Kyozo Wozumi ended the sea life in 1932 at the age of 32 after 17 years
in Arafura Sea. Eight years had passed even after his quick return to his
hometown.
Kyozo is now going back to Japan leaving the South Seas and Thursday Island.
A steamship of about 100 tons goes up north through between New Guinea
Island and Indonesia Islands, and passes the equator.
The ship repeated to get refueling at Palau, Guam and other several ports,
and finally got to Kushimoto Port after a half-month voyage at the beginning
of March.
The newly-married couple of Kyozo and Kuma began their belated life in Miwasaki, in the new two-story house with a suitable view of the sea just beyond the side street.
Kuma is now at the age of 25 after eight years when they had a wedding ceremony at Hachiman Shrine.
Kyozo's relation with Arafura Sea is going to continue by his new boat
"Hinomoto-maru" for the picking of pearl oysters.
He goes offshore daily on his hand-rowing boat. With no interest in fishing,
he dove into the sea and bagged fishes with the underwater gun of a bamboo
pole invented by himself.
On the way back home, "bottsuri" (a basket for fish woven by
bamboo) is heavy with sea breams, flatfish, gure, shrimps, abalones, ...
Kuma's parents of Sanoh family and neighbors receive charity every time.
This was certainly his passtime. His main daily task was the work both
at the field on the hill near Koyazaka Slope (a part of Kumano Ancient
Roads) and at the rice field just west of Hachiman Shrine.
His eagerness to devise anything does not change on land, either. In the
field he tried to develop the new potato variety in his own way. No change
of sweetness, but he harvested many pieces of Norin-one of his type as
large as a pumpkin, which was a topic in town every year.
In the rice field, he had steadily prepared for biannual cropping. How
and what to fertilize, how to cultivate, when to plant the first cropping,
etc.
He cultivated the 2 square-kilometer-field himself with no help of a cow.
Kuma helped him while managing the grocery store.
Sequel to the story, a couple of years after the war, he succeeded in biannual cropping for the first time around Kii Peninsula, which was reported by major newspapers.
But after several years he put it back to once a year, by several reasons
like the expense much more than the double amount of harvest, and less
chance to go fishing.
Above all, the true reason seems that he got tired of it after the achievement
of his target. He was eager in his original way, but at the same time,
"he rather takes interest in something easily, but it rather fades
quickly."
Relaxation, entertainment, friendship, ..., such mental pleasures were
irrelevant to Kyozo, while the life with Kuma was the happiest to him.
Their life is going on in the two-storied wide house bought formerly an
inn. The double bed on the second floor, ordered from a long-established
trading company in Kobe, is the couple's castle solid and comfortable to
sleep.
The beloved wife was a glamorous lady at the age of 25. Even remaining
trace of a girl in her shy smile, she already became mature with fair figure.
In addition to her natural looks, her face with long bound black hair had
a slight sex appeal, and her formally skinny body was well-propotioned.
Kyozo enjoyed himself in bed like being in heaven. Kuma rewarded him for
his hard work in Arafura Sea.
The new husband put his face on the bride's black hair with his hand on
her breast gently. He caressed her as tenderly as patting an important
pearl oyster even with a hand rough like a pine cone. Kuma gave herself
over to happiness by being embraced by her beloved husband. .....
Kyozo is remembering Arafura Sea with Kuma's head on his arm.
He begins to talk in a hoarse voice lying on his back and looking up the
ceiling. It is his working days until just lately. Kuma is listening intently
with her eyes closed.
"Arafura Sea was a nice sea. You see, the sun beats down on us everyday.
It is so glaring that you cannot open your eyes. The sea is rippling a
little and is brilliant in all the colors of blue, green, yellow, ..."
"When dive into the sea, you find the bottom transparent as far as
your eye can see, and coral reefs are widened far away."
"I work quietly and gently so as not to break them. I imagine a fairyland is as such. I would really like to show it to you."
"Many and various fishes are swimming. Large and small. You will surely
be surprised. The same kinds of fishes get together, coming and going here
and there. They are just like birds and animals around the hills and fields."
"Various marine lives are crawling on the sea bottom. Fixing your
eyes in the dim atmosphere, you can see them. Some are slow and others
are fast. All of them are sweet. Seagrasses all around are swaying and
small fishes like butterflies and birds are flying swiftly. It is like
you are walking around a hill or a field. It is just a paradise making
me forget the work."
"The largest pearl I picked was much bigger than a thumb. I really
wanted to show it to you then. I heard it was sold at a huge price. The
one larger was insect-eaten. ..."
"Story of sharks tomorrow. It should be scary!"
