Katsushiro’s Delayed Return Home
In the story The Reed Choked House, Katsushiro left home where he lived with his wife to pursue trade in the city. He had promised his wife Miyagi that he would be back in a few months. It is situational irony that he returned after seven years and found that his wife had died and was buried inside their desolate home. Katsushiro should have kept his promise to return home because he knew that his wife Miyagi would undergo hardship.
Tegona of Mama’s Suicide
In the story The Reed Choked House, the story of Tegona of Mama is told to Katsushiro. Tegona of Mama was considered the most beautiful woman in the land. As a result, she was wooed by very many men. She committed suicide because she was overwhelmed by all the love and attention that she was getting. This is a situational irony and against the readers’ expectations because at the time, women desired to be beautiful so as to be married into rich families.
Toyoo’s Imprisonment
In the story A Serpent’s Lust, Toyoo is caught with a sword that had been reported missing by a senior government official. His family turned him in to the authorities because they did not want to soil their family name. This is a situational irony because it is expected that the family should have believed his story that the sword had been gifted to him and that he did not know that it had been reported stolen.
Kogi’s Behavior
In the story The Carp of My Dreams, the behavior of Kogi is ironical. This is because he would buy fish from the local fishermen for he lived near the sea, then he would draw and paint the fish and then return them into the sea. It is ironical that he would buy fish only to return them into the sea.
Sanai’s Obsession
In the story On Poverty and Wealth, the story of Sanai who had been a warrior is told. He had gathered a lot of wealth in the form of gold coins. Sanai was so obsessed with the gold that his favorite pastime in the world was to sit, pile the gold coins on the floor and count them. Sanai would count them frequently. This is ironical because rather than spend most of his time counting the money he had, he could have put it into good use by either investing it or helping the needy in his society.
