Summary

​
Dr Sadao Hoki and his Traditional Father

Dr Sadao, a famous Japanese surgeon, and an accomplished scientist lived

in a house on the Japanese coast. The house was set upon rocks above a
narrow beach surrounded by pine trees. As a child, Sadao used to climb
these trees. He often visited the South Sea Islands with his father. His
father believed that the islands were steppingstones of Japan's future to
gain perfection. Sadao's father was a profoundly serious and traditional
man. He never joked or played with him but took infinite pains for his son.
Sadao's education was his chief concern. He even sent Sadao to America
to complete his studies. Sadao's father inculcated in him values of
patriotism and national loyalty when the latter was quite young and Sadao
had always cherished these great virtues. ​

The Second World War started, but Sadao was not sent with the troops
because he was about to make a discovery which would render wounds
entirely clean. Also, the General, who was old, was being treated by
Sadao, and he might require an operation anytime.
​
Sadao met Hana in America, waited for his Father's Consent to Marry Her
Sadao had met Hana in America, but he had waited until he was sure that
she was Japanese before deciding to marry her. His father would never
have approved of her otherwise. Sadao recalled that his meeting with Hana
was an accident. Sadao lived in Professor Harley's house and had almost
not gone to the Professor's house that night, where he met Hana, a new
student.

After Sadao and Hana had finished their studies, they came home to Japan.
The marriage was solemnized in the traditional Japanese way according to
his father's wishes. They were a happy couple.
​

The Prisoner is Washed Ashore

One night, Sadao and Hana were enjoying the view of the sea from their
verandah when they saw something black coming out of the mists. It was a
man. He staggered a few steps and then the mists hid him again. When
they saw him again, he was crawling. Sadao thought that he was a
fisherman washed ashore from his boat. The surf beyond the beach was
spiked with rocks. The man might be badly hurt.

They found the man wounded. Hana realized that it was a white man. The
fellow was young and unconscious. The man was bleeding profusely.
Sadao saw that a bullet wound had reopened. Sadao packed the wound
with sea moss. The man moaned with pain, but he did not awaken. Sadao
wanted to throw the man back into the sea as he had now realized that he
was an American prisoner of war.

Hana also agreed. Sadao knew that giving shelter to the enemy would get
them in trouble. He was torn between his moral duty as a doctor which
urged him to save the dying man and his national duty which required
handing him over to the Army as a patriot. Both Hana and Sadao finally
decided to take the man home, as he needed urgent medical attention.
​
The Servants React Bitterly
They decided that they might tell the servants also. They would tell them
that they intended to give him over to the police. The man had been
starved for a long time and he was light as a fowl. They carried him to
Sadao's father's bedroom. The old man had never allowed a foreign object
in his room.

The American was very dirty and needed to be washed. Hana said that
Yumi, the governess, might wash her. She went to fetch her. When she
returned to the kitchen, she found the other two servants frightened at what
Sadao had told them.

The servants tried to convince Sadao that he must hand over the enemy to
the police. Yumi refused to wash the American and Hana had to wash him
herself.
​
Sadao Saves the Enemy's Life
Sadao was ready to operate. Sadao was completely absorbed in his work.
He told Hana that she would need to give anesthetic to the man.

Hana probably had never seen an operation and started vomiting. Sadao
was irritable and impatient with his enemy, as he was not able to help
Hana in her distress. The man groaned with pain.

Interestingly enough, Hana was able to assist her husband in the operation.
Hana noticed deep red scars on the neck of their enemy. She wondered if
the war torture stories, she had heard were actually true. She recalled that
General Takima was a ruthless man who did not even spare his wife.
Sadao murmured while operating, as was his habit. He called the enemy
his 'friend'. Sadao finally succeeded in taking the bullet out. He was sure
that the man would live in spite of his sufferings.
​
The Patient gets Better but the Servants Decide to Leave
Hana took good care of the man. She served him, as the servants refused to
enter the room. The man was surprised to see Hana talk in English. Hana
told him that she had lived in America for a long time. The enemy
revealed his name to Hana. His name was Tom. Sadao was still confused
about handing him over to the police.

The servants resented their decision to help the American soldier. Hana
told Sadao that the servants could not live in the house if the enemy was
still present. The servants thought that the couple liked Americans. Sadao
tried to clarify that all Americans were his enemies. They talked about the
consequences of harboring an enemy. Hana could hear what they were
talking about. On the seventh day, the servants left.
​
The General's Messenger; Sadao Goes to See the General
On the same day, a messenger in official uniform came to Sadao's house.
Hana was so scared that she was unable to speak. She thought that he was
there to arrest Sadao. In fact, the messenger had come to inform Sadao that
the General needed him. Looking at Hana in utter distress, Sadao decided
to get rid of the man.

Sadao told the whole episode to the General. The General knew that Sadao
was indispensable to him. He never trusted other Japanese surgeons. The
General promised Sadao that nothing would happen to him.

The General then planned to assassinate the enemy. He told Sadao that his
private assassins were very competent and would also remove the dead
body. Sadao thought that this plan would be the best for his family.

After that meeting, Sadao spent three restless nights waiting for the
assassins. But they did not come. Finally, the torture became too much to
bear for him. He planned to get rid of the enemy himself.
​
Sadao Helps the Enemy
Sadao told the escape plan to Tom. He also warned him that he needed to
escape as the news of his presence was not hidden anymore. He arranged a
boat, food, drinking water and clothing for the young man and also gave
him his own flashlight. He told Tom that he should flash the light two
times if he needed something, once if everything was fine. He must do this
only when the sun dropped over the horizon. He further added that Tom
could find many fish to eat but he should eat them raw lest the fire be seen.
Even Hana did not know about this plan. Sadao had told Tom to wait for a
Korean ship.

Sadao went to the General. Sadao had operated on him and he had
survived. The General informed Sadao that he forgot about the prisoner, as
he was unwell. He told Sadao not to leak this information to anybody.

Back at home, Sadao remembered his days in America and the Americans
he met there. He wondered why he could not kill Tom, his enemy.

Gist of the story

●​ One day Sadao and his wife, Hana, encounterd a strange man on the
seashore. He was badly injured. At first, they thought he was a
fisherman, but when they went closer, they realized that he was a
soldier of the US Navy, a prisoner of war, their enemy.
●​ Sadao and Hana decide to take him home because he needs help.
They think of ways to avoid leaking his identity.
●​ The servant when finding out the truth refuses to help him and Hana.
Hana, despite not being a doctor, helps Sadao in treating him.
●​ Throughout the whole story, Sadao has no idea why he is helping the
man. Hana also agreed because her husband, Sadao, wanted to help
the man.
●​ As they treat him, they found scars on his body of torture. It evoked
their sympathies with him.
●​ When Sadao was treating him, he forgot that he is the enemy. He
used to address him as a patient. He used to check him from time to
time.
●​ Hana also took good care of the man by providing him with food.
However, the man thinks that they would hand him over to the
government.
●​ At last, the servants also left Sadao and Hana because of the man.
Hana was confused about why she and Sadao are not like other
Japanese people.
●​ One day, the General called Sadao as he got sick. Sadao told him
about the injured man at his place and the General said that he will
send his men to take the men and nobody would get to know about
the incident.
●​ However, the General forgot his words and never sent any men.
Sadao waited for days in terror but at last, he decided to send the
man away on a boat.
●​ When Sadao met General again, he told him everything about the
man’s escape. He realized that he was so busy with himself that he
forgot that the nation’s enemy was in Sadao’s place. However, he
covered his mistake by telling him that he will reward Sadao.
●​ In the end, Sadao was still confused about why he helped him and
could not kill the man.