Thousand Cranes

Kikuji wakes and thinks about the Shino water jar that Fumiko gave to him, worrying that he may be falling in love with Mrs. Ota posthumously through the idealized memories of her evoked by the tea ware. He tries to phone Fumiko but learns that she’s sold her house and moved away without telling him. He manages to track her down to where she’s staying with a friend, and she seems pleased that he made the effort. Kikuji invites Fumiko to visit him at his home, and she accepts, saying that she has been thinking of gifting him another piece of Shino tea ware that belonged to her mother.

Kikuji expects Fumiko, but it is Chikako who turns up at his door. She claims that, as the person organizing the match between him and Yukiko, it is her right to scold and manage him. She again berates Kikuji for having accepted the Shino water jar from Fumiko and is unrepentant when Kikuji confronts her about the part she played in pushing Mrs. Ota to suicide. She calls Mrs. Ota a witch and accuses her of using her death to push Fumiko and Kikuji together.