Bheela’s Blog -115
06 February 2023
Episode 114 Recap
Calamity strikes and takes Genzi’s life. Genzi served the master and his family all his life and also in his death.
Please click the link to read the full Episode:
https://medium.com/@bheela-wadehra/bheelas-blog-114-94f8a89245cb
Episode 115
RETURN TO THE PRESENT TIME
A severe earthquake struck the Kanto region two minutes before noon on September 1, 1923. The epicentre was in Sagami Bay, and the quake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. What followed was that the cities and towns near the centre turned into masses of ashes. Lives of people changed forever.
Oshin strolls with her grandson Kei near Ueno Park in Tokyo. A giant statue is erected to commemorate the event. They sit on a bench near the statue.
‘So, you were a victim of the Great Earthquake? You never told us before.’ Kei asks his grandma; he has read about the event in the history books and is surprised to hear the story from Oshin in such vivid description.
‘It was too painful a story to tell! Besides, people wouldn’t understand,’ replies Oshin with a grim face, the pain clearly visible on her tired face.
‘I guess you are right; no one would understand!’ Kei takes a deep sigh as he says, ‘people talk about the Great Earthquake, but it never seemed pertinent to me.’
Oshin gets up, looks away, and says, ‘I never talked about It, and I never looked back. The future always appeared more pressing. I never dreamed I would be traveling like this now. I am here walking in Ueno Park again.’ Oshin starts walking again, and Kei joins her.
‘Is this the place you took refuge?’ asks Kei curiously.
‘I don’t know where, but we were all in the park for about three days. The place was packed with quake victims. More than 400,000 people took shelter here,’ says Oshin, looking around. The place now looks calm, with many trees, a pond nearby, a beautiful lush green tree, and a pathway for strolling.
‘I must have been too bad, Odawara was nearly wiped out, and fire took more lives in Tokyo than the quake itself. That is all I know. I never thought you were in it!’ Kei wonders how the event that he read about in the past were actually witnessed by his own grandma!
(Sagami bay is slightly southeast of Tokyo, where the epicentre was. Here is a link to the map Ueno station to Odawara town is about 90 km)
‘It was terrible; rumours were rampant. There was talk of Mt Fuji erupting, and people feared a huge Tsunami. There was a rumour of a riot, too. I was more afraid of that. I learned that it was all groundless.’ Oshin continues, recounting the horrible times she went through.
‘I heard that the government purposely spread those rumours to avoid persecution by the earthquake victims,’ says Kei.
‘It sounds silly, but many innocent people died because people believed all those rumours. We were all too afraid to even go home,’ says Oshin, and she goes into her past recounting those times.
FLASHBACK RETURNS
It is September 3rd, the third day after the quake hit the place. By this time, the fire had died down. Oshin sits with baby Yu on a rug spread on the ground. There are many people in Ueno Park, somehow taking whatever space they can get.
‘I will go home and take a look,’ says Ryuzo; he sits next to Oshin, ‘we can’t just leave Genzi beneath the rubble.’
‘Then, I will come with you,’ says Oshin.
‘It is best you stayed here. The police and military are on guard, but the streets are too dangerous for a woman. Here at least, you will get food and water,’ Ryuzo is apprehensive about the conditions and warns Oshin.
‘I don’t want us to separate; I want us to be together. I want to go home,’ Oshin is afraid, and she, too, is thinking of Genzi, and she says, ‘Genzi is waiting for all of us to come back. We will bury him together.’
‘Can you walk?’ Ryuzo asks.
‘We walked here, didn’t we?’
‘Don’t be shocked by what you see.’
‘If I am with you, I am not afraid of anything,’ Oshin nods.
Oshin and Ryuzo start walking in the direction of their home. All they see on the way are broken buildings, charred rooms, and piles of ash everywhere. Ryuzo carries Yu in his lap, wrapped in a cloth.
Both of them are shocked to see their home. Smoke is still coming out of the heap of wood and cement.
‘Genzi!’ Oshin sobs and starts walking ahead.
‘Stop, it is dangerous!’ Ryuzo grabs Oshin and prevents her from walking into the house, which is now in a totally damaged condition.
‘Genzi is there!’ Oshin cries out.
‘It can’t be helped. I will pick up Genzi’s ashes later,’ says Ryuzo; his main concern is the safety of Oshin and Yu.
Oshin’s knees buckle out of weakness and sorrow. She drops to the ground.
‘Everything is turned to ashes,’ Ryuzo starts sobbing, too. He says, ‘I will go check on our factory. If it is safe, I will come back to you right away. Please wait for me here. Maybe the fire spared our factory,’ Ryuzo now thinks of his factory, where he had put all his savings and was hopeful of a great business.
***
‘Oshin!’ a woman calls Oshin; Ryuzo and Oshin get up and look. They are glad to see Ms. Taka and her young helper, Oritsu.
