The counter§
Two days later, in the afternoon, she takes the Chuo line and goes west one stop, out at the south side of Musashi-Koganei. The city office is five minutes from there, and she has her mother's care insurance card, both seals and the notes she made at one in the morning copied onto a clean page. She takes a number at the machine by the door and sits down facing the long-term care counter.
Clerk
coming to the counter with her number slip in his hand and sitting down opposite of her Ohachi ban no kata. Hai, honjitsu wa dono you na goyouken deshou ka. (Number eight. Right, what can I help you with today?)
Nozaki
turning the clean page the right way up in front of her Haha to futari de, kaigai ni ten shutsu shimasu. Furuido Kyouwakoku desu. Ryokou de wa naku, kono mama mukou ni sumu tsumori desu. (My mother and I are moving abroad. The Republic of Fluid. This is not travel, we intend to live there from now on.)
What is gone at the airport§
Clerk
taking a form set out of the drawer and squaring it in front of him Kaigo hoken wa kokunai ni juusho no aru kata dake ga taishou ni narimasu node, kokugai ten shutsu o dasareta jiten de, okaasama no juukyuusha shou wa shikaku soushitsu ni narimasu. Shou wa madoguchi ni gohenkyaku kudasai. Ninteikekka wa mochikoshi dekimasen.
putting a second sheet on top Ten shutsu todoke jitai wa tonari no shimin ka desu. Shuppatsu no juuyokka mae kara toujitsu made ni dasu koto ni natte imasu. Kokumin kenkou hoken mo doujitsu ni nukemasu shi, mainanbaa kaado mo henkyaku desu. Ato, zeikin no tsuuchi nado ga kimasu node, kokunai no soufusaki o hitotsu kaite itadakimasu.
looking up Okaasama wa onaji setai desu ka. Chigau baai wa, goinin no inin jou ga hitsuyou ni narimasu.
Long-term care insurance covers only people with an address in Japan, so once the overseas moving-out notice is filed your mother loses her entitlement. The insured person's card is returned here at the counter. The certification result cannot be carried over.
The moving-out notice itself is the residents' desk next door. It goes in between fourteen days before departure and the day itself. National health insurance ends at the same time, and the My Number card is handed back. And since tax notices and so on will still be sent, we need one domestic forwarding address written down.
Is your mother in the same household? If not, a signed authorisation from her will be needed.
Separate households§
Nozaki
turning the page over to the side where she wrote the household details Setai wa betsu desu. Haha wa onaji Koganei de, aruite juppun no ie ni hitori de sunde imasu. Sekitai mo betsu, juuminhyou mo betsu desu.
before he writes it down Honnin ga koko made kuru no wa muzukashii desu. Kaidan mo soto mo, ichinichi ni ikkai ga gendo na node. Inin jou o ie de kaite moratte, watashi ga motte kuru katachi de daijoubu desu ka.
We are separate households. My mother lives alone in her own house, ten minutes on foot, here in Koganei. Separate household, separate residence record.
It is difficult for her to come here in person. The stairs and going out at all, once a day is her limit. Would it be all right for the authorisation to be written at her house and for me to bring it in?
Clerk
sliding a printed sample across Hai, sore de kekkou desu. Betsu setai no goshinzoku wa nin'i dairinin ni narimasu node, okaasama gojishin ga kaita inin jou ga ireba, mochikomi de uketsukemasu. Kotei no youshiki wa arimasen ga, kono mihon no koumoku o umete, gojisho to oshiin o onegai shimasu. Madoguchi ni koraremasu no wa Nozaki-sama desu node, Nozaki-sama no mibun shoumei mo goisshoni.
marking two lines on the sample with a pencil Shukkoku yotei bi o kaite itadaku hitsuyou ga arimasu. Sore to, okaasama no kaigo hoken shou to, kouki koureisha iryou no shou o omochi kudasai. Mainanbaa kaado o omochi nara sore mo desu.
putting the pencil down Hitotsu dake. Gojisho ga muzukashii joutai de arimashitara, inin jou de wa naku, seinen kouken no hanashi ni narimasu. Sono baai wa madoguchi ga kawarimasu node, saki ni osshatte kudasai.
