After the world war II, the island of OKIKAMURO looked like going down because of exploded number of population with a people returned and an ex-serviceman from overseas, a people and a war victim returned from Tokyo , Osaka and other cities.
Yamadas also had got uncle, Itaro Yamada returned from Taiwan and other 18 persons returned. Uncle, Itaro said to me that although Shigetoshi had been taking care of a grandmother and the head family, I would take a responsibility instead of Shigetoshi.
I was grad to hear it because I should be released from taking care of the head family of KAWANOHASHI (nick name of Yamada family.). However aunt, Michiko Yamada called me loudly to come down shortly in the mid night from the area below of the house. I got up half in a dream rapidly and went to Yamadas. Then I recognized that uncle returned from Taiwan had died and it was thrown into uproar. I expected to be released from taking care of the head family, but I thought it might become a trouble.
When uncle came back from Taiwan in 1930, a creditor loudly said that if a debit would not be paid, uncle could not go out OKIKAMURO and never allow to go to Taiwan. Therefore uncle decided to sell the land with the house of his fathers.
My grandfather called Kumagoro Yamada and said to him that I would like to put the house and the land up at auction, so I would like to ask you to make a successful bid for them. Even though there were uncles like Tomotaro Yamanda who is taking care of a small village, Ishimatsu Ishimaru, Fumitaro Nishimura and Sakaichi Yamanaka, my grandfather recommended me to take care of a bid because he wanted me to take every experiences during his being alive.
My grandfather stated me that Shigetoshi, you should not think that I was back side and performed all things, but you were the student of the elementary school. So I said to him that yes, I would do it. The house of Itaro was positioning at the good place, so many people came and the rich men in the small village arrived at the house.
I started a bid from 200 yen, it was being increased 3 or 5 yen during 530 yen to 550 yen. Nobody did increase the price after that. I loudly shouted 550 yen , but nobody took response. Kugagoro Yamada who promised with my grandfather was looking the other way just like that he was not related on.
I shouted repeatedly, but Kumagoro was pretending not to recognize me. It was completely different story from what my grandfather asked him to make a successful bid for the house and the land. I was very in trouble because the house and the land would be made a successful bid by other people unless he did not respond. However finally Kumagoro Yamada raided his hand and said 600 yen. Other people increased it at 550 yen at least by increasing 3 or 5 yen, but although it was increased 50 yen at once now, nobody could not follow up any more and was silent.
I declared to make a successful bid at 600 yen. My grandfather withdrew 600 yen from a credit union bank. Then my grandfather pretended to be paid money by Kumagoro Yamada. My grandfather said to a creditor that this money was made by a successful bid of the house and the land which was made a successful bid by Kumagoro Yamada. So uncle was allowed to go to Taiwan.
Kumagoro Yamada was always saying in his later years that a grandfather let Shigetoshi at the elementary school manage to make a successful bid, it was very surprised thing, but Shigetoshi did a good job. Nobody complained to manage a successful bid by managing by a child and Nobody went back home because of managing by a child.
I remember my grandmother at the age when she was taking care of a boatman, many FUNAKATA (boat man) and TOMARIKO (young men before become fisherman can stay at fishing group’s chief’s home if their family wanted.) when my grandfather was an owner of BAKANGUMI (fishing boats group).
I was delegated to deposit and withdraw money at postal saving, credit union like SUMITOMO bank and YASUDA bank in YANAI city. When I was third grade in the elementary school and studied kanji (Chinese character), my grandfather said to me that you could understand kanji, so you deposited and withdrew a money from now.
Kumagoro Yamada brought to us after collecting house fee and rent fee in MINASE (island). So my grandfather asked me to make an account ledger entry of them. After that, I was a great manager of money for Kawanohata`s and Yamada`s with helping by my grandfather backside even if I was a little child.
When Sakaichi Nakayama built new boat, my grandfather told me that I had grew old, so he would like Sakaichi to bing me to go fishing. Therefore he requested me to withdrow 650 yen at a credit union. So Sakaichi Yamada could build new boat.
My grandfather said and cried with frustration that even though everybody had given Shigetoshi trouble, everybody made a fool of Shigetoshi after Shigetoshi`s being burned out of the home by the war. I came back to OKIKAMURO after finishing training.
My grandfather said to me that we could live in OKIKAMURO at 20 yen per month and therefore if you would give us 10 yen per month, we could live due to getting 10 yen per month by the rental fee in MINASE and interest of savings. So I told my grandfather that I would send 20 yen per month for you to be able to live comfortably.
My grandfather said to me that 10 yen was enough instead of 20 yen. Moreover he said to me that it should not be good for you to ruin your health from overwork, so please take care of your health.
