Sagara Kyuma was at one in body and soul with his lord, and he attended him with selfless dedication as if he was ‘already dead.’ He was one in a thousand. Once, in the seventh year of Enpo (1679), a conference was convened at Lord Sakyo’s Mizugae residence, where it was decided that Kyuma must commit seppuku. At that time, there was a teahouse in Lord Taku Nui’s threestoried suburban villa in Osaki. Kyuma rented the building, and invited all the scoundrels in Saga to a party. They even staged a derisive puppet show in which he operated the lead puppet himself. They drank the days and nights away in a raucous cacophony overlooking Lord Sakyo’s residence. Purposefully instigating this commotion with the gallant intention of vicariously committing suicide for his lord was truly commendable.
