Chapter 154 - Name and Reality 77 {105 Alone} (250–251 Motohashi's Crime Note 3)
S62.9.24
In a way, the thing I was looking forward to most in this series of sightseeing was Abashiri Prison. It's the setting and filming location for Ken-san's (T/N: Takakura Ken) representative work, the Abashiri Bangaichi series. Abashiri Prison is near Lake Abashiri. That said, Abashiri Prison itself has a proper address and isn't actually a 'bangaichi' (unaddressed land). Apparently, outsiders can freely enter up to the main gate, but having experienced the pigbox (T/N: slang for jail) myself, I felt a bit complicated. The driver had no way of knowing.
We headed straight for the Abashiri Prison Museum halfway up Mount Tento. It seems to be a museum that relocated and utilized the brick gates and wooden buildings of the old prison. Various historical materials are on display, and it's interesting. Apparently, there were a massive number of deaths during road construction in the pioneering era. On that point, I'm glad I was born after the war... After that, I looked out over Abashiri City, Lake Abashiri, and the Sea of Okhotsk from the summit of Mount Tento. It's not a great altitude, but the view was outstanding.
After a light lunch, I went to Lake Notoro. It was exactly the time when the coral grass (Author's Note: Official name is Salicornia europaea) turns red, and the lakeshore was bright red, which was a grand sight. Apparently, it's connected to the sea, and seafood can be caught there; I enjoyed seafood like scallops at a restaurant by the lake.
It was good I followed the driver's advice and kept lunch light. While I was at it, I stopped by the edge of Lake Saroma for a bit. This one is also connected to the sea like Lake Notoro, but I didn't have time and just took a quick look before returning to Kitami. When night came and I contacted Isaka and Nakagawa, I was instructed to stay at the inn all day tomorrow. Since I'd visited almost all the sightseeing spots, I plan to wait as told for now.
S62.9.25
After finishing dinner, taking a bath, and watching TV, that messenger old man showed up. When we entered the same coffee shop as before, there were two men about the same age as me besides Isaka. They identified themselves as Kitagawa and Shinoda. These guys will apparently help me take the target named Sada to the site and bury him after I off him. Also, though the opponent didn't say anything, they must also be witnesses to see if I actually did it.
It seems they're being made to cooperate to pay off debts. I felt a bit of a sense of tragedy from them. Well, if you're going to be complicit in a murder, it's only natural for your heart to be heavy if you have a sane mind.
We had various discussions and arranged to lure him out tomorrow morning; after that, they'll take him to the planned location, so the story was for me to just off him as I pleased. Unlike last time, the setup is left to the collaborators, so it's a relief in that regard. For now, I'll return to my room and sleep to build up my energy.
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Reading up to here, Takeshita confirmed that, unlike the interrogation at the Osaka Detention House seven years ago, Motohashi had firmly grasped the names of the people involved, other than Shigeno, the then-Secretary of the Isaka Group who had been sent as a messenger. Back then, he hadn't slipped up at all and got through it by acting as if he "didn't know," which could be said to be typical of him.
And regarding Kume Ryokan, although they couldn't get testimony about Motohashi's stay in '95, if the contents of this diary of Motohashi's were true, it wouldn't be strange for them to remember it if it was only about eight years prior at the time. He also thought that perhaps they had feigned ignorance out of concern about being dragged into trouble. However, Motohashi had already been judged, and it was certain that pursuing that now would be completely meaningless.
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S62.9.26
Finally, the day of execution. Left the inn early in the morning. I had considered packing my bags and settling the bill at this point, but if I'm restless from the morning, there's a possibility of making a blunder, so I'll deliberately do it after returning. I told the owner about that.
Met up with the two who came in a wagon in front of Kitami Station. Then, in front of the hotel, the old man named Sada whom I'd been shown a photo of yesterday climbed in. We drove for a while just like that, entered the mountains where not a single soul was around, stopped the car midway, and walked further. There, the two gave the go-ahead, so I called out to the old man Sada who was walking ahead and pumped two rounds into his heart. It was an abrupt end, but perhaps it was a mercy that I didn't make him suffer... After that, I had the two bury him, but they were making a fuss over a piece of paper the old man had.
Even after we buried him and returned to the car, the two were checking the old man's belongings and seemed to be rejoicing over something else. Well, it's got nothing to do with me; I told them to hurry up and get back, and we returned to Kitami. Packed my bags at the inn and settled the bill. Since I'd been looked after for a while, I gave a tip to the maid and the owner and headed straight to Kitami Station.
From a public phone at Kitami Station, I called Nakagawa to report the result and arrange to receive the remaining success reward. Originally, I thought a place out of public sight or the inn would be better, but considering the time of the train I'd take back and the worst-case scenario of me being eliminated, I dared to meet in a place with people around.
