A living god is a short story written from a limited omniscient point of view about a man named Hamaguchi Ghoei and the way he burned his market produce to save the people of his village from the tsunami. The story provides an insight into the quick thinking of Hamaguchi as he selflessly burned his whole years’ worth of rice with the help of his grandson Tada to save his entire community. This story provides a realistic experience of dealing with natural calamities and the sense of urgency that is required for it.
A Living God | Summary
The tale is started by the author as he is mentioning about the landscape of Japan. He tells of the phenomenon of the water rising from the sea all of a sudden which the Japanese call a “tsunami”. He says that a typhoon occurred in the month of June in 1896, but in this story, it is taking place much earlier, that is before the Meiji era.
At the time of the incident, Hamaguchi had been the most influential man in the village. He was their muraosa, or headman and people called him Ojisan with respect. He was selected as choji officially due to his status as the wealthiest man in the village. Hamaguchi helped out the villagers during difficult times and was quite well-known among them. His house was located at the top of a plateau that overlooked the bay. The downward slope from the plateau led to the village and the festival shrine.
One afternoon Hamaguchi had been looking at the festival preparations in the village below. He could see the nobori and the paper lanterns swinging on the bamboo poles. He had stayed at his house with his grandson, Tada, since he felt a little weak. There was a different kind of heat around that time, the kind that reminded Hamaguchi of the warm air that blew before an earthquake. And presently an earthquake did come shaking and tumbling his house, but it was not so big that the villagers felt it. When the shaking stopped Hamaguchi realized that it was a bit different, more drawn out.
Suddenly he got a premonition that there was danger approaching. He noticed the sea being sucked into the land and moving away from the sea bed. He remembered stories from his grandfather about such an event and quickly realized the tsunami was approaching. Hamaguchi quickly called to his grandson to bring him a pine-torch, used by the villagers during storms and went outside to where he had stored his harvested rice. Once, there he quickly started setting them on fire. Tada who was watching shouted at his grandfather to stop. However, Hamaguchi ignored him and eventually set the whole thing on fire.
Once, the fire increased Hamaguchi saw the villagers approaching his house one by one. By this time the temple bell had also been rung which added to the urgency in the villagers. As the people gathered at his house, Hamaguchi did not allow them to put out the fire until everybody had reached the summit. By this time the people were very much confused and asked Hamaguchi the reason for the fire. Once he made sure that all were safe, Hamaguchi pointed out the tsunami that was approaching the once lively village. The people understood the reason and shouted the word /’ tsunami”. Immediately after that a wave two hundred meters long came and crashed along the shore. It came again and again and each time it did so it destroyed the village a little more. After the typhoon receded Hamaguchi declared that this was the reason for the fire. The people thanked Hamaguchi and to honor his kindness they built a temple in his name alleviating him to the level of a god. Even when he was still alive the people prayed in the temple and believed that it could save them from calamities. Now he has died yet people still pray in the temple.
A Living God | Analysis
A living god is a story that deals foremost with selflessness. The story makes a reference to the Sanriku earthquake that occurred in 1896. Coincidentally Hearn had written this story after the earthquake had already happened. However by writing the story from the point of view of Hamaguchi we as readers get to experience the calamity as if it is happening right in front of us.
The story had begun in a very calm manner. The author introduces our protagonist Hamaguchi Gohei who was the village head or “muraosa”. He was the oldest member there and had a financial status as well which was called “choji”. He was resting in his house on the plateau while the rest of the village was enjoying the festival. They had a very good harvest this year and planned to pray to “Ujima”- their god who blessed them with wealth and harvest. Everything was going well when suddenly there was an earthquake, but it was so light that the villagers hardly noticed it. However, Hamaguchi felt that something was wrong with this earthquake. It felt drawn out to him. At that moment Hamaguchi had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
Here Hearn has applied the technique of foreshadowing to add tension to the story. He says that “the sea was moving away from the land”. Here he is trying to point out the event that is about to occur. Meanwhile, the sea bed was becoming more and more visible and the village people had gathered on the brink of it. When Hamaguchi saw this he remembered the stories he had heard from his grandfather and suddenly he understood what was going to happen. Hamaguchi probably already knew that alerting the priests in the temple would take too long, so he did the only thing that he could think of. His goal was to make the whole village come to his plateau on higher ground. It is in this part of the story that his courage and benevolence shine through. He called for a “Taimatsu” or a pine-torch that was used by the people living in the coastal areas for emergency use. Using that torch he went over to his rice crop and set fire to each of the bags it was currently stored in. He never for a moment thought about his loss or about the amount of money that would be wasted. Instead, his only concern was to save his people. As the fire grew the temple bells sounded as well. By this time the people from the village started pouring onto the plateau. The first ones to arrive were the young men and when they tried to put out the fire Hamaguchi stopped them. As the fire continued burning Tada ran around crying frantically that his granddad had gone mad. By using a very simple diction, Hearn has craftily increased the tension of the story as readers themselves wait with bated breath till the moment all four hundred people arrive at Hamaguchi’s house.
