Islands of Protest
Page 30
TRAINER: (still holding the sword in his hand): So he was your husband then?
(She cries in desperation.)
TRAINER: Really.… That means that you’re a widow now, if I’m not mistaken. What a pitiful fate! A thirty-year-old widow won’t turn down an offer that a twenty-year-old would refuse, or so they say. Here, let me offer you my heartfelt condolences!
WOMAN: Stop it, please, stop!
TRAINER: Shut up!
(Once again, he jumps on top of her. All of a sudden, one can hear the piercing shriek of a baby crying.)
THE TRAINER: Who is that? Who brought a baby into this shelter? Don’t let that baby cry! The enemy will end up finding our hideout. Make it be quiet!
(The sound of the baby’s crying grows louder and louder.)
TRAINER (losing his head, disconcerted): Didn’t you hear me when I told you to make that baby shut up? The enemy forces can pick up the sound of a baby’s crying with their listening devices. Make it keep silent at once! You’d better cover its mouth, or else I’m gonna have to kill it. Hurry up, and be quick about it.
(The baby’s crying grows ever more unrestrained.)
TRAINER: Whaaat! (He is more and more irritated.) If you won’t control it, I will. Didn’t you understand me when I told you to make it shut up?
(As soon as he draws his sword, he leaps on top of the man, who is collapsed on the ground, and spears him again. The sound of the baby’s crying stops.)
WOMAN (screams as she rushes to the scene): How terrible! What a cruel thing to do! Why, you just murdered a baby. He did nothing wrong.… You killed him just because he wouldn’t stop crying. How dare you call yourself a human being?
TRAINER: What? You bloody idiot. You must be kidding. That brat was crying so loud that the enemy could hear the sound, and then what? What would happen to the rest of us? We’d all be massacred down to the very last person. You can’t even grasp a simple fact like that. You fool! He was trying to let the enemy know our position. He was a spy!
(The woman sits down, astonished and stupefied.)
TRAINER: Once someone is dead, he can’t be called back to life. It doesn’t do any good no matter how much you grieve. Instead, you need to think of the well-being of the living. Why, you can make a new baby any time you want. Here let me give you a hand.
(The trainer starts to grab hold of the woman and to drag her away; she has abandoned any spirit of resistance. The man, who had been lying on the floor, suddenly springs back to life and rises, like a jack-in-the-box.)
MAN: Sir, Commandant. I’m with the Homeland Defense Corps.
TRAINER: What?
MAN: The residents of the island have assembled at Nishiyama basin. They’re awaiting your orders.
TRAINER: Tell them all to get lost.
MAN: What?
TRAINER (enraged, he grabs whatever things lie close to hand and hurls them at the man): You don’t understand? Tell them all to drop dead.
MAN:
TRAINER: You still don’t get my meaning? You people are just in our way. You’re an obstacle to our plans. You tie us down.
You’re just a bunch of useless idiots. Do you understand me?
MAN (he is trembling uncontrollably, but he continues): Yes, sir. Sir, Commandant. We will disperse and disappear in order not to be an obstacle to the friendly forces during the war of attrition against the enemy.30
(He starts to leave but then stops and turns around.)
MAN: Commandant.
TRAINER: Why are you wasting my time?
MAN: Would you please supply us with weapons?
TRAINER: You must be joking! We have no extra weapons to spare for the likes of you.
(The man is silent and lowers his head. He again makes a move to leave but speaks once again.)
MAN: Commandant
TRAINER: … !
(At the end of his tether, the trainer glares at the man with a look that warns that he will cut him down with his sword if he utters another word. However, the man stares right back at the trainer as if he doesn’t care about the latter’s intention. An incomprehensible pause.)
MAN (after a short time): Kamaa?
TRAINER (startled): Sickle? There are no sickles around here.31
MAN: You’re Kamaa, right? Aren’t you Kamaa?
(The woman joins them and begins to stroke the trainer’s body with affection.)
WOMAN: Why, it’s you. Kamaa, it has to be. Don’t you recognize me?
