Botchan – Chapter 8
Natsume Sōseki – 1906
Since the return boat ride from fishing with Red Shirt, I’d begun to distrust Yama Arashi. When he’d told
me to vacate my lodgings on sham pretexts, I’d finally decided he really was a reprehensible rogue. But
then, contrary to expectation, he’d argued eloquently at the staff meeting for severe punishment for the
students. This had struck me as highly peculiar. I’d learned from the old Hagino woman that Yama Arashi
had tried to intervene with Red Shirt on Uranari’s behalf. That was admirable, and I applauded his initiative.
I was starting to think that, in light of all this, maybe Red Shirt was the devious one, and maybe he’d beencorrupting my thoughts with contrived insinuations and circumlocuitous accusations. When I’d caught Red
Shirt out strolling the Nozeri River embankment with Madonna, I’d become convinced that he was the truescoundrel. Or whatever he was, he was certainly no gentleman. He’s a deceitful two-face. Unless a man isstraight like bamboo, he’s not to be trusted. If a man is straight and true, then even a good quarrel can besatisfying. Those like Red Shirt, who proudly shows off his amber pipe with a gentle, kind, and noble air,
are the ones to watch out for. They can’t be confronted. And if they are confronted, it never ends like theEkōin sumō matches with a clear-cut outcome. Yama Arashi, with whom I’d argued over a trivial ice watertab, stirring up the entire staff room in the process, was far preferable as a human being. I’d thought him
despicable when he’d scowled at me in the meeting, showing his meanest glare. But when I’d thought on it
later, better that than Red Shirt’s syrupy, coaxing voice. In fact, I’d thought to reconcile with Yama Arashi
after the meeting, but when I’d tried to address him he’d brushed me off with a hostile look. This had mademe angry all over again, so I’d left it at that.
Yama Arashi hadn’t spoken to me since. The ice water money that I’d deposited onto his desk was still
there. The two coins were gathering dust. Of course, I wasn’t about to touch them, and Yama Arashi wasabsolutely not going to pick them up and take them home. These coins precluded any rapprochement. I
couldn’t talk to him even if I wanted to, and he, for his part, held his stubborn silence. Each day, when I
arrived at the school, the sight of these coins dismayed me.
In contrast to my standoff with Yama Arashi, Red Shirt and I maintained our relationship as before andcontinued to socialize. The day after our encounter by the Nozeri River, he approached me immediately
upon his arrival at the school. He asked me how my new lodgings were, suggested we go fishing again for‘Russian literature,’ and made various other small talk. I was feeling a bit spiteful toward him, so I
mentioned how we’d run into each other twice the previous evening. “Yes, at the station. Do you always set
out at that time? Isn’t it rather late?” I reminded him point blank that I’d also seen him on the embankmentof the Nozeri River, and he proceeded to deny it. He told me he had no business in that direction. He’dbathed and then immediately returned home. He needn’t have bothered to hide it. It’s a fact that I saw him
there. The man was a shameless deceiver. If this is middle school head teacher material then I should be auniversity chancellor. At this point, he had lost all credibility in my eyes. So here I was conversing with Red
Shirt, whom I didn’t trust, and speaking not a word to Yama Arashi, whom I held in esteem. The world is a
strange place.

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One day, Red Shirt told me he had a matter of some importance and invited me to visit him at his home. I
was disappointed at having to forego my outing to the onsen, but I set out around four o’clock to pay mycall. Befitting his status as head teacher, Red Shirt had vacated his lodgings long ago and moved into asplendid house. I’d heard that his rent was nine and a half yen. It was such a nice house that it got me tothinking. If one could come to the country and take a house like this for nine and a half yen, then maybe I
too could indulge myself in similar fashion. Kiyo would be extremely pleased if I called her to come join
me in such a place. I announced myself, and Red Shirt’s younger brother came out to greet me. I taught thisbrother algebra and other mathematics at the school, and he was an extremely poor student. Being somethingof a vagabond, he was even worse than the born-and-bred country folk.
When I was face to face with Red Shirt, I asked what he had wanted to discuss. He started in with a pompous
air as he puffed foul smoke from his signature amber pipe. “Since coming to us here, you’ve performed very
well in comparison to your predecessor. The principal is thrilled that we’ve acquired a talented colleague.
