Chapter 82 - Name and Reality 5 {Combined 9/10} (22-23, 24-25: The Upbringing of Yusen's Boss and Details of the Yubetsu Mine Accident)
"You said you're still in touch, but after that... his cousin. Um, Icchan, was it? Did that person actually end up happy?"
The young Hamada asked a question that seemed to seek some salvation at the end of such a painful story.
"Hmm, I wouldn't say he's wealthy, but he trained as a chef and became a professional, got a wife, had kids, and now he's been running a small little restaurant-like place in his hometown of Engaru for many years... I reckon he's living a reasonably fun life, don't you? Well, I don't know how he feels himself. But being short on money isn't just Icchan; most folks in the world are like that, so it can't be helped, right?"
Asai spoke in a way that sought agreement.
"I was stationed in Engaru until about six years ago. A small restaurant? I might have actually been there," Takeshita said, recalling his time at the Engaru Station and thinking of a few candidate shops.
"It's a place called 'Yusen,' a bit outside the downtown area..."
Before Asai could finish, Takeshita confirmed with surprise, "Ah! Yusen!? Then, is Icchan actually the boss there, Aida Izumi-san!?"
"Oh! You know Icchan's shop? That's the one! I provide him with quite a bit of the fresh seafood I catch. I sell it to him cheap so he can make a profit, but Icchan serves it to the customers at such ridiculous prices that my kindness goes to waste! It's a real problem!"
Asai tapped the table lightly with a wry smile.
"That's right, I remember now! The Boss said he sourced his fresh seafood from a cousin in Saroma! It was certainly delicious and quite cheap. So it was thanks to you, Asai-san! Man, that brings back memories!"
Takeshita instinctively reached out to shake Asai's hand.
"Heh, what a coincidence! Were you a reporter in Engaru? Come to think of it, the Doho did have an Engaru branch."
"No, back then, unlike now, I was actually a police officer."
Takeshita scratched his head as he responded to Asai's comment.
"A cop!? A cop is a newspaper reporter now? I can't imagine what kind of reason would lead to that... Right, Union Leader?"
The Union Leader, who had been talking until a moment ago, had now become a mere bystander, but he echoed Asai, saying, "Truly, I've never heard of such a pattern."
"Well, there probably aren't many such cases, in reality."
While answering with a smile, Takeshita finally realized why he had thought the Boss's face looked unusually refined and well-defined when Yoshimura first took him through the noren of Yusen. He heard later that Nishida had thought the same... The Ainu blood must have influenced those features that stood apart from typical Japanese looks.
"Still, I never imagined there was such a background to the Boss's life back then, though it's only natural. I did think his features were strangely sharp, though."
As he said this, he understood why a victim with the same surname as the Boss, "Aida," was not on the list of the deceased. It was because the Boss had been born as an illegitimate child. It meant his late father's surname was "Asai."
"The Ainu were discriminated against in the past, but well, that decreased with the times... No, to begin with, the number of pure Ainu people themselves kept dwindling... So by the time Icchan reached young adulthood, with a face like that, he was actually quite popular with the ladies—I was even a bit jealous! At the time, he was training as a chef right after middle school, and I heard a story that an entertainment scout who happened to be visiting from Tokyo tried to recruit him. I didn't hear this from Icchan himself, but from a coworker of his who came to my place to hang out, so it's probably not a lie."
"Was the Boss's biological father also Ainu? His features seem a bit light for that."
Takeshita confirmed this because he had the impression that if the Boss were pure Ainu, his appearance was quite close to a Wajin (T/N: ethnic Japanese), despite the sharp features.
