Chapter 64 - Light and Shadow 43 {Combined 44/45} (211-212, 213-214 Tokyo: Former Metropolitan Assemblyman Koshiba Interview Part 2)
"I'd like you to tell us more about that."
Since Takeshita had bitten on the topic,
"From the way we've been talking, is there some problem with Kuwano—or rather, Oshima Kaiji?"
Koshiba asked suspiciously, peering at them.
"No, I can't say for sure..."
Takeshita hesitated, but,
"Corruption? No, if that were the case, it would be the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, not the Hokkaido Prefectural Police."
He said, as if gauging the detectives' reaction.
"Well, the details don't matter for now... Since becoming a Diet member, he's felt like he's clearly getting carried away even from my perspective, so it might be just right for him to be taught a lesson. It can't be helped if people say he's abandoned his mentor's 'Kaito-ism'..."
The term "Kaito-ism" was meaningless to the two, but more important than that was the fact that their investigation target had already been found out. However, there was no point in trying to cover it up poorly from here.
"I'm very sorry, but please keep this matter to yourself..."
Takeshita had an awkward expression, but,
"Well, I don't clearly understand the circumstances, but if that's how it is, it can't be helped. I may not look it, but I'm quite tight-lipped. That's why I was able to be a Metropolitan Assemblyman for decades, even if it was a local assembly. In the first place, the last time I met him was over ten years ago at my retirement party from the Metropolitan Assembly, so the reality is I haven't even had an opportunity to tattle."
He promised with a relaxed expression.
"And so, at the time, it wasn't the Minyu Party yet; both Kaito-san and I were members of the Minwa Party before the merger. The Minyu Party was formed after the Minwa Party and the Giyu Party merged in Showa 30 (1955). To return to the story, since he said he had a strong interest in politics, I introduced him to Kaito-san, who had become a Diet member from the Abashiri constituency in Hokkaido."
Hearing this, Takeshita felt embarrassed about having asked "Do you know Abashiri?" earlier. Since he was an acquaintance of Kaito, of course he would know Abashiri.
"Did Kuwano... no, Tada, want to become a politician even back then?"
When Takeshita asked,
"I wonder... He said he was interested in politics, but I don't recall hearing direct words like wanting to be a politician at that time."
If that was the case, was becoming a Diet member just good luck...
"By the way, was your acquaintance with Diet member Kaito Takumi just through being in the same political party?"
Kurosu continued by asking what Takeshita wanted to hear.
"No, actually, that was coincidental... You see, Kaito-san is a graduate of the Faculty of Agriculture at Tokyo Imperial University, just like me. He was a senior who entered the 'Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce'—ah, that Noushoushou I mentioned earlier was the name of the ministry for a short period when it was renamed during the war—from the same laboratory. He was about twelve years older than me, and I had some acquaintance with him as an alumnus while I was a student, but he especially took care of me after I entered the ministry. He was originally from Sapporo and had been stationed in Abashiri and other places as the head of agricultural research facilities before the war. Because he also had interactions with local notables there, he was asked and became a Diet member in the House of Representatives of the Imperial Diet. From my perspective, should I say he was like a true Hokkaidoite? He was a man of 'gohou rairaku' (T/N: openhearted and magnanimous) yet 'seiren keppaku' (T/N: of integrity and clean-handed). Such a magnificent great leader doesn't come along often. He was an elite, but he was also personable. However, he was a man who stood up stubbornly against injustice and great evil... He was a person who spent his youth in the midst of Taisho Democracy—no, that term didn't exist back then (Author's Note: The term Taisho Democracy was coined after the war)—so he was literally a liberal person. He even ran for election without participating in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association during the war (Author's Note: To be precise, it is more appropriate to say 'he ran for election without receiving a recommendation from the Imperial Rule Assistance Political System Council.' Among the members of this pattern were Abe Kan [the direct grandfather of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo] and Miki Takeo. When people talk about Abe Shinzo's grandfather, for some reason only Kishi Nobusuke is discussed, but as a direct line, this Abe Kan can be called his grandfather). It seems he was often glared at for various things... After the war, he deeply regretted that he couldn't stop the escalating narrow-minded nationalism of the military, the media, and even the masses. He seemed to feel a responsibility as part of the elite class. Anyway, people who knew Kaito-san well called this 'Kaito-ism.' Well, though I say so myself, Kaito-san's personability, integrity, and single-mindedness were things I lacked from beginning to end..."
