“Was Fumiko kind enough to think that for a souvenir of her mother, a souvenir of Fumiko herself - perhaps something more intimate than a souvenir - only the finest would do?
The desire, the plea, that only the finest be left to recall her mother came across Kikuji. It came as the finest of emotions, and the water jar its witness.
The very face of the Shino, glowing warmly cool, made him think of Mrs. Ota. Possibly because the piece was so fine, the memory was without the darkness and ugliness of guilt.
As he looked at the masterpiece it was, he felt all the more strongly the masterpiece Mrs. Ota had been. In a masterpiece there is nothing unclean.”
—Kikuji
