Chapter 17 Summary: Wasaburo Oishi's Journal

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Chapter 17 shifts from the novel's main narrative to a journal entry written by Wasaburo Oishi, dated July 1927. The entry opens with Oishi's stark declaration that something is on the island with them—that they are not alone.

Oishi describes his usual evening walk, his 'constitutional,' during which he begins to feel he is being followed. At first he dismisses the sensation as nonsense and continues walking, trying to ignore the unease building in his gut. But by the time he reaches the fields near an old man's house, he is certain the feeling is real: someone or something is tracking him. He hears the sound of a large presence moving through the trees. A hunter had previously assured him that the island held no dangerous animals, so there should have been nothing to fear—yet the evidence of his senses contradicts that reassurance.

Oishi's primary concern becomes protecting his family. Whatever is following him—man or beast—he refuses to lead it back to the cottage where his wife Yuriko and daughter Meiko wait. He walks for hours through unfamiliar forest, carefully noting his path so he does not become lost. Whenever exhaustion tempts him to rest or turn back, he thinks of Meiko and cannot bring himself to risk leading danger to her.

At one point, Oishi catches a glimpse of blood red through the trees. He reflects that no animal of such a vivid hue could exist in nature, because such coloring would make hiding or blending in impossible. A blood-red animal, he reasons, would be the most accomplished predator in the forest—afraid of nothing. He extends the same logic to a person: a man dressed in red, unafraid of being spotted, would be toying with his prey.

That single glimpse keeps Oishi walking through the entire night. At dawn, when visibility improves, he feels secure enough to believe he is no longer being followed. He heads back to the cottage, steeling himself for the scolding he expects from Yuriko. But as he retraces his path, he notices something deeply unsettling: there are no other footprints on the ground—neither a man's nor an animal's.

Key Events

Oishi begins his evening walk and senses he is being followed, initially dismissing the feeling
Near the fields by the old man's house, he confirms something large is moving through the trees
He decides to walk for hours rather than lead any threat back to his family
He glimpses a blood-red shape through the trees and interprets it as a predator's color
He walks through the night until dawn, when he feels safe enough to return
Retracing his path, he finds no footprints—neither human nor animal

Character Development

Wasaburo Oishi: This journal entry reveals Oishi as a man of practical reason who is nonetheless confronted with the inexplicable. He tries to rationalize what he experiences—first dismissing the feeling of being followed, then reasoning about predator coloring—but the evidence ultimately defies his logic. His protective instinct toward his family, particularly Meiko, drives his actions throughout the night. The final detail of the missing footprints leaves him (and the reader) with an unresolved mystery.

Meiko: Though she does not appear directly in the chapter, Meiko functions as the emotional anchor of Oishi's decisions. His thoughts of her are what keep him walking through the night.

Yuriko: Mentioned only in passing, Yuriko is expected to scold Oishi for his absence, suggesting a domestic dynamic of concern and accountability.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The unseen presence: The chapter establishes that something is on the island with the family, something that cannot be identified or explained. This motif of an invisible threat builds tension and connects to the novel's broader atmosphere of dread.

Blood red as predator color: Oishi's meditation on the color red is the chapter's central symbolic passage. He reasons that a creature unable to hide would have to be fearless—the most accomplished predator. The color becomes a marker of something that does not need to conceal itself, suggesting a threat beyond ordinary nature.

Predator and prey dynamic: Oishi's framing of the encounter—being followed, being toyed with—positions him as prey. His decision to walk rather than return home is an attempt to keep the predator away from his family.

The inexplicable leaving no trace: The absence of footprints is the chapter's most chilling detail. Whatever followed Oishi left no physical evidence, undermining his rational attempts to understand the encounter.

Island isolation: The setting of an island reinforces the sense of being trapped with an unknown threat. There is nowhere to go, and the unfamiliar forest makes escape impossible.

Fear of the unknown: The chapter is built on the terror of not knowing what is following Oishi—man or beast, real or imagined.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter provides crucial context for the novel's supernatural elements. It establishes that the island holds a presence that defies rational explanation, and it does so through the perspective of a character whose journal offers a more intimate, personal account than the main narrative. The journal format also creates a sense of documentary evidence—as if the reader is being shown a firsthand record of something inexplicable.

The chapter also deepens the reader's understanding of the Oishi family dynamics, particularly Wasaburo's role as protector. His willingness to walk through the night rather than risk his family's safety reveals his character in a way that will likely inform how readers interpret his actions in subsequent chapters.

Finally, the chapter plants a mystery—the nature of the presence on the island—that the novel will presumably develop. The blood-red glimpse and the missing footprints are details that may connect to larger revelations about the story's supernatural or historical forces.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Oishi choose to walk through the night rather than return to the cottage?

Oishi's decision is driven by his protective instinct. He does not want to lead whatever is following him back to his family, particularly his daughter Meiko. His thoughts of Meiko keep him walking whenever he is tempted to rest or turn back.

2. What does Oishi's reasoning about the color red reveal about his understanding of the threat?

Oishi reasons that a blood-red animal would be unable to hide or blend in, making it the most accomplished predator—afraid of nothing. He extends this logic to a person dressed in red, suggesting the threat is something that does not need to conceal itself and may be toying with its prey. This reveals his attempt to rationalize the encounter through natural logic, even as the evidence defies it.

3. What is the significance of the missing footprints at the end of the chapter?

The absence of footprints—neither a man's nor an animal's—undermines Oishi's rational explanations. Whatever followed him left no physical trace, suggesting a presence that is not entirely natural or physical. The detail leaves the mystery unresolved and heightens the sense of the inexplicable.