Koshiba seemed to understand his own flaws, but having come this far, he likely never reached the point of correcting them in his life. And here, the two understood the meaning of the term "Kaito-ism" for the first time.
"Anyway, so it means you put in a word for him, Koshiba-san."
When Takeshita confirmed so,
"That's right. However, while he was happy when I said I'd introduce him, as soon as he found out Kaito-san was a Hokkaido politician, he suddenly tried to refuse. I thought, 'What an ungrateful fellow,' but well, he later retracted that and started going to the Diet members' dormitory in Tokyo to help Kaito-san. He probably changed his mind after getting to know Kaito-san's character, not just his power as a Diet member."
He spoke nostalgically.
However, Takeshita read that the reason the Kuwano—no, Tada Yasuo—of that time hesitated to study under Kaito was undoubtedly because he wanted to avoid getting involved with Hokkaido again after having once left the place where "various things had happened." Even so, he might have decided to follow Kaito after comparing the merits and demerits and realizing it had more potential for the future. Of course, it wasn't clear at this time whether that was an action born of a "bold" ambition to succeed Kaito Takumi...
At any rate, Takeshita thought at this time that there was a high possibility that coincidence, in the form of Koshiba's introduction to Kaito, had influenced Kuwano Kinya's incoherent movements after the war. The change of surname to Tada and studying under Kaito, whose base was in the Doutou region—it became necessary to consider the possibility that these two factors acted upon Kuwano Kinya unintentionally. Takeshita and Kurosu were beginning to grasp, albeit vaguely, the flow of his transformation into Oshima Kaiji through a fate completely unrelated to Kuwano's intentions.
"During his university days, he stayed at Sakura-san's boarding house while helping Kaito in Tokyo, and after graduation, he became a secretary?"
"Takeshita-kun, exactly. And he helped with my election too, but I think it was the following year. A marriage proposal with the daughter of an influential supporter of Kaito's was suddenly brought in. I believe she was the daughter of a large local inn. He had accompanied Kaito to his local constituency in Hokkaido several times during summer vacations, and he apparently caught their eye then. However, since it was on the premise of entering the family as a muko-yousi (T/N: son-in-law adopted into the wife's family), it wasn't something that could be decided easily. After all, he had already become Sakura-san's adopted son, so becoming a muko-yousi on top of that wouldn't be simple. But after agonizing over it, he ended up being surprisingly eager in the end. When I asked, 'What about Sakura-san afterward?', he said something like, 'I'm sorry, but I want to get married too'... Certainly, the woman who became his wife was quite beautiful, and the family he was marrying into seemed to be quite wealthy. On the other hand, Sakura-san didn't seem to mind much, saying she'd leave it to her son-in-law, so it didn't seem like there was any conflict. It was likely because she had taken him as an adopted son in the sense of wanting him as family rather than as an adopted son for 'succession,' so Sakura-san didn't mind in that sense, in hindsight. I felt it was improper and was in a bad mood, though."
To Koshiba, who made a slightly sour face while saying that,
"If he was becoming a muko-yousi, did Tada—no, Tadokoro Yasuo—go to Hokkaido after that?"
Takeshita asked, and,
"No, as expected, at that point he didn't leave Sakura-san alone. Even if he was a muko-yousi, it seemed the intention was more for a child born between the two to become the successor rather than having him take over the inn. In the end, no male child was born between them, and I heard through the grapevine that the second of the three daughters took a husband and succeeded the inn... Anyway, because of that, after the wedding, his wife came here from Hokkaido. For a while, Oshima, who had taken the Tadokoro surname, lived with his wife and Sakura-san, the three of them. The relationship between the bride and mother-in-law wasn't bad, but well, partly due to her age, Sakura-san passed away in Showa 35."
Listening to that, Takeshita recognized that the muko-yousi talk was also highly likely something Kuwano hadn't intended at first. On top of that, he came to think more strongly that the merits of utilizing it must have outweighed the drawbacks.
"What did Oshima do after that?"
Kurosu requested the continuation.
"And from after this, his life would take an even more sudden turn... At the time, this whole area... due to the suburbanization and the bubble, it doesn't have a trace of being a 'residential area' now, but the population was increasing rapidly..."
Koshiba's expression turned dark. Certainly, from before the war through the burnt ruins to the current collapse of the bubble, the status of this town as a "prime location in the capital" might have been unchanging, but as a "town where people live," there must have been a truly tremendous "rise and fall."
