Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the source text’s depiction of ritual death by suicide, called seppuku, which was significant to Japanese samurai culture from the 12th century until its prohibition in 1873.

It is 1735, the age of samurai—the hereditary warriors whose behavior is ruled by loyalty, courage, and honor. In 1603, the emperor appointed a samurai, Ieyasu Tokugawa, to be the military governor, or shogun, and his descendants have retained the title ever since. The shogun lives in Edo while the emperor resides in Kyoto, and the Tokaido Road—a busy highway for people from all walks of life—stretches between.

Seikei rides in a kago, a passenger box carried by two men, though he’d rather walk because riding embarrasses him, and he’d like to see the countryside. Seikei’s father, a tea merchant, will not allow this; he and Seikei travel together so Seikei can learn about the family business. However, Seikei prefers poetry to math. Though he has won awards for his writing, this talent is beneficial only to samurai, and Seikei is not from a samurai family. When he sees a girl rubbing her feet on the side of the road, he is embarrassed to look like a lazy merchant.