MAN: Hey, it’s me, Kamii. You know Kamii from the new house past the middle gate.
WOMAN: And I’m Uji. You know me; I’m Uji from the bamboo-thatched house.
TRAINER (deeply moved): Aunty Uji, Big Brother Kamii.
MAN AND WOMAN: Our little Kamaa.
(The three of them hug one another; their eyes are filled with tears. From off in the distance, you can almost hear the melody of Schumann’s “Traumerei.”)
WOMAN: Oh, dear me. Little Kamaa, my dear Kamaa, you look like you’ve become completely Japanese; you’re a total stranger.
MAN: Yes, it’s true. I thought you must be a schoolteacher or something.
WOMAN: We’ve all suffered from this war and lost our parents and our families. But someday I think we’ll meet up again in the other world. But since we’ve lingered so long in this world, we had the good luck to run into you, little Kamaa.
TRAINER: Please don’t cry, Aunty Uji. But you must have put up with terrible things during this war. Why, your face and your body look completely different; you’ve changed completely from before, Aunty. How you must have suffered, Aunty!
MAN: We fled from the fighting and retreated to the mountains. As we made our way to shelter, we started to wonder, “What happened to our relatives?” Where did our families go off to? We looked for them everywhere. But at least you, Kamaa, have survived.
WOMAN (praying): Thank god. How lucky you are!
TRAINER: Yes, but Big Brother Kamii, weren’t you with dear Usa back then? What happened to her?
MAN: …
TRAINER: Aunt Uji?
WOMAN: …
(The man and woman look at each other, and then they make up their minds.)
WOMAN: Listen, little Kamaa, please don’t cry. Just listen to what this old lady is going to tell you, little Kamaa. Your dear wife, Usa, departed from this world as she was fleeing to the mountains, Kamaa.
TRAINER: My little Usa, my dear Usa.
WOMAN: She was running away from constant gunboat fire. She tried to go into an air-raid shelter, but the Japanese soldiers chased her out again. There was no place where she could rest her weary bones. Dear me, I think she must have been born under an unlucky star, my dear Kamaa. But, you know, she never gave a thought to her own troubles; she was always worrying about you, Kamaa.
TRAINER: My dear Usa. Oh, woe is me! What a merciless world! Usa, how could you abandon me and go off to die all alone?
(The trainer pounds the earth with both his hands and shouts out in despair.)
WOMAN: But someday, I thought that I’d meet you and be able to talk to you. I’m sure that Usa arranged for us to meet and brought us together like this.
MAN: But Aunty, I’d like to keep talking now, but we can’t stay here much longer. We had better get moving.
WOMAN: You’re right. If we stay here talking, a Japanese soldier might spot us, and then who knows what will happen to us? Kamaa, take good care of yourself and run away. We had better go now.
TRAINER: Aunty, Big Brother! Thanks for letting me know.
MAN: We all have to be strong now, Kamaa!
TRAINER: Big Brother, where are you off to?
MAN: …
TRAINER: Aunty, where are you going?
WOMAN: …
TRAINER: Please take me with you.
MAN: Little Kamaa, I’d like to bring you along, but you know, the place we are going …
WOMAN: Little Kamaa, you can’t come with us.
TRAINER: You mean I’m not allowed to go to the pla
ce you’re going?
MAN AND WOMAN: That’s right.
TRAINER: Where is it then? Where are you going?
MAN: We’re off on a long trip to China.
TRAINER: A trip to China?
(Man and woman nod)
TRAINER: …
WOMAN: As for us, Kamaa, we don’t have any relatives or family left in this world. We’ve lost everyone, one after another, during this terrible war. It doesn’t make any sense for us to stay alive much longer, so we have made up our minds to go and meet our families in the other world.
TRAINER: To the other world, you say.
MAN: We’re sorry we have to leave you behind.
(The man and woman start to walk away from him.)
TRAINER: Please wait a little while, Big Brother and Aunty. (After being lost in thought for a while) Please take me with you.
WOMAN: You really want to come with us?
MAN: Is Usa over there too?
TRAINER: Yes.
