前のエピソード――Part II Hisako's Note (3) Emigrant's life (and death of two brothers of mine at the same time) )

　4 Arrival in Japan

　Started working as a caddy

　Arrival in Japan

　I have no choice but to go to Japan. This was my conclusion of two weeks of consideration. I had consulted the senior and had quit the bank. I had arranged the lives of remaining Jiro, Mayumi, a feeble brother, and Kazuo's wife and two children. Fifteen days after quitting the bank I was onboard the plane. I was wretched both physically and mentally, however, I had no time to say "tired".

　The plane took off carrying migrant workers. In my mind I was arguing against myself ― "I am going", "No, I want to get off", "I am going", "No, I want to go home." Among the passengers there were fifteen women of eighteen years old to their forties who are going to work together as caddies in the same golf club in Gumma.

　Started working as a caddy

　 The next morning on our arrival to Japan, as early as 6:50 a.m. I got in the golf club's limousine bus to my first place of work. I was still tired after a long journey but did not care. Naturally I should have slept well because I have been freed from various worries, however, I could not sleep at all despite the safe and cozy bed of the dormitory.

　As to Japanese language, I had usually heard and conversed when my parents were still alive. But after they had died, I seldom used Japanese in family. So, at first it was rather hard for me to speak it.

　In Brazil I had a pride being a clerk of the first-rate bank. So, the job as caddy was very miserable and tiresome at first. But as days passed, it gradually became a joy to meet the guest. The 18-hole golf course was made in what was once a cedar mountain covered 1,379ha. I thought 'it feels good to be out there. At work one must run around the field and the slopes, which is better for the health than desk work like a bank clerk. What a good luck to be able to wok with the people who came together from Brazil and Japanese colleagues in an amicable circumstances.

　I also thought, 'I have a room to rest on my own after the work, a shower to cool the sweaty body, a bed, and good meal. The job is hard, but it has become easier as one is accustomed to work. How happy am I!'

　Author's note

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　Someone was always around Hisako. When Hisako took a seat people quickly gathered not only those from Brazil but also Japanese colleagues, temporary working high school or university students. I have a photo of Hisako and her colleagues from Brazil and I at the meeting room of the dormitory shows a good atmosphere around her. Hisako had something that attracted others. Among Hisako's colleagues there was a Japanese cook at the golf course who did not speak much. She happened to be in the　 same hospital where the Kazuo's body was brought in. Not knowing that he had been killed, she thought that she could be a liaison between the hospital and the dormitory. Most people who came to know her had a sympathetic feeling with her.

　Hisako was a Christian who prayed every night whatever happened. She prayed "May the family in Brazil be safe. Please protect Kazuo and his uncle who works here in Japan. "

　Twice a month she called to Brazil. The long-distance call cost much but at any rate she wanted to hear the voice of the family. Her twenty-year old daughter began to cry on the phone, "Mama, come back soon." She said to herself "Why can I go back just after I have started working?"

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(End of Section 4)