Pathway to Japanese Literature

Early in the morning, the children all gathered at Masao's place. “Let’s hurry up and go!”

While they were growing tired of waiting, Masao came out. “Alright, let’s go.” With Masao at their center, they set out in a tight cluster. Masao was carrying the white-painted boat. It was a toy boat. Though it was a toy, it was a large object measuring three meters in length, equipped with a spring-driven mechanism. When you wound the key and set it afloat on water, it would begin moving on its own. It had been sent by an uncle in Tokyo.

Today, they planned to hold the boat’s launching ceremony together. Since it was a launching ceremony, they had to choose a clean location. They had found just the right spot. At the pond beside Hachiman Shrine at the foot of a hill on the village outskirts—where trees grew thick and lush on one bank and a grassy embankment rose on the other—water that welled up naturally was always clear.

Masao and the others carried the boat and made their way there. However, they were shocked. The pond water was muddy. Usually it would be clear, with the bottom completely visible all the way through, and you could even see crucian carp and killifish swimming about. But today, the water had turned completely muddy and dirty. What had happened? Could there be something strange in the pond? In this state, they couldn't hold the pure white boat's launching ceremony.

“What should we do?”

Everyone discussed.

“I don’t want to hold the launching ceremony anywhere else.”

Masao said.

So they decided to wait until the pond water became completely clear.

But they really wanted to hold the launching ceremony soon. When they came in the evening to check, it had mostly cleared, so tomorrow seemed promising. The next morning, they all came back with renewed energy. However, it was muddy again. “That’s strange...” “What could have happened?” “Maybe a waterbird?” “Maybe it’s a coot?”

Upon closer inspection, patches of grass along the embankment were wet with water here and there. “There must be something suspicious here!” “That’s right—let’s catch it!” They postponed the boat’s launching ceremony for two or three days and decided to catch that suspicious thing. They are energetic children.

In groups of three or four, they kept watch during the dim evenings and hazy dawns, but found nothing. “It must come out at night.”

However, keeping watch at night was a bit frightening. They all pondered how to proceed.

II

The pond water was muddy, making it impossible to hold the white-painted boat's launching ceremony, so Masao and the others were troubled again that day.

At that moment, the Old Man with White Hair happened to pass by. He was an old man respected by the villagers, called the Old Man with White Hair because his hair was beautifully white.

The children all bowed. “What are you all doing here，hmm?” And Goinkyo asked.

The children all explained their predicament. Goinkyo gazed at the pond and thought for a while. Then he said calmly, "The pond water turns muddy because there's mud at its bottom. Instead of waiting for it to clear naturally, why don't we all work together to dredge the pond? We could scoop out the mud and make it clean." "But that's Hachiman Shrine’s pond," "Is it truly permissible for us to do such a thing?"

“It’s perfectly fine—since we’re cleaning it up.” And Goinkyo said.

“We dredged this pond before too.” “Since it would be too much for just you children, we’ll have the adults lend a hand as well.” “I’ll arrange it for you.”

Hearing that, everyone—

“Wow!”

they exclaimed. Things became exciting. Things became a major undertaking. They were going to drain Hachiman Shrine's pond and dredge it. What kind of things could be inside? The Old Man with White Hair handled all the arrangements. Since it was a pond where water naturally welled up, they had to complete the work within a single day. The preparations from the previous day were arduous. They would dig open wide and deep the spot where water trickled out, draining as much of the pond's water as possible.

After that, they set up two waterwheels and drew out the remaining water. Then they would collect fish and scoop out mud. They needed many buckets and tubs. They would also need several large buckets to keep the caught fish alive. Everyone discussed various things.

“And then, what should we do if there are river otters or something?” “We’ll catch them all alive!” But what should they use to keep them alive? Nets and such might get torn apart.

Everyone returned home, but with so many things on their minds, they couldn’t fall asleep easily. They dreamed of river otters, loaches, carp, crucian carp, and such.

The next morning, they all flew out of bed while it was still dark.

III At last, the pond dredging began. By now, the pond water had mostly flowed out from where they had dug open the embankment. After that, they set up two waterwheels, and the adults treaded them with a steady rhythm, pumping out the water. The Old Man with White Hair was watching with a beaming smile. The children were waiting at the ready together with the other adults. The water was steadily draining away. The pond's bottom began to emerge. What would emerge? Something strange might creep out slowly.

