A Living God (Lafcadio Hearn): Hamaguchi's Decision to Burn the Rice and the Tsunami
Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked
In Part III of A Living God, Hamaguchi Gohei sees the sea run away from the land after a slow earthquake, understands that a tsunami is coming and sets fire to his rice-stacks so that the villagers will climb the hill to fight the fire. The wave destroys the village, and his sacrifice saves four hundred lives.
Understand Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God)
Setting of the scene. Part III is the story proper. Hamaguchi, the old, rich and respected headman called Ojiisan (Grandfather), lives in a farmhouse on a plateau above a bay. The village of ninety houses lies below. One autumn evening, while the villagers prepare for a harvest festival, he stays at home with his ten-year-old grandson Tada.
The signs. He feels a long, slow earthquake and then sees the sea darken and run away from the land, baring the sea-bed. The text stresses the line 'It was running away from the land'.
His reasoning. He remembers what his grandfather told him and knows the traditions of the coast. He understands what is coming. There is no time to send a message, so he chooses the one signal that will bring everyone to him.
The action. He has Tada light a torch and set fire to his rice-stacks, most of his wealth. Tada thinks him mad and cries 'Ojiisan! why?'. The temple bell rings and the villagers rush up. Hamaguchi stops the first young men with 'Let it burn, lads!', counts the people as they come, then points to the sea.
The wave. They see the tsunami return 'towering like a cliff'. It strikes again and again and destroys the village, the fields and the terraces.
The explanation. In the silence he says gently, 'That was why I set fire to the rice.' Tada begs forgiveness, and the people bow in the dust. Hamaguchi offers his house and the temple as shelter. He is now almost as poor as the poorest but has saved four hundred lives.
What it shows. Quick thinking from experience, self-sacrifice, and the way the custom of mutual help in calamity (Part II) is used to save the village.
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
It was running away from the land.
The narrator: Part III, Hamaguchi watching the sea after the earthquake.
The ominous sign of a tsunami.
Ojiisan! why? Ojiisan! why?
Tada: As his grandfather fires the rice-stacks.
The child's terror and incomprehension.
Let it burn, lads!
Hamaguchi: Stopping the first young men.
The fire is only a signal.
That was why I set fire to the rice.
Hamaguchi: After the tsunami.
The understated climax and his only explanation.
Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God): key facts
- Sequence of the scene
- earthquake
- sea runs away
- rice-stacks fired
- bell rings
- villagers climb
- tsunami strikes
- Write them in this order.
- Why he chose fire
- no time to send word
- fire draws everyone
- custom of mutual help
- whole village on the hill
- Links Part II to Part III.
- Result
- village destroyed
- four hundred saved
- headman almost as poor
- later called a god
- Use for the ending.
How to answer Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God) questions
Use this for questions on Hamaguchi's action and its meaning.
- 1State the signs he noticed.
- 2Explain why he chose fire and not a message.
- 3Quote Tada and Hamaguchi's lines.
- 4Describe the wave and the result.
- 5End with what it shows about him.
Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God) in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
A small loss to prevent a bigger one
Suppose a shopkeeper sees smoke from the godown at the end of a crowded lane and, instead of calling out quietly, sets his own stack of goods alight in the open square and rings a bell, so that every neighbour rushes to the spot and can then be led away from the danger.
How does this resemble Hamaguchi's choice?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- He sees a danger others do not.
- He accepts a loss to himself.
- He uses a signal that makes people act at once.
Answer: Like Hamaguchi, he trades property for lives and uses a signal that brings people together.
Memory hook: Lose the rice, save the lives.
Tricks to remember Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God)
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
S-F-B-W
Sea, Fire, Bell, Wave.
Use it when: Order of events.
Fire as signal
The fire was a message, not a loss.
Use it when: Answers 'why did he burn the rice?'
Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God): solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: The sign · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
What made Hamaguchi realise a tsunami was coming? (a) A loud roar (b) The sea running away from the land (c) A storm cloud (d) A message from the temple
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- He felt an earthquake, then saw the sea darken and draw back.
Answer: (b)
Example 2: Assertion and reason · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonBoard level
Assertion (A): Hamaguchi set fire to his rice-stacks. Reason (R): He wanted the villagers to come uphill quickly.
(a) Both true, R explains A (b) Both true, R does not explain A (c) A true, R false (d) A false, R true
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- A is true.
- R states the purpose: the fire called them up the hill.
Answer: (a)
Example 3: Why fire? · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Why did Hamaguchi choose to burn his rice-stacks and not send a messenger or ring a bell? Answer in about 100 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- No time to send word.
