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The silence that followed the dreadful love suicide of Ohatsu and Tokubei was only
broken by the sound of the rain pattering on the roof of the upstairs room (Monzaemon, p.56).
The two lifeless bodies lay together in each other’s embrace, while the blood from their deep
self-inflicted wounds flowed out onto the floor.
The first person to act was Yomozakura, the owner of Sonezaki pleasure quarter. "You
idiots!" she shouted at her attendants. "Don't stare at me like that - go and summon a doctor! -
Bring one at once!" She had lost her usual grace and decorum in the presence of this gruesome
sight.
However, it was too late and the frantic maids could tell that. The young lovers had
managed to keep their pact and chose to die together instead of being separated by the licensed
prostitution system and the rigid class divides of early 18th century Edo society. The lifeblood of
their veins was being sucked away.
Ohatsu was one of Yomozakura's best courtesans, aesthetically pleasing, refined and had
a very special skill of reviving passion even in the wealthiest and most cynical customers. The
illicit affair with the low-ranking householder Tokubei had been an unthinkable source of great
scandal and monetary loss for the proprietress (Monzaemon, p.49). She was adamant against
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their relationship from the very beginning, prohibiting them from meeting as it put their lives at
risk. However, their enthusiasm could not be so quickly snuffed out.
The news of their double suicide, which spread among the pleasure quarters and the
surrounding neighborhoods, unexpectedly brought together a morbidly curious crowd not far
from the Sonezaki house. Some were transfixed by gruesome curiosity, while others were
overcome by grief and sadness as the case unfolded. The opinions on the fate of the lovers were
fiercely contested.
"What a beautiful, clever young girl, just for some worthless guy and wasted her life,"
snarled Kinako, the neighboring courtesan with envy openly. "The stupid girl has thrown away
any possibility she had of a happy life. "
"Have you no heart?" an elderly woman in the crowd scolded her harshly. “Dying for
love - what a superbly romantic idea! Their love must have been as fiery as a thousand suns.
The constables and magistrates of the area showed up quickly to inquire and record the
incident. In cases of love suicide between those of different social strata, it was important to find
out if any criminal act of seduction, kidnapping or elopement had taken place (Monzaemon,
p.52). If so, the family of the deceased will be severely punished through the strict Tokugawa
laws that permit only licensed prostitution quarters.
Yomozakura was extensively interrogated about nature Ohatsu’s relationship with
Tokubei and what measures she decided to take in order to stop their affair. She minimized her
role, saying that she had no idea that the affair had reached such a tragic point.
"I am operating a leading business here under the shogun's law," she insisted confidently.
"There is no way I will tolerate such harassment between my women and any customer. This
indeed was a big surprise to me. "
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Tokubei's elders and other family members showed up agitated after hearing about the
scandal that had made mockery of their family name. The young householder had once dreamed
of one day having his own family and carrying on his family's sake brewing business. In that
moment, all those hopes came crashing down.
"He has brought dishonor and shame on all of us," Tokubei' father said bitterly, his face
pale. "I was sucked in by the charms of a common harlot and lost my life. The family's good
name is now in ruins. "
With the investigation proceeding, the witnesses were questioned and interrogated about
their knowledge about the secret liaison between Ohatsu and Tokubei. Their ranks also included
Osan, Ohatsu's maidservant and a close friend of hers, who was willing to take risks for them, to
make the meetings in secret possible.
With the threat of torture and imprisonment, the frightened Osan eventually revealed the
details on how she had assisted the lovers in deceiving Yomozakura and the authorities by
arranging their illicit rendezvous within the pleasure quarters. She accepted the guilt of
wholeheartedly, asserting that she was the one who had kindled with and enticed the naive
Tokubei into the unacceptable relationship.
In the end, the magistrates of the presiding court asserted that in this case no criminal
elopement occurred, merely a tragic instance of uncontrollable romantic and sexual desire that
had been carried to the extreme (Monzaemon, p.44). Nevertheless, Osan was given a severe
public flogging and imprisonment as a punishment for her role as an accessory to the illegal
affair.
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Finally, the families of Ohatsu and Tokubei received the bodies of their loved ones in
order to fulfill their burial rights and grieve properly. But the story of their fatally was only at the
beginning of its spread.
Works Cited
Monzaemon, Chikamatsu. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. 1703.
