The Second Night: Tsumakari

What is 'Tsumakari'?

It sounds like 'mamakari' or something.

When I asked my father-in-law about it, he completely changed his tone from earlier and with a soft atmosphere, said "Ask your wife" while laughing and left the room with my mother-in-law.

The previous conversation was probably some kind of ritual.

Now, when I ask my wife again what 'tsumakari' means, she says that all the women in this house have played a role similar to that of a shrine maiden for generations. They listen to the voices of yokai (supernatural beings), convey human voices, mediate disputes between humans and yokai, and also have an important duty during this time of year to entertain the yokai who visit this house. Entertaining them means... having sex with them apparently.

What!? This surprised me greatly. My wife being embraced by yokai? Why? For what purpose?

According to my wife's explanation, by interacting with humans, yokai gain knowledge about people and reaffirm their own existence while adjusting their distance from humans. The phrase "distance from humans" may be terminology used by those familiar with magic; it's somewhat understandable but not really...

Also, interaction with humans gives energy to the yokai as well as simply feeling good. And in return for these things they give blessings to people which is an important part of maintaining relationships between people and yokai.

By the way,'tsumakari' is written as "wife borrowing" (there are ideograms equivalent to kanji in this world). Married shrine maidens take on this role because it would be difficult for unmarried women. Yokai come every year at a certain time period but there are times when tsumakari becomes concentrated within one generation; apparently this year is one such time period.

After hearing all of this I feel like recommending my daughter become a bride was like forcing a problematic property on someone. However, as I said before, my wife is too good for me so there's no way I can complain.

Anyway, I ask my wife if she dislikes 'tsumakari'. It's impossible to ask her directly if she's okay with being embraced by yokai so it ends up being a roundabout question. Then my wife says "It's okay, the yokai aren't that scary despite their appearance" while laughing and giving an answer that seems off-topic.

Even though they're yokai, did I just hear about something where they are allowed to be embraced by men other than their husbands? Is this world different from our own in terms of ethics? Are non-human yokai not allowed to do this? Or is it simply because my wife is special?

Even if you think about it, there are things that you just can't understand. However, for someone who has enjoyed that body for six months, even though it's a yokai, there are still complicated feelings when their wife is embraced by someone else. But since his wife had no resistance to being a "tsumakari," he thought that saying anything would only burden her and decided to keep his doubts inside.

By the way, I just realized something: can children be born between yokai and humans? When asked this question, his wife said that such things rarely happen and even if they did happen, either the other side would take care of them or the child itself would go over there on its own accord so everything was fine... Hmm.

After that incident occurred, preparations for "tsumakari" were quickly made. Neighbors and vendors cleaned unused rooms in the house and decorated them. The back of the house faced a slightly narrow and dimly lit street with old stone steps across from it leading up to a small thicket where an equally old shrine stood; this was where the yokai came from. The back entrance of the mansion became an entranceway to welcome yokai guests; it was swept clean and decorated with lanterns as well as having its usual sliding doors removed giving off an inn-like atmosphere.

I see now why I thought this mansion looked like a restaurant before - because in reality it was one specifically meant for yokai.

So preparations continued steadily until tomorrow arrived which marked the day of their first tsumakari ceremony. His wife told him she wanted him present despite what she previously said: "I'm still anxious so please stay with me and watch over me." If he took her words at face value then she wanted him present while she was being embraced by a yokai during sex but how should he feel about witnessing such an event firsthand? Moreover, what does it say about his wife that she's the one asking him to be there?

Is this a test for him? Is his wife seeking love by wanting him to refuse or is it a measure of how accepting he can be? He wanted to ask her, "Are you okay with me watching as you're embraced by a yokai?" but he felt like that would just end up testing her instead so he knew he had to come up with an answer on his own.

Despite having reservations, he was also curious about how his wife would interact with the yokai during their encounter. So in the end, he simply replied: "As long as it's okay with you.

When my wife heard that, she smiled and nodded. So I guess it was the right answer.

But still, I couldn't decide whether it was normal or strange for my wife to cheat on me with a yokai...

Later, I asked my mother-in-law about it. She laughed and said,

"That girl has always had a nature that attracts yokai since she was little. I thought she was used to them and didn't mind them at all, but when she became pregnant, I felt relieved that she was worried like any other normal girl. Please watch over her with me. Even I feel more at ease when her husband is around."

So we were both asked to be there for the birth of our child.

Hmm... Is being present for your wife during childbirth similar to being present for her during "tsumakari"?

Well, in this case, it's not giving birth but rather getting ready... Sorry for the crude joke.

Anyway, even my mother-in-law had been keeping company with my wife during "tsumakari"...

Lost in thought about this revelation, suddenly my wife appeared behind me and pinched me again.

And so came the night of our first "tsumakari".

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Author: [By the way, 'mamakari' is a local dish that originated from the fact that when people eat pickled herring as a side dish, it's so delicious that they quickly run out of rice and have to borrow some from their neighbors. It is not about borrowing one's mother (mama), just to be clear.]