My grandfather was pleased to wait for my sending money. If money would be delay even 2 days, my grandfather was worried about if I was sick with a cold or was in the bed with sick. So my grandmother said to him that it might be delay by something. My grandfather murmured to hope there was no trouble on Shigetoshi.
My grandfather said that it was the best case about money to achieve a half of the commitment and therefore if achieved completely, it should be the very best. However Shigetoshi was very great person because Shigetoshi would send over 40 yen every month, he said. He said that Shigetoshi was the man who I relayed on and brought up.
My grandfather was very pleased to live easily and spend tax by money which Shigetoshi sent.
When I was in childhood, I estimated how much my grandfather was frustrated to hear from uncles that it was worthless for me to be brought up by a grandmother and a grandfather. However my grandmother got angry that Shigetoshi made my grandfather happy very much, but Shigetoshi`s share was small. So I said to her it was fine for me because your children or grandchildren had decided. I said to her if that decision would be fine for everybody, I was fine in spite of my small share. Many people returned from overseas did not have a house and a field. So I said to her that if I thought about that situation of people who returned, I was still happier than them.
I said to my grandmother that you did not need to be worried about your life unless I died. My grandmother was grad to hear it and said if she would have one more son like Shigetoshi, everything would be going well. I said to her that we had to accept because Japan lost the war. I said to her that please live long until I would recovery as the previous condition of me.
A moving house started now. We had to move a house because current house was in my father`s name. So I proposed my grandmother to move with me. However she refused it because you should be blamed from other people if I would move with you, she said.
My grandmother was escaping to the place without a leak in the roof when it was raining to sleep in the house. Losing patience with it, I suggested her to move to my house, but she denied. I could not endure to see that even though children and grandchildren lived in the house with no leak in the roof, but my grandmother was living in the house with a leak in the roof.
For whom did my grandfather make desperate effort to work at a very large wave at GENKAINADA (area of sea)? Why did my grandmother live in the house with a leak in the roof in spite of that there was a house with no leak in the roof right in front of ? When it was raining and my grandmother came to my house, I always said to her to stay in my house. However she refused it and said to me that if I would stay here, you would get trouble surely.
One day, I proposed to my grandmother to stay in my house for 2 or 3 days and said to her if you could come to my house, Yayoi should be happy.
She agreed with me and came to my house near the hill. I carried my grandmother on my back after a long time and I was very surprised she was too light weight. As the same as poem by Takuboku Ishikawa (famous Japanese poet), ‘could not walk even 3 steps due to very light weight’.
I had been separated from my mother in 9 months after being born. After that, my grandmother bowed and asked a woman neighbor for mother`s milk for me and brought me up. I thought she became light weight and she had trouble a lot. However I could not do any things for her, I thought. Even if would leave OKIKAMURO in the future, I thought I had to attend on her deathbed before going out.
Even so, I wanted to leave some memorial thing before going out OKIKAMURO. I was thinking about what it was. After moving to the house above, it was difficult for me to up and down the stone steps because they were collapsed here and there.
This was not only my bad eyesight by hurt at the war, but also it was a bad road, I thought.
I thought I had to repair it.
Yes, it was a road for my memorial thing. As long as people were living, this should be necessity and mandatory for people and society. Then I talked to Yoshimichi Kimura at once. He said to me that he was also thinking about it. Then we, Masao Yamane , Kaneshige Ishimaru , Yoshimichi Kimura and I , had a meeting.
At first, we discussed about how we could get cement. Then we understood it was better to talk with a village office. Since Kaneshige was working at a village office, we said to him to investigate how to get cement. He agreed to do it.
One day, Kaneshige said cement was government distribution item and building a farmers road was one of distribution targets. Moreover we recognized that construction fee would be paid 90% from a village office. Therefore we had to expand not only OKAJYO (one part of Susaki village), but also all SUSAKI village. So we met with Toshio Yanagihara who was a chairman of a village in order for us to discuss with him. Then he proposed to have a conference of a village because of a big construction.
Then we had a village conference. At the conference, I who was a proposer explained a main point for this convention. I said that as everybody knew very much, it was not so easy for us to walk the stone stairs which were broken somewhere on the road. So I questioned if it was allowed for us to repair the broken stone stairs. It was not difficult to get consensus to do it because our village didn’t need to pay any money for repairing road, and everybody accepted to repair the stairs.
I confirmed that a conclusion was to build the road and if the money was not spent by the village, it was acceptable. Then it was approved to repair the road if the money was not spent by the village.
I spoke again that there should be a condition so that the money was not spent by the village. I said that I wanted everybody to approve a labor service by one person from one home, who was over elementary school`s student and was acceptable both men or women, and shared a construction by groups which were KARIYAMAJYOU (part of Susaki village) gorup, OKAJYOU-1st group, OKAJYOU-2nd group and HANAJYOU group. It was approved by everybody.
