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A mausoleum is a large, stately tomb built above ground. A mausoleum located in the Indian town of Agra is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. In fact, its name means "best of buildings" in Persian. This Taj Mahal, built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan for the remains of his wife following her death, was completed in the year 1648 and now houses his remains along with hers. The white marble exterior is inlaid with semiprecious stones arranged in Arabic inscriptions and floral designs. This elegant tomb and the surrounding garden, 200 kilometers from New Delhi, is visited by some 1.5 million tourists each year, about one-third of whom are foreigners, but the splendid white marble is being damaged by industrial pollution. Nine years ago, a lawyer petitioned India's Supreme Court to help save the monument from further corrosion. Two weeks ago, the court ruled that 212 local factories should shut down and is considering the effects of toxic emissions of another 300 factories in the area. Needless to say, when the mausoleum was built over 300 years ago, the effect of sulphur dioxide fumes on the white marble was not taken into consideration. -------Today's message will be the beginning of a new series of Saturday messages related to impressions received or incidents experienced during our two-month visit to the United States this past summer. I alluded to some of them at the "Daily Word" Fellowship meeting on August 29th. One of our first and lasting impressions was the informality and friendliness of people in general--including waiters and waitress in restaurants, clerks in stores and people met along the street, in airplanes or airports. Japanese society tends to be more formal and reserved. There is less friendly conversation with people one does not know and to whom one has not been formally introduced. In public places or along the street in America, it is not unusual for complete strangers to greet one another and strike up a friendly conversation. In restaurants, it was common for the waitress to ask for our order with the words, "Hi! Wadda [What do] you guys want?" In the old days, the term "guys" was an informal term for men or boys, but now it seems to be used, informally, for both men and women. At times, in my hometown, where many people recognize my wife and myself as missionaries to Japan, I was confused as to whether or not I should personally know the person who spoke to us in such a friendly manner. -------In recent years the English-speaking world has become more conscious of the male-oriented character of its language. The word "man", for example, may denote an adult male human being in particular or simply a human being, period. In the English translation of 1 Timothy 6:11, Timothy is called a "man of God". Of course, Timothy was an adult, male human being, so the word could have that particular meaning. But the Greek term is correctly translated into Japanese as "kami no hito" and the exhortation given in that verse is not meant for men alone. In the Old Testament, Moses was called a "man of God" along with other special men who spoke for God. But in the New Testament, all believers are considered God's people, or God's children", and they should all seek to obey the exhortation given in that verse to "strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness". Each of these words has a particular connotation and all Christians, men and women alike, should put forth a determined effort to attain such qualities in their daily lives, which is called a "race of faith" in the following verse. Today is a good time to begin to try to put into practice even one of the characteristics noted above. -------Did you know that gasoline is used to fuel cars in the United States while in England they use petrol for that purpose? In fact, however, petrol is simply the British term for the same liquid oil. This word, of course, is derived from petroleum, the thick, flammable hydrocarbon mixture from which petrol or gasoline is produced. The word petroleum is derived from Latin words meaning "rock" and "oil". Petra, the Latin word for "rock", was derived from Greek and is the source of the nickname that Jesus gave to his disciple, Simon. He called him Peter, a rock [John 1:42]. The same root is found in the word "petrify", which literally means to make into rock. When wood or other organic matter becomes hard like stone, we say it is petrified. We can also speak of people being petrified when they are stunned or paralyzed with fear. -------A number of kinds of Japanese products are considered of highest quality worldwide. Such products are not limited to electronic or mechanical items. The plastic replicas of food which are seen in the show cases outside of Japanese restaurants are another example of Japanese artistic ability and dexterity. One of about ten large companies that make such imitation food is the Tokyo Biken Company which employs about 30 workers in its factory in Nishi Asakusa in Tokyo. This company began making imitation food over fifty years ago. Previously, its food models were made of wax which easily broke or melted from the sun or hot lights inside the glass cases. Now these works of art are made of vinyl plastic, which is much more durable but cannot be recycled. The mouth-watering models of hamburgers, sushi, tempura, yakitori, spaghetti and fruit parfaits topped with whipped cream sometimes look more real and often more delicious than the food itself. I do not recall seeing such imitation food in Western countries, but in our early years in Japan such models were very useful when we could not read Japanese menus and helped us decide what to order even before we entered the restaurant. -------Down's syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by mental retardation, slow physical development and flattish facial features caused by an extra chromosome. It is not only the children having this affliction who suffer. Their parents and relatives also suffer due to the lack of understanding of those who are blessed with good health. Eight years ago, when Naoko Sugimoto of Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture gave birth to a baby girl with Down's syndrome, she was so shocked that she wanted to die. After overcoming her initial distress, however, she decided to learn more about this malady and try to help others who have had the same experience. The support group she founded, called Angel, now includes 50 families in her area with children having Down's syndrome. Information Mrs. Sugimoto received from doctors and reference books was usually negative, insufficient and out-of-date, but she hopes to help change that situation. Although she often receives unsympathetic stares from people when she goes out with her daughter, she was able to enroll Kaya in an ordinary class at the local elementary school. She has been encouraged with the kindness of the other children and hopes that attitude will spread to adults also. There may well have been disabled or deformed children among those brought to Jesus, as recorded in Mark 10: 13-16, when he blessed them and said, "the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -------It is important to know the difference in meaning between a wildcat or 'yama-neko', and a stray cat or 'nora-neko'. In the Republic of Zimbabwe, located in the southern part of Africa, wildcats may inhabit the forests and velds, or open fields, of Zimbabwe, but thousands of scrawny, stray cats consider the international airport of Harare, its capital city, their home. Last month, one of these felines, with an urge to get away from its uninteresting, dismal daily life, inconspicuously jumped into the wheel compartment of an airplane before it took off for London. In the middle of the 10-hour flight, the pilot was given "the fright of his life" when the cat climbed out from the rudder pedal slot between his legs and jumped on his lap. Crew members tried to catch the frisky cat but failed to do so and it escaped into the gap between the roof of the hold and the floor of the flight deck and cabin of the Boeing 707, After landing at London's Gatwick Airport, it took several hours to locate and entice the cat to come out of its hiding place with a hamburger. The cat's adventure delayed the return flight to Harare for 12 hours. A stray cat is much less dangerous than a wildcat, but even such a small, common animal may cause both temporary fear and great inconvenience. -------Because of the crowded living conditions in this land, various accommodations or adjustments are required for its citizens to live together in harmony. When living in a congested residential area or in an apartment house, people are reluctant to play a piano for fear of disturbing the neighbors--especially at night. Beginning next month, the Yamaha Corporation will begin marketing its new "Silent Series" pianos to solve this problem. These pianos can be played as conventional acoustic pianos, but when played in the silent mode, electronically-produced sounds are heard only by the player through headphones. In this mode, the tiny piano hammers are stopped from hitting the strings at the very last second. Sensors measure the speed to determine the strength of the player's touch and transmit the appropriate volume of the tones to the pianist through the headset. On October 1st, a larger and smaller model of the new series will go on sale costing about ¥200,000 more than ordinary pianos and many neighbors of pianists will be grateful for this new technology. According to the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, there is a time for every kind of activity and we could add to that list, "a time for music and time for quietness." -------Just over three months ago, we boarded a plane at Nagoya Airport that took us to Portland, Oregon in the United States. Our luggage was checked through to San Francisco, so we did not have to carry it from our arrival gate to our departure gate within the airport although we did have to take it through customs. After coming out of the disembarkation area, we stepped onto an escalator and as we approached the upper floor we saw a man pointing a camera at us. Beside him was a white-haired lady. We immediately recognized them as the former headmaster of Nagoya International School and his wife who had driven over 100 kilometers to meet us there. We introduced our granddaughter to them and for the next hour or so, we enjoyed talking with them in the airport lounge. When we went to an airport cafe to have a snack before boarding the next plane, a waitress asked us to move to another area because in the area where we were seated, alcoholic beverages could be ordered and children were not permitted there. it was some time after we moved that I suddenly realized I had left my attache case at the former place. since there were many important documents in it, I was happy find it just where I had left--even though it could easily have been taken away by someone. -------According to the Biblical story of the creation of the universe, the first words spoken by the Creator were: "Let there be light" and from that time on, the Bible teaches that God has been shining light into darkness. God is not only the Source of physical light and life. He is the Source of spiritual light and life as well. The Greek verb "epiphano", meaning to appear, may denote the bringing of light into darkness like the shining of stars from heaven. In a figurative sense, it is used for the divine disclosure of truth and is the root of the English word " epiphany". This verb is used twice in the New Testament Letter to Titus, in chapter 2, verse 11 and in chapter 3, verse 4, in reference to the grace, kindness and love of God which was revealed to the world. The stated aim of this epiphany, disclosure or revelation, was the salvation of the whole world. This is a part of the Good News, or Gospel, which was proclaimed by Jesus Christ, who was called "the Light of the world". The person with a healthy faith in the almighty God of love no longer walks in spiritual darkness for such a person has received this " grace of God [which] has dawned upon the world with healing for all mankind". [The New English Bible translation of Titus 2:11]. -------Do you know what a "scoop" is? It is spelled s-c-o-o-p and can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, it may denote a utensil having a deep, curved dish and a short handle, like a ladle or dipper. The verb may signify the use made of a scoop, so we may say we scoop ice cream with a scoop. Larger scoops are used for digging and the word has become a slang term for an exclusive news story acquired by luck or by the diligent "digging" of a persevering reporter. It is reported that the reason that Shukan Bunshun has become Japan's biggest selling weekly is because it consistently prints scoops which other magazines and newspapers try to follow up on. Kazuyoshi Hanada, the editor of Shukan Bunshun says, "We do serious investigation and we write serious articles", but it is generally recognized that luck is also involved in getting scoops. -------One hundred fifty-two years ago today, on September 28,1841, Georges Clemenceau, a prominent French statesman in the first decades of this century, was born. He was trained to be a doctor but he worked as a journalist both before and after he entered politics. He served twice as the premier of France, the second time, at the close of the First World War. His forceful, aggressive character gained him the nickname: "Tiger". In the peace conference following the war, he came into conflict with American President Woodrow Wilson because of his strong desire for revenge against Germany and for firm security measures for France. In a 1918 speech to the French Chamber of Deputies, he stated: "My home policy? I wage war. My foreign policy? I wage war. Always, everywhere, I wage war, and I shall continue to wage war until the last quarter of an hour. "Following disastrous wars, including those in the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia, it is necessary for courageous statesmen to make a determined effort to wage peace. If you wish to receive written copies of these telephone messages before they are spoken, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope plus ¥30 in stamps for each week of messages desired to: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------Recent statistics indicate that the number of barbershops in Japan is decreasing. A newspaper article stated that in 1986, there were at least 145,000 barbershops in this country but in 1992 only 143,045 remained opened. During 1992, 5,456 new shops opened, but 5,935 closed. The reason most barbershops closed was because the owner retired and there was no one to take his place. Young people don't like standing up all day. Nor do they like to work on weekends. Besides, one must put in three or four years as an apprentice before one can become a full-fledged barber. Furthermore, rents are so high in urban areas that maintaining a barbershop is very expensive. Have you ever