(Voice actor) Mr.Chris Koprowski

“Otomi-san” is a hit song from 1953. Hachiro Kasuga, a popular singer at the time sang it and made a big hit. The song was based on the story called “slashed Yosaburo” or “Otomi and Yosaburo”. To understand the story, you may need to know how infidelity (meaning adultery) was treated in the Edo period under the administration of Tokugawa Shogunate. Adultery is still a hot topic in the East and West, and as now, it was not excusable in the old days. The big difference is, while adultery in current Japan is a civil offence, it was a criminal offense in Edo period, permitting private punishment or lynching to be performed on the accused. In other words, society allowed the killing of adulters. It was a harsh rule that should a wife have an affair with another man, the husband was allowed to kill both of them. It applied not only to samurai, but also to commoners. Now moving on to the story, Otomi was the wife of Genzaemon Akama, a gambler in Kisarazu. She had a husband, but Yosaburo fell in love with her and they became close and had an affair. It was unmistakably infidelity. So when Genzaemon found out, he slashed Yosaburo several dozens of times. It was within the limits of acceptable private punishment, so he was not charged with assault. Otomi was chased by Genzaemon’s men and threw herself into the sea of Kisarazu. She must have done it out of fear of Genzaemon since he could have done anything to her if she was caught. It was a tragedy, but since it was within Genzaemon’s rights, no one could have protested. Come to think of it, adultery was life-risking back then, and therefore was often portrayed as a story of true love. However, there is more to this story. Yosaburo was seriously injured, yet narrowly escaped death. But he was covered with cuts and wounds and his looks scared people away. He was no longer the gallant, attractive guy he once was, and lived a reclusive life. On the other hand, Otomi survived as well, fortunately being rescued by a boat after she threw herself into the water. Otomi and Yosaburo both survived but were separated, not knowing each other’s fate for a long time. One day, depressed, Yosaburo went out to the river festival at Ryogoku to take his mind of things. There he saw the familiar figure of a woman from behind. The wheel of fate began to spin, and the story of Otomi and Yosaburo went into the chapter of Genyadana. Read on for the famous words of Yosaburo in the story.