"Da P 0 BOX div 30, :• MORIYAMA POST OFFICE, NAGOYA July 31,1994 Number 46 Echoes 463 Tel. (052)794-6422 V200 (Essays submitted by listeners on themes of "Daily Word" telephone. messages between May 29 and June 28, 1994 and other "echoes" of this telephone service. ) Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.) ************************* May 29 Meeting (Subject #260) Memories of Elementary School Days: Happy, sad, ordinary, extraordinary ************************* It was the beginning of April 1934 when I entered KamisugiyamadOri Elemen- tary School in Sendai. The school, which encompassed a playground was made of wood, Cherry blossoms were in full blos- som. Our school mark was in the shape of a cherry blos.som with the Chinese charac- ter ue/kamiin the center. We newcomers were divided into six classes: White, Red, Yellow, Green, Purple and Blue. I was en- rolled in the Yellow Class. Our teacher was a young and beautiful lady. What do you think her name was? It was 7\-TO -I-3- in Chinese characters, which looked like an address. We called her Hatch8rne Sensei. Her given name was Isoko. Incidentally, she got married and became Mrs. lsoko Ma- tsukawa. I confess that I was a careless girl. Every morning my mother had to tell me not to forget anything necessary for school life, such as a handkerchief or school implements. One day when I was probably in the third grade, she noticed that I had left my compasses at home and, entering the class room, said to me, "Here are your bunmawa- 517/", the old Japanese word nor a pair of compasses, which along with tatemakiri, for a knife,were used in the Meiji era when she herself was an elementary school gill at the end of the 19th century. The pupils in the Showa era called these things kern- pesuand neitu, as we do now. Some of my classmates chuckled at her words. Suga- wara Sense' did not and told me to say "Thank you" to my mother. No other moth- er came to class so often as mine. After that I became a little more careful to pre- pare things to take to school on the previ- ous day. I was so good at Japanese reading and composition that my teacher read what I had written loudly before the class. I was also good at .arithmetic, natural science, history and singing However, I was poor at drawing, calligraphy and, especially, gymnastics. When I began to learn callig- raphy in first grade, I used to get Chinese ink on my hands and clothes and sometimes on my face. So mother made me a smock for my calligraphy class. At that time, my teacher was very upset because I refused to participate in the radio gymnastic exer- cises before studying. Hearing this un- pleasant news,, father gave me special training in' these exercises before supper that evening. My Mother and second eldest sister joined in. They were more strict than.Hatchome Sensei. I was forced to fol- low their instructions. Gradually, my phy- sical coordination improved. But I could not climb up to the top of the wall bars throughout my elementary school days. When we advanced to fifth grade, we ---------------------[End of Page 1]--------------------- 2 JULY 31, 1994 were divided into three classes for boys and three others for girls. In our new class, there were about forty girls. Our teacher, Mr. Omine, asked each one of us, "What religion does your family profess?" Most of my classmates answered, "Bud- dhism", but three, including me, answered, "Christianity". He said, "You are fortunate if you believe in the existence of one who is above human beings and depend on him." That was the only comment about religion that I heard from a teacher in my elemen- tary school. Although I did not learn English in ele- mentary school, I did know some English words. When I was in third or fourth grade, we learned the song, I/slily/aka /776rU, Kyl.fi no Cojci no hash/ no co, Doi no otoko no b'enke/ wa Nags/ nag/ Rata furlogete Ushiweka megokete kfrlkokaru. 1/517/wakemaru wo tobtholte Motto Ogi wo nagesutete Kai, ko/, koi to, Rankon no cc a/ agatte, Te wo tateku. I sang that song with some English words instead of Japanese. Capital 6o/ono bridge no ue Big giantBenke/ go Long sword fur/vote megakete cut sure. • US11/Wak677817/ 0/8 jump shire Motto f an wo nagesutete Come, come, come to Handrai I no cc ne egatte Hand tot4,z3i, Pachi, Paclil (action) Everyone io the class was amaed, but foreigners (;-:.,loot understand the meaning. I enjoyed these kinds of games. UCH I, Fu',:u 3 i ma) "DAILY WORD" ECHOES I was born and grew up in a city. I had, however, the experience of living in the country for two years during my elemen- tary school days. I was puzzled about the various customs there. I knew nothing about them when I arrived, but I soon got accustomed to them. At the time, I did not like to live there, but now I think that it was a