The only one I didn’t go to was at that house. When Saiga met Hisako Aosawa I didn’t go with her. She told me my company wouldn’t be necessary. That’s why I only ever saw the house once. Which was also on the last day, when all the other interviews were done and we were about to leave. The last thing I saw was that house. Saiga kept staring at it, right up until it was time to go and catch the train.
V
My word, the wind off the river is strong, isn’t it? These gusts are unpredictable.
The wind blows from unexpected directions because of that hill, I presume.
Cities with a river through the centre aren’t uncommon, but a city like this, with hilly terrain at its heart and surrounded by two rivers, is unusual. Defence was clearly the ruling principle of town planning here.
One can keep walking along here for quite a long way. Riverside paths like this, where there’s no traffic allowed, give me a great deal of pleasure. Maybe this space is the reason this city has produced several world-famous philosophers. Isn’t something similar said of Kyoto? And walking is supposed to be a source of inspiration, isn’t it?
It’s surprising how much a stroll along here jogs the memory.
I remember being in a dark house with lots of different people, and her sitting slightly apart from everybody else, operating the tape recorder.
Yes, people are indeed a mystery. The way they present themselves changes according to the place and person they are with. Everybody does that to some degree. However, I was astonished on a very deep level when I listened to Saiga conduct her interviews. It was as if she became an utterly different person. I knew she was intelligent, but I was unaware of this other talent.
From the moment she asked me to help her I was curious to know how she planned to go about conducting the interviews. I’d never seen her try to reach out to other people before, which is the kind of action that reveals what a person is really like.
I imagined that she would ask questions matter-of-factly, completely logically and with detachment.
But she wasn’t like that at all. She presented herself completely differently, every time, according to whom she was speaking with.
I can’t express it very precisely, but it was as if she became the kind of interviewer that the other person wanted her to be. She’d make the adjustment in an instant, changing her personality just like that. Even her expressions and vocabulary would vary. I might be expecting a timid, unsophisticated student, but she’d say something straight out and come across as an arch, with-it college girl. I don’t really know if it’s a good thing or not for an interviewer to be like that… it might be more desirable to present a consistent face.
Before then, I’d never seen her focus all her attention and energy on the person in front of her, so I was utterly taken aback by this aspect of her. It was quite discomfiting, actually, because she herself didn’t appear to be aware of what she was doing.
I asked her once after an interview why she changed her persona so much.
That was in the beginning, when I still wasn’t used to her drastic adjustments for each interviewee.
She was completely perplexed. “What do you mean?” she said.
I thought she must be teasing me, so I laughed and said, “You were incredible. When do you decide how you’re going to present yourself with each person?”
She only looked at me more suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”
“But you were completely different with the person just now – the way you talked, your expressions and everything. Just like an actress.”
She simply looked at me with a blank expression.
I realized then she had no idea she was doing it.
For some reason that sent a chill down my spine. At the same time, I was taken aback to realize just how deep the level of her concentration was in these interviews.
Why did I feel a chill down my spine? Well… probably because I realized she was capable of using any means to achieve something she’d set her sights on. Also, because I understood she would achieve that goal no matter what.
I was also uneasy about why she was going to such lengths. What exactly did she hope to discover?
She’d been at the scene of a heinous crime as a child. However, the perpetrator had been identified and for all intents and purposes the crime was solved. What drove her, then? It did cross my mind that I might unwittingly be involved in something significant. But maybe I was reading too much into it.
Please don’t get the wrong idea. My intention isn’t to level any criticism at her. There’s a part of me that still admires her.
My abiding impression of Saiga is that she’s a deep enigma, someone I will never be able to understand. You might say that in some respects I feel I failed.
That’s also why, perversely, I wasn’t much interested in the actual content of the book, despite the sensation it caused. For a time everybody who knew her was talking about it.
She came in for some strong criticism because of the title and subject matter, but I wasn’t worried for her as I believed she was resilient enough to take it.
I also had an instinctive feeling that she’d achieved her goal the moment the book came out.
Yes, that’s when she accomplished her objective. And it’s why she lost all interest in it after publication. That was my sense of it, anyway.
When was it finished? Well now, I can’t say I really know. But I do believe that the actual process of writing was significant to her.
VI
Hisako Aosawa? I never did get to meet her.
Saiga almost never mentioned her either, though I had the impression she wasn’t inclined to share information about Hisako with me. Hisako Aosawa was very special to Saiga.
Hisako also seemed to be an unusual character. People reacted visibly when her name came up in interviews. A change seemed to come over them. Apparently she held quite a sway over people, despite her relative youth at the time of the murders. She seemed to be adored, respected and feared alike. Everybody we spoke to had a strong feeling of some kind about her.
What?
Ah, ha ha, you’ve seen through me yet again.
I’m no match for you. I never was any good at lying.
Yes, to tell the truth I did see her once, from a distance. This is just between you and me, you understand.
When one hears a great deal about a person, it’s natural to be curious and want to see them in the flesh. I’d heard she was very beautiful and was desperate for a glimpse of her. She sounded like a heroine of tragedy or legend. I suppose it was natural for a young man to think as I did, though anybody might have felt the same.
When I realized Saiga wasn’t going to permit me to meet Hisako, I became even more curious.
So one day when Saiga went out by herself I decided to follow. She sometimes went out on her own, and while she was away I would spend the time transcribing, or wander around the city sightseeing. On that particular occasion I pretended I was going out to see the sights by myself.
I had a rough idea where the house was, and managed to follow her there.
I saw Saiga walk briskly through the gate. But before she could press the doorbell the door opened, as if someone had been waiting for her.
Then I saw a slim young woman with short hair. She wasn’t tall but seemed poised and dainty. I couldn’t tell her age, but I did have the impression that she wasn’t too far advanced in years.