Kato Sayemon lived in the palace of the Shōgun Ashikaga, where he had his separate apartments, and as there was no war at that time, he remained contentedly with his wife and concubines. Kato Sayemon was a man who loved luxury and ease, and he regarded domestic peace as the greatest of all earthly blessings. He honestly believed that among all his smiling, courteous women there was nothing but harmony, and this thought made life particularly sweet to him.
One evening Kato Sayemon went into the palace garden and was enchanted by the ever-moving cloud of fireflies, and he was scarcely less pleased with the gentle song of certain insects. "What a charming scene," murmured Sayemon, "and what a charming world we live in! Bows and smiles and abject humility from my women. Oh, it's all very wonderful and very delightful! I would have life always so."
Thus voicing his thoughts in this self-satisfied manner, he chanced to pass his wife's room, and peeped in with a loving and benevolent eye. He observed that his wife was playing go with one of his concubines. "Such polite decorum," murmured Sayemon. "Surely their words are as sweet as honey and as soft and fair as finely spun silk. But stay! What strange thing is this? The hair of my wife and the hair of my concubine have turned into snakes that twist and rear their heads in anger. All the time these women smile and bow and move their pieces with well-ordered charm and grace. Gentle words come from their lips, but the snakes of their hair mock them, for these twisting reptiles tell of bitter jealousy in their hearts."
Kato Sayemon in his Palace of the Shōgun Ashikaga.
Sayemon's beautiful dream of domestic happiness was for ever shattered. "I will go forth," said he, "and become a Buddhist priest. I will leave behind the hot malice and envy of my wife and concubines, and in the teaching of the Blessed One I shall indeed find true peace."
The next morning Sayemon left the palace secretly, and though search was made for him, he could not be found. About a week later Sayemon's wife reduced the establishment and lived quietly with her little son, Ishidomaro. Two years went by and still there came no news of her husband.