very important and valuable experi- ence and I have vivid memories of it. For instance, I transplanted rice, washed a carpet in a stream, drank ema- cho on April 8th, the birthday of the Bud- dha and gathered locusts from the heads of rice plants for the farmers as a part of school activities. I can never have such experiences again. How many new customs I learned and how many new experiences I had there! I am very grateful for them. This theme has stimulated memories of my elementary school days. (IA ICH IKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya) It was in 1939, two years after the outbreak of the China Incident, that I en- tered an elementary school in Tokyo. I re- member I was impressed by the beautiful sight of cherry blossoms near the gate of the school. Several days after school be- gan, I was designated kyOcho by our class teacher and I enjoyed giving commands in the classroom. • When I was a third grader, the Pacific War began. Some people around me shouted, "At last it's begun!" but I was too young to easily understand the situation at that time. Changes that occurred in society compelled us to realize that we were in a national emergency. Many of my memories of my elementary school days are deeply connected with the war as a matter of fact. We repeal ally, as a daily experience, sent off soldiers going to the front. Mere child as I was, I wondered whether a green grocer in the neighborhood could really go ---------------------[End of Page 2]--------------------- JULY 31, 1994 into a battle against the enemy. Motion pictures in theaters were all militaristic ones, aimed at inspiring people (especially youth) with patriotism. Our school teacher took us to the theaters to see these films. I still believe that this kind of militaris- tic education influenced me to take an ex- amination for a yonen-g8kg a military preparatory school, some years later. (By the way, a couple of months after passing the examination, the war came to an end.) Our teacher ordered us to learn by heart "The Imperial Rescript for Youth", which we recited even though we could not un- derstand its exact meaning. in those days, we were convinced that Roosevelt, Chur- chill and Chiang Kai Shek were all wicked men disturbing world peace. As time went on,the tide of war turned against us. Many soldiers at the front died, but never surrendered because they had been taught: "A man of honor would rather die with his name unstained than survive with disgrace." The remains of soldiers were sent back in rapid succession to the bereaved families. We called it 177t/g017 no geisen, or silent return. Around 1943, air raids by American carrier-based planes went into action. The government had given instruction beforehand on f ire fight- ing using water barrels and buckets. But people soon realized how useless such training was when confronted with actual fighting beyond imagination. The govern- ment determined to remove pupils from big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka to rural dictricts in order to preserve its war po- tential in the future. Pupils had to choose one of two ways of evacuation: evacuation in a group or evacuation to the home of a relative. I chose the latter and when I was a fifth grader, I changed to a school in Hi- roshima, my mother's native place. About. one year afterward, I entered a middle school in that city and soon experienced "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3 the great catastrophe of the atomic bomb in August of the same year. (MIK IHIKO YOSH IMOTO, Gifu) In those days, my family lived in Yo- shlike, Kariya-shi and, like everyone else, we were not experiencing a comfortable • life, but that doesn't mean that life was not enjoyable. In fact, those years may be considered one of the most enjoyable per- iods in my life and one particular event stands out as "unusual". I often played with Takayasu Nomura, a son of Dr. Nomura, one of the best-known physicians in my neighborhood. One Sunday morning, Takayasu came to my house and in- vited me to go with him to a nearby Chris- tian Church. He and his family seemed to attend church, but I had never been to church, for my family's religion was Ado Shinsh0. That was my very first visit to a building of a Western religion. Takayasu and I went into the church and, to me, it was a very fantastic world, totally different from what I had ever ex- perienced. I still remember joining the congregation in singing hymns and putting a V5 coin in the offering. That was a pleasant experience, but I never went to church again for a long time after that. • • Many years later, however, when I be- came a high school student, I found out that that was the church where Rev. Offner was the pastor and, still years later, I was very happy to become one of