Atarashii Jinsei - 新しい人生
The Bund, Shanghai, Feb. 1923
Hinata walked aimlessly in the crowd, lost among the chorus of strange patois from all corners of the world. She gazed uncertainly at the long road but decided to stray further and explore the busy stretch of the Bund.
She drank in the sight of every colour and every shape, she listened to the softest sound that passed her ears, and smelled the lingering fragrance of every scent, while an eclectic scene unfolded before her: rickshaws pulled by men in queue braids ran along with the cars and the trams, curious old women trudged sluggishly with their tiny lotus feet seemingly in stilts, elegant ladies in silk cheongsams swayed their way into the crowds and elicited approving glances from haughty men who strutted in their fine suits, or for some, their new changshans.
The drifting sound of music caught her attention and prompted her to follow its trail, leading her to the Public Garden where more people have gathered to watch a performance by a Jiangnan sizhu. The collective harmony of the instruments captured her heart, she listened mesmerized by the beauty of each note, the lead pipa and xiao were in perfect accord as it played "Spring Blossoms on a Moonlit River - 春江花月夜"
Lonely thoughts came to her as she closed her eyes to drown her deep seethed sorrows in the melodies of the night.
さまざ吏書こ」思丶ふ,L丶;士ぁる尋ゝを
ミしひプ二ずらヱこぬるゝネ由カ丶な
Varied are the feelings in my heart
But Completely Soaking are my sleeves
Sasuke had ventured outside upon the invitation of the corps to join the evening's merriment, but felt ill at ease because of the recurring dream that haunted him almost every night. He strolled along with his companions and regarded the scene with indifference, up until he caught a fleeting glimpse of a woman clad in an all-black kimono.
"Those eyes" he whispered to himself as an unconscious memory was awoken in his mind.
"Uchiha-sama, perhaps you'd care for a nightcap?" asked one of his companions, distracting Sasuke briefly. He turned again to look at the woman but had lost sight of her. A strong unsettling sensation came over him, he hastily left his companions to search for her, only to be lost in midst of the thick mass.
"Those eyes…" he whispered once more.
Boisterous laughter echoed from a group gathered in a derelict alley, dark and rough faces shined from the lone light bulb that hung above their heads, their manners showed roughness as they exchanged banter with one another. A burly man wearing a white fedora hat shuffled small ivory tiles in a small makeshift table while swigging some rice wine; he wiped his mouth with his sleeves before bursting into another howl that sprayed trickles of spit everywhere.
Hinata had unintentionally strayed into the dimly-lit neighbourhood, she nervously clutched her small sack of meagre possessions upon seeing the men playing mah-jong, she tried to turn back but was already noticed by them.
"hai mei nv! Where are you going?!"
Hinata increased the pace of her steps but more men came and blocked her path. The burly man had stood up and walked towards her in an exaggerated gait of a drunk.
"Why don't you join us mei nv?" the pervasive odour of alcohol emanated from his breathe as he leaned close to Hinata's face.
He regarded Hinata's appearance as he touched the hem of her Kimono's sleeve "You're a little far away from home aren't you?" he said mischievously, his hand slowly crept towards her chest but was averted by a sudden slap across his face.
"Sa bi! biao zi!" he cursed angrily and rubbed his cheek that stung from the sharp blow, he raised his knuckles and was about to hit Hinata when a loud voice interrupted him.
"Leave her alone!" heads turned to see a girl in a red tang suit flanked by two men. The burly man narrowed his eyes as he moved away from Hinata while his companions assembled behind him with spiteful looks.
A baleful smirk pursed his lips while Hinata ran towards her rescuers, he spat on the ground angrily as his prey and her rescuers darted out of sight
"I'll see you again mei nv"
'Are you all right?" inquired a gentle voice when they reached the main street. Hinata looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair set in twin buns, her thoughtful hazel eyes stared at her with concern.
"Thank you for helping me" replied Hinata timidly
The girl studied her briefly before breaking into a warm grin "You must have just arrived from our country didn't you?"