"I don't know the details well, but it seems his biological father was a normal Wajin like us... a Japanese person. However, he was an illegitimate child whose birth wasn't registered with that man. I think Icchan said he heard various things from his mother, Michi-san, just before he graduated middle school and left home to begin his culinary apprenticeship... Her marriage to that man was opposed by the old man—Michi-san's father—because he was a Wajin, and after various things happened, the man left, leaving behind Michi-san while she was pregnant with Icchan... So Michi-san took the name 'Izumi' from the biological father and gave it to Icchan. Michi-san must have still had lingering feelings... However, from the perspective of the old man who opposed it, even if the man's departure was his own fault, his precious daughter had been knocked up and then easily abandoned, so there was no way he could forgive him, right? And if he found out the grandson was named after that guy, he'd definitely object. So, instead of taking it from the father's given name, she took it from his surname. Even so, a name like 'Izumi'—nowadays it doesn't feel that embarrassing for a man to have it, but back then it was a name that stood out quite a bit... There's no way she'd give him a name like that unless there was a reason like that! Right?"
Asai sought agreement from the two, but Takeshita only laughed it off. Then, something caught his interest, so he asked.
"I see. The Boss had quite a complicated family environment... He was always cheerful and hardly ever let you feel that kind of shadow... But, if she took it from the surname and named him Izumi, does that mean the biological father had a surname like Koizumi or Oizumi? But did that stubborn old man of Michi-san's really not know the man's surname at all? If the character for 'Izumi' was right there in the surname, you'd think he'd notice immediately if he knew it..."
"Maybe he acts that way precisely because he has that kind of shadow? As for the surname, I wonder. Certainly, if the old man knew the surname, it feels like he'd find out either way, but I haven't heard the details deeply either..."
Asai's answer regarding the reason for the Boss's brightness felt very much on point, but regarding the explanation of the name, Takeshita, like Asai, was left with a lingering sense of haziness.
"Still, we ended up getting more excited about a different story than the Union Leader's interview..."
Hamada, in the driver's seat, spoke to Takeshita with what was likely a hint of irony. In fact, while the purpose was the interview, the moment they got excited about the story of Asai and the Boss was more memorable. Of course, in terms of time, they had spent longer on the actual interview, but as someone who had been unilaterally left behind, it wasn't surprising if he felt a sense of alienation.
"Ah, my bad... I got carried away when I realized we had a mutual acquaintance."
"Well, that's fine. We got the interview done properly, and Asai-san's story was also about a victim of the accident... So, do you think this case will make it into an article?"
"I'll write an article about the Union Leader's story at least, but it's probably better to stop the part involving the Boss... I think it's bad to write about complicated family circumstances even if it's anonymous, and to those who know him, it might be obvious it's about the Boss."
"Is that because you and that Aida-san? person are acquaintances? If you weren't, would there be a possibility of an anonymous article?"
Hamada fixated on that point. He likely wanted to clarify whether it was a judgment as a newspaper reporter or a judgment to protect an acquaintance. One could say he was taking a somewhat skeptical stance toward Takeshita.
"It's subtle... To be honest, I think both are reasons."
Takeshita stopped at saying that. Takeshita felt an awkwardness as if their positions had been reversed with the person he usually treated as a somewhat respectable senior, but he resigned himself to it, thinking it couldn't be helped.
While thinking such things, their car passed in front of the Saroma Town Office toward Kitami and sped along National Route 333. The low morning temperature had risen to nearly 20 degrees, and pleasant air blew in from the slightly opened side window.
The research office of Professor Ouchi Kiyoshi at Kitami Seiyo University, which they visited for the interview, was narrower than expected. Or rather, it might have originally been reasonably spacious, but it might have been because it was filled with books and documents. However, young female students frequently came in and out of the somewhat dirty... or rather, cluttered room, so Hamada kept glancing over there. They waited for Professor Ouchi to appear while being served tea by a relatively intelligent beauty of an assistant (Author's Note: They are called assistant professors now, but at the time the titles were assistant, then associate professor). Ouchi seemed to have been in the middle of a lecture.
Just as Takeshita was thinking it would have been better if he had specified the interview time, the chime rang, and Ouchi appeared a few minutes later. He looked to be in his mid-forties, but he had a surprisingly sporty and fresh feel compared to what Takeshita had imagined. After introducing themselves, they got down to business.