the most en- thusiastic fans of the "Daily Word" tele- phone service provided by the same minis- ter. (TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya) Speaking of memories of my elementa- ry school days, l think of my mother who was very strict about manners and study- ing. In particular, she did not permit me to refuse to eat foods I disliked. There are two things I have never forgotten. One of ---------------------[End of Page 3]--------------------- .4 JULY 31, 1994 them is about foods. I hated carrots, but there were some cooked carrots on the table every meal time. I always gave some of them to my younger brother without mother's know- ledge, but one day she caught sight of me doing that and forced me to eat all of them. Unwillingly, 1 ate them after hold- ing my nose and closing my eyes. Some- times, she served boiled vegetables mixed with rice and included some sliced carrots. It tasted good and now I like a vegetable salad with carrots in it. The other thing was related to home- work. in those days, there were no private tutoring services and we had to study by ourselves. So the lesson we learned in school on a certain day had to be remem- bered and homework related to it had to be done that same day. My mother used to help me with my lessons every day after sup- per, but sometimes I couldn't understand or solve a problem even though she taught me eagerly. One snowy winter night, she suddenly got angry and put me outdoors without shoes. I cried for a while In the snow, but soon an old lady who lived next door came oat and persuaded me to ask my mother to pardon me. Still, I couldn't sleep all niot because my feet and body were as cold as stone. After that, I stud- ied hard, greduated from high school and normal collete and became a teacher as I had hoped. I owe to my mother what I am. I felt bitter against my mother at i'last, but now I feel thanklul to her from the bottom of my heart. Miruho, Nagoya) I was born just after the Pacific War at the tip of .'ne Chita Peninsula. Due to shortages of ;.),..)d other commodities, ,.)ur daily life wee very hard. \ hc] to do many chores to help our parents. Almost "DAILY WORD" ECHOES every morning, I rode my bicycle to an agent to deliver the two dozen wool gloves on which my mother had worked until late at night sewing on animal decorations. Those gloves must have been exported :to the U. S. for American boys and girls. As we had no waterworks in my town, I had to carry many buckets of water from a well to my house. In the evening; I car- ried water for bathing and burned firewood which was gathered from the fields around our farm. in summer, the well often dried up. In that case, I carried water from the well below a hill to our home. On Sundays, our family went to the small farm we rented from a relative. In spring, I dug up the ground with a hoe to plant sweet potatoes. in autumn, we dug up a number of sweet potatoes and sowed seeds of wheat. These foods were impor- tant for our family. Even now, I remember the scent of my mother pulling a cart from the farm to our home in heavy rain. During the summer vacation, I got up at 5 a.m. and hurried to a fish shop. The sea was yet clean and there were many fish at that time. I used to buy 15 small horse macker- els for 30 yen. Despite the many chores, we had many ways to amuse ourselves after school. One way was to play dontne. Boys were divided into two groups. The boys in one group be- came "horses"--each boy bending at the waist and putting his head between the legs of the boy in front of him. Boys in the other group jumped on these "horses" and tried to crush them. During the past forty years, the situa- tion has changed dramatically. Though many people come to the southern part of the Chita Peninsula to eat fresh fish, I hear that many fish served to the guests are imported or br.)ught from other pre- fecaeres. The sea had become contaminat- ed and fish are becoming extinct. Children ---------------------[End of Page 4]--------------------- JULY 31, 1994 suppose that their only job is learning at school or cram school and are not expected to do any chores. We rarely see children shopping at fish shops or vegetable stores. (YOSHIHISA KAWAHARA, Mihama, Aichi) When i think back on my elementary school days, I always recall the village of Miyoshi in Tochigi Prefecture, where my father was born and raised. My family lived there during World War II and for three years afterward. Fortunately this village never suffered an air raid. I en- tered the local elementary school the year the war ended and studied there for three years until I became a fourth grader. So memories of the first half of my elemen- tary school days are closely connected with rural life in an idyllic setting. My father's home was located near the