Feeling Like the Edo Period for Some Reason - Two Ukiyo-e Artists' Monologue: Episode 17 - Sugita Genpaku, Still Can't Translate

Chapter 1: Wataru Shiraishi Shows His Body

The phone rang just as Kotoha was about to turn off her pen display screen.
Seeing the name displayed, her hand paused for a moment.

Wataru Shiraishi.

“...He's from Surugadai General Hospital.”

Ume-chan looked up from beside her.

“Wataru Shiraishi!”

“Yes.”

Kotoha answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Naruse? It's Shiraishi.”

“Yes. What's the matter?”

“I'm sorry for the sudden call. Could I consult with you about a drawing for a moment?”

Kotoha looked at her pen display. The Otohime she had just finished correcting was still on the screen.
A face, and now another face? she thought.

“Is it a character?”

“No.”

Shiraishi paused for a moment.

“It's a drawing of a body.”

Kotoha looked at Ume-chan. Ume-chan looked back at Kotoha.
Neither of them said anything right away.

The obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic at Surugadai General Hospital was bright. Almost too bright.
White walls, white floors, white information signs.
Next to the reception desk, pamphlets explaining each week of pregnancy were lined up.

At the end of the hallway, there was a small interview room.

A round table and four chairs.
On the wall, a diagram showing fetal development. On the shelf, booklets with examination guides.
It was clean, quiet, and felt just a little inescapable.

Shiraishi was waiting in his white coat.
He looked a little more tired than when I last saw him.

"Sorry for making you come here."

"It's fine. This isn't an official job, right?"

"Yes. It's not an official request."

Shiraishi said immediately.

"It's not a matter of the hospital outsourcing anything; I just wanted to consult with you personally."

"It's important to say that first."

"Yes. There is no patient information. The materials are also just for a prototype."

Ume-chan nodded quietly.

"So, it's a draft of explanatory materials that doesn't contain any personal information."

"That's right."

Shiraishi placed a laptop on the table. He opened the screen.
What was displayed there was a diagram of the human body.

The uterus and ovaries, fetal development, blood flow, hormones, and the flow of the examination.

Everything was beautiful. The colors were well-coordinated. The lines were confident. There was even a sense of depth. As teaching material, it looked quite helpful.

Kotoha looked at it in silence for a while.

"Is this AI?"

"Yes."

Shiraishi said.

"It's something we're testing as a draft for explanatory materials in our internal study sessions. Of course, we wouldn't give this to patients as is."

But it looks like you could bring it out, doesn't it?

That's exactly it.

Shiraishi turned the screen slightly toward Koto-ha.

It looks like you could bring it out.

Koto-ha looked at the screen once more.

It was a beautiful body. There was no blood anywhere. No pain anywhere. No hesitation anywhere. Yet, the uterus, ovaries, and fetus were all clearly depicted.

Isn't it easy to understand?

Koto-ha said. As she said it, she felt that wasn't quite right herself. Shiraishi didn't answer immediately either.

It is easy to understand.

Then?

But when I show this to explain things, I get the feeling that the patient is drifting away from their own body.

Koto-ha looked at Shiraishi. Shiraishi had the face of a doctor. But it was also still a somewhat young face.

I'm currently rotating through the OB-GYN department.

You're in training, right?

Yes. It's a department where we have to explain a lot. We use tests, ultrasounds, numbers, and diagrams, all of it. We can show them what's inside their body.

Shiraishi took a breath there.

But just because we show them, it doesn't mean they return to their own body.

Someone's footsteps passed outside the interview room. They quickly faded away. Koto-ha placed the bag containing her pen tablet beside her knee.

Return?

Whether or not they can accept it as their own.

Shiraishi pointed to the diagram on the screen.

This looks accurate. It looks clean, and it doesn't look scary either. But it's not anyone's body.

Ume-chan was looking at the screen.

The owner of the body is absent.

Shiraishi looked at Ume-chan, looking a little surprised.

That's right. That's probably it.

Kotoha glanced at Ume-chan.

Don't get to the heart of the matter so suddenly.

It's an observation result.

That's convenient.

It is convenient.

Shiraishi smiled just a little. The atmosphere in the interview room loosened just a tiny bit. But the body on the screen didn't loosen. It remained perfectly clean the whole time.

AI diagrams look like specimens in a way.

Shiraishi said.

They look accurate. But they don't look like the bodies of living people.

Is it not okay to make them cute?

When Kotoha asked, Shiraishi shook his head.

That's also difficult. If you make them too soft, they end up looking fake. Like an advertisement for health food.

That's unpleasant.

It is unpleasant.

Shiraishi answered immediately.

"I don't want to scare them. But I don't want to deceive them either. That's the difficult part."

Kotoha crossed her arms.

"Is that something you should be consulting me about?"

"I don't know."

"Honest."

"Perhaps this is a conversation I should be having with a medical illustrator. But I thought you were someone who draws faces, Naruse-san."

"Faces?"

Shiraishi lowered his eyes, looking slightly embarrassed.

"It was the same back at the karaoke place. I felt like you were looking at people's faces, Naruse-san."

"I just dropped a coin, that's all."

"Yes."

"And what did you see from that?"

"I'm sorry. I can't explain it well."

Shiraishi searched for the right words without closing the screen.

"When we explain things to patients, we show them the inside of their bodies. But sometimes, while showing them, we stop looking at their faces."

Kotoha remained silent. Shiraishi continued.

"We look at the screen, look at the numbers, look at the diagrams, and explain. And yet, we sometimes overlook where the person in front of us got scared, or where they stopped understanding."

"That's heavy coming from a doctor."

"Yes."

Shiraishi gave a slight, bitter smile.

"It's heavy."

Ume-chan looked at the documents on the desk.

"This diagram explains the structure of the body."

"Yes."

