" Daily rd P.0 Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 September 29, 1996 Number 54 1 shoes Tel. (052)794-6422 Y200 (Essays submitted by listeners/readers between July 2 and August 6, 1996. ************************* July 2 Message (Subject #308) A famous parable of Jesus, four in thelOth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, is commonly called the Good Samaritan. A teacher of the Jewish law had tried to trap Jesus with the question about ho to gain eternal life. Jesus asked the le gal specialist what he thought and the commended him on his correct answer (to love God above all else and to lot your neighbor as yourself) and urged him to obey those basic commandments. The the man, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor". The answer implied in Jesus' parable is that any person in need is our neighbor, re gardless of where he or she lives. T1 theme for our meeting last Sunday wa "My Neighborhood". Those present gave descriptions of the neighborhoods in which they live. That is the theme for listeners/readers who wish to write a essay. What kind of neighborhood do yo live in? Physically, geographically, is it a pleasant, convenient place to live? D you have much social contact with your neighbors? Has the neighborhood change during the time you have lived there? **-A-********************** I have met many neighbors since was born, but I cannot forget the Kaji wara family who lived next door to us in Sendai, more than 50 years ago. They were a gray-haired lady, her daughter, on themes of "Daily Word" messages Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.) Shia, and younger son, lwao. Shio seemed to be about thirty years old. Rev. Kaji- wara, their father, had died a few years before we moved to Sendai from Aomori. id His family welcomed us as tenants. They were very pious Christians. Shio San was a very good gardener, cook and nurse to her mother and brother, who had epi- lepsy. Two other sisters had married, but she remained at home to take care of her old mother and sick brother. lwao San was thin and pale, but he was usually cheerful. He used to sing to "17 himself the hymn (#503), Karl iruru hi wa chikashi, Yorokobi mote, Sono tariho. He used to come to my school and took a picture of my running on the playground. It He taught me how to make a wreath of ?- clover. Sometimes, he surprised us, Pe shouting loudly and rolling over wherev- •er he was. Their mother died in April 1938, soon after our father's death on Fn March 12. 1 remember that my sister and I stayed overnight with this kind family •for three days until our father's funeral •was over. it After. their mother's death, the sis •ter and brother lived by themselves for ir several years. It was in 1943, when the •course of the Pacific War became worse for Japan, that lwao San died after fall: ing into the fire he was making in the yard. This accident was a great shock for me. Also in our family, our brother was in the army to learn the art of war. Our family and Shio San helped each oth- er. We sometimes escaped into the same bomb shelter, sharing food or sewing thread. Soon after the Pacific War was ---------------------[End of Page 1]--------------------- 2 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 over, Shio San moved to Tokyo to get married and we expressed our congratu- lations. Before she moved to Tokyo, my eldest sister purchased the house we were living in. Shio San's big, old house became her nephew's residence. Our neighborhood changed. I lived there with my sister and mother for a few years. After I became independent, I met many neighbors, moving very often. A !- most all of them were nice to me. I also tried to be nice to them, but I had to say good-by to each of them after a short time. I always remember the Bible teach ing, "Love thy neighbor as thyself". And I have fond memories of the Kajiwara fam ily, my first neighbors, and also of Sen- dai. (KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushirna) I lived in the city of Hamamatsu with my family until I was twenty years old. It was a residential zone in the sub- urbs which was quiet,. spacious and close to nature, but the area has changed now. Natural surroundings disappeared, little by little. Many houses were built and it is now called a high-class area. I am disappointed every time I visit there. There is no longer a nice atmosphere like the old days. I can also write about Nagoya. I came here after the war. Certainly, here also, natural surroundings have been lost, but I love my neighborhood because of its very warm human relationships. I want to have 'a warm heart like others, even though Nagoya is a large rural dis- trict. I will mention another neighbor- hood: Japan's • neighbors that are across the sea. I visited Hong Kong from June 3rd to 6th this year. I heard about the difficult situation from a young man who guided us. He told us that he will go to Beijing after Hong Kong is returned to. China. He said that. he will not be able to freely express hirnself there. I cannot forget his words. iy outlook while there changed by his words. I do not know "DAILY WORD" ECHOES -how China will act in the future, but there are many people who are pressed to make difficult decisions. This makes my heart gloomy and I pray for God's mercy on those who live in Hong Kong. (MICHIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya) We have a proverb: "A neighbor at hand is better than a brother far off." In fact, neighborly relations and social ob- ligations greatly differ between rural and urban communities. In rural dis- tricts an old type of communal life sur- vives to a certain degree. Having very close relations among themselves, neigh bons provide mutual help in farming, fish ing or performing ceremonies. Punish- ment for neglecting obligations and dis- turbing social order used to be the