MAN: Well, at last, let’s set off together then. But Kamaa, we want to go to the other world, but we don’t have any weapons. Maybe there is a sickle somewhere that we can use, so let’s go have a look.
TRAINER: Wait a minute, brother. I found this right over here.
(He picks something up and holds it out to them.)
MAN: What is that?
TRAINER: It’s a hand grenade.
MAN (surprised): A hand grenade?
TRAINER: Yes.
MAN: Well, at last, you found something that will do the trick. (He takes it.) If we use this, we won’t feel any pain. The three of us can go together to the next life.
(The three gather together in one spot, and each prepares to die.
The woman keeps mumbling a prayer under her breath [Please.])
MAN (after a while): Kamaa and Aunty? Have you made up your mind? Ready or not?
WOMAN (folding her hands): Yes, I’m ready.
TRAINER (also with his hands folded): Me too.
MAN: You must not have any regrets, Kamaa. Right now our ancestors are watching us from the shadow behind the bushes. They’ll follow right after us to make sure we don’t get lost.
WOMAN: Ah, at last.
TRAINER AND MAN: Yes, at last.
(The man pulls out the safety valve of the hand grenade. Then he pounds it against the ground. You expect to see a flash of lightening, to hear a deafening roar, to watch people’s limbs flying off in all directions, the stage turned into a bloody battlefield. But nothing happens; there is no explosion at all. The man is confused. He pounds the grenade again and rubs it against the ground. But again nothing happens. The woman looks on, flabbergasted. The trainer is desperately trying to stop himself from laughing. The hand grenade sheds its protective covering, and its contents roll out. It looks like a well-baked sweet potato.)
WOMAN: What is that?
MAN: It’s a potato.
WOMAN: A potato?
MAN: This is serious. The hand grenade has turned into a sweet potato.
WOMAN: How could a hand grenade become a sweet potato? A hand grenade is used to take a human life. But this is something that helps people to stay alive.
TRAINER (laughing): … You damn fools! There’s no way I will let you die such an easy death! You have no right to die! There’s still a ton of things left for you to do!
(The man and woman sit down, looking confused. All of a sudden, the voice of a loudspeaker enters the cave. It is the voice of an American soldier speaking in broken Japanese.)
VOICE: This is a message to the Japanese people. The war has ended. Throw away your weapons, and come out of the cave.
TRAINER: Asshole. That’s just enemy propaganda.
VOICE: We have lots of food and water. Come out as quickly as you can.
TRAINER: Don’t let them deceive you. This is just another one of their tricks.
VOICE: American soldiers are not barbarians. We will cause you no harm. Throw away your weapons, put your hands over your head, and leave the cave.
(The trainer is extremely agitated. The voice continues.)
TRAINER (to the man): Take off your clothes.
MAN: What?
TRAINER: I told you to take off your clothes. Hurry up and do as I tell you.
(The trainer takes off the clothes he is wearing and puts on the man’s clothes.)
TRAINER: Okay. I’m going to make a run for it and work my way behind enemy lines, and then I’ll ambush them from the rear. Don’t ever show your backs to the enemy, even if you are the last ones alive. Don’t make any noise until it is all over. As Japanese, we must never endure the shame of being taken alive. Do you understand me?
MAN: Please take us with you.
TRAINER: … What are you saying? Don’t talk nonsense.
MAN: We won’t do anything to get in your way. Please let us die with you.
WOMAN: We want to die with you. We beg you, teacher.
(The voice from the loudspeaker, calling on them to surrender, stops all of a sudden.)
TRAINER (adopting a completely different tone): What are you talking about? What’s the point of dying? If you were to die now, then what would happen? Really, you are too young to die. (He puts his hand on the woman’s shoulder.) You must not give up! You have to go on living, you, Miyagi, and you too, Ōshiro.
WOMAN: Yes, but teacher, rather than live and suffer the shame of being taken alive …
TRAINER: Get a grip on yourselves. You too, Matayoshi. You can put up with it.… To endure the unendurable, to bear the unbearable.32 All one million of you islanders, you must rouse yourselves and stand up. If you were to die now, it would be no better than a dog’s death. Please!
