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A Living God Q&A
A Living God Q&A
Q&A
Hamaguchi was an old man, he was the headman of a coastal village in Japan. He lived in his big
thatched farmhouse.
Ninety thatched dwellings and a temple, which made up the village, stood along the curve of the bay.
The preparations was all about the celebrations of the harvest of the fine rice crop.
The village was decorated beautifully. The decorations was done using banners that fluttered above the
roof of the street and using strings of paper lanterns between the bamboo poles.
When the earthquake stopped, Hamaguchi felt something unusual. He was in fear and was worried for
the village people.
The villagers ran towards the beach to watch the unusual and strange movement of the water in the
sea.
Q) “The old man could see the banners fluttering above the roofs of the village street”.
1. Who is referred as ‘old man’ in the above statement and where did he live?
Hamaguchi is referred as ‘old man’ in the above statement. He lived in his big thatched farm house
which stood at the edge of small table-land overlooking a bay.
The villagers were preparing for merry-making to celebrate the harvest of the rice crop.
Extract No 2
Q) “He had nobody with him that evening but his little grandson’’.
The other family members went to the village to participate in the celebrations and enjoy.
The wind was blowing gently but there was some sort of heavy heat in the air. Hamaguchi felt, this was
a sign of an upcoming earthquake.
Extract No 3
Extract No 4
Q) “Within a very little time, the whole village had noticed it too”.
Extract No 5
Q) “No such ebb had occurred on that coast as long as any living person could remember”.
2. How did Hamaguchi understand what the sea was going to do?
Hamaguchi remembered the things told to him in his childhood by his grandfather and knew
all the tales of the coast. So, he understood what the sea was going to do.
Extract No 6
Q) “The child kindled a torch at once”.
1. Who was the child? What did his grandfather ask him to do?
Tada was the child. His grandfather asked him to light a torch.
Extract No 7
Q) “Ojisan! Why are you doing that?”
Extract No 8
Q) “Then he threw down his torch and waited”.
5. Why did Hamaguchi stop the peasants from attacking the fire?
Hamaguchi stopped the young peasants in order to gather the villagers. He
could sense the incoming danger. So, he wanted everyone to be safe.
Extract No 9
Q) “I want the whole village here. There is great danger.”
4. Do you think, Hamaguchi did the right thing? What would you do, if you
were in his place?
According to my opinion, Hamaguchi was a kind and selfless person. Yes,
he did the right thing. As a headman of the coast village, he had the
responsibility to safeguard his people. So, he sacrificed for his people. If I
would have been in his place, I would have definitely thought of the life of
the people but I would have a better plan to tackle the situation.
Extract No 10
Q) “Grandfather is mad: I am afraid of him!”
1. Who is the speaker of the above statement? Why was he afraid of his
grandfather?
Tada is the speaker of the above statement. He was afraid of his
grandfather as he saw him setting fire to the rice-stacks one by one.