"I've been interviewed by the Doho once or twice in the past, but this is the first time for an interview on this matter."
Ouchi started by saying this and, finding it quite quickly for such a cluttered room—perhaps he had already prepared it—he placed a thick file on the desk with a thud.
"Let's see, for today's interview content, when I received the request by phone the other day to explain the Yubetsu Mine Accident, I confirmed the points: the circumstances of why it ended up being done in front of the residents, the reason the police ended up handling it alone without the military, how the incident was reported to the general public, and the subsequent impact on local society. Were those points correct? I heard you've already confirmed the rough facts with the materials you have?"
"Yes, that will be fine."
Takeshita said briefly, then confirmed, "If it's alright, could I get copies of the necessary materials later?"
"Of course! Please request any necessary parts at any time while we're talking."
"Then I won't hesitate."
Just as he said that, a female student rushed into the room.
"Professor Ouchi! I want to pay the membership fee for the Jomon Tunnel Research Group."
"Ah, I have guests right now, so just leave it on that desk. You know it's 1000 yen, right!"
Takeshita, who had been watching the exchange in silence, asked after the student left, "Professor Ouchi, do you have some connection with the Jomon Tunnel Research Group?"
"Oh? Yes. I've been a member myself for several years, and I recruit interested students to participate in things like collecting remains. I took over from my predecessor, Professor Takada Shigeyuki, five years ago when I came to Seiyo University. Professor Takada was well-versed in the general history of Hokkaido's development and Okhotsk culture, but in my case, I'm only familiar with general modern Japanese history, and I'm not that well-versed in Jomon Tunnel matters. If Professor Takada were still alive, it would have been much better to ask him, but he passed away three years ago after being ill for about a year, so it can't be helped... Since I succeeded the professor, I decided to take over his research and study results. ...But do you also know about the Research Group?"
"I had a bit of a connection with them before... Before I became a newspaper reporter."
As Takeshita said that, memories of those days crossed his mind.
If his memory was correct, during the initial investigation where Nishida and Kitamura were working as a duo, he felt like they had mentioned checking the female students of this university when they targeted the applicants for the Jomon Tunnel Research Group's remains collection. And listening to Ouchi's story, it seemed this university had an educational culture that encouraged active involvement in such things.
"Ho..."
Ouchi looked like he wanted to ask something, but perhaps his intuition told him it would become troublesome, so he didn't press further and began talking about the mine accident.
"First, regarding the matter of gathering the local residents, the Engaru Station Chief at the time was, how should I put it, an incarnation of patriotism. He apparently did it solely to make them recognize the explosive power of the enemy's mines, saying, 'It's a good opportunity to make them aware that we are currently at war.' As you may know, the result was that the Station Chief himself was caught in the explosion and died, so in a sense, he was held responsible... Even so, there's no doubt that his erroneous judgment led to the further spread of the damage."
"I see. And that leads to the next point: wasn't the headquarters or the core of the Hokkaido Police at the time giving any instructions regarding the disposal? The police shouldn't have been used to that kind of work. Normally, they should have played the role of stopping it, right?"
"The reality is that there aren't many materials from that time, so regarding the specific exchanges within the police, Professor Takada didn't have concrete materials either. However, at the time, there was a department called the 'Police Department' within the Hokkaido Prefectural Office, which was what we now call the Hokkaido Police Headquarters, and it seems they were consulting with them."
"I thought so. And?"
Takeshita changed the position of the IC recorder and prompted him to continue.
"Apparently, there were already quite a few mines drifting ashore in the prefecture at that time, and there are stories that the local police handled them independently each time, but in a sense, it was a military secret, and records only remain in the form of anecdotes. It seems most were on the Sea of Japan side. There are stories that there were experts for such disposal at the headquarters, but well, the numbers were likely overwhelmingly small. In fact, they didn't come to Engaru."
