A Thousand Stitches (29 page)

As soon as they sat down, Masako started, “What a lovely boy. I have three children myself. My oldest girl is in our old high school now. My second, the first boy, is at Matsuchu, and so is our second boy. They aren't even two years apart. Well, of course, the name isn't Matsuchu any more—officially. But we all still call it that here.
We
know it's the most prestigious school in Shikoku. My husband is pleased that our boys are doing so well. He's already talking about Kyodai or Todai for them
,
but I'm not sure I want them that far away.”

“How proud you must be.”

“Yes, thank you. Have you been past the old school? How about Matsuchu? Everything's changed so much. My kids don't believe it when my husband and I tell them stories about the old days. Oh, Michiko-san, do you remember how we would walk to school on
Okaido
while the Matsuchu boys were going the other way? We'd even stop in your parents' sweet shop sometimes. Oh, that was so much fun. My husband was a Matsuchu boy himself.”

“I'm sorry I don't remember him from then.”

“Ah, those were the days, weren't they? There were so many handsome guys. Furuyama-san works with my husband. And Kawada-san is a doctor. He has a big clinic near Dogo-Onsen. And.…” She paused to think, and said, “Oh, Michiko, I'm sure you remember Imagawa-san, don't you?”

“Yes,” Michiko said carefully, “he married Kayoko Katayama, didn't he? How are they?”

“Oh, Michiko-san, you don't know? Well, how would you, living in Osaka.… It's such a story.”

“Mmm.”

“Well, you know they married soon after the end of the war. Yamamura-sensei, from Matsuchu, got Imagawa-san a job with the Occupation Army. He spent a lot of time traveling around with those Americans checking on the schools. Poor Kayoko was alone. She stayed with her mom and with Mrs. Imagawa out in Ishii Village because both families had lost their houses in the city. I heard she had two miscarriages. He never seemed to care. Maybe he was so cold and selfish”—and here she dropped her voice—“from his Special Attack Corps experience. Or maybe all that time with the foreigners. Speaking English all the time. Then he began teaching at the university and there was a lot of talk about him and a young secretary. She was more than ten years younger. From some small town up in the mountains. Everyone said he was really chasing her. Well, she—her name was Akiko Sato—she just suddenly disappeared.

“Then the Americans got him a scholarship, and he went away for two years. Just sailed off. Kayoko was sick—everyone said it was a miscarriage—just before he left to study in the States.

“When he came back, he had some fancy American degree and went back to the university to teach. Poor Kayoko didn't look any happier, but she was soon pregnant again.

“And then, and this is the really sad part, Kayoko died in childbirth, and the baby didn't survive. It was at the end of the school year. He left for America again without even staying for the forty-ninth-day services for his wife. The Katayamas never spoke to his mother again. A tough situation for such a proud lady. And to make it worse, everyone thinks that Akiko is with him in the States. We're sure he'll never come home again.

“Ah, Michiko-san, here they are. Our husbands.” Masako hurried across the lobby and made the most extravagant bows possible, while gushing, “Ah, Miyazawa-san, I'm Mikawa. I was lucky enough to meet your wife here in the hotel. We were schoolgirls together. It's such an honor to meet you. I hope your day was a good one.”

Shotaro said, “How pleasant to meet you, Mrs. Mikawa. Your husband and his colleagues showed me so much. It was a great day.”

Michiko stood next to Shotaro and bowed as Mikawa and his colleagues, with Masako in tow, made their exit.

As they smiled, Shotaro asked, “Where's our boy?”

“Safe. In the garden.”

“Let's call him. I need a bath and dinner and my wife and my son. Tomorrow we can go home.”

Izumi, 2000

The woman behind
the kiosk was trying to maintain her dignity but wanted to make the sale. Her quick glance at Michiko indicated that she found her young male customer as entertaining as he was unusual. Gen pretended he didn't see the glance the old ladies exchanged.

“Look, Gran, there's a sand sauna Kitty,” said Gen. “I know we got the purple potato sake-drinking Kitty and the giant radish Kitty yesterday, but I think I have to get this one too.”

“It's certainly as ridiculous as the purple one,” said Michiko.

“Oh, and there's a
bonton ame
phone charm too. I can't leave without that. ”

“But it won't mean anything to Lynn.”

“No, Gran, the Hello Kitty ones are for her. I'm keeping the
bonton ame
one for myself. I remember Dad mentioning
bonton ame
and saying how he discovered it on a trip to Shikoku with you and Gramps. And now I've discovered it with you.”

“Sort of a silly family tradition,” said Michiko, trying to sound grumpy.

Gen ignored her and told the sales clerk that he wanted all the knickknack charms he had selected. She thanked Gen and smiled again at Michiko as she wrapped them. They crossed the station concourse, headed for the bus terminal, and joined the queue.

