Chapters 48-49 Summary

Hervé Joncour awakens at the periphery of the campsite of Hara Kei's village procession. The body of the boy who brought him to the camp hangs from a tree. He unties the boy's body from the tree and stares at it to the exclusion of all else, so he does not see the procession of villages leaving the campsite.

Hara Kei approaches and explains that Japan is an ancient country with laws that allow the death penalty for servants who carry love notes for their mistresses. Hara Kei forces Joncour's head to the ground with a rifle as the procession passes by. Joncour hears the tinkling of small bells and lifts his head to look. The litter is decorated with the finest silks of many colors, leaving no opening through which to glimpse its occupant. When the sounds of the bells...