Whom Mozuya, known by the name of Syunkin, was born in Osaka in the family of a pharmacist in 1828. She was the most beautiful and most gifted of all the children of the pharmacist, and besides, she had an even, cheerful disposition. But at the age of eight, the girl suffered misfortune: she was blinded. From that time on, she quit dancing and devoted herself to music. Her teacher was a master of the game on whom and shamisen Shunsyo. Syunkin was that talented and diligent. She belonged to a wealthy family, studied music for her own pleasure, but she was so diligent that Master Shunsyo set her as an example to other students. The guide was Shunkin's boy, a servant in a pharmacist's shop named Sasuke. Parents gave him teachings to Father Syunkin just in that year, when Syunkin lost her sight, and he was glad that he had not seen Syunkin before she was blind - because then the girl’s present beauty might have seemed to him flawed, and so he found appearance Syunkin impeccable. He was four years older than Syunkin and kept so modestly that she always wished that it was he who accompanied her to music lessons.
Having lost sight, Syunkin became capricious and irritable, but Sasuke tried to please her in everything and not only did not take offense at her nit-picking, but considered them a sign of special location. Sasuke secretly bought shamisen from everyone and at night, when everyone was asleep, he began to learn to play it. But once his secret was revealed, and Syunkin undertook to educate the boy herself. At that time, she was ten years old, and Sasuke was fourteen. He called her “Madam teacher” and took classes very seriously, she scolded him and beat him, because in that era teachers often beat students. Syunkin often brought Sasuke to tears, but those were tears of not only pain, but also gratitude: after all, she spared no effort in dealing with him! Parents somehow reprimanded Syunkin for overly harsh treatment of the student, and she chose Sasuke in her turn for the fact that he is a crybaby and she gets it because of him. Since then, Sasuke never cried, no matter how badly he had to.
Meanwhile, Shyonkin’s character was becoming completely unbearable, and Shyunkin’s parents sent Sasuke to study music with Shunsyo’s master, considering it likely that the teacher’s role had a bad influence on her temper. Father Shunkin promised his father Sasuke to make a boy a musician. Syunkin's parents began to think about finding a suitable party for her. Since the girl was blind, it was difficult to count on a profitable marriage with an equal. And so they reasoned that a caring and accommodating Sasuke could become her a good husband, but fifteen-year-old Syunkin did not want to hear about marriage.
Nevertheless, the mother suddenly noticed suspicious changes in her daughter's appearance. Syunkin in every possible way unlocked, but after some time to hide her position became impossible. No matter how many parents tried to figure out who the father of the unborn child, Syunkin never told them the truth. They questioned Sasuke and were surprised to find that it was him. But Syunkin denied his paternity, and did not want to hear about marrying him. When the baby was born, he was given up for education. Relations between Syunkin and Sasuke were no longer a secret to anyone, but they all answered unanimously to all proposals to legitimize their union with a marriage ceremony that there was nothing and could not be between them.
When Shunkin turned nineteen, the master of Shunsyo passed away. He bequeathed to his beloved student his teacher license and chose the nickname Syunkin for her - Spring Lute. Syunkin took up teaching music and settled separately from her parents. Faithful Sasuke followed her, but, despite their close relationship, still called her "Madame Teacher."If Syunkin behaved more modestly with people less gifted than herself, she would not have so many enemies. Her talent, coupled with a heavy character, doomed her to loneliness. She had few students: most of those who began to study with her, could not stand the abuse and punishment and left,
When Syunkin was thirty-six years old, she suffered another misfortune: one night someone splashed boiling water from a kettle on her face. It is not known who and why did this. Maybe it was her pupil Ritaro, an arrogant and depraved young man whom Syunkin put in place. Maybe the father of the girl she hit in class so that she has a scar left. Apparently, the actions of the villain were directed against both Shunkin and Sasuke:
if he wanted to make one Syunkin suffer, he would find another way to take revenge on her. According to another version, it was one of the music teachers - competitors Syunkin. According to the Syunkin Biography, commissioned by Sasuke, when he was already an old man, a robber entered the bedroom of Syunkin at night, however, hearing that Sasuke woke up, fled without grabbing anything, but having managed to throw a kettle in his head that turned up under his arm: her marvelous white skin splashed a few drops of boiling water. The burn mark was tiny, but Syunkin was embarrassed even by such a small flaw and hid her face under a silk veil for the rest of her life. Further in the Biography, it is said that, by a strange coincidence, a few weeks later Sasuke began to have a cataract and soon he went blind in both eyes. But given Sasuke’s deep feelings for Shunkin and his desire to conceal the truth in other cases, it becomes clear that this was not so. Syunkin's beautiful face was brutally disfigured. She did not want anyone to see her face, and Sasuke always closed his eyes as he approached her.
When the wound Syunkin healed and it was time to remove the bandages, she shed tears at the thought that Sasuke would see her face, and Sasuke, who also did not want to see her disfigured face, gouged out both eyes. The sense of inequality that separated them even in moments of physical closeness disappeared, their hearts merged into a single whole. They were happy as never before. At heart, Sasuke Shunkin was forever young and beautiful. Even becoming blind, Sasuke continued to devoutly care for Shunkin. They took a servant girl into the house, who helped them with the housework and studied music with Sasuke.
In the first ten days of the sixth moon of the 10th year, Meiji (1877) Syunkin became seriously ill. A few days earlier, she and Sasuke went out for a walk, and she released her beloved lark from the cage. The Lark sang and disappeared into the clouds. In vain did they wait for his return - the bird flew away. Since then, Syunkin was inconsolable and nothing could amuse her. Soon she fell ill and died a few months later. Sasuke kept thinking about her, and since he saw his beloved only in a dream during his lifetime, perhaps for him there was no clear boundary between life and death. Sasuke survived Syunkin for a long time and even after he was officially awarded the title of master and became known as the “Kindai teacher,” he considered his teacher and mistress to be much higher than himself.
His grave is on the left side of the Syunkin grave, and the tombstone on it is half as much. The graves are looked after by an old woman of about seventy - a former servant and student named Teru, who remained faithful and loyal to the deceased owners ... The storyteller talked to her, who had read the Biography of Syunkin shortly before and became interested in her story. “When Reverend Gazan of the Tenryu Temple heard the story of Sasuke's self-blinding, he praised him for understanding the Zen spirit. For, he said, with the help of the Zen spirit, this man managed to change his whole life in an instant, turning the ugly into the beautiful and accomplishing an act close to the deeds of the saints. "