The school has placed its confidence in you, and we expect in return your utmost effort.”“Is that so? I don’t believe I can work any harder than I’m already working.”“Your present effort is sufficient. And as to our talk of the other day, you’d do well to bear it in mind.”“You mean that I should watch out for the likes of the man who helped me secure my lodgings?”“When stated so bluntly, the nuance is lost. But okay, I think you catch my drift. Now, if you’ll continue
with your current industry then the school, for its part, will not let it go unnoticed. In a short while, whenconditions present themselves, I expect some small improvement may be made to your remuneration.”“You mean my salary? Not that I care so much about my salary, but I suppose more is always better.”“We have a fortunate circumstance arising from a transfer of personnel. While I can’t promise anything
without first consulting the principal, there will be a little surplus in the budget due to the transferees’
remuneration arrangements. I plan to talk with the principal and see what we can do for you.”“I appreciate that. Who’s being transferred?”“The announcement is imminent, so there’s no harm in my telling you. It’s Koga.”“Koga? I thought he was a native of this town.”“He does have roots here, but there are other factors at play - this in part reflects his own wishes.”“Where is he going?”“To Nobeoka in Hyūga. It’s a remote region, so he’s being promoted to a higher pay grade in the process.”“Is someone coming to replace him?”

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“Arrangements for his replacement are nearly final. Based on those arrangements, we can consider bettering
your salary.”“I see. That’s fine, but you needn’t go to any great pains over my salary.”“At any rate, I intend to talk with the principal, and I believe that he thinks as I do. As a result, please beaware that we may have to call on you to perform additional duties.”“You mean longer hours?”“No, most likely fewer hours.”“Additional duties, yet fewer hours? That seems odd.”“It may sound a little odd, and I can’t provide details at present, but it entails an increase in your level of
responsibility.”
I had no idea what Red Shirt meant. More responsibility would mean assuming the role of head mathematics
teacher. Yama Arashi was the head mathematics teacher, and there was little chance of his resigning fromhis post. And he was well-liked by the students, so it wouldn’t be in the school’s interest to transfer ordismiss him. I could never quite make complete sense of Red Shirt’s words. But sensible or not, that was
the conclusion of his business with me. We chatted further, with Red Shirt touching on various topics. There
would be a farewell party for Uranari. Did I drink? Uranari was a man of virtue whom we certainly all
cherished. Finally, he changed the subject and asked if I had an interest in haiku. I took this as my cue toexit, telling him I had no interest and beating a hasty retreat. Poetry is for Bashō, or for barber shop
proprietors. What concern does a mathematics teacher have for morning glories entwined round rustic
buckets?
I returned home and thought things over. There are men in this world whose motivation escapes me. Why
would a man turn his back on his home town to seek out hardship in unknown lands, especially when heowns an estate and has gainful employment at a respectable school? I could understand the allure of amodern city with electric street cars, but Nobeoka in Hyūga? This country I’d come to at least boasted arespectable harbor, yet I yearned for home after less than a month. Nobeoka was in the middle of the middleof the mountains. According to Red Shirt, after disembarking from the boat, it was first a day’s travel bywagon to Miyazaki, and then it was a further day’s travel by rickshaw from Miyazaki. Even the name of theplace had a backcountry ring to it. There must be, I supposed, as many monkeys there as humans. However
much an ascetic Uranari might be, it was beyond me why he would choose to go off and commune withmonkeys. To each his own, I figured.
At this point the old woman appeared, as usual, with my dinner. I asked if we were having potatoes again
today, and she told me that, no, today it was tōfu. More or less the same thing.
