After that, Masamichi became a provincial governor and promoted a priest named Donmyo, because the priest helped him go to Kyoto. And he warmly consoled the spirit of his deceased sister and built a nun’s temple at the tip of the cape where Anju casted herself into the waters. Masamichi devoted himself to his country, and he took a trip to Sado island to search for his mother, showing strong commitment to his mother and sister. I regard this as his personal awe.
He arrived at Sado island and peeped out the hedge of a large farm house. A clipped millet was hanging outside and an elderly woman chased the sparrows picking up the food. She was visually impaired, so Masamichi watched anxiously. She was singing “I miss Anju and Zushio so much”. She was in fact his mother. Masamichi was trying to hold it in, but could not any longer. He rushed into the hedge, pressed his charm on his forehead, and lay on his stomach in front of his mother. She understood at this point that it wasn’t sparrows. Tears started to fill his mother’s eyes and then her eyes opened. They embraced each other as she cried “Zushio”.
Here is the emotion to show the approach behavior to someone who satisfies their desire. It is within Masamichi and his mother. The emotion is disposed to impel someone into action in this way. Therefore, I can make a synergic metaphor like “Ogai and feelings” by seeing the emotion not as the state of mind, but as the brain activity.
Emotion is tied closely to the cerebral limbic system inside the brain. The amygdala plays a crucial role, and the hypothalamic area and the central substance of the midbrain are also concerned in the expression of the emotion. For example, the response of the autonomic nervous system associated with emotion (heart rate, breathing, change of blood pressure) and the response associated with behavior (freezing and escape to fear, angry attack) are triggered. In other words, gray matter systems such as the amygdala-hypothalamic-periaqueductal is the area of the brain associated with emotion.
花村嘉英（2017）「森鴎外の『山椒大夫』のデータベース化とその分析」より translated by Yoshihisa Hanamura