"Daily Word" Echoes
P.O Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 Tel. (052)794-6422
March 23, 1997 Number 56 \200
(Essays submitted by listeners/readers on themes of "Daily Word" messages between
January 14 and February 18, 1997. Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.)
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January 14 Message (Subject #320)
Hokkaido is the northernmost of the
four main islands of Japan with an area
about one-third that of Honshu. Rice,
oats, barley, wheat and soybeans along
with horses, sheep, cattle and pigs are
raised there. It is also the home of many
of the aboriginal inhabitants of these islands,
the A in u. Have you ever visited
there? What thoughts or impressions do
you have of Hokkaido and its history?
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The name, Hokkaido, reminds me of
Dr. William Smith Clark, an American
scientist and educator. He came to Japan
on the invitation of the Japanese
government to be an agricultural developer
of Hokkaido in 1876. He stayed in
Japan as vice-principal of Sapporo Agricultural
School and exerted a spiritual
influence upon his students, including
Kenzo Uchimura and Inazo Nitobe, both of
whom became pious Christians and great
proponents of Japanese culture. He left
the famous word, "Boys, be ambitious!"
when he returned to America following
his service in Japan. No one who was educated
in prewar days can forget these
encouraging words.
Certainly, Hokkaido has developed
remarkably in agriculture: Snow Brand
butter and Sapporo beer have been well
known since the time I was a child. Hokkaido
must be of the highest rank in agriculture,
but it seems to be backward in
industrial fields. As a matter of fact,
Hokkaido has only one electric power
company while there are six in Honshu
which is three times the size of Hokkaido.
In that sense, Hokkaido may .be _said
to have vast potential in regard to future
industrial development.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
My wife and I visited Hokkaido during
our honeymoon. it was a beautiful
summer in 1980. We wanted to decide
when and where to go and where to stay
by ourselves. If we rode on a sightseeing
bus, we would have to follow their
schedule, so I rented a car to go around
there by ourselves. We enjoyed watching
many kinds of wild animals and birds as
long as we wanted, some of which could
not be seen in Honshu. 1 was delighted to
know both of us shared the same feeling
toward wildlife.
One day in the evening, we got out of
the car on a mountain pass to rest. There
was a vast stretch of mountains and a
big lake below. We spied a big female
deer (ezo-shika) walking about 30 meters
away from us: She didn't seem to
pay any special attention to us and began
to eat weeds. it was a very beautiful
sight under a colorful sunset sky.'
Suddenly, we noticed that the deer
jumped and looked around carefully. At
first, we could not figure out what had
happened. When the deer began trotting,
we saw a stone rolling near her. It had
2 MARCH 23, 1997
been thrown from a group from a touring
bus behind us. I automatically shouted
"Stop!" At first
, I though a small child
had thrown it and was not sure he heard
me, so I walked toward the group to repeat
it. Then, 1 realized I was mistaken.
I could see a young man who appeared to
be in his early twenties walk away from
the group to look for another stone to
throw. But I could not stop walking and
said, "Please don't throw it." He turned
around and stared at me with a stone in
his right hand. I stood still and looked
straight into his eyes. I regretted that I
had shouted before knowing who threw
the stone and was mentally prepared to
have a stone thrown at me from a short
distance. I felt it was a long period, but
it probably lasted only a few seconds before
he dropped the stone and went away
without speaking. 1 could see the deer
running far away. Then 1 got back to my
wife who was worrying about me.
When we got back to our car, I was
happy that we were as safe as the deer.
It is said that human beings are the only
creatures on earth that kill other creatures
even when they are not needed for
food. Although it may be fun for the human
being, it is a matter of life or death
for the wild animal. It was an unforgettable
incident for us.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
I have gone to Hokkaido four times..
I always. go on trips expecting to see
new things. I went to Hokkaido with
that same expectation, but I was disappointed
because everything, everywhere
was modernized as if it were in competition
with other places. Changes have
made it more convenient and brighter,
but I could not find anything that stimulated
deep thought and I regret it.
Not only in Hokkaido but in other
places also a similar,
the is focuannudn.tod hItee sr isgtaonnfif dai c ance
historical spot or famous place. There
is no atmosphere. Such places are fading
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
out rapidly in Japan.---I. am afraid that our
thinking has changed and true beauty i s
disappearing. I hope that this change is
stopped and that we continue to appreciate
Japanese culture.
(MICHIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya)
Given the theme "Hokkaido", I could
not help remembering my grandfather,
his son, grandson and great grandson on
my mother's side. My grandfather went
to Hokkaido when he was young, but
when my mother, his youngest daughter,
was born, he was in Tokyo and his house
was very close to ours. He was not very
talkative, but sometimes at family gatherings,
he told us about his younger days
there, which were quite interesting and
even thrilling. My mother loved Hokkaido
very much. I remember her joyfully
telling us about her memories of it.
was able to visit and spend a summer on
the farm run by my uncle, grandfather's
eldest son. After I married, I went on a
sightseeing trip around the island with
my husband. In 1995, I again visited the
farm which had been thoroughly renovated.
