I raise my head
and light the old oil lamp:
cold is the night.
The Korean War started but luckily neither Yukichi nor I were sent to fight in it. In fact the Korean War involved also the China Empire, as they didn't accept our control on the Korean peninsula. Our Army, modern and efficient, soon overcame the Chinese interference and this victory was celebrated in Japan with utmost pride. But Russia, France and Germany seemed worried at our evident power and put pressure on our Prime Minister Ito for Japan to give back the Liaotung peninsula that we conquered to the Chinese. The Triple Intervention was felt by many Japanese as un unfair interference and an humiliation, like an attempt to keep Japan at a lower level than the Great Powers, and this gave strength and vigour to the nationalists.
Just during the war, Tachikawa fell ill of some disease of his liver. Notwithstanding Aritada summoned the best doctors in the capital, there was nothing to do. We went often to visit him during his illness -- he was really prostrate and yet he maintained his serene and slightly ironic attitude towards life and its vicissitudes.
"Do you see, the gods and the buddhas are merciful -- before I became a wreck, they decided that my life has to end. At least, Aritada will remember me as a still strong man. I still have all my teeth and also all my hair, and, at least to a few weeks ago, I could still make love like a young man." he told me a few days before his death, with ironical pride.
In a few months my colleague died. He was a little more than sixty years old. For Aritada it was a really deep sorrow. He wanted only Yukichi and me to escort him to the banks of the Sumida River where he spread Tachikawa's ashes, near the Senso Temple, following his lover's last will.
While spreading the ashes on the river's waters, he improvised this haiku, playing with the meaning of Tachikawa's name, "the outstanding river":
Swift flow the waters,
while standing by the river,
ah! The longest night!
Then, he added with a great nostalgia: "I loved him, my great old man, with all my heart."
"He too loved you deeply." Yukichi said to him trying to console him in some way.
"Yes, I know. For me he renounced his everlasting search for kids. Even when I became an adult, he remained faithful to me. And I was faithful to him. And now I feel so lonely..."
"But you, at least, have a family." I said.
"My wife is interested only not to lack money. About my children, they are growing, they will leave me. He was so important for me. At times my friends asked me what could I find, young and rich as I am, in a simple teacher as he was. But he was a person of an incredible inner richness. Yes, I admired and esteemed him very much. I felt safe, with him. I prayed the gods and the buddhas to take twenty years of my life and to give them to him, but they didn't listen to me. I do not want him to be forgotten. He loved kids, not just in a physical meaning. He really loved them, them all, not only those who shared his bed. So, I decided I want to found a school in his name, for the high school kids, between the fourteen and the eighteen years. And, as he dreamed, there will be scholarships to allow the poorest but more skilled boys to study. He will be happy for that, don't you think?"
"Certainly. It is a splendid idea." Yukichi said him warmly.
"You, Fujita-sensei, would accept to became the director of this school?" Aritada asked me.
I was not at all expecting such a request, therefore I did not answer at once -- it seemed to me a too serious task, and I was not sure to be equal to this task, to be able to carry it out in the best of ways. But Yukichi persuaded me to accept, and told me that he discussed with Aritada some points about how to organize the school and that he thought very beautiful I give my contribution for its birth.
So, the High School Tachikawa was founded and was built on a free land in Yotsuya, and I was appointed its director. With Aritada, we wrote down its rules. The school accepted only boarding students (this facilitated particularly the boys of poor families) and was hence provided with a modern dormitory. There was a gym, and playing fields, the refectory, the common baths, a surgery, all in low buildings immersed in the greenery. The first year we toured all the primary schools of the poorest neighbours of Tokyo to recruit our first students. We gave them the program for the admission test, then on the following March we held the first examination round. It was not an easy test, as we wanted only the most willing and able students. But if they passed the text, the school was then practically within everybody's reach as its cost was inversely proportional to the boys' results -- the higher were their marks, the lowest the school fees.
The first year started with three first classes and seventy two students. They had thirty six hours of classes each week form Monday to Saturday, plus six hours per week of athletic and sport activities, both traditional and modern, and four more hours per week for manual free activities.
We favoured the formation of spontaneous groups to cultivate the extra curricular interests. The structure had been planned to host twelve classes, that is about two hundred and fifty students, more around twenty adults who would have lived in the school to follow the boys. There were twelve dormitories, each in a small two floors buildings, with fourteen rooms, thirteen with twin beds for the boys, and one with a single bed for the adult responsible of that dormitory. But the dormitories, differently from other schools, were not divided for year or for classes. Instead in each room, besides the first year, of course, had to sleep two boys of two different years, that is a boy of the first year with one of the third, and one of the second year with one of the fourth. In this way, in the same dormitory, there could be only two boys of the same class. This facilitated the socialization amongst boys of different classes. The elder was responsible for the younger and the adult of all the six or seven elders. Each year the boys of the third year chose amongst the newcomers their room mate, with which, if particular problems did not arise, they would share their room for two years. In four years our school was turning at full rhythm, and all was proceeding in the best of ways.
