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Book 1, Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reality and Subjective Experience
Free Will
Desire and Irrationality
The Personal Impact of War
Social Alienation
Summary
Analysis
Mamiya wakes up to the sound of someone releasing the safety on a gun. He reaches for the gun next to him, but he gets kicked hard before he can do anything. When he opens his eyes, his gun is gone, and a Mongolian soldier is pointing a gun at his head. Next to Mamiya is Yamamoto, who also has a gun pointed at him. When Mamiya looks around, he sees the rest of the unit is gone, though he does not know what happened to them. One of the Mongolian soldiers looks through the bag, which is supposed to contain Yamamoto’s secret documents. However, he does not find anything. Mamiya can tell by the look on Yamamoto’s face that he does not know what happened to the documents either. The Mongolians raid the camp and take whatever supplies they think will be helpful. However, they do not find anything important.
Here, Mamiya’s mission takes a turn for the worse, as his life is now in danger. In this scene, there is confusion all around—no one knows exactly what is going on, including Yamamoto. Given Honda’s ability to see the future and his absence, it seems likely that the secret documents are in his hands. However, Yamamoto does not know about Honda’s abilities and Mamiya is too disoriented to think straight. Given the way Yamamoto has talked about the mission, the missing documents likely contain information that could result in the deaths of many people, not just Mamiya’s squad. In that sense, the mission is not a complete disaster.
Themes
One of the Mongols drags a large object in front of Mamiya. Almost immediately, Mamiya recognizes that the Mongol is dragging Hamano’s corpse. In front of Mamiya, the Mongols steal Hamano’s clothing and possessions off his body. Yamamoto gives Mamiya and a brief look. Mamiya can tell he is asking whether he thinks Honda managed to escape. Mamiya wonders the same thing but does not know the answer.
Here, Mamiya sees the horrors of war up close for the first time, as he watches the Mongols steal from his friend's corpse. Again, nothing about what has happened is clear to Mamiya or Yamamoto, which gives them some cause for concern.
Themes
Mamiya watches as a Soviet plane lands close to the camp. One of the Mongolians rides off to meet it and returns soon after with two high ranking offices—one Soviet, one Mongolian. Mamiya can tell they are intelligence officers. Mamiya watches as the Russian and the Mongolians speak to each other and go through the confiscated belongings of the Japanese soldiers. However, he does not know what they are saying or what they mean to do.
If Mamiya did not know it before, the presence of the Soviet and Mongolian intelligence officers tells him that his mission is of the utmost importance. Furthermore, it looks like the Russians and the Soviets will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the information Yamamoto was carrying, which does not bode well.
Themes
The Russian officer walks up to Yamamoto and asks him about a letter. Yamamoto tells the Russian officer that he has no idea what he is talking about. The Russian officer clearly thinks Yamamoto is lying, so he asks him why he ventured into Mongolian territory. Yamamoto makes up a lie. He claims that he and his men work for a private mapmaking company, and that they have nothing to do with the Japanese military.
Nothing about Yamamoto's story is convincing to the Russian officer. Whatever his plan was, the Mongolians and the Soviets have figured it out. Otherwise, they would not have found Yamamoto so quickly. It is possible that the Mongolian Yamamoto rode with on horseback betrayed him, though the narration never confirms this.
Themes
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In response, the Russian officer gives Yamamoto a brief speech about how he will die. Essentially, he promises Yamamoto a slow and painful death if he does not give up the information the Russian seeks. Yamamoto still does not give in. In response, the Mongolian soldiers place four stakes in the ground and then tie Yamamoto's limbs to them. Then, a Mongolian soldier with a knife begins skinning Yamamoto alive. The Mongolian starts with Yamamoto's legs and eventually skins his entire body. Yamamoto moves in and out of consciousness. Whenever he is conscious, he screams but never reveals any information.
Following World War II, the world's major powers signed treaties known as the Geneva Conventions, which outlawed barbaric treatment in war, including torture. However, prior to 1945, such international agreements were not in place, and torture was a common practice used for extracting information. Yamamoto's fate is horrific, though he dies a hero. He knows that if he gives up any information, more people will die, so he refuses to talk, even under the most extreme circumstances.
Themes
Meanwhile, the Mongolians force Mamiya to watch what is happening to Yamamoto. Whenever Mamiya tries to close his eyes, a soldier strikes him in the head with a rifle until he opens them again. The entire scene is the most disturbing thing Mamiya has ever seen, and he vomits repeatedly. He also notices that the other Mongolian soldiers barely bat an eye, which disturbs him greatly.
The Mongolian forces get the most out of their barbaric treatment of Yamamoto; not only do they inflict physical pain on him, but they also psychologically scar Mamiya as well. They know that Mamiya will do whatever they say after witnessing what happened to Yamamoto. The Mongolian soldiers' indifference to the situation demonstrates that they have seen similar atrocities before and have become desensitized to violence.
Themes
Eventually, Yamamoto is completely skinned, and he dies. When it is all over, the Russian officer says to himself that Yamamoto must have been telling the truth. Otherwise, he would have given up the information. Then, the officer casts his gaze over to Mamiya. He assumes that if Yamamoto did not know anything, then Mamiya must not either. The officer warns Mamiya that no one can know what just happened. Additionally, he tells Mamiya that he will give him a chance to live, but the chance will be very slim. Then, he returns to his plane and flies away.