"How did you know?" asked Hinata, perplexed at the easy reckoning of the girl
"Most people would know better than to wander alone in the backstreets here" the girl smiled at her again and introduced herself
"'I'm Tenten and this Matsu and Nishi" she pointed to the two men who sheepishly hovered from behind
"I'm Hinata"
"Where are you headed? Maybe we can accompany you on our way back to the kissaten" offered Tenten
"I… I really don't know where I should go" admitted Hinata as she lowered her gaze. Tenten turned anxiously to her companions who merely nodded back.
"Come with us then, you can stay with me tonight"
Hongkou District, Shanghai, Feb 1923
The district remained vibrant late into the night and Hinata marvelled how full it was of her countrymen that it almost seemed she never left home. She felt calmed as they walked along the street strewn with red paper lanterns and other familiar signs from her homeland. They arrived shortly at a two-story building shared between a teahouse and a ramen shop. Steady streams of patrons were arriving as Tenten and her companions hurriedly entered through the side entrance that leads directly to the kitchen area.
"Good you're here," said an old man who was busily preparing tea "Ayame won't be around tonight so I need more help" he continued as he set the porcelain tea cups.
Matsu and Nishi immediately went to do their tasks while Tenten cleared her throat and caught the old man's attention, his eyes shifted with mild surprise from Tenten to Hinata who stood close by.
"Teuchi –san this is Hinata, she arrived tonight from Osaka and she has no place to stay" Teuchi looked at the two girls with their worried expressions and smiled
"She's welcome to stay with us" replied Teuchi before turning his back. Hinata went beside Tenten to face the shop owner and formally bowed before him.
"I'm very grateful for your kindness, thank you so much"
Teuchi chuckled amiably "You're welcome but we have customers waiting, we'll see each other later." he excused himself and took with him a tray laid with the tea he had prepared.
Hinata turned to Tenten and bowed to her as well. "I'm grateful for all your help Tenten-san"
"Don't worry about it, but I need to change and help Teuchi-san"
"I'll help too" offered Hinata while Tenten went to peek from the door to see more customers and recognized the group of patrons coming in. She turned to Hinata who was watching her eagerly.
"I appreciate the help but you need to change your clothes, if you don't mind I'll lend you Ayame-chan's spare one"
Tenten took her to the second floor which was the living quarters and gave Hinata a plain lilac-colored Kimono. She slid open the shouji door for one of the rooms and motioned her to come inside.
"We should move quickly, our guests from the Ryōjikan are here" Tenten casually peeled off her garments and had put on a yellow Kimono, while Hinata shyly turned around and changed.
Tenten helped Hinata with the obi and took a last glance at her "It fits you well" she complimented
The two rushed downstairs after dressing and found Teuchi preparing more tea which Tenten hastily placed on wooden trays
"These are for the guests from the Ryōjikan" informed Teuchi as he handed them plates of dangos.
Tenten passed Hinata one of the trays and took one herself. "Just follow me and you'll be fine" She darted towards the door efficiently while Hinata followed from behind.
"Oh and I almost forgot, don't offer the dangos to Uchiha-sama, he dislikes sweets" murmured Tenten at the corner of her lips as they entered the narrow corridor of the teahouse.
"We need more security and I heard they're sending a regiment by next month" a balding man wearing a monocle was talking in low whispers while Sasuke tried to look attentive though his mind wandered elsewhere.
"The military presence in Manshū will be doubled, I was assured by the Minister himself" chimed another man holding a long ebony cigarette holder, lazily puffing smoke in the air
"Manshū" repeated Sasuke inaudibly
"Sasuke-san here was previously assigned in Manshū and he knows the situation quite well especially after…"their discussion was interrupted by the sound of the sliding door which opened to reveal two women bowing gracefully.
All eyes turned towards the unfamiliar lovely lady, but it was Sasuke who lighted up as he unexpectedly came face to face with the woman that filled his thoughts.
春ダ}[詞紅繍こ}ま退丶似E〝)垢E
下'管賛 る道麦ニで立つ藻貝子
A Springtime garden
Glows scarlet
With peach blossom
And on the path, lit with colour
Appears a maiden
Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.
