by Vincent Yee
Minami took her last step, looked at her father as they reached for each other’s hands. Her father had a firm look on his face and she wasn’t sure if he was holding back his emotions. He looked at his daughter and there was such pride reflected in his eyes. He nodded his head as the muscles around his mouth pulled taut and he managed a tight grin. He was seeing his oldest daughter being married off, and he couldn’t help lamenting the circumstances in which she was being married. His daughter deserved better, he thought. However, she had made the decision to marry, and so he must be happy for her. He then slowly released her hands and stepped back toward his seat.
Minami turned slowly to meet Hiroshi’s gaze. It was the first time she had ever seen him in a suit, and she was very impressed. The suit fit very nicely as it hugged his body. She offered a reassuring smile to Hiroshi, who seemed surprisingly calm. She was somewhat hoping that he would look a little nervous, but his handsome looks stole her attention.
Hiroshi took a step toward Minami and reached out with his left hand. Minami placed her hand into his. A sudden reassuring warmth passed between them as they both turned toward the chaplain.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in holy matrimony between Hiroshi Satoh and Minami Ito. Two people who found themselves in the unlikeliest of all places. But God works in mysterious ways to join two people who have fallen in love, and it is love that will always persevere over all adversity.”
“So today, I have the privilege to marry these two as they share this auspicious occasion with their family and the closest of their friends. So without further ado…” The chaplain then gestured to Hiroshi and Minami to face one another. The chaplain then looked in Hiroshi’s direction and continued, “The ring please.”
There was a pause as both Hiroshi and Minami looked at one another. What did he mean by “the ring please.” Hiroshi thought to himself. It was already on Minami’s finger.
“Son, do you have the wedding band?”
Hiroshi and Minami quickly realized what he was referring to. With a slight tone of amusement, Hiroshi turned to the chaplain and simply said, “We’re in a relocation camp–we haven’t had time to leave and buy them just yet.”
It took a moment for the awkward truth to dawn on the chaplain, and his expression turned to one of reddish embarrassment.
“Of course. We’ll do it the easy way, then,” the chaplain replied. He found his composure and turned to Hiroshi once more. “Do you Hiroshi Satoh, take Minami Ito to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Hiroshi’s confidence came swelling back as he raised his chest and simply said, “I do.”
A smile blossomed onto Minami’s face as she then took a quick breath when the chaplain turned to her. “And do you, Minami Ito, take Hiroshi Satoh to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
A sense of joy rushed over Minami as she spoke, “I do.”
The chaplain looked at Hiroshi and Minami, and continued forth with the most anticipated words of any marrying couple, “Then under the authority vested in me by the United States Army, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.” The chaplain turned to Hiroshi and said, “You may kiss the bride.”
The new couple then turned to one another as Hiroshi beamed back happily toward Minami. Hiroshi wanted to kiss Minami more than anything. He slowly slid his arm around Minami’s waist and pulled in her soft body. Minami slowly threw her arms behind Hiroshi’s neck as she watched his firm eyes come toward her. Hiroshi then placed a kiss on the lips of his beautiful wife.
Hiroshi and Minami stepped out of the administrative building and headed back toward the main gate with their family closely behind them. Hiroshi held Minami’s right hand firmly, never wanting to let go of it. Thoughts of happiness along with relief overtook him.
Minami felt so relaxed holding onto the hand of the man who was now her husband. She almost couldn’t believe it, that in under a few minutes, they went from being a couple deeply in love to husband and wife. She felt for a moment that her life had found a newfound hope.
Hiroshi looked over to his right, distracted from what he thought was the sound of applause, when he saw the ever-hairy Eddie and the Goliath of a man Gordy. There were a small handful of his teammates along with the coach on the end. They let out a firm chorus of applause to express their happiness for their former teammate, and Hiroshi was grateful. He nodded to them in appreciation and felt a sense of camaraderie with his old teammates. They were good men, he thought. Even though their job was to keep him and others like him safely locked away in the prison camp.
