 On his return, Tokubei is collared by his close friend of many years, "Kuheiji the oil merchant", who tells Tokubei that he desperately needs a loan of two "kamme" or else he will not be able to meet his monthly bills and will go bankrupt.Since Tokubei is so kind-hearted and does not actually need to return the two "kamme" until several days after Kuheiji promises to return the money, he loans it to Kuheiji.Here Tokubei finishes recounting the events that have taken place before the start of the play.