[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 35: "A Waltz Lost in the Wind, and Bunchan" / "Under the Cherry Blossoms, Scooping Up the Wind")

Side B: "A Waltz Lost in the Wind, and Bunchan"
—From the perspective of a university associate professor

Cherry blossoms were fluttering down.
Higashiyama Park. Commonly known as the Navy Cemetery.

I was embarrassed to learn only recently that
Hozumi Tanaka, who composed "Utsukushiki Tennen" (Beautiful Nature),
rests here.

Even though I teach tourism studies,
I realized that I hadn't really tried to look at
such a familiar place until now...

The catalyst was my grandmother.
Grandma, who was a performer in a circus troupe.
She went to the sky a long time ago.

When I was little,
Grandma would often hum it.
A slow, somehow nostalgic waltz.

I suddenly remembered it during my research,
and as I looked into it,
I learned that it was "Utsukushiki Tennen."

This song was also often played by circus brass bands.
It must have been a sound like home to my grandmother, too.

And today,
I visited this place where the composer sleeps
for the very first time.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Beneath the flowers,
the rows of gravestones stood in silence.

The wind blew.
From somewhere far away,
I felt like I could faintly hear that melody.

Suddenly, I sensed a presence at my feet.

A white and brown calico cat.
A small scar on one ear.

"Ah... is that you, Bunchan?"

In the town of Sasebo, I had often heard the name.
A cat that wouldn't warm up to anyone,
yet would quietly sit by someone's side.

Bunchan
says nothing.
Just slipping between the gravestones,
it sat down neatly beside me.

The wind blows again.
Cherry blossom petals dance.

I took from my pocket
the lyrics to "Utsukushiki Tennen" that I had kept folded up.

I didn't say them aloud.
I traced them softly in my heart.

This sky, this wind, these cherry blossoms.
Surrounded by so much 'natural beauty',
I felt like my grandmother was still smiling.

Bunchan narrowed his eyes quietly,
doing nothing, just being there.

Words, explanations, and analysis are unnecessary.
That much is just right.

I sat down beside Bunchan.
Not rushing anything,
not deciding anything,
just being there in the wind under the cherry blossoms.

Suddenly,
that gentle waltz
my grandmother used to hum like a lullaby
swayed softly in the back of my mind.

—It's a good spring.

Bunchan flicked his tail just once,
and walked quietly away again, past the gravestone.

I gave a small bow to his back,
and started walking again, into the cherry blossom petals.

[End]

Side A: "Under the Cherry Blossoms, Scooping Up the Wind"
—From Bunchan's perspective

I am a cat. Bun-chan.
Today, too, I walked while listening to the town's wind.

Higashiyama Park in spring.
Cherry blossoms were descending from the sky.
Even within the town, this place has a slightly special scent.

Many stones are lined up quietly.
It is a place where time spent thinking of someone quietly accumulates.

Today, a different wind than usual was blowing.
The scent of warm music from a long time ago.

I slipped through the gravestones,
and walked over to a man standing alone.

The man took something folded from his pocket,
and was staring at it quietly.

He didn't notice me even when I got close, so
I sat down neatly beside him.

After a while, the man noticed me.
"Ah... Bun-chan, is it?"
He said that quietly.

Even though my name was called,
I did nothing.
I just stayed there, along with the wind.

The man's heart
was remembering someone nostalgic.

Distant memories.
The scent of a circus.
Grandma's singing voice.

Everything was softly mixed into the wind.

I narrowed my eyes.
"That's fine," I wanted to say,
"It's okay not to forget anything at all."

The wind carries cherry blossom petals.
Small petals landed on the man's hair and shoulders.

I stood up,
and slowly started walking past the gravestone.

I know even without looking back.
Because the wind, the sounds, and the light of today have surely remained in this person's heart.

—Every time spring comes again,
it's good to climb this hill.

Under the cherry blossoms,
to remember that gentle song once more.

