’s a really lonely man! Hey, don’t be surprised to wet your pants, you know? I’ll bring here the very man that died here!”
“Hey! Hey! Wait! Wait a minute! Don’t go! Come back! Hey!! Please get him back! NO!”
“Did you hear him? He’ll bring the dead person here. Can you believe it?”
“The man like him might really do that.”
“No kidding!”
“Hey! Hey, Kuma! Kumagoro! Kuma-ko! Hey, Kuma! Open the door!!”
“Oh, he’s so disturbing, it’s so noisy. He’s knocking on the wall… He says, Kuma-ko, Kuma-ko. Why doesn’t Kuma-ko open the door? – Uh, I’m he, Kuma-ko.”
“KUMAAA!!”
“Hey, stop! Stop it! Don’t knock the wall so roughly! I’m here. The door is unlocked. Hey! Come in!!”
“Kuma! Listen to me. You mustn’t smoke like that. You should be calm down!”
“It’s you who should be calm down. Well, what’s the matter, did I make any mistake?”
“You made a terrible mistake!”
“What’s that?”
“This morning, I went there, there… there.”
“Where?”
“There! In Asakusa, in Asakusa, the… the… the Buddhist temple, the…”
“Kan-Kan?”
“Yes, Kan-Ka… No! Kwan-on! Yeah, I went to the Kwan-on in Asakusa!”
“To buy Kwan-on?”
“Not to buy it, you know, they don’t sell it, because they have only one Kwan-on. By the way, I went to Asakusa, and in front of the temple of the Kwan-on, at the Kaminari-mon Gate, there were very large mob. I wondered if something interesting were performed, so I went through the crowd. Then the man there told me there was a lying person on the roadside.”
“Wow! You were lucky!”
“Not lucky. The guy had died and I observed him carefully to notice that he was you.”
“Pa, Pa, Pa, Pardon?”
“Listen carefully, hey, you died last night.”
“Ha! Stupid! I’m alive, not dead.”
“You say such a thing, so you’re stupid. I repeat, YOU ・ DIED ・ LAST ・ NIGHT.”
“Eh… even, even if you say so, I don’t feel dead.”
“Of course you can’t feel yourself dead because it’s not very long since you died. You haven’t yet recognized you died. As I say, you must have died.”
“But I…”
“Shut up! Then I ask you. What did you do last night?”
“Well, after I finished my work, I went to Yoshiwara to look through without buying prostitutes as usual. And then, I drank at the bar on Uma-michi…”
“And then?”
“Then, well, the cattle fish I ate might have been bad, so I felt sick. And I had a short rest at the Kaminari-mon Gate – I might have taken a nap. Then I felt chilly and came home to go to bed.”
“That is it! You died when you took a nap at the Kaminari-mon Gate; you died there! But you didn’t notice you’d died, and you must have come home leaving your dead body.”
“Wow! It’s terribly bad!”
“Right, terribly bad. Then, the man guarding your body told me to inform your family of your death, and I answered him you’re so lonely man, but I’d fetch the very man being dead, you. After hearing that, he wasn’t able to say anything. Hey, come with me and receive your body.”
“Well, I won’t. I don’t want to do that. It’s so awkward to say ‘It’s my body and I came here to receive my own body. Let me take my body, please.’”
“Hey! Whether it’s awkward or not, you must receive your body. Anyway, let’s go! – Hey, look, Kuma, it’s that man who took care of your body this morning. Go and thank him. – Hey! Mister! I met you a little while ago. Do you remember?”
“Oh, he came again… Hi, the man you talked about was wrong guy, wasn’t he?”
“No, not a wrong guy, but the very man. He is he. Hey, Kuma, greet him.”
“Hello, I heard you took good care of my body. Thank you very much. I came here to take my body, please let me do it.”
“One more idiot … Hey, calm down, please. The dead man isn’t you…”
“What? I myself came to receive my own body. If you prevent me, I’ll accuse you of doing that, because that body is mine!”
“That’s right!”
“Hey! Me! What a terrible situation I’m in. If I had known my own fate like this, I’d have eaten many more kinds of dish…”
“Before saying such a stupid thing, hold yourself tight!”
“Hey! Stop it! Don’t touch the body!”
“Shut up! He’s about to say goodbye to his own body. Aren’t you moved to see such a beautiful situation? Go back and see him with your mouth shut! Hey, Kuma, take it.”
“Yes, of course. – But, wait a minute, it seems something’s wrong.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is this really mine? This body looks so dirty…”
“Because it’s been lying on the road.”