1 do not want to publicize my grandfather's
family and their activities, but
please allow me to write something
about them as I think their lives are
closely related to the history of Hokkaido,
especially in relation to the development
of the dairy industry there.
My grandfather was born in 1859 in
Fukui Prefecture, the son of a low-class
samurai. In the Meiji Restoration, the
samurai class lost their position and income
and fell into destitution. He wanted
to acquire a higher education and
learned English. In those days, the Meiji
government began to enact a plan to develop
Hokkaido on an American model in
order to secure the island from Russia
and established the, Sapporo Agricultural
College. Fortunately, he was able to enter
that school in 1876 and was given a
scholarship.
MARCH 23, 1997
The primary purpose of the school
was to introduce an American method of
agriculture to its students. Edwin Dan,
called "an officially employed expert",
was their teacher. The students were
very diligent and many of them became
famous, Most of them left Hokkaido, but
my grandfather was one of the few that
remained there. Edwin Dan made many
exploratory trips around Hokkaido, seeking
suitable places for raising cattle or
sheep as well as horses to recommend to
the government. My grandfather always
followed his teacher as an assistant. Dan
recommended Makomanai for cattle and
sheep, Niikappu for horses and Nemuro
for cows. History has proven his recommendations
to be quite sound. In 1882,
the foreign expert system was abolished
and Dan left, but my grandfather continued
exploring many places around the island
with his followers and native Ainus.
He worked in Hokkaido until he was summonded
to Tokyo by the army to raise army
horses. He tried hard to develop agriculture,
especially dairy farming, in
Hokkaido and wanted his eldest son to
become a dairy farmer himself. In 1906,
he let his son go to the United States to
study dairy farming there. He worked on
a dairy farm for almost ten years and also
attended the Wisconsin Agricultural
College. In 1918, he returned to Japan
and started a farm as his father wanted.
In those days, Japanese agriculture
was mainly concerned with rice cultivation
and was still quite primitive. Little
was known about a scientific, advanced
form of agriculture, especially related
to dairy farming. My uncle ran his farm
many years and produced many prestigious
bulls and cows. He realized that
Holstein was the breed best-fitted for
the dairy industry in Japan and tried
hard to improve the breed by importing
superior cows from the States. He realized
that in order to raise good cattle,
growing good grass for grazing was indispensable
and in order to grow good
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3
grass, improving the quality of soil was
essential. He encouraged people to plow
deep by using a tractor, to lime the soil
and to construct underground drainage
when necessary. All his life, he was
thankful to the Americans for their kindness
in teaching him dairying and an advanced
method of agriculture. It maS/ be
that it was in response to such kindness
and encouragement that he was motivated
to dedicate his -life to the development
of agriculture in his homeland.
Time passed and conditions changed.
Urbanization advanced in Hokkaido too.
He came to realize that the city had
come too close to his farm. His farm had
functioned to produce good sires, but the
advance of artificial insemination technology
made it possible to import excellent
frozen sperm from abroad and the
job came to be monopolized by a government
enterprise. He planned to move and
construct a new farm, but he was too
old. Fortunately, his son, who studied
dairying in Wisconsin like his father,
succeeded him and planned to make a
thoroughly new type of dairy farm. My
cousin and his son completed the project
and the farm was moved in 1992. The
sight of the new farm was completely
different from the old one.
On the farm, there is a huge cowhouse,
where a large number of cows are
fed, with a milking center next to it. The
cowhouse, where cows live and are fed,
has a free stall system and cows are not
allotted fixed stalls. When the time for
milking comes, they are led to the entrance
of the milking center which has
an American-made super-parallel-type
milking parlor system. Cows surge into
the center, await their turn in a waiting
place and go, one by one, into the milking
parlor to be milked. The system, which
makes the cows move, enables a few
people to extract a great amount of milk.
When the milking is finished, the cows
are released at the same time and go
back, one by one, through an exit to their
4 MARCH 23, 1997
house like another surge. The data of the
quantity and quality of milk produced by
each cow is processed by a computer. By
separating living and milking facilities,
the farm can produce dairy products in
quite a sanitary way. The cows are fed
by a mixer-feeder, depending on the data
taken by a dairy manager system. The
disposal of excrement is quite an important
problem for the farm. They apply a
slurry system, using a Canadian-made
slurry tank to dry the sludge and make
use of it as fertilizer.
The farm looks just like a factory. I
could not help missing the heart-warming,
familiar pastoral atmosphere of the
past. I understand that the dairy industry
in this country is in a crucial situation.
