On a morning when the fresh-leaf wind carried crowds of people in from beyond the railroad crossing, Spice emerged from his workshop cradling an old measuring instrument wrapped in cloth.
Sitting down on the plaza's stone pavement, he gently unwrapped the cloth to reveal an instrument whose metal edges were worn and whose dial had turned entirely yellow. But the needle, even today, pointed unwaveringly straight. Spice opened his notebook, wrote down the date and the reading, and spoke without lifting his head.
“At milestones, you leave behind a number.”
“A hundred years today, is it.”
On the bench, Sonchō rolled up the wrapper of a sakura mochi in his lap, pressing down the brim of his top hat as he looked up at the sky.
“When I was young, those who came back from the battlefields all said the same thing — after a fierce era passes, for a while, everything looks like a dream. Only once you wake from that dream do you finally see the shape of what you wanted to protect.”
From near the railroad crossing, a child’s voice burst out. It sounded like someone, home for the long weekend, was being welcomed by someone else.
Spice slowly rewrapped the measuring device in its cloth and gave a small nod.
“For whoever comes in the next hundred years.”
Sonchō may not have heard him. But a “Feh-feh” laugh spilled out into the plaza, so perhaps he had.
Margin note: That night, tucked beside the measuring device back in Spice’s drawer was a small bundle of sakura mochi, quietly slipped in by Sonchō.
【Today’s Drop】
- Shōwa Day (April 29): A national holiday marking the birthday of Emperor Shōwa. It is defined as “a day to reflect on the turbulent years of the Shōwa era and its recovery, and to consider the nation’s future.” In 2026, it marks exactly one hundred years since the start of the Shōwa era (1926).
- Golden Week: Beginning with Shōwa Day, this stretch of holidays continues through Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. Homecomings and travel peak across Japan during this period.
This is an English translation of “百年の針”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).