school. I often went to the school yard with neighborhood friends after school. The school compound was surounded by many big cherry trees. In April when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, we chased after the falling petals under the trees, collecting them in our outspread skirts. The girl who accumulated the most petals won. I was slow and always gathered the fewest petals. However, that was my favorite game at that time. Most of the villagers were farmers. There was no school during the busiest farming seasons. When rice was planted in May and harvested in October, the farmers were extremely busy and needed even the childrens' hands. Elder children worked hard with their parents in the field, but we younger children had not so many things to do. I loved these periods of no school. The weather was perfect to play outdoors. The life of the village was rustic. There was electricity but no gas, and elec- tricity was used only for lighting. The vil- lagers needed firewood for cooking and "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 5 heating water for baths. Children were sent to the forest in the hills to gather dead twigs and leaves for fuel. The forest was a wonderful place for them to explore. When they got there, the first thing they did was to .search for berries to eat. Boys climbed trees and swung down on a liana like Tarzan did in the movies. Girls picked flowers and made a bouquet or a crown and looked for edible mushrooms or wild vege- tables. There was a small pond in the forest. The water was frozen in the winter time. We enjoyed skating there, not on skates, but on our ragged shoes. One day a boy put on the "geta-skates" his father had made and slid on the ice. How envious of him we were! He let us put on his "geta-skates", but we fell down on our bottoms as soon as we stood up. In the summer, we went to the river to go swimming. The water was very clean, transparent and cold. Athough we were strictly told not to swim too long, we stayed in the water for such a long time that when we returned our faces had no color. We put a warm stone on our lips to recover our complexion. I was clumsy and could not swim. My big brother and his friends caught some minnows, called nze- d8k8 in Japanese, and forced me to swal- low them. They believed medakahad magi- cal power to help those children who could not swim. I did as I was told. However, I still remained like a stone in the water. We invented various kinds of games appropriate for each season and enjoyed playing them in natural surroundings. More fortunately, we had no cram schools and no entrance exams. Generally speaking, chil- dren some forty years ago were happier than those today. However, those children who lived in rural regions, evacuated from the cities and separated from their fami- lies during the war have sad memories. If I ---------------------[End of Page 5]--------------------- 6 JULY 31, 1994 hadIDben a little older and lived in an un- known village without the protection of my parents and good relatives, I would have been hungry, badly treated and dis- criminated against like they were. I feel sorry for them and feel somewhat guilty of not sharing those sad experiences with them. (NAOMI KONDO, Handa) When I was four years old, our family moved to a small town on the Chita Penin- sula to escape from the disastrous bomb- ing of Nagoya. The year the war ended, I entered elementary school. There were many pupils who had been evacuated from cities like our family. So one year later, about one-third of the classmates had gone back to their home cities.' Two of my best friends in the neighborhood who walked to school and p;ayed together with me moved to someplace, I don't know where. But our family couldn't go back to our home city of Nagoya because our house was destroyed and my father didn't come back from the battlefield. Our homeroom teachers were changed two or three times a year. And our whole family seemed to be always remi- nIscing about our home city and the life there. Although that might not be the only reason, I was a rather quiet and passive girl in school. do have one pleasant memory, how- ever. In the fourth grade, our music teach- er used to l et us make songs, including both words and music. One of my songs was chosen for rendition at a school as- sembly. I was very shy and not a very good singer, but with the help of two of my friends, I managed to sing it on the stage in front of a i;.irge audience. Even now, I can sing It d 1 also, can remember the dress I wore at the meeting which my mother made for me out of her own Idmono. Several years ago, when I told thin story to my friend who had become a music "DAILY WORD" ECHOES teacher, she was very surprised that there was such a great music teacher who edu- cated