Komacho

A debt-ridden husband, a sly plan, and a twist of fate in Edo.

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Context for Today’s Tale

1. What’s in a name?

The title *Komacho is a portmanteau of the couple’s names, Okoma* and Chobei. Much ado about a debt-ridden husband and his wife.

2. Edo’s Buy-Now-Pay-Later Life

In Edo, it was common to buy goods on credit. This practice led to many hilarious Rakugo tales about debtors dodging relentless collectors. This story is one of them.

3. A City of Fires and Rentals

Edo was notorious for fires. To avoid loss, people rarely bought expensive furniture. Instead, they rented daily necessities, such as closets, futons, and even kimonos. Rental dealers would deliver goods and come twice a year (June and December) to collect fees.

Chobei was a guy who lived in one of the rowhouses in the poorest district in Edo. He was in heavy debt. Creditors swarmed in every day. But he didn’t seem to care a bit. His wife, Okoma, was anxious about how to make ends meet.

“Hey, what are you going to do with all the debt? That rental dealer from Fukagawa comes around this evening to collect the fee we owe him.”

“Ah, that guy? He always badgers us and nudges us to pay. He’s annoying.”

“He’s not pestering or harassing us. He just wants what we owe. I could never ask him to wait anymore!

Look what you did with what we rented. You pawned them all off to make some money. Nothing’s left, no money left, and we can’t even pay the fees. You annoy him. ”

“But he’s so persistent. Other dealers will wait for our payments if we ask them. As I told you, he badgers us. So this time, I’ll frame him into a badger game in return.”

“Badger game? How would you do that?”

“Well, did you notice? Every time he comes, he always looks at you with a nasty grin. I’m sure he likes you. That’s an advantage to us. I can scare him away with a trick. I can even make off with the goods in his sack and all his money. And then, he will never come back.

Here’s the plan. Write a fake love letter to him, like, ‘I’ve secretly been in love with you. Won’t you meet me when my husband is away?’ When he comes this evening, drop that letter right in front of him, deliberately and naturally. I’ll pick up that letter and read it. Then I will blame you, slap you, and say, ‘You have an affair with this guy?!’

Don’t worry. It’s a corny act, of course.”

“Will that work?

“Sure. He must break in to stop our quarrel. Then I’ll tell him, ‘Okoma wrote you this letter. It’s evidence that you have an affair with her. We have this matchmaker. I gotta talk to him. Wait here until he comes over.’ Let him stay here for half an hour or so, until I’m back… with a dagger in my hand to scare him away.”

“Are you going to kill him?!”

“No, no. I won’t hurt him, just scare him a bit. Once he flinches, I’ll grab everything he’s got, sell it off, and we’ll be outta here.”

“How terrible!”

“We are already in a terrible situation. This is all we could do now.”

The rental dealer, Johachi, showed up.

Chobei did everything according to the plan. He slapped Okoma, cursed Johachi, and told him to wait for his return with the couple’s matchmaker. Chobei went out, but instead of heading to the matchmaker’s house, he dropped by his friend’s place.

“Hey, let’s have a party! I’ll get a solid lump of money tonight!”

“Cool! What happened?”

“Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but it will. Anyway, it’s a celebration in advance of my successful maneuver! Hahaha!”

While Chobei was away, Johachi consoled Okoma.

“What an awful guy he is! He slapped a woman after all this poverty. If I were your husband, I would cherish you and never leave you in a hard life like this. Forget about him. Want to follow me and be my wife?”

Okoma burst into tears.

“I’ve wanted a divorce for many years. But he wouldn’t let me. I would be much happier if I were with a kind man like you. Will you take me out of here?”

“Sure! Back in my hometown, all my family will also welcome you. You can start a whole new, happy life from scratch. I promise you.”

Johachi took out a clean kimono from his sack and generously offered her the outfit.

“It’s for my rental business. But don’t worry about the cost. Take off that miserable kimono and wear this.”

Okoma wore the kimono and smiled.

“How do I look, Johachi?”

“You look stunning! Expect more kimonos for you in our new life. I’ll get you anything you want! Now, before he comes back, we’ve got to leave here soon.”

“Hold on. I’ll leave him a note.”

Okoma wrote a short note of farewell and put it by the table. Okoma and Johachi, hand in hand, left Chobei’s house.

During their escape, Chobei kept boozing with his friend until he was completely squashed and slept an entire night.

The next morning,

“Hey, wake up! The day breaks soon.”

“W-what?! Is it morning? I gotta go! Hey, lend me a dagger if you have one.”

He borrowed his friend’s dagger, dashed out, and sprinted back to his house. When he arrived, the house was empty.

“Okoma! Okoma! Where are you?”

He shouted…in vain.

He found a note by the table that read:

Chobei,

Let me leave you this message.

I’ve promised you to follow your scheme. But it became real. I’ve realized I truly love Johachi. On the other hand, you’ve left me in a miserable life of poverty. I’m done with it all.

Bye-bye.

Okoma

Reading this, he popped out the door, when a crow on the roof of the house in front of him went “Caw!”

Chobei meant to scare him away… but ended up a failed scarecrow.

“Oh, no…even a crow is laughing at me…”

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