"With that situation, it was decided at the time that a facility for local residents was needed. As a locally elected official, this was a headache for me. After all, there was no land, no land to build on... Even if we tried to purchase it, the price was rising, and there were budget issues. However, Kaito-san, whom I consulted, said something unexpected. 'Tadokoro's mother-in-law passed away, so I'm thinking of transferring him to be a local Abashiri-based secretary soon. How about it? What if we let them build on the land he inherited, after demolishing the current building? He'll probably give us a bit of a discount on the ground rent. I can ask him for that.'"
"I see, so that's why the community center was built on what used to be Tada Sakura-san's land..."
Takeshita said the conclusion first, but immediately thought, 'Oops.' If he said something so obvious, there was a risk he wouldn't be able to hear the detailed story of the process.
"Yes, yes,"
Koshiba said, and then,
"Ah, sorry, could you also tell us in detail about the story until the conclusion was reached?"
Takeshita ended up having to say.
"The story in between... Well, fine. Since it was undoubtedly a very good solution, I asked Kaito-san to try asking him. Though I say so myself, I thought I could get a better answer if Kaito-san said it. Depending on how you look at it, it was a slightly dirty way of expecting something like silent pressure. Even if Kaito-san didn't intend it that way."
Takeshita, and surely Kurosu too, thought "that might have actually happened," but they listened in silence.
"Then, what do you know! Oshima said, 'I will donate the inherited land and building as they are to Chiyoda Ward,' you know!"
Koshiba spoke exaggeratedly, but the two, who already knew that fact from the Ward Office, were faced with a difficult decision on how to react.
"Hou, he made quite a bold decision then."
Kurosu was better at this than Takeshita. He parried it well on the spot.
"Yes. For us, we were able to achieve a 'feat' without putting a burden on the finances. It was a result I could brag about to the Metropolis, the Ward, and the local residents. It was a great help. I was grateful to Kaito-san and, of course, to Tada—no, Tadokoro. It meant the election was secure. Since it's unlikely Kaito-san told him to go that far, it must have been voluntary. Although the reason he came to that conclusion is unknown."
He was looking back on those days, but Koshiba seemed as happy as if it were happening now.
"However, I can only think Oshima did something very bold. No matter how long ago it was, wasn't the price of real estate becoming quite high in connection with the high economic growth? If he was running a boarding house, I imagine it had a fair amount of space?"
Takeshita voiced the natural question.
"I don't know the exact price at the time, but it's certain the land was over 100 tsubo, so even with the bubble collapse now, it wouldn't be strange if the land alone was worth over a billion yen. If you call it decisive, it was decisive."
Saying that, he puffed on his pipe. Even so, considering current prices, it wasn't an amount that could be dismissed with the word "decisive."
"It's unimaginable from the current Oshima."
Kurosu gave a wry smile, and,
"In other words, it's unthinkable from the current greedy Oshima Kaiji? Well, if you're involved in politics for a long time, it's inevitable that you'll start moving based on calculation."
He said with a resigned, sad expression.
"Inevitable?"
"Yes, inevitable. I'm unfortunately no exception to that. Ah, Kaito-san was different... I should have followed Kaito-ism and been careful not to be like that..."
Saying that, the old man, a living witness who had lived through the post-war era along with Tokyo's—no, Japan's—economic development, gave a wry smile.
"And so, Oshima set off for Kaito's local area?"
"Takeshita-kun, exactly. It was fast after that. His wife seemed happy since she was returning to her hometown, but Oshima didn't seem very happy. He had already been to the site several times during his time as a part-time secretary, but it's a different story when it comes to actually living there. He must have had anxieties."
"Did he say anything to you about that?"
Takeshita wanted to hear a bit more about that.
"I don't think he said anything in particular 'at that time'."
Koshiba answered that way, but the detectives would soon learn that "at that time" would have a proper meaning.
"But, it's not 'lose a little to gain a lot,' but Oshima ended up getting a big return for that 'donation'."
"A return?"
"Yes, a return, a return!"
He emphasized toward Kurosu, and,
"That became a major trigger for Kaito-san to name 'Tadokoro Yasuo' as his successor."
He said.
"Was that the case!?"
Takeshita hadn't anticipated this and was frankly surprised.
"Yes. Kaito-san said his action of providing a significant inherited property for the public good made him decide to let him take over his base. In other words, he was suitable as a successor to Kaito-ism. In fact, suddenly making Tadokoro, who had no experience as an official and hadn't even experienced being a local assemblyman, a Diet member candidate was something that was almost unheard of even by the political common sense of the time."
