Summary

At the beginning of the story, Komura’s wife had spent days watching news coverage about the earthquake in Kobe. Whenever Komura tried to talk to her, she would ignore him. Komura could not think of a reason why the earthquake was affecting her so much, since she was from Yamagata, which is not close to Kobe.

The following day, Komura returned from a day of work at the electronics shop, where his charm and the good economy helped him sustain a comfortable living. He considered himself to have a strong, loving relationship with his wife because his good looks could grant him as much success with different women as he wanted, yet he was faithful to his wife despite her “dull” (5) appearance.

On the sixth day after the earthquake, Komura returned home to find a note from his wife, who had left...