Kuchi de aruku

The protagonist of this book is Tachibana-san, a man with a severe disability who has “been in bed for more than 20 years.” One fine morning, Tachibana-san decides that it is a nice day for a walk, and the story begins. His mother helps him onto a bed with casters so it can roll. Under the bed are tissues, towels, spoons, cups, straws, and even a urine bottle. To these Tachibana-san adds his notebook, his wallet, and a stick to use in place of his hand, and his preparations are complete. From this point on, the story is about Tachibana-san taking a walk in his own unique style—by calling out “Excuse me!” to passers-by and asking them to push him for a while. Interestingly, not everyone who cooperates is an agreeable character. A student brooding over entrance exams, a woman who is suspiciously eager to introduce Tachibana-san to a “god” who can heal his body, an old man who grumbles that his family treat him poorly—everyone Tachibana-san encounters has their own issues to deal with, adding to the reality of the story.

    The most appealing aspect of the book is Tachibana-san’s unfailing good cheer. He names the stick he uses instead of his hand his “namaken-bō” (a pun on namakeru, “lazy”), he distracts the overzealous woman from her attempts to introduce him to her “god” by offering to let her use his urine bottle . . . Unbothered by his disability, Tachibana-san truly does use his “mouth” to progress, and sometimes his inventive approach to daily life and sharp sense of humor prove to be just what the people he encounters need. In this story we glimpse the outlines of a society in which people support each other across boundaries of disability status. (OM)