Summary

In Chapter 9, the bakery continued to be busy; Sentaro worked seven days a week and asked Tokue to come more frequently to increase bean pate production. When the rainy seasons started in early summer, “customers continued to queue outside the window even while holding an umbrella with one hand”, a sight that would have been inconceivable in the past (46). While Doraharu was prospering, Sentaro felt exhausted and weary. On a day when Tokue was not in the shop, he did not open for business. Sentaro felt inundated and wondered if it would not be better to die.

The next morning, in Chapter 10, Sentaro woke up to the phone ringing. Tokue was at the shop, but Sentaro told her to leave when she finished making bean paste. The next day, as they opened the shop, Sentaro and Tokue conversed about the cherry blossoms...