“The face looks longer than mine…”
“It’s expanded because it exposed to the night dew all through the night. You can’t recognize your own face because you don’t shave your face every day. I shave myself and see my face reflected on the mirror every day, so I know my own face well. And every day I see your face, so I know your face too. I know your face well, and I say it’s yours, so it must be yours. Look carefully!”
“Ah, I got it! It is I!”
“That’s right! Hold it! Hug it! I’ll help you hold your legs.”
“Oh, what a poor man I am, I’m sorry to myself… Eh, wait a minute, I’ve got confused.”
“By what?”
“The body I’m holding is mine. He is I. – But I, holding me held by me, am… Who am I?”
“What?”
“It’s so crowded, here’s very large mob. Would you tell me what’s going on there?”
“Oh, sorry, I can’t. I don’t know that.”
“You don’t know? You’re standing here when you don’t know anything?”
“Look, there are so many people before us. I can’t see beyond them what’s happening at the center of this crowd.”
“You may say so, but I’d love to see what that is. How do you think I can reach the core through this crowd?”
“Well, why don’t you go through between ones’ legs?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea, I got it! Well, well, well, go through their thighs…”
“Hey! Wait! Hey! – Ah, he’s gone…”
“Oh!”
“Hey!”
“Ah!”
“Here’s the thief!”
“Thief? Me? Hey, man, what have I stolen from you!?”
“When you go between my legs, you peeled my plaster on the ointment with your head.”
“Shit! It’s so dirty…”
“Wow! I made it! I’ve reached the center…”
“Hey, you, go back! I’ve said none can come closer. Hey, get back!”
“Oh, hello, what are you doing? Are you a street performer?”
“Eh? What do you think is going on?”
“A juggling?”
“No, it’s not a juggling, it’s a dead person lying on the roadside.”
“What? Will you play that? When it’s starting?”
“Oh, my… Listen, it’s not a play, look carefully at this man.”
“Oh, he’s sleeping so tight. Hey, hey, wake up. It’s beautiful morning, hey, wake up.”
“Don’t do that! Don’t touch him! Don’t you understand? He died. You know, he is already dead!”
“Oh, I got it. That’s why he’s turning his face away. He must shame on his way of dying.”
“Sigh… hey, have you been satisfied yet? It’s over, enough, isn’t it? Please go back.”
“Hey, don’t talk in such a way. Why can’t you let me see him?”
“U-huh, let you see him, well… oh, yeah, you might happen to be his acquaintance, O.K., please, this way.”
“Thank you. – Oh! Ah! Shit! Oh my God! Hey! Kuma! Kuma-ko! Why are you here!?”
“Do you know him?”
“Me? Know him? YES! Yes of course! Listen, He and I are living next door to each other, and we treat each other like real brothers. And we promised though we were born separately, we’d die separately!”
“… Ordinary, isn’t it?”
“Of course, ordinary! Do you think it so bad to be ordinary?”
“I didn’t mean that… By the way, could you please inform his wife of his death?”
“He’s a bachelor. He’s a lonely man.”
“Oh, then inform his family of this…”
“No, no. He doesn’t have any blood relation; he’s a really lonely, poor guy.”
“Oh, he’s poor. But, what should I do… Oh, can you conduct his funeral?”
“Really? May I take his body home? – But won’t you say, ‘that guy took the body though he’d come so late’? I don’t want anyone to say such a thing afterwards…”
“No, I won’t. You know him well, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know him very well. I met him this morning too.”
“Wait a minute. Did you meet him this morning?”
“Yeah, I see him every day.”
“Oh, you’re making a big mistake. This man has been dead here since last night.”
“I know it. He’s such a man, it must be that he hasn’t recognize his own death.”
“What?”
“He hasn’t notice he died last night, and returned home leaving his body. I know he’s such a man.”
“Are you sane? Do you know what you yourself are saying?”
“What? Do you doubt me? Well, well, well, well. So I’ll fetch him here. Then you’ll understand he is he.”
“Who do you bring? The dead man’s brother?”
“NO! Didn’t you hear me? He’s a really lonely man! Hey, don’t be surprised to wet your pants, you know? I’ll bring here the very man that died here!”
“Hey! Hey! Wait! Wait a minute! Don’t go! Come back! Hey!! Please get him back! NO!”
“Did you hear him? He’ll bring the dead person here. Can you believe it?”
“The man like him might really do that.”
“No kidding!”
“Hey! Hey, Kuma! Kumagoro! Kuma-ko! Hey, Kuma! Open the door!!”
“Oh, he’s so disturbing, it’s so noisy. He’s knocking on the wall… He says, Kuma-ko, Kuma-ko. Why doesn’t Kuma-ko open the door? – Uh, I’m he, Kuma-ko.”