The import of dairy products from
abroad has been liberalized. Since agriculture,
including dairy farming, is very
important for our lives, I sincerely hope
that. it will develop in a healthy way for
our benefit.
(MICHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo)
I have been to Hokkaido three times.
In 1962, I went there with college mates
by a night train with berths on the Tohoku
Line and passed over the Tsugaru
Straits on the Seikan-renraku-sen.
The second time, in 1991, I went by
airplane to Chitose with my two daughters.
We rented a car and visited mainly
the central area of Hokkaido. One of my
daughters, who had just received her
drivers license, was very happy to drive
on long, wide, straight roads with few
cars. Now when I close my eyes, some
beautiful sights come to mind: the flower
fields of Furano, striped with white,
purple or pink as far as I can see, a big
green field with some cows or horses
eating grass with big white silos with
red roofs. Such scenery stimulates a
different feeling than other parts of Japan.
I was also very happy with my young
daughters' ability to drive without hesitation
in a strange area, using a map and
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
asking people for directions in order to
reach the hotel where we had reserved a
room before dark.
The third time was last June. My
husband and I left for Hokkaido from the
Port of Nagoya on the "KISO" with eight
of our friends. It took about 37 hours to
the Port of Tomakomai. On the way, we
stopped at Sendai for three hours, where
we disembarked and walked along the
streets and into a park near the port. We
never felt bored during our two nights on
the ship. We watched movies, listened
to live music, took baths and talked with
the ship's captain or others. After a
four-hour train ride to Kushiro, we rented
a car and visited famous sightseeing
spots. We also stopped at Nakashibetsu
Elementary-Junior High School, where
the daughter of a friend of mine is a
teacher, and at some unpublicized, secret
hot springs. We also climbed Mogoto-
yama and Sharidake. Finally, after
strolling around the Kushiro marshland,
we left from Kushiro Airport for Nagoya.
I wish to emphasize the typical landscape
of Hokkaido which I saw and loved
on my second trip: green fields and big
silos. On the third trip, there were few
silos to be seen, but there were many
plastic bags rolled here and there in the
fields. To me, it seemed strange and
funny to see these black things or things
with blue and white stripes rolling in
wide fields, but I thought that it would
be easier for farmers to keep the hay in
such bags rather than carrying it to a silo
or back into the field to feed their animals.
This is just my observation and
imagination, since I didn't have a chance
to talk about it with farmers themselves,
for which I'm sorry.
(YOSHIKO TOYOTA, Kanie, Aichi)
I have very little knowledge of Japan's
northernmost island. I have only
once been in Sapporo on business while
on the editorial staff of a textbook publishing
company.
MARCH 23, 1997
When I was a small boy, I assumed
that konbu, or tangles, was a special
product of my native town of Osaka. I
was told later, however, that konbu was
a product of Hokkaido and sold in Osaka
like many other products across the
country. Osaka became the marketplace
for various products from every part of
the country during the Edo era when konbu
came into the market along with many
other products of Hokkaido. Thus, Hokkaido
was a familiar name to me. In my
mind, Hokkaido is associated with konbu.
For me, there is also an association
between Hokkaido and Sapporo Agricultural
School of the Meiji era. Especially,
the fame of the president of the school,
Dr. William Smith Clark, is long-lasting
in that he founded the school which represented
the dawn of the Meiji era. His
words, "Boys be ambitious for the attainment
of all that a man ought to be"
will go down in history. Hokkaido is a
great symbol of ambitions that everyone
ought to know.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
I cannot write anything about Hokkaido
without mentioning its indigenous
inhabitants, the Ainu. When I studied in
Germany some thirty years ago, an A f rican
classmate asked me about the Ainu. I
could not answer because I hardly knew
anything about them. I felt very ashamed
of my ignorance.
Later, I met a German man in Nagoya
who had studied Japanese history at the
University of Vienna and wrote his doctoral
dissertation on the Ainu rebellions
in the 13th century. I read his thesis
carefully and was shocked to learn about
their history and the devastating incidents
. caused by the Japanese who invaded
their territory in particular. I was
amazed and indignant that nothing about
the Ainu was taught in Japanese schools .
I began to read books historical
books about the Ainu written by Japanese
scholars and journalists and liter-
"DAILYW ORD" ECHOES 5
ary works authored by Ainu writers. The
more I read about their history, the guiltier
I felt as a descendant of the Japanese
who tortured them. The more I
learned about their character, the more I
was impressed with their respect for
nature. I realized that what Japanese
.did to the Ainu was similar to what
white Americans did to Native Americans
and how Australians treated the
Aborigines.
In 1993, the "International Year of
Indigenous Peoples", a big conference
was planned and carried out by Ainu in
Hokkaido. I asked my husband to give me
the money to travel there instead, of
buying me a ring commemorating our
25th wedding anniversary, and flew to
Hokkaido, the homeland of Ainu culture.