But what had happened? Nothing strange came out at all. There were three or four carp, a few crucian carp and dace, and some small catfish—that was all. “It’s all cleared up now,” said the adults. “How boring,” said the children. But they still didn’t know what was in the mud. Everyone set about scooping out the mud. This was tough. They would scoop up the dug-up mud with buckets and sieves and carry it out of the pond.

Everyone worked until they were covered in mud. Only a few eels and loaches emerged. At last, the pond dredging was finished. Since water kept welling up from below the line of trees on the hillock, they found it worked better to redirect that flow for the cleaning. When they cleared away the mud, nothing remained but clean sand, and with water trickling steadily into the spot, it looked as though it had been scrubbed clean. The whole process was done within a single day.

They filled the dug-out section of the embankment with soil again, packed it down firmly, laid stones, and created a water outlet. And since the water had accumulated, they released all the fish they had caught.

The children remained at the embankment until the very end.

“Ah, I’m exhausted.” “It’s so boring. There’s nothing here at all.”

The Old Man with White Hair said.

“But instead, since we’ve thoroughly cleaned it out, it won’t get muddy anymore.” “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to play comfortably.” That was true. It was no longer an unpleasant pond. It was their pond, now completely clean down to the very bottom. They also had to hold the launching ceremony for the white-painted boat.

The welling water gradually accumulated. When the next day came, the pond was filled with water as usual.

And, my, what a beautiful sight it was!

The water had become completely clear, so clear that you could see all the way to the bottom, and even the fish swimming about were clearly visible. "It's so beautiful..." "Let's hold the launching ceremony right away!" "Yeah, this time it'll go perfectly."

The sky was beautifully clear. Everyone gathered at Masao's house and brought out the white-painted boat. It was a magnificent three-meter-long object. Decorating the boat with Hinomaru flags, everyone carried it and came to the pond.

Four

In the freshly dredged pond, the pristine white-painted boat's launching ceremony began. In the middle of the boat stood a single pole, with short poles also standing at both the front and back. They connected the three poles with string and decorated it with numerous Hinomaru flags. Everyone held it from all four sides and gently pushed it into the pond. The boat glided smoothly forward. The Hinomaru flags fluttered in the wind, their reflections shimmering in the water.

“Wow!” “Banzai!”

Everyone clapped and clapped their hands. And so the launching ceremony was completed.

Then, everyone stripped naked, jumped into the pond, and played by pulling the boat around, swimming, and so on. The pond was beautiful. But it was cold, and they couldn’t stay in for long.

The boat was a full three meters long, but when viewed from atop the embankment, it looked small and like a genuine toy.

“I wish we had a boat.”

said Ichirō.

“Even an ordinary boat would do.”

said Tarō.

They wanted a boat they could ride and play on. “Let’s build a raft. Even we can manage a raft!” said Eikichi.

Everyone agreed to that.

Thereupon, Masao's toy boat was named Hachimaru and entrusted to the Hachiman Shrine near the pond, while separately they decided to build a large raft in the shrine's courtyard.

Now things got busy. The children had to dart here and there, searching for logs, wide planks, bamboo poles, and such to bring back. And to bind those together, they had to prepare hemp ropes and palm-fiber cords that would hold up even when soaked in water. They were building a large raft that they could ride and play on. Each of them went to their homes and obtained wood, bamboo, and rope to bring back. They also obtained materials from other homes, gathering as much as they possibly could.

And after several days of work, they finally completed the large raft.

They all carried it and floated it on the pond. It was splendid. Two or three people could ride it comfortably.

They floated Hachimaru in the center of the pond and rowed around it. But it wasn't just for play. The raft proved genuinely useful. When dead leaves fell and floated on the pond, they would get on the raft to remove them, keeping it clean at all times. They wanted to keep the pond clean always. However, the problem was that once the raft got wet, it became too heavy for the children to haul up to the embankment.

“Nah, let’s just leave it as it is.” So they tied it with a rope and left it floating in the pond as it was.

However, the next day brought a major problem.

Something was on the raft.

V

What could be on the raft? The children stood on tiptoe atop the embankment and gazed breathlessly. The morning sun shone, and the pond's surface gleamed like a mirror. The raft tied beneath the trees on the opposite shore floated quietly, and upon it crouched a large dark mass—something like a millstone—utterly still.