This system, even if at first had not been thought for this purpose, inevitably led to the fact that many couples of boys, sooner or later, started to share not only their room, but also their beds. This was the right age for the awakening of the first sexual desires, and it was just natural that they were led to experiment between them.
One of the responsible of a dormitory, once came to talk with me about this "problem". He had had the "strong impression" that not a few of the boys had sex between themselves, at night, in their rooms. I answered him that the boys had to learn to manage their private lives in their ways and that, from our part, we were not concerned with their choices. We had only to be sure that there was no bullying from a boy on another, that nobody was forced to do or to undergo to things he didn't want. For the rest, we had only to care that the boys studied. Of course, we did not encourage this kind of personal relationship, but we did not interfere with it.
"At that age, almost all the boys pass through such experiences. I did. Did not you?" I asked him.
"Well... of course..." he said somewhat shyly.
"And did it harm you in some ways?"
"I can not say so." the man said and told me that he understood. He never went back on this subject.
A couple of times it happened that a boy complained he was forced by his roommate to have sex. We called in the "culprit" and simply explained to him that nobody has the right to impose on another his choices, and that his fault was not having had sex, but having forced a fellow student to do it against his will. After that we simply moved him to another dormitory, warning him that if the problem rose again, we would be forced to expel him from our school. It never happened. At times couples formed also between boys not sharing the same room -- it was then enough they both asked to share a room (of course without telling us the real reason) that, as soon as possible, we moved them in the same room. At times, some of the couples lasted also after they left the school. Anyway, even if there was not a physical relationship, or if this ended naturally when separated, many afterwards remained close friends. Each year we held a meeting of all the alumni, and the greatest majority came with pleasure and remained affectionate to our school that had been able to harmonize a very strict discipline with a high degree of freedom. The preparation we gave them was such that who amongst them wanted to try the incredibly difficult entrance test for the prestigious Imperial University, had very high chances to be admitted.
We were proud of our school.
Yukichi continued to teach at the Imperial University but we did so that our schedules didn't hinder us from spending a part of our day together. I often discussed with him the problems of the Tachikawa High School, and I often followed his advice.
The most serious problem we met in our school, was when we discovered that an ex student was sneaking at night time in the school enclosure, to continue having rapport with his former roommate. One night they were caught by a night guard in the wardrobe room, united in a full intercourse. They were ordered to dress and shut in two different rooms for the rest of the night. On the following morning they were brought in my office and reported to me.
They were Sasaki Ryuta, nineteen year old, ex student, and Abe Koji, seventeen year old, of the third year. Both were standing in front of my desk, their chins on their chests.
"So, then, Sasaki-kun, would you please explain me what were you doing in our school at night time?" I asked, severe but not harsh.
"You know it, head professor Fujita, They certainly told you."
"I would like you to tell me."
"I wanted to see again Koji... I mean, Abe-kun."
"See again? Just to see him again?"
"Well, really..." he started but then blushed and became silent.
So Abe, with a low but determined voice, said: "May I speak, sir?"
"Yes, of course."
"Sasaki and I are in love and last night we were concretely demonstrating it."
"You means? Be explicit. Were you having sex together?"
"Yes, sir, I mean, no sir."
"Yes or no?"
"We were not having sex, sir, I mean, we were doing much more -- we love each other, sir, as I told you."
"So much to be ready to infringe the school rules?"
"We could not do differently, head professor." Sasaki then said.
"Who made you enter, Ryuta-kun? The gates were closed, weren't they?"
"I jumped the enclosure, sir." Sasaki murmured, then added: "Punish me, sir, not him."
"You are no more a student of this school. How can I punish you? I would have to report you to the police."
"If you want to lash me, sir, I deserve it."
"And then? Will you jump again here inside at the first occasion, possibly just being a little more careful?" I asked him.
"I am afraid I would." Sasaki said blushing.
"Head professor, we... we have to meet! We love each other, sir, we really do. Right or wrong it could be." Abe said sorrowful then, daringly, he seized his friend's hand and squeezed it. This gesture moved me. Even before I did nothing but thinking how to come out of this situation. I wanted to help the two boys, but I could surely not change the rules only for their sake.
"Sit down, boys, and listen carefully what I'm going to tell you. I respect your sentiment. But I have also to make the rules respected. Do you love each other? Good. But a stranger, and now you are a stranger, Ryuta-kun, can not enter in the school enclosure. Neither a student go out. On Sundays the boys can receive visits from their families, but unhappily you, Sasaki-kun, are not his relative. And anyway, you could certainly not withdraw how I presume you would like to do. If your love is really so strong, you will be able to endure less than two more years, wouldn't you? I understand you are young, impatient, but also strong, I think. For this time, I will punish Abe-kun only pro-forma, and I will not report Sasaki-kun to the police for trespassing. But you have to promise me you will never again do such foolishness."
"But, head professor..." Abe said.
I interrupted him: "Let me end what I am saying. Sasaki-kun, what are you doing, now? You are attending the University, if I am not wrong. What university is it?"
