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Sinking Fast
Back at home, Yankumi is sitting at the entrance of her home, wrapped in distress. This is absolutely one of the worst days in her entire teaching career. Tetsu, Minoru, Wakamatsu and Makoto watch over her with genuine concern.
As she pours out her heart and soul, her grandfather sits in the tatami room and smokes a pipe. “I’m too disappointed to cry. He (Kazama Ren) was content to lie. To make matters worse, the other couldn’t care less about camaraderie (nakama). “Up until now, all of my students understood what camaraderie meant.”
Whether Nakama is rendered in English as friend, buddy, pals, comrades brother or whatever, it is truly one of the keys to the Japanese soul. Without it, one simply cannot survive. The Japanese have an extremely strong sense of belonging. Within this bond, there is security. Without it, they are lost.
For a nakama, an almost tribal closeness, an almost promiscuous degree of intimacy, means that a person has a place to return to. A person always has someone to watch their backs and to look out for their best interests. This is crucial for survival in a country where at every level of society, everything is divided into uchi (the insiders) and soto (outsiders). Everyone pays close attention to their uchi and by extension their nakama and in this way they become insensitive to soto.
Yankumi’s class is full of students who see everyone as soto. They have no uchi; no nakama. They are doomed because there’s no place in Japanese society for such people.
“Up until now, all of my students understood what camaraderie meant.”
Grandpa Kuroda has had enough of this self-pity. “What your former students did…is irrelevant.” She is shocked by his words. “If you compare and rank them…then you’re the same as those who label them delinquents. The way you are now, you’re not trying to face your students head on.”
Teachers exist to help their students solve their problems. It doesn’t matter if Kamaza is lying or not. As a teacher, it is her responsibility to get him through this difficult period in his life.
Grandpa Kuroda rises and as he leaves the room he says, “I’m disappointed to hear this.”
With the rest of her family standing by to aid her in any way they can, she admits her grandfather was right. She’s failed as a teacher. Tetsu won’t hear of it and leans down to talk to her. Almost every male in this drama towers over her.
“You’re talking crazy. You decided against becoming the 4th Oedo Godfather…and chose the teaching path. Don’t say defeatist things like you’ve failed as a teacher.” Wakamatsu encourages her, too. “All you have to do is start over again. Look your students straight in the eye and run straight into them.” It’s just like the tachiai in sumo wrestling. When the two collide, there’s a meeting of two spirits. From that point, they begin to understand teach other.
All four men smile at her encouragingly. She thanks them for their support. This is what it means to be a part of a nakama.
Page 1 - Hell is an
Page 2 - The Return of Yamaguchi Kumiko
Page 4 - Don’t Turn Your Back on Them
Page 6 - Cheers, Crime and Boyz on the Loose
Page 8 - Misconduct, Punishment and a Lie
Page 12 - The Fight to Save an Innocent
Page 13 - Redemption: A Leader is Born
Page 14 - To Protect What is Important