"Leaving Japan ripped my heart out!"
I woke up from a dream this morning, my eyes lightly crusted with unshed tears.
When I worked as a pianist and singer at the Ramada Hotel in Okinawa, way back in the late 80's, I had a stalwart and true boyfriend back in Canada.
Within a couple of months of starting my 6 month contract, I became aware that the manager of the French restaurant in the hotel found me attractive.
I found him attractive. In true Japanese style, soon the whole staff (all male) were inviting me out to "midnight bowling" where the manager was present. This was dating Japanese style, I guess. I was confused enough by trying to understand the subtext of the culture and my friends, but my Lonely Planet books hadn't covered this.
Certainly I was torn. I was loyal to the fellow back home. And the way things were for women when I was there (they legalized birth control not long after I left), I in no way wanted to live in that country as a woman.
He might want children - in that country, the pressure would be really on to do that. Although he didn't seem to be fond of young ones - he would demonstrate how his niece and nephew pulled on his beard during a weekend visit.
My very last night there, I was invited up to the dining room for a meal. This was a pretext. Kunio and a senior staffer were there. I didn't know what was going to happen. My boyfriend in Canada and my terror of the unknown welled up and with an excuse that I had to go, I hurried up and out - with Kunio and his staffer looking at each other in bewilderment.
Maybe it would have been a one-nighter; maybe it would all have been innocent. I had no idea, and I never found out.
The dream I had last night seemed to come out of nowhere. I was on board a ship - or in some sort of large tourist venue. There was a large convention in a huge hall with many many people - men - in black dress suits. One of the waiters came to where I was standing and I recognized him from Okinawa. We chatted happily but he shushed me and whispered, "Yakuza" (Japanese Mafia).
Outside, above the hall, I saw some people coming on board/entering the building (the entrances looked like the gangway to a cruise ship). I noticed three people - the first one a lady with short white hair, stylish and middle aged; the second was a clean-shaven man with smoothed-back, thick salt and pepper hair, more salt than pepper. He was turning to an elderly woman just behind him, arm out as if to shepherd her along.
I saw him just in profile - but thought it was Kunio, though I couldn't be sure. After they entered the area on the right, I went straight ahead to go up the gangway, but leaned back for a moment to see if I could see this man and confirm who it was.
He leaned back at the same time and we made eye contact. We each knew who the other was.
Some time later, a perky young blond woman met up with me on the ship deck. She wore no makeup, was short and petite, and so authentic and nice that talking to her was not painful. Her husband, Kunio, was behind her, then came up and held her, nuzzling her ear. This woman was happy, and had initiated the conversation with me, indicating that Kunio had filled her in.
I felt I could tell her what leaving Japan had done to me, but I also felt that Kunio was the one that should hear it.
Then Kunio and I were alone in a part of the deck out of the sun. He told me, "They killed everyone. I was the only one alive." This meant that the Yakuza had killed all the restaurant staff - why, no one knew. I said, "I saw -- " meaning I saw another staffer from the restaurant, but couldn't recall his name. "Okinawa-jin," I said, meaning he was Okinawan. "Much hair (it was quite bushy)." Kunio tried to recall the name, but couldn't.
Cut to new scene. Kunio and his wife on deck chairs, their legs up; me on a chair opposite them. I referred again to the restaurant killing - wondering to myself when it had happened, as some of the staff were still there when I visited some 10 years later - restating that it was the Yakuza.
The woman agreed - Kunio gave a cautious non-word response, in a Japanese style that said "yes" but not in a way anyone - including any lurking hitmen - could understand or prove.
I forget to who I said, "Leaving Japan ripped my heart out."
It did. I came back to my boyfriend in Canada. We stayed together as any infidelity had been guilt-wracked and emotional. But when my agent asked me to go back to Okinawa, my boyfriend and I discussed it. Apparently he said, "Let's see what happens."
Kunio had left the hotel when I got there - he was in a branch in Osaka. When I returned to Canada this time, my boyfriend had taken up with a woman who was a lawyer in Ontario's then-premier Bob Rae.
And after that, I had a few short relationships. All these years I have been pained with regret. And in spite of the marvels of the Internet, and some people I still know in Japan, I have not found him. And I have not freed myself to fall in love like that again.
If I had found him, I would say: "Kunio, I am very very sorry for running away from you on my last night in Okinawa. I was afraid of living in Japan, and did not want to betray my boyfriend in Canada. I heard you married a woman who has two children, a woman whose husband had died. I truly hope you are happy."
I did see him at another hotel where I and another Canadian pianist helped with the grand opening on Shikoku Island. He was there, and we did have a conversation where I asked, "So when are you coming to Canada?' He was going to arrange for tickets.
But we talked no more and nothing came of it.
I write all this in the hope that it will help me heal. What surprised me when I woke up this morning is that I never had told anyone of this. Perhaps I was unable to until now as the depth of the wound became apparent.
I then also knew why I had had it. In the past few weeks, I have been reorganizing bins and papers and a lot of stuff. I found mementoes from Japan, which I put in a box and thought about showing to a family I know who had visited there - very intelligent and educated people who I thought would appreciate them.
Finally, the gate opened, and the dream was dreamt.