It was the middle of winter on January 8, 1976. The sky in Beijing was gray that day. People walking on the street quickened their pace, wanting to go home early and have a warm meal. dinner.
In the evening, snowflakes started to fall in the sky, and then the snow became heavier and heavier, and soon Beijing was covered with silver.
An orange light shines through the window of a house. The family is sitting at the dining table looking at the heavy snow outside the window, sighing that it is the coldest year of the year.
The radio at home rang on time, and everyone listened to today's news while eating.
At this time, the radio suddenly announced: " Premier Zhou Enlai of the People's Republic of China died of illness in Beijing at 9:57 on January 8, 1976, at the age of 78."
The whole family was stunned when they heard this. No one can believe that the beloved Premier Zhou ended his life like this.
Everyone's eyes gradually filled with tears, and for a while there was only silence in Beijing and only sad crying.
Everyone spontaneously paid attention to Premier Zhou's memorial service in various ways: the streets were filled with chrysanthemums and wreaths, filled with eulogies and elegiac couplets.
On the day of the funeral, there was a touching scene of a ten-mile street shedding tears to bid farewell to Premier Zhou.
However, at the memorial service of this outstanding proletarian politician, military strategist, and revolutionary, an old Japanese man appeared. People came up to ask him about his identity. He claimed to be Premier Zhou's younger brother.
How can Premier Zhou, a hero who has fought against the Japanese invaders for many years, have a Japanese younger brother? Everyone felt a little confused.
Let us go into this period of history today and see who this old Japanese man is. What is the story between him, Premier Zhou, and China?
On National Memorial Day, the whole country in China mourned, and the Japanese elderly learned that they were still in mourning.
January 8, 1976, was China’s National Memorial Day.
html On this day, the 678-year-old Premier Zhou completed his more than 50 years of revolution and his 26-year career as prime minister.
He spent his whole life fulfilling the promise he made when he was a boy - "study for the rise of China."
He worked conscientiously at his job and worked hard for the rise of China. He always cared about the country and never relaxed for a moment.
People across the country felt extremely sad after learning the news of the Prime Minister's death.
Also on this day, the 79-year-old Japanese man Okazaki Kaheita had just finished his day's work.
is about to enter his old age and holds many positions. He is not only the president of the Japan Airlines Association, but also the permanent director of the Japan External Trade Organization and the consultant of the China-Japan Economic Association.
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Tokyo Imperial University, and like Premier Zhou who devoted his life to China, he is also quietly devoting his own value to Japan.
He looked at the quiet streets of Tokyo in the night, and was about to wash up and have a good rest, when the phone rang.
picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice from the other side of the receiver. It was his friend Suzuki Yumori, a media personality.
"What's the matter so late?" Okazaki Kaheita asked.
Suzuki Yumori's voice was choked up: "At nine o'clock this morning, China's Premier Zhou Enlai passed away due to illness in Beijing."
Okazaki Kahei Taichi Unable to believe his ears, he paused for a long time and asked as if he had lost his soul: "Is everything you said true? Where did the news come from?"
Suzuki Yumori told Okazaki Kaheita that the news was The Chinese official announcement was very reliable, and then they carefully advised him to show condolences and accept the change.
The phone slipped from Okazaki Kaheita's hand, and he could not accept this cruel fact.
After forcing himself to calm down, he called the Chinese Embassy with trembling fingers. The phone was connected and he asked the person in charge of political affairs to answer the phone.
After receiving a positive reply from the person in charge, Okazaki Kaheita felt that the air around him had solidified.
He couldn't hear the sounds around him, nor could he see the things around him. He stood next to the phone for a long time before he came back to his senses.
Then he couldn't control his emotions and cried loudly while putting on his coat and preparing to run to the embassy. Okazaki Kaheita's wife Tokiko was awakened by such movement.
When she walked out of the room, she saw her husband who was about to go out late at night in the freezing cold, and asked: "Is there anything important?"
