Chapters 31-33 Summary

Hervé Joncour accepts the mission to travel to Japan and arrives in a country on the verge of a civil war, in such chaos that he does not have to travel in secret because the local seats of power are too distracted to pay attention to one man. He is nonetheless met, in the usual custom, at the rendezvous in Shirakawa and escorted to Hara Kei.

Instead of being hosted in one of Hara Kei's guest houses, Joncour is brought to a house on the very edge of the village, high up on a hill. From there he has a view of the trees that surround Hara Kei's residence, but not of the residence itself. Suddenly, the sky erupts in a flurry of color and music; the exotic birds have escaped from their aviary.

Joncour walks slowly but directly to the...