"I've decided to go to Japan!" Toshiaki announced as he returned from running some errands in a nearby town.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden news. "If you were so keen, why didn't you come with me? That was the time when things were going at their best!" said his younger brother Satoshi in an exasperated tone.
My sister-in-law was the first to offer support, saying, "It's okay. You're still in your 40s and you're a hard worker, so you'll be fine."
The mother, who was watching TV with her grandchildren in the living room, looked happy and accepted her son's words as if she had been waiting for them. "So Toshi has finally started thinking about himself. If he could bring a wife from Japan, I would have no regrets," she said, feeling deeply moved.
Toshiaki took over the family business and worked there for 26 years without a single day off. That small greengrocer has now become a grocery store beloved by the local community. His younger brother Satoshi joined the business a year ago, and it was going well, so Toshiaki felt at ease and was ready to go to Japan. However, he didn't tell anyone his reason for going to Japan. That's because he didn't really know it himself.
I arrived in Japan on February 26, 2015. The work at the factory and my coworkers were just like the "dekasegi stories" I had read before. Strangely, I didn't feel like I was in a faraway, unknown country. I quickly got used to the work, and life in the dormitory was normal. The only difference was that most of the people I met on the streets were Japanese.
Toshiaki was looking forward to talking to Sacchi on the phone. Sacchi was a childhood friend who attended the same school as him. However, soon after his mother died, he moved to São Paulo with his father and three sisters, and a few years later, the whole family moved to Japan. Recently, his father and two sisters returned to Brazil and opened a restaurant in a small town. Sacchi had returned from Japan to coincide with the opening of the family restaurant, and Toshiaki was reunited with Sacchi.
Sacchi returned to Japan soon after, but Toshiaki went to Japan two months after reuniting with Sacchi.
Meeting Sacchi may have been his real motivation for coming to Japan, but even he wasn't sure.
When Toshiaki went to deliver vegetables to the neighboring town, he happened to meet Thatch in front of the store!
"Toshi!? How are you? How is work? I bought a Kiyoshi Hikawa CD, so I'll lend it to you."
"I have the day off this Saturday, so I'll come over there."
Although the two lived in the same Aichi Prefecture, they were quite far apart.
At the end of the year, Toshiaki also visited Sacchi for the first time. The local Japanese community is large, and the Christmas celebration was huge. Surrounded by many new "amigo 1s ," Toshiaki spent the day singing and dancing, which was different from usual. It was unexpected!
"Life would be more fun if I were with Sacchi," Toshiaki began to think. Meanwhile, Sacchi thought, "I'd be able to live a peaceful life with Toshi. When we become grandma and grandpa, we'd make all kinds of things out of bamboo together." He remembered helping Toshiaki's grandpa make bamboo crafts as a child.
They were alike. Toshiaki became the head of the family at the age of 18 after his father died. Sacchi lost her mother and became a mother to her three younger sisters. Neither of them cared about their own affairs, and even arranged for their younger siblings to get married.
On January 30, 2016, Sachi called me and said, "I have to go to Brazil next week. My niece, Alisha, is going to participate in the carnival! Since Japanese people are rare, she'll even be appearing on TV!"
"What!?" Toshiaki became very worried that something bad would happen again. He remembered his fiancée who was hit by a car and killed at a carnival 20 years ago. Wanting to be with Sacchi this time, he asked the section chief at the factory for a week's leave, saying, "I need to go to Brazil, so please give me a week off!"
Having received permission, Toshiaki arrived in Brazil on February 8. When he arrived at the carnival site, he saw Sacchi's niece dancing beautifully in a gorgeous short kimono, 15cm heels and a heavy-looking blonde wig.
For Toshiaki, seeing the parade for the first time was amazing, but what was even more amazing was Sacchi! Until then, Sacchi had thought she liked enka, but she was also very good at samba, and Toshiaki had unknowingly gotten into the rhythm!
It was Toshiaki's first CARNAVAL! And at that moment, I really wanted to be with Sacchi.
Toshiaki and Sacchi returned to Japan on February 11th. They decided to try their best for one more year in Japan, travel if possible, and then return to Brazil.
March 28th next year is Sacchi's 46th birthday. They have promised to hold their wedding ceremony at a church in Brazil on Saturday, the 25th. They have not yet decided where they will live, but the business they will run has already been decided.
The title is "Zakkaya do Toshi&Satti 2 ". I'm looking forward to it!
Note
1. Friends
2. "Toshi & Sachi's General Store"
© 2016 Laura Honda-Hasegawa
