Chapter 176 - Name and Reality 99 {127 Alone} (303–304: Returning to Hokkaido Once More)
"And so you finally set foot on Hokkaido soil again. Did you go straight to Otaru?"
When Nishida questioned him, Oshima replied,
"I stopped by Ryori once before heading to Hokkaido. That was the moment I made up my mind that I would likely never return here again. In fact, I haven't been to Ryori even once since then. Of course, I have no bad memories of my hometown other than the tsunami, and I never truly wanted to forget it. In the first place, considering the tsunami damage, even if I did return, I probably would have been fine in terms of someone finding me out, but by telling myself that, I remember it had a strong meaning of a break not with my hometown, but with my past self."
Oshima's expression when he said this was very stiff. On top of that,
"And after that, I witnessed the progress of Kamaishi's reconstruction and returned inland, arriving at Aomori Station via the JNR. Then, I saw many women who looked like farmers carrying rice bales trying to board the ferry, and when I asked what was going on, they said it was profitable to take rice and other supplies to Hakodate. They said that on the way back, they would buy seafood in Hakodate and sell it in Aomori to make a profit. And when I also took the ferry to Hakodate and stepped off at the station, a black market even larger than the one in Sendai was spread out there. It was an era when everyone, including me, was desperate to survive... However, while there was a sense of tragedy, it also felt like an era filled with a strange elation, or rather, vitality, looking back on it now."
He continued, recalling those days.
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Hakodate at the time of the end of the war naturally became a collection point where various supplies gathered amidst the postwar food shortage, including agricultural products from all over Hokkaido, seafood caught in the waters near Hakodate, and agricultural products from Aomori. From Aomori, not only rice but also apples and sake were brought in for a while after the war, and from Hokkaido, adzuki beans, starch, and miscellaneous grains came in.
The people who brought supplies from Aomori adopted a system where, on the way back after their loads were empty, they would take seafood and such from Hakodate with the money they made and sell it on the Aomori side.
Such transporters of supplies were called "yami-ya" (black marketeers) in the early days nationwide, and later came to be called "katsugi-ya" (peddlers).
The activities of such black markets and peddlers continued in Hakodate until around Showa 30 (1955), but even peddlers unrelated to black market goods were commonly seen on the ferries until the Showa 40s (1965-1974).
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It was true that many people suffered in poverty during the chaotic period immediately after the war, but it was also true that many people rose to success during this chaos. Just like the gekokujou (T/N: the low overcoming the high) of the Sengoku period, Nishida thought that for those with a sharp mind, for better or worse, it was an era when it was easier to rise to success compared to the prewar period when the class system was effectively distinct. He believed Oshima had also sensed that atmosphere.
"That's all well and good, but I'd like you to tell us the important part about Otaru," Yoshimura prompted, as if losing his patience.
"Ah, my apologies. I got a bit nostalgic for those days..."
Oshima apologized honestly to the young man, unlike a major politician. Then,
"I had leeway with the parting gift I received, so while it was by no means a situation for leisurely sightseeing like now, I stayed in Hakodate for about two weeks for some reason. It's still difficult to clearly explain the reason for that stay, but once I found out the location of the gold dust in Otaru, I would finally have to head for Ikutahara. Perhaps I hadn't quite made up my mind yet... That said, I finally headed for Otaru after that. Although I left early in the morning, it must have been night by the time I reached Otaru. A black market had also sprung up in front of Otaru Station, and since I was hungry, I decided to fill my stomach at a stall there. Then, the elderly owner spoke with an Iwate accent, so when I asked, he said he was from a place called Kuji in Iwate. He was originally a fisherman, but about 30 years ago he ended up in Otaru for one reason or another, and about 15 years ago he switched to being a chef using his skill in cooking, but now it was more profitable to have a shop in the black market, so he was running a stall. Since we were from the same Iwate, even if the distance was far, we naturally got excited and continued our conversation in full Iwate dialect. Then, from behind me... I still remember it clearly, I heard a voice say, 'Isn't that Kinya-chan?' Of course, since I was actually Onodera Michitoshi, I didn't need to react to that, but at the name 'Kinya-chan,' I reflexively turned around. And in a sense, that was the end of my luck..."
He began to say.
It was obvious that this scene was the first contact between Daikichi... who was still Tasuke before his name change back then, and Oshima Kaiji, as they had heard from Isaka Masamitsu. Until now, it had been testimony with Masamitsu as a buffer, but Nishida and Yoshimura felt a further sense of tension, knowing that from here on, the answers would begin with the primary account from Oshima Kaiji himself.
"Actually, we've already heard about that time from his son, Masamitsu. It seems Daikichi told him that in addition to the Iwate accent, your back reminded him of Kuwano Kinya."
When Nishida stated this, Oshima replied,
"It's not that I particularly resembled Kinya-chan in appearance, but I was relatively large for this generation, and since we were cousins, perhaps there was something that brought him to mind... It seemed he realized immediately that I wasn't Kinya-chan, but at the same time, he seemed to have thoughts about the fact that I reacted to that name, and he persistently questioned me, saying, 'I'm Isaka Tasuke, and I used to work with a guy named Kuwano Kinya. By any chance, aren't you an acquaintance of that Kuwano Kinya?' Since I was impersonating him, I suppose I should have made some excuse and denied it, but more than that, perhaps my heart was moved by the miracle of meeting an acquaintance of Kinya-chan and a person listed on the deed... I reflexively admitted to being his cousin. Then, he persistently asked, 'How is Kinya-chan doing now?' so I told him straight out, 'He died in an accident.' Isaka's disappointment at that time was so sudden compared to his previous attitude that I almost felt sorry, wondering if a stranger could mourn Kinya-chan's death that much."