"By the way, what on earth was the old military doing? Nowadays, such departments of the Self-Defense Forces would handle unexploded ordnance and the like, right?"
Hamada's question was filled with a critical tone toward the fact that they didn't take the extremely obvious solution. However, this is likely a natural impression for the general public to have. Takeshita was also interested.
"Specifically, there weren't any instructions from the government, but isn't it a typical case of falling right into the conflict structure between the military and the police—that is, the police were under the Ministry of Home Affairs at the time? Not only the professor, but I also speculate so. For example, I think the 'Go-Stop Incident' also had an influence, or was a typical example of that conflict structure."
"The Go-Stop Incident, now that you mention it, that did happen! I did that in Japanese history."
Takeshita said nostalgically.
The Go-Stop Incident was a disturbance that occurred in Osaka in June 1933 (Showa 8), the year of the Manchurian Incident. It was an incident where a quarrel between a policeman and an Army soldier developed into a power struggle between the Army itself and the police, as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversaw the police. It is said to be one of the triggers for the military's increasing arrogance and became a commotion that even involved the Showa Emperor.
The flow of the incident began at an intersection in Osaka when an Army soldier on leave ignored a signal (at the time, there was actually no regulation that one had to stop at a red light), and a policeman cautioned him and took him to the police box. However, the soldier stated, "I have no intention of obeying anyone other than the Kenpei (military police)" (Author's Note: Strictly speaking, it was legally possible for a policeman to indict a soldier even then), which led to a fight.
Afterward, the Kenpei unit protested to the jurisdictional station of the policeman in charge, and the commotion grew. Furthermore, it developed into a struggle between the Ministry of War, which oversaw the military, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversaw the police. Involving the media of the time, it became widely known to the general public, and a civilian who was a witness to the incident was forced to undergo questioning by both the military and the police, eventually leading to an unusual development such as suicide.
The soldier's side sued the policeman for "Assault and Cruelty by a Special Public Official," but even the prosecutors of the District Public Prosecutors Office moved toward mediation, thinking that accepting it as is would only enlarge the problem.
Then, because the problem had become too large, the Showa Emperor moved behind the scenes, and the Governor of Hyogo Prefecture stepped in to mediate. Ultimately, it ended in the form of the relevant policeman and Army soldier shaking hands and reconciling, but it was undoubtedly a turning point that made the territory war between the police and the military more conscious.
"I also remember doing a bit of that in Japanese history," Hamada agreed.
"If both of you have the knowledge, the explanation will be quick, but I speculate that there was likely a police culture of avoiding requesting cooperation from the military as much as possible. Professor Takada seemed to have the same idea, at least according to the descriptions in the materials he left behind... Bowing one's head to the military was likely a humiliation, you see... Well, but since there were experts of that sort in the police as well, the fact that even they didn't come was clearly negligence on the part of the headquarters."
Ouchi was smiling wryly, but if a catastrophe with over 100 deaths occurred due to pride issues or negligence, those who died would have died with endless regrets.
"So, let's move on to how the Engaru Station at the time specifically tried to handle the mine."
In response to Takeshita's request, Ouchi answered, "Right... First, the local Keibou-dan (T/N: Civil Defense Corps), which was not a professional but a volunteer organization. In short, what we now call the fire brigade. So, while having those people cooperate, the explosion disposal naturally required experts, so they apparently asked a blasting technician from the Kitano-o Gold Mine in Ikutahara, which was under the jurisdiction of the Engaru Station at the time. Instead of an explosion by the mine itself, they thought of a disposal method where they would blow up the mine with dynamite to induce a sympathetic detonation."
"Wa-Wait a minute!"
Takeshita interrupted as if in a panic.
"You just said Kitano-o Mine, but there should have been employees of the Konomai Mine among the deceased! I was wondering why people from Konomai, which is way out in the mountains, had come all the way to the coast on a weekday. Is it for the same reason you asked Kitano-o Mine?"