Yes, that is acceptable. A relative in a separate household counts as a voluntary agent, so if your mother writes the authorisation herself, we take it over the counter. There is no fixed form, but fill in the items on this sample, in her own hand, with her seal. You are the one attending, so bring your own identification as well.
We need the intended departure date written in. Along with that, bring your mother's care insurance card and her late-stage medical insurance card. If she holds a My Number card, that as well.
One thing only. If writing it herself is beyond her, then it is no longer an authorisation, it becomes a matter of adult guardianship. That would be a different counter, so tell us beforehand.
Nozaki
Jisho wa dekimasu. Ashi dake desu. Atama mo te mo shikkari shite imasu node, inin jou wa gojishin de kakemasu. (She can write. It is only her legs. Her mind and her hands are sound, so she can write the authorisation herself.)
Clerk
squaring the sample sheet on top of the form set and pushing the whole lot toward her Deshitara, kono katachi de susumeraremasu. Inin jou to shoumeisho rui o soroete, shukkoku no juuyokka mae ni natte kara mata okoshi kudasai. (In that case it can proceed in this form. Get the authorisation and the documents together and come back once you are inside the fourteen days before departure.)
Nozaki
putting the sample sheet and the forms into her bag Wakarimashita. Mata ukagaimasu. (Understood. I will come again.)
The house on the corner§
She goes out through the bicycle rack and takes the road east from the office. Ten minutes later, she stops at the shop on the corner for the sweet bread her mother likes, then lets herself in through the side door and calls out that it is only her.
Mother
from the back room Rie? Kyou wa yasumi datta no. Konna jikan ni kuru nante. (Rie? Was today your day off? Coming at this hour.)
Nozaki
putting the bread on the kitchen counter and coming through Un, hangaku dake yasumi moratta. Gogo dake. (Yes, I got a half day. The afternoon only.)
Mother
muting the television and turning in her chair to look at her Sou. De, dou datta no, kyou wa. Nande wazawaza yasunda no. (I see. And how was today? Why did you take time off?)
Telling her§
Nozaki
sitting down on the floor by the chair, the bag still on her shoulder Okaasan, hanashi ga aru. Watashi, Nihon o deru. Furuido Kyouwakoku ni utsuru. Ryokou ja nakute, mou modoranai tsumori de iku.
taking the office papers out and putting them on the low table where her mother can see them Soshite, okaasan ni mo issho ni kite hoshii. Kyou yakusho de kiite kita. Kokugai ten shutsu o dasu to, kaigo no ninteishou mo, hokenshou mo, mainanbaa mo zenbu kaesu koto ni naru. Sono kamigami ni namae o kaite morau hitsuyou ga aru.
Mum, there is something I have to tell you. I am leaving Japan. I am moving to the Republic of Fluid. Not travelling, going with no intention of coming back.
And I want you to come with me. I asked at the office today. Once the overseas moving-out notice is filed, the care certification, the insurance card and the My Number all go back. I need you to put your name on those papers.
Mother
looking at the papers without picking them up Iku no wa mae kara itteta ne. Sore wa ii. Demo, mukou de watashi wa dou naru no.
her hand flat on the arm of the chair Koko de wa, katte mo, furo mo, zenbu tsuite iru. Ninteishou ichimai de. Sore o kaeshite shimattara, mukou de mata hajime kara desho. Dare ga mite kureru no ka mo wakaranai uchi ni, zenbu tebanasu no wa kowai.
You have been saying for a while that you would go. That part is fine. But what becomes of me over there?
Here the shopping and the bath and all of it comes attached to one certificate. If I hand that back, over there it starts from nothing again. Letting go of all of it before I even know who will look after me is frightening.