"Prime Minister Zhou Enlai has passed away," Okazaki Kaheita sobbed: "I have to go right now. A trip to the Chinese Embassy."
When Shizi saw this, he rushed up to support her husband, fearing that he would faint due to emotion.
Then, while calming her husband's emotions, she advised him that it was already late at night and the Chinese Embassy was closed. If he went there rashly, he would only disturb the embassy staff.
In addition, he also needs to take good care of his body so that he can have the energy to participate in Premier Zhou's memorial activities.
After listening to his wife’s words, Okazaki Kaheita reluctantly calmed down.
html In the early morning of November 9, Mrs. Okazaki Kahei, who had been almost sleepless all night, rushed to the door of the Chinese Embassy with his wife just before dawn. The Chinese Embassy had already set up a mourning hall for Premier Zhou.
Tokiko helped Okazaki Kaheita and walked in hastily. Seeing Premier Zhou's portrait hanging in the middle of the white chrysanthemum, Okazaki Kaheita once again couldn't control himself and shed tears.
"Mr. Okazaki Kaheita, you are the first person in Japan to come to mourn Premier Zhou Enlai. I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of my country."
Okazaki Kaheita replied: "I can get to know Premier Zhou Enlai once in this life. It is my great happiness. "
" I am older than him, but I admire his courage and magnanimity. In my heart, he is both my brother and my teacher. His death makes me extremely sad.”
A Japanese elderly man attended the memorial service of Premier Zhou. Dragging the family to China
Before Premier Zhou's death, he once told him that his funeral arrangements should be simple and not involve large groups of people.
was even worried that it would affect the work of his nephew, a worker, so he specifically asked his wife Deng Yingchao to call his nephew so that he would not have to rush to Beijing to attend the funeral.
At the same time, the Prime Minister also told his family to scatter his ashes into the mountains, rivers and seas, and he would sleep with this land for the rest of his life.
But on the day of Premier Zhou's death, the central government held an emergency meeting to discuss how to handle the Prime Minister's funeral.
In the end, the central government decided to hold a memorial service for Premier Zhou, taking into account everyone's sincere and warm feelings for Premier Zhou, to express the condolences of the people across the country.
This memorial service was scheduled to be held in Tiananmen Square on the afternoon of January 15, 1976, after the Prime Minister's funeral.
Okazaki Kaheita immediately took his son Okazaki Bin on a plane to Beijing after learning about the incident.
Previously, Okazaki Bin had been worried that his father was old and might not be suitable for flying anymore. He was also worried that his father would be in a bad mood, so he advised his father not to go to the sad place again.
But Okazaki Kaheita's attitude was very determined. Upon seeing this, Okazaki Bin had no choice but to obey his father's wishes. At the same time, he also had deep respect and curiosity for this great Chinese man in his heart.
Okazaki Kaheita and his son arrived at the memorial service on time.
As soon as he entered the venue, Okazaki Kaheita rushed to the Prime Minister's photo and couldn't help but sighed:
"The death of Premier Zhou Enlai is a loss to the people of the world, because a world-class great man has fallen."
Around People all over the country cast curious glances at this guest who came all the way from Japan.
The comrade in charge of personnel arrangements came forward and asked Okazaki Kaheita's identity. Okazaki Kaheita responded emotionally: "I am the younger brother of Premier Zhou Enlai."
After the memorial service, Okazaki Kaheita took his son with him Visit Huaian, Zhejiang Province, the hometown of Premier Zhou Enlai.
Now, there is a large stone in Huai'an, Zhejiang, which is engraved on it: "Brother Okazaki Kaheira visited the hometown of his brother Zhou Enlai and burst into tears."
This is actually what Okazaki Kaheira gave to the Huai'an government before he left. A piece of handwriting expressing his emotions.
Now this precious calligraphy work symbolizing the friendship between China and Japan is still properly collected in the Huai'an Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall.
After the trip, on the plane back to Japan, Okazaki Bin watched his father's mood gradually calm down, so he couldn't help but ask his father the question that had always confused him:
"My father has always been calm and calm when things happen. What kind of person is Premier Zhou Enlai that can make his father feel so lost for him?"
