[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 26: "Even If You Can't Hear the Bell, the Wind Is Still Blowing" / "Even If There Is No Sound of a Bell, the Scent of Memories Remains Here")

Side B: "Even If You Can't Hear the Bell, the Wind Is Still Blowing"
—The Shrine Priest and Bun-chan, an Autumn Okunchi Afternoon

　—A clear autumn day.
　Under a sky so blue it felt like it was breaking through, there was a faint scent of sweet olive.
　I stopped sweeping the fallen leaves in the shrine grounds,
　and looked toward the torii gate.

　"It's... quiet again this year, isn't it."

　Once upon a time, Sasebo's Okunchi festival began at this very shrine.
　Those were the days when the snake dance and portable shrines would parade through the arcade,
　and the national highway would be closed to traffic, bustling with life.

　When I was still a young man,
　the whole town would be in high spirits on the day of the festival, and the voices of children would echo through the shrine.

　But,
　times have changed since then.

　The "Yosakoi Festival," which started about 20 years ago as part of a town revitalization project,
　is now the main event of autumn.
　The joy of being able to participate in the dancing and the flashy performances.
　The sounds of the Yosakoi bustle are faintly echoing all the way here today.

　Before I knew it,the "Okunchi" as a Shinto ritual had been hidden in the shadows.

　A breeze blew softly through the quiet shrine grounds.

　There was no sound of bells, nor the sound of clapping.
　Only the fallen leaves danced with a dry, rustling sound.

　Just then.
　From below the stone steps, there was a presence with soft fur.

　"So you're the Bun-chan everyone's talking about..."

A somewhat famous cat in Sasebo.
However, this was the first time I had seen him at this shrine.

Bun-chan came close to me,
and sat down neatly in a sunny spot in the shrine grounds.

Without trying to say anything,
he was simply 'there'.

I gripped my broom again,
and slowly began to sweep the fallen leaves.

The wind carried a sound—
from the direction of the town, the music and cheers of the Yosakoi festival.

But here, there is silence.
And there is Bun-chan's gaze.

I murmured.

"The Yosakoi festival is lively again this year, isn't it..."
"Perhaps the Okunchi festival has already become a thing of the past."

Bun-chan stared at me for a while.
His eyes seemed as if they were trying to convey something.

Then, after slowly turning his gaze toward the sky,
he walked through the shrine grounds toward the main hall.

I followed him, as if led by his tail.

When I reached the side of the shrine building, the wind carried some fallen leaves.

When Bun-chan gently held those leaves down with his front paw,
I felt as if the shrine bell had rung faintly on the breeze.

"Even if it's not the same as it used to be, as long as someone remembers it, it is still alive." I nodded slightly.

I nodded slightly.
"……You really are a mysterious cat."

——The fact that Bun-chan came here means
surely, this ritual is still being called for somewhere in the town.

The sound of the broom returned to the shrine grounds.
Bun-chan was squinting his eyes in the patch of sunlight.

Even if the town changes,
the seasons at this shrine still turn as they should.

It was an autumn day when I realized that.

[End]

Side A: "Even if the bell doesn't ring, the scent of memories remains here"
——Bun-chan, on the day of the Hachiman Shrine Okunchi festival

I am a cat. Bun-chan.
Tempted by the autumn breeze, I walked as far as the city hall today.

After crossing the pedestrian bridge and the crosswalk in front of the waterworks bureau,
there was a large torii gate and white stone steps.
Beyond them, a place where the air felt exceptionally clear.

—A shrine.

I remember that during this time of year, the sound of drums could be heard all over town.
A snake-like dance would cross the streets,
people would laugh, and the sound of flutes would melt into the wind.

But today, it is quiet.

I slowly climb the stone steps.
Leaves dance in the air, and the sky is high.
When I entered the shrine grounds, an old man was standing there holding a broom.

—It was the head priest.

He wasn't wearing priest's robes, but
the scent that clung to the air was clean and soft.

The priest, having noticed me,
watched me for a while,
then slowly smiled, as if relaxing his shoulders.

"So you're the Bun-chan everyone's talking about..."

I don't answer.
I just sat down smoothly in a sunny spot
in the quiet shrine grounds where not even the sound of a bell could be heard.

The priest stopped sweeping and looked up at the sky.
His eyes seemed to be looking at some distant past,
but at the same time, he was also properly feeling the sound of the wind here and now,
that was the kind of look he had.

'Is the Yosakoi festival livelier again this year...
Perhaps the Okunchi festival has already become a thing of the past.'

...Hmm.
The very fact that there are people who think that way
makes me think that the festival is still 'alive'.

Even if the town changes, the bustle of the people changes,
and the sounds or forms are different,
only the 'feelings' remain here properly.

I walked along the approach, went to the side of the shrine,
and poked at the fallen leaves with my front paw.

The chief priest followed behind me.

From there, a breeze passed through,
and I felt as if a bell had faintly rung deep inside the shrine—

The chief priest narrowed his eyes as if he had noticed it.

'...You are a mysterious cat, aren't you.'

I slowly closed my eyes.
That was my way of answering.

—Even a festival that has become quiet
is still breathing in the 'present' as much as it is remembered.

When humans remember things like that,
I just happen to appear.

Today's "Okunchi" was a quiet, gentle day.
The sound of the wind and the scent of prayers still remain.

Shall we head back down to town soon?
Tonight, the lingering echoes of Yosakoi are sure to remain.