-Anais Nin-
Footnotes:
(For more visuals/videos of the actual places, character development and other inspiration of this fiction, please visit my profile for the face book link)
Queue braids – The queue was a specific male hairstyle worn by the Manchu people from central Manchuria and later imposed on the Han Chinese during the Qing Dynasty. The hairstyle consisted of the hair on the front of the head being shaved off above the temples every ten days and the rest of the hair braided into a long ponytail. The hairstyle was compulsory on all males and the penalty for not having it was execution as it was considered treason. In the early 1910s, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, the Chinese no longer had to wear it. Some, such as Zhang Xun, still did as a tradition, but most of them abandoned it after the last Emperor of China, Puyi, cut his queue in 1922.
Lotus Feet – also known as foot binding. It is the custom of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. Foot binding became popular as a means of displaying status (women from wealthy families who did not need them to work and could afford to have their feet bound) and was correspondingly adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. It was outlawed by the Qing dynasty since 1902 and the subsequent government in 1912 though like its predecessors were not always successful.
Cheongsam – a body fitting one-piece dress for Chinese women. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly in China as the "standard" qipao, was first developed in Shanghai in the 1920s, partly under the influence of Beijing styles. In Shanghai it was first known as zansae or "long dress" (長衫—Mandarin Chinese: chángshān; Shanghainese: zansae; Cantonese: chèuhngsāam), and it is this name that survives in English as the "cheongsam".
Changshan – the male clothing equivalent to the cheongsam, Changshan was formal dress for Chinese men before Western-style suits became common in China.
Public Garden – presently known as "Huangpu Park" , it was established in 1886 with the simple name "Public Garden", and was the first park in China open to the public. Designed by a Scottish gardener in European style, it included a resting pavilion and a tennis court, to accommodate the increasing number of foreigners living in Shanghai since the city had become an international trade port in the 1840s.
Jiangnan sizhu – is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan region of China.
Pipa – a four stringed Chinese musical instrument which is played for almost two thousand years in China
Xiao – an ancient Chinese musical instrument , it is a vertical end-blown flute generally made of dark brown bamboo.
"Spring Blossoms on a Moonlit River - 春江花月夜" – PLEASE SEE AUTHOR'S PROFILE FOR THE LINK TO VIDEO OF THIS MUSICAL PIECE
Izumi Shikibu – mid Heian period poet who wrote the first poem in this chapter. She is one of the Thirty-six Medieval Poetry immortals, GSIS XIV: 817
"hai mei nv" – translates to "Hi Pretty lady" in Mandarin Chinese
"Sa bi! biao zi" – "Sa bi" (Stupid Cunt) "biao zi" (Whore/Bitch) in Mandarin Chinese
Tang Suit – or tangzhuang (Chinese: 唐装; pinyin: tángzhuāng; literally "Chinese suit") is a Chinese jacket that originated at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). The Tangzhuang evolved from the Magua (马褂), a Manchurian piece of clothing, which the Han Chinese were forced to wear it during the Qing Dynasty. In modern times it has been adopted by common people and often worn by men, although women wear them as well.
Matsu and Nishi – Naruto characters by Masashi Kishimoto, (Manga only appearance) were hired by Teuchi during the absence of Ayame in the ramen shop.
Hongkou District – also known as Japan town/Little Toyko , located beside the north bank of Suzhou River, northern area of downtown Shanghai. It was an important and famed region of politics, economic and culture in old Shanghai. A large number of Japanese once lived here and to a great extent, the Japanese were a self-sufficienct group that nearly isolated themselves from Chinese. (Source: Shanghai guide )
Kissaten – Japanese tea house
Teuchi – Naruto character by Masashi Kishimoto, owner of Ramen Ichiraku in the Naruto world.
Ayame – Naruto character by Masashi Kishimoto, daughter of Teuchi
Ryōjikan – Japanese for Consulate office
Dango – a Japanese dumpling and sweet made out of rice flour often served with green tea.
Ôtomo no Yakamochi – a Japanese statesman and waka poet during the Nara period who wrote the 2nd poem in this chapter which is known to be one of his best descriptive poems.