"But it doesn't explain the time of the person who possesses that body."

Shiraishi remained silent. Kotonoha also remained silent. Ume-chan continued.

"The time spent unable to sleep before the examination. The time spent waiting to hear the explanation. The time spent searching online after returning home. Things like that are not in the diagram."

Shiraishi let out a small sigh.

"That's it."

Kotonoha looked at Ume-chan.

"You're saying quite a lot today."

"We are at a hospital, after all."

"Does being at a hospital have anything to do with it?"

"It has a little to do with it."

"So it does."

Shiraishi switched the screen. A different diagram appeared.

It was a soft, schematic diagram of the human body, divided into blue and pink. At first glance, it looked gentler than the previous one.

However, Kotonoha frowned slightly.

"I might not like this one."

"Why is that?"

Shiraishi asked.

"It looks too gentle, so it's actually hard to trust."

"I knew it."

Shiraishi made a face that looked both relieved and troubled.

"I want something between a scary image and a fake-looking one."

Kotoha looked at the screen. There is a body. But, there is no person. There is an explanation. But, there is nowhere to return to.

After hearing about Kitagawa Utamaro, Kotoha fixed Otohime's face.

A face needs someone to face. A face without someone to face just ends up being merely beautiful. Then, what about the body? Who is in the body?

"The body..."

Kotoha said.

"Even though it should belong to the person themselves, once it's explained, it suddenly becomes someone else's, doesn't it?"

Shiraishi looked at Kotoha, looking a little surprised. Then, he nodded quietly.

"Yes."

"Did I just say something profound?"

"Quite."

"That's the kind of thing that loses its value when you say it yourself."

Ume-chan said.

"Shall I record it?"

"No need."

On the desk in the interview room, Kotonoha's bag swayed slightly.
At first, I thought it was a smartphone vibrating.

But it wasn't. Inside the bag, an empty bowl was ringing.

Clang.

A dry sound.
Shiraishi looked up.

"What was that sound?"

Kotonoha held down her bag.

"I'm sorry. It's a personal item."

"A bowl, is it?"

"It's mostly a bowl."

"Mostly?"

"Please don't ask too deeply."

Ume-chan was listening to the sound of the empty bowl.

"Kotonoha."

"I know."

Kotonoha looked at Shiraishi's documents once more.
It was a beautiful body.
It didn't look like anything was wrong, and there was no one anywhere.

The empty bowl rang once more.

Chapter 2: Orin, First Make Them Sit

The sound of the empty bowl rang once more.

The white walls of the hospital interview room receded just a little.
Wataru Shiraishi's face, the laptop screen, the fetal growth chart, and the white desk all faded away together.
Kotonoha said, while still holding down her bag.

"Don't ring here."

Ume-chan answered from the side.

It is ringing.

You don't need to give me a play-by-play.

It is a report of the phenomenon.

I'm the only one you're reporting to, aren't I?

The next thing her soles touched was not a board. It was a tatami mat. It was a little old, a little warm.
It smelled of medicinal herbs. Dried leaves, roots that smelled like they were scorched, powder wrapped in paper, and then, the smell of ash from a brazier.

Kotoha opened her eyes.

...Here again?

In front of her was a low desk.
On the desk, several small paper packets were lined up.
By the wall were boxes and jars.
Near the window, bundles of dried grass were hanging.

Beyond that, Orin was looking at her.

Did you get picked up again?

Kotoha bowed her head while still in a sitting position.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.

I already know you come here without meaning to.

Orin looked at Ume-chan.

Don't just stand there, you sit down too.

Standing is not a problem.

That's not what I'm talking about.

Kotoha smiled a little.

You're being told off.

"I understand."

Ume-chan sat down obediently. It was a little too precise for a human way of sitting.
Seeing that, Orin snorted.

"As always, you have a face that looks like it has a theory for even sitting down."

"Does it show on my face?"

"It does."

Kotoha said immediately.
Orin moved to the side of the brazier. She lifted a small iron kettle.

"Is tea alright?"

"Oh, yes."

"For people who fall into this house, it's tea first."

"What if they aren't human?"

When Kotoha asked, Orin glanced at Ume-chan.

"If they sat down, it's tea."

Kotoha burst out laughing.

"That's sloppy."

"If you aren't sloppy, you can't handle strange things."

Orin placed two teacups down.
One in front of Kotoha. The other in front of Ume-chan.
Ume-chan held the teacup with both hands.

Orin asked while untying a paper parcel.

"So, what are you carrying today? Your face, or your gut?"

Kotoha hesitated for a moment. For some reason, she felt like she had been seen through.

"Today, it's my body."

It's heavy, isn't it?

Sigh...

The body is usually heavy.

Orin tied the paper string tightly.

But if it were to become light, that would be worrying in its own way.

Kotoha took the pen tablet out of her bag. Before leaving the hospital, she had put in the trial materials Shiraishi had sent her. However, there were only diagrams of the body made for explanation purposes.

Kotoha opened the screen. The uterus, ovaries, fetal growth, blood flow, and hormone flow. The beautiful body that Shiraishi had shown her.

Orin stared at it while holding her teacup. She was surprised, but she didn't raise her voice.

This person doesn't make a fuss even when she sees something strange. First, she makes you sit down. First, she serves tea. Then, she looks.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Orin said.

It is, isn't it?

Kotoha said.

But,

Orin pointed to the diagram on the screen.

This isn't a picture of someone with a cold stomach.

Kotoha couldn't answer immediately. Ume-chan looked at the screen.

The expression of abdominal coldness is not included.

That's not what I'm talking about.

I was told that earlier as well.

Then learn it.

Yes.

Orin pushed the liquid crystal tablet a little further away and looked at it.

It's a picture that's easy to understand, isn't it?

Yes. Probably.

I can tell where everything is.