Hiroshi and Minami then turned toward the gate and were shocked to see scores of people lined along the wide path that split the prison camp into two. It was as if the entire prison camp had emptied from their barracks to greet the newly married couple.
“Remind me which block we’re in?” asked Hiroshi.
In a weak voice, Minami responded, “It’s block twenty, the furthest one in the northeast corner.”
“Yeah, I thought so,” said Hiroshi. He squeezed Minami’s hand reassuringly and he looked down at her and smiled, “Well the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we’ll end up at our barrack.”
Minami looked up and smiled as the sun shone down on her, highlighting her features. She then responded, “Let’s do it.”
“That’s my girl,” responded Hiroshi confidently.
Hiroshi and Minami took confident strides into the gauntlet of elated people and greeted every single person. There were hundreds of people waving and reaching out to shake hands with the most famous couple in the camp. People offered wishes of good luck, longevity, and happiness. As they neared the barracks, people had swung out their windows and leaned out from them. They waved and shouted additional well wishes. During the entire meandering through the throngs of people, Hiroshi and Minami never let go of each other. Though they may have had their backs turned to one another while waving back to their well-wishers, they never once loosened their clasped hands.
As they neared their block, the crowds thinned out, and the adrenaline that rushed through Hiroshi and Minami started to subside. Though their families were still behind them, Hiroshi and Minami leaned into each other, reveling in comfort of being close to each other.
Minami had decided to move into Hiroshi’s barrack. A unit next to Hiroshi’s had become vacant as opportunities for laborers lured his neighbors away. Hiroshi was quick to claim it and with additional blankets, separated off his side of the barrack from his parents’ side while expanding into the other unit. Minami’s departure also gave more room to Minami’s family as well.
As they neared the steps of Hiroshi’s barrack, with their clasped hands gently swaying between them, both of their mothers suddenly walked in front of them. They stepped up onto the second step and turned together to face Hiroshi and Minami, barring their way in. Hiroshi stared at both of them, confused. He then looked at Minami, whom he was sure would be equally confused. But instead, he saw a playful smile staring back at him. He looked into her eyes and there was a sense of mischief in them. He whipped around and saw both his father and his father-in-law smiling, and then he realized they had all collaborated on whatever unknown event that was about to befall him.
“What’s going on?” Hiroshi asked in defeat.
The mothers looked at each other, and then Mrs. Ito spoke to Hiroshi: “Before you take my daughter to be your wife, we have to take her for just a little bit.”
“What do you mean?” asked Hiroshi.
Hiroshi’s mother then spoke, “Be good, Hiroshi, just a little longer.”
Hiroshi then looked at Minami, who was looking up at him with her pretty smile.
“You know what’s going on, don’t you?” he asked of her.
Minami gently nodded her head up and down, “Our mothers insisted on it, but I wanted to take part in it, too.”
“Take part in what?”
Hiroshi’s mother then playfully slapped Hiroshi’s hand breaking the clasp between Hiroshi and Mi
nami, “You’ll find out soon enough, if you will just let us get started.”
The mothers quickly pulled Minami through the barrack by grabbing both of her arms and the door to the barrack closed, swallowing them up.
“You’ll have to wait,” said his new father-in-law, Mr. Ito.
Hiroshi settled back onto his two feet, let out a sigh and blurted out, “Ugh! I didn’t think this was going to be so difficult!”
Both of the fathers looked at one another and chuckled. “Son, it’s only the beginning,” said Hiroshi’s father. Mr. Ito nodded in agreement and together they let out another laugh, as if they were ridiculing him for his naïveté. Miho, Yuka, and Yoshi also were smiling.
Hiroshi attempted to get a hint of what was going on when his new sisters-in-law laughed and giggled. He then looked at Yoshi who grinned and shot both of his hands into the air and yelled out childishly, “Home run!”