Nakagawa accepted that, but suggested that we might as well meet after entering the station platform. Apparently, Hokkaido trains run on diesel engines rather than electricity, and since the engine noise is loud, he figured that even if we talked about something on the platform, it wouldn't be heard by those around us. Indeed, come to think of it, the limited express I took coming here was also loud. Well, I guess that means the expression 'densha' (electric train) itself is wrong.
As I was also waiting for the limited express, I was on the platform first. A man with the appearance I'd been told over the phone—since I'd also told him my appearance—approached while looking suspicious and raising his hand. It was indeed Nakagawa.
There, when I told him, "The result was a success. The guys who went with me saw it from start to finish," the opponent immediately handed over 8 million in a paper bag, perhaps having already heard the information from the guys who went with us.
However, suddenly, an acquaintance of Nakagawa's whom I hadn't expected appeared out of nowhere, and both of us panicked for a moment; on top of that, Nakagawa committed the blunder of spilling the canned coffee he was holding onto the other person.
I quickly handed over a Yukichi (T/N: 10,000 yen note) from the reward as cleaning fees and managed to get through it somehow. If meeting in a place that attracts attention was a failure, it was a failure, but I figured it was unlikely that even this would lead to the murder being discovered; once I'd come this far, I could surprisingly steel myself.
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It was fortunate that this exchange at Kitami Station was backed up by the testimony of Reporter Naruo, a colleague of Igarashi's whose old memories were revived by the news of Secretary Nakagawa's arrest, and by the fact that the ticket and the 10,000 yen note proving it still remain today. Takeshita was satisfied that from this diary of Motohashi's involvement in the incident, it should be fully accepted as fact in court as well.
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Just like that, I returned to Sapporo on the limited express that came immediately after. At night, I spent a fortune playing around in Susukino. There was also a consciousness of wanting to forget the unpleasant things quickly. When I called Oyaji the next morning, he said, "I got a call of gratitude from Oshima. It was a real help," and along with words of appreciation, he said, "Normally I'd want to share a meal with you, but since I officially expelled you, it's sad that it's impossible," though I don't know how serious he was.
S.62.9.27
On this day, I plan to go from Sapporo to Aomori and stay at Asamushi Onsen. My head hurts a bit from drinking too much. Since it's the last time I'll ride the returning ferry, I felt a bit more emotional than on the way there.
It seems it'll be rainy again tomorrow. Having no choice, I decided to stay at the inn tomorrow and sightsee Hakkoda and Osorezan the day after. Since the return schedule is wide open, that won't be a problem.
S.62.9.28
Since I slowly healed the fatigue of my body and spirit the day before, my energy returned, and I visited Hakkoda and Osorezan. The autumn leaves had already started in Hakkoda, and it was quite a sight.
By the time I arrived at Osorezan, it was already past 3:00 PM. To top it off, the essential Itako wasn't there. When I asked, I was told that Itako are only there during the Osorezan Grand Festival in July and the Autumn Pilgrimage in October, and only then is there the so-called 'kuchiyose' (spirit mediumship).
Since they're just pretending to represent the words of the dead while probing the other person for various things anyway, I'd wanted to expose the lie in front of the Itako and take them down, but I was let down. But if they're not there, it can't be helped... It's a great shame I missed the chance to strip away the mask.
Today, I'll return to Hachinohe and stay overnight. I intend to head to Sendai tomorrow.
※※※※※※※ (I think many of you may know about Itako themselves, but just in case, here are details about Itako)
Itako are religious shamans of indigenous folk customs found in the Tohoku region and elsewhere. It is believed that they can summon the spirits of deceased people into themselves and perform communication between living people and the spirit world; this communication is called 'kuchiyose'.
Regarding the name Itako, there is a theory (by folklorist Yanagita Kunio and others) pointing to the influence of the Ainu language by Ainu who also resided in the Tohoku region in the past, but the factual relationship is not clear (Author's Note: It is certain that even today, there are things in the dialect of the Tohoku region that show Ainu influence; as an example, 'bikki' is Ainu for frog, and there are still many areas in the Tohoku region where frogs are called 'bikki').
Furthermore, to be precise, kuchiyose itself is not limited to communication with the dead; communication with divine spirits (not ghosts) ('kamikuchi') and communication with living humans ('ikikuchi') are also possible. Therefore, the general meaning of kuchiyose for which Itako are famous is 'hotokekuchi', which is communication with the dead (not those who have just died, but those who have been dead for a certain amount of time).
Osorezan, famous for Itako, does not have Itako in permanent residence; basically, they are only there during the summer and autumn periods of the Osorezan Grand Festival and the Osorezan Autumn Pilgrimage. During other periods, Itako are in their respective places of residence, basically performing exorcisms, prayers, and consultations for long-time local residents.