The conference lasted four days and
was attended by about fifty guests from
indigenous peoples from more than ten
countries. The program was wide-ranging:
musical performances by indigenous
people dressed in their fabulous costumes,
the keynote speech by an Ainu
leader about the torment experienced by
his father's generation, reports by indigenous
guests about environmental, educational
and judicial problems they had
been dealing with for many years .
All the participants from all over
Japan and many foreign countries were
supporters of indigenous peoples. They
soon became friendly with each other .
They sat in circles on the grass at recess,
sharing food and discussing human
rights, the environment and the preservation
of traditional cultures. They
learned anew about the awe and reverence
indigenous peoples had for nature
and the integrity and competence they
manifested, enduring their hardships .
This planet is now globally polluted .
We are at the edge of a crisis. It is time
for all of us living in developed countries
to learn from indigenous peoples
who have wisdom and knowledge to live
in harmony with their environment .
6 MARCH 23, 1997
On the appeal of host members of
this conference, the United Nations designated
the next ten years as the "International
Decade of Indigenous Peoples". I
hope many people get to know about
indigenous peoples during this period,
become interested in their cultures and
learn something about life from them.
A precious gift I received from this
big event in Hokkaido was new friends: a
Japanese woman who is a storyteller dedicating
herself to collect folklore of the
Ainu and three Ainu girls who were primary
school pupils at that time and are
now junior high students. I still keep in
touch with them. (NAOMI RONDO, Handa)
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January 21 Message (Subject #321)
Timepieces, such as clocks or watches,
is the suggested theme for an essay.
What thoughts or memories do you have
about them? ?
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Watches and clocks are indispensable
in my life. I use an alarm clock so
that I can get up early on my own. Although
there is a clock in each of my
classrooms at school, 1 need my own
watch for the proper or efficient allotment
of time for each English-teaching
activity. I can make the best use of time
at my disposal by using my watch.
This useful device, however, can a Iso
make me busy all the time. it was not
until my watch was broken that I realized
that. I had to live without my watch
for some time. Of course, it was very
inconvenient, since I was used to having
my activities scheduled according to my
watch, but I also felt a bit more relaxed.
So I thought it was good to live without
a watch once in a while. I couldn't do as
"DAILYW ORD" ECHOES
many things as I could when my watch
was working, but I did concentrate on
and fully enjoy each activity. This was
especially true in regard to relationships
with my children, students and
friends. I. already .knew how precious
time was, but I realized that it is also
important to have plenty of time for
such relationships.
These days, I am very busy in and
outside of school, but I sometimes feel I
should be time-free and available for
those who need me.
(TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya)
I am embarrassed to confess that I
have just come to know the-word "timepiece"
for the first time. I wondered for
a long time why there was no word in
English meaning tokei, which includes
both "clock" and "watch".
Watches are rather inexpensive today.
There are a lot of throwaway watches
now. It is unbelievable that a \1000
watch works well for a relatively long
time. In my boyhood, a watch was an article
of value. I cannot forget my feeling
of pleasure when I received a watch
from my parents for the first time -when
I entered middle school.
Now I have just come home from an
overseas trip to Spain. Though the time
required for such .a flight is much less
today, over ten hours flying time is still
inconvenient for us. But the greatest
problem, above all, is the difference in
time. It is troublesome to set a watch
in the local time each time we change
time zones. Sometimes it is rather difficult
to know the time in Japan. On my
way back in the airplane, many souvenirs
were on sale, among which I found two
kinds of interesting watches. One of
them was a wristwatch which had two
small watches set together side by side.
One watch was expected to be set at the
local time and the other may be set to
show the time in Japan continually. I
thought that watch would be quite convenient
MARCH 23, 1997
to use when traveling abroad,
when we change time zones frequently.
Another kind of watch I found interesting
in the airplane showed the number
of seconds remaining until the end of
this century. Of course, the number is an
enormous figure which is decreasing little
by little. Such a watch certainly
arouses interest, but I wonder how practical
it is in one's daily life.
Watches and clocks these days are
very accurate. We hardly ever need to reset
them. A Seiko watch which I bought
about ten years ago, for example, needed
to be reset only once in two or three
years. Moreover, we can find timepieces
everywhere we go. We can find a digital
clock on a video deck, on a reading desk,
in a car and so on. Therefore, I do not
usually wear my wristwatch because i t
is not necessary except on a day when
have some special activities.
In our history, Emperor Tenji is said
to have put a clock (called rOkoku, a kind
of water clock) to practical use for the
first time on June 10, 671, which date
has been designated "Time Memorial Day"
since 1920. It was an important step in
the development of our civilization, but
it was also the beginning of trials related
to our lives being bound by time . As is
the case with others, I have never experienced
life without timepieces around
me. Most days for me begin with the
ringing of an alarm clock in the morning
and most activities during the day are
accompanied by the movement of a timepiece.
