| 1. To Arafura Sea in the Southern Hemisphere
Kyozo Wozumi went down over the equator to Arafura Sea north of Australia
in 1916 at the age of 16, only a boy. During those days in the world, ......
The 1st World War spread all over Europe, which had occurred 2 years before.
Japan had also entered the war by declaring war on Germany.
Mass destructions were repeated by the fight with industrialized powers in land, sea and air, like newly developed fighters, bombers, tanks, submarines, ......, quite different from old ways. ("All the Reports in 20th Century" by Kodan-sha Publishing)
Around Arafura Sea, young fishermen from Miwasaki Village were a main supply
source for collecting pearl oysters, and Kyozo was the youngest among them.
They, 20 fishermen, set sail from Kushimoto Port on a small steamboat less
than 100 tons, which headed down south and south rolling like a leaf.
Honshu is already far away and Okinawa Main Island is seen off and on.
After passing Okinotorishima Island, it gets refueling at Mariana Islands,
then at Parao Islands east of the Philippines.
Lucky enough, passing over the equator and just after crossing New Guinea Island, the boat gets to Arafura Sea widening around the northeast of Australia, after a fortunate sailing for half a month.
The name of "Arafura" is a free person in Portuguese.
This sea area is said to be a treasure trove of pearls and pearl oysters
in the world.
However, there were few workers in the neighboring area of Arafura Sea,
so most workers were migrants from southeast Asia and nearby countries,
especially from Japan. Such Japanese workers were from Wakayama, Okinawa,
Ehime, ... such prefectures, but overwhelmingly from Nanki-Kumano district
south of Wakayama prefecture.
Arafura Sea is rich in pearl oysters, especially silver-lipped pearl oyster
on the seabed. This sea area surrounded by Australia and New Guinea Island
became Kyozo's working place given by the heaven.
The new-coming boy with a cropped head joined the boat "Taihei-maru"
as the 18th member.
The boy worked crazily hard as a tender or a janitor on the boat following
the ways of other seniors. He was quick to learn and quick-witted. The
boss found him useful because of his obedience. But quiet and seriuos with
no sense of humor. "It cannot be helped", the seniors had to
admit.
The boy Kyozo did not mind sleeping crowded together from the beginning.
It was natural to him compared to the nights in his parents' small humble
house of a large family. He usually fell asleep easily, which amazed the
company. He was refreshed and ready to prepare breakfast before the sun
appeared on the horizon.
Kyozo was already something of an expert worker within two years while
being a favorite due to his natural honesty and sincerity.
The seniors had to admit his quick learning. Their top advised him before
his request, "Why don't you dive?"
All of the colleagues naturally accepted his promotion to a diver.
He dives into the seabed, wearing a space-suit-like working dress equipped with an air hose from the hand pump on the boat as a lifeline. He does not make any blunder the seniors are anxious about.
At a shallow sea, he dives with a loincloth without an oxygen tank. He
is the strongest in breath-length.
Now he has become a robust young man of black skin just like local regidents
with no amiable innocent face. The thin sunken eyes remain his newcomer
trace, though.
The boat Taihei-maru was throughout going to be Kyozo's workplace in Arafura
Sea.
"Pearls"are jewels that happen to form inside pearl oysters.
Such pearl oysters are not one kind. Akoya-gai (pinctada fucata), shirocho-gai
(silver-lipped pearl oyster or pinctada maxima), kurocho-gai (pinktada
margaritifera), mabe-gai (pteria penguin), ..., ikecho-gai (hyriopsis schiegelii)
in fresh water.
Silver-lipped pearl oysters fully live in Arafura Sea. This oyster is a
seashell of a round-shaped bivalve. Large ones are up to 30 centimeters
in diameter. The outside is a dull color like mixed with white, yellow
and brown, while the inside is a brightening silver-white color.
It occasionally contains a jewel or a pearl in meat. Different from a cultured
pearl, it is very precious because it is an accidental discovery on the
side of a diver. The value of each pearl is judged by combining the various
standards like length, shape, with or without flaws, etc. Take the shape
for instance. Every pearl is not round. There are many transformed pearls
or baroque.
The silver-lipped pearls in Arafura Sea have a tinge of blue, so they then
were called "South-Seas pearls", distinguished from those in
other sea areas.
Apart from precious and expensive showy pearls, silver-lipped pearl oysters
were sold as materials of craftworks and buttons toward the West. Japanese
boats stayed around these fishing grounds and earnestly collected silver-lipped
pearl oysters on the seabed.
The meat of these pearl oysters were served as food to fishermen. The dried
meat was brought to Japan, where it was good and precious to eat.
In later years the writer ate it in childhood. It has a peculiar taste
a little but is tasty. A dried squid with a similar taste was out of the
question in my memory.
2. Work as a Diver
As for collecting pearl oysters, it is naturally a trick to feel for where
they are. Kyozo got used to it right away. He was able to guess it by knowing
the following situation. Seabed, wave-moving, coral-reefs and migratory
fishes.