“I hear that Koga will be leaving us for Hyūga.”Botchan – Chapter 8 – Sōseki Project3

“Yes. A pity it is. The poor man.”“It may be a pity, but if that’s his choice then who’s to stop him?”“Whose choice?”“Koga’s choice. Is he not just heeding his own eccentric volition?”“I should say not. You’re dead wrong and thoroughly confused on that point.”“Dead wrong, am I? I just now heard it from Red Shirt. If I’m dead wrong then Red Shirt’s an outright liar.”“I’m sure whatever the head teacher said is correct, but it’s also correct that Koga does not wish to go.”“Okay, then both are correct. I admire your impartiality, but what’s the real story here?”“Koga’s mother came by this morning, and bit by bit she divulged to me how this all came about.”“What did she tell you?”“Just as we surmised, things have not gone well for the family since the father passed away. The motherwent to the school principal and asked if her son’s salary couldn’t be increased just a little, given his four
years of service.”“I see.”“The principal told her he would think it over. This reassured her, and she was anticipating positive news,
expecting it would come either this month or next. The principal asked Koga to his office, but when he went
he was told that, unfortunately, school finances were such that a pay raise was not possible. However, there
was an opening in Nobeoka that offered five yen more per month. This would meet his needs perfectly, andarrangements had already been made, so he should prepare to depart.”“It was an order then, rather than an offer?”“Exactly. Koga would rather stay put at his current salary than transfer elsewhere for a small increase. He
made the case that his family home and his mother were here, but the principal told him it was already adone deal, and his replacement was on the way.”“They’re playing the man for a fool. Despicable. Then Koga has no desire to leave. I thought the wholething odd. Only an oaf would move himself deep into the mountains, to commune with monkeys, for a fiveyen pay raise.”“Tell me, what is an oaf?”“Never mind. This is Red Shirt’s scheme. Unethical, and foul through and through. And raising my pay aspart of his dealings - what could be more unjust? Let’s just see him try and raise it.”Botchan – Chapter 8 – Sōseki Project4

“You’re receiving a pay raise?”“I was told I’d be given a raise, but I think I’ll refuse it.”
“Why would you refuse it?”
“I have my reasons. Listen, that Red Shirt’s a dolt, and a coward too.”“He may be a coward, but if he offers you a raise, then you’d best accept it. These things may bother you
while you’re young, but when you look back later you’ll wish you’d been a little more obliging. We always
end up regretting things we lost on account of our passions. Listen to an old woman, and if Red Shirt offers
you a raise, then accept it with gratitude.”“You can keep your ‘wisdom of age’ out of my business. My salary is my salary, and that’s that.”
The old woman quietly withdrew. The old man was chanting his Noh lines in a slow and measured tone.
Noh is the art of taking words that make sense on paper and purposely rendering them incomprehensible
through convoluted phrasing. It’s amazing he never tires of groaning these things out night after night. But
now was not the time to fuss over Noh chants. Red shirt had said he would raise my pay, and figuring if theschool had money to spare then why not, I’d accepted, even though I wasn’t really after more money. But
how could I, in good conscience, profit from a man being forced out against his will? And what’s the idea
in sending a man down to Nobeoka when he’d prefer to stay where he is? Even Dazai Gonnosotsu was only
exiled as far as Hakata. And Kawai Matagorō went no further than Sagara. At any rate, I had to go back to
Red Shirt and decline his offer.
I put on my duck cloth pants and set out again. As I stood in Red Shirt’s grand entryway and announced
myself, the aforementioned younger brother came to the door. He looked at me with a ‘you again?’
expression. If I have business to settle, then I’ll come back twice, or even thrice, till it’s settled. I’ll wakethem up in the middle of the night if need be. Does he imagine I’m one who calls at the head teacher’s place
to flatter him with niceties? On the contrary, I was there to turn down a pay raise. The younger brotherinformed me that Red Shirt had company. I said I needed to see him for a moment, even if just in theentryway, and he withdrew into the house. Down by my feet, I noticed a pair of low clogs, cobbled fromflimsy, matted material and of a forward-sloping design. A celebratory voice rose from the inner room. I
realized the ‘company’ was Noda. No one but Noda would squeal so in a sissy voice, and no one but Noda
would wear such garish clogs.
After a while, Red Shirt appeared in the entryway with a lamp. He invited me in, saying his guest was no
stranger, but Noda. I told him I was fine where I was, that I just needed to speak to him briefly. His face
was flushed red. It seemed he and Noda had been drinking.