wondered why the sign of a barbershop is a pole with red and white spiraling stripes? This sign has an interesting origin. During the Middle Ages, barbers also functioned as surgeons, primarily to perform bloodletting, which was done to correct such medical disorders as high blood pressure and anemia. Following this simple surgery, barbers draped the blood-soaked bandages around a white pole to dry, resulting in the typical red and white ribbon look of today's barber poles. It's probably best not think of this while laying back in the barber's chair while being shaved. -------You probably know the name of the country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. Not surprisingly, it is called South Africa. The name of the four in dependent countries that border on South Africa are not so well known. Can you name even one of those four? To give you a hint, their names, going from west to east, begin with N, B, Z and M. The one in the middle, which shares the longest border with South Africa is Botswana. Today is a national holiday in that republic, commemorating the 27th anniversary of its establishment. Botswana became the 30th African nation to gain full independence on September 30, 1966. Until that time, it was known as the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland. Much of Botswana is desert and the lack of water has hindered the raising of crops but many people are engaged in raising cattle and selling beef and other cattle products. The fact that it is a landlocked country makes it dependent upon neighbors to get its exports to a port. Botswana's parliament is composed of only the president and the national assembly, but there is an advisory House of Chiefs which has a voice on bills affecting tribal affairs. Large natural game reserves are the main tourist attractions. -------The word "model", spelled m-o-d-e-l, has a number of different meanings. A small object that represents a larger object is a model. As a boy, I sometimes played with a model train and made model airplanes. A person employed to display wearing apparel or who serves as the subject for an artist or photographer is a model, as is a person who provides a good example for others to follow. Another kind of model denotes the particular style or design of an item. Some of these models are identified by numbers or letters. Among well-known passenger airplane models are the 707, 727 and 747. The early models of automobiles produced by the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, beginning in 1903, were designated by letters of the alphabet. The ninth model to be manufactured, called the Model T, became the most popular automobile because of its low cost. Although the first Model T's sold for $850, after the introduction of the assembly line system, the cost was eventually lowered to $350. It was 85 years ago today, on October 1, 1908, that the first Model T Ford rolled off the assembly line. While other car manufacturers introduced yearly style and color changes and mechanical improvements, the Model T remained unchanged for twenty years. By the time it was replaced by the Model A in 1927, over 15 million of the black "Tin Lizzies" had been sold. A newer, fancier product is not always a better one. -------In the United States, a barber is a person whose business is to cut and wash hair and to shave or trim beards. The first few times I went to barbershops in Japan I was surprised to find that not only did Japanese barbers cut my hair, wash it and shave my face, they also shaved my forehead and my ears, gave me a shoulder massage and even cleaned my ears. These were things I had never expected in my homeland. The world "barber" comes from the Latin word for beard and although I now have a beard, a barber never trims it because I do that myself. I also wash my own hair and shave myself because the charges at barbershop have become so expensive. during my recent trip to the United States, I got one haircut. It cost me $7.00, which is less than a third of what I pay for a haircut in Nagoya. The barber was an old friend who had his own barbershop in my hometown for many years. since his retirement some years ago, he has continued to cut the hair of friends and old customers in a special room in his home. I'm not sure what the regular cost of a haircut is in the States, but I'm sure his charge was less than that charged in barbershops. He likes to talk to his customers while he cuts their hair and he enjoyed hearing about our experiences in Japan. -------The story found in the 10th chapter of the New Testament Gospel of Mark, verses 46 to 52 is the text for my sermon today. It is the story of a man whose life was changed as a result of his meeting with Jesus. From this story, we may derive lasting spiritual truths. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who was sitting by the road. As Jesus passed by on his way to Jerusalem, a crowd of people accompanied him and listened to his teaching as he walked along. When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus, he cried out, "Have mercy on me!" Although people in the crowd tried to silence him because he was causing a disturbance, he persisted until he got Jesus' attention. When asked what he wanted, he replied, "I want to see again." After Jesus healed the man, the story ends with Bartimaeus becoming a follower of Jesus. According to the teaching of the Bible, all human beings are spiritually blind beggars like Bartimaeus who need to have our eyes opened. Like him, we need to honestly and humbly recognize our true condition and persistently seek healing, despite the opposition of other people, from the One who is able to restore our sight. And those who have been healed should then become followers of their Savior. -------A word often heard in Christian meetings is "amen". It is normally said at the end of prayers and sung at the end of hymns. In some churches, when a member of the congregation wishes to express agreement with what the preacher has said, he or she may even shout this word from the pew. "Amen" has been transliterated (rather than translated) from Hebrew into Greek, Latin, English and all other languages. That is to say that wherever Christians go, whatever country they visit, the word "amen" will be understood. Its basis meaning is firm, true and certain. As an interjection, it means: "so be it" or "may it be so". In the New Testament, it is often used at the beginning of an important statement of Jesus, which is translated "verily" or "truly", as in the famous verse, John 3:3: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -------Today is the 163rd anniversary of the birth of the 21st president of the United States, who was born in Fairfield, Vermont, the son of a clergyman on October 5, 1830. His surname, which is also a popular given name, is the same as that of the legendary king of Britain who is said to have met with his knights around a round table to prevent quarrels over precedence. Have you guessed his name? It is Chester Alan Arthur, who was elected vice-president in 1880 and became president upon the assassination of President Garfield who served in that office for only six and a half months. Because of his association with the political machine of New York with its traditional use of the spoils system, there were doubts regarding both his integrity and ability, but his administration proved honest, efficient and dignified. He effectively supported civil service reform and prosecuted political associates accused of graft. His courtly manners earned him the nickname of "the Gentleman Boss". A little more than a year after he became president, he was informed that he had Bright's disease. Although he knew that he was a dying man, he kept this news a secret, completed his term in office and died the following year, in 1886. -------Many words from foreign languages have been incorporated into Japanese. These words are immediately recognized because they are written in katakana, which my 'American Heritage Dictionary' defines as: "a phonetic Japanese syllabary used for writing foreign words." In English, words have come from a wide variety of languages, but because they are all written in the same alphabet, they are not so obvious. Last month, the 'New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary' was published in London. In the first edition of that famous dictionary published 60 years ago, there were less than 100 words derived from Japanese, but in this new, completely rewritten edition, there are 335 such words which reflects the great increase in cultural contact between Japan and the West during the past half century. In the past, French and Latin have been the primary lenders of words, but among borrowings from living languages, one of the biggest groups of new words is from Japanese. Japanese words now recognized as English include "karaoke" ("a form of entertainment in which one or more people sing popular songs as soloists against prerecorded backing music") and "narikin" ("in Japan, a wealthy parvenu"). I suppose you may have to use the dictionary to learn the meaning of the French-derived word, "parvenu". -------A skylark is a bird that is noted for its melodious singing. Skylark is also the name of a family restaurant chain in Japan. It was recently reported that 200 of the Skylark restaurants will soon be converted into low-priced Gusto restaurants by the end of the year. "Gusto", derived from the Latin word for "taste", denotes a specialized taste or vigorous enjoyment. Hamburger steaks or spaghetti will be available at Gusto restaurants for ¥380, the same price charged for those dishes at Skylark restaurants when they first opened in 1970. The lower prices will be made possible by a reduction of part-time workers. Diners will seat themselves and get their own additional cups of coffee from a common coffee dispenser in the middle of the room. Also, there will be only 30 items on the Gusto menus, compared to over 100 at Skylark restaurants. Speaking of low prices, a Tokyo restaurant still serves borscht soup for ¥50, the same price it was in 1948 and an eating house in Osaka serves 'unadon' for ¥600 as it has for the past 20 years. According to H. W. Beecher, an American preacher, "Men go shopping just as [they] go fishing, to see how large a fish my be caught with the smallest hook." -------The traditional Japanese sliding door is called a 'to'. Like other features in traditional Japanese homes, these 'to' do not require much space. They slide past one another rather than opening out as do Western doors on hinges. The special 'to' for protecting glass windows during wind or rain storms or for closing up the house at night are called 'ama-do', literally meaning "rain doors". When we first came to Japan over forty years ago and lived in Tokyo, we were impressed with these wooden 'ama-do', which were closed every night. We thought it strange that even on hot summer nights they were slid out of their "boxes" and we felt "boxed in ". In our present home in Nagoya, the corrugated aluminum 'ama-do' are rarely used. Last month, for the first time in years, we slid them out of their places in preparation for a typhoon one night. From my observation and experience, most houses in the United States do not have shutters to protect windows from wind and rain, but some resort cabins or houses that are lived in for only a part of the year do have louvered shutters on hinges for some windows. Just as a person or thing that opens may be called an "opener", "shutter" may also denote a person who shuts. In chapter 3, verse 7 of the New Testament book of Revelation, we read of a "Shutter" whose shutting is permanent. -------From Portland, Oregon, in the northwestern United States, we flew to San Francisco, California, about 1000 kilometers south. After claiming our luggage, we were met by the wife of my wife's eldest nephew, the son of her elder brother. She is a school teacher, but since the summer vacation had begun, she was able to drive their van to the airport to meet us. She was accompanied by her youngest child, a girl who was a couple of years older than our granddaughter who was with us. To get to that airport from her home over 40 kilometers away, she had to cross the famous San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which had been severely damaged during a big earthquake a few years ago. On the ride back across that 13-kilometer-long bridge with her, she pointed out various places in the area that had suffered damage from that quake. Earthquakes are not uncommon along the west coast of North and South America and it was there in San Francisco that my wife and I experienced our first earthquake as we were about to depart for Japan in 1951. In our home area in the Midwest, earthquakes never occur. When we arrived at the home of my wife's brother, our granddaughter was especially happy to see the swimming pool in the backyard because she loves to swim. We were told that during that large earthquake, water had splashed out of the pool onto the surrounding ground. -------The three religions that arose in the Middle East among the Jewish and Arab peoples have certain elements in common. They are all strictly monotheistic, which means they affirm the existence of one, eternal almighty God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe. A second common element is their adherence to a holy book on which their beliefs are based and which serves as the divine standard for their lives. Jews, Christian and Muslims are all "people of a book". The Muslim holy book is called the Koran. The Bible for the Jews is what Christians call the Old Testament while the Christian Bible contains an additional New Testament, which they consider to be the fulfillment of the Old Testament teachings. According to the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans, chapter 15, verse 4, "Everything in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us." Although he was referring here to the Old Testament in particular, his words can be used for the New Testament as well. This is one reason why Christians, Jews and Muslims continue to study and make use of their holy scriptures and seek divine guidance through them. If writings are truly inspired by God, their basic truths remain valid for all time. -------A colon, spelled c-o-l-o-n, is a punctuation mark made up of two dots, one above the other. If y is added to this word, it is pronounced 'colony' and means a territory ruled by a distant colonial power. If, however, an e-l is added to "colon" the consequent word, denoting a military officer, is pronounced ' kernel', the same as the word which signifies a grain or seed. The reason for this strange pronunciation lies in the fact that, in old English, the word was spelled c-o-r-o-n-o-l and pronounced kor-o-nol. Later, the pronunciation was shortened to kor-nel and then, still later, changed to the present pronunciation. For some reason, apart from any known Japanese influence, the spelling was changed and the first r was replaced by an l. You may know that the white-haired man sitting in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants is