Summary

In “Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey,” a narrator recalls meeting a monkey at a small inn in Gunma Prefecture. He arrived in a town that featured a hot spring and this dilapidated inn was the only one accepting guests. He checked in and went into town, then returned and took a bath in the hot spring. Suddenly, he heard a voice say “Excuse me” (132). He looked up and saw that a monkey was checking the temperature of the spring. The monkey asked the narrator if he would like to have his back scrubbed and the narrator said yes, despite being shocked at the presence of a talking monkey.

They chatted politely and the monkey explained that he originally lived in Shinagawa with a professor who taught him how to speak. The professor and the monkey enjoyed listening to...