Six months later, Ono stands on the Bridge of Hesitation, which leads to his old pleasure district. He marvels at how the ruins have disappeared and been replaced by new construction. The pleasure district, which had been a pile of rubble so recently, is fast becoming an office complex with a wide road leading through it. Mrs. Kawakami's bar is beginning to be squeezed out by the construction. Ono is her last regular customer since Shintaro stopped coming in, and she seeks Ono's advice as to whether she should sell the place to the new developers. Ono doesn't give her any serious advice, as he is too preoccupied thinking of Shintaro. His former student, once completely loyal to Ono, has stopped speaking to him after an incident a few months back. Shintaro had.....
