The Big Wave

Kino laments that Jiya will never be happy again. His father assures him that this is not true: Jiya will grieve, but after some time, he will begin to eat, think, and live again. He will never forget his family; instead, he will “accept their death as part of his life [...] He will carry them in his memory and his thoughts. His flesh and blood are part of them. So long as he is alive, they, too, will live in him” (25). Kino exclaims that it is cruel for the sky to be so clear and the ocean so peaceful after the destruction the wave caused. However, Kino’s father says that the opposite is true. The calm after the storm is wonderful because the wave has made the preciousness of life clearer.

Jiya wakes and Kino’s mother coaxes him into eating some soup. Kino’s father explains that they will be his family now if he wishes it. Jiya does not respond but walks out to stare at the ocean. To comfort him, Setsu offers him her pet duck and holds his hand. Jiya stays quiet, imagining the bodies of his family in the waves.