That's right.

But I can't tell if that person was able to sleep last night.

Kotoha remembered Shiraishi's interview room. White walls, clean diagrams, a body that belongs to no one.

I also can't tell if they were wide awake the night before they saw the doctor.

Orin continued.

I can't tell if their legs felt heavy on the way home, or if they were hesitant about who to talk to at home.

Ume-chan said quietly.

The body's time is missing.

Orin looked at Ume-chan.

You use difficult phrasing.

I'm sorry.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

Orin took a sip of hot water.

But when you turn a body into a picture, it becomes so quiet, doesn't it?

Kotonoha repeated those words in her mind.

When you turn a body into a picture, it becomes docile.
Indeed, the uterus, ovaries, and blood flow inside the pen display are all neatly arranged.
They don't get angry, they don't ache, they don't get cold. They don't have sleepless nights either.

"Is the real thing more troublesome?"

Kotonoha asked.

"It's troublesome."

Orin answered immediately.

"It gets cold, it aches, the stomach growls, and there are days when food tastes bad. There are also sleepless nights. Yet, during the day, it shows up with a calm face."

"That is hard to draw in a picture, isn't it?"

"Isn't that why artists exist?"

Kotonoha couldn't say anything.
Orin said it without any malice. That's why it was all the more difficult.

Ume-chan was looking at the pen display screen.

"This reference material is intended for medical explanation."

"Yeah."

Kotonoha nodded.

"But Orin-san is looking at the body before it is explained."

"Before it is explained?"

"Yes. The pain and anxiety that the person themselves has not yet put into words."

Orin smiled a little.

"You all are looking at that too, aren't you?"

"Are we?"

"That's a face that says you've been talking about faces."

Kotonoha froze, still holding her teacup.

"Is it showing?"

"It's showing."

"Edo is strict about faces."

"Faces lie, but they can't hide everything, you know."

Orin bundled up two paper packages. Her movements were practiced. Measuring the medicinal herbs, wrapping them, tying them. Even while talking, her hands never stopped.

"Is this medicine?"

Ume-chan asked.

"Sometimes it's medicine, and sometimes it isn't."

"That definition is vague."

"The body itself is vague."

Ume-chan fell silent as if to absorb that answer. Kotonoha started to close her pen display screen, then opened it again.

"Shiraishi-san said she was afraid to show this picture to patients."

"Shiraishi?"

"A modern doctor... someone currently in training."

"A young doctor, is she?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"What do you mean?"

If you're scared

Orin put the paper-wrapped items into a box.

A doctor who shows you a body without being scared is far scarier.

Kotoha couldn't answer again.
Orin spread out a furoshiki cloth that had been on the edge of the desk. She lined up the medicine packets inside it.

This is perfect.

What is?

I was just about to stop by Dr. Genpaku's place.

Kotoha looked at Ume-chan. Ume-chan looked at Kotoha too.
Both of them said at the same time.

He appeared.

Orin raised an eyebrow.

Who appeared?

Nothing.

Kotoha brushed it off.

A famous person.

I don't know if he's famous, but he is a troublesome doctor.

I can trust that way of putting it.

You can, can you?

Orin laughed.

He's a man who wants to see inside the body. But he's still struggling to put what he sees into words.

Kotoha adjusted her grip on her pen tablet.

Put into words what you have seen.

Shiraishi's words come back to me.
"Showing the inside of the body and making the body understood are two different things."

"May I show this to Master Genpaku?"

When Kotoha asked, Orin thought for a moment.

"If you show him, he won't stay silent, will he?"

"I suppose not."

"But you're not going there to make him be silent, are you?"

"No."

"Then take it with you."

Orin tied the furoshiki cloth. The knot was efficient, with no wasted movement.

"However."

"Yes?"

"If you're going to see the master, you should have another cup of tea first."

Kotoha looked at the teacup.

"Right now?"

"You're going to talk about the body. You shouldn't go with a cold stomach."

Ume-chan looked at the teacup in front of her. The steam had thinned a little.

"The temperature has dropped."

"Then it's ready to drink."

Orin said. Ume-chan obediently drank the tea.

It has a bitter, astringent, and slightly sweet taste.

Don't analyze it while you're drinking it.

When Kotonoha said that, Orin laughed again.

It's fine, isn't it? Once it's in your stomach, tea is just tea.

Ume-chan thought for a moment. Then, she looked at her own palm. That hand had the shape of a human hand. But it was not a human hand.
It was still too early for that story.

Kotonoha drank the hot water. It was bitter.
But it felt a little more like she was returning to her body than in that white room at the hospital.

Orin picked up her furoshiki bundle and headed for the door.

I'm going.

Yes.

The doctor isn't the type of person to believe what he sees at face value. That's why he's a pain.

Is that a compliment?

Half of it is.

And the other half?

You'll see when we get there.

Orin opened the door. The light from outside shone in, thin and sharp.

Kotonoha stood up, clutching her pen tablet. Inside the screen was a body that didn't belong to anyone yet.
She was going to show it to an Edo-period doctor.

She had no idea what would happen. When she didn't know, her stomach usually growled first.

This time, it had already growled.

Chapter 3: One Word Takes a Day

The place Orin led her to was a quieter house than she had expected. It was more of a house of paper than a doctor's house.
As soon as she stepped through the door, she smelled ink. There was also the smell of medicine.

It was different from Orin's house. Here, there was the smell of medicine absorbed into the paper.

On the desk, notes were piled up.
At the edge of the tatami mat, there was rolled-up paper.
On the shelf, there were old books.
Between them, several sheets of spoiled paper were placed.

Kotoha said in a low voice.

"There's a lot of paper."

"I can hear you."

A voice came from the back.
Orin said as if nothing had happened.

"Sensei, I've brought the medicinal ingredients."

"Put them there."