Hiroshi hadn’t heard that in a while and oddly enough, it made him smile. Mr. Ito then walked over, put his arm around his new son-in-law, and brought him toward Hiroshi’s father. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt one bit,” Mr. Ito said nonchalantly. Hiroshi looked up with incredulous eyes. His father then laughed and he looked at his worried son as he patted him on the back, “Don’t worry son, he’s only kidding. It’s really nothing at all.”
“Then what are they doing in there?” asked Hiroshi.
Mr. Ito then said, “Well, you know how independent my daughter is sometimes?” Hiroshi nodded. “Well, just follow her instruction while you’re in there, and you’ll be fine.”
Hiroshi leaned back and away from the two fathers and gave them a look of skepticism. The door opened, but it was only a few of his neighbors, who offered their congratulations as they stepped down and walked away. The men continued to jab at one another as Minami’s siblings watched. Then the door to the barrack opened once more and both of the mothers stepped down as they closed the barrack door behind them. Hiroshi looked up and in his mother’s arms was some unfamiliar clothing.
The mothers looked up at Hiroshi, and his mother spoke. “Before you go in, you’ll have to change into these.”
Then Minami’s mother spoke, “After you’ve changed, you will find Minami at the end of the barrack. Just follow her wishes and you’ll be fine.”
He felt somewhat baffled, but he knew he had no choice in the matter, especially if his own wife was in on it. He then nodded in frustration and accepted his fate.
“Okay,” he said resignedly, “What do I do again?” asked Hiroshi helplessly.
He was told to simply change into the clothing. Once changed, he was to go inside and look for Minami. He mustn’t call out to her, but once he found her, he should follow her every instruction.
Hiroshi listened to the entire, scant set of instructions and responded with an expression of bewilderment. But he knew his parents were not going to provide anything more. He extended his arms and his mother handed him the silken garments. They floated in his arms like air. Hiroshi then exhaled and turned toward the steps to the barrack. As he stepped up onto the last step, he turned to his parents, who had started to walk away.
“You’re going?” asked Hiroshi.
His mother looked up, turned to everyone else, and then back to Hiroshi. “We can’t help you. This is all up to you now,” she called back to him. She looked at her worried son, and her motherly instincts returned. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”
Hiroshi nodded and turned toward the door when his fathers’ voices caught his attention, “Drink the tea,” they said.
Hiroshi watched as both of the mothers suddenly grabbed their husbands’ arms and tugged them away, with Minami’s siblings following and giggling. Then they disappeared around the barrack.
He whispered dubiously to himself, “Drink the tea?”
He entered the barrack with a sense of dread. It was dark as the lights were turned off, but the afternoon sunlight struggled through the covered windows, illuminating the barrack in a warm glow. There was a sense of emptiness that echoed throughout the barrack. Hiroshi quickly followed his mother’s instructions and changed. He stripped and pulled up the silky pants, which felt amazingly smooth against his skin and pulled the drawstring taut. He slipped on the black robe, which was slightly thicker but it draped his entire torso. There was nothing to tie the robe about the waist, so when he stood up to admire the robe, it opened, exposing his broad chest and firm stomach. He flexed his arm outward to admire the clothing when he took notice of the white embroidery on the left chest area of the robe. It was the Japanese character for his family surname, “Satoh.”
He had not heard a single sound coming from the back and even started to question whether or not Minami was even back there. He decided not to waste any more time. The sooner he found out what was going on, the sooner the whole thing would be over. He gathered up his clothes and walked carefully, barefoot, toward the back of the barrack. Nothing seemed out of place. The blanket partitions were as they were when he left earlier that morning. His eyes then caught a glint from a wavering candle flame that appeared from between the hanging blankets.
He eased back the blanket partition into his parents’ side of the barrack and didn’t see Minami. He placed his clothes onto their bed and turned around to face the partition where he was sure Minami was concealed. He inhaled softly and slowly stepped into his side of the barrack.