"Did Oshima have no experience as a local assemblyman either?"
Even in Takeshita's preliminary knowledge, that hadn't been input.
"Because, you, his first election was a few years after that—err, let's see, I believe it was Showa 38 (1963). There wouldn't be the physical time to do such a thing, would there?"
It was an answer so convincing that he couldn't think of a more persuasive reason.
"But it seems clearly like a lack of preparation, or that the story developed too rapidly. Did something happen to Kaito-san?"
"Yes, you've noticed a good point. Actually, Kaito-san's heart wasn't strong to begin with, but he was told by a doctor not to overdo it anymore, I believe in Showa 35 (1960)... a few years after that election ended. He had three daughters, and they naturally wouldn't have intended to become Diet members... Ah, by the way, Kaito-san's third daughter was a daughter born when Kaito-san was over 40. He doted on her very much... Her name was Michiko, written with the 'ri' from 'rika' (science). I remember him saying he took it from the 'ri' of 'douri' (reason). It's a naming very typical of Kaito-san, but I remember him having moments of doting parent behavior unlike him, saying things like, 'She's a straightforward child just like her name, she takes after me'... Well, as expected, he wasn't spoiling her like a pet cat, but there's no doubt he gave her more affection..."
Koshiba smirked as he remembered, but immediately returned to a serious face,
"Oops, the talk has gone off track. Sorry... Anyway, before that, Kaito-san didn't like that kind of hereditary succession, so he intended to hand over his base to another suitable person. Originally, he tried to hand it over to a local Prefectural Assemblyman, but a scandal with a woman was discovered. If that was the case, it became a story of choosing from among his own secretaries, but the most veteran secretary declined—ah, this person was also quite a serious person like the Kaito-san he served, so he might have felt it was too much for him. So the talk became what to do. That's when the 'donation' story came up. Certainly, regardless of his age, Tadokoro's career as a secretary was completely insufficient, but he undoubtedly had the talent to be liked by people, and as I said earlier, he also had the boldness to do 'good deeds,' so he decided to let him take over the base. I also thought it was strange and asked Kaito-san directly when he was in Tokyo, so it's a certain story. And although it was a tough election, he took over the 'line' of 'Kaito' Takumi, received the surname 'Oshima' as a public name for the election from Prime Minister Oshima Kenichi, who was the leader of the faction Kaito-san belonged to, and as 'Oshima Kaiji,' he was elected, albeit in last place in the constituency at the time. It's unavoidable that he was questioned in terms of his career, even if he took over the base. From there, he climbed to his current position; that's how it is."
He explained.
Through Koshiba, the process by which Kuwano Kinya became Kuwano Yasuo, then Tada Yasuo, and further transformed from Tadokoro Yasuo into Oshima Kaiji became clear.
"Wow, it's like a 'Warashibe Chouja' (T/N: Straw Millionaire), quite a success story."
Kurosu was in a sense impressed.
"A Straw Millionaire... that's an apt way to put it."
Koshiba, who was listening, also seemed impressed, but,
"But you know, when he came to my house to greet me immediately after his first election, after his first time attending the Diet, he didn't seem very happy."
He began to speak as if he had remembered.
"No, no, that's strange, isn't it? No matter how you think about it, he had a bright future ahead of him, didn't he?"
When Takeshita asked,
"Umu, normally one would think so."
He puffed on his pipe and was silent for a while. The two waited intently for him to open his mouth. I think it was about a minute, but it felt unusually long. Then, Koshiba put down his pipe and opened his heavy mouth.
"To tell the truth, I haven't heard anything clear either. Rather than having no memory, I can say I didn't hear it clearly. I think he didn't want to say it clearly."
"Then does that mean you don't know the reason at all?"
Takeshita said disappointedly. Although the possibility wasn't high, there might be some clue in such a part.
"That's also a bit different... Because he spoke in a vague way."
"What did he say?"
Takeshita still pressed.
"You're quite persistent too. I've never been in the care of the police once in my life, but it's really a good thing. Like that vulgar guess about Sakura-san earlier... Even though I'm not a suspect, this is quite something, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."
Koshiba laughed loudly. However, seeing the two in front of him feeling small, he might have reflected that he laughed too much and began to speak with a serious face again.