dis- continuance of all relations with the offender (mura-hachibu). Recently, mod- ernization has brought about a decline in this type of community. In cities and public housing developments where peo- ple with different cultural backgrounds live, one's relations with other members of the community tend to be estranged. We should keep friendly relations with neighbors. The proverb noted above teach es this principle. But, at the same time, there is nothing so difficult as relations with neighbors. In former days, there was the idea of mutual help also in urban life. For ex- ample, adults used to scold their neigh- bors' children, considering it their so- cial obligation. But today, they seldom do that for fear of being criticized by the children's parents. The reason for this tendency, I think, is a false indivi- dualism which is widespread in our society today. In cities, especially in apartment complexes, people do not want to know their neighbors nor to ex- perience interference by others. Recently I heard the word ''kben (park) debut" and was told that it con- notes the difficulty of young mothers' association with o-her mothers when ---------------------[End of Page 2]--------------------- SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 they step into a nearby park with their small children for the first time. I can easily imagine the distress of young mothers who are not adept at keeping company with others. Young people these days have no regard for the trouble they cause others and, at the same time, have not had to suffer themselves, which are the main reasons for the aggravation of neighbor relations. So-called pet-kog.ai (pet pol- lution) is a serious subject of discus- sion today. Cats and dogs invade a neigh bor's garden and cause damage. They may be lovely pets for their owners, but they are nothing but hateful trespassers to the neighbor. The cries of pets at night are also a nuisance to neighbors, but or- dinary people do not have the courage to complain to the owner. Last year I served as the manager of my neighborhood association and real- ized many problems in the neighborhood. Such associations work for a favorable living environment and the welfare of members. They coordinate festivals, sports and various kinds of cultural ac- tivities which may be, in effect, at- tempts to retrieve the community spirit which is now lost. In large cities, I hear, even such an association is hard to es- tablish. People should know that they cannot live for themselves alone in this world. (MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu) I desired to live in a quiet residen- tial area for many years because I used to live in a downtown area that was crowded and noisy until late in the eve- ning. My dream came true when we pur- chased a small piece of land and built a correspondingly small house on it about ten years ago. I was happy to have the city library and the best-known sight- seeing spot for cherry blossoms in Handa a five-minute walk from my house. At that time, there were many va- cant lots here and there. Almost all houses were built in the Japanese style "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3 and had one or two stories. They also had gardens. The size of the gardens depended on the time when the land was purchased. Those who bought land earlier had larger gardens and others who bought it later had smaller ones. Our garden was the smallest when we moved here. Those who came after us could not spare the space to have a garden. The number of the vacant lots grad wally decreased and new houses emerged in the meantime. When a two-storied blue building suddenly appeared in our block, I was shocked at the color and style of the building that did not fit in with the surrounding houses at all. This building was a small gym that had some athletic equipment in it. I got mad and cursed the owner and his bad taste. Soon after that, an apartment house, a so-called "mansion", was built. I found it disgusting because it was a square, dark brown, four-storied ugly building that destroyed a good view and the atmosphere of this residential area. However, my anger began to subside when I saw that young people living in this apartment house seemed to he de- cent and said "Good morning" to me every time I met them at the garbage pickup area. Since I made friends with a young Korean couple who live there, I don't Care now how the building looks. From April of this year, it is our turn to be community leaders. On the "Clean-up Day" of our community, we weeded the nearby playground and cleaned the ditches on both sides of the road. Mr. K., a retired, quiet man, was very cooperative and worked hard. He helped me a great deal. I heard that his brother was the owner of the gym. Then my hostility toward this odd building in- stantly softened. I think people feel comfortable when they get along with their neigh- bors, no matter how the surroundings look. The human factor plays the biggest role to decide whether or not they have a ---------------------[End of Page 3]--------------------- 4 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 good neighborhood. If people don't get along with their neighbors, they wouldn't say that they had a good neighborhood no matter how quiet and clean it was and no matter how many good public facilities it had. In Japan, they say the best way of keeping a good relationship with neigh- bors is tsukazu hanarezu, meaning "don't be close and don't be distant". I agree with this saying. Now that I have a good neighborhood, I will keep this saying in mind and 'will put some distance be- tween me and my neighbors to maintain continuously peaceful contacts with 'them. (NAOMI KONDO, Handa) I live near the Yagoto intersection in Nagoya. The Yagoto area is favored with natural beauty and cultural assets. There are many temples, shrines, church es, schools, universities, a