“Many Japanese here just go about complaining that
there’s nothing in Russia. The truth is that these guys lack
resourcefulness. I tell them they should only complain once
they’ve looked at the alternatives” Mrs Yamashita retorted.
Then she began to prepare the smelt. Rinsing the smelt, she
placed them on newspaper for a little while, then hung them up
with pegs on a line to dry like socks. They were absolutely
delicious. I ate them every day. Yamashita, unstintingly kind,
wrote the following fine words on my helmet:
‘The same sky unites us all.’