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Itwas true. I neverstudied athome. Yet, my gradesweregood and I had always been at the head of the class. The year I graduated, I became what is now known as class president. Every morning when we paid respect to the emperor and recited our obligations, I stood with the teachers before the entire school to call out the required orders of procedure. I hated to miss school. Walking the nearly two miles to and from school in winter was a major effort. Yet, even under those conditions, I never missed a day. The only exception occured in the second grade, when I missed a week because ofthe measles. Every year I received the award for endeavor. In those days, everyone wore wooden clogs in summer and straw boots in winter. The first time I had rubber boots bought for me was when I was in the fifth or sixth grade. It was about that time that we used homemade skis to commute to school in winter. It had been decided that after I graduated from the post-elementary courses I would help the family by working on our farm. I had hoped to go on to higher schooling, but our family finances would not allow it. The year I graduated my teacher made a special visit to our home in order to persuade Father to allow me to advance to higher education. But even at that, it was not to be. When I learned that several classmates who had poorer grades than I were planningto go on to higher school I felt bitter, resentful and filled with frustration. I grew distant and would spend days without sayinga word. I was also just at the usual age ofrebelliousness. Perhaps my parents felt sorry about my situation, for they never scolded me for suchbehavior. At this time it was always my older brother's wife who was kind and consoling. From her point of view, her husband, as the oldest son, should have taken the responsibility ofcarryingonthe farm. Instead, he had become a school teacher and turned over the role ofsuccessor to me. Shefelt badly about that. I worked for about a yearon thefarm, but I could notgive up the idea ofhigher schooling and every day was filled with silent discontent. Running Away to Sapporo One day I could bear my situation no longer and impulsively decided to run off to Sapporo. Without hesitation, I left home and walked about a mile to the Fukagawa Station to take a train to Sapporo. Following up on an advertisement I had seen in a newspaper , I went to applyfor ajob at the Hasegawa Company, a lacquerand chinaware wholesale company located across from Sapporo Station. 22-HIGASHIDE 1had chosen the company because in their advertisement there was a line that read, "We allow attendance of night school." Mymaingoalwasto work at thecompanyandcontinuemystudies at night school-nothing else crossed my mind. I fervently appealed to the owner ofthe shop by telling him ofmy long-held hopes ofgoing to night school. Fortunately. the owner took a liking to me and said, "All right, I'll hire you." When I heard that, my heartjumped withjoy. I bowed my head repeatedly and thanked him by saying, "Arigatogozaimasu . Please accept my efforts and guide my efforts." But it happened that the shop owner's final question was to undo me. "You did come here with the permission of your parents, I assume?" I was suddenly brought to earth. If I had answered, "Yes, they agree," it would have been passed over; but I was a country-bred youth of 15 and lies did not come readily to my lips. I confessed, "I thought that even ifI spoke with them they would never allow it, so I came without telling them." Thatwas what upended the situation. The ownerearnestly began to lecture meaboutmyactions andtheaffairended with myreturning to Fukagawaonthe nexttrain. I was so disappointed and discouraged that I felt as ifmy heart had been torn open. On the train back I considered what theownerofthe shop hadjust told me. Accordingto him, manyyoung people came to the large cities with great aspirations but because there were so many temptations in the city most fell into evil ways and ruined their precious opportunities in life. "Even in our shop," he said, "a number ofyoung people have fallen in with no-good companions and abandoned theirdreams. To struggle for an education is quite literally that: to undertake an extraordinary struggle. It is not as easy as you seem...

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