Okazaki Kaheita was silent for a while, and then told his son about that unforgettable time.
Okazaki Kaheita became associated with China
In 11897, in a family in Hiraoka Prefecture, Japan, everyone happily welcomed a new member of the family.
This boy named Okazaki Kaheita is smart and cute, and is deeply loved by his elders.
And he did not disappoint his family's expectations. He was admitted to Tokyo Imperial University , ranked first among universities in Asia, to study law.
Okazaki Kaheita’s ambition was clear very early on. He wanted to engage in political economics in the future.
So after graduation, with a bachelor's degree in law, he entered a bank to work and study.
The Japanese invaders occupied Shanghai after the Songhu Battle.The areas actually controlled by the Japanese army north of the Suzhou River were called the "Japanese Concession", and Japan established the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai there.
In March 1938, experienced political economist Okazaki Kaheita was sent to China to serve as counselor at the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, responsible for economic affairs.
He has been doing this job for seven years, and he has become deeply connected with China.
Although Okazaki Kaheita is Japanese, he is gentle and elegant and hates Japan's aggression.
He witnessed the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese army in Shanghai, so he had deep and sincere sympathy for the innocent Chinese people and did his best to help the people of Shanghai who were suffering from the war.
At that time, Okazaki Kaheita was an alternative in the eyes of the Japanese, because Japanese military officers who had been brainwashed by militarism all extremely identified with social Darwinism.
They provoked the war with the high-sounding reason of helping China develop.
But Okazaki Kaheita has profound humanitarian sentiments, and he looks at the suffering of the Chinese people with compassion.
He felt very sad that the two countries could not coexist peacefully because of Japan's unilateral provocation, and he had publicly stated his anti-war attitude many times.
Okazaki Kaheita once published his anti-war articles in Shanghai posters under his real name.
and many times sent the photos he took of Japan's invasion of China to international news agencies under his real name, hoping that these precious photos would become important evidence in the future.
Okazaki Kaheita's actions soon became known to the Japanese government. He was dismissed from his position as counselor of the consulate and was spurned and reviled by the Japanese government and people.
was also classified as a traitor by the Japanese government and called a traitor by the Japanese people. Even Okazaki Yoshihei's elderly parents received death threat letters.
The incident became more and more serious. Soon, the Japanese side issued an arrest warrant for Okazaki Kaheita who was far away in Shanghai.
Upon hearing this, Okazaki Kahei hurriedly took his family to Europe to escape the limelight.
In 1945, Japan finally surrendered to China, ending the long and cruel war. It was also in this year that Okazaki Kaheita was able to relax, and the Japanese government once again appointed him with outstanding abilities.
But after returning to Japan, Okazaki Kaheita found helplessly that although the war was over, the psychological shadow left by the war on the Japanese people had not yet dissipated.
Both the government and the people are still filled with a strong atmosphere of militarism. The families of the soldiers who died in the war took out their anger on the Chinese people and hated China very much.
Okazaki Kaheita feels deeply guilty for China, which has been devastated by Japan, and is determined to change Japan's attitude towards China and do some practical good things for China.
Premier Zhou met with Okazaki Kaheita
Okazaki Kaheita knew very well that if he wanted the Japanese government to change its attitude and improve Sino-Japanese relations, he must first make some convincing achievements.
As a result, Okazaki Kaheita invested the property he earned in Europe into the Japanese market. In an instant, he became a famous wealthy family in Japan, and countless powerful people took the initiative to show their favor to him. After
gained a certain influence, Okazaki Kaheita established a Sino-Japanese non-governmental trade exchange group to promote the development of Sino-Japanese trade.
In 1960, Japan ushered in the new Prime Minister Ikeda Yuto .
Okazaki Kaheita, who has made the Sino-Japanese private trade chain impressive, has the capital to talk to the government.
