typed by Shinnosuke Kimura 2005/Oct/5th
HACHIJYUHACHIYA (around 2nd of May) had come. IKANAGO (tiny fish) will appear soon. A preparation of the net for IKANAGO has been done. Yamadaya(Hikokichi Yamada) told me that older Matsuhei (Matsuhei Furutani) was saying to see IKANAGO at the sea of KARIYAMAJYO(one of Okikamuro’s small beach). Let`s try tomorrow, he said to me.
About May in 1945, Yamadaya came to my house early morning. Matsuhei Furutani , Saisuke Watari , Furuume( Umesuke Furutani) and I paddled the boat at ASAMAJIME( before Sun raising) and putted out the net to sea to put one side on at the beach and put another side on at faraway beach and pulled both sides off at the same time. A people pulling the net returned from Taiwan, Korea and Manchukuo, therefore everybody knew each other very much. We pulled hard the net, but a hand and power was not harmonized. Then the net was broken because the net was old and moreover we could not get the materials to fix it. So we were very worried about it.
Since it is very difficult work to repair the net after the fishing every day, we feel pain when the net is broken. At the beginning, everybody said that even if one person pulled, it would be broken and so we should pulled the net with sync each other. Everybody knew and understood everybody to worked hard. But said loudly you should do with sync in spite of that speaking and mind were different. If the net would be broken, everybody would have trouble.
Even though our life was not depended on fishing of IKANAGO, a person pulling the net off could get a dish day by day. What the net would be broken meant for them to threaten their life. They could return to dear OKIKAMURO after having trouble overseas during the world war II. How could we life without support each other? A population of OKIKAMURO before the world war II was about 700 people , but it was raised up to about 3700 or 3800 people after the world war II by returned people from Manchukuo, Taiwan, Korea, an ex-soldier and people who was burned at Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima with atomic bomb.
There was not a house to sleep any more. A people lived with a pan, an iron pot, HICHIRIN(Hibachi) at any place to enter even like KANNONSAMA(Hakuseiji temple annex), Temple and shrine. We could not get rice at OKIKAMURO where there was a few food. Therefore we got just wheat and a sweet potato.
So IKANAGO was a valuable resource of protein. However it was difficult for us to get the materials for the net. If the net would be broken, we thought we would also lose a valuable resource of protein. So I loudly said that you were a stupid and must leave, which is not my true mind. However I apologized in my mind what I said a bad after working. But I said the same thing at the same situation repeatedly.
Since we were believing each other, we did not quarrel each other. It is a good memory at this moment.
The People who were returning to Okikamuro were rapidly increasing. We were talking every day that some guys would return today, other guys would return tomorrow, some guys had returned to MOJI(port city in Yamaguchi prefecture and close to Okikamuro) now. Even in our family, I also spoke with my grandmother Haru that it would be great thing that everybody in Taiwan were safe, but did not know how many person could return.
We saved rice one cup a day for 4 persons so that we could eat a rice-porridge even one time as cerebration when 4 persons would come back from Taiwan. We waited for 4 persons with patience.
We asked to leave house to Hatatsune, Nakamura, person who lived in the house close to the well and Kadochu and prepared to welcome them. 18 persons returned from Taiwan shortly at the same time. I distributed a futon and a rice bowl to each houses. However it was not a good enough for them. A rice bowl, a dish and even a match were under rationing. Did not they have a problem for a rice and food in Taiwan? Even though I served hard for them, they were not grad to my efforts. In the opposite direction, I strongly felt that they wanted to say to work hard in Taiwan. I felt that they were thinking it was a natural for them to get a service rather than appreciated our service.
They said there should be more rice bowls. I though they were thinking about just themselves and discouraged.
I was hurt at the world war II. I left from the armed forces because I lost eyesight once and could not walk well. I returned to OKIKAMURO. I had not any future and could not sleep deeply. Some uncle complained to me at that moment why you could walk around easily during the DAITOA war (World War II). He said to me that I knew you could live without problem because you would have money enough. He said to me it did not look respectable, so you must work.
Actually I was in trouble hard without a good sleep in the night to look for the job. However I could not become a massage because my finger did not bend and fisherman because I had not eyesight so that I could not recognize a direction. Moreover if a fish line would be tangled, I could not re-tangle because of weak eyesight. I thought when I would re-tangle, timing of fishing had been finished. Since I had weak eyesight , I could not become a carpenter, a tailor and a plasterer because it should be danger to claim on the higher positions. So I asked my uncle for what I should do and tell me.
I said to him that if you would suggest me, I would try it. Even though he was thinking, he said to me no idea. My comrade at army died during the World War II said to me to keep a home country. I said to him to promise to do it, but it was impossible due to lose of a war. I wanted to work hard until that I can report my effort to my friends at YASUKUNI shrine (sprits of all soldiers died in World War II are worshipped as God in this Shrine) and there was no way except to work hard. I went to Tokyo again. I went to MUKAI industry which was the previous work place and informed to come back and asked for my job. Even though I worked for a while, I felt a company hired me because I was a sick and wounded soldier with weak eyesight. I hated to be hired by compassion on me. I was planning to establish my own company in the future. My grandfather was always saying to me that you should be a captain in the boat, should be a master carpenter in carpenters. So I decided to become independence in this chance. Then I asked Tokuo Yoshida for consultations. He told me to negotiate with his friend looked having a spare machine. Then finally his friend accepted to lend me a machine.
I worked hard.
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