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Dramatis Personae:
Okaru - wife to Kanpei, now living with her parents in Yamazaki
Mother - Okaru's mother, wife to Yoichibei
Ichimonjiya - proprietor of the tea house that bought Okaru's bond of service
Hayano Kanpei - ex-retainer of Enya, husband to Okaru
Hara G?emon - ex-retainer of Enya
Senzaki Yagor? - ex-retainer of Enya
Summary:
Okaru is living within a humble cottage in Yamazaki with her husband Kanpei and her aged parents. There, though her life is plagued by poverty, she is happy so long as she is with the man she loves. In fact, her love for Kanpei is so great that she has even resigned herself to her future as a Gion courtesan, knowing that the money raised from her bond of service will be enough to help Kanpei become a samurai once again. As the act opens, both mother and daughter express concern about the late arrival of Yoichibei.
Ichimonjiya arrives at the house to deliver Okaru to the tea house, where she will begin her 5 year term of service, and explains that Yoichibei had agreed to the deal the previous night and had set out for home with half of the bond, which totaled 100 ry? in gold. Both Okaru and her mother are now beside themselves with worry for Yoichibei, and although Ichimonjiya express perfunctory concern for his whereabouts, he insists on rapidly concluding the proceedings and forces Okaru into the palanquin he arrived in.
At precisely that moment, Kanpei strides boldy in and demands to know why his wife is being taken away. He learns, for the first time, of Yoichibei's plan to sell his own daughter so that he can get back on his feet again. Kanpei is deeply moved by this kind gesture and for a while refuses to allow Ichimonjiya to leave without Okaru first seeing her father one last time; however, he soon mistakenly concludes that the man he had killed was none other than his father-in-law and, rather than let his wife learn of this terrible mistake, sends her off without further ado.
Once Okaru has left, three hunters enter the house bearing the dead body of Yoichibei. To Kanpei, the wound he bears seems to be that of a gunshot and he is all the more convinced of his own crime. The mother, noticing the wallet in Kanpei's robes, stripped with the same pattern as Ichimonjiya's robes, also comes to the mistaken conclusion that Kanpei has murdered her husband and scathingly denounces him as something less than human.
The mother's diatribe is interrupted when G?emon and Yagor? enter the house in search of Kanpei. Having received Kanpei's "contribution" of 50 ry?, the two had come to inform him of Yuranosuke's decision not to accept the money of someone that proved faithless to his lord. When the two learn that Kanpei has, in all likelihood, killed his own father-in-law, they consider him even more of a criminal and marvel at Yuranosuke's acumen in spurning the money.
With nothing left to do, Kanpei pulls out a dagger and plunges it into his
own abdomen. His death now assured, Kanpei goes on to explain how he had mistaken
a man for a boar and thought the gold to be a gift from heaven. Upon hearing
this, G?emon and Yagor? inspect the wound on the body and determine that a
sword, not a gun, had made it. Having encountered Sadakur?'s body on their
journey, the two samurai realize what had happened: Kanpei killed not his
father-in-law, but his father-in-law's enemy. In recognition of the merit
of this deed, G?emon produces a list of signatures of the men who have vowed
to kill Moronao and allows Kanpei to sign it with his own blood. Kanpei, ecstatic,
asks G?emon to accept as a contribution the full amount of his wife's bond
of service. After hearing G?emon's assent to his request, Kanpei plunges his
dagger into his throat and dies.
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