Ms. Taka smiles, looking at Oshin, and she comes forward. She holds Oshin’s hands. She then touches Ryuzo and baby Yu and feels relieved.
‘We were both so worried. We kept coming back here looking for you,’ says Oritsu, excited.
‘We had no idea where you were,’ says Ms. Taka with a sigh of relief.
‘What about your house?’ enquires Ryuzo.
Ms. Taka lowers her eyes and shakes her head sideways, indicating that the house isn’t there!
‘Is it gone?’ inquires Ryuzo.
‘I am just glad to be alive,’ says Ms. Taka, controlling herself, ‘I am staying with friends. Won’t you join us there? You have nowhere to go, do you?’
‘Thank you, I am on my way to check on our factory now,’ says Ryuzo.
‘You don’t know?’ Ms. Taka says and understands that Ryuzo has yet to learn about the situation of his newly built factory. She continues after a pause, ‘It was such a find new factory, too.’ Ms. Taka then looks to the ground and cannot say any further.
‘Is it burnt down?’ Ryuzo is in shock hearing this. He cannot comprehend.
Ms. Taka nods in affirmative and says, ‘That whole area has been levelled. I went to look for you over there, too.’
Ryuzo starts running towards his factory. Oshin catches him to stop.
‘It couldn’t have been burnt down! That factory was my life! I can’t believe it! It would be best if you were mistaken. I am sure it is safe!’ Ryuzo cries with hope and despair. He frees himself from Oshin’s clutches and runs through the lanes carrying Yu in his arms. Oshin and all are too shocked to do anything; they freeze.
‘You can’t blame him; he put all his money into it,’ says Ms. Taka softly, ‘Fate sure can be cruel.’
She pauses, then collects herself again and tells Oshin, ‘Come with us; there is no use staying here.’
Oshin also comes to her senses, and she turns to the house, saying, ‘I can’t leave Genzi.’
‘Genzi? Where is he?’ asks Ms. Taka.
‘He is over there. He is dead. He died protecting Yu. I want to gather his ashes.’ Oshin points to the rubble with teary eyes as she talks of Genzi.
Ms. Taka is shocked. She sits on her knees and prays for Genzi with folded hands. Ms. Taka starts crying.
‘He was a good man,’ she says, ‘I saw him before the grand opening party. He told me he was babysitting Yu. He seemed so happy, too. He was so happy for Ryuzo,’ Ms. Taka breaks down. She wipes her tear with the handkerchief already soaked with tears she shed for several family and friends.
She then gets up, collects herself, and says, ‘Maybe he is better off than those of us left to fend for ourselves in all this rubble. No matter how hard life gets, we will go on. We have to! Oshin, let us hang tough!’ she takes a resolve. Her stand is infectious.
‘Yes, regain your natural strength, Oshin!’ says Oritsu; she takes a clue from Ms. Taka’s words and continues, looking at Oshin, ‘Be strong!’
Oshin starts praying, with folded hands.
***
‘There you are! I am so glad to see you are safe!’ Oshin is startled to hear the voice. She turns and finds Ken, the gangster, standing there. Ms. Taka and Oritsu, too, are pleasantly surprised to see Ken.
‘I was so concerned about you,’ says Ken looking at Oshin, ‘I thought you got caught in the fire.’
Then he looks at the smoke coming out of the pile and asks, ‘who died? I hope not your husband?’ Ken is quick to speak.
‘It is Genzi,’ Oshin says softly.
hat old man? I am so sorry. Tens and thousands have died!’ informs Ken to the women. Suddenly he remembers the baby. He asks Oshin, ‘Where is Yu?’ and waits for the answer anxiously.
‘He is with my husband at the factory site,’ replies Oshin.
‘I have some things you will need to survive on,’ says Ken, handing over a cloth bundle of essential items. As he holds the cloth close to Oshin, he notices Oshin’s soiled dress. He says, ‘You still have your formal Kimono on!’
***
Ryuzo carries Yu in his arms and drags his feet. There are piles of trash, and the kids are crying with hunger. Oblivious to this, he walks on with a blank face.
***
Ken helps retrieve Genzi’s body and ties it with a rag. Ken, Oshin, and Ms. Taka sit in front of Genzi with folded hands in prayer.
They are startled by Yu’s cries. They turn to look. Ryuzo holds Yu and stands motionless. Oshin gets up and takes Yu from Ryuzo carefully. Ryuzo wobbles ahead and drops in front of Genzi. Ken and Ms. Taka support and console him.
Ryuzo cannot hear anyone’s voice. Seeing Ryuzo, Oshin realizes the enormous difficulty they are all in.
What will happen now? Will Oshin gain some of her natural strength?
We will know more in the coming Episode, number 116, soon.