Three Views of Crystal Water (53 page)
She stood.
‘Tamio,’ she said.
* * *
They walked back down the road the way she had come, to the docks of the town. He had a new fibreglass motorboat. He was so proud of it. He put her in and pulled the throttle and they putted out from the land a little faster and more noisily than they once had. He was gentle with her as if it were Vera who had been banished, who had been at war, burned so deeply that one leg was thin and withered.
She asked about Keiko and Ikkanshi-san. She asked about their son.
‘Not their son,’ he said. Then he smiled, brilliantly. ‘My son.’ He took the boat into another dock, farther along. From here they had to climb. It was a narrow road that came close to the cliff many times; she would have been afraid to drive a car. Walking up the road she wore the sandals because, although they hurt, they felt right. As she climbed she thought, who owns the past? Is it mine? Or his? Or no-one’s? And where does it go so that, when we try to grasp it, it eludes, but dances back with its smells and sounds, remembered voices, only to prove its power, and then retreat.
‘You have a son?’ Vera said. Or had he meant that he was their son now?
‘Yes I have a son,’ he smiled. And again he eyed her carefully. ‘I had a wife also.’
The house was set up high where the trees made it dark, with the small glimmering pools of rice paddies adding light from the terraces. It was surrounded by vines and growing things; someone worked hard to encourage them. He showed her the little hut with the kiln and Keiko’s pottery studio.
There were no other women who did this, he said, and from time to time foreigners did come to look and buy. Keiko would see that they were there waiting, and come out to greet them, thinking Vera was one of those tourists.
‘She’ll be surprised,’ said Vera.
‘No, not surprised. But she will be very happy.’
Yes, she would be happy. Suddenly Vera could not wait
to put her arms around Keiko. What had James Lowinger called her? Woman of the ages. She who did not want gratitude and who did not abandon Vera, but set her free. She would be happy and she would not have doubted that they would be reunited one day.
Then they stood. Vera and Tamio stood. No, I stood – the woman who was Vera, who was me, stood with Tamio – and we waited, loved ones and strangers together, in front of the house on the narrow road, for someone to appear.
Saya no uchi no kachi saya:
to win the victory without drawing the sword.
I want to mention first the extraordinary hospitality and helpfulness of the many people who helped me in Japan.
To begin with, Mr Terry Greenberg, then Canadian Counsel in Nagoya, put me in touch with the people I wanted to meet. Mrs Priam Greenberg and Ms Shuko Nagasi were interested and good company, and acted as translators.
Mr Teru Nakanishi in Mie Prefecture facilitated my visit and toured me around tirelessly, helping me find the information I was seeking. At the Toba Aquarium, Yukihiro Nakamura was generous with his knowledge; at the Mikimoto Pearl Museum, Curator Kiyoo Matsumoto provided an excellent tour and historical overview, which he followed with a loan of research materials. Civic officials in Toba arranged for me to meet with
ama
divers.
I was privileged to meet the
ama
women—Akiyo Yamamoto, Teruko Higashikawa, Tokumi Oota, and Setsu Hamaguchi—who allowed me into their
amagoya,
overcame their customary shyness, and spoke candidly about their diving, and their lives.
I also wish to acknowledge a debt to the following books:
The Island of the Fisherwomen
by Fosco Maraini, which, with text and transcendent photographs, gives an account of
ama
life.
Pearls and Pearling Life
by Edwin Streeter is a long-lost memoir about pearl trading, and a great read. Similarly,
The Pearl Trader
(1937) by Louis Kornitzer, and
The Book of the Pearl
(1908) by George Frederick Kunz and Charles Hugh Stevenson, provided valuable information.
The Pearl King
(1956) by Robert Eunson, which appears to be the only book-length portrait in English of Mikimoto, made the man come alive. My account of pearling in Kuwait was informed by
Pearling in the Arabian Gulf: A Kuwaiti Memoir
by Saif Marzooq al-Shamlan, translated by Peter Clark. I was helped in my understanding of the Japanese Imperial Army by
Soldiers of the Sun
by Meirion Harries and
Hitler’s Japanese Confidant: General Oshima Hiroshi and MAGIC Intelligence
1941–1945 by Carl Boyd. My description of Ceylon was informed by
An Account of the Island of Ceylon
(1803) by Robert Percival. What understanding I have of sword practices and
iai
comes from my study with Sensei Patrice Williams in Toronto: mistakes are my own. Much gratitude, Sensei.
And, as before, I thank Yusuke Tanaka for his translation, and Lanny Messervey for inputting and web work, as well as my agent, Helen Heller, for finding good homes for this book.
Next to last, I feel lucky to be with Iris Tupholme and the hardworking and enthusiastic staff at Harper Collins; it has been such a pleasure to work with you. And finally—at home and always—Nick. You are the best.
Novels
Creation
The Truth Teller
Angel Walk
Hearts of Flame
Between Men
Going Through the Motions
Random Descent
Short Stories
The Immaculate Conception Photography Gallery
Before and After
Fables of Brunswick Avenue
Travel Anthologies, editor
Solo: Writers on Pilgrimage
Without a Guide: Contemporary Women’s Travel Adventures
Transparent things, through which the past shines.
Vladimir Nabokov
Three Views of Crystal Water
© 2005 by Katherine Govier.
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FIRST EDITION
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Govier, Katherine, 1948–
Three views of crystal water: a novel /
Katherine Govier.
ISBN-13: 978-0-00-200589-0
ISBN-10: 0-00-200589-1
I. Title.
PS8563.O875T47 2005 C813’.54
C2005-901514-4
HC 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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