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A DUCK HUNT IN JAPAN
by William Isaac Lang (1902 - 1997) |
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As we backed out of the slip in Newport News, Virginia, with a cargo
of coal for Japan, I little realized that it would be a year before
I saw my bride of two months, who was waving good-bye on the dock. Due
to the somewhat solitary life of a ship's captain, my closest companion
on the trip would be Sulkey, a Brittany Spaniel picked up in St. Nazaire,
France, a fine retriever; not that I expected any hunting!
It was a long voyage down through the Panama Canal, then up to Honolulu
for fuel oil and stores. Then we started the interminable "drag"
out to Japan.
Four hours before arriving at the Sasebo pilot station, we received
orders to proceed to Kamaishi, a port we had never heard of and which
was not on our General Charts. A radio operator informed us that Kamaishi
was on the northeast coast of the Island of Honshu, giving latitude
and longitude. We did not have charts for that area and there were no
buoys when we arrived at the spot where Kamaishi should have been. It
was not there - only a mountainous coastline. We waited until noon,
puzzling over the lost Kamaishi, when an observation of the sun told
us it just had to be off our starboard side. The lost port was found,
hiding behind an island.
In the afternoon a fishing boat came by, and we hailed it to come alongside.
The Second Mate was sent ashore with the fishermen to find a pilot.
Although no one spoke English, about sundown the Mate came back with
the pilot, who took the ship to the dock of a steel mill and foundry
in a very small village. Sulkey made friends with the pilot, who asked
if my dog would retrieve ducks and if I would like to go hunting. I
would.
At 0200 hours the next morning, I was awakened by a ship's whistle just
outside my porthole. It turned out to belong to a large seagoing tug
with a freeboard of about twelve feet. The tug and its crew had come
to start the duck hunt!
A table was set on the foredeck with tea, eggs, fried rice, and other
Japanese food, which we enjoyed as we moved around the bays and sounds,
creeping up on the ducks. There is a large black duck with a bump on
its head, which is native to the area, and is similar to a Chinese goose.
It is called the Emperor Duck, and before the war was protected for
the exclusive sport of the royal family. There were a lot of loons,
larger than the loons in the United States. Between sips of tea and
hot sake we would stand up and fire away when the ducks were flushed.
My hosts were very disappointed that Sulkey would not dive over the
side and retrieve the ducks. However, this was taken care of by a Japanese
crew member who did not mind the cold water and cheerfully dove from
the flying bridge to bring in the ducks.
In Japan guns are owned by a club and are loaned out to members. My
new friends' club owned six double-barrel and four-barrel single shotguns.
I had my Browning 12 automatic. Hot tea was served continuously, together
with hors d'oeuvres and raw fish. By afternoon we had killed 27 birds,
which they thought was enough for one day's hunt.
My hosts decided that I should be taken for a sea-trip around the island.
Just what I wanted! (I had not put my foot on dry land for fifty-seven
days.) Finally we pulled alongside my ship, and they informed me with
much bowing that I was to have dinner at the home of the Fu, who was
the head man of the village. In two hours they would come for me. We
were to eat the birds.
No sooner had I taken a bath and changed my clothes than they were standing
at my door. They explained that they had come early, so I could get
some rest.
I was taken to a nice home with sliding panels of paper between the
rooms.
There was a long, low table with a hole under it, the length of the
table. We sat on pillows with our feet in the hole. This is more comfortable
than "seiza" - sitting on your feet. A large padded crazy
quilt was spread over the t able and tucked around us for warmth. There
were about twelve men at the table.
The ducks had been cleaned and the meat cut from the bones in small
pieces. We were to have duck Sukiyaki, which was cooked at the table
on a hibachi by the lady of the house. The Sukiyaki was cooked with
soy sauce, sugar, leeks, garlic and onions; not to forget bean curds.
With crab salad, pickled oysters, and a variety of other things, it
was one of the finest meals I have ever eaten. The group was in a hurry
to finish the meal so I could get some rest, so about nine o'clock the
party broke up and I was rushed back to the ship.
It seemed I had hardly closed my eyes when they were at my door again,
explaining that they had come in a much smaller boat so Sulkey could
jump over the side to retrieve.
After the second cup of coffee I was able to get my eyes open and my
boots on. As soon as it was light enough to see, we were banging away
at the ducks. My companions were delighted to see Sulkey go over the
side after a duck. They explained in sign language that we had to kill
plenty of ducks that day. In the afternoon we stopped at a teahouse
onshore, and ate raw fish and tempura, a concoction of fried shrimp
and fried rice.
We hunted until it was almost dark. A large cock pheasant flew up from
the grass on the bank. Luckily I had my gun ready. He did a flip in
the air and came straight down; Sulkey reached him almost as soon as
he hit the ground. The Japanese thought I was a wonderful shot, and
each one wanted to examine my gun and try it out. It was a great conversation
piece. When flushing the ducks, I would watch for two birds to cross
before I fired, a trick I learned from my grandfather while shooting
quail. My new friends could not understand how I could get two ducks
with one shot. My gun received all the credit.
When the birds were counted, we had 56 icons, coots, and the Emperor's
black ducks, in addition to my pheasant. Instead of returning to the
ship, I was taken to their club, where we had "musumes" (girls)
to wait on us, and also "hotsy" baths. After my hot bath (a
musume to wash my back and dry me off), I was given a kimono. We again
sat around the table with a hole in the floor, but this time each of
us had a musume to wait on us. The girl assigned to me insisted on feeding
me with chop- sticks. Toasts were made with hot sake and beer. My gun
was passed around numerous times and carefully examined and aimed. Obviously
some great stories were told about the gun that would kill two ducks
with one shot.
Again my hosts began to worry about my rest. The young lady appeared
disappointed when I told them I would like to go back to my ship. I
was told to get some sleep, as we were going after pheasants the next
morning. Again the boat was putting at the dock at four A.M. When day
began to break, we were about six miles from my ship, and the plan was
to land and hunt our way back on foot. Only a few minutes after we left
the boat Sulkey flushed a pheasant and one of my friends brought it
down with a very long shot. Sulkey retrieved at once. The hours passed
like minutes and before I realized it we were nearing the village, it
was afternoon, and we had killed fourteen pheasants and one large hawk.
The ship was scheduled to sail that night, and I had much work to do
aboard. Just before time my hunting companions came to wish my good-bye
and to bring me presents of flowers, a box containing the pheasants
and ducks, for me to eat onboard, a set of silver goblets, and a silver
cigarette case. I, in turn, gave them cigarettes and the balance of
my case of shot gun shells - so they could kill two ducks with one shot.
The ship was nudged away from the dock by the big tug, the whistle at
the steel mill and the tug's whistle began to blow as we eased out to
sea. I set a course for Manila, and as I collapsed into bed, I thought
of a saying of my Grandmother's, "Kindness killed the kitten".