Chapter 27

Naomi continues to seductively taunt Joji, culminating in one morning where she asks him to help her shave her face, neck, and armpits so that she will look better in the more revealing Western-style gowns she has taken to wearing. She playfully tells him that he is not allowed to touch her with his hands, only with the lather brush and razor. After once again being overwhelmed by Naomi’s beauty, Joji breaks down and begs her to take him back as her husband.

Naomi lays out a list of demands for Joji, telling him that she will only be his wife if he agrees to let her live her life unrestricted. She tells him that she must be allowed to come and go as she pleases and to have as many friends on the side as she wants. She also demands that he be willing to spend as much money on her as she needs. Joji enthusiastically agrees, promising to sell the property he inherited from his mother in the countryside and use that to support a lavish lifestyle for the two of them. Naomi then reveals that she also wants him to rent a new house for them: an extravagant Western-style manor in Yokohama that she has already picked out. Joji realizes at that moment that she had planned all of this from the beginning of their so-called friendship.

Chapter 28

Joji and Naomi move to Yokohama for a few years before buying another house in nearby Hommoku that is even more lavish. Having quit his previous job, Joji uses some of the funds from the sale of his family’s land to start a small electrical machinery company with some old school friends. He does not need to work much on account of being the primary investor, so he sleeps in late and spends only a few hours in the office most days.

Naomi insists upon having her own bedroom, claiming the largest one in the house for herself while relegating Joji to a smaller adjoining room. She sleeps late into the day and has a personal attendant who helps her bathe and gives her daily massages. She almost always has evening plans, whether that involves going out dancing, inviting people over, or visiting someone else.

Joji notes that he has taken on a completely submissive role in their relationship. Naomi keeps an assortment of constantly changing Western men as lovers, and Joji is expected to remain docile and continue funding her lifestyle.

Joji ends his account of his marriage by inviting readers to judge or mock him for his choices. If people find a moral in his story, then they are free to interpret it as they like. However, he is in love with Naomi and no longer cares what anyone else thinks.