22. Hanging in a Basket

Izo also did forestry work on top of farming. One time, when he went to the hills of Toyoda with Yosaburo Miyamori and Naokichi Takai, Izo playfully suggested, “Yosaburo, won’t you carry Naokichi and me with that basket you’re holding?”

But Yosaburo Miyamori was also the playful sort, and he took them to a cliff and placed the basket on a branch of a Japanese cedar with a walking stick.

(From Shinpan Izo Iburi den p. 85)

• Next installment in this series: 23. A Command to Stop Working in the Fields

*Note: This post has been revised since its original publication.