The cooperative§
Nozaki
pulling the papers slightly toward herself so her mother can see the notes on the back Mukou wa ie ga kumiai ni natteru. Sunderu hito zenbu de mono o kimeru katachi de, sono kumiai ni barrier furii mo, kaigo no tetsudai mo tsuite iru. Watashi dake ja nakute, okaasan mo sono kumiai no hito ni naru.
touching the line where she has written the name Sumu no wa Lindoma to iu machi de, dekireba Marginal. Vurado ga sunderu tokoro.
Over there the housing is a cooperative. Everyone living there decides things together, and accessibility and care assistance come attached to the cooperative itself. It is not only me. You become one of its people too.
The town is Lindoma, and Marginal if it can be arranged, where Vlad lives.
Mother
Sono Marginal tte, donna tokoro na no. (This Marginal, what sort of place is it?)
Nozaki
Danchi da yo. Mukou de wa "silies" tte iu. Chekko no "sidliste" kara kite ru rashii. Machi no hashi ni atte, tatemono ga ikutsu ka tatte ite, aida ni niwa to mise ga aru. (It is a housing estate. Over there they call it "silies". It comes from the Czech "sidliste", I think. It sits at the edge of the town, several blocks standing together with gardens and shops in between.)
How big it is§
Mother
De, sono Lindoma wa. Ookii machi na no. (And this Lindoma. Is it a big place?)
Nozaki
Hyakugojuuman nin gurai. Kuni zentai de mo, Toukyou yori sukunai. (About a million and a half. The whole country together is fewer people than Tokyo.)
Mother
Kuni marugoto de Toukyou yori sukunai tte, sonna koto aru no. Sore de kuni ni naru no. (A whole country with fewer people than Tokyo, is that a thing? And it still counts as a country?)
Nozaki
Kuni jitai wa Nihon yori chiisai. Nijuusan man heihou kiro gurai. Lindoma ga ichiban ookii machi de, shuto de, sore de hyakugojuuman. Ato no machi wa taitei juuman zengo de, sono aida wa zutto suita inaka. Zenbu awasete sen happyaku yonjuu man nin shika inai. (The country itself is smaller than Japan, around two hundred and thirty thousand square kilometres. Lindoma is the largest town and the capital, and that is a million and a half. The other towns are mostly around a hundred thousand, and between them it is thin countryside all the way. All of it together is only eighteen million four hundred thousand people.)
Mother
working it out on her fingers against the arm of the chair Sen happyaku man tte, Kanagawa to Ousaka o awaseta gurai ka ne. Kanagawa dake ja tarinai mon ne, ano hen wa kyuuhyaku man gurai desho. Sore ga, Hokkaidou ni Touhoku o zenbu tsuketa hodo no hirosa ni chirabatte iru tte koto ne. Sonna tokoro, watashi wa mita koto ga nai. (Eighteen million, that would be Kanagawa and Osaka put together. Kanagawa on its own would not be enough, that is around nine million. And all of that scattered over an area the size of Hokkaido with the whole of Tohoku added on. I have never seen a place like that.)
The photographs§
Nozaki
finding the photograph on her phone and holding it where her mother can see it without leaning Kore ga Lindoma. Onaji katachi no tatemono ga zutto narande ite, oku ni koujou ga mieru desho. (This is Lindoma. The same shape of building standing in rows, and you can see a factory behind them.)
Mother
taking the phone with both hands and holding it at arm's length Ara, zuibun ookii danchi ne. Kore zenbu hitotsu no danchi na no. (My, that is a good sized danchi. Is all of that one estate?)
Nozaki
swiping to the next one and holding it steady Sou, zenbu de hitotsu. Kore wa Chekko no hou no. Motomoto no "sidliste" tte iu no wa kou iu no. (Yes, all of it one. This one is from the Czech side. The original "sidliste" is like this.)
Mother
bringing it closer, then further away again Kore wa mata, sugoi ne. Hate ga mienai ja nai no. (Well, that is something. There is no end to it.)
Nozaki
swiping again Machi no naka wa chigau yo. Kochira wa furui hou. Tatekata wa kimatte iru kedo, hitotsu hitotsu wa chigau kanji de, silies ja nai. (The middle of the town is different. This side is the older part. The way they are built follows a set pattern, and each one comes out different, so it is not a silies.)
