先々日、御遺族に遺品整理が終了した事をご報告し、現場に集まりました。
保護していた資料をお渡しして、故、川合貢様のお話致しました。
私の遺品整理は、故人の人生を追体験する。
仕分けしている時、一つ一つの物語が私の中に入ってくる。戦前の事、戦時中のインパール作戦での看護記録、生き抜く為に地獄をみてきた姿が鮮明に浮かぶ。その中で戦友の写真を隠しもち、捕虜になっても厭わない覚悟で持ち帰った胆力。
戦場に散っていった戦友の形見を日本に持ち帰り、遺骨も収めた。
全てが壮絶だった。
あの水筒と飯釜、「オイカワ」と書かれていたものは、やはり形見だった。御依頼者の母上、故、貢様の娘様は聞いていたそうだ。
率直な感想を僕は述べた。凄い人だと。戦後、戦友会での文集もそうだが、戦争から立ち直る為の復興期を生き、戦争の悲惨さ、壮絶な体験を訴えてきた。絶対に戦争はしてはいけないと。
戦時中の記録などは、ほぼ単品か、燃やされたりして残っていない中、良くぞここまで詳細な記録を持ち帰り、大切に残していてくれたと、感銘すら覚えた。御依頼者のお母様は感極まっていた。
現在日本ではほぼ、生存者は故人になってしまった今、誰かが伝えていかなければならない。
この記憶を、廃棄など出来るわけがない。
価値があるからと、二束三文で売り飛ばすなど、出来るはずもない。これは、日本の宝です。
1人の壮絶な、後世に伝えていかなければならない記憶。
囲い込みや隠蔽など、僕がさせない。
正しく、展示して下さる資料館や学術界に繋ぎ、故人の想いを、この遺品に誓って橋渡ししようと思う。
それが、故人に対して究極の供養なのだ。
The image of a fallen comrade is a treasure.
Two days ago, I reported to the bereaved family that the sorting of the personal effects had been completed, and we gathered at the site.
I handed over the archived documents and spoke about the late Mitsugu Kawai.
My work in organizing a deceased person’s belongings is, in essence, a reenactment of their life.
As I sort through each item, every story becomes a part of me. The days before the war, the nursing records from the Imphal Campaign, and the vivid images of the hell he endured just to survive—all of it comes to mind. Among these, I was struck by the incredible fortitude he showed in hiding a photograph of his comrade, prepared to accept the fate of a prisoner of war just to bring that memory home.
He brought back mementos of his comrades who fell on the battlefield and ensured their remains were laid to rest.
Everything was truly harrowing.
The canteen and rice pot inscribed with the name “Oikawa” were indeed mementos. The client—the daughter of the late Mr. Kawai—said she had heard of them before.
I expressed my honest feelings: he was an extraordinary man. As seen in the newsletters from the veterans’ associations he participated in after the war, he lived through the reconstruction period and dedicated his life to speaking out about the tragedy and brutality of war. He insisted that war must never happen again.
In a time when wartime records are rarely found—often being singular documents or destroyed—I was deeply moved that he had managed to bring back and preserve such detailed records. The client was moved to tears.
With almost all survivors now having passed away in Japan, it falls to us to carry on their message.
There is no way these memories can be discarded.
I could never sell them off for a pittance under the pretense of “value.” These are treasures of Japan.
They are the records of a man’s harrowing life, and they must be passed on to future generations.
I will not allow these to be buried or hidden away.
I am committed to connecting these items with museums and the academic community where they can be properly displayed, acting as a bridge for the legacy of the deceased.
That, I believe, is the ultimate tribute I can offer to his soul.