My eyes were always drawn toward the fearsome figure that occupied the tokonoma in our living room. It stood in the center of the small display space as if guarding the scroll that hung on the wall behind it.
It's smooth, black faceplate with its dark eyeholes and fierce grimace appeared to stare straight ahead. The flaps of its helmet hung down on either side of its face; two flattened pieces of metal branched out from its forehead like golden horns. The body, arms and black shin guards were made of small pieces of shiny, dark red, lacquered metal that had been woven together.
I once pointed at the figure and asked my Grandmother what it was. She explained to me that it was armor that had belonged to her father - my great-grandfather. It was something that men wore in ancient times for protection before they went off to face each other in battle.
YOU ARE READING
Forged In Fire: Stories of wartime Japan
Non-FictionForged In Fire is the true story of a young girl's childhood in pre-WW II Tokyo; her schoolgirl dreams; the violence, starvation and desperation of wartime that drove her family out of the city; and the American Occupation that shaped Japan's future...