The entire side of his barrack was rearranged. The entire floor seemed to have been swept clean. To the right of the window that was in front of him, the steel frame to his cot had been removed, leaving only the mattress on the floor with the blanket folded back at an angle. To the left of the window was a low table whose legs must have been recently cut, since such tables were not common in the camp. To the left of the table was a kettle where water boiled softly as wisps of steam rose up from it. Next to it was a small lantern with a flickering flame. On the far side of the table, away from Hiroshi, was a small array of items. There was what looked like a brush, a small bamboo stick, a round bamboo container, a white cloth, and a tea bowl. To the left of the window hung a scroll with three Japanese characters arranged vertically. Hiroshi did not recognize the characters, but immediately recognized that his room had been turned into a tearoom.
His eyes then settled on the most beautiful thing in the room, his wife. Minami was quietly looking up at him in his white silk pants and black silk robe that was open to reveal his torso. Minami found she had to swallow a moment of arousal. He was so tall and lean as he stepped carefully into the room. She had a slight grin on her face as she watched Hiroshi take in the entirely transformed room. He must be shocked, thought Minami. Her mother, along with Mrs. Satoh, spent days helping her master the intricate ritual steps of the tea ceremony. She was confident that she could still charm the socks off the simple Japanese American farm boy when she realized Hiroshi was already barefoot.
Hiroshi smiled. He suddenly felt propelled into another world, one that was uniquely Japanese. He admired the beauty of his wife as she knelt in front of him from across the table. She held her hands gently in her lap. She looked so striking with her hair up, which enhanced her angelic face and neckline. But what he found absolutely and surprisingly alluring was that she was wearing a shiny blue kimono covered with a delicate black brush-like design. The kimono was wrapped tautly about her body and held in place by a wide silk sash. Her presence exuded an unexplained tranquility.
Hiroshi’s demeanor suddenly changed. He felt somewhat awkward at not knowing his exact role. He was a bit nervous about how to act, but he found a deep inner call of tradition and respect. He straightened up and not knowing any better, bowed in the direction of the scroll and then bowed toward Minami. He focused his eyes on Minami. She was absolutely silent and then she nodded gently with her eyes to the seating mat in front of the table. Hiroshi settled himself down into a kneeling position as his eyes focused on her once again.
Minami smiled, waited a moment and then her body
blossomed into a beautiful choreography of graceful moves and actions. She lifted up the white cloth from the table and displayed it to Hiroshi before delicately folding it intricately and placing it in her left hand. Then her eyes turned away from Hiroshi as she focused on cleaning the bamboo tea scoop. The cloth was placed aside as she opened the round bamboo container, revealing the green tea powder. With the bamboo scoop held delicately in her slender fingers, she placed a small portion of the tea powder into the tea bowl. She gently tapped the rim with the bamboo scoop and carefully placed both items aside. Gracefully, she pulled back the wide sleeve of her right arm with her left hand and reached for the bamboo ladle. She carefully scooped out some water and poured it tenderly into the tea bowl. The ladle was returned with the gathering end balanced on the rim of the kettle and was slowly eased down as it came to rest on the rim. She looked up at a totally enthralled Hiroshi and smiled. She picked up the brush and mixed the contents of the tea bowl. Then she picked up the bowl, placed it in front of him and looked up at Hiroshi while placing her hands back into her lap.
Hiroshi found the entire event humbling. But even more so, he found an unexpected connection to his own Japanese heritage. It was almost as if the voices and memories of the ancestors before him had entered his mind to provide reassurance to him. Hiroshi placed his hands around the warm tea bowl and lifted it to his face as he eyed a smiling Minami. He carefully took a drink from the tea bowl, then another, and for the remnants, he gulped them down and set the bowl back down on the table.
Hiroshi looked up to see a sparkling smile on Minami’s face as she gazed at him. He wasn’t sure what to do next. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to return the tea offering to her, wipe his mouth or ask for more tea. Luckily for Hiroshi, it was Minami who initiated the next move as her expression turned to one of humbled appreciation. Minami gracefully removed the ornate chopsticks from her hair and shook her hair letting the length of it tumble down to her shoulders. She brushed away a few strands along her face and looked sensually at Hiroshi.