Before long, the protrusion moved. Then, slowly, it moved once more.

It seemed to be the head. On the opposite side, there was something like a tail. “Ah, a turtle! A turtle!” said Masao. Indeed, it was a turtle. It was a large stone turtle they had never seen before. The stone turtle was drying its shell on the raft. “What should we do?” said Tarō. “Let’s go call the Old Man with White Hair.” said Ichirō.

And immediately, the two of them went running to where the Old Man with White Hair was. The others were hiding in the shadow of the embankment, keeping watch. The Old Man with White Hair came panting for breath, leaning on his cane. “Well now, this is a large turtle.”

The Old Man with White Hair was also surprised. “As I thought, it had been hiding somewhere in the pond. Since it’s gotten a bit cold, it must have come out to sunbathe. What a large turtle. It’s an auspicious turtle. Well then, we’ll let the turtle have the raft.” But even if they went to the trouble of giving it the raft, if they didn’t tie it down, it might escape somewhere. They were worried. “What nonsense—it won’t run away, I tell you. It lives in this pond, I tell you.”

“It lives in this pond,” said the Old Man with White Hair. “And I’ll bring more companions for it.” They decided to obtain stone turtles from the temple pond in town. The Old Man’s manservant carried his letter by bicycle to the temple and returned with several stone turtles. The turtle that had been on the raft vanished somewhere after climbing down. The children fastened a large rock to the raft as an anchor substitute and moored it at the pond’s center.

And then, on top of it, they released the turtles they had received. They decided to add a great number of fish to feed the turtles. They scooped up crucian carp, Japanese dace, and loaches from the river and put them into the pond. From then on, strangely enough, that large turtle swam about the pond together with the turtles they had received from the town’s temple, no longer fearing people’s approach, and would occasionally climb onto the raft to sit motionless.

The children were overjoyed. The clear pond, with its colorful fish, many turtles, toy boats, and large raft, was just like a park.

“That’s it—let’s make it just like a real park!”

Without anyone needing to voice the idea, their spirits came into alignment, and everyone began the work.

VI It was an enormous undertaking. However, since everyone needed to keep up with their schoolwork too, they decided to devote themselves to the work solely on Sundays.

In the field below the embankment, the mud scooped up from the pond was piled high. They leveled the mud flat and planted chrysanthemums.

However, the next day, there was a terrible gale. When they went to look, the chrysanthemums had completely fallen over and were caked with mud.

“Flowers and plants are no good.” “Let’s go with trees.” So everyone decided to plant trees such as cherry，plum，and maple. “Fruit trees would work too.”

said Masao.

Everyone’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s it. “That’s the way to go.” And so they planted such trees, gathering them from the mountains and receiving them from other places. However, since they only worked on Sundays, progress remained slow. Moreover, as it gradually grew colder and tree leaves fell, muddying the pond, they had to scoop that out too. Though the turtle had already withdrawn somewhere, they still wanted to keep the pond clean.

In the woods upstream of the pond, numerous dead branches caught the eye. They had to remove those as well.

Amidst their various tasks, the days passed until winter vacation arrived. On extremely cold days, they would gather dead branches and build a bonfire.

They would bring sweet potatoes, roast them over the fire, and enjoy eating them as steam rose in wispy puffs.

On days when snow fell, there was nothing they could do. On those days, they would stop working and play by riding bamboo stilts or having snowball fights.

On a certain morning after such snowfalls, they all gathered together and set out to inspect the trees they had planted in the field.

Everywhere, absolutely everywhere, was pure white with snow. And the morning sun shone brilliantly, making everything look truly beautiful. A thin steam was rising over the pond.

The pond’s water was spring-fed, so since it was somewhat warmer than the air in winter, steam rose. “Oh, what’s that?” “What could that be?”

In the pond, on that raft, there was a pure white thing. A pure white thing stood there quietly. Everyone stealthily approached the embankment. The moment they did, the white object abruptly soared upward. It was a white egret. It spread its large white wings, stretched its long legs behind, soared up, and flew off toward the mountains. It was truly beautiful. The swishing sound of wings slicing through the air reached all the way to where everyone stood.

Everyone was staring in blank amazement, but then they hurried off to consult the Old Man with White Hair.

The white egret would surely come to the raft again. They desperately wanted to catch it.