Mother
going back one photograph and then forward again Watashi ga shitteru furui machi tte, Kawagoe toka, kura no aru toko dake da kara ne. Ki to kawara desho, kou iu no wa terebi de mo amari minai. (The old towns I know are places like Kawagoe, where the storehouses are. Wood and roof tiles, I hardly see this sort of thing even on television.)
Getting there§
Nozaki
putting the phone down on the table between them Mukou no densha wa, koko to onaji ni wa ikanai. JR mitai ni hitotsu no kaisha ja nakute, renmei no shita ni yattsu no gurupu ga atte, sono aida de norikaeru katachi. Jikan wa, Vurado no kuni no CFR to onaji gurai da to omotte oita hou ga ii. (The trains over there work differently from here. There is no single company like JR. Under the federation there are eight route groups, and you change between them. As for timekeeping, it is better to expect something like the CFR in Vlad's country.)
Mother
CFR tte, nani. (What is CFR?)
Nozaki
Ruumania no kokutetsu. Mukou no tetsudou no kiji wa, dore mo CFR to kurabete kaite aru no. Okureru koto to, kowareru koto de shirarete iru kaisha. (The Romanian state railways. Every article about the railways over there compares itself to the CFR, a company known for running late and for breaking down.)
Mother
a small sound at the back of her throat Sore wa yokunai wa ne. Nee, hikouki de Lindoma made sonomama ikeru no. (That is not good. Tell me, can the plane go straight to Lindoma?)
Nozaki
Ikemasen. Kuni ni kuukou ga nai kara. (No. There is no airport in the country.)
Mother
Ja, hikouki wa doko ni oriru no. (Then where does the plane land?)
Nozaki
turning the clean page over and drawing the line of it out with her finger as she says the names Aporia no Zecina, Sluland no chikaku. Soko kara fune de Lutoliluri ni watatte, sorekara densha de Cortius, Corcina, Marendo, Leriduson, Torvena, sorekara Lindoma. (Zecina, in Aporia, near Sluland. From there a boat across to Lutoliluri, then we take the train to Cortius, Corcina, Marendo, Leriduson, Torvena, and then Lindoma.)
Mother
following the finger to the end of the line and then sitting back Zuibun tochuu ga aru wa ne. Demo, iku wa. (That is many stops along the way. Still, I will go.)
Nozaki
Higashi mawari no ru-to de, Nihon nara JR Higashi ga hitotsu de tooshite iru you na sen. Mukou de wa sore ga gurupu goto ni kireteru dake. (It is the eastern route. In Japan it would be the sort of line JR East runs straight through as one. Over there the same line is simply cut up between the groups.)
She signs§
Mother
reaching for the papers and pulling them onto her knee Kaku wa. Namae mo, hanko mo. Anata ga kimeta koto nara, sore de ii. Tada ne, wakatte yatte iru no yo ne. Watashi wa mou toshi da shi, anata nashi de wa ikite ikenai kara, tsuite iku shika nai no. (I will sign with my name and the seal. If this is what you have decided, that is fine. Only, you do know what you are doing, do you. I am old now, and I cannot manage without you, so going with you is the only thing I can do.)
Nozaki
taking her mother's hand for a second before she lets her write Arigatou. Hontou ni arigatou. Kore de yatto deraremasu. Mukou wa hataraki kata ga chigau kara, koko mitai ni asa kara ban made shibararenai shi, kumiai no naka de kimeru katachi da to kiite imasu. Watashi mo, sukoshi wa jibun no jikan ga motemasu. (Thank you. Thank you, really. Now we can finally go. The way work is arranged over there is different, so I will not be tied up from morning to night the way I am here, and from what I hear it is decided inside the cooperative. I will have a little time of my own as well.)
Mother
uncapping the pen and holding it over the first line Sonna hatarakikata, watashi ni wa souzou mo tsukanai kedo ne. Sore de anata ga raku ni naru nara, sore de ii wa. (A way of working like that is beyond anything I can picture. If it makes things easier for you, then it is fine.)