Colonel Sanders. -------Since I spoke of Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken in yesterday's message, if I mention the name MacDonald in today's message, you will probably think of eating shops specializing in hamburgers. I'm not sure why that name was given to a chain of fast food stores, but I'm sure it is not related to the famous British statesman, who was born 127 years ago today, on October 12, 1866. As you might surmise from his name, Ramsay MacDonald was born in Scotland. As a young man, he went to London. There he became one of the organizers of the British Labour Party. During the First World War, MacDonald was considered a traitor because of his pacifist position opposing Britain's participation in that war. Following the war, however, he served on two different occasions as Prime Minister. Both times, he led a minority government and was unable to put into effect his socialist ideas. According to an English proverb, "Haste makes waste" and Ramsay MacDonald provided picturesque illustrations of its veracity when he said: "The man who saves time by galloping loses it by missing his way; the shepherd who hurries his flock to get them home spends the night on the mountain looking for the lost; economy does not consist in haste, but in certainty." -------Baseball is a popular sport in both the United States and Japan. The first baseball team in the U.S. was organized in New York in 1845. There are two major baseball leagues in the United States and Canada, each of which are divided into eastern and western divisions. There are seven teams in each division, making a total of 28 Major League teams. At the end of the baseball season, playoffs between the first place teams of the two divisions decide the league champion. Then the champion teams of the National League and the American League meet in the so-called World Series to determine the world champion. Although it is called a World Series, actually it is only these North American teams that are involved but they are generally recognized as the superior teams throughout the world. On October 13, 1903, exactly ninety years ago today, the final game of the first World Series was played in Boston, Massachusetts between the Boston Red Sox of the American League and the Pittsburg Pirates of the National League. That game ended in a 5-3 victory for the Red Sox who became the first World Series champions. In I Corinthians 9:24-27, the Apostle Paul compared life to a sports event and taught the need for discipline and effort to win the prize. -------After traveling overseas, one realizes how expensive things are here in Japan, considering the present dollar/yen exchange rate. High prices are affecting major Japanese department stores which report that sales have been below the previous year's for 17 months in a row. One store reported that there are more customers than last year, but they are spending less. Another complained that, due to the recession, companies have reduced their entertainment and gift budgets and don't redecorate as often. A number of stores noted that ready-to-wear clothing sales, in particular, have declined. Evidently, more and more men are patronizing discount stores instead of department stores for their clothes. The Daiei Supermarket Chain disclosed that it must spend billions of yen to get up to 42 different authorizations or license to open a big supermarket. For example, it must have a butcher's license to sell meat, a dairy license to sell milk, an ice cream manufacturing license to sell soft ice cream cones, a soybean curd license to sell tofu, a measuring instrument license to sell thermometers and so on. When the physical necessities of life are so expensive, we must reconsider what is of truly lasting value. -------The Latin word for "hundred" is 'centum'. From this Latin root, a number of English words related to a hundred have been derived. Among them are: cent, centigrade, centigram, centimeter, centiliter, centipede, century, centennial and centenarian. A centenarian is a person who is one hundred years or older. Statistics released last month revealed that the number of centenarians in Japan rose by 650 during the previous year to a total of 4,802. This number has increased every year for the past 23 years. Significantly, 80.4 percent of Japan's centenarians are women, including the oldest person in the country, Tonaki Kengan, who is 114. Years ago, I composed a telephone message from an article in a Japanese newspaper about the oldest person in Japan at that time, 118-year-old Shigechiyo Izumi. Because I knew a lady named Chiyo, I thought Shigechiyo was a woman's name and although the Japanese article gave no indication of the person's gender, my English message contained such words as "she" and "her". I was embarrassed to see a picture of the bearded Shigechiyo in the paper that morning and quickly revised the message which I had taped the night before. -------The only direct flight from Nagoya to the United States mainland is a Delta Airlines flight to Portland, Oregon. On our trip to the United States last summer, we purchased a special discount ticket of that airline. Consequently, since we used Delta Airlines flights insofar as possible, the routes we followed were not always the most direct ones. The only airline flying into the town of Carlsbad, New Mexico where our son lives is a small one that we had to board in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To get to Albuquerque from Oakland, California, where we boarded a Delta Airlines plane, we had to change planes at Salt lake City, Utah. We arrived in Albuquerque in the evening and had to spend the night in a hotel near the airport. After calling the hotel from the airport requesting that a car be sent to pick us up, I returned to where my wife was waiting. She asked me where our granddaughter was and I replied, "I thought she was with you." "Oh, no," she said, "I thought she was with YOU." So we began a hurried search for seven-year-old Leila and found her along a conveyer belt watching luggage going round and round. We firmly instructed her to stay close to one of us at all times for we realized that traveling in the Unites States is different from Japan and one must be more careful. -------The Gideons International is an organization of Christian businessmen which distributes free Bibles to schools for their students and to hotels and hospitals to be placed in the rooms of guests or patients. The name of this organization is derived from an ancient judge of Israel whose exploits are recorded in the Old Testament book of Judges, chapters 6 to 8. In chapter 7 is the interesting story of how Gideon led an army of Israelites against the Midianites. God told Gideon his army was too large and the number of warriors must be decreased. Otherwise, the Israelites would think they were victorious because of their own strength rather than because of God's help. So Gideon took the thousands of men to a stream of water and told them to drink. Those who knelt down and lapped the water like a dog were separated from the three hundred men who brought the water to their mouths with their hands. It was these more alert men Gideon led to victory with a well-planned and well-executed surprise attack on the Midian camp. One teaching of this story is that God does not require a large number of people to accomplish his purpose. It shows how effective a small number of well-trained, dedicated people under an able leader can be. -------There are two English words spelled m-o-s-a-i-c, both of which are pronounced moh-say-ik. The one that is spelled with a capital M means "of or pertaining to Moses". Thus, we may speak of the Mosaic Law in the Old Testament. The other, spelled with a small m is the original form of a Japanese word which is written in katakana as mozaiku. It denotes a picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, such as tile, in mortar. This word is not related to the Old Testament prophet and lawgiver but to the nine mythological Greek goddesses, each of whom was said to preside over a different art or science. These daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne were called Muses, so the original mosaic pictures or works of art may have been thought to have been inspired by one of the Muses. -------Today is the anniversary of a major victory of American colonial forces under the leadership of General George Washington. When over 7000 troops with their British commander, Lord Cornwallis, surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, 212 years ago, on October 19, 1781, the American War of Independence was effectively over, even though sporadic fighting continued afterward. The people of Yorktown celebrate this anniversary every year and the Yorktown Battlefield has become part of a National Historical Park. Since this month has five Sundays this year, another meeting of "Daily Word" listeners and readers will be held on the fifth Sunday afternoon, October 31st at 1:30 at the Nagoya City Kyoikukan, near Sakae. That day is known as Halloween in the U.S.A. and among the various strange customs associated with that folk festival is fortunetelling or divination. In present-day Japan, different kinds of fortunetelling, or 'uranai' are popular among certain people. At that meeting, I would be interested in hearing the opinions of those present about 'uranai' and 'uranaishi'. The 34th issue of "Daily Word" Echoes will be on sale for ¥200 per copy. If you are interested and are able to do so, you are invited to attend. My wife and I would be happy to meet you there. -------The usual meaning of "report card" is a report of a student's progress sent periodically to parents. In Japanese, it is called a 'seisekihyo'. Last month, the U.S. government released a document entitled "Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States". It gave the results of reading tests of 140,000 students. The report showed that a quarter of high school students, nearly a third of eighth graders and forty percent of fourth graders read very poorly. The Education Secretary said parents share much of the blame for permitting their children to watch too much television. The test results indicated that girls read better than boys, that children in the suburbs read better than those living in the inner city, that students in northeastern and central states read better than those in the south and west, that white and Asian students read better than blacks, Hispanics and American Indians and that there was a correlation between reading ability and the amount of television students watched. Those who read well watched three hours or less of television each night, while the poorer readers watched as many as six hours or more. Television can be an effective educational tool, a waste of time, an escape from reality and a positively damaging influence as well. Parents need to control the television viewing not only of their children but of themselves also. -------Hugo Vihlen is a 61-year-old American. He is a former airline pilot who recently set a new record, not as a pilot but as a sailor. He sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean from Canada to England in a 1.62-meter-long boat named Father's Day. He set out from the port city of Saint John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland on June 14th and arrived in the English port of Falmouth 106 days later on September 27th. During his adventurous crossing, which took a month longer than expected, he lost 15.4 kilograms and appeared weak but in good spirits. In 1968, Vihlen made the crossing in a 1.83 meter boat, from Casablanca, Morocco to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but that world record was broken earlier this year by an Englishman who sailed from the island of Madeira to the island of Puerto Rico in a boat one centimeter longer than Father's Day. Vihlen has now reclaimed his record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the smallest boat. On the way, he encountered one bad storm during which he had to stay inside the hull of this small boat for three days, sleeping on his back with his knees tucked under his chin. This in itself must be considered quite a feat. -------It is said that it was on the 22nd day of the 10th month in the year 794, 1199 years ago today, that the imperial palace was moved to Heian-Kyo, the "Capital of Peace and Tranquillity", which is within the present city of Kyoto. Emperor Kammu had previously moved from Nara to Nagaoka but for some reason he was unhappy with that location and, just ten years later, moved again. The move from Nara was to free the emperor from the predominant Buddhist influence of that old capital and to inject new life into the government. It was actually an early reform movement. For 1075 years Heian-Kyo remained Japan's capital, but today that new capital is considered the old capital and the center of historic Japan. Annually, on October 22nd, the 'Jidai Matsuri' is held to commemorate the founding of Kyoto as the imperial capital. Today, a procession of people wearing picturesque costumes representing the culture of bygone days will parade through Kyoto streets toward the historic Heian Shrine. As Japan moves toward the 21st century with a government which advocates reform, some people suggest it should consider moving the capital city once again to escape the predominant influences of the present "East Capital". -------During our trip to the United States last summer, we stopped in the state of New Mexico to visit our son and his family. After an early breakfast which was brought to our room in the hotel near the Albuquerque Airport, we went by a hotel car to the airport, where we boarded a small 18-passenger plane for the hour's trip to Carlsbad. In most airplanes, if a passenger wants to sit next to the aisle or next to a window, he or she must make a special request, but in this plane, there was no need to do so. All seats were both window seats and aisle seats--nine in a row on each side of the narrow aisle. Since we could not sit next to each other, we sat in front of, behind or across the aisle from one another, but it was so noisy that we could not easily talk to each other anyway. The cabin ceiling was so low that it was impossible to stand upright in the plane, even in the aisle. Our granddaughter, who accompanied us from Japan, had to move from the seat she first sat in because it happened to be next to the emergency exit where an able-bodied adult was required to sit. When the partition between the cabin and the cockpit was open, we were able to see the pilot and co-pilot at their controls. This plane did not fly As high as larger planes do, so we could easily see the ground over which we passed, but the desert landscape in that part of the country is quite monotonous. -------The strong convictions of the Apostle Paul are evident in his letters which have become a part of the Christian Bible. In his Letter to the Romans, he presents his understanding of the good news, or gospel, of God's forgiveness of human sin and gift of new life that came through Jesus Christ. In chapter 8, he wrote of the new quality of life which can be experienced in the present time and of the hope of future glory that comes through faith. Following declarations of God's graciousness, he asks a rhetorical question in verse 31: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Christians share Paul's conviction that "God is for us". Therefore, there is no need to fear anything or anyone. That "God is for us" does not mean that he will give us everything we ask for. It means that all experiences in our lives are, finally, for our benefit. Paul goes on to emphasize further the greatness of God's love that has been revealed to us in Christ and ends the chapter with the stirring assurance that nothing can separate us from God's love. We are reminded of the meaning of one of the names given to Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1:23. "Immanuel" means that "God is with us" and those who believe that "God is for us" or that "God is with us" find the courage to boldly oppose what is evil and work for that which is good. -------I is the ninth letter of the English alphabet. It is also the first person, singular pronoun in English, identifying the person speaking or writing. At an English Bible Class recently, I was asked why that pronoun is always written with a capital letter. Other personal pronouns, such as you, he or she are not capitalized. I didn't know the answer so I investigated and found that it has nothing to do with the ego of the speaker or writer. In Middle English, the first person singular pronoun was ich, as it still is in German. This was later shortened to the one letter i, which like the Greek letter iota, is very small. (In fact, in English, "iota" is used to signify a very small amount.) As a result, this little i often got lost or attached to another word by printers. