Re:THE POSTHUMOUS WRITINGS OF MY FATHER-IN-LAW---recollection from the end of World War II to 1953

<Part 5>

In the spring of 1946 the Koumingtang force seemed to have restored its political power enough to rule the region again and there were no more battles. The Repatriation Program got under way in the summer of that year. Riding in open freight cars, most of the Japanese left the city for their homeland with only a rucksack on their back. I went to the station to see them off, every scene at that station has been burned into my memory and I can clearly remember each of them even now.

About thirty factory engineers belonging to the coke-oven and coal-washing sections were forced to stay behind. They were provided with a lodging house to live in, which was close to the Mantetu Hospital. What we were expected to do under the detention was to restore the factories to working condition. However we just went to the workplace with no specific job to do.

At the beginning of January in 1947, I met with an accident.
I went to the fourth coke-oven battery to look for some components there. On my way back to my office, I walked away from Mr. S. who was walking a path in front of the storage building, and went into the dark part of the factory. I was thinking making a check on the coal bunker.

I had known about everything in the place; where the air-raid shelter was and exactly where its entrance was located. I dont know why, but I fell inside the shelter and fainted. How long have I been here? When I became conscious, I saw a square opening far above me. I wondered if I was having a nightmare. I came to gradually, and realized that I had fallen into the air-raid shelter.

It seemed more than three meters deep. Oh! What a disaster! The entrance looks far beyond my reach! Not a single ladder was to be seen. Then I noticed an electrical cord stretched on the wall. Setting the cord to an appropriate height, it might be possible to stand on it and reach the entrance. I tried it repeatedly, but every time I failed. To make matters worse, my feet ached due to the injury caused when I fell into the shelter.

Once in a while I uselessly shouted for help. I expected Mr. S. to find me here after realizing I had been missing since we parted. So I threw a towel up to the edge of the shelter entrance in order to show where I was.

Even if Mr. S. found me, I thought, it would be late at night or even next morning. I was unlikely to stay alive that long. No matter what, I need to get through this situation by myself. All I could rely on was that single cord. I tried setting the cord at different levels, but still I failed every time. I took off my jacket, relaxed by urinating, and then tried again.

All of a sudden, an old story familiar to the Japanese came to mind: a frog wanted to reach a willow twig above it. Jumping up over and over again aiming at the edge of the branch, it finally succeeded. I encouraged myself, imagining the figure of the frog in my mind. Every time I fell down, I took a deep breath and tried again, aiming at the target.

At last I made it! I stood on the cord with my back on the wall. I found a piece of iron frame sticking out above me. I held it firmly. I knew once I took my hand off it, I could never get to it again. I made every effort to move myself towards the edge. When I got out of the shelter, I lost consciousness again.

by Anmitsuhime


(The father-in-law under detention (right))










To be continued to Part 6