us in such a modern way in such an old and confusing time. Without realizing it, I might have been surrounded with many more nice things in my elementary school days. (YOSHIKO TOYOTA, Kanie, Ai ch i) I would like to mention three kinds of memor ies. 1) Earthquake. It was the day of the opening ceremony of the second term, September the first. I was in the first grade in school and six years old. I had come back home from school and was play- ing with my eldest brother. Suddenly, we felt the shock of a great earthquake just two minutes before noon. All eight mem- bers of our family gathered in our .garden. It was the great earthquake of 1923 (Kentd 061517117S51; in Japanese). Fortunately our house was not destroyed, but as it was dangerous to stay in the house, we hung two or three mosquito nets between trees. A few days later, we could live in our house as usual. Earthquakes are one of the most dreadful of natural disasters. 2) Drama. One of the school events at that time was a st8kuciellcat: Parents and neighbors were invited to a presentation of plays, choruses, concerts and dramas. Generally, the gokugelkai was held in the fall, once a year. When I was seven years old, in second grade, wearing a yellow dress, l danced a kewpie doll on the stage accompanied by a piano and sang with a classmate of mine: 10/0,0/ 5817, itytIpt sari, cio.6/71te 50/717,1/7/ Okin8 omerne a 1771176 pattc, filraite tatteruno tatteruno ("Why are you standing in the nude as you are, with your big eyes open so wide?") We were so happy that many clapped for us} It was my f lest and last experience of appearing on a stage 3) Airship. A very large, silver-grey airship was quietly Hoating high above our ---------------------[End of Page 6]--------------------- JULY 31, 1994 garden in Tokyo on a hot summer day. We enjoyed looking up and waving our hands. In a little while, it moved slowly to the west, without noise. It was a zeppelin airship that called on Tokyo on its way around the world from Germany. Finally, not long afterward, the zeppelin airship ended in failure. (TAMAKO MORIMOTO, Tsuyama) I have vivid recollections of two events. The one was an euphoric moment when I was a first grader; the other took place when I was in sixth grade. One day I was taught how to write the kana letter "O" and then was instructed to practice writing the same letters in my notebook. I was very obedient and patiently endured the drudgery of repeatedly writing the same letters in my notebook. My work was marked with a fivefold circle to show that it was excellent. The big circle which I got for the first time made me feel as if I were walking on air. Upon returning home, lost no time in telling my mother what I got in class. Mother shared the euphoria with me and I do not remember her with a happier look than I saw at that time. The above story shows that encourage- ment of students is vital in education in that it induces pupils to make a greater effort to 'improve themselves. The second incident took place while I was involved In cramming bits of informa- tion for the entrance examination of a mid- dle school. I joined some of my friends who were at the top of my class to cram Japanese history for the entrance exam. When we got tired, we would have a break, listening to records of popular songs and singing to ourselves snatches of some of them. Small wonder that even now I can sing some of the popular songs I was ab- sorbed in listening to and singing at those breaks, while all of what I learned by rote "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 7 then on Japanese history has completely slipped out of my memory. This story epitomizes the uselessness of cramming bits of information. I would like to add another story. It is a sad one. I still remember what happened to my house while Typhoon Muroto, one of the fiercest storms that ever invaded the mainland of Japan in the first half of this century, swept across western Japan. In September 1934, I was a fourth grader. In spite of the strong gusts of wind accompa- nied by heavy rain we had had since early morning, 1 ventured to school, just a few blocks away from my home. On reaching the classroom, the storm suddenly got even stronger. The extraordinary rattling of the classroom windowpanes fl.ghtened me very much. I was simply trembling, shoulder to shoulder, with some friends when we heard the deafening noise of the science laboratory's windows breaking. Toward noon, however, the storm be- gan to subside. I was on my way home from school when I was astounded to find that the wall, three meters high and some doz- en meters long, which had stood In front of my house was no longer there. From the street, I could see directly into the very interior of my home. What a surprise! The storm was so violent that