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion and reduce errors, it is always capitalized. -------The first meeting of listeners to these "Daily Word" telephone messages was held on Sunday afternoon, April 26, 1981 following the English language worship service at Kinjo Kyokai in Nagoya. Since then, fifty subsequent meetings have been held, most of them on the fifth Sunday of a month. There are five Sundays this month and we plan to hold the 52nd meeting of listeners/readers at the Nagoya City Kyoikukan, two blocks north of the Mitukoshi Department Store in Sakae, beginning at 1:30 on October 31st, known as Halloween in the West. This fork festival is rooted in pre-Christian pagan traditions, among which is fortunetelling or divination. 'Uranai' has a long history in Japan. Worshippers obtain pieces of paper with fortunes written on them at shrines or temples. One's palms, names, dreams, birthdays are also considered relevant. What do you think of 'uranai'? Do you think many Japanese today believe in its validity? Have you ever had your fortune told by a fortuneteller? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts/experiences at our meeting or in reading a short essay on this theme for publication in "Daily Word" Echoes. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------An encyclical, spelled e-n-c-y-c-l-i-c-a-l is an official letter written in the name of the Roman Catholic Pope on a specific subject addressed to the bishops of that Church. Pope John Paul II recently issued an encyclical entitled 'Veritatis Splendor', The Splendor of Truth. In it, the Pope implies that bishops, seminary professors and church theologians have been failing to effectively indoctrinate candidates for the priesthood as well as common believers in the moral teachings of the Church. The encyclical reaffirms the Church's traditional teaching banning homosexual relations, abortion, premarital sex and artificial birth control, called an "intrinsic evil". Some polls show that less than ten percent of Roman Catholic believers in the United States obey the Church's teaching to refrain from the use of contraceptive devices. Of course, Protestants do not feel bound by such papal decrees. In Protestant Churches, there is a wide variety of opinion in regard to such matters, but most Protestants would disagree with the assertion that human conscience and human reason must be subordinated to the laws of God as taught by the Church --and so, it would seem, would a number of modern Roman Catholic theologians. -------In contrast to the encyclical noted in yesterday's message which seems to encourage women to have more children, statistics released by Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry indicate that the average number of children a Japanese woman bears in her lifetime fell to a record low of 1.5 in 1992. Approximately 1,209,000 babies were born in 1992, 14,000 less than in the previous year. As a result, the overall increase in Japan's population, which means the number of births minus the number of deaths, was also the lowest on record, about 352,000, some 41,000 less than the year before. The statistics further revealed that about 18,000 of the infants born in Japan in 1992 had at least one parent who was a foreign national, which seems to give a natural boost to the nation's effort to internationalize. Also, there were about 26,000 marriages performed that year between Japanese and foreigners which should produce yet more international offspring. In one way or another, Japan is gradually becoming more and more international. You are invited to attend the meeting of "Daily Word" listeners/readers at the Nagoya City Kyoikukan, located across the street from the Watchman Store near Sakae, on Sunday afternoon at 1:30, when we will talk about fortunetelling or 'uranai'. -------When written in regular, lower-case letters, the word "now", spelled n-o-w, means "at this present time". But when written in upper-case, or capital, letters, it is the acronym of the National Organization for Women. This largest women's rights group in the United States was founded 27 years ago today, on October 29,1966, by Betty Friedan, a feminist leader well-known as the author of 'The Feminine Mystique.' The stated aim of this organization is to support "full equality for women in America in a truly equal partnership with men." Through a program of legislative lobbying, court litigation and public demonstrations, NOW seeks to attain its major goal of ending sexual discrimination in employment. Both the American Declaration of Independence and orthodox Christian doctrine affirm that all people are created equal. Unfortunately, however, both the nation and the church have had difficulty putting this principle into practice. On this coming Sunday afternoon at 1:30, we will hold another meeting of "Daily Word" listeners/readers at the Nagoya City Kyoikukan, located across the street from the Watchman Store near Sakae. We will talk about fortunetelling, or 'uranai', and you are invited to attend. -------Following the hour's ride in the small airplane from Albuquerque, we arrived in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Our son was at the small airport to meet us. He had come by himself because neither of their two cars--a Japanese car and a Jeep--had room enough for the two of them and their daughter plus my wife and me and our granddaughter plus all of our luggage. Steve came in the Jeep which became completely filled with the four of us plus suitcases. It took less than half an hour to get to his home on the outskirts of the city, where Karen and Danielle were awaiting our arrival. Their house is a large, one-story structure with a two-car garage attached. By Japanese standards, it has a huge living room, a huge bedroom with a very large walk-in closet and a large kitchen/dining room. It even has a Jacuzzi, which resembles a large Japanese 'ofuro', in which the water swirls while one soaks. They have a pet dog, named Clover, which stays in the backyard, and a pet cat, whose name I forget, which can roam throughout the house. While we were there, they were also keeping a large pet turtle, named Mike, for a friend who was not allowed to keep it in her apartment. Mike was supposed to stay in the kitchen/dining room area, but sometimes he managed to upset or get around a barrier and crawled into the carpeted living room and bedroom areas. -------At the beginning of the last book of the Bible, the Revelation to John, are letters from the risen Christ to seven churches John was inspired to write. The seventh letter is to the church in Laodicea, which is described as "lukewarm, neither hot nor cold" [3:16]. A dictionary defines "lukewarm" as "mildly warm, tepid; lacking in enthusiasm, indifferent." This dull church was urged to change its ways and the Lord encouraged a positive response to his appeal with the significant words "Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with me"[3:20]. Of course, this figurative declaration refers to the spiritual door of one's heart. It implies that Christ does not force his way into our lives, but that he is asking to be invited in and will enter and have spiritual fellowship with those who hear his knocking at the door and welcome him. Not only lukewarm Christians but all people need to take time to listen to the voice of their conscience or of a higher moral authority and be willing to accept the invitation to thoughtfully consider its message. Do you hear any knocking at your heart's door? If you do, what is your response? -------
In the United States, a robin is often called a harbinger of spring. Do you know what a harbinger is? Spelled h-a-r-b-i-n-g-e-r, a harbinger is a herald or forerunner, one that indicates or foreshadows what is to come. This English word is rooted in a German word meaning shelter or lodging for soldiers. A related German word denoted a soldier who went ahead of an army to arrange for their food and lodging. The English word originally meant a hostelry and, later, a person who preceded travellers to find accommodations for them. Eventually, it gained the meaning it has today. John Milton's "Songs on May Morning" contains these lines: Tomorrow is a Japanese holiday called Culture Day. On that day in 1946, the new Japanese Constitution was promulgated. In commemoration of that event, November 3rd, previously known as 'Meiji-setsu' was designated a holiday to foster love and respect for Japanese culture. One part of Japanese culture which impresses foreigners is the art of folding paper. The dexterity of the Japanese is evident not only in the paper-folding techniques whereby various intricate figures are made with squares of colored paper. It is also seen in department stores where clerks carefully wrap the articles purchased by customers. Some people today complain that it is a waste of time, money and resources for clerks to carefully wrap each package as though it were a gift when the wrapping paper is thrown away when the customer gets home. What do you think about this custom of wrapping items in stores? And/or what are your thoughts and memories related to 'origami'? Do you enjoy making things with 'origami'? Do 'origami' objects have any practical value or are they simply temporary art forms? Essays on either or both of these topics sent to me will be corrected before including them in the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 -------As a child, if I heard the word "Austin", spelled A-u-s-t-i-n, I would have thought of tiny passenger cars which bore that name. I think Austins were made in England, but when I first came to Japan I rode in very small taxicabs which were about the same size. As a youth, if I heard that name I would have thought of the capital city of one of the 48 states, all of which I had memorized. Austin is still the capital of Texas, albeit not its largest city. It was named after Stephen Austin, known as the Father of Texas who was born exactly 200 years ago today, on November 3, 1793. Continuing the effort of his father, Moses, to colonize Texas, he received grants of land from the Mexican government and brought in settlers from the United States who flooded the area and alarmed Mexico, which changed its policy. When some settlers tried to establish an independent state and Austin went to Mexico to discuss the situation, he was taken prisoner. After his release, he became involved in the Texas Revolution. Following that war, he was defeated in the election for president of the independent republic by General Houston, who had led the army to victory, but Austin served as secretary of state until his death a few months later, on December 27, 1836. -------Human understanding of the external world is gained through the five senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. Each of these senses has its own peculiar effect upon our mental or emotional state, but many of us are not conscious of how smells affect our lives. In English, there are delicate differences in nuance between such words as smell, scent, odor, aroma, fragrance and perfume. In Japanese also, 'nioi' can be written with different Chinese characters indicating dissimilar perceptions of the odor. A Japanese research team has found that particular odors may be useful in treating people with depression. Lemon and citrus scents in particular seem to be more effective in alleviating depression than antidepressant drugs. Another novel use of fragrances is being introduced by a company that produces garbage bags. Beginning this month see-through garbage bags are being sold with odors that are expected to deter cats, cockroaches and other such scavengers from approaching them. In the Old Testament, sweet-smelling incense was one of the offerings offered to God in the belief that the aroma would please him. And in his Letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verse 18, the Apostle Paul characterized their gift to him as a "sweet-smelling offering to God." -------Statistical reports can be very boring--depending on the subject matter and the area of interest of the reader. A recent report of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on marriage and birth trends attracted my attention. Replies to questionnaires received from over 8,000 married women under 50 years of age throughout the country indicated that, in 1992, the average age at marriage was 28.32 for men and 25.67 for women. Almost 83 percent of those marriages were romance marriages rather than traditional arranged marriages. In contrast with the situation in the five-year period between 1972 and 1977 when couples dated an average 1.97 years before getting married, in the five years between 1987 and 1992, the length of the dating period had increased a full year to 2.97 years. In regard to the preferred gender of children of women who desired only one child, in 1972, 52 percent wanted a boy, while in 1992, 76 percent wanted a girl. As times change, so do social customs and perspectives, but it is important for married couples to show love and respect for one another and to agree on basic principles to enjoy a happy married life. -------There are two American cities bearing the name of Carlsbad. One is in California and the other is in New Mexico. Both are named after the European health resort famous for its mineral springs, which is spelled