A committee member was organized as the below ;
chairperson ; Kanjiro Ootani
vice chairperson ; Masao Yamane
committee member ; Yoshimichi Kimura
Seiichi Ootani
Yosuke Kawamoto
A survey was started by people from SHIRAKI village office in a little while. The committee member helped them with observations. We had purchased the tools like a scope and a bamboo basket. And cement had been supplied by government distribution. We had got a BARASU (small stones) and sand at YOKONADE (beach) or TONOURA (beach) and carried them by the board of Masao Yamane. A construction was getting progress well. We decided not to cover the both wall of a gutter with cement because a wall had been built by a stone and was strongly-built, but original plan was to cover the both walls and up and down of a gutter with cement.
However cement was lacked later and it became a big problem.
Since we were working hard, we belief to save cement by no cement for the both walls of a gutter. A construction was going well by a sharing a labor service and kept a working every day.
However cement had been lacked when covered up to UENO IDO (name of place where is a Well at middle of mountain) with a cement.
We could not estimate that cement would be lacked, because we did not cover both walls of a gutter with cement and we thought cement would be left.
Even if we might take a mistaking to use an amount of cement with ratio of sand and a BARASU, the fact was that cement was lacked.
I asked Kanjiro Ootani for his advice, he could not help me. I also asked Yamane-san, but he said to me that he could not get any plan just for the cement. The road had been broken, so I could not give up on the way or escape from OKIKAMURO now because of no cement. This putted me in an awkward position. We could not built the road without cement.
I called a committee and asked, but nobody did have any good idea just for cement. Finally we reached at going to the SHIRAKI village office in order for us to tell them current situation and asked a village for cement even if the design engineers said something. However nobody raised a hand to negotiate with the SHIRAKI village office.
I had to go to the village office as the first proposer. I went to a village office on the boat from the next village and met a design engineer.
A design engineer also said that even though a design was to cover both walls and up and down with cement, you covered just up and down with a cement. He claimed me where was the left cement which was not use for both walls of a gutter. I thought to say that we took mistaking for a compounding due to a lay person, but the fact was lack of cement.
The design engineer insisted that we really cheated or hided cement because lack of cement did not happened, but it would be left because we did not cover both walls of a gutter.
It was correct as logic, but it was not true. So I explained to him that we were working for the strong-built road by saving a cement without covering both walls of a gutter, we did not cheat even a handful of a cement with a goof management. But he repeatedly questioned a reason why cement was lacked without covering both walls of a gutter. If we could not get cement, we could not fight like no bullets at the war. I had trouble in completely.
I could not estimate that such kind of trouble would be happened , but how could I broke through this problem? How could I go back to OKIKAMURO without no results ? It was easy for me to throw myself into the sea from the boat on the way to OKIKAMURO, but who would take over repairing the road ? I could not leave the road which had been broken yet. I had completely trouble in.
I thought if my grandfather would be alive, I could ask him for his advice under such kind of trouble. I prayed to my grandfather to help me hard with closing my eyes. When I reviewed a drawing suddenly, I remembered that when a design engineer measured, he measured it as a straight line instead of slanting by put the pole straight and measured it center for a twisted road when we witnessed measurement.
It was clear understanding by practice on the working every day that there was difference distance between measurement by straight and slanting.
I insisted to the design engineer that you measured it with such kind of methods when I witnessed measurement. Then he stated and agreed that it was a wrong way to measure it. He approved to distribute 15 sacks of cement with 50kg weights from the cement which would be used to build SHIRAKI junior high school. I could have cried for joy.
I was not sure if my absolute sincerity without selfish desire for the village might reached at God or my grandfather helped me or providence of ancestors, we could get an additional cement. When I informed it in the committee, everybody was glad to hear it and said it was happy.
One day, an officer of civil works office of YAMAGUCHI prefectural government wanted to audit halfway of the construction and came to OKIKAMURO. The place was arranged by Setsuko Okahiro at 2nd floor of her house and Toshio Yanagihara, a chairperson of the village and the committee member gathered there. The officer suggested if the road would be a sharp slope and it would be difficult to walk up, you could build a stair with the condition that a car could go through. Although I proposed to build a stair with no sharp angle at the road beside Okada`s and the road above IDO because it was very sharped slope, everybody disagreed with me. Then the road was built as present the road. (The road has been re-built in year of HEISEI (Japanese calendar year, Heisei age starts at 1989 and this year 2012 is Heisei 24.) ).
A prefectural government did not approve the road as the farmer’s road if the wideness of the road is less than 2 meters so that a car could go through. That meant that we could not get 90% budgets as an assistance payment from a prefectural government. Therefore we decided to reduce the fields at the both sides of the road from the hill top MATSUBARA to sink DAITSUBO (a cesspool) in the ground. So we went to a related house to get approval.