"That aside. He said this: 'I'll confess now, but actually I used to be in Hokkaido for a period in the past, and it wasn't always good things. However, Kaito-sensei, who was introduced by Koshiba-san, happened to be a Diet member elected from Hokkaido, and because I also got married, I ended up taking up residence there again. There, I also had the good fortune of being named as the successor, but at the same time, unpleasant memories of the past resurfaced during the election period. I was elected, but my mood isn't clearing up.' He didn't answer when asked what those 'unpleasant memories' were. Anyway, for nearly a year, he didn't seem to return to his constituency much. It's a failing attitude for a freshman Diet member. After that, he began to return energetically."
"Did that worry, or rather, that situation, resolve as he repeated his terms as a Diet member?"
Takeshita pursued further.
"I think at least from his second term onward, he didn't have that kind of attitude. Whether it was resolved or not, it's unknown whether he stopped caring about it or became thick-skinned."
Hearing this statement from Koshiba, Takeshita had a hunch that the "unpleasant memories" might be an encounter with Isaka Daikichi. From the expression "during the election period," he reasoned that while he was traveling around the Doutou constituency, Isaka might have seen through that "Oshima Kaiji" was "Kuwano Kinya," and might have approached him. Of course, he suspected that the contact was likely a kind of blackmail.
"By the way, to change the subject a bit, Diet member Kaito Takumi has a reputation for integrity and clean-handedness; is it safe to assume there were many supporters in his base who valued those points?"
Takeshita's sudden change of topic made him hesitate for a moment, but,
"Yes? ...Umm, well, I suppose you could say that. I didn't have personal acquaintances among the supporters directly, so it's just a guess."
He said with a lack of confidence.
"You don't have to state it as a confirmed fact, but there is a possibility of that. I understand. On the other hand, Oshima Kaiji is now often criticized as the embodiment of a money-power structure, just like the faction he belongs to; around when did that tendency start? At least before becoming a Diet member, is it correct to assume there were no such signs?"
Takeshita pressed further.
"Well, yes, until before he became a Diet member, not to mention the circumstances of the donation, I don't think he was that kind of person. On the other hand, I remember starting to feel that transformation or change at a relatively early stage. In the latter half of his first term, I started hearing some fishy rumors. That he was meddling in the administration and so on. Actually, the election for his second term was quite dangerous. The first term was last place due to lack of name recognition, but the second term was reportedly precarious due to the shaking of Kaito Takumi's base. In other words, some of the supporters who had purely voted for Kaito-san's character left because of such actions by Oshima."
Koshiba spoke thoughtfully.
"However, since he has shown rock-solid strength in elections since then, can it be said he replaced the layer of supporters? As a vested-interest-introduction type, so to speak."
This question might not have been directly related to the investigation, to be honest. However, it came from Takeshita's thought of wanting to confirm whether the flow of Oshima Kaiji's grasp of regional power and Takeshita's reasoning of "transformation due to contact with Isaka" could be linked chronologically.
"Umu. That's quite a good analysis. It's probably so. He threw away Kaito-ism and picked up a new 'method,' he did... Of course, becoming a Diet member means you inevitably cannot be unrelated to introducing benefits to supporters and the region, as I know well from experience, but what he has done is more than that... Things that go too far bend politics... and reason."
Koshiba said that and quietly closed his eyes.
"Even so, it's so quick, how a person changes..."
Kurosu said regretfully, but unlike Takeshita, who had the idea that he might have been forced to do so at least initially due to the "encounter with Isaka," he didn't seem to have reached that level of thought.
"What kind of relationship did you have with Oshima after that?"
Since the silence continued, Takeshita asked a question to bridge the gap, though it didn't have much meaning.
"I myself didn't intend to say anything like a complaint to him, and in the first place, we hardly ever met... but it seemed he was the one avoiding me. After he became a Diet member, although we met with a certain frequency in the early days, as he repeated his election victories, we met less and less. More than just becoming busy, I think he was indeed being avoided. We haven't met at all recently. This is my own guess, but because he knows Kaito-ism well, does he perhaps feel a strong inner shame for his own 'unworthiness' in succeeding Kaito-san? That's what I think. As I said earlier, the most recent time was about 15 years ago at my Metropolitan Assembly retirement party; he probably came because he had no choice 'out of obligation' and I received a greeting, but well, it was a formal thing with no heart in it... Regarding this, it's not just 'not having the face to meet me,' but since he also became someone treated as a 'big shot' in national politics, unfortunately I might have been looked down upon a bit... However, I can't possibly say, looking back, that there was never that kind of attitude in my own political life. I suppose what goes around comes around..."
Saying that, Koshiba glanced toward the garden and bit his lip.