with a K instead of a C. The New Mexico Carlsbad is well-known because of the nearby Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which we visited again during our recent trip to the U.S. Karen, our daughter-in-low, drove us there in her jeep, along with her daughter, Dannie, and our eldest granddaughter, Leila. Many kilometers of these huge limestone caves over 250 meters below the earth's surface have been opened to the public, but there are still portions that remain unexplored. The so-called Big Room in the Caverns is over 70 meters high from floor to ceiling at one point. There are many interesting and beautiful formations made by the stalactites, stalagmites and other natural rock formations that have been given such descriptive names as Papoose Draperies, Queen's Orchestra, Chinese hat, Lion's Thai and Bashful Elephant. It was a really cool experience to walk through these caves, which remain at 13 degrees Celsius throughout the year even when the surface temperature rises to 40 degrees. We all enjoyed our walk through this underground wonderland an marveled again at the beauty and mystery of nature and of the greatness of the Creator. -------Nowadays, the word "watchman" is used for a man who watches or guards a designated place, but formerly it was also used for a sentinel who stood on a watchtower and warned of the approach of enemy troops or of some other danger. The Old Testament prophets may be considered spiritual watchmen who warned the people of the coming judgment of God upon their sinful ways. According to the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verse 7, Ezekiel was appointed by God as a watchman for the nation of Israel. He was commissioned to announce God's judgment upon sinners and was told that if he did not relay God's message to the people, he himself would be held responsible. In the New Testament, Jesus appointed his disciples to be witnesses and commissioned them to go throughout the world and preach the Gospel of God's love and salvation. Although the content of the message is different, there is a similarity in the mission of Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles and all Christians. We feel a responsibility to share a message from God to those around us. The Biblical God is a God of justice and mercy. While both aspects of the divine character should be remembered, which aspect we emphasize will depend upon our own character and experience. -------Certainly one of the most commonly used words in the United States is the word used by most people when answering the telephone: hello. In the past, the Japanese transliteration, haro--, was often called out by children whenever they saw a person with a foreign face along the street and today there are a number of stores, including supermarkets, that are called Hello or Haro--. In Chaucer's day, the greeting was spelled h-a-l-l-o-w, and pronounced hal-LOW. In Shakespeare's time, it had been changed to halloo, a shout still used by fox hunters. In America, the word became hullo or hello and may have been first used on the telephone by Thomas Edison. It is probably rooted in a French word meaning "stop" and is related to the English word "holler". It may be used either as a greeting or to attract attention, but the word preferred by sailors is "ahoy". -------As time goes by, certain words acquire certain nuances. New terms or phrases are used replace the old ones. Current examples in Japanese include the newer expressions for such handicapped people as the blind, the deaf and the lame as the older terms are no longer considered polite or proper. The early Japanese term for Christians, 'Kirishitan', was used until the Meiji Era. This term was then replaced by 'kurisuchan'. In more recent years, Japanese Christians have been called by the more accurate term of 'kirisutosha'. Each of these terms has a certain nuance in the minds of those who hear or read them. I would be interested in reading about the mental images they bring to your mind. In your thinking, does the term 'Kirishitan' have a positive or negative tint? Do the terms 'kurisuchan' and 'kirisutosha' have different connotations? Of course, they all denote believers in and followers of Christ. According to Acts 11:26, "It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians." Whether your reactions to these terms are positive, negative or neutral, I would be happy to read and correct a short English essay on this theme for publication in the 44th issue of "Daily Word" Echoes, to be published in January. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------The English word "marine", spelled m-a-r-i-n-e, comes from a Latin word meaning "sea", and denotes something pertaining to the sea. Marine life includes both animals and plants that live in the sea. A member of that branch of the U.S. Armed Forces specializing in amphibious operations is also called a marine. Today, November 10th, celebrations will be held on many military bases commemorating the 218th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Marine Corps by the Continental Congress in 1775. At such festivities, a birthday cake may be cut and the first and second pieces given to the oldest and youngest marines present. From the time the corps was established during the Revolutionary War, marines have participated in every war in which the United States has been involved and have made hundreds of landings on foreign shores, including a number of islands held by Japanese soldiers during the Pacific War. Although Marines actually function as a branch of the U.S. Navy, they are often considered more elite than mere sailors. In the old British Royal Navy, however, marines were considered somewhat stupid by regular navy personnel, who thought they would believe any story told to them. So the saying, "tell it to the marines" is sometimes used as a response to a fanciful, unbelievable story. -------The following announcement was made at the recent meeting of listeners to and readers of these "Daily Word" messages related to Japanese translations of the messages. Since December 1990, the messages have appeared on the English Forum of the NIFTY-Serve computer network through the services of volunteers who regularly transfer them onto that network. In recent months, one member, "Yasuo Mizutani", has been contributing his own Japanese translations of the messages for the readers of that forum. Permission has been received from Mr. Mizutani and others to make these translations available to all readers who might be interested in receiving them. They will be sent out along with the weekly copies of the English originals to those who request them, but the Japanese translations will be for messages transmitted three weeks previously. Those who desire such translations should add an additional ¥30 to cover the copy fee for each week of translation desired. Incidentally, for those requesting English and/or Japanese versions for a number of weeks, I prefer receiving stamps in ¥62 or ¥100 denominations. This is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------The current recession in Japan has affected the attitudes of many people when they go shopping. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in so-called "green products" or environmentally-friendly goods. Recycled aluminum pans and plastic coat hangers, products made from recycled paper and so on were purchased even though were more expensive, but the shoppers' mood has changed so such products are not so popular now. As a result of the recession, the Japan Travel Bureau reported that most travellers are now choosing to go on "cheaper, nearer and shorter" trips but that honeymooners continue to prefer overseas journeys to top-class hotels. A survey conducted by the Bureau among 2,800 couples who visited their branches in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka before the fall "wedding rush" revealed that 95.4 percent of the newlyweds planned to travel abroad. The top four destinations were Australia (32.8 percent), Hawaii (22.5 percent), U.S. mainland (12.6 percent) and Europe (11.9 percent). The JTB spokesman said, "The stronger yen has of course made such holidays comparatively cheap, but when it comes to honeymoons, luxury is considered essential." -------During our visit to our son's home in Carlsbad, New Mexico, his wife took our two granddaughters to a swimming pool almost every day because they both enjoy swimming. My wife usually accompanied them. Sometimes, I stayed at home and read. At other times, I road my son's bicycle downtown. One could not take a direct road from their house to the downtown area because of a wide river in between that had only two bridges across it. From their house one could start off in opposite directions depending on which bridge one used. On one of my trips, I decided to take a shortcut on the way back home, but I got mixed up in my directions. I stopped at a senior citizen's center to ask an elderly gentleman going into the center if that road would take me to a certain place and he replied affirmatively. Afterward, I recalled that he was of Mexican descent and doubted that he really understood my question. Finally, I realized I was completely lost. When I saw a car stopped at an intersection, I tried to ask for assistance from the older couple in it, but on the spur of the moment, I blurted out 'chotto ukagaimas ga' in Japanese and they quickly drove off. Another lady driver I asked was also a newcomer in that place, so she was not able to be of any help. (To be continued in next Saturday's message.) -------When a certain word has a variety of meanings, translators face a difficult problem of how to translate that word into another language. Usually a single word in the second language cannot express the full significance of the original word, so the word chosen conveys only one of the various possible meanings. In Jesus' discourse following his last supper with his disciples recorded in chapters 14 to 16 of the Gospel of John, the Greek word "parakletos" is found four times [14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7]. Obviously, Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit who would be sent after his return to heaven, but it is difficult to choose one word to translate this Greek term which literally means "one called alongside". Older English versions translate this word as "Comforter", but modern versions use such words as "Counselor", "Advocate" and "Helper". Each of these words imply one particular function of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus' disciples. Christians today believe that, following the death and resurrection of Christ, God's Spirit continues to be with and in them, giving "comfort" in times of sadness, "counsel" or instruction in times of confusion, "support" or intercession in times of conflict and spiritual "help" at all times. -------Today is the day that many children aged 7,5 and 3 go to a shrine for a special ceremony. Along with 1 and 9 these are considered lucky numbers in Oriental tradition. In English, numbers which cannot be divided by 2 are called odd numbers, which is also the implication of the Japanese term Kisu. But why are they considered "odd", which means strange or peculiar? It seems to be because the so-called even numbers, or gusu, can be evenly divided into two identical halves while the odd numbers cannot be reduced to such a compatible pair. There is always an "odd" remainder. Even in social gatherings, when couples are in attendance, the person without a mate is considered an odd man or woman. In Japan, it is a great social burden to be considered odd or different, but individuals with firm ethical principles must be willing to bear such a burden. -------According to a recent report, the number of restaurants in central Tokyo is decreasing. The number of lunch vendors, on the other hand, is increasing. One such vendor found that his sales greatly improved after changing from such "heavy" fare as fries, 'natto' and 'tenpura' to the kinds of 'bento' preferred by women which have become his main customers. These days, 'bento' are eaten by office ladies for their noontime lunch as well as by schoolchildren on outings. They are enjoyed by both young and old travelers, spectators at kabuki performances or sumo tournaments and even by families at home in front of the television set. Do you eat many 'bento' these days? Did you eat many as a child? What kind of 'bento' do you like best? Have the contents and method of preparation changed since you were a child? What are your thoughts or memories about Japanese 'bento'? What are their advantages and disadvantages? This is the fourth theme suggested for essays for the 44th issue of "Daily Word" Echoes which is expected to be on sale at the meeting of "Daily Word" listeners and readers on January 30th. I will correct those essays sent to me before publishing them. My address is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------When you hear the word pronounced 'care-ut', what image comes to your mind. If you are a jeweler or a person interested in gems and fine jewelry, you may think of the word spelled c-a-r-a-t, a unit of weight for precious stones, or of the word spelled k-a-r-a-t, a unit of measure for the fineness of gold. If you are a farmer or a person who enjoys eating, you may think of the word spelled c-a-r-r-o-t, which denotes the long, tapering orange root of a plant that is eaten as a vegetable. Since I was a child, I have enjoyed eating raw carrots and they are invariably included in the sack lunches my wife prepares for me twice a week. Carrots are becoming more popular in Japan these days since medical studies suggest that eating them may help protect the eater from cancer. Japanese farmers produced an estimated 690,000 tons of carrots in 1992, 30,000 tons more than in the previous year. Carrot juice has become a very popular health drink, especially among middle-aged and older people. The expression "carrot-and-stick" means that both a promise and a punishment are included as motivation for a certain course of action from the idea of putting a carrot in front of a stubborn donkey and wielding a stick behind it to get it to move. -------When I was a child, one of my favorite radio program was "The Lone Ranger". Both the introductory and background music for that program came from the overture to "William Tell", the last and greatest opera of the Italian composer Rossini which was based on the drama of the German playwright, Schiller. This popular drama, written in 1804, is based on the legend of a Swiss patriot. According to that legend, Gessler, the Austrian bailiff of a Swiss canton, ordered that Swiss citizens must remove their hats before his hat which he had posted on a stake in the canton's largest town. William Tell refused to do so and as punishment was ordered to shoot an apple off his small son's head with a bow and arrow. According to the legend, it was 686 years ago today, on November 18, 1307, that he successfully did so. When it was revealed that he had hidden another arrow in his belt which he would have used on Gessler if he had killed his