VII They thought the white egret would likely return and consulted the Old Man with White Hair about wanting to catch it somehow. After hearing them out, the Old Man with White Hair said: “That won’t do.” “Egrets aren’t like turtles—they’re terribly difficult to keep.” “If you want a white egret so badly, I could find you something else instead.” “What would you like?” “How about cranes?” said Masao.

said Masao. “Cranes, hmm.” “That’s even more troublesome.” “What about geese?” said Ichirō. “They’re too noisy—that won’t do.” “What about ducks?” said Eikichi.

“They’d make a mess—that won’t do.”

The children were at a loss. The Old Man with White Hair said, "You children keep thinking only about the pond—that won't do. How about keeping pigeons for Lord Hachiman instead? How about building a pigeon coop and raising lots of pigeons?" Indeed, pigeons would be splendid. Everyone, "That's perfect."

they agreed. The Old Man with White Hair said, “But it’s still cold—we should wait until spring.” “In time, I’ll build a pigeon coop for you.”

But the children couldn't stand the wait. So during the cold spell, they discussed whether there wasn't some interesting way to play at this pond. “Shall I teach you something good?”

Then, the Old Man with White Hair said something strange. He told them to spread the pond water out onto the flat field outside and leave it there.

“If you do that，it’ll just turn into a puddle.” “Well，just give it a try.” “Because something interesting will happen.”

They didn’t fully understand, but they did as the Old Man with White Hair instructed anyway.

The next day, when they went to look, the entire area was damp.

The next day, they went to look again. It was an especially cold day. Then, the entire area—well, what do you know—was glittering and had turned into an ice-covered field.

Everyone began sliding across it. The field was gently sloping. On top of that, thick ice had formed solidly. It slid smoothly.

After that, every day they would put on skates or zori sandals and slide around playing.

“Let’s try riding the boat and sliding!” proposed Masao.

So, everyone went to retrieve the white-painted Hachiman-maru that was stored inside Lord Hachiman’s shrine. And then, "Ah!" they exclaimed in surprise.

Hachi When they tried to pull out the Hachiman-maru from the depths of Lord Hachiman’s shrine, something white moved. They were small, cute harvest mice. Inside the boat, they were building a nest with withered grass and straw scraps. Where could they have come from? When could they have multiplied so much? “How cute!” “Let’s leave them be.”

“Let’s make a large wire netting for them.” They would buy wire and use it to make the wire netting. But school had also started. Now that they were advancing to the next grade, they had to study diligently. Spring break was just around the corner. “If only spring break would come soon,” they thought. This spring break was going to be nothing but happy things.

The pond had become clear. Goldfish and other fish were swimming in large numbers. The turtle now sometimes came up to the water's surface. The trees planted in the field were vigorously beginning to sprout buds. The plum tree already had buds. The cherry trees would surely bloom with beautiful flowers as well. The peach, chestnut, persimmon, and mandarin trees—along with others—would surely come to bear fruit throughout the year without fail.

Since the field could no longer be used for skating, they drained the water.

On Lord Hachiman's roof, many pigeon coops had been built. The Old Man with White Hair was supposed to put pigeons in them. Inside the Hachiman-maru, pure white harvest mice were thriving. "Let's quickly put them in the wire net." When they thought about it, it had turned into something wonderful. With the pond at its center, it was truly a park. It all began with Masao's toy boat. And especially from that pond. "What a wondrous pond."

So saying, the children were proud. They were bursting with joy. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday—still cold but with hints of spring in the air.

Masao, Ichirō, Tarō, Eikichi, Hanako, and a large crowd of others gathered around the Old Man with White Hair and paid their respects at Lord Hachiman’s shrine. Then they settled themselves on the pond’s embankment. Across the broad expanse of the field, wheat stalks swayed lushly green in the wind. “You know what? I wish we had a field too,” said Masao.

said Masao. “That’s right, that would be nice!” “Old Man with White Hair, can we make a field in this open space?” Everyone clamored excitedly. “Of course it can—it can be done splendidly.”

Everyone exchanged glances. When April came, they would create a field in the corner of the athletic field as well.

Once again, they gained one more joyful task.

