No matter who you are or where you were born, some things are universal. One of those is the absolute terror a parent feels when their child goes missing. The parents of Fujimoto Yoshiki (藤本理稀), a 2-year-old boy living in the town of Houfu in Ooita Prefecture, learned that terror first hand when their child disappeared on the 12th of August in the town of Suou-Ooshima. A full scale search was launched, with both police and private citizens combing the mountainous area around Suou-Ooshima for any sign of Yoshiki-chan. The 160-member search party searched the mountains and any abandoned house they could find for signs of the toddler. But no one could find even a single clue to the child’s whereabouts.
On the 15th, Asahi TV ran into a 78-year-old man (JP link) who had come from the town of Hiji in Ooita Prefecture to join the search party – a good 3.5 hours away from Suou-Ooshima.
「（Q.お住まいは？）大分県です」「（Q.何故、大島に？）理稀くんを探しに来たんです。幼い子どもの命を助けてあげたいと思って」「（Q.大分県からわざわざ？）わざわざじゃないですよ。日本人だから。言葉が通じるから私は日本中どこでも行きます」
Q. Where do you live? Ooita Prefecture. Q. Why did you come to Ooshima? To Search for Yoshiki-kun. Q. You came all this way? Not all this way. I came because I’m Japanese. I know the language, so I can go anywhere in Japan.
The man then entered the mountains, around 6am. One can only imagine how amused the camera crew might have been at the simple determination of this old man in his 70s…and how flabbergasted they might have been when, a mere 20 minutes later, he emerged from the mountains cradling a tired Yoshiki-chan in his arms.
How’d he do it? The man, Obata Haruo (尾畠春夫), explained his logic to reporters:
「今、聞いたらこの上に道路があってトンネルがあったりするっていうから、進行方向に向かって右側が崖だから、多分下りていないと思うんです。人間っていうのは下に下りるよりも上に上がる方が好きだから、今から左に重点的にやろうかなと」
I asked around and heard there was a road and a tunnel above here, so I went in that direction; since there was a cliff on the right side, I thought he probably hadn’t come down. People like to climb up more than they to climb down, I thought I should focus on the leftside area from here on in.
Since the joyous rescue, Asahi Shinbun and other newspapers have interviewed Obata, who has become something of a national hero. It turns out that this isn’t Obata’s first rescue mission; in fact, one could say it’s his career now. Asahi Shinbun describes how the former fisherman’s house is laid out to maximize efficiency for rescue work:
住宅街の一角にある尾畠さんの一軒家。部屋の片隅に衣服がきちょうめんにロール状に丸められ、いくつも積み重ねられていた。急いでボランティアに出かける時に、素早く着替えを準備するためという。そばには現場で着る赤色のつなぎが置かれ、愛用のヘルメットには「朝は必ず来る」の文字。被災者を励ますための言葉だ。
Obata’s house sits in the corner of a residential area. His clothes are rolled up neatly and piled up in a corner of his room. It’s so he can change quickly when he quickly leaves to volunteer. Next to it are the red overalls he wears to a rescue scene, and a lovingly used helmet sporting the words, “No doubt tomorrow will arrive”. Words of encouragement for victims.
Neighbors interviewed by Asahi had numerous stories to tell about Obata’s long and storied career as a rescuer. He started helping people out in 2004, after an earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, and apparently hasn’t stopped since. In one incident, he went with a group of people to rescue a friend who had fallen ill during a hike, and carried the man down on his back. “We couldn’t keep up with him,” his friend recalled. When the Great Touhoku Earthquake (Tsunami; 東日本大震災) struck in 2011, Obata reportedly participated in rescue efforts for 500 consecutive days.
Where does Obata get the money for all of this? From his retirement savings. Obata self-funds his efforts, and doesn’t seek a penny in return:
「学歴も何もない自分がここまでやってこられた。社会に恩返しがしたい」
I’ve done what I can as someone with no education and nothing else to offer. I want to give back to society.
While not everyone can do what Obata does, I’m sure we can all, in our own way, take a lesson from this man’s dedication, selflessness, and humility. I doubt this is the last we’ve heard from him. 万歳、尾畠さん！
Sources
人助け、７８歳準備万全 毎朝８キロ走・車に生活用具一式 山口２歳児保護の尾畠さん. Asahi Shimbun