son, he was taken to prison. After he escaped, he did shoot Gessler and began a successful revolt against Austrian domination. Although William Tell is only a legendary figure, as with many legends, historical events are intertwined in the narratives concerning him. -------A newspaper headline stated: "Brouhaha over pint of beer comes to a head in Britain". "Brouhaha", spelled b-r-o-u-h-a-h-a, comes from French and means an uproar or hubbub. In this headline, "head" means turning point or crisis, but this word may also denote the foam that rises to the top of a glass of beer. In Britain, there has been a controversy about how to measure a pint of beer. Until now, the frothy head could be included in the measurement, but a new law that was scheduled to go into effect next year required that a pint of beer include only the liquid itself, excluding the foam. Brewers stated that if bars were forced to give drinkers a full pint, an extra 7 pence per pint would have to be charged, raising the cost of a glass of beer to about 2.37 pounds (about ¥380). Pubs would also have to buy new larger glasses with the pint mark clearly shown and in some cases install meters to register how much went into the glass. Critics of the existing law argue that customers lose up to 10 percent of their pint of beer to froth. The British government recently announced that under a "deregulation initiative", the proposed law would not be implemented so the more foam the better as far as bartenders are concerned. From my point of view, beer drinkers who use their heads will drink less beer. -------It was noontime on the 29th of June in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The temperature was 38 degrees and I had gotten lost while riding my son's bicycle. Going into a motel, looking at a map on the wall and talking with the proprietor, I found out that I had been riding for a number of kilometers in the opposite direction from what I thought. So I began riding back in the direction I had come from. Since it was lunchtime, I stopped at a supermarket-type drug store and bought a few refreshments. I was hoping to find a park nearby with a bench where I could relax, munch on the cookies, eat the ice cream bar before it melted and drink the soft drink while it was still cool. Not finding one, however, I stopped to test under a large tree along the road which was on the large front lawn of a residence. While sitting and eating, a lady came out of the house, walked over to me and asked if she could bring me a glass of water. I declined her kind offer with thanks and apologized for resting on her lawn. I was thankful I was in Carlsbad. New Mexico instead of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When I arrived back at my son's house after my unexpectedly long, hot escapade, the women and children were still not back from the riverside park where they had gone swimming. At that park, free lunches are provided for children during the long school vacation in the summer. -------From ancient times, perfumes have been used to make people and places more appealing. As fashionable women today know well, charming perfumes can be very expensive. Such perfumes are used sparingly by women of modest means. In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John, there is the story of a woman who poured a whole bottle of expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus who was a guest in that home. The fragrance of that spikenard permeated the air throughout the house. When others complained that this was a great waste, that the perfume could have been sold and the money given to help poor people, Jesus defended the woman's extravagance because he knew her motive. Her act was an expression of her love for Jesus accompanied by the realization that his death was approaching. In chapter 14 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus called her action "a fine and beautiful thing" and said that it would be "told in memory of her" to people throughout the world. This story reminds us that deeds motivated by love cannot be measured in terms of money and that such deeds have a pervasive and long-lasting influence on others. Readers should also reflect on what deeds of theirs will be remembered by others after they are gone. -------As the weather becomes colder, I hope you will take good care of yourself and not catch a cold nor come down with the flu. As you may know, flu, spelled f-l-u, is a shortened form of influenza, or ryukan in Japanese. Originally, "influenza" was simply the Italian word for "influence", which comes from a Latin word meaning to "flow in". Influence is a kind of intangible power to affect other persons or things, to sway them in a certain direction. The old Roman astrologers believed that the stars had an influence on the affairs of human beings, even as some horoscope readers do today. When epidemics struck the Italian people, they were originally blamed on the influence, or influenza, of celestial bodies and later this word was applied to the disease itself. It was with that meaning that it entered the English language and is so used today. -------In the present Japanese calendar, the summer months of June, July and August have no official holidays. February, March, April, October and December have one each. January, September and November have two and May now has three in a row during the so-called "Golden Week". Today, November 23rd, is the second holiday this month. Both of these "new" postwar holidays are actually continuations of prewar celebrations under different names. Thus the old "Niinamesai" has become "Labor Thanksgiving Day". The older celebration, which the Emperor continues to perform, is a ritualistic expression of thanks to the "kami" for an abundant rice harvest, but this year there are more sad rice growers than happy ones. Apart from the Emperor, I wonder how common Japanese people celebrate this holiday. How and to whom do they express their thanks? If you have thoughts related to Japanese holidays in general or to this Labor Thanksgiving Day in particular and wish to write a short English essay and send it to me, I will correct it and include it in the next issue of "Daily Word" Echoes which should be available at the next meeting of the "Daily Word" Fellowship on January 30, 1994. This: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------Over the centuries various changes have taken place in the Japanese sport of sumo. Now that it has become a popular television spectacle, time has become an important factor and there is a time limitation for pre-bout exercises and the bouts themselves have also become shorter. Fifteen years ago, the average time for a bout at the Nagoya tournament was 14.5 seconds, but the average at the Nagoya tournament this year was 13.3 seconds. The percentage of sumo bouts that take less than 5 seconds is now 27.9 but fifteen years ago, it was 24.7. One reason for the shorter bouts is a change in style. More and more bouts now are being won by shoving tactics rather than getting hold of an opponent's belt and this may be related to the larger size of the wrestlers. In 1955, top division sumo wrestlers averaged 113.3 kilograms, but in 1991, the average was 149.1 kilograms. Not only are there more foreign wrestlers, Japanese wrestlers are also larger. The story of a wrestling match is found at the end of chapter 32 of the Old Testament book of Genesis. In the classical Japanese translation an old term for sumo, also pronounced 'kakuryoku', is used, but with 'furigana' pronounced 'chikara-kurabe'. -------Fashion in regard to the style and color of clothes is very changeable. This has been especially evident in regard to women's apparel, but I have found it to be so in men's wear as well. Last summer in the United States, I wanted to buy a brown suit. I visited many men's clothing stores in shopping malls and the men's wear sections of department stores, but I found almost no brown suits. Blues and grays were in style and although I complained to the clerks, they replied simply that those were the preferred colors at the time. But fashions change and just a month ago I read a news article that stated: "Britain's top tailors are dropping a long-standing ban on men wearing brown suits in the city, long derided by the upper classes as a social gaffe." It noted that browns and tweeds had been considered appropriate for gentlemen who visited their country estates on weekends, but that blacks, blues and grays were required for formal wear in the city. Now that Sevile Row, London's fashionable tailor street, has sanctioned this change in fashion, I presume that U.S. tailors and clothiers will follow suit. Although I had concluded that my taste in clothes must be a bit old-fashioned, now I realize I was a little ahead of the times. -------An estimated 40 million name cards, or 'meishi', are exchanged in Japan every day and a Japanese newspaper recently printed an article related to proper etiquette when exchanging them. According to that article, name cards should be kept clean and in a separate holder--apart from one's train pass, drivers license, etc. Since the card with the person's name printed on it represents that person, it should be received very politely, with both hands. The name itself should not be touched and the card should not be set down lower than one's torso. The person in the lower position should offer his 'meishi' first, identifying himself by name and organization as he does so. He should then bow and say "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Upon receiving another's card, one should look at the name of the person and the organization. If he doesn't know how to pronounce them, that is the right time to ask. Reading about how to present and receive name cards, I was again reminded of the importance of forms and formalities in Japanese society. An orderly society is a good thing and politeness should be encouraged, but Jesus' strongest criticism was directed to those religious leaders who valued maintaining traditional forms above showing love and mercy to the pitiable human beings they despised. -------Like most American cities, Carlsbad, New Mexico has many churches for its residents to choose from. On previous visits there, we had worshipped on Sunday mornings at a Methodist Church and at a Baptist Church. On this visit, we had decided before leaving Japan that we would attend the Presbyterian Church. We had a special reason for doing so. A few weeks before our departure, we had received an up-to-date alumni directory from the Presbyterian-related university in Iowa from which both my wife and I graduated. We found that both the minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Carlsbad and his wife graduated from that same university a few years after we did, so we wanted to attend that church and meet them. It was a friendly church and during the service, we were asked to stand and introduce ourselves. At the coffee hour following the service, we were able to talk with the minister and his wife regarding the college days and professors we all knew. Our son and daughter-in-law also talked with friends of theirs who attended that church. Before leaving to go to dinner (which we usually call the noon meal on Sundays), I wanted to take a picture of our family members on the church steps. A friendly little boy who happened to be there wanted to be in the picture also, so that souvenir photograph includes the face of a child whose name we do not know. -------The fourth chapter of the Gospel of John contains the story of Jesus' conversation with a Samaritan woman. Jesus was tired and was sitting by a well to rest when the woman came to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink, even though it was uncustomary for a respectable Jewish man both to initiate a conversation with a woman in public and to speak to any member of this despised, mixed-blood clan. In the course of the conversation he told her about the spiritual, life-giving water which he provided to quench the spiritual thirst of human beings. There are various points of interest in this story. It shows Jesus as a normal human being who became tired and thirsty. It shows him as one who disregards tradition and custom when they interfere with compassionate human relations. The climax of the story is found in Jesus' teaching about the nature of God and the way to worship God. In verse 24, he taught that "God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." The God of the Bible is not a natural phenomenon like the sun or a mountain, nor a man-made idol. The Biblical God is spirit and true worship, as taught in the Bible, is not a matter of ritual but is an expression of genuine spiritual life. -------The pale green gemstone that is called hisui in Japanese is called jade, spelled j-a-d-e, in English. This word comes from a Spanish word for "flank" or "side" for the Spanish explorers who first brought jade back from Asia had been told that it had healing powers, especially for colic, so the Spanish name for it meant literally "stone [for curing pains] of the flank". The adjective "jaded", however, has a completely different derivation and meaning. It denotes a person or animal that is wearied with fatigue or worn-out. This word is rooted in an old Norse word for "mare", which is a female horse. English sailors who first sighted the gaunt, underfed, overworked horses on the icy land of Iceland brought the word back to England where it originally meant a brokendown or worthless horse and later came to signify a worn-out person as well. -------Today, November 30th, is the birthday of one of the most prominent of American writers who was born on this day in 1835. He is best-known by his pen name which comes from the call of a boatman on the Mississippi River to indicate that the river depth was two fathoms, or 12 feet (a little over 3.6 meters) and therefore safe. Samuel Clemens spent four happy years as a boatman on the Mississippi and chose the name of Mark Twain as his pseudonym. He is most famous for his two novels, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", but his autobiographical "Life on the Mississippi" and other writings are also well known. Anyone who is acquainted with American literature must be familiar with Mark Twain's writings. You have probably read some of his stories, either for study or for pleasure. I would like to know what you think of them and when you first read them. Which of his stories do you like best and why? What memories or impressions do you have related to this author and how do you compare him with Japanese writers? Essays on this or on previously suggested themes should be sent to reach me by Saturday, December 11th. This is: "Daily Word", Post Office Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463. -------Many people have difficulty remembering the location, or even the continent, of some not so well-known countries with unfamiliar names. We tend to know well those countries closest to our own or those with which we have historic, cultural or economic ties. In the case of the country commemorating the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of