The protagonist, Akifusa, lives in a certain village with his beautiful wife, Shibano. The couple love each other deeply, but for many years they have been unable to have children. The cause lies in Akifusa’s “seed.” The days they chose to spend together were happy, yet there was also the loneliness of slowly “withering away.” One day, the couple takes in Genta, an apprentice craftsman who has come from another village, letting him live with them. He is polite and well-mannered, and on his days off he helps out with household chores. Life with this plain, honest young man brings a new breeze into their quiet home. And as the young man—possessing a youthful, powerful body—begins to cast looks of “faint admiration” toward Shibano, a longing is born within Akifusa: a desire to see his wife sought after by another man, her composure undone.