"You noticed a good point! That's right! I was just about to say it, but the Konomai side was asked for additional support after they had already asked the blasting technician from Kitano-o. Apparently, the blasting technician from Kitano-o couldn't make it in the morning due to work. Since they needed an explosives expert even during the morning, they apparently called a blasting technician from Konomai as a person in charge of providing advice. This isn't from official documents either, but a story based on Professor Takada's interviews with people from that time."
"I see! So that's why, by bad luck, only the Konomai technician was caught in it?"
"Exactly as you speculate, Takeshita-san. The Kitano-o technician had not arrived at the scene at the time the explosion occurred. The Konomai technicians who were advising on moving the mine during that time were the ones caught in it. Well, to begin with, even if you call them explosives experts, the meaning is different between a mine intended for killing and destruction and dynamite for mining which is made to be handled as safely as possible... It would be fair to say they were pitiful for being entrusted with something completely outside their field. You truly never know what fate has in store."
(Author's Note: While official documents cannot be found online stating that they asked a blasting technician from the Kitano-o Gold Mine in Ikutahara to blow up the mine, based on the setting of the novel 'Thou Hast Fallen in Battle at Lake Saroma' linked in the revised Name and Reality 4, which is based on the Yubetsu Mine Accident, I believe it is likely historical fact. However, there is no fact that a technician from the Konomai Gold Mine was involved. This is strictly a creative setting for this novel. Furthermore, if the content of the linked novel is true, the technician from the Kitano-o Gold Mine, as in that novel, had not yet arrived at the scene at the time of the explosion and apparently had a narrow escape. Incidentally, regarding the story of asking the Kitano-o Mine, I remember being surprised because I had already thought of a plot where they tried to handle it using a blasting expert from Konomai before I learned about it on the internet, and it almost matched.)
Hearing this, Takeshita felt refreshed as his doubts were resolved. However, in any case, asking a dynamite blasting technician to handle the explosion disposal of a mine, which is a weapon, is undoubtedly the height of recklessness from today's perspective. To begin with, he even felt like wondering how other jurisdictions handled mines at the time when the experts from the police headquarters didn't come. It's a wonder other accidents didn't happen.
"But the blasting technician didn't give proper advice either, which is why they did the reckless act of having the Keibou-dan people pull the mine on the beach, right? What did they call him for... It's the very definition of putting the cart before the horse!"
The young Hamada did not hide his frustration.
"It seems they initially tried to blow it up in the sea, but the fishermen—well, there were many fishermen in the Keibou-dan as well—opposed it because it would ruin the fishing grounds, so they decided to do it on the beach. As a result, it ended up expanding the damage. Actually, there's a story that one of the two mines was not so much an unexploded dud as it was not even filled with explosives. Apparently, when they blew that one up after the accident, it didn't explode but just split in two... If the one they moved had been that one, it wouldn't have turned out like that, so it really comes down to bad luck."
Incidents and accidents of all kinds often occur only when various bits of bad luck and poor responses are compounded. This truly could be called a major accident resulting from a series of layers: the initial misjudgment of the police and the negligence of the headquarters, the actions of amateurs with no knowledge of mines, and the misfortune of rolling the "live" mine around on the beach.
"So... three employees of the Konomai Gold Mine died, according to the breakdown of the victims."
Hamada said this and placed the materials on the victims they had already obtained in front of Ouchi.
○ Taketomi Kouzou (45 years old at the time)
○ Sagara Tatsuo (41 years old at the time)
○ Onodera Michitoshi (23 years old at the time)
"Are these three definitely the blasting technicians?"
When asked by Takeshita, Ouchi began flipping through the file somewhat flustered, saying, "Wa-Wait a moment... There should be materials..." And after a while, "Ah, here it is, here it is! It seems Professor Takada had also looked into these Konomai Gold Mine employees, and let's see... the youngest person seems to have been a blasting technician, but a so-called apprentice. This is the result of Professor Takada's investigation, including interviews, at the office of Sanyu Metal Mining's Konomai Gold Mine, the successor to the pre-war Sanyu Imperial Metal Mining's Konomai Gold Mine, back when he was still an assistant at Hokkaido University."
