| "Nigorie" | |
|---|---|
| Short story byIchiyō Higuchi | |
| Translator | Hisako Tanaka (1958) Seizo Nobunaga Robert Lyons Danly (1981) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Bungei kurabu |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 1895 |
| Published in English | 1958, 1981 |
Nigorie (Japanese:にごり江,Hepburn:Nigorie), translated into English asTroubled Waters andMuddy Bay, is a short story[1] by Japanese writerIchiyō Higuchi, written and published in 1895.[2] It depicts the fate of acourtesan in the red light district of a nameless town during theMeiji era.[2]
Nigorie centers around Oriki, the most popular courtesan at the Kikunoi, a brothel in the red light district of an unspecified town, and a group of people connected to her, during the summerObon festival.[2]
Through her conversations with other prostitutes, and Oriki's accounts in the presence of new customer Yūki Tomonosuke, the reader learns that a previous customer, Genshichi, afuton salesman of moderate affluence, was addicted to Oriki and spent all his money at the brothel. Now that Genshichi has been reduced to the hard labor of a construction worker, forced to move with his wife Ohatsu and his young son Takichi into a smaller flat in a run-down section of town, Oriki rejects seeing him despite his pleas.
Tomonosuke repeatedly questions Oriki during his visits. She reminisces about her poor upbringing, which she cites, together with her profession, as the reason for not wanting to marry, although she had contemplated the possibility. She recounts a childhood incident when she was seven years old, sent by her mother to buy rice for supper. On her way back, she slipped on the frozen ground, spilling the rice into the gutter, leaving the family starving for this day.
Meanwhile, Ohatsu scolds Genshichi for his ongoing obsession with Oriki and the family's poverty, which she tries to mitigate by doingpiecework. When Takichi comes home with a piece of cake, which he received as a gift from Oriki (whom he refers to as "the demon-lady"[a]), Ohatsu angrily throws it away. Genshichi, furious about her ongoing accusations and behaviour, demands that she leaves him. Ohatsu begs him to let her stay, as she has no relatives she can return to, but finally leaves, taking their son with her.
At the end of the festivities, the dead bodies of Oriki and Genshichi are found. While it seems obvious that Genshichi committed suicide byseppuku, the cause of Oriki's death stays unclear. The passersby speculate about her fate; while one assumes ashinjū (double love suicide), another one reasons that the wounds on Oriki's body make a murder after her attempted escape more plausible. It is left to the reader to determine the true circumstance of her death.
Nigorie was written by Higuchi in June–July 1895 and originally delivered to Ōhashi Otowa, the editor ofBungei kurabu magazine, with the final chapter missing. Higuchi sketched six different endings for the story, including one in which Tomonosuke takes Oriki away from the Kikunoi, before she chose the now existing ending, which she sent to Otowa in August.[2]Nigorie was published in the September 1895 edition ofBungei kurabu.[3]
Yoshie Wada, editor of Higuchi's diaries, suggested that the character of Tononusuke was based on novelistTōsui Nakarai, her mentor and rumoured lover.[3]
Nigorie was translated into English in 1958 by Hisako Tanaka under the titleMuddy Bay[4] and in 1981 byRobert Lyons Danly under the titleTroubled Waters.[3] Seizo Nobunaga provided an English translation under the titleIn the Gutter (publication date 1953 or 1960, depending on the source).[3][5]
Nigorie was also translated fromclassical Japanese language, in which all of Higuchi's works are written,[6] into modern Japanese in 1996 byHiromi Itō.[7]
Ananthology film,An Inlet of Muddy Water, was made in 1953 byTadashi Imai, based onNigorie and the short storiesThe Thirteenth Night (Japanese:十三夜,Hepburn:Jusan'ya), 1895, andOn the Last Day of the Year (Japanese:大つごもり,Hepburn:Ōtsugomori), 1894.[8] It was entered into the1954 Cannes Film Festival[9] and won numerous national film prizes.
Nigorie has also repeatedly been adapted for Japanese television, including a version directed byYasushi Sasaki in 1973 starringKen Ogata.[10]