Bunshichi Mottoi (Bunshichi's Topknot Cord)
文七元結・ぶんしちもっとい
The story
Chobei, a skilled plasterer, has gambled his family into ruin. To save him, his devoted daughter sells herself into service and brings home fifty ryo, a small fortune. On his way home with the money, Chobei meets Bunshichi, a young shop clerk about to throw himself into the river over a debt, and, against all sense, hands the stranger the entire fifty ryo.
What to listen for
A story that asks the ultimate question of human warmth: could you give away a fortune, meant to save your own child, to a total stranger?
Background
A ryo was a large gold coin; fifty ryo was a life-changing sum. To pay a debt of honor, a poor family's daughter might contract herself to work in the pleasure quarters, a real and heartbreaking practice of the era. A 'mottoi' is the paper cord used to tie a samurai-era topknot, which figures in how the tale resolves.