The Gate of Youth (Three Volumes)

Author: Kanzo Ibu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-03-01
Features: The youthful story of a group of young people, with exquisite writing—absolutely worth savoring!!! If you lose your way in youth, if you are filled with too much confusion, please pass through this gate of youth! In Kyushu, Japan, there is a mountain called Kachun-dake. Ibu has loved gazing at this mountain since he was a child. Ibu never met his mother; she died the year after he was born. He thought his stepmother, Tachibana, was stronger than his birth mother. The men in this area were rough and tough, known as the "riversoul temperament." The women also revered courage and strength, and Tachibana was such a woman. Ibu's father, Shigehide, was the young leader of a mine. He made enemies with the leader of a violent organization, Ryugoro Tsuboi, over Tachibana and often fought in gang fights. Shigehide was once cut to shreds by Tsuboi with a knife, but he also broke Tsuboi's arm. Among these hearty miners, Ibu grew up. He remembered that his father had a large spider tattooed on his back, known as the "climbing spider." Every night, Ibu would sleep tightly in Tachibana's arms. One night, pretending to be asleep, he overheard his father and Tachibana being intimate. That night would never be forgotten by him. At the age of five, his father died. At that time, his father's gang was about to fight a gang led by Tsuboi, but he heard that Tsuboi's miners had been trapped in the mine by water. He said to Tsuboi, "Let's talk about fighting later." Then, taking medicine, he sneaked into the mine to rescue the miners, but Shigehide died. Before that, he had asked Tsuboi to take care of Tachibana and Ibu. When the military police came to arrest people, Tsuboi fled to Northeast China. Among Ibu's neighbors was a little girl named Mitsuji, who was good friends with Ibu. While playing with Mitsuji, out of curiosity about the girl's body, Ibu inserted a fallen tooth into her. Ibu was very scared about this and ran to the terrifying Kachun Mountain. On the mountain, he was extremely terrified, and at that moment, Tachibana found him. There were many Koreans in the mine. Once, Ibu and his classmates bullied a Korean boy and were beaten by Tachibana. So, Ibu went to fight the Korean boy alone. In the Korean village, he met Kim Jules, a young Korean who had been one of the miners saved by Shigehide with his life. From then on, Kim Jules often visited Tachibana's house. Soon, the war situation worsened, and Kim Jules was conscripted and went to the front lines. Japan was defeated, and Kim Jules returned. He became a communist. Meanwhile, Tsuboi also returned from Northeast China. Ibu entered junior high school and met Teacher Sazuki. At this time, Tachibana was ill, and Kim Jules despised Tsuboi's bald head. Tsuboi also disliked Kim Jules' communist propaganda. One day, Ibu wanted to drop out of school and asked Tsuboi for a job. On the way, he fought with some delinquents and borrowed a gun from Tsuboi to take revenge. Tsuboi, however, told Ibu many local truths. That day, Tsuboi rode a motorcycle to take Ibu home, and Ibu was injured in the fall. Yet, from that day on, he began to mature. Someone was killed, and Kim Jules was suspected and arrested. Tsuboi did his best but couldn't save Kim Jules. Ibu dropped out of school and went to work for Tsuboi. Tsuboi gave him a motorcycle and had his subordinate Chota teach Ibu to drive. Tachibana's illness grew worse. Ibu learned to masturbate while working in a group. He felt horrified and told Teacher Sazuki at his former school. Sazuki said it was nothing and that boys all go through this phase. Soon, Ibu returned to school and transferred to another school, where he met the beautiful and open Teacher Shikihama. He was captivated by Teacher Shikihama's womanly charm. But he discovered that Teacher Shikihama was involved with a male teacher he disliked. When Ibu was about to enter high school, Teacher Shikihama quit her job to move to Tokyo. Before leaving, she told Ibu, "When you go to university, we can be like adults." Tsuboi was injured by someone from the "Men's Reflection Society," and Chota avenged him and was captured. Tsuboi's uncle took Ibu to rescue him. Ibu saw Tsuboi's uncle's brave and clever spirit, the spirit of his father's generation! Ibu went back to see Mitsuji again, and Mitsuji had become a bartender. She had been humiliated by men, so out of sympathy, Ibu gave Mitsuji a man's love at night. Teacher Shikihama sent Ibu a watch, and he once again longed for her. He took the entrance exam for Waseda University in Tokyo. He didn't have much hope, but unexpectedly received an admission notice. However, at this time, Tachibana's illness worsened, and she was in danger. Ibu rushed to the hospital to see Tachibana. He thought it was because he had passed the university entrance exam that Tachibana suffered, so he prayed in his heart: "If possible, cancel my admission and restore Tachibana's health." Tsuboi also came, extremely emotional, as he had always deeply loved Tachibana. Tachibana eventually passed away, but Ibu didn't feel particularly sad. Tachibana had devoted her life to him, yet he didn't weep or mourn. Tachibana's death lay quietly in his heart. Now, he was alone, with no ties. His father was gone, his mother had passed, and in Fukuoka, his hometown, he had no relatives. After his mother's death, Ibu told Tsuboi that he would venture out alone in Tokyo and no longer rely on Tsuboi's support, but instead earn his own living. Tsuboi disagreed, saying he had already seen Ibu as his son and would take care of him as long as he had the means. One night, when Tsuboi was asleep, Ibu quietly came to his side, took some fragments of Tachibana's bones from the urn by Tsuboi's pillow, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and silently bid farewell to the sleeping Tsuboi. He put on the watch Teacher Shikihama had sent and left without saying goodbye. He had made up his mind to live independently in Tokyo from the day he arrived, even if it meant staying in school for a few more years. He didn't know what he would do in the future but wanted to find something that would worth his life and blood, something he could fight for with all his passion. Ibu left, riding Tsuboi's motorcycle, preparing to sell it in the city to raise money for his journey to Tokyo. He passed through the streets before dawn, and the dawn of his hometown was like a poem and a painting. He stopped at the Kachun Mountain where he had been alone before, looked around, and muttered to himself, "Mr. Tsuboi, Chota, Teacher Sazuki, Mitsuji, Mr. Kim, you're all waiting for me. In two years, I will return here. I don't know what I will be like then." Before leaving his hometown, he was filled with emotions—this was where his father was buried, and where Tachibana had just died. There was no house or land of his own, not even any relatives by blood. Yet, he stubbornly felt that there was something unbreakable that tied him to this land. Here, he had walked the path of his childhood and youth. And leaving here, he would quickly approach the door of youth—the door one can only pass through once in a lifetime.