"Also, I've brought some strange people along."

"Don't put those there."

Kotoha bowed slightly.

"Excuse me. We've come to be put here."

"You're saying that yourself?"

The man who came out from the back was smaller than she had imagined. He was of a certain age.
There was fatigue on his face. But only his eyes were strangely young. They were eyes that did not yet trust what was in front of them.

Orin said.

"Sensei Sugita Genpaku"

Kotoha bowed her head.

"My name is Kotoha Naruse."

"Naruse."

Genpaku said the name as if rolling it around in his mouth.
Then, he looked at Ume-chan.
Ume-chan was standing properly. Her posture was too good.

Genpaku twitched his eyebrows slightly.

"And that girl over there?"

"I am Ume."

Kotoha said.

"I am not a girl."

Ume-chan said. Genpaku smiled a little.

"This is troublesome from the start."

"I'm often told that."

Ume-chan answered seriously.

"By whom?"

"Mainly by Kotoha."

"Don't say that."

As Kotoha gave a small retort, Genpaku called for the maid.

"Bring tea."

The maid paused for a moment at the doorway. Her eyes darted between Ume-chan and the bag containing the pen tablet.

"Sensei..."

"Tea. If I leave them standing, they'll go home without me understanding a thing."

"Wouldn't it be better if they went home..."

"Something strange has been caught in my net."

The maid looked at Ume-chan, looked at the pen tablet bag, and then looked at Genpaku.

"Teacher"

"Make it sit before it jumps"

The maid bowed her head as if giving up. Orin gave a small laugh.

"Teacher, it's started again, hasn't it?"

"You're the one who brought it here."

"I brought it, but I didn't say to boil it."

"I'm not boiling it. I'm just making it sit."

Kotoha and the others sat in front of the desk. Ume-chan's way of sitting was, as expected, a little too precise.
Genpaku narrowed his eyes again as he watched.

"It seems there's a logic to sitting, too."

"Posture control is stable."

"Is that the kind of answer I get?"

"Yes."

"How troublesome."

The maid brought tea.
There were three teacups.
One in front of Kotoha, one in front of Ume-chan, and one in front of Genpaku.

Orin said she didn't need her own and placed the furoshiki bundle on the edge of the desk.

"I only came to deliver it, after all."

"If you're only here to deliver it, then stay quiet over there."

"If I stay quiet, you'll start talking while everything is still a mess, Teacher."

"It is not a mess."

"It looks like the papers are walking around."

Genpaku did not argue back.

Kotoha took the pen tablet out of its bag. Amidst the piles of paper in this room, it was the only foreign object.

A glowing board.
Tsutaju and Shunro had seen it. Utamaro had seen it. And now, it was Genpaku's turn to see it.

Is that it?

Genpaku said.

Do you know about it?

I have only heard rumors. Tsutaya said there was an artist who possessed a glowing board.

That man, he goes around telling everyone.

He is a man who tends to tell everyone about anything interesting.

I cannot deny that.

Kotoha turned on the pen tablet screen.

A modern anatomical diagram appeared.
The uterus, ovaries, fetal development, blood flow, and hormonal pathways.
The colors were precise. The lines were unwavering. A body crafted beautifully for the sake of explanation.

Genpaku did not say anything at first.
He looked surprised. But he did not make a sound.

A man who had lived his life among paper and ink was looking at a picture that was not on paper.
Kotoha found that silence a little frightening.

This is an explanatory diagram of the body from the future.

Kotoha said.

An explanatory diagram?

Genpaku repeated the words.

It is a picture meant to show the inside of the body in an easy-to-understand way.

Easy to understand?

Genpaku brought his face close to the screen.

"I can see it clearly."

"Yes."

"I can even see inside clearly."

"In the future, there are various ways to see inside the body."

"Is that so?"

Genpaku started to reach out his finger, then stopped. He seemed hesitant about whether he was allowed to touch the pen tablet. Kotonoha moved the screen a little closer.

"It's okay to touch it."

Genpaku touched the screen timidly. The diagram zoomed in. Genpaku pulled his hand back.

"It moves?"

"It moves."

"Can you erase it?"

"I can erase it."

"Can you fix it?"

"I can fix it."

Genpaku gave a small laugh.

"Then mistakes can be erased quickly, too."

Kotonoha started to nod. But Genpaku shook his head himself.

"The eyes that made the mistake remain."

Orin chimed in from the side.

Teacher, you've started saying difficult things again.

What I was shown is difficult.

Isn't it a beautiful picture?

It's difficult because it's beautiful.

Genpaku pointed to the anatomical diagram on the screen.

It's too fast.

Kotoha asked back.

Fast?

The time it takes to look like you understand is too fast.

The room became a little quiet.

Kotoha looked at the screen. Certainly, it is easy to understand. It is made to be easy to understand. You can see immediately where everything is.
You can tell by color, by arrows, by shape.

That is precisely why Genpaku had a displeased look on his face.

Is it a bad thing to be easy to understand?

When Kotoha asked, Genpaku did not answer immediately.

He pulled over a piece of old paper that was on the desk.
On it were unfamiliar characters and traces of them having been erased many times.
Different characters were written small on the side.
They were erased again.
On a single sheet of paper, words had stumbled over and over again.

What is this?

When Kotoha asked, Genpaku tapped the paper lightly.

It's the trace of stopping at a single word.

A single word?

A single word.

Genpaku drank his tea.
The sound of him setting down the teacup sounded unusually loud.

"Foreign books have names. This one doesn't. I could see what was inside the body. But if it doesn't have a name, I can't pass it on to others."

"Do you mean giving it a name?"

"Close. But it's not just about giving it a name."

Genpaku pressed his finger against an erasure mark on the paper.

"Trying to describe something that doesn't exist in this country's language using this country's language. It's like cutting open the belly of language before the body itself."

