# II explained — Kusamakura

> Chapter companion for Kusamakura by Natsume Sōseki.

## What happens

The narrator continues his journey and stops at a mountain tea stall, where he converses with the old woman (Oba-san) and later with Gen-san. He hears the tragic tale of the Jo-sama of Nakoi and the legend of Nagarano Otome, a woman who drowned herself over a love dilemma. The narrator sketches and writes haiku, but becomes uneasy as the stories bring him back to human concerns, threatening his 'unhuman' detachment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Art vs. Reality

The narrator's artistic vision of the Jo-sama as a bride is disrupted by the mundane details of her unhappy life, and he resists the 'worldly odor' of human troubles.

### Escape and Detachment

The narrator seeks to maintain his 'unhuman' detachment, but the stories of the Jo-sama and Nagarano Otome threaten to pull him back into the everyday world.

### The Role of the Artist

The narrator sketches and composes haiku, attempting to capture beauty and transcendence, but finds his artistic fancies spoiled by human reality.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

The narrator stops at the tea stall, sketches, writes haiku, and listens to the stories of the Jo-sama and Nagarano Otome. He resists being drawn back into human worries.

### Gembey

Gen-san (Gembey) arrives at the tea stall leading a pony, greets Oba-san, and discusses the Jo-sama's situation. He is a packhorse driver from Nakoi.

### The Jo-sama of Nakoi

The Jo-sama is discussed by Oba-san and Gen-san. She was a beautiful bride who returned to her father's house after her husband lost his job due to the war. She is said to have become unwomanly high-spirited.

### Nagarano Otome

The maid of Nagara, a legendary figure who drowned herself over a love dilemma between two suitors. Her grave is near the tea stall.

### Squire Shiota

Mentioned as the wealthy owner of the hot-spring hotel in Nakoi, which is almost deserted due to the Russo-Japanese War.

## Key lines

> I had a clear vision of the girl's hair and dress, the horse and the cherry tree; but strangely enough, her face would not come to me, eagerly as my fancy travelled from one type to another. Suddenly Millais' Ophelia came into the vision under the bride's shimada coiffure.

The narrator vividly imagines the bride's appearance and setting, but cannot picture her face; instead, the image of Ophelia from Millais' painting intrudes.

_Highlights the narrator's artistic struggle and the blending of Western art with Japanese imagery._

> The woman's story was beginning to smell of human ills and worries and I felt as if somebody was wanting back the fairy wand, when I was just becoming celestial.

The narrator feels that the story of the Jo-sama is dragging him back to earthly concerns just as he was achieving a detached, otherworldly state.

_Illustrates the theme of escape and detachment, and the narrator's resistance to human reality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kusamakura_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kusamakura_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/kusamakura_se/chapters