it blew down that solidly built high wail. I do not know 'how much the damage cost my father, but it was not until many days had passed that the wall was reconstructed as before. Af- terward, It was reported that the terrible typhoon had claimed the lives of dozens of young students plus some of their teachers in the Osaka City area alone. In retrospect, little progress has been made in terms of preventive measures against possible natural disasters being taken by society. I am sorry to point this out after so many years. (SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo) ---------------------[End of Page 7]--------------------- 8 JULY 31, 1994 ************************,* May 31 Messacle (Sub iect #261) The seccnd theme for the 46th issue of the Echoes islcoban, or Japanese local po- lice boxes, Mese 177/17/5tdtth175, found in many residential or business communities, have served an important function in main- taining peac-J and order in Japanese socie- ty In recent months, police officers from the Vatted States and five Centre/ Ameri- can countries have come to Japan to study koban./ would be interested in reading your thoughts or o.periences related to koban. Have you h. <<' occasion to fri6•it them? if why and wiLvi? What do yoY think are theyr strong points end why do you think foreicin policemen cline to study Mem? I have ti.e.ee memories of visiting a kd- ban. The ficet experience was when I was a child. My 'elend had picked up a small coin on the read, so we went together to report it toale police. The policeman wes very kind an.; said, "You are good girls." I hoped to find another coin and take it to the police bo> myself, but I have not done so until now. The nee e experience about fori.y years ago. i '..,as looking for the house of one of my 14h school teachers. A police- man kindly [Old me where iL was. It was very near my house, but I did not know it for two years. I thought thekdbbwwas very convenient et:.prat time. The third Hie was five years ago. A man was in.front of my house. My husband.was e'i.sente I could not talk to a drunken man uneasy abeut his health becat.r. the '.,,eather wee cold at niQht, I telephonece the kdban and a police- "DAILY WORD" ECHOES man-carne and took him away. I do not know why foreign policemen visit Japanese icelbeiz but as for me, 1 am very thankful for them. (MICHIKO SAN°, Minaml, Nagoya) The wordftc5b8nis an abbreviation of kci- ban-she). Originally, kdbanwas an abstract noun which meant "being on duty by turns" and, therefore, a kdban-sho was a place where public officials did their duties on rotation. At the beginning of the Meiji era, when a modern police system was inaugu- rated, the government established many koben-s/o throughout the country to main- tain public peace and order. A-obanwere lo- cated mainly in urban districts, while in rural di s chozaf-.51.owere estab l i shed where a policeman resided (when he was a married man, with his family) and per- formed his duties. The power of the police in prewar days was very strong and the au- thority or each iedbreralso was influential in the community, deriving its power from the government. People feared policemen but, at the same time, they relied on them. In prewar days, the policemen's call, "oi: kora", was notorious because people (especially in Tokyo) felt intimidated by it. But that was quite a misconception. The expression, which comes from the dia- lect of Kef:ioshima Prefecture and original- ly meant mos/71-mosin or 'hello", was. ra Ch- er a polite expression. In the Meiji era, many policemen in Tokyo coming from Ka- goshima used this expression, which soon became commonly used as a kind of saluta- tion. The police system was much demo- cratized after the war and the expression 1104 kora "ceased to be used, but the au- thority of the kdZien has been maintained. Many foreigner's say Japan is one of the sefeet countries the world. Young girls cam return home sefely witho.1'. male es- corts at midnight. Before th ,:ver, people ---------------------[End of Page 8]--------------------- JULY 31, 1994 did not even bother to lock their doors at night. Such a favorable condition of public peace and order owes very much to our po- lice system, especially to the existence of kribda. We can always feel at ease when we remember we have koban In our neigh- borhood. Aliben is a symbol of public peace In the region. It was an exceptional acci- dent that some particular kdbenwere at- tacked and destroyed by mobs of rioters in Tokyo (Sanye) and Osaka (Kamagasaki) in the days of disorder after the war. I am not sure whether the kdboti (police box) system is peculiar to our country, but it must not be common throughout the world judging from the fact that many foreign police off icers, including Americans, come to Japan to