Needless to say, his originality and ingenuity are inherited from his father.
Kyozo figured out the tool of removing oysters and the net bag for them.
The strong body much more than anybody and the single-minded enthusiasm
are the back-up to him.
As he got the knack of work, he came to be the top grosser.
"Kyozo is the guardian angel of our Taihei-maru."
Kyozo virtually became the young leader of the boat.
Thursday Island was the base of the fishermen working around Arafura Sea.
It is one of the islands of Australian territory at the eastern end of
Arafura Sea, between York Peninsula to the south and New Guinea Island
to the north. Its surrounding areas were occupied by the shallows with
coral reefs, where divers were concentrating to work for collecting silver-lipped
pearl oysters.
The fishermen lodged in simple houses there as well as on their boats,
and also got food, fuel and other various supplies there.
New Guinea Island (Papua New Guinea) to the north was the place of their
commercial transactions, the same with Cairns, the city of Australia. They
anchored the boats there for the purpose, and gradually made friendly interaction
with local residents.
Most of the residents cannot speak English, the language of Australia.
So on the contrary, the fishermen learned their local words and wanted
to talk to them with gestures. Some of the residents came to wait for the
boat and served drinkings and meals to the fishermen.
They anchored the boat adjusting the date to the local festival and joined
the event, singing and dancing a local forklore "Yasukera Dance"
together with them.
Yasukera no- Maruwamantara no-we-
Kaigarabisuke Toppaika-
- - - - -
As for Kyozo, after becoming a qualified diver, he went to church on Thursday
Island on Sundays and associated with Christians there in an attempt to
learn English necessary for work.
Apart from the progress in English, he became an earnest Christian.
In spite of no idle talk nor jokes among company, he felt relaxed earlier
than any others and so was liked by the residents either in Thursday Island
or in New Guinea Island.
Especially New Guineans became so friendly, calling him "Kyozo, Kyozo"
again and again. He romped around during "Yasukera Dance", totally
different from a usual young man.
About so-called "Diver's Disease" or "Caisson Disease".
This disease describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming
out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization. It most
commonly refers to problems arising from underwater diving decompression
(i.e., during ascent).
Since bubbles can form in or migrate to any part of the body, it can produce
many symptoms, and its effects may vary from joint pain and rashes to paralysis
and death. (Wikipedia)
It may be said to be the result of this disease in Arafura Sea that there
used to be many fishermen with difficulty in walking in Miwasaki.
Kyozo often suffered a sharp pain during the work under the sea, but fortunately
no worse than that. Later through he had a chronic disease of such snoring
and stopping breath long in his sleep. It was an aftereffect of diving
without oxygen tank.
In a couple of years, his copper-colored skin held bulging muscles and
his fingers were like firm pine cones seemingly with no blood by some knives.
The height of 165 centimeters was rather taller among the company then
there.
Kyozo Wozumi spent all his time as a diver in Arafura Sea of the South
Seas for 17 years until leaving there at the age of 32.
He would not have taken a rest at night either. He was willing to devote
himself to his studies at the simple lodge in Thursday Island as well as
in the sleeping room of the boat floating on the sea. Some of the previous
workers left various materials for study like textbooks, folk tales, samurai
stories, etc. So, he had good materials enough to improve his cultural
ability.
He begins to study textbooks for low grades of elementary school at the
corner of the crowded room under a lantern not only at the lodge but on
the boat .
Until this level the colleagues taught him half jokingly.
"No, not. This way."
"Yes, yes. So nice, good boy."
"Congratulations! You just finished the 3rd grade, Kyozo."
"............"
Up from this level he had to study on his own. But this learning job was
more pleasant than the work during the daytime.
"You better go to bed right way."
"Too bad for your health."
The caution of the colleagues was as usual. It was always at dawn when he got aware.
The accumulation of the everyday effort was great. Though like an inchworm,
it opened his way to the future once gaining momentum.
He came to be able to read a sword fight novel in several years, and improved
the ability of calculation to the degree not to have any trouble in business.
Also, he came to be able to have daily English talk in business, thanks
to the relationship with the Christians in church and the contact with
the local commission merchants. But it was Kyozo's nature not to be satisfied
with such a level
"How would the exchange of ideas of each side be done more easily
and smoothly?"
This wish was not from his own irritation, but from his thought that the
hard life of his colleagues relied upon this business. The purchase and
sell negotiation should not be left to other people forever.
Kyozo considered this business also to be his duty, so he voluntarily joined
in such business talks and learned by practice. Since he was not self-centered,
both business partners and his colleagues accepted what he did.
When leaving Arafura Sea, he could manage to read English papers. It was
thanks to Father Baike and the Bible.
He had met Father owning his church at Caerns and also spreading Christianity
at Thursday Island. Kyozo asked him teachings and was baptized by him.
Father Baike especially loved the obedient young man from a different country. The Bible given by Father became Kyozo's best learning material. He made progress with its English.
Kyozo was uneducated but was already not uncultured.
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