its establishment today, however, there is no problem about remembering its location for the Central African Republic is located in the center of the African continent. It is a landlocked country surrounded by the Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, the Congo and Zaire. On December 1, 1958, it became an autonomous republic within the French Community but withdrew a couple of years later. From 1976, for a period of less than three years, the name of the country was changed to Central African Empire when a military marshal proclaimed himself emperor and squandered one-fourth of the annual foreign exchange earnings of the country on an elaborate coronation ceremony, only to be overthrown a couple of years later. This reminds me of the Christian hymn which begins: "O where are kings and empires now Of old that went and came? But, Lord, Thy Church is praying yet, A thousand years the same." -------Yesterday's message noted a short-lived empire in central Africa two decades ago in which a military leader proclaimed himself emperor. Almost two centuries ago, a more famous military leader proclaimed himself emperor in Europe and ruled not only the French Empire but controlled almost the entire continent. Because of his short stature, he was nicknamed "the Little Corporal" when he attended a French military school, but he eventually became an outstanding commander, defeating all the armies that opposed him. On December 2, 1804, 189 years ago today, the official consecration, or coronation, of Napoleon I took place in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Napoleon had forced the Roman Catholic Pope, Pius VII, to come to officiate on that occasion. At the crucial moment, however, Napoleon took the crown from the hands of the pope and placed it on his own head, thus symbolizing his arrogant assertion that he was subordinate to no one, not to the Church nor to God. Upon hearing that Napoleon had proclaimed himself emperor, the great German composer, Ludwing Beethoven, said: "He is an ordinary human being after all! Being a slave to his own ambition, now he will push himself above everyone else and become a tyrant." And most historians would agree that that is what happened. -------Children color pictures with small sticks of colored waxy material called crayons. Crayons come in many different colors, each of which has a name. Beside the primary colors of red, yellow and blue and such secondary colors as green, orange and purple, the many shades of these basic colors are given descriptive names. A crayon company recently announced the winners of a contest to name 16 new colors. Among them were a number which are related to nature, including tumbleweed tan, timber wolf gray, robin's egg blue, asparagus green and tropical rain forest blue-green. When I was a child, one of my crayons, a light pink, was called "flesh" color, but many years ago that name was eliminated. Actually, there are many different kinds of "flesh" color. The flesh of Africans is a different color than that of Indians and the flesh of Chinese is different than that of Danes. Not only do Americans come in many different skin colors, there are different skin colors among Japanese as well. In a famous speech, the black clergyman, Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Unfortunately, his dream has not yet been fulfilled. -------It was a Monday morning in Carlsbad, New Mexico where I was visiting my son and family. While he was at work, I rode his bicycle downtown with two aims in mind. One was to go to the post office to buy stamps and mail letters. The other was to cash a personal check. The check could not be cashed at the post office, so I asked the clerk where I might cash it. He suggested a bank up the street. At that bank, the teller asked if I had an account there and I explained that I was just visiting my son. She Asked if he had an account there, so I telephoned and asked my daughter-in-law at which bank they had an account. Then I went further up the street to that bank, explained that my son had an account there and asked to cash the check. The teller checked with her superior and informed me that, if my son came down to the bank to vouch for me, they would cash it. Of course, he could not do so and I could not persuade them to change their minds. Disappointed, I turned to leave as a man touched my arm and greeted me. He was the minister we had met and talked with at the Presbyterian Church the day before. He had an account in that bank and was known to the tellers. When he heard about my predicament, he kindly offered to vouch for me and the check was quickly cashed. I considered this another example of divine providence. -------In the Christian Church calendar of Western churches, the season called "Advent" is the beginning of the church year. This word means "coming" and in this season of the year, Christians prepare themselves for the celebration of the "coming" or birth of Jesus, the Christ, on Christmas Day. As you know, Christmas Day is December 25th and since the Advent Season begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas, today is the second Sunday in Advent. In the Middle Ages, pious Christians fasted during this season, but today it is a time of joyous anticipation as the deep significance of Jesus' birth is considered. Various Old Testament prophets looked forward to the time of the coming of the Messiah, or Christ, and made pronouncements about the character or work of that divinely-appointed Savior. In the 9th chapter of Isaiah, we read this prophecy: "To us a child is born ... and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'" Mention is made of the kingdom he will establish which will be characterized by justice, righteousness and peace. Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled and is counting to fulfill these prophetic words -- in the lives of those who believe in him and then through them to the surrounding world. -------The English word "esoteric" is rooted in a Greek word meaning "within" and signifies something intended for or understood by only a small group of people. It distinguished the group of selected students to whom the Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, gave special instruction from the general public. It is said that Pythagoras lectured from behind a curtain and only his esoteric disciples were permitted behind that veil while the other, "exoteric", students remained "without". The word, "exotic", spelled e-x-o-t-i-c, also is related to something or someone that is on the outside, or that comes from another part of the world and thus is different, strange or alien. Now it is also used to suggest something mysterious, intriguing or fascinating. We may see this word in travel brochures related to foreign lands in order to lure travellers overseas. -------December 7th, is a day many Japanese-Americans would like to skip. For them, it is an embarrassing time as Pearl Harbor Day is commemorated in one way or another. In the morning of this day in 1941, over 350 Japanese planes from six aircraft carriers pounded the naval base in Hawaii for almost two hours. The aim was to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet so that the Japanese invasion and occupation of various places in Asia could proceed without interference. Due in part to poor communication, misinterpretation of relevant information and the incredible audacity of the attack, the lightning air raid was a stupendous success. Naval vessels and aircraft were concentrated in a small area and were taken completely by surprise. Along with the destruction of ships and planes, over 2400 Americans were killed and almost half that number were wounded. Although Japan had intended to inform the United States of her decision to go to war shortly before the attack began, a decoding delay resulted in the message being delivered as bombs were falling. In his address to Congress the following day, President Roosevelt called December 7, "a date that will live in infamy". Most Americans would agree that that attack was infamous, but we must all try to learn from the past to avoid a repetition of past mistakes and work toward a just and peaceful future. -------The day before yesterday was the Finnish Independence Day, commemorating Finland's gaining independence from Russia on December 6, 1917. Today, December 8, is the 128th anniversary of the birth of the famous Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. Although he studied in Berlin and Vienna, his music has a distinct Finnish flavor. His romantic compositions reveal a mystical love of nature, often with a touch of melancholy. Sibelius wrote chamber music, piano music and violin music, but he is best known for his orchestral works, including seven symphonies. His love for his country is especially evident in his symphonic poems, which include 'Finlandia'. An adaptation of this tone poem is found in many Christian hymnals, providing the melody for a German poem, translated into English as "Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side" and into Japanese as: "Yasukare, waga kokoro yo, Shu Iesu wa tomo ni imasu." Both the words and the tune of that hymn have given comfort to many people over many years. Sibelius was not intimidated by critics of his work and once gave this advice: "Pay no attention to what critics say; there has never been set up a statute in honor of a critic." -------It takes some people and some nations a long time to apologize for past offenses. Some Asian countries are still waiting for an acceptable apology from Japan for her aggressive actions fifty years ago. Last month, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution officially apologizing to native Hawaiians for the involvement of the United Sates in the rebellion that led to the overthrow of their monarchy 100 years ago. Five years later, Hawaii was annexed and became the 50th state in 1959. The day before that resolution was passed in the House of Representatives, a vote was taken in Puerto Rico, a self-governing territory of the United States, to determine whether it should seek to become independent, to become the 51st state or to remain as a self-governing political unit voluntarily associated with the U.S.A. The result was 4.4 percent for independence, 46.2 percent for statehood and 48.4 percent to continue the present status. Puerto Rico has been under U.S. rule since the Spanish-American War of 1898. People should have the freedom to choose their own destiny. Strong nations should refrain from forcing their systems on weaker ones. And in regard to apologies, there is an English proverb: "Better late than never." -------The word exchange literally means to give or take in return for something else. When we go shopping, we exchange money for the articles we buy. But we may also exchange other things beside material objects. In recent years, there have been a number of exchange programs instituted between Japan and the United States which involve an exchange of intangible ideas or an exchange of living people. At the present time, a group of important and influential women and men from Washington D.C. are visiting cities in Japan on a Observation-Study Tour for what is called Leadership Exchange. Along with officials of the Washington D.C. Japan-America Society, there are persons related to health, education, culture and social services in the District of Columbia as well as newspaper and television correspondents. Residents of this capital city of the United States come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds which are also reflected in the membership of this group. Today, the group will visit a health care and rehabilitation center, a radio station and a private school in Nagoya as well as attend a regular meeting of the Nagoya Japan-America Society. We hope their aim is realized as they observe, study and exchange ideas for there is still much these two countries can continue to learn from each other. -------From Carlsbad, New Mexico, we continued our journey to my hometown of Zion, Illinois. Early one morning, our son drove us to the Carlsbad Airport, where we boarded a tiny plane that carried us back to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There, we boarded a larger plane that took us to Dallas, Texas. At that airport, we ate lunch before getting on another plane bound for Chicago, Illinois. Something we had to remember when in the United States was to follow the annoying custom of tipping waiters and waitresses for simply doing their jobs. Unfortunately, these employees must depend on tips to enhance their income because the restaurant owners pay them so little. It was said that about 15 percent of one's bill was a suitable amount to leave on the table as a tip. The popular theory concerning the origin of this world is that it is taken from the first letters of the phrase "to insure promptness", but this theory has not been verified. It may be that the word comes from the word "stipend", whose Latin root means pay or gift. Whatever its etymology, tipping today is not necessarily related to the kind of service one receives. It is expected as a matter of course. There were a couple of times during our trip, however, that the service was so poor that I refused to leave a tip to show my dissatisfaction. -------Today is the third Sunday in the Advent Season, which is to say, it is the second Sunday before Christmas. During Advent, it is common for preatures to make use of Old Testament passages pointing to the coming of the Messiah as texts for their sermons. One such passage is the 11th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah where it is written that a shoot will emerge from the stock of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the great king of Israel and head of the royal dynasty. In the following verses, various qualities of that future ruler are given. His rein would be characterized by a certain spirit,"a spirit of wisdom and understanding". It was prophesied that "He will not judge by appearance or hearsay; he will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless." The passage further gives a picturesque description of the peaceful world which the Messiah will introduce. The first verse of the New Testament states that Jesus Christ was a descendant of King David and Christians interpret this prophecy to refer to him. As we approach the Christmas Season, we give thanks to God for sending the Messiah, the Savior. And those who have the peace-giving spirit of the Christ within will rededicate themselves to the work of furthering peace in the world. -------The English word "umbrella" is rooted in a Latin word meaning shade. Most people raise an umbrella to protect them from rain although large umbrellas are sometimes used at beaches or swimming pools to provide shade from the sun also. The small, light umbrella used by women to shield them from the sun's rays is called a "parasol". This word, like umbrella, entered English from Italian. The Italian word literally means to shield from the sun. In England, where rainy days are common, umbrellas are habitually carried by