I wish to live in a world without
timepieces, which would be an earthly
paradise for civilized human beings.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
Nowadays, timepieces are superior
to those in the past. In the old days , they
were apt to stop, get out of order or
damaged so we were always anxious
about our wristwatches when we moved
our arms roughly. Still now when I engage
in physical exercise, I am careful
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 7
of my wristwatch and try not to swing
my arm too forcefully but, contrary to
my anxiety, it is never damaged. To my
surprise, the clock at the front of a city
bus never is damaged even if the bus
goes on an extremely rough road and always
keeps the correct time.
Furthermore, we can purchase timepieces
very cheaply. Of course, some of
them are high-priced, but they are not
necessarily of better quality than cheaper
ones. We now have many opportunities
to get free timepieces as commercial
gifts from newly-opened shops and
are surprised to know that they are quite
good and keep the correct time.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
I remember two watches and one
clock in my youthful days. My grandfather
used a golden pocket watch . He
promised that it would be given to my
brother when he grew up. Our family had
no doubt that the promise would be kept .
The other watch was my grandmother's
golden wrist watch. It was given to me
before she died. I remember that at that
time I did not want to keep it if she got
better. She is more precious than her
golden wrist watch. I wept in my room.
I cannot see or use these two
watches now because they were lost
during the Second World War. The fate
of the clock was the same as the two
watches. It was an old style one and I
looked at the time on it every day . They
all were lost on June 16, 1945 . 1 do not
have material mementos, but I do have
them in my mind. The golden watches
are shining brightly and the pendulum of
the old clock is moving gently . All things
disappear sooner or later, but they remain
in my memory . Not only the watches
and the clock, but all things are vividly
in my mind and I give thanks to God.
(MICHIKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya)
Now I have a favorite clock . It is a
red alarm clock. The sounds that wake
8 MARCH 23, 1997
me up are: chimes of Westminster Abbey,
a minuet and two other tunes. It is as if
I had bought a music box along with it. I
hope it does not go out of order or get
broken. (YASUKO IZUMI, Seto)
We rely upon clocks and watches to
keep to our time schedule. I cannot imagine
my daily life without them. I could
not live like those men in the movie,
"Easy Rider"
, who threw away their
wristwatches and fled from city life.
am surrounded by many timepieces. Actually,
I don't know how many of them I
have now. Their appearances are not
necessarily those of ordinary "clocks" or
"watches" . ? They are. installed, in, electric
parts of our VCR (video cassette recorder),
camera, fax machine, microwave oven,
rice-cooker, bread-making machine,
bath-controller, etc. The installation of
clocks in household appliances has made
our lives very convenient.
I think we save time by using timers.
For instance, I don't have to stay up
late to see favorite old movies if I set
the timer of my VCR. My wire doesn't
have to get up early to cook rice if she
doesn't forget to set the timer before
going to bed. On the other hand, I occasionally
feel that I am wasting my precious
time to catch up on recorded VCR
tapes. Several years ago, I decided to
stop collecting tapes. When I see a pile
of VCR tapes that .1 have never seen, I
feel a kind of pressure. If I don't record
on tapes, I am free from such pressure. I
don't know how long it will take me to
see all of my collection, but 1 may have
to wait until my retirement. It's ridiculous
that our time could be wasted by
time-saving machines. I am now recording
only as much as 1 can see soon:
There is an old saying, "Time is
money". The same verbs in English can
be used in connection with both time and
money. We can save, spend or waste
them. Everyone has 24 hours in a day. It
is exactly the same for all of us. This
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
might be the point where time is totally
different than money. Anyway, it's up to
us how to spend it.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
When I first heard the word, 'timepiece",
I couldn't make it out, nor did I
associate it with a clock or watch. Soon
after that, I came across that word in a
book we started to read recently.
According to the book, until a breakthrough
occurred as the result of an invention
in the eighteenth century, cartographers
and navigators were unable to
fix longitude with any degree of precision.
What was needed in those days
was an instrument that would keep, time
with perfect accuracy during long sea
journeys. The timepieces of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries were
crude devices which lost or gained as
much as a quarter of an hour per day.
The talented English clockmaker,
John Harrison, accomplished this feat.
In 1761, his elegant Chronometer NO 4
left Britain on a ship bound for Jamaica
and, two months later, the instrument
was found to have lost just five seconds.
Harrison surpassed the conditions set by
the Board of Longitude. This outstanding
invention made it possible for navigators
to fix not only the correct latitude
but the correct longitude of every island
and coastline. I learned from this book
that the development of technology owed
much to painstaking effort by, such individuals
as Harrison.