He proposed to the Prime Minister the idea of the government breaking the ice and promoting long-term trade between China and Japan. Prime Minister Ikeda was convinced of this and immediately started preparations for this matter.
In September 1962, Kenzo Matsumura, an adviser to the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, was entrusted by the Prime Minister to go to China to hold talks with Premier Zhou Enlai, trying to promote the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
During the conversation, Matsumura Kenzo mentioned Okazaki Kaheita's ideas on Sino-Japanese trade to Premier Zhou, and Premier Zhou highly recognized this proposal.
Seeing the hope of breaking the ice, Matsumura Kenzo immediately pursued the victory and agreed with Premier Zhou to send another Japanese delegation to China for talks in November, and Premier Zhou readily agreed.
In November 1962, a Japanese financial delegation led by Tatsunosuke Takasaki, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, arrived in China as scheduled.
As the deputy head of the delegation, Okazaki Kaheita and other important members of the delegation were personally received by Premier Zhou. This was the first time Okazaki Kaheita met with Premier Zhou.
The Japanese themselves also know that since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, Japan has not stopped invading China. As a victor and victimized country, China must hate Japan to the bone.
Therefore, they are ready to be embarrassed.
But what they didn't expect was that Premier Zhou Enlai received them with a kind smile.
and also told them that China and Japan have been very friendly and had close exchanges for the past two thousand years. China will work hard to downplay hatred and work hand in hand with Japan to create a future.
After hearing this, the Japanese visitors were impressed by Premier Zhou's long-term vision and broad mind. They looked at each other in surprise and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Then, Premier Zhou said with a smile that creating a better future and strengthening Asia is not about repeating past mistakes and invading other countries, but about self-defense and self-strengthening.
Thinking that he had heard about Okazaki Kaheita's deeds before, Premier Zhou turned to look at him and asked for his opinion. Okazaki Kaheita was flattered and quickly expressed that he very much recognized Premier Zhou's ideas.
There was an interesting episode in the meeting. Okazaki Kaheita noticed that Premier Zhou had a faded cloth cover on his cuffs. He curiously asked Premier Zhou what style it was.
The Prime Minister smiled and took off the sleeve and handed it to him. He said in a normal tone: "This is called a sleeve. I will not get the cuffs dirty or torn when I wear it."
Okazaki Kaheita was very surprised. I didn't expect that the prime minister of a huge country would be so diligent, frugal and approachable.
He lamented that Premier Zhou never forgets his original intention. No wonder the Chinese people call him a good prime minister of the people.
This meeting took a big step forward in the establishment of friendly relations between China and Japan, and also made Okazaki Yoshihei really feel the powerful personality charm of Premier Zhou.
Later, Okazaki Kaheita met with the Prime Minister 24 times. The two had in-depth discussions on Sino-Japanese diplomatic issues, especially political and economic issues.
The two like-minded people became more and more speculative as they chatted. Okazaki Kaheita had already regarded Premier Zhou as his mentor. He once lamented to his colleagues:
"In ancient China, Confucius was regarded as a saint in ancient China. I think modern China should respect Premier Zhou. For a saint.”
"He is even greater than the previous saints. If I can learn one-tenth of him throughout my life, then I will have no regrets in my life."
In 1989, Okazaki Kaheira, who devoted his life to promoting Sino-Japanese friendship Died in Tokyo at the age of 92.
Before his death, he still remembered the friendship with Premier Zhou.
He comforted his wife Tokiko, who was crying in front of the hospital bed, and told Tokiko that after his death, he must put the photo given to him by Premier Zhou into his coffin.
Tokiko nodded in tears after hearing this, and Okazaki Kaheita felt relieved.
There is no doubt that Okazaki Kaheita is not only a close friend of Premier Zhou, but also a friend of the Chinese people.
The friendship between the two great men is touching. I hope we can learn from their beautiful qualities of loving peace and friendship, and build a beautiful China better and better.
-End-
author | Zhong Manqi
editor | Ayan
editor | Don't miss the little star
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