The Russian officer’s words demonstrate the extent of Yamamoto's courage. When people know information, the Russian officer suggests, they always spill it under such circumstances—or, often, they will try to make something up. Yamamoto does neither and likely saves many lives in so doing. Meanwhile, the Russian officer treats the situation like it was nothing and departs as casually as he arrived; like the Mongolian soldiers, he, too, seems to have become desensitized to violence.
Themes
The Mongolians strap Mamiya to their horse and head north. Eventually, they stop next to a dried-up well. At this point, they take Mamiya off of the horse and stick a gun to his head. Mamiya realizes that the men are giving him a choice; either he must jump into the well and hope he survives, or they will shoot him in the head. Mamiya remembers what Honda told him and decides to jump into the well.
Here, Mamiya has a choice: either he can die, or he can attempt to survive an excruciating set of circumstances. His choice is reminiscent of the hypothetical thought experiments that existentialist philosophy poses. The moral of these thought experiments is that life is worth living, even if it is full of pain and suffering.
Themes
The bottom of the well is full of sand, so Mamiya manages to survive the fall. After he lands in the bottom of the well, all of the Mongolian soldiers urinate on him and then leave. For a long time, Mamiya assumes the soldiers will come back, but they never do. The next few days are brutal for Mamiya. He has no food or water, and it is intensely cold when the sun is not out.
The Mongolian soldier’s decision to urinate on Mamiya is one final indignity against Mamiya. Mamiya is at the lowest point of his life in the well, literally and metaphorically. The well is a temporary escape from the war, but it is filled with just as much pain and suffering as Mamiya finds himself in complete isolation.
Themes
Mamiya worries that he has doomed himself to suffer a slow and agonizing death. At the bottom of a well, he has no way to kill himself, so he is doomed to die of dehydration, which will take some time. However, Honda’s words remain in the back of Mamiya’s mind. At this point, Mamiya briefly interrupts his story and asks Toru if he will walk him to the bus station. He promises to tell Toru the rest of the tale on the way. Toru happily agrees to do so, and the two start walking.
Wells typically contain water, a symbol of life and renewal. However, Mamiya’s well lacks any life or hope, as he slowly approaches death. Despite the dour circumstances, in shifting back to the present, the narration reminds the reader that Mamiya is still alive, however unbelievable that may seem.
Themes
Honda rescues Mamiya from the well after three day. Apparently, Honda’s extraordinary powers allowed him to sense that the Mongolians were coming to invade the unit’s camp. Before they could arrive, he grabbed the secret documents and buried them somewhere out in the desert. Then, he watched over the camp and witnessed everything that occurred between the Japanese, the Russians, and the Mongolians, including Yamamoto’s death. Somehow, he managed to figure out that Mamiya was in the bottom of the well, although Mamiya does not know how.
Like Malta, it appears Honda’s powers are legitimate. However, they only extend so far. After all, he wasn’t able to save Hamano or Yamamoto. Nonetheless, Honda presumably played a vital part in saving many lives, although, again, the narration never reveals the nature of the documents.
Themes
Although Mamiya is barely conscious, Honda manages to get him out of the well. Together, they make their way back to the Japanese base. Honda never returns for the letter, which they decide is for the best. When their superiors interrogate them, neither Mamiya nor Honda mentions the letter. Their superiors threaten them and tell them to ensure they never say a thing about what happened on their mission. Both Mamiya and Honda promise to take their secrets to the grave. Then, they are split up and sent to different units.
Everything that Mamiya and Honda’s superiors do confirms the fact that the letter is of the utmost importance. Meanwhile, even though they do not know the details, Mamiya and Honda understand the importance of the documents and want no part in whatever they mention. Perhaps, they fear delivering the documents could lead to war.
Themes
Mamiya explains just how psychologically damaging the entire experience was. In the years following the war, Mamiya felt cold and empty inside. He could not feel any positive emotions toward anything, including love. Although he had other terrible experiences during the war, it was his time in the well that truly broke him. Later in the war, he lost his hand, and even that did not greatly affect him because he was already too broken to care.
Mamiya's description of himself following the war resembles Toru's description of Malta. The war killed something inside Mamiya, which he could not get back, no matter how hard he tried. Even his physical body lost its importance.
Themes
Mamiya’s life after World War II was tragic. When he returned to Japan, he found that both his father and sister died from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Although his mother was not in Hiroshima at the time, she died shortly afterward because of the shock from losing her family. When Mamiya visits the family cemetery, he finds that he already has a grave because his family never expected him to come back from the war. Mamiya tries to salvage his life by becoming a geography teacher. However, following the war, his life feels meaningless, and he becomes a lonely soul who loves nothing and nobody. He never marries or has children of his own.
Hiroshima was the first target of a nuclear bomb in human history. The U.S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, resulting in widespread death and destruction. The bomb—nicknamed "Little Boy"—was responsible for roughly 140,000 deaths. Mamiya's family was among those 140,000, and he never recovered. Like many other characters in the book, he isolated himself because he had no other way to deal with the trauma of the war.
Themes
As Mamiya finishes his story, he and Toru arrive at the bus station. Toru thanks Mamiya for sharing such intimate details of his life with him and says farewell. Before he leaves, Mamiya hands Toru the gift from Honda. The gift is a box, which looks like it should contain whisky, but Toru can tell it is far too light. Toru walks home and then opens up the box. When he looks inside, he sees that the box is empty.
It is unclear whether Mr. Honda’s gift is some sort of joke or if it has a deeper meaning. Notably, whisky came up once before in Toru's dream. However, at this point, Toru does not connect his dream and the empty box.
Themes