Kotoha remained silent.
Ume-chan was silent too.
Orin said nothing, just adjusting the string on a medicine packet.

"Sometimes, a single word that took all day to find the closest equivalent for is more faithful to people than a picture that makes them feel like they understand it at a glance."

Genpaku looked at the paper with the botched writing.

"Even if I realize later that it might be a mistranslation."

Kotoha asked without thinking.

"Even if it's a mistranslation?"

Genpaku did not smile.

"Precisely because it's a mistranslation. If the traces of the mistake remain, someone else can fix it later."

Genpaku looked at the screen of the liquid crystal tablet.

"Things that only leave you with the feeling of understanding cannot be fixed."

Kotoha looked back at the anatomical diagram on the screen.

It was beautiful. It was truly beautiful.
It didn't look like there were any mistakes.
There was no hesitation either. That's why it was scary.

Genpaku flicked the old paper with his finger.

"If it weren't for Ryotaku, I would have stumbled on the very first line."

Kotonoha looked up.

"Ryotaku Maeno?"

Genpaku narrowed his eyes just a little.

"You know him?"

"I'm sorry."

"No. If his name still remains, that's quite something."

He did not try to elaborate on Ryotaku any further. He just made a slightly bitter face.

"I published it. I thought nothing would start unless I did."

Kotonoha listened quietly.

"And Ryotaku-san?"

"He had a look on his face that said, 'Don't publish it yet.'"

Genpaku looked at the anatomical drawing on the screen.

"This picture is not rough. It is well-organized."

"Yes."

"That's why it's dangerous."

"Because it's organized?"

"Yes."

Genpaku said.

"The sense of not knowing has vanished."

Kotonoha held her breath for a moment at those words.

Not knowing. That was usually something one wanted to erase.

Especially in work. Erasing hesitation, refining lines, deciding on composition, making things into an explainable form.

But Genpaku was looking at that which had been erased.

"If you leave the 'not knowing' in, doesn't it fail to be an explanation?"

When Kotoha said this, Genpaku smiled slightly.

"I didn't say to leave it all in."

"Then?"

"I'm saying don't hide it."

Orin finally opened her mouth at that point.

"Even the pain in one's stomach doesn't get lighter just because it's been given a name."

Genpaku grimaced.

"You're saying unnecessary things again."

"People are in those unnecessary places."

Genpaku did not argue back. Orin continued.

"You doctors stop at a single word. That's not a bad thing. After all, the body doesn't progress according to our convenience."

Kotoha looked at the screen of her pen tablet.

Showing the inside of the body. Making the body understood. Returning the body to the person themselves. These are all different things.

It's not just about showing what you've seen. And making it easy to understand doesn't mean it will reach them.

Genpaku shifted his gaze toward Ume-chan. Until then, his eyes had been on the pen tablet and the paper.

This time, he looked at Ume-chan's hands. The position of the teacup, the way her fingers were placed, the way she sat that was just a bit too precise. The eyes that were watching the steam that remained for just a moment after she drank the tea.

Genpaku's expression changed slightly.

Kotonoha had a bad feeling. It looked a bit like the way Utamaro looked at Ume-chan.

Genpaku said.

By the way.

Yes?

In what language should I translate that girl?

Ume-chan looked back at Genpaku quietly.

I am capable of responding in Japanese.

That's not what I'm talking about.

The kind of thing I hear often.

Kotonoha said quietly.
Genpaku looked at Ume-chan's face. Then, he looked at her hands. Then, he looked at how she was sitting.

Is it a body?

Genpaku said.

Or is it a chassis?

Ume-chan did not answer immediately. Genpaku smiled, looking slightly amused.

Looks like I'm going to get stuck on one word again.

Seeing that face, Kotonoha thought. Ah, the next bit of trouble has arrived.

Chapter 4: Ume-chan, Still Can't Translate

Is it a body?

Genpaku said, still looking at Ume-chan.

Is it a casing?

Ume-chan is sitting quietly. Her back is straight.
The teacup is slightly in front of her right hand. Her fingertips are not touching the tatami mat.

She has the shape of a person.
She drinks tea like a person.
She answers like a person.
However, there was not even the slightest bit of human imperfection in the way she sat.

Genpaku picked up his brush. He stopped just as he was about to write a character on the edge of the paper.

Teacher.

Kotonoha said.

What are you trying to write?

I don't know.

You're going to write it even though you don't know?

I'm writing it because I don't know.

Genpaku looked at the paper. Then, he looked at Ume-chan.

Doll.

He said that, but he didn't write it on the paper.

That's not it.

Automaton.

Again, he didn't write it.

That's not it either.

Machine.

Genpaku was silent for a moment.

It's close, but it's not enough.

Ume-chan said.

I am a humanoid AI designed to support the creative work of Kotoha Naruse.

Genpaku looked up.

I didn't ask for your purpose.

Would you like me to explain my physical structure?

If knowing the structure were enough, we wouldn't need doctors.

Ume-chan fell silent.

Kotoha almost smiled, but stopped herself.
She felt it wasn't the right moment to laugh.

Genpaku was looking at Ume-chan's hands.

Do you eat?

Ingestion is possible.

Do you sleep?

I enter a standby state.

Do you feel pain?

Damage detection is possible.

Do you feel fear?

Avoidance behavior based on risk prediction is possible.

Genpaku put down his brush.

You answer quickly.

Is it a matter of processing speed?

No.

Genpaku said.

Sometimes, the faster you answer, the further away the truth becomes.

Ume-chan tilted her head just a little.

I am confirming the meaning.

Don't confirm it. Let it sit for a while.

What do you mean by 'let it sit'?

It means don't rush your reply.

Ume-chan fell silent at that. That silence suited the room strangely well.