“KUMAAA!!”
“Hey, stop! Stop it! Don’t knock the wall so roughly! I’m here. The door is unlocked. Hey! Come in!!”
“Kuma! Listen to me. You mustn’t smoke like that. You should be calm down!”
“It’s you who should be calm down. Well, what’s the matter, did I make any mistake?”
“You made a terrible mistake!”
“What’s that?”
“This morning, I went there, there… there.”
“Where?”
“There! In Asakusa, in Asakusa, the… the… the Buddhist temple, the…”
“Kan-Kan?”
“Yes, Kan-Ka… No! Kwan-on! Yeah, I went to the Kwan-on in Asakusa!”
“To buy Kwan-on?”
“Not to buy it, you know, they don’t sell it, because they have only one Kwan-on. By the way, I went to Asakusa, and in front of the temple of the Kwan-on, at the Kaminari-mon Gate, there were very large mob. I wondered if something interesting were performed, so I went through the crowd. Then the man there told me there was a lying person on the roadside.”
“Wow! You were lucky!”
“Not lucky. The guy had died and I observed him carefully to notice that he was you.”
“Pa, Pa, Pa, Pardon?”
“Listen carefully, hey, you died last night.”
“Ha! Stupid! I’m alive, not dead.”
“You say such a thing, so you’re stupid. I repeat, YOU ・ DIED ・ LAST ・ NIGHT.”
“Eh… even, even if you say so, I don’t feel dead.”
“Of course you can’t feel yourself dead because it’s not very long since you died. You haven’t yet recognized you died. As I say, you must have died.”
“But I…”
“Shut up! Then I ask you. What did you do last night?”
“Well, after I finished my work, I went to Yoshiwara to look through without buying prostitutes as usual. And then, I drank at the bar on Uma-michi…”
“And then?”
“Then, well, the cattle fish I ate might have been bad, so I felt sick. And I had a short rest at the Kaminari-mon Gate – I might have taken a nap. Then I felt chilly and came home to go to bed.”
“That is it! You died when you took a nap at the Kaminari-mon Gate; you died there! But you didn’t notice you’d died, and you must have come home leaving your dead body.”
“Wow! It’s terribly bad!”
“Right, terribly bad. Then, the man guarding your body told me to inform your family of your death, and I answered him you’re so lonely man, but I’d fetch the very man being dead, you. After hearing that, he wasn’t able to say anything. Hey, come with me and receive your body.”
“Well, I won’t. I don’t want to do that. It’s so awkward to say ‘It’s my body and I came here to receive my own body. Let me take my body, please.’”
“Hey! Whether it’s awkward or not, you must receive your body. Anyway, let’s go! – Hey, look, Kuma, it’s that man who took care of your body this morning. Go and thank him. – Hey! Mister! I met you a little while ago. Do you remember?”
“Oh, he came again… Hi, the man you talked about was wrong guy, wasn’t he?”
“No, not a wrong guy, but the very man. He is he. Hey, Kuma, greet him.”
“Hello, I heard you took good care of my body. Thank you very much. I came here to take my body, please let me do it.”
“One more idiot … Hey, calm down, please. The dead man isn’t you…”
“What? I myself came to receive my own body. If you prevent me, I’ll accuse you of doing that, because that body is mine!”
“That’s right!”
“Hey! Me! What a terrible situation I’m in. If I had known my own fate like this, I’d have eaten many more kinds of dish…”
“Before saying such a stupid thing, hold yourself tight!”
“Hey! Stop it! Don’t touch the body!”
“Shut up! He’s about to say goodbye to his own body. Aren’t you moved to see such a beautiful situation? Go back and see him with your mouth shut! Hey, Kuma, take it.”
“Yes, of course. – But, wait a minute, it seems something’s wrong.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is this really mine? This body looks so dirty…”
“Because it’s been lying on the road.”
“The face looks longer than mine…”
“It’s expanded because it exposed to the night dew all through the night. You can’t recognize your own face because you don’t shave your face every day. I shave myself and see my face reflected on the mirror every day, so I know my own face well. And every day I see your face, so I know your face too. I know your face well, and I say it’s yours, so it must be yours. Look carefully!”
“Ah, I got it! It is I!”
“That’s right! Hold it! Hug it! I’ll help you hold your legs.”
“Oh, what a poor man I am, I’m sorry to myself… Eh, wait a minute, I’ve got confused.”
“By what?”
“The body I’m holding is mine. He is I. – But I, holding me held by me, am… Who am I?”