- Fire draws every villager by custom of mutual help.
- The rice is his wealth, so it shows how serious the danger is.
Answer: Hamaguchi saw that the tsunami would arrive too fast for a messenger to reach ninety houses. A fire was the one sign certain to bring everyone uphill, because the village custom made helping at a fire a duty. He also used what was most valuable to him, his rice, so he gave up wealth for lives. The choice shows knowledge, quickness and unselfishness.
Example 4: Tada's reaction · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
How does Tada's reaction add to the effect of the scene? Refer to his words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- He obeys but is terrified.
- He cries 'Ojiisan! why?' and thinks his grandfather mad.
- The reader shares his surprise; later he asks forgiveness.
Answer: Tada lights the torch because he is told to, but cries 'Ojiisan! why?' and believes his grandfather has gone mad. His fear mirrors the reader's surprise and delays the explanation. When the wave comes he asks for forgiveness, which shows the change from doubt to understanding.
Example 5: Understatement · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
'That was why I set fire to the rice.' Discuss how the quiet tone of this line makes it the climax of the scene.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The destruction is dramatic; his words are not.
- He gives his first and only explanation.
- It shows humility and an absence of boasting.
Answer: After the loud, repeated crashes of the wave comes silence, and Hamaguchi speaks gently. The plain line explains everything without boasting, and its contrast with the disaster makes it more moving. It reveals him as humble, a man who does not seek praise for saving four hundred lives.
Where students lose marks in Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God)
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Saying he burned the rice to put out a fire
The fire was lit by him.
Wrong working
He tried to save his rice.
Right working
He burned it as a signal.
Do this: Use the word signal.
Usually costs: 2 marks
Mistake: Forgetting the explanation line
It is the climax.
Wrong working
The scene ends with the wave.
Right working
It ends with 'That was why I set fire to the rice.'
Do this: Quote it.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Mistake: Mixing up Tada and the villagers
Both are in the scene.
Wrong working
Tada rang the bell.
Right working
The temple bell rang; Tada lit the torch.
Do this: List who does what.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Exam tips
- Begin with the sea running away.
- Explain why fire and not a message.
- Quote Tada and Hamaguchi.
- Mention the four hundred lives.
- Link the scene to Part II.
Practice questions on Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God)
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
How many people did Hamaguchi save? (a) forty (b) ninety (c) four hundred (d) four thousand
Hint
Look at the end of the scene.
Answer
(c) four hundred.
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
What did Hamaguchi say to the first young men who tried to put out the fire?
Hint
Three words and an address.
Answer
'Let it burn, lads!'
Q3 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Describe in about 100 words how the villagers responded to the fire and what they saw from the hill.
Hint
The bell, the climb, the wave.
Answer
The temple bell rang and the villagers rushed up the slope to fight the fire, young and old, with mothers carrying babies. Hamaguchi stopped the first young men, counted the people as they came and pointed to the sea. They saw the tsunami return 'towering like a cliff' and strike the village again and again.
Q4 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Is Hamaguchi's act one of foolishness or wisdom? Support your answer from the text.
Hint
Compare Tada's view with the result.
Answer
It looks foolish to Tada, who thinks him mad, but it is wisdom: he remembers his grandfather's teaching, reads the sea and chooses the signal that saves the village. The result, four hundred lives saved, proves it.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
How does Part II prepare the reader for the success of Hamaguchi's plan? Answer in about 120 words.
Hint
Think of the custom of mutual help.
Answer
Part II explains that old Japanese villages kept customs as binding as laws, and the most important was the duty of mutual help in calamity. In a fire, even children had to help. Because of this, Hamaguchi knows the burning rice will bring every villager uphill, and the plan works. Without Part II, the fire would appear an arbitrary act; with it, it is a wise use of the village's own custom.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who is Hamaguchi?Show answer
The old headman of the village.
2.Who is Tada?Show answer
His ten-year-old grandson.
3.What did Hamaguchi burn?Show answer
His rice-stacks.
4.How many were saved?Show answer
Four hundred.
5.What did the villagers later declare him?Show answer
A god, Hamaguchi Daimyōjin.
Hamaguchi's Decision and the Tsunami (A Living God): frequently asked questions
Who wrote A Living God?
Lafcadio Hearn, in Gleanings in Buddha-Fields (1897).
Which book is it in?
Prism: A Collection of ISC Short Stories, as the chapter page records.
Does the question refer to the title?
Yes, it often asks why Hamaguchi is called a living god.