1. The Illness of his Niece

Two years after coming back from the mine, Kyozo once surprised people in the midsummer of Showa 23 (1948).

The couple of Takezo Wozumi, Kyozo's 3rd younger brother, were worried about the serious disease of their only daughter Hiroko.

The daughter, in the 6th grade of elementary school, caught measles during the rainy season. Though she recovered from measles, she developed complications. The old doctor prescribed some medicine for her as pneumonia, but far from recovering she became terribly weak, with vomiting and the runs. She was in a state that threatened her life.

The doctor also realized she was not suffering from mere pneumonia. Shingu Hospital itself did not seem to have proper advice for a suitable treatment. It was a fact that the doctor dispensed medicine to the best of his knowledge and oversaw her condition while giving nourishment through an intravenous drip.

When Kyozo, Takezo's elder brother, was visiting his niece, the doctor murmured to himself something that did not seem to match him.

"I remember a Chinese old story that an eye-lifeblood of a big carp saved a person with this kind of disease, ..."

He might have given a glimpse of his true thoughts, that there was nothing he could do about it. 

On another subject, Mifune Festival of Kumano-Hayatama Grand Shrine was held in Shingu City in autumn every year.There was a plausible rumor being whispered around this area that upstream from Mifune Island floating in Kumano River, the main stage of the festival, a head of a big carp might live down on the riverbed. This rumor appears in a local folk tale, too.

Several carp over 1 meter long live on the riverbed with their children and babies, and they swim in a line with their heads at the front. 

In order to examine the fact, some people sometimes on a boat dropped an anchor and dropped a line, or dove into the water. But no one had seen such a big carp yet. It might be because it was not a suitable place, or they could not  dive down so deep before becoming out of breath. 

2. Is There a Big Carp?

Aside from whether the old doctor had such a delusion in mind or not, Takezo, father of Hiroko, paid no attention to the doctor's whisper and just nodded. Though he also used to work in the Arafura Sea, he might not have reached this idea because he was not good at diving.

The elder brother Kyozo was a little different. He believed that an eye-lifeblood of a big carp the doctor talked about in a low voice could save Hiroko's life.

But the essential matter wwas, whether or not such a big carp really lived near Mifune Island in Kumano River. Even only half believing it, he would not like to dismiss this as just a rumor or folk tale, or as totally a fairy tale.

Saying, "I see" in a hoarse voice, he looked like he was deciding something.

After dropping in at home for his underwater gun, uncle Kyozo rode a bus to Shingu and visited the city office. 

"I have something to ask about a carp in Kumano River. ..." he said.

A staff looked bewildered at first, then, coming to himself, passed it on to Mr. Miura, assistant manager of the Resource and Environment Department.

The assistant manager, in his 30s, seemingly liked an odd story. He looked politem with thin hair unlikely for his age.

Leading Kyozo in a friendly way to the reception room, he surrounded the table with his two staff members. They first paid attention to his underwater gun put against the wall. This was probably the first time they saw this gun.

With no hesitation, Kyozo started his talk slowly. The outline is as follows. 

“My niece is on the verge of death with a serious disease. Her doctor, seemingly out of opinions, talked about a big carp in a Chinese folk tale. The eye-lifeblood of such a big carp could save my niece's life.
Besides, I heard a story that some such big carp may live upperstream from Mifune Island in Kumano River. I don't like to kill anything needlessly, but if I might find any big carp, say more than 1 meter long, I would like you to allow me to kill just one.
Since I have no time to lose, I have visited you here in a hurry in an attempt to get the city's approval.”

After listening to the talk in a hoarse voice, interupting  sometimes, Mr. Miura nodded with a smile, and did not keep Kyozo too long. He also seemed to have a flash of some other idea in his mind. He said.
"No selfish behavior that troubles the city should be accepted, such as environmental destruction or indiscriminate hunting, etc., but what you are going to do is no problem from my understanding. I will take any responsibility."
He continued.
"I say, if ..., if you find any carp more than 1 meter long, I will accept that you kill only one. Its blood and meat can be used as you like. But could you give its skeleton to the city as faithfully as it is, because we would like to keep it in some way. If you accept my request, we will lend you a small boat. I hope it will be a precious event for the city, too."