study that system. I hear that in some Southeast Asian countries the system has been already adopted and has a good reputation. The Japanese word kdban itself is widely used there instead of "po- lice box" or other words of the actual plac- es, maybe because the word is simple and easy to pronounce. I have no special experience of uti liz- ingkriban except for asking directions. My house has never been robbed and I have not been endangered by others In spite of the fact that I have lived here for more than 60 years. I realize Japan is a very safe country. (MI K11-11K0 YOSHIMOTO, Gifu) I have been helped three times by koban policemen. The first event happened 35 years ago when our eldest daughter was three years old. Sometimes she used to come to meet me with my husband when It was time for me to return home. But one day, she went. out by herself without my husband knowing it and got lost by making a wrong turn along the street. When I ar- rived at home, she was not in the house and my husband also was surprised to know it. Soon we were looking for her "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 9 here and there. We also telephoned a few police boxes in that area. At last, we found her at one of them. The policemen were very troubled because she couldn't speak enough but only knew that her father was an oil painter. The second time was related to car trouble when my second eldest daughter was driving. We stopped at a traffic light but the car would not start because some- thing was wrong with the engine. We be- came confused about what to do. Fortu- nately there was a public telephone box and a police box near that intersection. My daughter telephoned the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and 1 went to the police box to ask help in moving the car to the side of the road. We waited a long time until the JAF car arrived after 6:00 o'clock in the evening and we couldn't leave there until 6:30. We were very thankful that no accident occurred and that there was both a public to I ephone and a police box nearby. The last experience was when I asked directions after becoming lost on the way to my friend's house where I had never gone before. She had given me directions on the phone, but I couldn't find her house. With the help of the police, at last I found it easily. For me, the existence of the police box is like a divine presence. (vIlEICO 01-WMURA, Mizuho, Nagoya) When I was an elementary school pupil, we used to say, "A policeman is coming" if our playmates did something mischievous. Yes, a police officer was considered a frightful person. As an actual occurrence, we saw a policeman striking a poor kneel- ing man with a saber in the police box, which was near the Katsuyama Park where we used to play. The poor man must have been forced to confess something. in those days, such a scene could be seen publicly. ---------------------[End of Page 9]--------------------- 10 JULY 31, 1994 When I was in Sendai, my sphere of activity was limited. I don't know how many police boxes there were in Sendai. Once I was lost on my way home and was taken to the K8en police box when I was eight years old. I was given protec- tion there. Wien I was in high school, I took a purse which I had found on the street to the Higashi Sanbancho police box. Soon after that, the purse which contained V3, a considerable sum of money at that time, was given to me as the owner did not appear. And when I was working for Dr. Hansen, i visited the police box In Minami- machi to ask the way to the home of the famous poet, Bansui Tsuchii (not Bansui Doi), in order to deliver a present to him from Dr. Hansen. It was very fortunate for the to have b..-come acquainted with police- men when! crew older. . Now I am pondering wily the JapanesJ koban systHn is considered worthy o; study by fee,!ign policemen. Fukushime. where I live now, has a population of 283, 498. The police station is in the cen- ter of the city; there are nine koban, loci police boxes:, in the old and seven po- lice sub-stations in the new town, which includes farms. Each of the policemen in these brancl-..s is in charge of his distric and makes his rounds freqUently. If he comes acrcee somebody who looks dubi- ous, he wili question the person and if the person runs ev-eey, the policeman will give a description to the policemen in the near- est two or three police boxes in the direc- tion the suspect is running. They will then rush out of i:heir police boxes with their truncheons 100.'-jng for the .suspect. In Fu- kushima, it is st)eut four blocks between one police bo;!. e7ld the next, and the police- man in charge i each house and checks ;Ftilepersonal r,:eeord each ^ernLer of a i.oeueehold in in e ee.ee, Policemen can help people who canne',._ i tip a house or of I