He then showed the two the relevant part of the investigation results.
"Huh? What is this?"
The two followed the characters with their eyes for a while, but Hamada suddenly pointed to a part of the materials. It stated that a total of four people were dispatched from the Konomai Gold Mine, but one person was missing after the explosion accident.
"This... I think it means that the identification of the body could not be clearly made at the time. After all, it was a massive explosion... Since I wasn't the one investigating directly, to be honest, there are many parts I don't know well, so I can't say for sure... I haven't heard anything directly from the professor about this either."
"Wait a minute!? Does that mean, in reality, there's a high possibility that there were 113 victims instead of 112?"
Takeshita leaned forward to confirm.
"I wonder... Looking at Professor Takada's investigation results, that might be the case... As I've said many times, I didn't hear it directly from the professor. ...I'm sorry."
"But if that's true, it's a new discovery. Why don't they investigate it properly?"
Unconsciously, he had taken on a questioning tone like back in his detective days.
"As I've said many times, I didn't investigate it myself... Also, the current situation is that almost no materials remain. However, at the time, the bodies were so fragmented that they couldn't even perform proper identification, so isn't it highly likely they were mixed in with other people's remains?"
Ouchi responded with a troubled expression. Takeshita also realized his tone was too strong, but it was too late to correct it now. He asked questions in rapid succession.
"Does that mean it's not impossible that there were other victims in some form, but they aren't counted because they haven't been identified?"
"Isn't that possible... To repeat myself, I didn't investigate it myself, so there are several points that aren't clear, and I will avoid making a definitive statement."
Ouchi emphasized that point again.
"Understood. Let's leave this matter here for now. I don't know if we'll make an article out of it... Now then, please tell us how it was reported to general society."
"Then, in response to Takeshita-san's request... The day after the explosion accident, May 27th, was Navy Day at the time. Furthermore, since it was an era when information control was progressing, the amount of reporting even in newspapers within the prefecture was very slight. There's a story that the Station Chief decided to perform the explosion disposal on the 26th, the day before, because he wanted to align it with Navy Day, so it can be said that it was a natural result that it turned out that way."
"What is Navy Day?"
Hamada asked, but since Takeshita was also wondering, it was a timely question.
"It's a day created to commemorate the Japanese Navy's defeat of the Baltic Fleet in the Russo-Japanese War. It disappeared after the defeat in the war, but even now, the Maritime Self-Defense Force seems to hold base festivals on the holidays around that time."
"So it originated from the Russo-Japanese War..."
Takeshita nodded at Ouchi's story, then abruptly changed the subject, saying, "Then next... please tell us the subsequent impact of the accident on the local area."
"Understood. At the time, the front in China was already expanding, and young men were starting to be called up from the local area. Furthermore, in December of the previous year, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor had even led to the outbreak of war between Japan and the US, so young men were being sent to the battlefields one after another. To make matters worse, the remaining young men and the breadwinners of families participated in the Keibou-dan and died in the mine explosion; it's self-evident that this cast a dark shadow over the local area. While everyone was impoverished by the wartime economy, it seems it led to results where even more families became destitute."
"Was there no compensation at all? At the time, there was no such thing as the State Redress Act, right?"
Takeshita said this based on the legal system of the time, which held that "The State can do no wrong," but Ouchi replied, "No, even then, something called the 'Wartime Disaster Relief Act' had been enacted, and it seems it was in the form of compensation rather than redress. Well, the amount was a pittance, and Professor Takada concluded that it was by no means enough to resolve the destitution."
"I see. The 'Wartime Disaster Relief Act,' huh. This is the first I've heard of it."
Although he was also using the IC recorder, Takeshita wrote it down firmly in his notes.