I Run Away Summary and Analysis

At fourteen, Musui decides to run away from home and go to the city of Kyoto. He takes a couple swords, his kimono, and a money belt with some money he steals from his mother. On the way, he falls in with two travelers who invite him to accompany them to Kyoto. They stop at an inn for the night, and Musui awakens to discover the men were thieves and they have stolen his money, swords, and kimono. He now has nothing. Musui spends the day begging for coppers, and after one more day at the inn, he sets off for Ise Shrine on the advice of the innkeeper, who thinks Musui should pray for his own well-being. Musui spends several days homeless, sleeping under trees and begging.

While at Ise, Musui befriends a fellow beggar named...