 |
The struggle for control of the festival plaza |
The Polano Plaza, according to local gossip, is a party site located in the middle of some field on the outskirts of Morio City. People say that "You're revitalized when you go there to sing at night, or, when you breathe the air there." They also say that an orchestra plays there and "anyone will be able to sing beautifully there." This story depicts the struggle for control of the Polano Plaza, between those with vested interests, who have turned the festival plaza into a place for sake drinking parties as part of an election campaign, and the local youths who want to recover control of the plaza and restore it to its former purpose. |
|
The narrator recalls beautiful place of Ihatov |
Kenji tells this tale as an account of the events written by Kyuusuto, who works at the natural history museum in Morio City. The days pass peacefully in this beautiful place that the narrator recalls fondly as "Morio City, adorned with lovely forests, and where the winds of Ihatov country blow clean and clear and the blue sky has an underlying chilliness even in summer." |
|
Kyuusuto's encounter with Faselo |
One morning Kyuusuto wakes to find that the goat he has been raising is missing, and so he goes off to find it. Along the way he meets Faselo, a youth who has found the goat. Faselo returns the animal to Kyuusuto. As they talk and Kyuusuto tells Faselo that he would like to give him something to show his appreciation, Faselo reveals that he is looking for the Polano Plaza. According to Faselo, he has heard that the Polano Plaza of folklore exists even at present. He says that music from the plaza can be heard coming from the fields at night. As a result, Kyuusuto promises to buy Faselo a map of the Ihatov countryside as a token of gratitude from finding and returning his goat. |
|
The searching for the Polano Plaza |
One evening, about ten days later, Faselo and his friend Milo come to see Kyuusuto at his cottage. The three take the map and go searching for the Polano Plaza. Walking through a field full of white clover in bloom, sure enough they hear what sounds like cellos and basses playing somewhere in the distance. However, they are not able to find the Polano Plaza this night.
Five days later, Faselo comes to Kyuusuto's place again and tells him that they have finally found the way to the Polano Plaza and that Milo has gone ahead and will be waiting for them along the way. |
|
The struggle with Dr. Wildcat |
When the three arrive at the Polano Plaza, the orchestra is playing a waltz. Desutupago, who is nicknamed Dr. Wildcat, because it is rumored that he catches wildcats and sells them abroad, and some others, including Temo, Faselo's employer, are drinking sake and carousing.  When Kyuusuto and his companions, who do not drink liquor, ask for water, Dr. Wildcat has the orchestra accompany him as he sings:
"The summer festival at the Polano Plaza;
Don't drink sake, but drink water instead;
If fellows like that come here,
The morning will come to the Polano Plaza;
The Polano Plaza will fade away."
Hearing this, Faselo sings in response:
"Dr. Wildcat can't hold his liquor;
When he wears his yellow shirt,
It rains at the Polano Plaza."
Desutupago is enraged and challenges Faselo to fight him. Faselo wins. |
|
The disappearance of Desutupago and Faselo |
A couple of days after this incident, Desutupago and Faselo both disappear. Kyuusuto is still worrying about Faselo when he has to go on an assignment to a coastal area. On the way home, he stops at Sendado City and happens to come across Desutupago, who has been in hiding. Kyuusuto questions him about Faselo, but he doesn't appear to know anything. |
|
A departure for the true Polano Plaza |
After Kyuusuto returns home, Faselo comes to visit him. He tells Kyuusuto that he went to Sendado and had worked in a leather dyeing factory there. He says that using the skills he has learned, he is planning to run a tannery in the woods near the Polano Plaza, and that Milo is going to produce hams.
Kyuusuto goes out with Faselo and learns that after the price of his company's stocks plunged, Desutupago ran off. Together with the people adversely affected by this, Faselo plans to produce things that they all need.
Kyuusuto and Faselo promise each other that they will build "the true Polano Plaza of the past" on their own. |