MAN AND WOMAN (severely): Teacher!
TRAINER (paying no attention to them): Look around you. As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but a plain of ashes. Our hometown has become a wasteland—there is nothing left. All that remains is scorched earth and clods of soil. But the day will come when fresh buds will sprout even from these withered fields lashed by the fierce storm of war. The green mountains and fields will come back to life. Yes, someday, a new Okinawa Prefecture will be born.
MAN AND WOMAN: Teacher.
TRAINER: The future of this new Okinawa Prefecture lies entirely on your shoulders; it all depends on you, the younger generation. Of course, it’s an easy thing for you to die. But it’s far more difficult and far more meaningful to stay alive and to devote your lives to rebuilding the homeland. Do you understand me, Mr. Kyan and Mr. Nakandakari? (A great chorus of voices can be heard calling for the return of Okinawa to Japan.) Even if we have to suffer the hardships of living under alien rule, we’re part of the Japanese nation, and we must build a cultured and democratic society and nation, based on universal principles of humanity, and contribute to world peace and the welfare of mankind.
We are just a stone’s throw from the land of our ancestors. Beyond the twenty-seventh parallel lies our beloved motherland. Off in the distance, you can see the bonfires burning on Yoron33 island. Walking over the corpse-strewn fields, wading through the streams filled with dead bodies, the land of the living god,34 to Japan.
(Mixed with the rhythmic chants of “return Okinawa to the homeland,” the calls of demonstrators doing a snake walk mingle with the loudspeakers of the riot police. The man and woman, their arms linked together, jump away as if they were on fire.)
TRAINER: They’ve gone away. Everyone has left me here all alone. But that’s just fine with me.
(Staring up at the sky) If it’s true that history repeats itself, then the future has already arrived. It is just as well that everything has burned down and been destroyed. Your living god’s portrait just as it used to be, including the frame that encloses it, will someday just sink to the bottom of my memory. Unless the cogwheels of history stop and move in reverse. Sometimes history plays tricks on us human beings. But even as it tricks us, it sounds a warning alarm.
If it is true that history repeats itself, then the
future of the human race, which is fashioned of the sweet potato, will probably never end.
What a grotesque appearance you have. Perhaps Okinawa’s history would have turned out differently if only you looked more graceful, more like an apple or a pear.… Farewell, my sweet potato.
(The trainer sinks his teeth into the sweet potato. Almost immediately, he spits it out and hurls the potato to the floor with loathing. At that moment, the potato explodes with a deafening roar. The trainer dies. Perhaps it is to be expected. Even a potato will get angry if you mistreat it.
The man and woman emerge from their hiding places. Looking terrified, they gaze at the trainer, but they can’t understand what has happened.)
WOMAN (perplexed): … He’s dead.
MAN (same): … Yes, dead.
WOMAN: … I wonder what happened.
MAN: Yes, what could have caused this? … (After deep reflection) In the end, he got what was coming to him. He was an Okinawan, but he always pretended to be Japanese and made fun of everything Okinawan. So he incurred the punishment of his ancestors. When someone forgets the island where he was born, he’s as good as dead.
WOMAN: … What are we supposed we do?
MAN: Hmm … (lost in thought)
WOMAN: I don’t know anything about it. It’s none of my business.
(Detached, the woman returns alone to the hut and sits down, pretending to play the innocent.)
MAN: Look, I know it’s none of my business.… You know … it really is none of my business.… (He looks nervous despite his nonchalant words.) You don’t happen by any chance to suspect that I had anything to do with his death.
WOMAN:
MAN: Just for the record, I didn’t kill him. The potato killed him.
WOMAN: The potato … You mean a potato can kill a human being?
MAN: I mean the potato exploded and …
WOMAN: The potato exploded?
MAN: Well, you saw it with your own eyes. It just exploded.…
WOMAN:
MAN: It was the potato; it really was. When I struck it, it didn’t explode.
WOMAN: That’s just common sense. How could a potato explode? Why, a potato helps people to stay alive.