(SHOJI DOMAE, Kasugai)
This essay, related to a memory
about timepieces, is, at the same time,
an introduction to one of my favorite
"Daily Word" messages . You know the
Roman numerals: I, II, Ill, IV,, V . . But
did you knOw that .4 on clocks was shown
as 111i1n stead of IV? Several years ago,
when I began to listen to "Daily Word", I
learned that fact which has an interesting
episode connected with it. Then I
MARCH 23, 1997
checked not only the timepieces around
me but also those in watch stores and I
was very surprised that I could find no
exception among them.
Because of my poor memory, I cannot
relate the story exactly, but this is
the general idea. Long, long ago, a king
in Europe ordered a skilled clock maker
to make a clock. The clock maker soon
made a wonderful, perfect clock, but he
knew the king's strange habit of wanting
to find something wrong with everything
so he purposely put the Roman numeral
MI in place of IV on the face of the
clock. How amazing that the result of
this historical incident has continued
until the present time in such a far away
place. (YOSHIKO TOYOTA, Kanie, Aichi)
?
Whenever I have an appointment to
meet someone, I make it a rule to be on
time. In order to arrive by the appointed
time, I decide when to leave home with a
twelve-minute margin. As the time
draws near, I look up at the clock in the
living room more often than usual.
In my ordinary life, I do not know
how many times I look up at the clock--
not only before and after breakfast, before
and after lunch, before and after
supper. I repeatedly look up at the clock.
Why? Simply to verify that things are
moving along as they should. Most of the
time, these looks are done almost unconscious,
though I am far from being a
clock-watcher. Looking at the clock is
so habitual as to easily slip my mind.
This clearly shows how important a role
the clock plays in our daily lives.
It is quite wonderful that the clock
moves exactly the same way wherever
one may live or in whatever culture. This
is because human beings live on the
earth, the one and only planet we are
destined to live on. The fact that the original
clock was a sundial indicates why
the system of measuring time is the
same all over the globe.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 9
*************************
January 28 Message (Subject #322)
At the end of the year, it is common
for news services to choose outstanding
events of that year. I am sure the order
of important news stories had to be
changed for many such organizations
just as the year was ending because of
the hostage crisis that occurred in Lima,
Peru. Daily, for the past six weeks, reports
from Lima have monopolized headl
ines and crowded out other news stories
in Japanese newspapers. From your viewpoint
at the present time, what is your
assessment of that crisis and the way it
has been handled? Why did the Japanese
ambassador's residence become the site
of the extraordinary event? What do you
think of the manner in which President
Fujimori, his government and the leaders
of other nations responded to the rebels'
demands? What can we learn from this
experience? What are your impressions,
evaluations or comments related to the
hostage crisis in Peru?
*************************
Many people have been held hostage
by guerrillas in the Japanese ambassador's
official residence in: Peru for more
than fifty days. When the incident took
place, the only thing I knew about that
country was the name of its president,
Fujimori. Since then, the media have reported
not only the news but also many
problems that Peruvian people are facing.
However, I still feel it is happening
far from here both geographically and
culturally.
I was very interested in seeing that
a Catholic priest played a very important
role as a negotiator. He has been relied
upon by both the government officials
10 MARCH 23, 1997
and the dissidents. He seemed to be able
to act in God's name in his black garb. I
realized that even outlaws could be honest
in front of a priest and believe in
God. What they confessed must be considered
professional secrets by the
priest. Therefore, we ? will never know
their stories.
At present, it seems impossible for
President Fujimori to accept their demands.
But in order to solve the crisis,
it is very important to know what the
guerrillas really want. So it all depends
on the priest's skill as a negotiator.
I think problems caused by geographical
distance can be overcome with modern
telecommunication technologies. We
are able to see what is going on there on
television as it happens. But I think we
will never understand the whole picture
of the incident until we comprehend the
religious and cultural backgrounds of
those involved. I have never heard that a
Japanese Shinto priest did a similar job
when members of the Japanese Red Army
hijacked a JAL plane more than twenty
years ago.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
More than six weeks have passed
since the hostage crisis began in Peru. I
could not get this problem out of my
head, together with the oil spill incident,
even when I was traveling in Spain
recently. I was worried about it because
I could not obtain relevant information
in newspapers or on television there.
The MTRA (Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement) have entrenched themselves
in the official residence of the
Japanese ambassador to Peru in Lima,
holding the ambassador and his guests as
hostages. Their main demand is to obtain
the release of their fellows who are
now in prison. It is impossible for the
government to accede to their demand,
but at the same time, needless to say,
the hostages' safety must be the primary
concern. This is the reason why negotia-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
tions between the concerned parties
have been delayed for so long. The only
encouraging element for us is that the
criminals do not intend to inflict injuries
on the hostages at this time and
that the ambassador's- brave and composed
attitude is easing the hostages'
minds. It is said, furthermore, that
there is no dangerous hostility between
the criminals and the hostages.
But why on earth did the criminals
choose the Japanese ambassador's residence
as the site of their outrageous action?