"However, that disappointment arose from the despair that he would no longer be able to have the Sada parents tell him the location of the gold dust. Well, as far as I heard from Masamitsu, it was also because he held a certain respect for Kuwano-san..."
"That must be it, Nishida-san. For my part, I felt somewhat sorry when I heard from Isaka that Sada Toru had died in battle, but in the first place, Sada Toru had given the information about his family home in Otaru to Kinya-chan and Isaka in preparation for such a situation, so my heart was hardly moved... However, when I said on the spot that I would go to the Sada family as the heir, Onodera Michitoshi, even as early as the next day to ask about the location, he pleaded with me, 'Please, go with me and act as Kuwano Kinya in front of the Sada parents.' At that time, I hadn't told him that I had already effectively become Kuwano Kinya even in the family register, so I was startled... However, I had confirmed Isaka's own deed, and I myself, in any case, held a deed and was legitimately qualified to inherit the gold dust. So, there might have been a way for me to hear it from the Sada parents and then tell him myself, but he seemed to fear that because I had no knowledge of the land (T/N: tochikan) where the gold dust was buried in Ikutahara, I might not be able to properly understand the information Sada Toru had conveyed. That's why he wanted to go together and hear it directly. So, in the end, I accepted Isaka's proposal and went to the Sada family home with him the next day. Well, thinking about it now, since I was officially supposed to be dead, it might have been unexpectedly difficult to prove that I was Onodera Michitoshi, Kuwano Kinya's cousin. In that case, it turns out it was the right choice to meet them as Kinya-chan."
As far as they had heard in Masamitsu's interrogation, Masamitsu hadn't heard detailed stories about that point from his father, Daikichi, and had speculated that Daikichi, fearing the information would be monopolized, had falsely presented Onodera as Kuwano and gone to the Sada family with him to hear it. But the "outward" truth turned out to be Oshima's lack of knowledge of the land. Needless to say, Daikichi's true intention might have been exactly as Masamitsu speculated, but that didn't mean the possibility regarding the knowledge of the land had to be completely denied.
However, Nishida thought he should confirm if Oshima knew that Isaka was not trusted by the Sada family.
"On the other hand, did you know that when Isaka met the Sada parents alone before that, he was refused the location of the gold dust because of Toru's instructions while he was alive that they shouldn't tell him unless he came with the other heirs?"
He tried asking. Then, Oshima looked a bit surprised.
"No, that's the first I've heard of it. Had Isaka already been to the Sada family?"
"Yes. Apparently, he also heard about Sada Toru's death then. At any rate, Toru had instructed his parents in a letter not to tell Isaka even if he came alone. It seems Toru had sensed something untrustworthy about Isaka as a person. He might have felt the danger of him monopolizing it."
When Nishida answered thus, Oshima replied,
"Setting aside the talk of trust, now that you mention it, the source of information about Toru's death is limited, so it's not strange if that's the case... I didn't think deeply about it at the time."
Since Oshima himself would later end up snatching the gold dust, it was only natural that he was vague about the talk of trust.
"I see... Naturally, since there was a way for Onodera-san to find it out alone, it wasn't necessarily the case that you had to go together, but that makes it even more ambiguous whether he couldn't let you go alone because of the knowledge of the land, or if he tried to take Onodera-san along so he could find it out for himself."
Nishida answered thus, but he deliberately did not touch upon the "fear of being monopolized by Oshima."
"You succeeded in finding out the location there without any trouble, right?"
Yoshimura confirmed the obvious, just in case.
"We had the deeds. There was no reason to be doubted. For my part, I was nervous that the fingerprints on the deed might be checked, but that didn't happen either. Well, if it came down to it, I intended to claim that Kuwano was dead and I was his legitimate heir."
Oshima disclosed his feelings at the time.
"And after finding it out, did you head straight for Ikutahara?"
Nishida continued the questioning.
"Not immediately; it was after staying one night at an inn in Otaru. I paid for Isaka's lodging. That night, the two of us talked about memories of Kinya-chan until late at night. Also, I remember Isaka looking back at length on his life in Ikutahara back then. Regarding the murder of Takamura, he seemed to have some regrets, even while saying it couldn't be helped. At first, he seemed to find it hard to bring up, but when he learned that I had heard the whole story from Kinya-chan, he confessed everything... And the next morning, we set off for Ikutahara. Since the railway situation wasn't as good as it is now, we stayed another night in Asahikawa and reached Ikutahara the following day. Then, after staying at an inn there, we headed for that place from early morning."
Nowadays, one can get from Otaru to Ikutahara in less than five hours, but with the railway situation back then, it supposedly took two days.
"By the way, regarding the talk about taking the other heirs' shares of the gold dust for yourselves, the story Masamitsu heard from his father was that it happened in the train car on the way to Ikutahara. Is that correct?"
Nishida interrupted once to ask for details.
"That's definitely correct. To be precise, I should say it was in the train car bound for Asahikawa the previous day."
Oshima stated confidently, and continued.
"Until we reached Asahikawa, we naturally started talking about each other's lives up to that point, other than what we had talked about the previous night. We talked about various things from when we were small. And when I was talking about the wartime, Isaka suddenly became quiet and remained silent for quite a long time. I had heard up to the point where he was conscripted. After that, Isaka wouldn't talk at all even when I told him to 'let me hear it.' I was a bit irritated, but since he was silent, I figured there were things he didn't want to say because it was during the war, so I gave up and stayed quiet. I wasn't without an understanding of those feelings myself... However, he suddenly said, 'Let's monopolize the gold dust for ourselves,' and I still remember being bewildered. For my part, even though I was inheriting from Kinya-chan, I had the awareness that considering his feelings for the comrades he had inherited it with while he was alive, snatching it away was something unthinkable."