Nine

Warm spring arrived. School was on spring break. The children went to the banks of Lord Hachiman’s pond every day, where they played and worked. That area was already like a park. Everything they had envisioned was accomplished, yet a tremendous task still remained. They wanted to grow beans for the pigeons and sweet potatoes for the harvest mice themselves. They had to cultivate the field next to the pond even more and turn it into farmland.

The children each brought hoes and plows and cultivated the field. Before long, something suspicious began to occur. One day, the wire netting for the harvest mice disappeared. The mice also seemed to have greatly decreased in number.

Had someone stolen it?

The children, indignant, appealed to the Old Man with White Hair. The Old Man with White Hair thought for a while, then said: “Now, now, it’s quite all right. The mice must be uncomfortable being covered with wire netting like that. We’ll stop using the wire netting then.” “That’s right, that’s right! We’d hate it too if someone covered us with wire netting, you know,” said the children.

Now, where should they place the Hachiman-maru that had become a nest for the harvest mice? “Since it’s a boat, near the pond would be best.” So it was decided. Another task was added. By the pond, in a spot where trees grew thickly, they were to build a small hut. It had to be small yet sturdy enough to withstand wind and rain.

The children built this themselves without borrowing any help from adults. Inside that hut, they gently placed the Hachiman-maru. The harvest mice became even more energetic after being released into a spacious area. “That worked out well.”

The children went to check on the white harvest mice many times.

However, this time, about three pigeon nesting boxes had disappeared.

Could it be that someone had stolen them again?

Upon hearing that, the Old Man with White Hair said: “There now, that’s quite all right. In boxes like those, the pigeons must feel cramped. We’ll make a larger one.” But this task alone was beyond the children’s capabilities. The Old Man with White Hair commissioned a carpenter to construct an elongated nesting box beneath the eaves of Lord Hachiman’s hall. The pigeons moved amiably together, fluttering in and out of the box.

“With this, even if the pigeons multiply endlessly, it’ll be perfectly safe.” The children looked up at the pigeons with evident joy. Even so, strange occurrences continued. On the grass by the pond, mud and debris were frequently discarded, leaving the area wet with water. Although the pond had been thoroughly cleaned, some mud and debris still remained at the bottom. The stuff on the grass was no different from that mud and debris.

It seemed someone was tampering with the pond.

They grew worried.

However, the Old Man with White Hair said nonchalantly, "Since the pond hasn't been completely cleaned yet, someone must be kindly tidying up the bottom for us."

“In that case, we’ll do it ourselves.” The children said this and jumped naked into the still-cold pond water, scooping up mud and debris from the bottom.

The pond had become completely clean. Things had been fine until then, but one day, the children noticed that the large turtle of the pond had disappeared. It was a rare turtle, so enormous they had never seen or heard of anything like it. This was a turtle that seemed like the very lord of the pond. That it had vanished was no small matter. At this development, even the Old Man with White Hair furrowed his brow.

Could the turtle have been stolen by someone? Could it have gone somewhere? The children searched everywhere. They checked inside the pond, looked through the woods, pushed through thickets, and even poked around in the river, but it was nowhere to be found. “Mr. Turtle! Mr. Turtle!” No matter how much they called, there was no response. Now, they grew increasingly worried. “What do we do?” “What should I do?”

Even if they wondered what to do, there was nothing they could do about it. They were caught between frustration and sorrow, feeling like they might burst into tears at any moment.

Now that they thought about it, that great turtle seemed to be the most important thing of all. With that gone, they grew to dislike everything about it.

“Wait a little longer.” “It might come back.” The Old Man with White Hair said this, though he himself appeared anxious.

The children grew even more uneasy.

10

When the great turtle from Lord Hachiman’s pond had vanished, leaving the children utterly despondent and even the Old Man with White Hair deeply troubled, suddenly Taijū—who dwelled on the village outskirts—appeared bearing a large sieve and came to seek out the Old Man.

Taijū was a destitute loner, and what's more, an incorrigible layabout. That Taijū now bowed his head before the Old Man with White Hair and, trembling as though terrified, confessed everything. ○ Taijū had abruptly conceived a wicked notion.

He stole the wire netting for the harvest mice from Hachiman Shrine, put several harvest mice inside it, and went to town to sell them. “It’s a large wire netting and pure white harvest mice.” “I’ll sell it cheap.” “Won’t you buy them?” The townspeople laughed. “I don’t need such things.” “It’s a large wire netting and pure white harvest mice, but...”