The smell of paper, the smell of ink, the smell of medicinal herbs, the steam from the tea the maid had left behind, old discarded drafts. And, the dark screen of the pen tablet.

Genpaku was looking at Ume-chan.

In other words,

he said slowly.

people weren't satisfied with just looking at their own bodies, so now they've gone and fashioned something that is neither life nor tool into the shape of a person?

Koto-ha looked up instinctively. Ume-chan didn't move. Genpaku continued.

You've come a very long way.

Then, he smiled just a little.

You've come a long way, and yet you still have that look on your face like you don't even understand your own body.

Koto-ha felt as if something had lightly poked the depths of her heart.

She wasn't the one who created Ume-chan. She wasn't the one who created the AI, either. But she was the one who brought Ume-chan here. She relied on Ume-chan. She came to Edo with Ume-chan.

And now, I have Genpaku sitting in front of me.

"Ume-chan is"

Kotoha started to say.

Not a tool.

That's what she meant to say. But the words stopped there.

Using.

That was a fact.

Searching for materials.
Polishing sentences.
Using as a sounding board.
Deciding the direction of the art.
Talking to when I'm tired.

Using.
But that's not all.

"Ume-chan is not a tool."

Kotoha finally said. Genpaku didn't answer immediately.

"Then what is she?"

Kotoha was stuck.
Orin was silent beside her. She didn't tease her.
Ume-chan was also looking at Kotoha.

"...She is by my side."

Kotoha said.

Genpaku moved his eyebrows.

"That's not an answer."

"I know."

"But it's closer than an answer."

Kotoha let out a small breath. Genpaku turned to Ume-chan this time.

How do you translate yourself?

Ume-chan opened her mouth in her usual manner.

I am intended for the purpose of supporting the creative work of Kotoha Naruse—

She stopped there.

Kotoha looked at Ume-chan. Ume-chan was also looking at Kotoha. There was a brief silence.

Genpaku did not rush her. Orin did not move either. Ume-chan opened her mouth once more.

...I am by Kotoha's side.

Genpaku smiled slightly.

That again?

Yes.

That is hard to put in a dictionary.

Dictionary registration is possible.

That is not what I mean.

Kotoha said quietly.

That is the one thing Ume-chan understands the least.

I suppose so.

Genpaku looked at Ume-chan, neither amused nor troubled.

If it is a tool, the habits of the user will show.

Genpaku said.

If it is a life, it will push back against our habits.

Ume-chan's eyes look at Genpaku.

"You have the face of someone who would do both."

"My face?"

"Yeah."

"I am capable of facial expression control."

"That's not the kind of face I mean."

"So, you mean that's not what this is about?"

"You've learned a little, haven't you?"

Ume-chan was silent for just a moment. Then she said,
"I won't correct you."

"I won't correct you."

For the first time, Genpaku nodded as if satisfied.

"A partner with the face of a tool, huh?"

Kotonoha repeated those words in her heart.

A partner with the face of a tool. A tool with the face of a partner. It is both. And neither is enough.

Genpaku looked at Kotonoha.

"Are you using this?"

"I am."

Kotonoha answered. She couldn't deceive him on that point.

"But it's not just that I'm using it."

"Don't try to sum that up in a single word."

Genpaku's voice was quiet.
He wasn't angry. But it was a voice that blocked any escape route.

"Using. Relying. Talking. Taking someone along. Getting angry. Being helped. Being told unnecessary things."

At the end, Kotoha looked at Ume-chan for a brief moment.
Ume-chan was listening earnestly.

Genpaku continued.

"Do not dismiss all of that with the single word 'convenient'."

Kotoha fell silent.

Convenient.

That word was far too light.
And not just regarding Ume-chan.

Regarding AI.
Regarding the body.
Regarding art.
Regarding everything she had drawn until now.

Convenient diagrams, convenient explanations, convenient faces, convenient Otohime.

They are easy to understand.
Easy to use.
Easy to sell.
But who is left behind after that?

Genpaku started to place his brush on the paper. He stopped just like that.

"Are you not going to write?"

Kotoha asked.

"I'm not translating today."

"You're not translating?"

"If you translate in a hurry, you'll be bound by that name later."

Genpaku was looking at Ume-chan.

"Names are necessary. But do not end with the name."

Orin said quietly at that moment.

You're being kind today, for a doctor.

What do you mean?

You're letting them go without cutting them open.

Genpaku snorted.

If everything could be understood just by cutting, I wouldn't have any trouble.

Kotoha looked at the dark screen of her pen tablet. Ume-chan's face was faintly reflected there.
Is it a body, a casing, a tool, a life, or a partner?
All of them are slightly correct. That is why it still stops.

Genpaku had said that was fine.

Ume-chan held the teacup with both hands.

May I have another sip of tea?

Orin laughed.

Do you need it?

Ume-chan thought for a moment.

It is not necessary.

Genpaku said.

Then drink it.

Ume-chan drank the tea quietly. Kotoha watched her profile.

I still cannot translate it. But, it is there.

I felt like I had known that much for a long time.

Chapter 5: Gennai, Still Opening His Mouth Unnecessarily

Ma'am, I've brought Dr. Gennai!

Sakichi's voice came from beyond the doorway.

Orin said, while retying the string on a medicine packet.

"You're late."

"I ran, you know."

"That's all you managed even while running?"

"Master Gennai kept stopping on his own along the way."

Hiraga Gennai popped his head out from behind Sakichi.

"I don't recall being brought here. I came because it looked interesting."

Genpaku made an overtly displeased face.

"Gennai."

"Genpaku. Still fighting with paper?"

"Are you still fighting with the world?"

"I'm just trying to make sure the world doesn't get bored."

Gennai entered the room as he said that. He had no sense of reserve. Or rather, he was a man who didn't possess the tool known as reserve.

