about the time that house was enveloped in flames, blue smoke was beginning to rise from the roofs of surrounding houses.
Any number of unfortunate circumstances compounded the disaster. Next to the drought itself, there was the fact that the fire had started at the lower edge of the village, and was thus blown up the slope by the dry south wind from the valley. Lunch was over and all hands had just gone off again to the fields. The drought had completely dried up the water supply for firefighting. In normal weather, the stands of cedar would have served to impede the flames, but the tips of their sprigs had dried to the color of straw, and far from serving as a check, they flared up like giant torches as soon as the resin was heated to combustion point by the fiery hot wind.
Nagaharu Kusumoto, who came running at his wife's call, stood there at the top of the stairs and groaned. He was still in the costume of the god Tajikarao, in which role he was always cast because of his strong build. Based on the myth of the Rock Door of the Heavens, the performance at the Hoko Shrine consisted of such parts as the goddess Uzume's dance, with Tajikarao's opening of the Rock Door as a climax, and the Dance of Urayasu, performed by shrine maidens. Other priests came running out after Nagaharu. Mitsuyoshi Otomo, who had been playing the role of Uzume, came out in a white flaxen tunic over a crimson pleated skirt. His gentle face instantly began to twitch. Of all the priests there, his house appeared closest to the fire, although the view was obstructed by the cedars, making it hard to determine the exact location from which the smoke was rising.
"Oh my God! I've got to get down there," said Mitsuyoshi, dropping his skirt on the ground and rushing down the steps.
"Father Otomo," called Haru after him, suddenly remembering, "Would you check Taki's place, too, please?"
"Okay," called Mitsuyoshi, too busy watching his footsteps to turn or even nod his head, leaving Haru wondering if he had really heard.
Toward the end of the year before, the military police had come to Taki Tendoh's house and taken away the viscount's son, who had been harbored there. Haru had heard from Keijiro and his wife that the men had raped Taki. Several days later, Taki, Keijiro, and his wife had been arrested, this time by the civilian police. Three months after that, Taki had been released alone and sent home, four months pregnant, and insane. Since then, she had been taken care of by Haru and her mother.
"I wonder what this is going to do to Taki," said Haru to her husband, standing beside her. Taki was due this month, and Haru was afraid the shock might cause her to give birth on the spot. She didn't know what they would do if that happened.
But Nagaharu did not seem to hear her. "Why aren't they ringing the fire bell?" he shouted.
"Isn't that fire pretty close to the fire tower?" someone shouted back.
"Then maybe they can't get the firefighting pump out," shouted someone else.
Everyone was apprehensive, imagining what was going to happen to the place if they were forced to just let the fire burn itself out.
"Anyway, all of you had better get home," said Nagaharu. "Haru, you take Natsue and get down there quick."
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Warn the villagers with the drum. Without the bell, people in the fields and mountains may not know there's a fire yet." He started at a run toward the shrine.
At the shrine stage, the religious group gathered to witness the dance offering they were supposed to get for their donation stirred in surprise as Tajikarao burst on stage and began to beat the drum with a discordant rhythm. Hurried along by the sound, Haru, with Natsue by the hand, went down the Women's Slope. Still in her shrine-maiden's costume, Natsue had trouble keeping her cuffs from getting tangled as she tried to keep up with her mother. On top of that, she was still holding the bell she had been using in the dance, and it was ringing busily with every step she took. This annoyed Haru, but she couldn't tell Natsue to throw it away. Moving along to the mingling of drum and bell, she was greatly surprised to find herself imagining that she was back dancing on stage in the days of her childhood.
The Kusumoto house was right at the base of the peak, so Nagaharu could afford to let the other priests go down first, because his house was farthest away from the fire. Haru's mother, Nobu, was standing outside the yew hedge wondering what to do. "It's a big one!" she exclaimed, relieved to see Haru. She pointed all around toward the bottom of the slope. In the time it had taken Haru to get down from the peak, the smoke had spread considerably.
"Where did it start?" asked Haru.
"Who knows? The patrolman from the Middle Shrine was here a few minutes ago, and he says he got word that the fire had even got into the post office."
"Even the post office? That means it must be all over the bottom of the slope."
"I guess so. Dry as it is, who can tell how far it will burn?" Suddenly Nobu realized someone was missing. "Where's Nagaharu?"
"He's beating the drum, because the firebell didn't ring."
"Oh he is, is he?" Nobu looked up at the peak. She was used to the sound of the drum, but right now it only made her mad. "At a time like this, he ought to be down here with us. What are we supposed to do without him?" she said, scowling. Nagaharu was an adopted son-in-law. The Kusumotos had produced only women for the last two generations, and he and Haru had yet to produce a son.
"I wonder how Taki's doing?" worried Haru. The smoke did not look like it was too far from the Tendoh house. "I'm going to go have a look."
"This is no time for you to be doing that!"
"I'll be right back. Would you mind getting Natsue changed out of her costume?" said Haru over her shoulder as she rushed off.
As Haru came around the curve at the top of the slope, the whole scene of the fire came into view. The level area at the bottom was already a sea of flames, and even outside that area, the fire had spread to ten or more houses. It seemed to be moving faster along the houses to the east than it was north up the slope with its many trees, and there was already a lot of smoke pouring from the windows of the school building, about a hundred meters from the heart of the flames. If the school caught, the fire would spread much further in one leap. Haru imagined the scene as she ran along with shaky knees.
The handcart with the pump being brought down from the Middle Shrine village rattled loudly past her. The firemen in their livery coats were mostly middle-aged or older, and their hoarse shouts to mark time as they pulled the pump hardly inspired confidence. Out of the blue smoke into which they were headed came small groups of people fleeing up the slope with only the clothes on their backs. The fire must have spread too quickly for them to save a thing. They hurried along as fast as they could, covered with soot, children howling and adults raving.
As Haru reached the Otomo house, the family was trying to get its belongings out. Two houses away, the farmer's roof had caught fire, and they could feel the heat on their cheeks with every gust of wind.
"It's no use. We've got no water," said Mitsuyoshi, carrying an oblong chest, nodding toward the pond in his garden. A little stagnant water was barely visible on the bottom, and the newts were turned red bellies upward.
"Did you check on Taki?"
"Yes, but she wasn't there. She must have already fled."
Placing the chest on the cart, Mitsuyoshi hurried back into the house. Out of it came his wife, moving slowly with her palsied mother-in-law leaning on her shoulder. The younger woman grinned at Haru. What the
