👣 The City of Ashikaga

    A couple of “yeses” were given as a cue, and the pictures would be picked up for another day.

    "The flashes were interesting, " said the elder brother on the saidewalk of the street.

 Episode 48: House with a Pond

    I liked visiting my friends' places because they were interesting to see. I did not hesitate to visit not only the homes of my classmates but also those of my neighborhood playmates.


   Walking down the alley that leads from the Japanese retaurant in front of my house toward the railroad tracks, I came across a house where Tsuneo, a boy younger than I, lived with his family members. Sometimes I would follow Tsuneo after he had sumo wrestled or played with his friends outside and intrude on his house, and sometimes I would call out "Tsuneo-kun" from around the wooden door and wait for him to come out.


   He had an older sister. She and I were not in the same class, but  I sometimes saw her in the neighborhood. She was slender, tall, and fair, just like her mother. They looked exactly alike, and.even more so when they came out from the alley, always looking downwards and smiling. When I was playing with Tsuneo, this older sister never came over to play with us.


   The house, which looked like a mansion located by the railroad tracks, had a large lot and was different from many of the ordinary houses around here that were run by organizers. A Japanese-style pond sat in the middle of the property, and there was a separate tatami room on the other side of the pond. From the veranda of the room, I could see carp swimming under the surface of the pond, which was being watered from the bamboo pipe. There was also a turtle there.


   Playing with my junior was not so interesting. I hated toy cars and model trains. The reason why I came to play with him was because I liked the atmosphere of the house, which attracted me.


   There was a small greenhouse-style building in the garden. It appeared to be a shed-like building that matched the soil around well, but I did not know what was inside. I thought it was probably a storage building.


   One day, when Tsuneo and I were in the garden together, I asked him about it.

   "What is this place?"


   Tsuneo did not come close to me.


   He said, "I'm going to pee," and ran away and went inside the main house.


   I pushed open the unlocked glass door and easily entered. The room had a dirt floor, with tables lined up on both the north and south sides of the glass window, and a number of round, white objects in wooden boxes on them. It was another world beyond comprehension.


   Tsuneo did not return. I was too bored to be alone, so I decided to leave. There were many leafy shrubs planted on the north side. I walked in front of them, opened the wooden door, and walked back down the alley to the street.


   "I saw something disgusting."


   I came home and told so to my mother, who was tending to the store.



   "There's a bunch of white, round things in what looks like a greenhouse."


   "Oh, Mr. Tomita's family keep silkworms which make cocoons. The raw silk from the cocoons is used to make kimono."


   "Is that so? What a strange house that place is."


   "Keiko's younger brother Tsuneo seems to be afraid of the insects."



   "You know a lot about them, don't you?"



   "That's right. They're important customers in the neighborhood."

 Episode 49: Playing in the Alley

 

    There is a narrow space bordering the house next door on the east side. When I lean out of the second story window to look down, the ground is far below and I feel bad. If I were to fall, it would be very painful. The space is only wide enough for a person to barely pass through. Of course, I did not want to play in such a place, but it would not be a bad idea to go through it once to get a taste of what it was like.



    It was out of such a sense of adventure that I struggled through a narrow, dank, sunless, grassless gap, passed in front of the back door of the neighbor's house, and came to the alley in front of the barber's grandmother's house. The old map sorted out. I saw how it was. There was a flowerbed in front of the old lady's house with white and yellow flowers.



    I did not see anyone I knew. Going deeper, I came to a passageway under the very eaves of a house I didn't know well. The pathway made of concrete did not seem to allow any strangers to enter. I was nervous because I felt like I was committing a crime.



    Passing through it, I came to the bypass I knew well as my playground. On the other side was an empty house, and near the entrance was a clearing and a pile of rubble stones.



    Yes, I once fell off this pile of stones. I didn't know why, but I fell on my back, hitting hard, choking and couldn't breathe for a moment.


    The abandoned house was so rundown that even the children in the neighborhood did not want to go inside. On the street in front of the house, a man with a picture-story show used to come by on his bicycle. He would beat his drum dong, dong, dongaragatta and call for an audience.


    Next to the vacant house was a warehouse behind a large liquor store. The store facing the main street was run by the father of a classmate, Kenichiro, and two doors down was the home of a girl who was also one of my classmate. Strangely enough, those classmates in the area did not play with us bad boys who played on the west end of the same bypass. Perhaps there was a difference in the quality of our play and life.



    On the opposite side of the narrow gap, between our house and the house next door to the west, was an alley where people could normally pass. The ground along the wall of our house was level enough, and there was always a bench there. This was a convenient playing place for us children. I could open the waist-high window of our house, climb over the sill, and step onto the bench.


    "Shall we play shogi? Or stratego?"



   Keetan, my neighbor, had been sitting on the bench waiting for me for some time.



    "Shall we play marching chess?" I said, It would be more fun to play the chess. There're mines and planes and so on."


    Keetan was a year younger than me, but we could enjoy playing military shogi without worrying about the age difference. The general is the strongest. Below him are the lieutenant general, major general, captain, lieutenant, and second lieutenant. There are also mine, airplane, and spy pieces. The spy is the only one stronger than the general. The mines are also stronger. You cannot beat the general, but you can beat all the others with it.



    Both sides set up their positions and the game began. At first, we wouldn't make any big moves, but tried to find out what the enemy's positions were on the other side of the line.



   "I wonder if this is a tank," said Keetan with his eyes darting about.



   Deducing the identity of the pieces was also a major part of the game.



   "Step on it, please step on it," I asked, depending on mines.



   Every once in a while, someone passed by.



   "You two are doing it again today."



    The big brother next door just returned from baseball practice when a spy bumped into the general and the game was over.
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 Episode 50: Fireworks Show

   Every year at the height of summer, a fireworks show is held on the banks of the Watarase River. A large number of people, including spectators from the neighborhood, gather on the riverbank. To prevent flooding, the riverside area has been widened to the banks, which is used as parking lots. People sit on the slope of the bank  to look up above. If you wanted to see the festival from the front, you should win a fierce battle to get a special seat between the Watarase Bridge and the Naka Bridge, from the 2nd street to the 5th.


   The street in front of our house near the riverbank is very much crowded on this day. If you are coming from the west, turn at the sushi restaurant Kikaku on the corner of Kyoeki-Kaikan, cross the railroad tracks and you will come to the Chuo Theater. After passing the so-called Chugeki, you will soon be able to go up to the bank. We children often did sumo in the sandpit here. We also play a three-cornered baseball game on the riverbank beyond the Naka Bridge, where you can see the fluttering and dancing at the Korean school.


   For those naughty boys, their hometown would be the venue for an event with a large audience, and they expect something special that made their hearts flutter.



   For the confectioners, tonight was the time of the year when ice cream and shaved ice sold like hotcakes. The owner of the store was busy taking orders and delivering in okamochi (carrying wooden box) to the neighborhood.


   There is only one table in the back of the store. It was a rare occasion at any other time of the year to see a few customers occupying the table.


   "I think I'll have the ice lemon."


   "Or maybe ice azuki beans? They're delicious."


   "I like ice even though it makes my forehead ache. I'll have ice strawberry."


   The time spent looking at the menu and deciding which to choose is also enjoyable.


   In the meantime, fireworks go off with a bang, followed by the sound of its expanding and scattering heard. The groans and exclamations of the people on the riverbanks do not reach me. Still, watching from the second floor, the program is elaborate and spectacular.


    As night goes on, the echoes become distant as if lulling me to sleep, making me roll myself on the futon.




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 Episode 52: Fear of Going Mad