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The trace of my mind
The Junior high school days 
As the four villages had been united as Wazuka town, I entered Wazuka Junior High School established by the town. I had a home-room teacher who, too, had been my elder sister's, who had graduated from it in March. When I started some trouble, he beat me on the head with tearful eyes, compared my behavior with hers, and persuaded me to recognize my fault. His manner of education was a great shock to me who had been able to listen to what others say to some extent. But I can remember as a bad memory that a teacher beat me on the head for my little fault in the class of physical education. And my father would beat me on the head by surprise when he knew that I did wrong in my boyhood. Therefore I made up my mind not to beat my children on any parts of the bodies when I got married. Besides I have never passed my severe judgement on the matter of my students without any warning since I began to teach at school.
As my elder brother died in his babyhood, my father planned to make me, his second son, enter the agricultural course of Kizu High School where students had to study 4 days a week for 4 years, and make me a farmer who would succeed to his job. But my home-room teacher persuaded him to make me enter the general course with all his heart. Therefore he changed his plan, and thought that he would be able to make one of his sons succeed to his job.
The high school days 
Getting up at 5:50 in the morning, I left our house at 6:10, and arrived at the school at 7:20. And I came home at 7:30 in the evening. I spent 50 minutes in the morning, and 3 hours after school in the activities of the student council and both societies. And I was absorbed in preparation of the school annual festival till night. Especially when we continued to make a stage setting till late at night, I stayed at a teacher's home. But my hunger of the mind was not satisfied with these activities. Then, I bent my energies into reading, too. Did I have any time to read The Complete Works of Dazai Osamu, War and Peace, The Quiet Don, etc.? I won the prize in a contest of the description of my impression about reading the book of the author in question, and contributed some essays to the journal of the literature society at the school. And I had written a letter to my pen pals periodically since the beginning of the 8th grade. In short, I liked to write sentences. But I could not skimp my study. Therefore I devoted night hours to completing notebooks of each subject after having supper and a bath. At midnight I would enjoy my own time, and sleep at about 1:00. Sometimes I continued to read a book till 2:00. My strong body didn't need a lot of sleeping time.
When we, being members of the class 2, took the first examinations held in the first term, our average marks in English reader and grammar were about 10 per cent lower than those of the class 1. Judging from the result, Mr. Kita, our teacher of English, gave us the supplementary lessons of English composition twice a week. And judging from my marks in them in the final examination in the first term, my home-room teacher advised me to learn by heart the textbooks which I had used at Wazuka Junior High School. When we got the same average marks in them as those of the class 1 in the final examination in the second term, our supplementary lessons were closed, and at the same time, my marks in them were much improved: these teachers made me what I am.
When I had an individual interview with the directors of Toyobo Co. Ltd., at the beginning of September 1960 after passing the examination which had been held in August, I was very angry with one of them who asked me about some thing which I thought was never questioned, in other words, who used the words which mustn't be said now. Therefore I was sorry to say that I had not been able to get the job, besides Kizu High School had not received the application forms of the company since then. It is a matter of my regret that I deprived my juniors of one of their opportunities to choose the jobs.
Next, I had to take a physical examination of Nihon Life Insurance Company because of success in the examination and the interview. But invited to take the examination of Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd., by my senior of the newspaper society, I took the examination of its Kyoto branch. As the mark in it was very good, he asked me to have an interview with the chief directors of the section of personnel. To my great surprise, the dates appointed by both company were the same day. A teacher in charge of our getting jobs said to me, ‘Take the physical examination of Nisay,’ but I chose to take the interview of Kanden, for I hoped to attend the evening session of Ritsumeikan University. At that time Kanden was a family company which laid stress on persons related with it. As a result, I failed to get the job. The teacher was very angry with me, telling me that he could not find any company of which he could recommend me to take the examination. Being at a loss, I took the examination for service as the police, and succeeded in it. When the names of those who succeeded in it were reported in some of the newspapers, Mr. Kita, our English teacher, asked me why I was going to be a police. Then, I answered that I couldn't help being so because I had failed in all of examinations that I had taken. And he said to me,‘I have a classmate in my college days, who is an executive director of the special steel trading company. I'll ask him if he will agree to my proposal.’ Hakama Special Steel Co. Ltd. is on the 8th floor in Osaka Building, being on the bank across the Dojima River from Toyobo, and Kanden Building is two buildings away from Osaka Building. Feeling that this was my life, I took the examination and interview of the company.
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