"Yes, sir, it is the Waseda University, sir."
"What are you studying?"
"Literature, sir."
"Do you have some free time, let's say a couple of hours per week?"
"Yes, sir, even more." he answered hesitantly, evidently without understanding the meaning of my questions.
"What do you think about coming here at this school to give private lessons to Abe-kun? Gratuitous lessons, of course."
"Me... coming here, once a week?"
"You will meet in the school library. You will never be alone, of course, but you can at least exchange some words, some writings, see each other anyway, to made the waiting less hard. What do you think of that? I can not offer much more than this. Do you accept?"
"Head professor, sir, really? Certainly we accept, right Koji? We are grateful to you, head professor, really grateful."
"But there is a condition -- you have not to try to see each other in another way, to withdraw, to cheat on me. Would you accept? Can you give me your honour word?"
They accepted and for what I know, they were faithful to their promise. When at last also Abe Koji got his diploma, they came to talk me, to thank me again.
"You have been kind with us, head professor. We will never forget it, and we will be grateful forever. You can rely on us for anything we will be able to do for you, really. For everything."
"What will you do, now, boys?"
"Koji also will enter the Waseda. And he will come to live with me in the small apartment I rented."
"Do you have money problems?"
"A little, but I am doing some part-time jobs, and anyway we are used to sacrifices."
"You said you do some part-time? What is it, Sasaki-kun?"
"I am a dish washer in a restaurant, sir."
"They pay you very little, I guess."
"It is enough to survive, sir."
"What do you think about coming here to give private lessons? This time paid, of course. I could give you... let's see... this monthly wage, for six hours each week." I said handing him a sheet of paper where I had calculated what I could pay him.
Sasaki checked it and brightened: "When can I start, sir?"
"From next week. And when Abe-kun will be in his second year, I will offer him the same treatment."
Sasaki revealed himself to be a skilled and diligent teacher, so that after his graduations, I offered him to become a full time teacher in our school. We gradually became friends, so one day I revealed him about Yukichi and me, and made them meet.
Meanwhile Yukichi obtained the full professorship for comparative literature (the first in Japan) at the Tokyo University. We both earned a good wage, so we bought the house bordering ours, pulled it down so we could enlarge both our house and the garden. In the garden I dug a well, old style in wood, and near it I made grow a wisteria... This was my surprise and present for my beloved.
Nobuo, who having resumed his studies was now able to fluently read and write, started to act also as our secretary and kept in perfect order all our papers and books. That boy had been really a wonderful acquisition for our household.
Aritada met a young American man who came to Tokyo to study Japanese and they became friends. His name was Bradford Wilson, but he was called Biway. He was a very good amateur baseball player, he had a slender but muscled body, clear brown hair, green eyes, a broad and open smile. And, as Yukichi noted, he had "or too tight trousers, or a too good endowment" that agreeably showed off between his legs. When Aritada, an evening they got half drunk together, tried to open his trousers, not only Biway let him do but as, for Aritada's luck, he too liked exclusively men, participated with enthusiasm. They made love all the night, it seems, in all the possible ways.
On the following morning they woke up, naked and intertwined, Aritada who did not suspect the taste of the handsome American young man and who imputed his participation only to the drunkenness, was really embarrassed so he started to apologise. But Biway made him shut up, French kissing him and starting again to make love with him. So their relationship started.
After some months , the young American said to Aritada: "We now know each other rather well. I like you very much, also the way you make love with me. Would you like to become my steady boyfriend?"
Aritada was not asking for better. But, at his usual, he put a condition -- he would accept to become his lover, but only if Biway remained in Japan with him.
Biway accepted immediately. "But then," the young man said, "I have to look for a job. My family will not send me not even a cent, when they will hear I don't want to go back home!"
Aritada told me these facts, and he was really excited. He told me that they were looking around to find a good job for Biway, so that he could remain in Japan, as the young man wanted, proudly and rightly, to be able to maintain himself. So, I said him that we could start a baseball team in our school, it was starting to have some popularity in Japan, and therefore hired Biway as its coach. Aritada brightened up and thanked me. He told me that he really thought of this possibility, but it did not seem fair to him, just because he was the school owner, to take advantage of that for his private interests. But as it was me to have had the idea and to have offered that possibility, he of course did not oppose.
In a short while the American coach became the idol of our students. So much that more than a boy started to do his hair in the "Biway" fashion or to imitate his gait. And the young coach had also to gently decline more than one proposal of his players. It is not that the handsome American was a model of faithfulness, he liked at times to concede himself some small adventure, but he wisely never did it with our school boys.
Once Biway also tried with Yukichi, but my Yukichi and I have always been absolutely faithful to each other. Aritada knew about his new lover's little adventures, but he always turned a blind eye to his man's casual affairs. "What do you want, my dear Fujita-sensei, I perhaps am matured, but I understood that the true faithfulness is not a physical thing. And I know that my Biway, in his way, is really faithful to me. So, I let him do. He is so young, he will calm down." he told me a day, with his usual smile, self-assuredly.