However we were concentrating on reducing the fields when started reduction and on the way to reduce the fields. Then I recognized to reduce the fields without approval from landowners at the final stage of the construction. This was a big problem and my big fault. Before report to the committee, I decided to negotiate with Kaneshige Ishimaru because we reduced most wide area from his fields. I went to Kaneshige Ishimaru and told to him that I had trouble in and please help me. He questioned what happened in particular. Then I told him that I had forgot important thing, but this was secret for the committee and the construction was at the final stage.
I explained that it was to reduce the fields of Kanashige Ishimaru, Sakataro Sakata and Hanjiro Ootani without any approvals and moreover we reduced your fields the most. So I asked him to approve it. He stated that the construction of the road had almost been at the final stage and it was the road for people, so it must save the world and the people. My cousin, Shigetoshi did not get any money and worked hard for the people, he said. So he stated that did not worry about it and donated the fields to a village. I said to him ‘Thank you very much’ and left for my home.
Well, the problem had been settled. Then I requested to have a committee meeting and disclosed this problem in the meeting. Everybody did not know and recognized to reduce the fields without approval. A committee member said that the landowners were quiet so far and no complaints and therefore the construction had been finished. However it was a big trouble in and we could not disregard, a committee member said. Then a committee member decided to go to Kaneshige Ishimaru because we reduced his fields the most. Fusaichi Furutani, Matsutaro Hayashi, Masao Yamane and I went to Ishimaru`s. We apologized to reduce the fields without approval even if it was related to a village.
Ishimaru said to a committee member that the road would be the road to make the people happy, which you worked hard for a village without a reward. If my fields would be worth for a village, my ancestor should allow me to donate my fields to a village, he stated. A committee member received his great proposal according to his comments.
We went to Sakataro TaSaka due to reducing the most next to Kaneshige Ishimaru. We apologized to reduce the fields without approval and asked him to accept us to reduce the fields. Tasaka said to me as his old man of Tomari`s to let him know the results of Kanegige Ishimaru, but I said to him that the story would be different between Ishimaru and you and therefore I would like to talk with you as your stance for this problem. Since his old man of TOMARIYA( it was me) came and asked, it looked like difficult for him to be able to say anything. He strongly insisted me to tell a result of discussion with Ishimaru, so I said to him that I was here to talk about the thing related to the village and but not about the thing of TOMARIYA(young men could stay at boat owner house for years as trainee for fishermen). However finally I gave up to his tenacity. Therefore I told him that Ishimaru donated his fields to the village. He said to me that you should say it at first because Tasaka was also glad to donate the fields.
The next , we went to DAIHAN and could also succeeded in convincing to let DAIHAN donate the fields.
I thought this was a result of a committee member`s being hard on the village earnestly. Although OKIKAMURO was a few fields, it was OKIKAMURO`s noble heritage, which had been succeeded from ancient, to be glad to donate the precious fields, even which had been succeeded from ancient, for the village with unanimous corporation when it was standby.
It was grateful and happiness for who was born at OKIKAMURO and proud.
Although there was a lot of thing during the construction, it had been done finally. Thank you very much for all a committee member had done.
Since the construction had been finished, it had to get audit and was just waiting for the ceremony of completion. I was very busy to prepare fishing at GOTOU of KYUSHU prefecture, which a fishing season had come, with Nakajiro Furutani of my classmates. And today was the day to set sail for.
When I was setting sail for, a chairperson, Toshio Yanagihara came and said to me that an officer of YAMAGUCHI prefectural government would come tomorrow due to a ceremony of the completion of the construction. Then he said that it had trouble in to go to KYUSHU prefecture and please postponed 2 days to set sail for. I said to him that the construction had been finished, therefore it was possible to hold a ceremony without me and please took over me. Then I set sail for KYUSHU prefecture.
The personal expenses as a result of labor service by the people of the village was donated it to the village and all committee members also donated it to the village when a subsidy for a personal expenses was paid later.
Since the village had money and could buy a cement freely, the road of SUSAKI was covered even a lane with a cement. The people at SUSAKI could go up and down easily even the slope, but there was not the stairs.
When the end of year had come and it was very a cold day, there was a fire in the mid night. The origin of a fire was embers in a cooking at Ekura`s.
Even though it was difficult to watch a step due to deep darkness, a fire was brought under control shortly by rapid movement to pull a hose and bring a bucket without no attention on a step because there was not the stairs.
We were grad to construct the road on the way, so that it was not a big fire.
What a relief ! What a relief !
end of memorial story.
printed March 24th 2000, 22:22
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