Summary

As it continued to rain, Kazu notes that it was raining on the day that his son, Kōichi, died. Kōichi was born in 1960 on the same day Emperor Akihito's wife gave birth to a son. Kazu's wife Setsuko had a difficult labor and Kazu had to find a midwife. He worried he would not be able to pay her. Kazu was working with his father collecting clams at this time, and Setsuko and Kazu's mother planted crops. They were frequently in debt and bill collectors repossessed many of their belongings. Kazu and Setsuko gave Kōichi a name that began with the same character as the new prince's name.

Two women walked by Kazu in the park. One of them told the other what she fed her dogs. Kazu watched a bicyclist stop at the Statue of Times Forgotten, a World...