health rehl-- bilitation center, banks, post offices, a library and hospitals, especially the Red Cross Hospital, which is very large and accepts patierri:s day or night. Jusco is a large supermarket near- by. I go for a walk and stop in at the su- permarket to go shopping at the same time. It takes about one hour, including shopping, to go there and return. I enjoy standing and reading books at the book- store on the 4th floor of Jusco. Of course, sometirps, I buy books there. You have probably heard of the fa- mous, large tc,..mple, Yagoto ashOji, so I would like to vicite about it. The princi- pal Buddhist image enshrined there is named Daizui ivly(5-6 which, reported- ly, can cure incontinence. Another Bud- dha, Fudo My6-6, is said to have the re- markable power to prevent such trage- dies as traffic ._:.ccidents. Festivals held on the 5th and 13th day of every month. On those days, many people the temple. It is said that people who the temple every month can keen their private ;farts "DAILY WORD" ECHOES healthy even in old Many stalls are open on the festival days. (MIEKO OKUMURA, Mizuho, Nagoya) "Who is my neighbor?" Not neces- sarily the people who live next door. Our next door neighbors are the Yamanouchis. The husband is kind enough to plant pret- ty flowers even in a part of our garden and we do appreciate his kindness, but, honestly speaking, I do not think they are my neighbors. To me, "neighbors" are people who need my help and who 1 want to befriend. Those who need my help are my family members, students and col- leagues, although I often need their help as well. Since I am often helped, I am ready to help them whenever I am avail- able. Some of those people do not help me, including my children and some of my students, but they can encourage me with an expression of appreciation on their faces when I help them. Then, why do I want to help them? Partly because of my obligation, but largely because I want to he their friend. The American philosophe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." Now "friends" seem to be identical with "neighbors", but these people are not always "friendly" to me. Some of my friends or neighbors were rather cold to me at first, but as I tried to help or serve them in some way, they turned out to be among my neighbors. Once they have become my "neighbors", I am ready to help them as much as possible. There were and are some people I cannot help hating, but I would like to be their neighbor. My innate character may say, "No, you cannot", but I know there is one way it is possible. That is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who was cruci- fied for us all and rose again three clays Through him, I'M sure I can make l'rinc::3 even with those I hate. Thinking of our past, wesoon notice that we ---------------------[End of Page 4]--------------------- SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 have committed many sins, but those sins have been forgiven through our faith in Him. Since we have been forgiven, we are also expected to forgive anyone who has done us harm. At present, I am ready to help those who say they need my help and they are all my friends, but I hope I will be able to become the neighbor even of those who may hate me through the help of Jesus Christ. (TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya) There is no neighborhood in the place where we live because our house is located on the way to Kakuzan Park, which belongs to Tsuyama City, so our house has been standing by itself for more than fifty years. Fortunately a policeman patrols this area every night since a few years ago, but we have never met nor seen him. Even though it is their job, we are grateful to the patrolmen. On the south and east of our house is the site of the old castle, which has been converted into a public garden. Some years ago, some exhibitions at a corner of the Tsuyama Christian Li- brary were stolen on a rainy night. Since then, we installed a security bell there and in our house also. I set it every night before I go to bed. The head of our corn- munity is very kind to us and we have been able to live in a quiet place for a long time. We are thankful to him and to our God. (TAMAKO MORIMOTO,Tsuyama) I live in a rural area and most of our neighbors are farmers. Thirteen households make up our neighborhood group. The most important job of the group is to carry out funeral ceremonies without any problem. The head of the group is designated chairman of a funer- al ceremony and other members should give their support. The services offered by the group are the following: Reception—receiving obituary offerings and preparing a list of "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 5 donors; Cooking--preparing food for 300 relatives, classmates of the bereaved family and others in attendance; Packag- ing--putting a box of sugar, a can of juice and mushrooms into about 600 pa- per bags in return for the obituary offer- ings; Serving--serving the prepared food and even alcoholic beverages to those in attendance; Traffic Control--directing cars to the parking lot. About 100 people participate in these supporting activi- ties on the day and the previous night of a funeral. Nowadays, it is difficult to take off two days for the ceremony. Recent- ly, I attended a funeral ceremony in an urban area. It was held at a community center in a simple and rational way. Our rural, time-consuming methods must be changed as soon as possible. The other job of the neighborhood group is maintaining roads. Now, all roads have been paved so we only cut branches that extend over the roads or mow the grass. Twenty years ago, these roads were not paved and we used to work on them all day long. (YOSHIHISA KAWAHARA,Mihama,Aichi) While my husband was working for the government as an official, we were allowed to live in a government