The main reason must have been
that many prominent persons, domestic
and foreign, had gathered together at the
residetice. (On that day, a birthday celebration
for our .Emperor was being held
there.) But it is regrettable if, as is
being widely discussed, the criminals
thought that the Japanese government
would easily accede to their demand and
pay a ransom to them. Actually, diplomats
of some countries have been freed
in exchange for the release of the criminals'
fellows in their land. It is quite
regrettable that we cannot completely
deny the rumor that some Japanese companies
have already paid a ransom for
the release of their employees.
Mr. Fujimori, the president of Peru,
is of Japanese descent. We Japanese feel
good will toward him and support his administration.
The criminals might have
thought that Mr. Fujimori could be easily
manipulated because he had to consider
the connection with our country.
The MRTA provoked a similar incident
in 1980 in Colombia. The Dominican
Republic Embassy was chosen as the site
at that time. In that case, the criminals
finally left the country for Havana with
more than ten hostages and released the
hostages there. Insofar as the Peruvian
government has no intention of releasing
imprisoned MRTA members, the previous
example in Colombia is the only method
left for the government to adopt. Negotiations
with other countries to that end
MARCH 23, 1997
must be carried on privately, in consideration
of the fact that time is passing
rapidly without remarkable movement on
either side. I hope the Peruvian and Japanese
government will cope prudently
with the problem, putting concern for
human fife before everything else.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
The MRTA is demanding the release
of members of their group who have been
caught and are in prison. I cannot understand
what the government delegates in
Peru think about the new situation. I
think that it is better to talk with a
peaceful heart than to assume a threatening
posture because we must ,understand
why the MRTA continues its actions.
There is a Japanese proverb:dorob6
nimo ichibu no ri, there is honor even
among thieves.
(MICHIKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya)
Since President Fujimori came to
Japan, I've been interested in him. I have
admired him as a political leader, for he
became president of a country where
Japanese is not spoken. Of course , he
cannot speak Japanese but he resembles
me and I'm sure he has part of the Japanese
character so I expected him to be
like a Japanese politician. Listening to
him, however, I found him very different
from our politicians and dignified as a
world leader.
I pray that all the hostages will be
released safely, but at the same time , I h
ope President Fujimori will be able to
improve the prison conditions in Peru by
accepting some of the requests made by
the terrorists. I don't think that by doing
so it means he is yielding to terrorism.
Even the human rights of prisoners
should be respected. I'm sure President
Fujimori will be recognized as a firstclass
statesman, not only of Peru but of
the world, if he succeeds in coping with
the present crisis.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 11
On the other hand, however, I was
very disappointed with the foreign minister
of Japan who went to Peru but did
nothing. I don't know the details exactly,
but if it is true, his remarks will add
to the disgrace of Japanese politicians.
According to the Vox Populi Vox Del column
in the Asahi Shinbun, Mr. Ikeda
scolded a journalist who asked a question
the foreign minister had least .,.expected
during a press conference held i n
Peru. 1:Impicrap _e_tenti
(TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya)
Why did the Japanese ambassador's
residence become the site of this extraordinary
event? I guess the rebels must
have thought that the Japanese government
was so weak that their purpose
would be easily achieved. Regrettable to
say, the competence of the Japanese
government is less today compared to
the old days. There are many bribery
scandals among politicians. The situation
in and around Japan must have i m--
pressed many people in the world to
make them think that the Japanese government
has deteriorated so much that
no one will sympathize with it even if it
is embarrassed regarding how to handle
a major problem.
Japan is one of the participants in
summit meetings of the most advanced
countries, but I wonder if it is truly
qualified. To take financial policy as an
example, what other country has adopted
such a low interest rate as Japan's for
such a long time? Aren't the interest
rates of other countries about ten times
higher than Japan's? Due to such a
thoughtless policy, Japanese people have
suffered from reduced incomes whereas
only banks become rich. The former finance
minister, Takemura, was once internationally
mocked as the most incapable
finance minister in the world . How
could he be given such a high post as
minister of finance?
12 MARCH 23, 1997
Returning .to the main theme, such
cruel acts of terrorism should never be
permitted regardless of how incompetent
the government concerned is. They
should never be justified in any case.
Prime Minister Hashimoto recently conferred
with Peruvian President Fujimori
concerning the hostage crisis. I think it
would be admirable if the talks resulted
in weakening the strength of terrorism.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
A guerrilla group, MRTA, or Tupac
Amaru Revolutionary Movement, succeeded
in their surprise attack on the Japanese
ambassador's residence and took
many important people hostage, including
Japanese Embassy officials and businessmen
as well as foreign and domestic
government officials. On December 17,
1996, the Japanese Embassy invited
many Peruvian and foreign dignitaries to
a big party to celebrate the coming birthday
of the Japanese Emperor and the hostage-
takers took the chance to launch a
rebellion. The rebels had long been awaiting
a chance to rise up and promote the
cause of the poor. They had been secretly
preparing for the occasion. On the other
hand, the government had neglected to
strictly watch anti-government activity.
