Kenzaburo Oe - Somersault

An emotion appeared in Dr. Koga's eyes, now even more dark and shin- ing than usual, and as Asa-san paused he called out to her.

"Ma'am, I think the principal and you are truly outstanding people.

When I opened the clinic here I had the same misgivings the principal spoke of. But wouldn't it be a little too obvious if the remnants of the former radical faction tried to deceive Patron once again into doing what they planned be- fore the Somersault? For the time being I'm relieved that Patron has put forth his concept of the Church of the New Man. That's the slippage you spoke of.

He's an obstinate person. He isn't criticizing his own role in the Somersault, nor is he going to set the clock back to before the Somersault. He's trying to introduce some slippage."

"The liquor's gotten to me, I'm afraid," Mr. Soda said, "and I can't make any proper comment, but I do agree with Dr. Koga that the slippage that Patron has carved out over the past decade is powerful. As long as that holds true, we at the Kansai headquarters made the right decision to lay the ground- work for him here.

"What do you say we follow the principal's lead and go down to the floor level? The space below Meisuke-san's kamidana was wasted space, so we made a cellar for storing sake. It's a wine cellar, but we also have some very nice whiskey there. It would appear that we haven't maintained the good drinking habits of the Base Movement, after all. Would you join me for a drink? Koga, be a good guy and bring some glasses for us. There s water in the cellar."

"I'll take care of the glasses," Asa-san said in a spirited voice. The former principal told her to rinse them out first, so she went over to the sink to do what he said.

Mr. Soda turned on a light in the dirt-floored area and the four men, looking down through the window that looked out over the valley and the shiny rain-dewed leaves of the nearby branches of the birches and elms just outside, sat down in a row and began to drink their whiskey and water. The former principal expounded on the topic of the island region where this malt whiskey originated.

For the first time Mr. Soda expressed his reaction to seeing Kizu's trip- tych. "Dancer sent me an e-mail saying that Patron quoted from the letter to the Ephesians. I reread it myself, and it says, 'He has made the two one and has destroyed the dividing wall of hostility through his own flesh,' right?

When I saw your painting in the chapel, Professor, I thought it shows exactly that: the Old Man and the New Man in one painting. Old Men like us still want to have hope, don't we?"

"That's right, Mr. Soda. Guide died as one of the Old Men, and even though we're all Old Men ourselves, we want to believe we can coexist with the New Men."

Dr. Koga, too, was starting to show signs of being drunk, and when Asa- san, who'd quickly finished the dishes, slipped on her sandals and joined them, he reverently poured out some whiskey into a new glass for her, asking how much water she'd like.

Registration was to begin at 10 A.M., on the first Friday in August, at the temporary office set up below the dam. Under the clear sky a line had already formed before seven. Kizu heard that by the time the official regis- tration began, the line extended all the way to where it could be seen from the Mansion, where Mr. Soda was staying.

The temporary office was set up in the square below the dam with two red and green vertically striped tents that looked like overturned bowls. A festive summery feeling swept through the line of people, making the atmo- sphere all the more lively.

Ms. Asuka brought over a Fruit of the Rain Tree lunch box and soup in a paper container for Kizu and was uncharacteristically excited as she re- ported that by afternoon the number of registrants had topped five hundred.

Events planned included the Fireflies on Friday night and their Spirit Pro- cession on Sunday afternoon, followed by Patron's public sermon, all of which could be seen from the bleachers set up on the newly prepared path around the lake in the Hollow. Plans for the conference were based on the number of seats there, including areas for people to stand. Sightseers from Maki Town and surrounding areas, however, were allowed free entrance with- out registering.

Registration cards with numbers were distributed that allowed partici- pants free access to the dining hall in the monastery and to the chapel to view Kizu's triptych. Having people register was a way for those who'd dropped out of the church after the Somersault to declare their intentions now that the new church was about to be launched.

The office estimated that over seven hundred people would register on the first day, and since they'd all come from far away there was a need to find lodgings beyond what had already been arranged. They checked at the Maki Town Inn and other Japanese inns that they'd originally left off their list be- cause of the price. They also had to increase the number of shuttle buses taking people from their lodgings to the Hollow. Followers who'd arrived ahead of time helped out as volunteers at the temporary office, but the whole first day was chaotic, to say the least.

"Patron's public sermon of course will be one of the highlights, but the small-group meetings tomorrow and the next day at the monastery, where people will talk about their sufferings over the past decade, seem quite popu- lar as well. The Quiet Women are running those.

"Other followers who haven't gotten in touch with us have talked with their former fellows in the church and will be holding their own independently organized small meetings," Ms. Asuka added. "The office has to find rooms for the meetings, so we've asked the Farm, the Mansion, and Fushoku temple to provide space, and we've had to increase the number of smaller gatherings.

Dancer's been very quick to take on this task and is quite the negotiator."

There was one more important reason that brought Ms. Asuka to walk up to Kizu's house on the north shore of the Hollow. Among the people who registered were those with no previous or present connection with the church, she reported, but who were cancer patients or family members of those who were too ill to make the trip. They wanted to be cured by Patron-or at least have him agree to try-and also hoped to hear directly from Kizu about his miraculous experience.

It would be impossible to have Patron do anything like that while the conference was in session, and Kizu couldn't be asked to participate in all these small-group meetings. Patron wouldn't be participating in the press conference the following day, but could Kizu attend and say a few words?

He couldn't say no.

Ms. Asuka did everything with great enthusiasm. Undaunted by the heat, she was dressed in short-sleeved khaki work clothes and high laced shoes.

She also talked about how she'd been allowed to videotape the Fireflies' pro- cession scheduled for that evening.

"Asa-san told me that the Fireflies are children who carry lanterns with candles in them, and other children carry extra candles, and they all climb up into the woods with some object that a soul has been transferred into, which they lay at the base of a selected tree. These small lights moving through the forest are hard to see, and it would take a lot of time, so I'd given up on trying to film it.

"But what happened was the Maki police and fire department said they wouldn't allow children to play with fire like that, so Gii drew up a revised plan, and they were given the go-ahead. Which also made it possible to video- tape it. I can really see why Ikuo expects great things of Gii!"

The twilight sky was still brightly reflected on the lake's surface, though the woods were completely dark, when Kizu heard Dancer's voice from speakers on the island in the middle of the lake giving an explanation of the Young Fireflies. Kizu sprayed insect repellent all over his arms and legs, turned out the houselights, and sat down in front of the open window to watch the proceedings.