Itako were originally considered a profession for women with vision problems and the like, and it is said to take nearly five years of training to become full-fledged. In modern times, attention is focused only on the spiritual aspects, making them targets of criticism as 'unscientific' or 'fraudulent,' but there is also a view that they are more like counselors for local residents, simply performing psychological analysis under the name of kuchiyose.
Itako are said to be numerous in Aomori and Akita (though in terms of absolute numbers, they are by no means many), but perhaps due to their specialized nature, there are almost no successors now, and those existing are almost exclusively elderly Itako; it is considered difficult to pass on the tradition.
Similar to Itako, in Okinawa and the Amami region, there are female psychics called Yuta (though males also exist, albeit rarely), and there is a theory that there is some kind of relationship along with the cultural and physical similarities between Ryukyuan and Ainu people.
However, while for Ainu people, Okinawan (Ryukyuan) people are genetically closer than mainland Japanese, there are also scientific genetic analysis results showing that for Okinawan people, mainland Japanese are genetically closer than Ainu people; it is difficult to argue for identity or similarity simply based on culture or appearance.
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S.62.9.29
Perhaps because Sendai is the setting for the Taiga drama (Author's Note: This year, 'Dokuganryu Masamune', which achieved the highest viewership ratings in Taiga drama history, was being broadcast, so Sendai, the setting, was in the middle of a Taiga bubble), there were an incredible number of people at Aoba Castle. Even I'm watching it, so I suppose this bustle is unavoidable. In the end, I stayed overnight in Sendai on this day, but getting an inn was not just a struggle, but a double struggle (T/N: 'futakurou', a pun on 'hitokurou' (a struggle)).
S.62.9.30
Went to Utsunomiya by (Tohoku) Shinkansen, and from there to Nikko by train. Since I'd wanted to come to Toshogu for a long time, my wish was fulfilled. I sightseen for about half a day, but I didn't get bored at all. For Tokyo, I wanted to sightsee in Asakusa for the first time in a while, so I went not by JR but by Tobu (Railway), which has a station in Asakusa.
S.62.10.1
Enjoyed Asakusa for the first time in a while. While I was at it, I also stopped by Shibamata for the first time and indulged in a tour of Tora-san's filming locations. I also learned for the first time that Hosokawa Takashi's 'Yagiri no Watashi' is a song set here. There were people I wanted to see in Tokyo, but I felt reluctant to see them right after killing someone, so I decided to give up on it this time.
S.62.10.1
Went straight to Yokohama and took an inn there. For dinner, I headed out to Chinatown, but as usual, it's a mass of chemical seasonings. I bought vacuum-packed Kiyoken shumai as a souvenir for myself.
S.62.10.2
Sightseeing in Kamakura from the morning. Since it was my third time in Kamakura, there were parts that felt a bit insufficient. Went straight to Nagoya by Shinkansen, then entered Ise and stayed overnight. Tomorrow will be the pilgrimage to O-Ise-san.
S.62.10.3
Ise Grand Shrine was my first time since a primary school field trip. Back then, I was more looking forward to making a fuss with everyone, and I didn't really understand the blessing of O-Ise-san, but now that I've reached this age, did it look a bit different? However, my mental state was also different from usual, so I remained unsure if the difference in perspective was due to getting older. For the return, I went directly back to Osaka Namba by Kintetsu.
When I got home, there were several messages on the answering machine from Oyaji. Perhaps because I hadn't told him I'd be sightseeing on the way back, toward the end he was in a half-snapped state, saying, "When the hell are you coming back!" Having no choice, I called him immediately and apologized.
That said, it seemed he just wanted to contact me quickly about the bonus, and I wasn't lectured particularly for the late reply. I told him I'd receive it within tomorrow; the connection between politics and Aoi seemed to have grown stronger, and his mood itself was quite good.
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During the interrogation at the Osaka Detention House in '95, Takeshita had heard from Motohashi's own mouth that he had returned slowly while sightseeing along the Pacific side, but it seems that on the surface, he had indeed taken quite a leisurely trip.
Even so, Takeshita felt that even for Motohashi, who had a brazen side, he could catch glimpses of parts where he was mentally worn down after the murder. No, rather, Takeshita surmised that he had actually already been showing signs of weakness even before killing Sada in Kitami.
When he showed the notebook to the other two, perhaps because they knew Oshima had been arrested, they asked Takeshita, "Is it related to this?" When he told them that this was not the reason for the arrest at the present time, they wore subtle expressions.
It was only natural, since even the major mass media had not yet accurately grasped that this crime of Motohashi's was at Oshima's instruction, beyond mere rumors, and it had not been reported. And finally, he decided to play the audio of the conversation that was likely regarding the murder of Sada Minoru.