some gentlemen, which prompted an American political leader, Alfred E. Smith, to use this custom to point up a contrast between Americans and Englishmen. He said, "The American people never carry an umbrella. They prepare to walk in eternal sunshine." -------Over half of the names of states in the U.S.A. are derived from Indian words, including the one which comes first when they are listed in alphabetical order. Do you know its name? There are four states beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. I wonder how many you can name without looking at a reference book. A river flowing through this state bears the same name as the state. Located in the south, it was the fourth state to secede from the Union following the election of President Abraham Lincoln and for a short time, its state capital was the capital of the Confederacy. It was the state where Bill Clinton was governor before he was elected president. On December 14, 1819, 174 years ago today, this state became the 22nd state to enter the Union and its name is Alabama. The state ranks 22nd in population and 28th in land area. One of its major crops has given rise to its nickname, the "Cotton State". It has also been called the "Heart of Dixie", "Dixie" being a nickname for the southern states that joined the Confederacy. The motto of this proud state is: "We dare defend our rights", but a crucial problem throughout its history has been whether the rights of all citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, would truly be defended. -------Today is the 134th anniversary of the birth of Lazarus Ludwig Zamenhof who was born in Russia on December 15, 1859 and attended the universities of Moscow and Warsaw. Settling in Warsaw, he practiced his profession as an oculist, which is a physician who treats diseases of the eyes. Dr. Zamenhof was also a linguist, which may denote a person who speaks several languages fluently or who is a specialist in the science of language. Dr. Zamenhof was a linguist in both senses and is best known for his creation of the artificial language called Esperanto in the hope that it would become an international language and facilitate communication between people who speak different national languages. Esperanto has a phonetic spelling and uses the symbols of the Roman alphabet, but each one stands for only one sound. Its vocabulary is formed by adding various affixes to individual roots. The grammar is simple and regular. Ideally, I think the idea of citizens of all countries learning a second, universally-understood language is valid, but practically speaking it has not been so successful even though international conferences have been held using Esperanto. For a time, before making a trip to Eastern Europe, I studied Esperanto and attended meetings here in Nagoya, but I did not find it useful. -------According to a spokeswoman for the Tupperware Company which recently conducted a survey among European housewives, younger British women are becoming too Americanized. The survey indicated that British women are always in a hurry and derive less satisfaction from shopping and cooking than women in other European countries. In the other European countries surveyed, women take care of their families first, their homes second and themselves last, while young British housewives focus their attention first on their children, then on their partner and then on themselves. Since they were so busy and tended to neglect their homes, British women were found to clean their ovens less frequently than other Western Europeans. While 39 percent of German women replied that they cleaned their ovens after every use, half of the British women cleaned their ovens only once a month or less. In fact, the term "housewife" itself was disliked by the British women because to them, it implied "an over-worked, unpaid and unappreciated kitchen maid." Before critical husbands find fault with the failures of their wives, they should remember the words of the American novelist, Booth Tarkington: " An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband." -------To recycle means to put through a cycle again. Nowadays, it is frequently used in a particular sense to signify the extraction of useful materials from waste matter and reprocessing them for further use. Recycled paper products commonly include toilet tissue, stationery and name cards, but now there is also furniture made of recycled paper. A chair made of recycled paper which can withstand 500-1,000 kilograms, about the same as a wooden one, costs about ¥2,000. Desks range in price from ¥6,000 to ¥14,000. When this furniture wears out, there is no problem of how to dispose of it. It can be cut up and put out with the combustible trash. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fishery estimates that Japan generates about 200,000 tons of waste cooking oil per year and a man by the name of Takeo Someya has found a use for it. He has been refining waste cooking oil and using it for fuel for the diesel engine of his 2-ton truck. His truck has run for more than 2,400 kilometers on the refined oil and goes about seven kilometers on one liter of that fuel. The recycling of human organs has also become possible, and the Bible teaches that a healthy faith in God will result in a revitalization of the human spirit. -------On June 30th, my brother-in-law and childhood friend met us at the huge O'Hare Airport in Chicago to drive us to my hometown of Zion, Illinois, about 50 kilometers to the north. His wife, my younger sister, was on her annual bicycle tour across the state of Michigan with another younger sister and a couple of hundred other cyclists, so she was unable to accompany him. Along the way, he informed us of the severe rainstorm that had occurred the night before. The basement of their home, with its carpeted floors in the family room and a couple of bedrooms, was flooded because of the overtaxed drainage system. An electric power stoppage had caused the sump pump to cease functioning so he had had to go out and buy or rent a gasoline-powered generator to get the pump to work. He hoped to be able to get the water out of the basement before his wife returned home. When we arrived in Zion in the early evening, there were no lights in homes or stores in the downtown area and even the traffic signals were not working, so it was a kind of eerie homecoming. The house in which we were to live, however, was a little removed from the central area and unaffected by the power outage so that basement was not flooded. The owner and his wife were about ready to leave on a trip in their large mobile home when we arrived. So we said "Hello" and "Good-bye" and began unpacking our suitcases. -------On this Sunday before Christmas, hymns, Bible passages and sermons of Christian worship services will be centered on the birth of Jesus, the Christ. In the New Testament, Jesus is often called the "Son of God". This term is used to indicate the unique relationship of this human being with the Creator and Ruler of the universe who was called Father. According to the first verses of the Letter to the Hebrews, "In the past, God spoke... through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son" who is "the exact likeness of God's own being". Christians believe that we may come to know the character of God not only through the teaching of Jesus but through his life, death and resurrection itself. The reason Christmas is such a joyful time is because in the birth of Jesus, the eternal God entered human history to bring new life and salvation to all who believe. "Incarnation" means to give bodily form to a spiritual being an d because Christians believe that Jesus is the incarnation of God, they call him the Son of God. In the well-known words of the first chapter of the Gospel of John, "In the beginning was the Word ... and the Word was God ... and Word became flesh and dwelt among us." -------In my Monday messages, I explain the interesting background or roots of an English word. Today, the word is constable, spelled c-o-n-s-t-a-b-l-e. Do you know the meaning of this word ? A constable is a public officer responsible for keeping the peace and for certain petty judicial duties. In the United States, a constable has less authority than a sheriff and in England, the term is used for a policeman. As you may know, a stable is a building where animals, such as horses, are kept and the Latin origin of this word denoted a comrade or attendant of a stable, that is to say, a stable boy. Later, constable was applied to an officer in the royal court and then evolved into its present usages. A constabulary may signify the body of constables in a district, the district under a constable or an armed police force organized like a military unit. -------There is a well-known Japanese proverb, ju-nin to-iro, so many men, so many minds. As we look around us, we see that every individual is different, peculiar, special and, in some ways, unique. Not only do we have different faces and personalities, we all have particular interests and we tend to associate with others who have similar interests and viewpoints. "Seek those who find your road agreeable, your personality and mind stimulating, your philosophy acceptable, and your experience helpful. Let those who do not, seek their own kind." These are the words of a Frenchman, born 170 years ago today, on December 21, 1823, who is best known for his peculiar interest and studies in the field of entomology, which is the scientific study of insects. Jean Henri Fabre devoted his life to studying and writing about the behavior of insects. From his direct and meticulous observations, he learned and wrote much regarding the tiny creatures most people consider of little importance. One of his books was translated into English under the title, "The Marvels of the Insect World". According to a verse in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter 6, verse 6, we human beings can learn something from insects. -------Yesterday's message was related to insects, some of which are also called bugs. The verb, debug, means to remove insects from a place, so if a house or furniture becomes infested with insects it needs to be debugged. In recent years, the terms "bug" and "debug" have been given new meanings. The new kind of "bug" is a small hidden microphone used for eavesdropping and to debug means to eliminate the effectiveness of such a bug. It seems that electronic eavesdropping is on the rise in Japan for 60,000 bugging devices are sold annually in this country. Such bugs may be concealed in pens, pocket calculators, electric clocks, extension plugs or teddy bears. When left in a room, the more powerful bugs can pick up conversations 15 meters away and transmit them to receivers 3 kilometers away. Bugs are planted in the offices of politicians or companies by rival groups or competitors and in the apartments of young women by their fathers or boyfriends. A Nagoya-based company, which makes a business of debugging, removes more than 100 electronic devices from homes, offices and hotels every year. Even though bugging is a flagrant invasion of one's privacy, it is not a criminal offense in Japan. -------Today, December 23rd, is the 60th anniversary of the birth of the reigning Emperor of Japan. According to the Western method of calculation, we would say he became 60 years old today, but according to traditional Japanese reckoning, he will shortly become 62. In any case, we wish him a happy birthday as he has reached the "calendar-returning" age when the zodiacal cycle will begin again. Today is also the birthday of a man with one of the most common surnames in the United States. On December 23, 1805, Joseph Smith was born in the state of Vermont. Have you ever heard of him? Because of the financial straits of his family, his formal education was limited, but he was religiously inclined and testified to having divinely-inspired visions when he was 14 and 18 years old. In the second vision, he was directed to a secluded hill where he reportedly found golden tablets containing the history of the ancient people of America and the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is said to have translated the mysterious pictographic characters on these plates, which was published under the title, "The Book of Mormon." In 1830, Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The members of this Church are popularly known as Mormons. -------This day before Christmas is the final day of the pre-Christmas Advent season. Although the word "eve" may denote any evening in general, in a more specific sense, it is the evening or day preceding a special day. Thus, today is called Christmas Eve. In countries where Christianity has had a long and important influence, there are many customs and decorations related to the Christmas season, some of which are rooted in pre-Christian practices, including the use of such decorations as evergreen trees, mistletoe and holly. In England, the Yule log is a large log burned in the fireplace at Christmas and bringing in the Yule log was an important part of pre-Christmas festivities until it was eclipsed by the decorating of Christmas trees. Yuletide is another name for the Christmas season. It is said that the word "yule" comes from an old English word meaning to cry aloud and may be related to the early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery that the days were becoming longer following the winter solstice. This evening Christmas Eve services will be held in many churches and candles will be lit to symbolize the heavenly light that come into a dark world through the birth and life, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I wish you a Merry Christmas! -------Merry Christmas! The day before yesterday was a holiday in Japan to celebrate the birthday of the Japanese Emperor. Today is an official holiday, a holy day, in over 140 nations around the world to celebrate the birthday of One the Bible calls "King of kings and Lord of lords" [Revelation 19:16]. These words are well-known to those who enjoy singing and hearing 'The Messiah', an oratorio which is often sung during this time of year. Since my father was in the church choir, he often sang the "Hallelujah Chorus" which contains those words and I am sure that all six children have either sung or played that music on an instrument many times over the years. In that famous chorus, other than the word "hallelujah", which comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning "praise the Lord", the most often repeated words are "forever and ever", in reference to the length of the Messiah's reign. Today, Christmas celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whom they worship as the king and lord of their lives, whose spiritual kingdom they believe will be both universal and eternal. The words of an angel in a vision of the future seen by John and recorded in the book of Revelation [11:15] were "The power to rule over the world belongs now to our Lord and his Messiah and he will rule for ever and ever." I pray that you will experience joy and peace during this Christmas season. ------- |