“You mentioned earlier that I might receive a pay raise. I’ve had second thoughts about it and come back to
decline.”Botchan – Chapter 8 – Sōseki Project5

Red Shirt pushed his lamp forward and gazed at my face from the hallway. He seemed momentarily
stupefied, at a loss for words. Maybe he thought it curious to have encountered, miraculously, the only
person in this world who would turn down a pay raise. Or maybe he was shocked that I’d returned so soon
when this could certainly wait till later. Or maybe it was a some combination of both. At any rate, he stoodthere silently, mouth agape.
“When I consented earlier, I was under the impression that Koga’s transfer was in accordance with his
wishes.”“It is absolutely aligned, at least in part, with his wishes.”“It’s not. He’d prefer to stay where he is. He’d rather stay with his current salary than leave his family home.”“Did Koga tell you this himself?”“No, not directly.”“Then may I ask from whom you heard it?”
“The old woman at my lodgings heard it from Koga’s mother and told me this evening.”“So you heard it from the old woman at your lodgings?”“That’s right.”“If you’ll pardon my saying so, I believe you’re in the wrong here. From what you’ve said, it sounds as
though you trust this old woman’s word over that of your head teacher. Is that how I’m to understand things?”
I found myself in a bit of a bind. A degreed scholar is a formidable foe. He’ll latch onto any peculiarity in
one’s argument and bear down relentlessly. My father used to tell me I was reckless and would come to no
good, and it seemed indeed that I’d been hasty in reacting to the old woman’s story and running over here.
I hadn’t ascertained the details from Uranari or his mother, and now I was defenseless against Red Shirt’s
practiced rhetoric.
I couldn’t refute Red Shirt then and there, but there was no doubt in my heart as to who was credible andwho wasn’t. The old woman was without doubt a stingy grabber, but she was no liar, and she wasn’t twofaced like Red Shirt. Having no other recourse, I answered as best I could.
“What you say may well be the truth. But at any rate, I respectfully decline any pay raise.”“That’s even stranger yet. You came all the way back here because you’d uncovered a reason why you
couldn’t, in good conscience, accept a raise. Having explained away your objection, I struggle to understandwhy you would still decline my generosity.”“You may struggle to understand, but I decline nevertheless.”
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“If it’s that disagreeable to you, then I won’t force the matter. However, by completely reversing yourposition in a span of hours, with no clear justification, I’m afraid you’re jeopardizing your future credibility.”“Then let it be jeopardized.”“You can’t really mean that. Nothing is more important than a man’s credibility. Even if we suppose thatwhat the master at your lodgings ...”
“Not the master, the old woman.”“In either case. Even supposing that what the old woman said were true, your increase is not ill-gotten at
Koga’s expense. Koga is going to Nobeoka, and his replacement is on the way. His replacement is coming
in at a lower salary. The plan is to provide for you from the surplus, so you’ve no need to feel bad for anyoneelse. Koga will be promoted in his transfer to Nobeoka, and the new hire has already agreed to his starting
pay. It’s hard imagine more fortuitous circumstances in regard to your compensation. You can decline if
you wish, but I suggest you go home and think it over once more before doing so.”I’m no intellectual, so when assailed with an eloquent argument I normally find myself overwhelmed, lose
confidence, and back down. But not this time. I’d felt a dislike for Red Shirt since my first arrival here. Overtime, it had occurred to me that maybe he was really a kind man who just happened to have an effeminate
manner. Now I knew that there was nothing kind about him, and I disliked him more than ever. It didn’t
matter how strong his logic was, and it didn’t matter that he’d argued me into a corner with his grandiosehead-teacher discourse. A skilled debater does not a good man make. And defeat in argument does notdiminish one’s character. On the surface, Red Shirt’s arguments were all more valid than mine, but thatpolished exterior did not compel me to support him. If men’s hearts could be bought with wealth, authority,
or reason, then usurers, policemen, and professors would all be loved among men. Should I surrender myheart to the skillfully-crafted arguments of a middle school head teacher? Humans act on gut instinct, noton logic.
“What you’ve said makes perfect sense, but I don’t care for a raise, so I decline your offer. Further
consideration is not necessary. Goodbye.” With that, I left through the gate. Far above my head, the stars
painted a streak across the heavens.

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