After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

the transfusion
and die. Then I supposedly would have been transported to heaven or 
someplace who-knows-where
. 
“Is this cult you’re talking about well known?” Aomame asked. 
“It’s called ‘Sakigake.’ I’m sure you’ve heard of it. At one point it was being 
mentioned in the paper almost every day.” 
Aomame could not recall having heard the name ‘Sakigake,’ but rather than say so, 
she nodded vaguely to the dowager. She felt she had better just leave it at that, aware 
that she was no longer living in 1984 but in the changed world of 1Q84. That was still 
just a hypothesis, but one that was steadily increasing in reality with each passing day. 
There seemed to be a great deal of information in this new world of which she knew 
nothing. She would have to pay closer attention. 
The dowager went on, “Sakigake originally started out as a small agricultural 
commune run by a core new-left group who had fled from the city, but it suddenly 
changed direction at one point and turned into a religion. How and why this came 
about is not well understood.” 
The dowager paused for breath and then continued speaking. 
“Very few people know this, but the group has a guru they call ‘Leader.’ They 
view him as having special powers, which he supposedly uses to cure serious 
illnesses, to predict the future, to bring about paranormal phenomena, and such. 
They’re all elaborate ruses, I’m sure, but they are another reason that many people are 
drawn to him.” 
“Paranormal phenomena?” 
The dowager’s beautifully shaped eyebrows drew together. “I don’t have any 
concrete information on what that is supposed to mean. I’ve never had the slightest 
interest in matters of the occult. People have been repeating the same kinds of fraud 
throughout the world since the beginning of time, using the same old tricks, and still 
these despicable fakes continue to thrive. That is because most people believe not so 

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217
much in truth as in things they wish were the truth. Their eyes may be wide open, but 
they don’t see a thing. Tricking them is as easy as twisting a baby’s arm.” 
“Sakigake.” Aomame tried out the word. What did it mean, anyway? Forerunner? 
Precursor? Pioneer? It sounded more like the kind of name that would be attached to a 
Japanese super-express train than to a religion. 
Tsubasa lowered her eyes momentarily when she heard the word “Sakigake,” as 
though reacting to a special sound concealed within it. When she raised her eyes 
again, her face was as expressionless as before, as if a small eddy had suddenly begun 
to swirl inside her and had immediately quieted down. 
“Sakigake’s guru is the one who raped Tsubasa,” the dowager said. “He took her 
by force on the pretext of granting her a spiritual awakening. The parents were 
informed that the ritual had to be completed before the girl experienced her first 
period. Only such an undefiled girl could be granted a pure spiritual awakening. The 
excruciating pain caused by the ritual would be an ordeal she would have to undergo 
in order to ascend to a higher spiritual level. The parents took him at his word with 
complete faith. It is truly astounding how stupid people can be. Nor is Tsubasa’s the 
only such case. According to our intelligence, the same thing has been done to other 
girls in the cult. The guru is a degenerate with perverted sexual tastes. There can be 
no doubt. The organization and the doctrines are nothing but a convenient guise for 
masking his individual desires.” 
“Does this ‘guru’ have a name?” 
“Unfortunately, we haven’t learned that yet. He’s just called ‘Leader.’ We don’t 
know what sort of person he is, what he looks like, or anything about his background. 
No matter how much we dig, the information is not forthcoming. It has been totally 
blocked. He stays shut up in cult headquarters in the mountains of Yamanashi, and 
almost never appears in public. Even inside the cult, the number of individuals 
allowed to see him is highly restricted. He is said to be always in the dark, 
meditating.” 
“And we can’t allow him to continue unchecked.” 
The dowager glanced at Tsubasa and nodded slowly. “We can’t let there be any 
more victims, don’t you agree?” 
“In other words, we have to take steps.” 
The dowager reached over and laid her hand atop Tsubasa’s, steeping herself in a 
moment of silence. Then she said, “Exactly” 
“It is quite certain, then, that he repeatedly engages in these perverted acts?” 
Aomame asked. 
The dowager nodded. “We have proof that he is systematically raping girls.” 
“If it’s true, it’s unforgivable,” Aomame said softly. “You are right: we can’t let 
there be any more victims.” 
Several different thoughts seemed to be intertwined and competing for space in the 
dowager’s mind. Then she said, “We must learn a great deal more about this ‘Leader’ 
person. We must leave no ambiguities. After all, a human life hangs in the balance.” 
“This person almost never comes out in public, you say?” 
“Correct. And he probably has extremely tight security” 

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218
Aomame narrowed her eyes and pictured to herself the specially made ice pick in 
the back of her dresser drawer, the sharp point of its needle. “This sounds like a very 
tough job.” 
“Yes, unusually difficult,” the dowager said. She drew her hand back from 
Tsubasa’s and pressed the tip of her middle finger against her eyebrow. This was a 
sign—not one she displayed very often—that the dowager had run out of ideas. 
Aomame said, “Realistically speaking, it would be next to impossible for me to go 
out to the Yamanashi hills on my own, sneak into this heavily guarded cult, dispatch 
their Leader, and come out unscathed. It might work in a ninja movie, but …” 
“I am not expecting you to do any such thing, of course,” the dowager said 
earnestly before realizing that Aomame’s last remark had been a joke. “It is out of the 
question,” she added with a wan smile. 
“One other thing concerns me,” Aomame said, looking into the dowager’s eyes. 
“The Little People. Who—or what—are they? What did they do to Tsubasa? We need 
more information about them.” 
Finger still pressed against her brow, the dowager said, “Yes, they concern me, 
too. Tsubasa here hardly speaks at all, but the words ‘Little People’ have come out of 
her mouth a number of times, as you heard earlier. They probably mean a lot to her, 
but she won’t tell us a thing about them. She clams up as soon as the topic arises. 
Give me a little more time. I’ll look into this matter, too.” 
“Do you have some idea how we can learn more about Sakigake?” 
The dowager gave her a gentle smile. “There is nothing tangible in this world you 
can’t buy if you pay enough, and I am prepared to pay a lot—especially where this 
matter is concerned. It may take a little while, but I will obtain the necessary 
information without fail.”