# VI explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke.

## What happens

Narihiro, having given away his gold pipe, now carries a silver one, but finds it less satisfying. The attendants, no longer intimidated by gold, pester him for the silver pipes, and he gives them away freely. His retainers, Yamazaki, Iwata, and Ueki, are confounded when Narihiro orders a return to gold pipes to escape the attendants' importunities.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Hypocrisy

The attendants' behavior shifts from respectful distance to importunate begging once the pipe's material changes from gold to silver, revealing their superficial motives.

### Self-Identity and Vanity

Narihiro's satisfaction with the pipe is tied to its material value; the silver pipe fails to give him the same pleasure, and his vanity is wounded by the attendants' changed attitude.

## Character check-ins

### Maeda Narihiro

Narihiro now carries a silver pipe, but finds it less satisfying than the gold one. He gives away silver pipes freely, and ultimately orders a return to gold pipes to avoid the attendants' requests.

### Iwata Kuranosuke

One of the three loyal retainers who confer about Narihiro's pipe-giving behavior and are struck dumb by his final order.

### Ueki Kurouemon

One of the three loyal retainers; he had proposed making brass pipes, but Narihiro's order to return to gold leaves him and the others speechless.

## Key lines

> When the attendants saw that the gold had been replaced with silver, even those of them who had up to this time stood back because of the pure gold raced to ask for a pipe.

The attendants, who had previously been too intimidated by the gold pipe to ask for it, now eagerly requested the silver pipe.

_Highlights the attendants' shift in behavior due to the change in material._

> Finally even he himself could not say whether he gave away a pipe when he went to the castle or went to the castle to give away a pipe⁠—at least, he hardly could.

Narihiro became so indiscriminate in giving away pipes that he could no longer distinguish between going to the castle to smoke and going to give away pipes.

_Illustrates Narihiro's loss of purpose and the absurdity of his generosity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/vi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_59_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters