Each morning, wailing sirens would rouse us for tenko—roll call—and families would stumble to the street to line up and bow as he surveyed us from his Jeep. On sunny mornings, he would stand in that pose from the passenger side, his dog beside him. When it rained, he would get out and walk, with one soldier holding an umbrella for him, and another soldier holding an umbrella for the German shepherd.Ichi. Ni. San. Shi. Go. Roku. Sit. Hat. Ku. Juu.Each afternoon would end the same way.Ichi. Ni. San. Shi. Go. Roku. Sit. Hat. Ku. Juu.Immediately, Nakahara tripled the patrol duties around the bamboo curtain perimeter, and a half-dozen women were caught trading. They received a public beating during tenko. When another half-dozen were caught, it became apparent that the attempts would not end, so by the fourth day, he assigned permanent shifts of guards at the corners of the fence and every hundred yards or so down each wall. When one woman died during a beating, Nakahara had touched the blood coming from her face, then had tasted it on his finger and smiled.Nakahara also began sending guards into houses for surprise inspections.
