祖国とは国語

The first book I've read in Japan (checked out from the library). In this book "Homeland is the national language", the author Masahiko Fujiwara wrote about the travels he and his family made in Changchun city, China (formerly known as Xinjing -- Xinjing was the capital of Manchukuo which was established in 1932 in Manchuria by Japan), where he was born and raised until he became 2 years old.

My late parents (my father died 6 years ago and my mother died 22 years ago) were also in Xinjing, Manchuria, when the war ended. In 1945 they once parted at the platform of Xinjing Station. My father was forced to labor in Sibria for 3 years. My mother had to stay in North Korea for a year before crossing the 38th parallel north on foot. By reading Fujiwara's book, I could learn a little bit of what the life in Xinjing was like and the chaos and the agony my parents went through.

図書館から借りてきて、藤原正彦の「祖国とは国語」を読みました。この本の後半は、「満州再訪記」といい、著者の生地であり満２歳まで暮らした旧満州の新京（長春）を、５６年振りに母親や子供達と訪れた際の紀行文です。

私の両親（父は６年前に、母は２２年前に他界）も、終戦を満州の新京で迎えました。新京駅のプラットフォームで別れ別れになった両親（父はその後３年間のシベリア抑留生活へ、母は北朝鮮の鎮南浦に一年間留め置かれた後、３８度線を歩いて渡って日本に帰国）の、その時の思いをちょっとだけ覗くことができた気がした本でした。