Returning to the present day, Shimamura reassures Komako that he could not possibly have been laughing at her during their last conversation, and he has returned to snow country to spend time with her. Komako is appeased by his words and informs him that she has been counting the days they’ve been separated in her diary. Shimamura is surprised that she keeps a diary and thinks to himself that it is a pointless exercise because she only records summaries of novels that she has read. He realizes that she has given up her dreams of living a more meaningful life outside of snow country.

After a romantic encounter that evening, he awakens in the morning to the sound of Komako tying her obi (a sash or belt used to tie a kimono). She returns home, leaving him to his devices that day, but he happens to walk by her in town while she socializes with the other geishas. She scolds him for embarrassing her in front of her colleagues, but he ignores her discomfort and asks her about her living situation in Yukio’s home as a roundabout way of learning more about

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