“I don’t need it.” Everywhere, he was turned down. Taijū walked all over the place and finally, exhausted, discarded the wire netting and harvest mice under someone else’s eaves.

Even so, Taijū did not give up. This time, he stole the pigeon nesting box with the pigeons still inside and went to town to sell it.

“It’s a splendid nesting box and beautiful pigeons.” “I’ll sell it cheap.” “Won’t you buy them?” The townspeople laughed.

“I don’t need such things.”

“It’s a splendid nesting box and beautiful pigeons.” “I don’t need such things.”

Everywhere, he was turned down. Taijū walked all over the place until finally exhausted, he discarded both nesting box and pigeons beneath another house’s eaves once more. This time Taijū considered: In Lord Hachiman’s pond swam various fish—among them a great carp. Carp would surely sell well. Taking up his net, Taijū went to catch carp. Yet somehow he couldn’t land a single one. No carp—no crucian carp nor icefish either—would he catch.

In the midst of this, Taijū heard something useful—that a certain wealthy man in town was eagerly collecting rare turtle hatchlings. In Lord Hachiman’s pond there were many turtles. Among them was an exceptionally large one. This was no mere hatchling, but an enormous turtle of a size unseen elsewhere. “That one will definitely sell.”

"That one will definitely sell," muttered Taijū.

He had targeted that large turtle expecting difficulty, but contrary to his expectations, managed to catch it with surprising ease. Even so, when he caught it and saw how enormous the turtle was, Taijū—feeling somewhat uneasy—bound it with rope and kept it at his house for two or three days.

Then, he finally made up his mind, put it into a basket, and set out to sell it in town.

However, as he was passing by the edge of a deep river on his way, a voice came from within the river. “Mr. Great Turtle of Hachiman Pond, where are you off to?” A reply came from within the basket in response to that voice. “I’m just going for a stroll to town.”

Taijū was startled.

Even so, as he continued on his way, this time when he passed by the edge of a large marsh, a voice called out from within the marsh. “Mr. Great Turtle of Hachiman Pond, where are you off to?” In response, a voice answered from within the basket. “I’m being taken to town by a bad person.” Taijū shuddered.

He set down the basket there and tried to think.

"This is absolutely terrible—I’ve done something unforgivable."

As soon as he thought this, he grew increasingly frightened. Carrying the basket, Taijū abandoned his journey to town and dejectedly turned back.

When he came to the marsh area, again, a voice sounded. “Mr. Great Turtle of Hachiman Pond, are you heading back already?”

A reply came from within the basket. “It seems better to return.” When he came to the river’s edge, again, a voice sounded.

“Mr. Great Turtle of Hachiman Pond, are you returning already?”

A reply came from within the basket.

“Since I endured such cramped misery, I’ll be going back to rest properly.” Taijū wasn’t just startled—he was utterly terrified—and ran back to the village.

Even so, his heart still found no peace. He explained the circumstances to the Old Man with White Hair, apologized to the children, and resolved to mend his wicked ways from then on.

○

After hearing Taijū’s story, the Old Man with White Hair said.

“And this about the large turtle speaking—is that true?”

“It’s absolutely true. I heard that voice clearly.” “I see—that makes for quite an intriguing tale indeed. Whether it was your conscience speaking or the turtle itself matters little in the end.” In any event, the great turtle had returned. Acting on the Old Man with White Hair’s instructions, Taijū gathered all the village children and brought them along. The children leaped about in delight. Their joy proved so overwhelming that not one of them thought to reproach Taijū.

They took the large turtle out of the basket. And carrying it, Masao, Ichirō, Tarō, Eikichi, Hanako, and everyone else came to Hachiman Pond.

When released into the pond, the large turtle dove underwater for a moment, resurfaced, then swam slowly to the raft, climbed onto it, and sat perfectly still.

“Banzai for the Great Turtle of Hachiman Pond!” Together, they all spontaneously raised their voices in unison and shouted just like that.

Taijū also joined in shouting "Banzai!" at this moment, and then,

“As long as I have free time, I want to help the children and join the work of turning the wild field into cultivated land,” he declared.

Old Man with White Hair also agreed to this. Taijū joined the children’s group. The children’s work would likely continue to develop gradually.

While studying at school, wasn't it also enjoyable to keep getting up to all sorts of things?