Kenzaburo Oe - Somersault

On the day of the meeting Ogi remained behind in the office, though he and Dancer were the ones in charge of arranging the meeting. New mem- bers of the Fireflies, who had helped out the day Kizu was released from the hospital, were formed into a security squad, which was also put in charge of transportation to the Old Town. It took less than thirty minutes to drive from the Hollow to the lodge in the hills surrounding the basin where Maki Town lay. Still, with Patron participating, the security squad left nothing to chance and came up with a detailed plan.

The car with Patron and Dancer was sandwiched in between two oth- ers, this followed by a minivan carrying Ms. Tachibana and Morio, Ms. Asuka, Dr. Koga, Mrs. Shigeno, and Mr. Hanawa (who was in charge of production at the Farm) and, bringing up the rear, Kizu in a car loaded with security squad members and with Gii in the front passenger seat.

Maki Town had already had a hotel at the time a national soccer tour- nament was held there but built this lodge in addition; the word was that after that one tournament the place had never again been full. Now, though, all two hundred and fifty rooms were booked solid for the three-day conference.

The head of the Kansai headquarters of the church, Mr. Soda, had been in charge of construction of the lodge and had close connections with the town leaders.

A banquet hall, spacious enough for a wedding reception, was set aside for the meeting. In front of the chairs lined up on the main floor was a low raised platform for the church members to sit on. The media were assigned seats behind the town authorities and other interested parties.

The mayor made a few opening remarks, and then Dr. Koga, seated on the dais between Patron and Dancer, took the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Church of the New Man, the name given to the church by the leader we call Patron. This summer conference has given us the opportunity to meet with the town authorities and future local leaders. We are grateful to you, Mr. Mayor, and all of you, for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us today; we're also joined today by mem- bers of the media.

"We'd like to proceed with a question-and-answer format. However, please be advised that Patron will not be directly answering any questions. In his stead, each of us will field questions based on our own area of expertise.

Now I'd like to turn things over to the young woman called Dancer, her pro- fessional name within the church, who works most closely with Patron."

Dr. Koga started to pass the microphone to her in front of Patron, but she leaned back to take it from behind, and the audience burst out laughing.

Kizu understood what a popular local figure Dr. Koga was through his work at the clinic in town.

Dancer's hair had been dyed by Mrs. Tagawa with brown mixed in with the natural black, and she had on an open-collared floral-print blouse.

The comic role Dr. Koga had just played in this mix-up, and Dancer's calm reaction, underscored all the more the dignified way in which she pre- pared to speak.

"There is a reason Patron has on sunglasses," she began. "Those of you in the media taking pictures, please retrain from using a flash.

"The upcoming summer conference will be the first national meeting of the Church of the New Man, as well as an opportunity for the local com- munity to get to know us, so Patron is preparing a sermon for the occasion.

The concentration required for this is the same needed for the trances that used to be at the core of his religious activities and is one of the ascetic prac- tices he's engaged in at present.

"Those of us in the inner circle of the church are eagerly anticipating Patron's sermon, which will be the climax of the conference. We have the deepest gratitude and respect for Patron for undergoing the emotional and physical strain involved in concentrating as deeply as he is now. This intense concentration every day makes his eyes overly sensitive to light, thus the dark glasses. Despite this sensitivity, Patron has been kind enough to join us here today. He's doing this because there are two points he'd like to make clear to you. They are as follows: "Item one is that our church is not being threatened by any opposing groups. I'm sure all of you have read this in the newspapers and elsewhere, but a combative stance by a radical faction over certain issues led to the sacri- fice of a person very dear to us, Guide; these issues, however, have been partly resolved.

"The so-called former radical faction, people who were at the Izu Re- search Institute, are here now, devoting themselves to building our new church. Dr. Koga is one of these people, which should give you an idea of the sort of group we're talking about. So rest assured there's no danger of any attack by an opposing group that will throw the summer conference into confusion. Nevertheless, we do want to take precautions regarding security. In this regard we're receiving help from a local organization called the Fireflies.

"Item two is that we do not intend to use the summer conference as the opportunity to proselytize or expand our church. The members who attend from all over Japan will not be remaining here after the conference.

"Now I'd like to turn things over to Dr. Koga, who will handle the question-and-answer session."

"I've been working with the church's farm production and Maki Town special products to come up with a plan to sell our goods in Matsuyama and the Kansai region," said the first person to stand up and ask a question, a man Kizu had seen visiting the church. He owned a sake brewery and had par- ticipated in the movement of the Fireflies to restore the natural environment along the banks of the Kame and Maki rivers. "I've talked to quite a few people in the church, and I get the feeling that I can work with them. It felt like a regular church, with the Fireflies that were just mentioned often attending.

Some parents were concerned about this and came to discuss it with me, so I checked things out. The conclusion I reached was that the Fireflies and the church are two independent groups that have an amicable relationship. My opinion of the Fireflies went way up, in fact, and we're actually considering some joint projects.

"What I'm hearing now, though, is that the church is solidifying itself around its existing core. Doesn't this mean that it will exclude outsiders? And if that's true, won't this cause difficulties between the Farm and all of us?

Instead of being cut off from their present loose connection with the church, our hearts is also part of God's design. And through this we can actively par- ticipate in the end of the world. That is true repentance.

"After Patron's Somersault, we Quiet Women were struggling to find a way in which we could participate. We've been able to meet up with Patron again and live under his guidance, which has borne fruit in this new Church of the New Man. We feel blessed to be included in this official launch of the new church at the upcoming summer conference."

Mrs. Shigeno gave a charming little gesture, and a burst of applause followed. The applause came from the floor, from a group of interested local residents, but several of the church members sitting across from them also joined in, including Kizu. Dr. Koga, who didn't join in the applause, leaned over to Kizu and said in a low voice, "Let's not forget that the Quiet Women were also one of the sects that drove Patron to do the Somersault."

Dr. Koga then turned to face the audience and said, more loudly, "Our meeting here to discuss the upcoming summer conference of the Church of the New Man is now concluded." He ignored a few raised hands from the reporters. "Details of the program for the conference are as stated in the handout.

"Next on our schedule is a visit to the basement hot-springs pool, which had been closed and is now reopened for the use of our guests. It's just been cleaned, and we've been invited to try it out today. Getting a little carried away, perhaps, we'd like you to see for yourselves Professor Kizu's miraculous re- covery that I know you're all interested in. As a special favor to the TV crews, we've arranged to have Professor Kizu swim in the pool.