house. When he retired in 1965, our doomsday arrived. We had to leave there and find a house of our own. Even then, real estate in Tokyo was so expensive that we did not expect to live in one of the 23 wards of Tokyo. Very fortunately, however, we were able to find a small house on leased land at a reasonable price, very close to the government house we had lived in for four years until then and had to leave. We have now lived here in M eguro Ward; Tokyo, for a total of 35 years. While my boys were students at the junior high school in the community, I naturally made friends with mothers of their friends and others in the neighbor- hood, but after they left that community ---------------------[End of Page 5]--------------------- 6 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 school and entered a senior high school far away, I found that such ties became weaker year after year. In 1974, when I was suddenly asked to assume the posi- tion of a volunteer welfare worker, I was very surprised, but I thought that since we had decided to make our home here, it was necessary for us to have good relationships with our neighbors and accepted the position. [continued with that job for 21 years until I retired in 1995. In 1977, 1 became a volunteer probation officer and am still active in that job. Even now, I am involved with many activities in the community and leading quite a busy life. These activi- ties are all quite tedious but important, nonetheless. I can learn much through that job and urge myself to fulfill my re- sponsibilities as faithfully as possible. Meguro, where I live, is situated in the southwest part of To:o.io proper. The population is a:aout 240,000, down from 190,000, now ranking #14. The ratio of senior citizens and single-member house-- holds is high, as in other a:.eas of Tokyo. Foreign resiclort registration is about 8,000. I remember when I was a child, Meguro had quite a rural air, especialiy the comic story, "A Mackerel Pike In Meguro The Shooun Was Fond Of", is very famous. Now, it is known as a residen- tial distrjct near the heart of Tokyo. Compared with other wards of Tokyo, its amenity is good, I hear. Even in my neigh- borhood, many houses are being pulled down and rei.:laced with condominiums and apartment buildings. We Japanese used to form commu- nities in which we befriended one anoth- er and cooper;:iH when in need, but we cannot expect L.) have that kind of situa- tion today in ti-oa midst of such drastic social and eco'oornic changes. Yet, we need to 'Make every possible effort to improve the Even though there still are -many pcob:ems to be solved, I wish say tha the level of welfare sEn-vicEs, recyclii and various kinca of "DAILY WORD" ECHOES community services provided by the ward office have risen greatly with the collaboration of the citizens. I realize this through my job. For example, we ap- predate those people who offer the space in front of their private residenc- es as waste collection points, try to separate the waste orderly when they think it necessary and work to keep the area clean. was not born in Meguro, but since I came to live here, I would like to love my neighborhood and lead a happy life with my neighbors. (MICHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo) In my neighborhood, there is a nice park and next to it, on a hill, is the Tobe Shrine surrounded by trees. This is my favorite place for walking and exercis- ing in the morning. 1 refresh myself with the rising sun, the fresh air and the chirping of birds. It is also a joy for me to observe the ever-changing trees, plants and flowers. All of them really comfort me. In the park, I encountered a group of senior citizens faoi.Afing NHIK's radio exercise program at 6:30 in the morning. Stranger that I was, I greeted an older man and asked if I might join them. He welcomed me, saying, "We're happy to have as many•people• as enjoy it". I was pleased to hear that. The next morning, I reached the place a little earlier and was standing there with happy anticipation. But a woman came later and said to me, "This is my place. Everyone has their own particular place". Greatly embarrassed, I moved to the opposite side of the area. I wondered, is this a kind of territorial in- stinct of ar-lrnals? I had never known such a sense of territory as existed there Another time, a man exercising behind he abruptly whispered to step forward a little." Unwillingly, i _lid as he said, but his inipoae mannei m2de me sad. ---------------------[End of Page 6]--------------------- SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 One day when the exercise was over, I thanked an elderly man who brought his radio every morning for us. He smiled and said, "I'm just repaying the favors I have received from others for many years. This is what I can do now." I was moved greatly, felt happy and my heart was warmed. These are some experiences asso- ciated with my new neighbors recently. (SADAE HASHIMOTO, Minami, Nagoya) The other day, the doorbell rang. I went to the door and found a woman I did not know standing there. She introduced herself and said that she and her family had moved into the neighborhood, three doors away from my house, the previous day. She expressed the hope that we would have good neighborly relations and I said the same to her. This was the sec- ond such experience I have had recently. Several days before, I exchanged similar greetings with strangers who appeared at my door. They also were newcomers. I noticed that three new houses had been built on a plot of land after an elderly couple who had lived there for many years departed some time ago. That plot of land, formerly occupied by only two persons, has come to be inhabited by several people. This is an example of a recent trend for residential areas like mine to become more densely populated. My family and I were newcomers, here ,nearly fifteen years ago. When we looked for a new residence in the west- ern suburbs of Tokyo, a couple of our conditions were that it be in a quiet, residential area not too far from a train station. After ruling out a few other possibilities, we came across the pres- ent place and decided to settle here be- cause it met the above conditions. On holidays, young children play merrily on the street in front of my house. ft is quite pleasing to hear their cheerful voices. Sometimes, one of them rings my doorbell and asks me to let him "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 7 into my yard to bring back a ball which happened to stray off course. I am will- ing to respond favorably. "Thank you." "Not at all." I am happy to exchange such words. Before coming to this neighbor- hood, we heard that it was a fairly high- class residential area, but as.time pass- es, we have come to realize that the ar- ea is only inhabited by ordinary people, except for a few prominent persons liv- ing here and there. That is not what mat- ters, however. We are satisfied with the amiable people who live in our neigh- borhood. (SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo) It was not until I had two children -that I really realized the importance of the neighborhood and came to appreciate my neighbors in relation to raising my children. I have been helped by many neighbors. Now my children are elemen- tary school pupas, but we still have oc- casions when we can't do without neigh- bors' cooperation. This year, I'm one of the members of the association for children and we are now very busy preparing for the sum- mer festival, making an omikoshi for the children's parade. Beside this festival, we have many annual events such as the Bon Dance, physical exercise in the near- by park during summer vacation, the tra- ditional festival of the local shrine in the fall, a joyful Christmas gathering, a welcome party for the new first graders and a farewell party for the graduating sixth graders. Those events cannot be done by one family alone and by joining with others, children can learn various things which they can't get at school or in their own families. It's said that the neighborhood raises children as well as their parents, Chiiki ga ko o sodateru. We have another saying about the neighborhood. "Sometimes your neigh- bors are more reliable and helpful than your relatives living far away." Tau no ---------------------[End of Page 7]--------------------- 8 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 shinseki yori, chikaku no tanin. If sud- denly something bad happens to you, it's your neighbors that can give the fastest aid. And we should remember that such quick and warm aid cannot be given un- less we maintain good relationships with our neighbors in everyday life. Compared to the past, especially in the cities, more and more people are paying less attention to their neighbor- hood. But you and your home are in the center of your neighborhood. So I should think that trying to keep a proper dis- tance from one another, and getting along with neighbors will make life more enjoyable and full of variety. (I II KUWAHARA,Nakagawa,Nagoya) messap:, cSubiect 4,309) Among ..:lcient peoples, communi- cation over a distance was sometime.T accomplished 1.-v beating on a drum or sending smoke signals. During the past two centuries, telegraph/telephone com- munication 17:s- been transmitted over electric wires. Then "wireless" electri- cal communicnion was developed. Origi- nally, "wirelessu was used for radio .or wireless teleg,-...,ohy, but 'nowadays, we often hear a bail ring in a device carried in someone's pocket and see .people speak- ing into a device along the street, in pri- vate cars, public transportation vehicles or other public places. Such wireless pocket bells and cellular telephones have become very pop:ilar in Japan these days. Many listeners readers have probably had some experiences with the^—either using them; being irritated by them, wanting to have them, etc. What do you think of such e':I/ices. ? What are their advantages ordicivantages?you "DAILY WORD" ECHOES made use of them or do you plan to do so in the future? ************************* Human beings have directed their efforts to long-distance communication from of old. Dr. Offner mentioned drum beats and smoke signals as examples. The traditional Japanese method was a signal fire. A rocket was sent aloft as a signal of something. Wireless telegra- phy, invented by Marconi in the early part of this century, was epoch-making. During the war, when I was a middle- school boy, we were taught signs cor- responding to teach kana syllable used in wireless telegraphy. Maybe the military thought that it would be necessary when we became combatants. By the way, flag signaling was another essential subject for us boys to learn during the war. The invention of the telephone was undoubtedly one of the most remarkable events in the history of science. The ap- pearance of wireless telephones was al- so beyond my poor scientific imagina- tion. About ten years ago, I happened to ride in the car of the president of a pri- vate company and was surprised to see him make a telephone call in the car. It might have been at the beginning of the age of wireless telephones. After that, the modem convenience has spread rap- idly. Tothv, it is a common convenience. In keeping with its proliferation, the price is decreasing day by day; it is no longer an unattainable product. It is very popular now. As a result, the wireless telephone system has begun to exert a negative influence upon our daily lives. Some people use the wireless tele- phone on the street or in public trans- portation vehicles. These ways of using tcephones is unpardonable. I7 they ,have them in they sd uld do so out cf sight of u_hers, if pass::-. Some talk into while wali