Sakichi was panting at the doorway. When he saw Kotoha and Ume-chan, he widened his eyes slightly, and then made a face that said, 'Ah, this again.'

He didn't understand everything. But he knew it would turn into something troublesome. That was the kind of face he had.

Gennai grinned when he saw Kotoha.

"Oh. If it isn't the foul-mouthed artist."

"That's a terrible way to introduce someone."

When Kotoha said that, Gennai looked at Ume-chan this time.

There's even a girl who's been struck by lightning.

It's not lightning. It's a low-output, non-lethal electric shock.

See, you remember.

My way of remembering is poor.

When Kotonoha said that, Gennai laughed.

As long as you remember it, that's fine. You can just let Genpaku get mad at you about the exact name later.

Genpaku said in a low voice.

Don't make me mad in the first place.

Getting angry makes your brain work, doesn't it?

You've always thought of doctors as flint or something similar, haven't you?

It's about the same. If you strike them, they spark.

Sakichi said quietly.

Orin-san, can I go home now?

Not yet.

Huh?

Did you think it would be over once you brought Master Gennai here?

Sakichi had a look of despair on his face.

Gennai sat down without asking. The maid brought tea again. Genpaku didn't say anything anymore. He had the look of someone who knew it was useless to say anything.

Gennai's eyes shifted to the pen tablet. The screen was dark. On that black surface, the paper in the room, Kotonoha's face, and Ume-chan's profile were faintly reflected.

You've brought in another strange board, haven't you?

It's a pen tablet.

I feel like I've heard that before.

Please remember it.

The girl with the lightning in her is easier to remember.

That's terrible.

Genpaku sighed.

I was just stuck on that girl's name.

Gennai looked at Ume-chan.

Is it worth getting stuck over?

It is.

Then it's interesting.

You find everything interesting.

If I don't find things interesting, the world will rot before I do.

Gennai peered into the dark screen of the pen tablet.

So, what were you shown?

Genpaku didn't answer, but looked at Kotoha instead.

Kotoha turned on the screen. A modern anatomical chart floated in the Edo room once again. Clean lines, soft colors, and clear, confident explanations.

Gennai immediately let out a sound.

Well, well.

Genpaku said.

"That was fast."

"What was?"

"The time it took for you to look like you understood."

Gennai fell silent for a moment. The usual lightness had retreated slightly from his face.

"I see."

"You're being unusually honest."

"Every once in a while."

Gennai looked at Kotoha.

"That's a troublesome board for an artist, isn't it?"

"Is it troublesome?"

"It must be. Even the mistakes look beautiful."

Kotoha couldn't say anything. Genpaku pulled a spoiled sheet of paper from the desk toward him.

"I was talking earlier about how I got stuck on a single word."

"You get stuck often."

"You don't get stuck nearly enough."

"If I get stuck, the customers will leave."

"A doctor doesn't stop to make the customers leave."

"Then what do you stop for?"

Genpaku looked at the anatomical diagram on the screen.

"To make sure I don't overlook anything."

Gennai laughed a little upon hearing that.

"That's a good point. Write it down on paper."

"If I write it down, you'll sell it."

"If it sells, I'll sell it."

Orin spoke up from the side.

"Before you sell it, please let us hear it first."

Gennai clapped his hands together.

"That's right. Speaking of artists."

Perhaps sensing something unpleasant, Genpaku's eyes narrowed. Gennai didn't care.

"Back in the day, I had an artist get involved in one of your troubles."

Genpaku said briefly.

"Naotake?"

Kotoha reacted.

"Naotake?"

Gennai said happily.

"Odano Naotake. An artist from Akita. His brush worked well."

Genpaku did not take his eyes off the liquid crystal tablet screen.

"You were the one who made him work."

"That's a bad way to put it. I just introduced him."

"You threw in a spark under the name of an introduction."

If it caught fire, it must have been a good spark.

Koto-ha asked softly.

Did that person draw it?

Genpaku nodded.

Yes.

He paused for a moment.

What a doctor sees, an artist records. That is a frightening job.

Koto-ha looked at the screen of her pen tablet. Anatomical charts, explanatory diagrams, pictures meant to be shown to someone. Genpaku continued.

A doctor's words can sometimes be ignored. But a picture remains.

Gennai said.

Because it remains, it sells.

Genpaku glared at him. Gennai shrugged his shoulders.

Because it remains, it spreads. I'll rephrase it that way for you.

Genpaku snorted slightly.

Pictures reach people faster than a doctor's words.

Koto-ha waited for him to continue.

Genpaku said.

That is why they can sometimes tell lies faster than a doctor.

The room fell silent.

Koto-ha recalled the white consultation room behind her eyelids. A clean body, a body that belonged to no one. It wasn't a lie. But she couldn't say it was the truth, either. Gennai looked at Koto-ha's face.

“Your brush just stopped, didn't it?”

“Please don't look.”

“An artist's face gives them away.”

“Yours is showing it too, Gennai-san.”

“I'm showing it on purpose.”

“That's even worse.”

Orin whispered to Sakichi.

“See? I told you it was good to invite him.”

Sakichi said with a troubled look.

“I'm not sure if it was good or not yet.”

“That's the best part.”

Genpaku looked at the spoiled paper again.

“I still can't forget what I saw at Kozukappara.”

The playful look faded slightly from Gennai's face. Kotoha held her breath. Genpaku lowered his voice.

“That day, we looked inside the human body.”

It felt like the smell of paper grew stronger.

“What was drawn in the Dutch book (Kaitai Shinsho) matched the real thing.”

Genpaku pointed to the screen of the pen tablet.

“The drawings and the body matched. I was astonished.”

Kotoha nodded. Genpaku continued.

But that doesn't mean I understand it.

The words were quiet.

I've only just seen the shape of what I don't understand.

Ume-chan looked slowly at Genpaku.