By this time most of the villagers were gathered on the plateau and a few elderly were on the way, everyone had started asking Hamaguchi the reason for his weird behavior. He pointed to the “sea, towering like a cliff, and coursing more swiftly than the kite flies.” Only after seeing this did the people realize that tsunami had materialized. The waves crashed with a sound louder than thunder. Hearn has used powerful imagery to show the might and power of the tsunami as it crashed against the village like a powerful sweep of air and engulfed the whole village. As the tsunami slowly ebbed away after surging and dying several times, there was nothing left to see of the village that once used to be. Hamaguchi declared then the reason for setting fire to his crop. The people of the village thanked him and bowed before him in gratitude. As the people had nowhere to go Hamaguchi offered his residence to the people.
After this incident, the people presented a temple with Hamaguchi name inscribed on a golden tablet. They believed that he was a divine being and gave him the status of a god, calling him “Hamaguchi Daimyojin.” After this Hamaguchi lived with his family and even after his death pole believed that praying to him would bring relief from their troubles.
At the core of it the story explores the courage of Hamaguchi to be able to save his people by overcoming the temptation of greed. He acted without a moment’s hesitation to save his community; he embodies humanity and the way to help our people who are not aware of the danger.
A Living God | Themes
The story deals with the themes of humanity and courage. Hamaguchi was a clever fellow who had the foresight to predict the tsunami. Even at such a time, he was not concerned with his own safety, rather he was thinking of the people below who were enjoying the festival unawares. That he choose to burn his crops rather than to ask the temple priests for help indicated his love for his people. He had no time so he chooses the quickest way to help them albeit it came at the cost of his money. This reflects his kind soul as he watched the fire lead the people to safety.
Eventually, Hearn has shown through the character of Hamaguchi how the smallest sacrifices can lead to a greater victory. This story becomes a symbol of the spirit of Hamaguchi as he fights the tsunami head-on. Perhaps by writing it in such a way Hearn also wishes to make people hit by natural disasters to have faith and courage and to show kindness in times of need.
A Living God | Title Of the story
The title of the story signifies the main plot of the story. Hamaguchi saved the people from the typhoon and as a result, the people respected him by building a temple in his name. In this way Hamaguchi became “A Living God” just like the title as people worshiped him even in his life.
A Living God | Character sketch
The protagonist of the story is Hamaguchi Ghoei who is a wise old man. He is a farmer who had heard about the tsunami from his grandfather. As he saw the sea receding to the ends of the earth, he quickly realized the situation and he chooses to help his people. By creating a fire, he chooses to save his village instead of being blinded by greed. The rice was a very valuable asset for him but he never chooses it over his own people. He valiantly fought temptation and became a god to his people.
A Living God | Literary devices
Hearn has not used a complex number of techniques in his story. The only ones he did apply are the limited omniscient first-person point of view, foreshadowing, imagery and simple diction. These techniques when used within the context of the story convert it into a very easy-to-follow narrative. The foreshadowing begins from the very beginning when “the sea was moving away from the land,” indicating the beginning of the natural calamity. As we read further along the story we come across powerful imagery of the tsunami as it sweeps across the entire village, “there remained nothing recognizable except two straw roofs tossing, madly in the offing”. Through this, we get a picture of a village defeated by the power of the tsunami.
As the villagers are waiting for the others to arrive, we feel the anxiety of Hamaguchi as he waits for all the villagers to reach the safety of his house. As Hearn has also used a very straightforward way to express this narrative, the speed of the narrative flows continuously adding to the climax of the story.
In this way, the story A Living God tells the tale of helping out each other and the way to remain humane in the cruel world by following Hamaguchi’s example.
