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Miscellaneous Records of Flood DamageAuthor: Itō Sachio
| Original Title | 水害雑録 |
|---|---|
| Author | 伊藤 左千夫 |
| Genre | War & Social Literature |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A relentless deluge descends upon a rural community, trapping a dairy farmer and his family in a desperate battle against nature’s fury. As floodwaters rise with terrifying speed, swallowing gardens and breaching cowsheds, the narrator grapples with paralyzing fear—not for himself, but for his eight children and twenty vulnerable cattle. Each hour brings new horrors: submerged roads, panicked livestock, and the grim realization that human preparations are no match for the storm’s wrath. Forced to evacuate through chest-deep currents, they navigate a drowned world where rooftops pierce blackened lakes and distant cries for help vanish beneath the roar of rapids. Yet amid the chaos, unexpected resilience emerges—a primal defiance kindled by saving thrashing cows from watery ditches, by sheltering shivering children in strangers’ attics. The flood strips away illusions of control, revealing both the fragility of human order and the raw tenacity required to rebuild from ruin. As days blur into sleepless nights haunted by rain’s ceaseless drumming, one question lingers: What remains when survival demands surrendering everything but hope? |
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