One of the servants in the nobleman’s house was Genzaburo. Genzaburo was rough, but an honest and strong worker. O Cho San did not have any troubles from Genzaburo.
The Samurai’s daughter had problems from the nobleman’s son. The nobleman’s son loved O Cho San.
But O Cho San did not care for him at all.
The nobleman’s son was angry that O Cho San refused to listen to him and he was not a good man at heart and decided to have revenge on the maid. The nobleman’s son decided to ask his father to organize a huge feast where the precious porcelain plates would be used. The nobleman’s son was sure that O Cho San would break the plates while cleaning them. At that time O Cho San would come to him for help because if she did not do that, she would lose a finger.
The nobleman’s son’s plan worked.
The precious plates were used in the feast. O Cho San washed the plates and dried them and carefully set them away. The plates were unbroken and clean after O Cho San had worked on them.
Unfortunately, when the nobleman came to check on the plates, the plate in the bottom of the pile was broken.
O Cho San wept before the nobleman. “After I cleaned them, the vessels were clean, my Lord. I did not break the plates.”
But O Cho San could not prove who did it. So in the absence of any proof, it was believed that O Cho San had to be punished for this.
O Cho San was afraid. “If you have to punish me, please cut a piece of my face and not my hand. That way I can work with my hands to support my mother.”
The nobleman was afraid of disobeying the law and at the same time, he did not want to hurt O Cho San either.
Adapted from Japanese Folktales
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