[End]

Previous episode is here▼

Series Title List: (To be posted sequentially)

• Episode 1: "The Cat on the Hill" / "The Delivery Person's Mission"

• Episode 2: "The Letter Shop at the Bottom of the Hill" / "The Word Florist"

• Episode 3: "The Tail's Map" / "The Tail's Arrow"

• Episode 4: "I'm Waiting" / "The Scent of the Wind, the Sound of Curry"

• Episode 5: "The Tail's Guide" / "A Cat in Sasebo"

• Episode 6: "The Sound That Unravels Me" / "The Sound of Trying Too Hard"

• Episode 7: "The Day to Let Go of That Hand" / "Me, Still Not Understanding"

• Episode 8: "The Reason I Cried That Time" / "A Mother's Heart, the Warmth of a Child's Hand"

• Episode 9: "The Night I Couldn't Say 'I'm Home'" / "Can I Really Become a 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "The Voice of Fish, My Old Man's Back, Cat Footprints" / "Standing in My Old Man's Shop."

• Episode 11: "The Day I Returned to Land" / "A Heart Returning to Port"

• Episode 12: "Beside a Warm Tail" / "The Presence of Distant Mountains Deep Within the Scent"

• Episode 13: "Waiting at the Exit of the Night" / "The Few Minutes It Takes to Return to Myself"

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound That Hasn't Yet Rung" / "I'm sorry. But thank you." / "Is staying behind the same as running away?"

• Episode 15: "Beside the One Who Prays in Silence" / "The Prayer of the One Who Prays"

• Episode 16: "Before the Stillness Turns to Sweat" / "You're here again today, Bun-chan"

• Episode 17: "The Reason for Lifting the Noren Curtain" / "Bun-chan, it's not over here yet"

• Episode 18: "I didn’t say it out loud, but you heard me." / "A voiceless voice, I can hear it clearly"

• Episode 19: "The Winner Who Doesn't Cry Out and the Clown Who Doesn't Laugh" / "The distance seen from above, the scent reaching from below"

• Episode 20: "Light Ignites Between the Two" / "I thought you'd come. I have no proof, though." / "I didn't exactly come to see you—you wouldn't believe me if I said that, would you?"

• Episode 21: "One Who Stands on the Boundary" / "I can tell by the scent whether you're leaving or arriving"

• Episode 22: "Even If You Fall, Your Eyes Are Still Looking Forward" / "I wanted to say that I did it"

• Episode 23: "Even on Days Without Sound, There Are Those Who Can Hear" / "Beyond the sound, there is a heart"

• Episode 24: "The sound of unraveling isn't in the voice, but deep in the eyes" / "Mom, the cat, and the stranger" / "Halfway up the slope, I felt two winds overlap"

• Episode 25: "Today, I didn't hear the sound of the broom" / "When he was silent, I felt the garden grew a little wider"

• Episode 26: "Even If I Can't Hear the Bell, the Wind Is Still Blowing" / "Even If the Bell Doesn't Ring, the Scent of Memories Remains Here"

• Episode 27: "Because someone was certainly here" / "Because they were here"

• Episode 28: "Because that hand was kind"

• Episode 29: "The scent of dried nets and a silent kindness" / "Even if nothing is said, there are things that are understood"

• Episode 30: "I'm glad you were a police officer" / "There was a kind presence in the shadow of your hat"

Afterword

Thank you for picking up this book.
And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for walking this far with Bun-chan and the town of Sasebo.

I was born and raised in Sasebo.
However, I left the town for university and started working outside the prefecture.
But after several turning points in my life, I am now living in this town again.
This collection of short stories began with my desire to depict the scenery of Sasebo—which is somewhat nostalgic yet has certainly changed—and the lives of the people who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I have "returned to live in this town," using the quiet lens of a 'cat's perspective'.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico cat.
He doesn't speak human language, but just by being there, he gently accepts the small fluctuations in people's hearts and the expressions they show to no one else.
A cat in a corner of town.
While that is all he is, he is a presence that is surely remembered as having "been here."
The title of this short story collection was chosen as a phrase that symbolizes Bun-chan's way of being, and Sasebo as a "place where memories remain" for the people who have spent time in this town.
Furthermore, for the creation of this book, I have utilized OpenAI's ChatGPT as a creative partner.
At first, I consulted on the plot with a light heart, wondering "what kind of stories would be born with a cat and a town as the setting," but before I knew it, my days became carefully exploring the breath of the story and the lingering resonance of words through dialogue with AI.
"A cat that doesn't speak," "people who don't want to talk," "memories of a town that disappear without being told"—
I feel that being able to shape these themes into something that is sometimes like poetry and sometimes like a story through collaboration with ChatGPT was an essential process for this work.
Sasebo is a town of slopes and harbors.
The scenery that has changed and the atmosphere that remains unchanged all continue to nurture the memories of the people and the town.
I would be happy if Bun-chan's story could gently nestle into your heart as one of those memories.
Spring 2025
From the town of Sasebo
Author

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

Biography: Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Engineering) => Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (Production Technology) => Advertising sales for a local free paper in Nagasaki Prefecture => School corporation staff (<- Now here). A person in their 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture.
A writer who lets their thoughts play every day at the intersection of "questions" and "curiosity." Recently, I have been writing about my own unique perspectives on themes such as education, stories, psychology, AI, and design, centered on the serial column "The Science of Thought" series. I am exploring "free knowledge design" that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
In my main profession, while working in university and education-related fields, I value carefully observing "the moment when people come to 'like' something" and "the scenes where questions sprout."
🧭 I would be happy if I could deliver articles that help a "new perspective" sprout within you after reading.
Any feedback is welcome!

• #SleeplessNights

• #DailyNote

• #DailyLife

• #Creation

• #ShortStory

• #ChatGPT

• #SleeplessNights

• #GenerativeAI

• #TriedWithAI

• #ShortStory

• #Literature

• #Nagasaki

• #CreativeWriting

• #LifeWithCats

• #Sasebo

• #Bun-chan

• #HachimanguShrine

• #OkunchiFestival