[End]

▼ Bun-chan (deformed version) LINE stickers are now available 🐾

Previous episode ▼

List of Series Titles: (To be posted sequentially)

• Episode 1: "The Cat Above the Slope" / "The Delivery Person's Mission"

• Episode 2: "The Letter Shop Below the Slope" / "The Flower Shop of Words"

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

• Episode 4: "I'm Waiting for You" / "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 I 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'" / "Will I Be Able to Properly Become a 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "The Voice of Fish, My Old Man's Back, a Cat's 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 a Distant Mountain Deep Within the Scent"

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

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound That Hasn't Finished Ringing" / "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 Silence Turns into Sweat" / "You're here today too, 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, you know"

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

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

• Episode 21: "The One on the Boundary" / "I can tell by the scent whether it's a departure or an arrival"

• Episode 22: "Even if I fall, my eyes are still looking forward" / "I wanted to say that I did it"

• Episode 23: "Even on days when there's no sound, there are those who can hear" / "Beyond the sound, there is a heart"

• Episode 24: "The sound that unravels is not in the voice, but deep in the eyes" / "Mom, the cat, and a stranger" / "Halfway up the slope, I felt as if two winds had overlapped"

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

• Chapter 26: "Even if I can't hear the sound of the bell, the wind is still blowing" / "Even if the bell doesn't ring, the scent of memories remains here"

• Chapter 27: "Because someone was definitely here" / "Someone was here"

• Chapter 28: "Because those hands were gentle" / "Since the day I touched that child, I feel like the town has become a little warmer"

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

• Chapter 30: "I'm glad you're a police officer" / "In the shadow of your hat, there was a gentle presence"

• Chapter 31: "What Bun-chan reminded me of" / "Around the wooden box, the scent of memories rose up"

• Chapter 32: "The last flight of spring, and Bun-chan." / "The scent of the bus, and the rules of spring"

• Chapter 33: "A drink, the night breeze, and Bun-chan." / "When the tempo is off, listen to the sound of the wind"

• Chapter 34: "A mountain of lucky bags, and the scent of that day" / "Beyond the scent of the mountain of lucky bags"

• Chapter 35: "A Waltz Lost in the Wind, and Bun-chan" / "Under the Cherry Blossoms, Scooping Up the Wind"

• Chapter 36: "The Scent of Water, and Bun-chan" / "The Scent of Water, and the Sound of Footsteps"

• Chapter 37: "The Scent of the River, a Prayer, and in the Silence of Spring" / "The Scent of the River, a Vow, and Bun-chan"

• Chapter 38: "The Scent of the Tide, the Words Conveyed, and Bun-chan" / "The Wind Scooping the Tide, and the Sound of Prayer"

• Chapter 39: "Thoughts Swaying on the Water's Surface, and Bun-chan Again" / "The Scent Along the River, and the Shadow of Prayer"

• Episode 40: "The Sound of Unraveling, and Bun-chan" / "The Sound of Passing Through the Wind, and the Scent of the Sea"

Afterword

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

I was born and raised in Sasebo.
However, I left the town for university and found employment 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 feels nostalgic yet has certainly changed—and the lives of the people who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I have "come back to live in this town again," usinga quiet lens called a 'cat's perspective'as a medium.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico cat.
He does not speak human language, but by simply 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 the 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 symbol of Bun-chan's way of being, and of Sasebo as a "place where memories remain" for the people who have spent time in this town.
Furthermore, in the creation of this book, I have utilizedOpenAI's ChatGPTas a creative partner.
At first, I started discussing plots with a light heart, wondering "what kind of stories could be born with a cat and a town as the setting," but before I knew it, my days becamea process of carefully exploring the rhythm of the story and the lingering resonance of words through dialogue with the AI.A "cat that doesn't speak," "people who don't want to talk," and "memories of the 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 the same 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
The Author

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

Biography:Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Science) => 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 daily 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 series "The Science of Thought." I am exploring "free knowledge design" that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
In my main profession, while involved in university and education-related work, I value carefully observing the moments when "people start to like something" and "scenes where questions sprout."
🧭 I would be happy if I could deliver articles that leave you with a "new perspective" after reading them.
Any feedback is welcome!