They
had arrived in Ibusuki early the day before and had had a chance to revel in the odd mix of the resort's attractions—the sand saunas, the hot spring baths, the gardens around the pink hotel buildings, and the art museum tucked away in a corner of the grounds. By the time they had exhausted themselves with all of that, there was only an hour before dinner. Michiko was seated at the table in their
tatami
room and reviewing the dinner menu and the hotel flyer listing the evening's events. She commented that the exotic Hawaii-themed show of the 1960s was evidently history, and Gen responded cheerfully that the neat path with palm trees that led to the beach was like Hawaii. He leaned over and gave his grandmother a big hug and sloppy kiss, and promised to be back soon from a run to the beach. When he left, Michiko moved to the balcony and sat. She saw her grandson emerge from under the hotel's entranceway and head for the beach. She watched him head along the curved path, and leaned back, relaxing in the sunshine as he disappeared out of sight around a bend. She awoke when she heard the key in the door to the room.

“Gran, I've already been to the bath and have cleaned up. It's almost time for dinner. Are you ready?”

The
dining room was Japanese Christmas season excess incarnate. “At least it's
cheerfully
vulgar,” said Michiko as the maître d' walked them to their table. A dozen white Christmas trees were situated throughout the room, shining under spotlights. Each was decorated with different-colored balls. Gen entertained himself by reciting all the colors for his grandmother: red, green, navy blue, aqua, baby blue, silver, gold, purple, fuchsia, rose, baby pink, and early summer rice-paddy green.

“They've certainly covered all the bases,” Michiko said.

“Gran, stop grumping. I know you secretly love this stuff as much as you love Hello Kitty,” he said, knowing he would make her laugh.

“Yes,” she said, obliging him with a laugh. “I feel the same way about all of it. It's all ridiculous. Now what's for dinner?”

As they worked through the courses, Michiko commented that the meal, like everything else they had encountered that day, was too much.

“Well, Gran, at least our stomachs will be full for our trip tomorrow. I don't think we'll find such fancy stuff where we're going.”

“I'm sure you're right, my dear,” she said.

The
trip to Chiran was accomplished in stages, with two bus changes, and other stops at scenic spots. The first stop was at Lake Ikeda, Kyushu's largest body of water. Its beautiful, clear blue waters reflected the graceful lines of Mt. Kaimon, which dominated the landscape. The bus labored up and down the hills that rose from the coast, and all the passengers snapped pictures of the mountain as the changes in altitude provided varied views of the “Mount Fuji of Kyushu.”

At Chiran, Gen escorted his grandmother to the museum dedicated to peace and to the sacrifices of the
kamikaze
pilots. He suspected she found it all too sentimental, but she made no comments.

The museum was a warren of small, irregularly-connected rooms, and Gen had been in a room with the photos on the wall for quite some time before he looked up from the display cases and took in how much was crammed in the room. The walls were covered with rows and rows of portraits. He was mesmerized, walking slowly and looking at one face after another. After the first dozen or so, he got beyond the faded sepia and the stern looks, and was aware—no, overwhelmed—by the one blinding fact of all of the portraits. They were young—his age or even younger. Finally, he noticed that but for one elderly gentleman he was alone. The old man was in his seventies. His hands were clasped behind his back, his gray jacket lay open, unzipped, and his face was impassive as he stooped over an exhibit of a manned torpedo horribly named the Cherry Blossom, inspecting it closely.
He's my Gran's age. How have any of them survived with the sorrows their hearts hold?

Thinking of his grandmother made him realize he had lingered much too long. He retraced his steps through the welter of rooms but didn't find her until he emerged from the museum. She was sitting on a bench across from a memorial stone with just the word “Firefly” carved on it. Michiko was watching ladies her age, one after another, move to stand in front of the stone and pose for photos. Two ladies were switching places and exchanging cameras as Gen walked up to his grandmother.

“Gran, sorry. I got carried away,” he said. “Do you want me to take your picture?” he asked, looking at the ladies.

“Do you know what this ‘Firefly' stuff is about?” she asked.

“No,” he said.

“Well,” she said, “there's a sentimental story about Tomiya, an inn here in Chiran patronized by the special attack pilots. One of them, Saburo Miyakawa, was drinking at the inn on the night before his mission. He promised the owner and her daughter that he would return the next night as a firefly. And sure enough, the next night, when he was mere ashes somewhere far to the south, a firefly appeared at Tomiya. Those two ladies just finishing with their photos told me that the story is being filmed and will be released as a movie next year.”

“Well, Gran, why don't you let me take your photo?”

Her slight hesitation made Gen think that perhaps she didn't think it was such a good idea, but Michiko smiled at him, and moved to stand next to the stone, nodding to the two chatting ladies, who were gathering their belongings and moving off. Michiko smiled at her grandson as he raised the camera, but her face was grave when he clicked the shutter.

When he finished, Michiko announced that she was tired and suggested that they take the next bus back rather than touring the
samurai
houses that were Chiran's other tourist attraction. They sat in companionable silence as the bus retraced the route they had taken that morning; the mountains were gilded by the dying light.