Kyozo's story is not limited to the sea bottom. Thursday Island, New Guinea
Islands, Caians Town and Father Baike, interactions with local people,
......
The story was stopped not knowing, and Kyozo is sleeping with regular breathing.
And then he begins to snore.
At first this snoring bothered Kuma. He breathes in with a noisy nasal
and stops breathing for about one minute at the top. After that he breathes
out suddenly at a stretch. Then a nasal and a regular breathing continue
for a while, and intermittent snoring follows.
Kuma accepted it as one of the souvenirs from Arafura Sea, and rather than that she felt him adorable. She became used to it before long and did not mind it.
2. Wish to have a child
Both of this couple are still irrelevant to the sense of fun. In case of
their absence from home, it is only when they go to Kawayu Spa around the
upper reaches of Kumano River, wishing Kuma's pregnancy.
There are two ways to get to such famous spots like Kawayu Spa, Yunomine
Spa, Doro Gorge and Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine. Go up on a boat along Kumano
River or use the traffic road.
The boat used to be a cruiser with a propeller for the purpose of sightseeing,
but the propeller's whirling noise was so loud that no conversation was
possible hence the guide's announcement. The boat was lately changed to
a jet cruiser which is a little more comfortable.
The traffic road, on the other hand, was built opening the mountain road
along Kumano River. Since the beginning of the days of private cars, it
has been two lanes, but at the time the road was a narrow one lane which
gave drivers a hardship to dodge an oncoming car.
Kyozo's couple naturally made use of a Kumano Traffic bus. They got on
it in front of Shingu Station and got off at the stop near Hongu Grand
Shrine. It took about two hours.
The feature of Kawayu Spa is that hot springs gush out here and there around
the riverbed. Guests can either soak in wherever dug by a shovel or soak
shoulders deep in the open-air bath called "Hermit Bath". The
unique hot spring can be enjoyed here throughout the seasons.
Kuma solely took an indoor bath of the inn, not using the hot spring of
the riverbed. A sense of shame was her true feeling, but it was also because
she considered Kyozo's jealousy.
Kuma had been diagnosed not to get pregnant. Shingu Hospital took every
prescription to her in vain.
The couple prayed to every God and Buddha, ... Christianity, Shinto, Buddhism,
Konko-kyo, Tenri-kyo, .....
After out of options, Kuma asked Kyozo to divorce her. Kyozo got really
angry and said.
"It is true I want a baby. But I am happy just to be with you. Which
is important to you, either a rumor of other people or me?
Kyozo was rather relieved by a doctor's announcement, and had a future
plan with Kuma: To show her the South Seas, to have a trip around the world
on the large sightseeing ship "Hikawa-maru", .....
Kuma called Kyozo "omahama" (a dialect for "my dear").
She says,
" You omahama had a hard time in Arafura Sea for a long time. You
do not blame me as non-pregnant. You really make me live in comfort. My
parents of Sanoh say you are God. Please live just as you please. You can
drink and smoke."
She thought so from the bottom of her heart, not only from her excuse.
"There is no such a tender man. I am really sorry for your consideration.
I never complain for anything like a womanizing and whatever. If you do
such a thing, I may be at ease."
She sometimes talked to him with tears in her eyes. Kyozo's answer was
like this everytime.
"It was the best present to me from heaven that you married me. I
don't know the happiness better than this. Never say so. It makes me painful."
The talk between the couple was good enough, but Kyozo began drinking and
smoking, mostly because of the temptation at night meetings and events
he had to attend reluctantly. But Kuma's appeal was actually help to him.
Kuma became in smile at last. Every night she served him hot sake and a
dish of fishes he caught. Kuma could not drink at all, for which she was
so sorry.
Kuma wished to open a grocery store, not satisfied with the farmwork only.
She seemed to have investigated the surrounndings in her own way.
The wide entrance part was revised to be the space of Wozumi Grocery Store.
Their house used to be an inn, so it had a good space for such use.
Though the requirement for opening a store was severe under the controlled
economy, she was able to get every neccessary license for alcohol, tobacco,
salt, sugar, miso, soy sauce, ..., so she got to manage a store with most
of day-to-day goods.
Kyozo was in charge of purchasing under the direction of the purchase ledger
Kuma made, and Kuma was a manager of the store. The couple who did not
go to even elementary school enough could manage a ledger, and more than
that Kuma's modest attitude, consideration and good care by nature made
the store favorite to most of the town people, and then they employed a
female clerk.
For the time being after they opened the store, Miwasaki Fishery Cooperative
was involved in a complicated case.