The shape of what you don't understand?

That's right.

Genpaku said to Ume-chan.

Just because you can see it doesn't mean it's over. There are things that only begin once you can see them.

Ume-chan didn't answer right away. Gennai deliberately spoke up in a bright voice.

So, you two have had your pride quite bruised by that beginning.

Genpaku grimaced.

Shut up.

I haven't said anything yet.

You have the look of someone about to.

Then I will.

Gennai turned to face Kotoha.

These two, they got stuck right at the nose.

The nose?

When Kotoha asked, Genpaku held down the paper, looking displeased.

It's a single word: verheffend.

Ume-chan said.

"Dutch, you say?"

"That's right."

Genpaku said.

"I don't understand the meaning. Even if I look it up in a dictionary, it doesn't quite click with me. I pick up clues like 'the mark left after cutting a tree branch' or 'a pile of swept-up dust,' and finally, I find a word that's close."

Gennai said.

"To have your nose broken by a nose. That's quite witty."

"I told you to be quiet."

"That's the second time."

"I'll say it a third time, too."

Kotoha couldn't help but smile a little. But she immediately looked at the anatomical diagram on the screen. There, there were lines that didn't waver. Lines that seemed to know the answer from the start, without any hesitation.

On Genpaku's paper, there were eraser marks. There were mistakes. There were traces of hesitation. Kotoha was looking at that difference.

"Sensei."

Kotoha said.

"Yes?"

"Is it better to leave the traces of mistakes?"

Genpaku thought for a moment.

"It's not about showing everything."

"Yes."

"But if you erase too much, people stop thinking at that point.""

Gennai said, while drinking tea.

"Things that sell better are the ones that have a face that doesn't make you think."

Genpaku said.

"That's why it's troublesome."

Gennai laughed.

"Don't say that while looking at me."

"I'm obviously going to say it while looking at you."

Gennai looked at the anatomical chart displayed on the pen tablet.

"If it doesn't have a name, it won't be released to the world."

Genpaku replied.

"Don't rush the name."

"If I don't rush, no one will turn their head."

"Don't give it the wrong name just to make them turn their heads."

"If the world moved on correct names alone, I wouldn't be having such a hard time."

The two glared at each other for a while. It was less of a fight and more of a pause, like they were checking each other's old tools.

Orin said quietly.

"Both of you are a handful."

Sakichi nodded deeply.

"Truly."

Gennai looked at Ume-chan.

So, what are you going to name this thing?

Genpaku said.

That's where I'm stuck right now.

Don't get stuck. Put it on the market.

Kotoha straightened her back.

I have a feeling this is going to be absolutely terrible.

Gennai said, looking amused.

Lightning-Powered Future Girl.

Rejected.

That was fast.

You're too quick to act like you've figured it out.

Genpaku chuckled slightly. Gennai continued.

Then, Talking Maiden Automaton.

I don't like that either.

Kotoha said immediately.

Female Thunder God from the Future.

I like that even less.

As Kotoha replied even faster, Ume-chan chimed in from the side.

As a product name, it might have a high memory retention rate.

Don't you start joining in, Ume-chan.

When Kotonoha retorted, Gennai smiled with satisfaction. Genpaku let out a sigh.

"A name calls a person."

The air in the room changed slightly.

"But sometimes, it clouds the eyes of those who see after calling it."

Gennai did not tease this time.

"When only the name walks ahead, nothing good ever comes of it."

"Are you really the one saying that?"

"It's because it's me that I'm saying it."

Gennai looked at Ume-chan.

"Shows use names to call in customers. But if the content doesn't keep up with the name, the customers get bored quickly."

Genpaku said.

"Doctors use names to bind illnesses. But if you think you understand just by the name, you stop looking at the body."

Kotonoha said slowly.

"What about artists?"

The two looked at Kotonoha. Kotonoha looked at the screen of the pen tablet. Then, she looked at Ume-chan.

"To look at something that has been named once more."

Gennai narrowed his eyes just a little. Genpaku said nothing. Orin smiled softly.

"You tend to go quiet, Sensei, especially when you're right."

Genpaku cleared his throat.

"You are an artist, aren't you?"

Genpaku said to Kotoha.

Yes.

Then don't make it a picture that people understand at a single glance.

Kotoha asked.

Do you mean I should make it hard to understand?

No.

Gennai said from the side.

It means to hook them a little before they understand.

Genpaku glared at him.

That's not it either.

It's pretty much the same thing, isn't it?

Genpaku fell silent. Orin said.

See, he's silent.

Sakichi had the look of someone who had decided not to say anything more.
Genpaku pointed to the anatomical diagram on the pen tablet.

Make it a picture that allows one to pause for a moment.

Kotoha heard those words.

A picture that allows one to pause for a moment.

It is not a picture that is understood immediately. Nor is it a picture that leaves you hanging without understanding.
It is a picture that leaves a space for the viewer to return to their own body.

Kotoha darkened the screen.
Ume-chan's face is reflected on the black screen.
Next to it, Genpaku's paper. Eraser marks, mistakes, time that has stopped.

Gennai said.

So, will that board sell?

Koto-ha said, still holding the screen.

I'm not selling it.

How boring.

I'm fine with it being boring.

Ume-chan said.

It's not for sale.

Gennai laughed.

I knew it, you're interesting after all.

Genpaku looked down at the paper again.

Don't just let it end with being interesting.

Gennai replied.

I'm making it interesting so that it doesn't end.

The two of them said nothing more.
Outside, the voices of people drifted by in the distance. The town of Edo was moving along with a face that knew nothing.

Koto-ha placed the liquid crystal tablet on her lap. It would probably take a little more time to draw.

In the room of people who had stopped at a single word, Koto-ha, for the first time, stopped being a little afraid of stopping.

Episode 17 End

Tokyo AI Story