They
ordered dinner in their room and relaxed away from the crowds in the dining room. Early the next morning they visited the hot spring baths as soon as they opened, had breakfast in their room, checked out, and set off for Izumi.

When the train arrived in Izumi, Gen sensed that his grandmother was finally truly interested. The only way to get around was to hire a taxi, and the elderly driver took them from one to another of the obscure memorial stones associated with the former Naval Air Station and the special attack pilots who had been trained there. The memorials were shabby, but still tended: a glass jar with wilted flowers at one; a bottle of whiskey with an inch of liquid at the base of another; and, at the last they visited, sake cups with crusted rims where the liquid had evaporated. Izumi was a country town. Its connection with the special attack forces was part of its history, but not a tourist attraction. The real focus in Izumi was the birds.

When the taxi driver finished showing them all the memorial stones, he told them about the Bird Center and the Bird Museum. He also offered to take them to a shrine dedicated to special attack aviators or to Fumoto, the area of town with old
samurai
residences. Gen was surprised when his grandmother chose Fumoto, and the taxi driver was pleased by the unexpected extra fare.

They passed the shrine as they headed away from Izumi's small downtown. When Gen saw the concrete statue of a naval aviator decked out in his flight suit astride a thirty-foot-tall arch dominating the neighborhood around it, he wondered if he had been wrong about Izumi. When he turned to his grandmother, he saw her squint just a tiny bit. He thought she was going to say something, but she didn't.

Gen held his grandmother's arm as they walked the quiet streets of Fumoto and toured the one old mansion that was open to the public. “We're just building anticipation for the birds, you know,” she said as they walked back to the taxi. “I suspect you've never seen anything like this.”

“You're right, Gran.”

“Good, I was too tired for the
samurai
houses in Chiran but pleased that we didn't skip them today.” She smiled at the taxi driver, who bowed low and helped her into his vehicle. When they were settled in the car, he began to talk about the Bird Center and Bird Museum again. Michiko finally got him to admit that the Bird Center was closer to where the birds actually were, and off they went. When they arrived the parking lot was surprisingly empty and they went into the Center. Soon, however, a bus tour group flooded in.

“I've seen enough. Time to go,” said Michiko.

“Look,” said Gen, as they emerged from the building and walked away from the parking lot, passing a sign that said “12,980.”

“Amazing,” said Michiko as a broad field came into sight. “So many of them.” The field was full, covered, as far as the eye could see. Huge, beautiful, stately, colorful cranes covered the center of the field. Thousands upon thousands.

“
Sembazuru
times ten and then plus,” said Gen. When his grandmother turned and looked at him smiling, he said, “Sorry, couldn't help it. Bet you didn't know I was literary. I wonder how they arrive at such an exact number.”

“I'm sure that's the job of one of the learned scientists at the Center, but we can't really care, can we, Gen-chan, when there's such beauty to behold?” She stepped up to one of the platforms that lined the field and looked at the cranes through binoculars. “Take a look,” she said to him after staring for quite a while.

As Gen was looking, an older woman walked up and started chatting with Michiko. Gen listened long enough to realize that she was with one of the bus groups and that members of the group were beginning to drift out of the Center. Gran is being polite, he told himself, knowing that she would find something she had in common with this lady, and that he was free to drift off. He climbed down from the platform, excused himself, told his grandmother he was going to stretch his legs, and walked about the length of a city block along the fence.

He was beyond the group from the bus and standing alone. He had a good view of the birds across the field. He noticed that a few had moved a bit away from the huge group. He could see the crane closest to him clearly, but it had its head down, searching the ground for food. On an impulse, trying to get its attention, he took his keys from his pocket and began shaking them, and then hitting them gently against the closest fence pole. The crane he had his eye on looked up and then came toward him, lifting and bending its long legs one at a time, moving slowly and placing its feet deliberately. Obviously curious, it kept high-stepping gracefully, closer and closer to Gen and the fence that was vibrating with the noise he was making.
Come here, my beauty, come here
.
I want to have a better look at you.

The crane didn't stop until it was only about two feet from the fence. It stood sideways, looking at Gen with its small shining black eye. It moved its long neck, looked at him straight on, then moved back, still observing him. At first, Gen held his breath, but as both he and the bird relaxed, Gen relished all the beautiful details. He knew that, in English, this bird, the
tanchozuru,
was simply called a “Japanese crane.” It was larger than most of the others Gen could see, and its markings were bright, beautiful, and quite dramatic.

As the bird kept watching him, Gen took in the silver-dollar sized bumpy red patch above its eyes that looked like the surface of an ink pad, the white above that at the top of its nape, and the black that curled down its beautiful neck like a graceful swirl of
sumi
ink from a calligraphy brush. The feathers of its plump body were dazzling white. Even in the weak winter sunlight they were gleaming. The white feathers grew larger toward the end of the bird's body and presented a breathtaking contrast to the long black feathers at its rear.