Shizuko

Shizuko is the magazine journalist who becomes Yozo's first kept woman after his suicide attempt and flight from Flatfish, providing him with shelter, work, and a semblance of domestic stability that he ultimately abandons. A tall, thin woman born in Koshu and twenty-eight years old when Yozo meets her, she lives in an apartment in Koenji with her five-year-old daughter Shigeko, her husband having died three years earlier. She works for a monthly children's magazine, and it is through her professional connections that Yozo begins his career as a cartoonist. Her role in Yozo's life is that of a rescuer and enabler, a woman whose strong-minded practicality and emotional generosity temporarily lift him from the depths of his despair, yet whose very kindness becomes another burden he cannot bear.

Identity and Background

Shizuko is introduced as an employee of a magazine publisher who has come to collect an illustration from Masao Horiki. When Yozo, having just run away from Flatfish's house, finds himself at Horiki's home, Shizuko arrives on an errand. She is described as a tall, thin person who declines the guest cushion and sits demurely by the door. Learning that Yozo lives in Okubo, which is near her office, she offers him a way out of his immediate crisis. She tells him, "You look like someone who's had an unhappy childhood. You're so sensitive—more's the pity for you." This observation, both perceptive and patronizing, sets the tone for their relationship: she sees his vulnerability and is drawn to care for him.

Life with Yozo

After the conference with Flatfish and Horiki that Shizuko herself arranges, all relations between Yozo and his family are broken, and he moves in with her as a kept man. She takes care of almost everything for him, including the complications arising from his flight. Yozo leads for the first time the life of a kept man, spending his days in a daze while Shizuko goes out to work. He is haunted by the image of a kite caught in telegraph wires, a symbol of his own trapped existence. Shizuko flatters him with comments like, "Most women have only to lay eyes on you to want to be doing something for you so badly they can't stand it," and she secures him work drawing cartoons for her magazine. His monthly comic strip, "The Adventures of Kinta and Ota," begins to produce a surprising amount of money, which he uses to buy liquor and cigarettes. Yet his gloom and depression only intensify; sometimes, while drawing, he suddenly thinks of home and weeps.

Relationship with Shigeko

Shizuko's daughter Shigeko becomes a central figure in Yozo's life during this period. The little girl, who had previously been left to play in the superintendent's room while her mother worked, is delighted to have an interesting "uncle" as a new playmate. She soon calls him "Daddy" without hesitation. Yozo finds some slight relief in her company, but a moment of crisis occurs when Shigeko, in answer to his question about what she would like from God, says, "I would like my real Daddy back." This shocks Yozo, making him feel that even this child is an enemy, a stranger full of secrets. From that moment, he knows he must be timid even before her.

Daily Routine and Decline

Yozo's daily life with Shizuko settles into a grim routine. He spends his days looking after Shigeko and drawing comic strips for various publishers, all of a lower class than Shizuko's company. He draws with extremely depressed emotions, deliberately penning each line only to earn money for drink. When Shizuko comes home from work, he dashes out as if in relay with her, heading to outdoor booths near the station to drink cheap, strong liquor. He returns somewhat buoyed, often making drunken, nonsensical remarks. Shizuko remains calm and does not take him seriously, undressing him and putting him to bed. This pattern continues for about a year. Yozo's drinking increases, and he begins to pawn Shizuko's clothes to fund his binges. One day, after stealing some of her underrobes and sashes and spending two nights away, he returns to overhear Shizuko telling Shigeko that he drinks not because he likes liquor but because he is "too good." He sees them happily chasing a small white rabbit and realizes he has been a fool to come between them. He shuts the door softly and goes to the Ginza, never returning to the apartment.

Aftermath and Thematic Significance

Shizuko's role in Yozo's life is that of a temporary shelter, a woman whose practical kindness and emotional strength provide him with a period of stability that he is ultimately unable to sustain. She represents the possibility of a humble, domestic happiness—a good mother and child—that Yozo feels he can only destroy. His departure from her apartment marks a decisive turn in his descent, leading him to the bar in Kyobashi and eventually to his marriage with Yoshiko. Shizuko is later mentioned when Horiki, acting as a messenger, tells Yozo that she asked him to visit her once in a while, a reminder of the past that Yozo finds terrifying. She is a figure of genuine, if ultimately insufficient, care in a life marked by shame and self-destruction.