Two days later, Kyozo started to examine the underwater place that met his expectations, using a small boat prepared by the city. He did the same thing the next day, and dropped in at the city office saying, "I will carry it out tomorrow."
It was the fourth day since he had visited his niece Hiroko. 

3. A Big Carp in Kumano River 

As soon as he got up, Kyozo closely checked his underwater gun. Three small extra spears, what he calls chokkiri, were prepared just in case. This time he was prepared with a net bag instead of a fishing bottsuri basket.
He let his wife Kumano go to Takezo's house to tell them the eye-lifeblood of a big carp would be delivered in the evening. 

When he arrived at the city office before noon, Mr. Miura, assistant manager, was waiting for him wearing an open-necked shirt, and encouraged him.
Mr. Miura made sure that a boatman accompany  Kyozo just for today, and it was a boon to him. 

Early in the lukewarm afternoon, with thunderheads in the sky, an expert boatman started to row a small boat from the riverbed and went up to the area 100 meters upstream Mifune Island. There under Kyozo's direction the boatman proceeded quietly with the bow of the boat horizontal to the island, and dropped anchor at the area considerably away from the assumed spot on the Shingu side. This  was because he did not want to let the carp head and its family be on guard.

Kyozo dove without oxygen tanks and wore a fundoshi with a diving mask on his face. He left the boat with no sound on the water, holding the underwater gun in his right hand. The boatman whispered "Take care". The boat swayed a little following the stream. 
Kyozo could dive for 5 minutes at least, which is the gift from his time at the Arafura Sea.
He twice makes sure of the area far below  the water’s surface.
Yes, here they are! Several of them! Just the same as yesterday!
He went up from the water, putting the situation firmly into his head, and amply regained his breath.
Then drawing the underwater gun to the full, he dove deep down to the bottom. 

The big carp he has been aiming at is calmly swimming past the expected place. After making thorough preparations, the thin-bamboo underwater gun with a spear at the end rushes out of his right hand. It sticks deeply into the carp's gills, true to its aim.
The big carp shook its tail fin twice and breathed its last. The sniper, trained in the sea, pulled the head out of the water bottom and held it in his arms, and quickly came up to the surface. 

When the small boat got back to the riverbed, Mr. Miura, assistant manager, was waiting with a dozen staff members.

He was the first to come closer to the boat and stood petrified, staring in wonder at the unexpected size of the big carp.
"Thanks a lot for your hard work! "
This cry is all he can manage. Forgetting tosmile, he stared at the  big carp with a tense look on his face.
A man, seemingly a dish craftsman, runs up to the carp with a staff, rapidly so as to not lose a second. He speedily pushes a kitchen knife, like a scalpel, into its eye, and pours its lifeblood into a bottle. 

Then two tall men carry the carp on a pole with its tail fin tied by a rope. The carp hangs straight upside down.
A cameraman takes its pictures again and again with two boys on both sides.
"The length is 158 centimeters."
A measurement man cries in a loud voice.
"158 centimeters, right?!"
Mr. Miura repeats in a loud voice, too.
It was quite natural that the carp was much taller than the boys. 

Every newspaper the next morning reported this happening. They referred only in passing to Kyozo's private reason. Their main point was that there were a considerable number of huge carp around the bottom of the river, and the underwater gun that caught one of them was the invention of Mr. Kyozo Wozumi, aged 48. 

At Takezo Wozumi's house, in the presence of the old doctor, the girl Hiroko was forced to drink up the lifeblood of the big carp, sobbing and closing her eyes.
She recovered her health very quickly from the next day, which proved the truth of the Chinese folk tale. 

The skelton of the big carp was carried to Shingu Senior High School for keeping  in its biology room. Mr. Miura explained the details to the principal in a pretentious way.

In a well-known restaurant several gourmets waited for the carp meat in order to enjoy it as slices of half boiled carp rinsed in cold water. But their great expectations were betrayed. The too  fatty meat was unsuitable for food and far from enjoyment. They had to give up. 

Kyozo and Kuma burnt incense sticks at a Buddhist altar and held a religious service for the big carp, giving thanks to it.
Although they already knew about it from talks in town, Kyozo's children nagged him for more information. But their father would not  talk about it, saying, "Pray with me for Hiroko to be saved and blessed by that big carp."