The Ghost In The Tokaido Inn

It is the mid-summer bon festival in Edo, and the streets are crowded. Outside the actors’ inn, Seikei spots Tomomi’s blue kimono, and he follows the actor. Seikei is questioned by a guard who tells him that the only person to have passed is a geisha on her way to Hakuseki’s. When Seikei says that he works for Ooka, the man lets him pass. Though he hears footsteps behind him, Seikei continues to the daimyo’s home and resolves to wait for Tomomi.

After accidentally dozing off, footsteps awaken Seikei. When he pursues the sound, someone attacks him, and he strikes out with his wooden sword. It is Tomomi, dressed as a geisha. He asks Seikei if he has seen the “spirits.” Tonight, Tomomi says, spirits return to earth to see if their descendants honor them. He asks if Seikei remembers the line Tomomi taught him, and Seikei repeats it.

Tomomi addresses his parents, as if they are swirling in the air around him, and vows to keep his promise to them. Tomomi tells Seikei they have one day to practice his new play before performing it for Hakuseki and the shogun. The shogun cannot go to the theater, even in disguise, so the performance will take place at Hakuseki’s home.