by Mori Ōgai · 1913
When Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi of Kumamoto dies in 1641, his retainers seek permission to follow him in death, a custom with its own unwritten rules. Abe Yaichiemon is refused leave to die, then mocked as a man who clings to life, and he kills himself anyway; his family barricades itself in their house and is attacked by the clan's troops.