The stark contrast between these two
forces gave rise to this incident with
little hope for a settlement. Japan has
committed itself to provide financial aid
to Peru, but it is said the aid has often
failed to reach the real target--the people
who need it most. The rebels have
severely criticized the way the aid has
been handled. I hear we can hardly imagine
how poverty-stricken needy people
are. The guerrilla group, MRTA, has not a
few supporters among the poorest peasants
with reason. The rebels can no longer
bear what they call the government's
callous disregard for the misery of the
poorest.
While talks between the Peruvian
government and the rebels have reached
"DAILYW ORD" E CHOES
a deadlock, President Fujimori pledged
to intensify efforts to negotiate a peaceful
end to the crisis and won Japan's support
for his refusal to consider the release
of the guerrillas' imprisoned comrades
in exchange for the 72 hostages.
Since not a few Japanese are involved in
the crisis, it stands to reason that we
give the extraordinary emergency in L
ma our attention. But the incident is
related to domestic circumstances in
Peru, so we have no alternative but to
hope against hope for an early and peaceful
settlement of the crisis.
(SHOW SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
*************************
February 4 Message Subject #323)
The noun, spelled s-h-o-e, denotes a
covering for the foot and as a verb it
means to furnish with shoes. Shoes are
a kind of footwear. Thy; e are many different
kinds of shoes. Some are used for
particular activities or sports, including
tennis shoes, basketball shoes and fogging
shoes. Other kinds of footgear are
used when it rains or snows, such as
rubbers, boots or galoshes. High-heeled
shoes are worn on certain occasions by
fashionable ladies while sandals may be
worn at other times: The traditional
footwear of Japan includes geta, zOri
and waraji. The suggested theMe for an
essay this week is: footwear. Do you ever
wear geta, zOri or wa ra jithese days?
When are they usually worn and by whom
How many different kinds of footwear do
you use and at what times? Do you prefer
wearing sandals, shoes or slippers?
****************-k********
Nowadays, we seldom see the Japanese
footwear called geta in a shop or on
someone's feet, but we used to see it often
MARCH 23, 1997
forty years ago. At that time there
were geta shops, which were different
than shoe stores, but recently we only
see shoe stores.
I have a precious memory related to
geta from the Second World War. When
our house was burned as the result of an
air raid at midnight, my mother and two
brothers and I ran away to another place.
Father was not at home then. We had no
time to put anything on our feet. When I
and my younger brother walked back to
see our house in the morning, a kind woman
we did not know gave us two pairs of
geta on the way. She said, It is dangerous
to walk barefooted. Wait a moment.
I will give you geta . Even though they
are old, they are better than nothing."
They were valuable to us at that time,
even though they were old.
I have never forgotten her kindness
and I will remember it as long as I live.
I am very grateful and I think that I must
show kindness to others as she showed
to me. This may be what God taught me
through her good deed.
(MICHIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya)
I usually wear leather shoes when
attending meetings such as the Bible
Class, cloth shoes for walking and jogging
and sandals for going to the nearby
postbox to mail letters. However,
sometimes wear soccer shoes and takageta
(geta with high supports). Soccer
shoes are worn, of course, when I play
soccer and takageta when I participate
in ryOkasai (the old-time high school
dormitory song festival).
Since New Year's Day, I have participated
in two big games of soccer. One
was held in Saya Town, Aichi .Prefecture
on January 2nd and the other in Iwata
City, Shizuoka Prefecture on January
26th. Almost twenty years have passed
since I started to use the soccer shoes,
but no damage has come to them except
that the laces were once broken. I am
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 13
very happy that these old shoes have remained
usable for such a long time.
Ryokasai have been held all over the
country during summer and fall every
year since around 1960. In Nagoya, it
has been held on the third Saturdays of
August and about 600 old boys gather in
a big hall of a hotel. Geta, including taka---
geta, are usually prohibited in the hotel.
However, in the case of ryOkasai they
are permitted, except in the area near
the front desk. Ryokasai bring back fond
memories to the old boys who once experienced
enjoyable times at high schools
under the old educational system. Geta,-
including takageta, are sure to fade
away, even as the traditional measurement
system will, in due course, while
soccer shoes will continue to be popular,
even more and more, in the future.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
In regard to footwear, I usually
wear Western style shoes, as is the case
with everybody else today. I sometimes
wore geta or zOri in the past but I have
none of them in my cabinet now. I have
often touched on my life in Hiroshima in
this periodical previously. One of the
things that surprised me when I began
living in a rural district in Hiroshima,
where I was evacuated during the war,
was that most boys and girls were still
wearing kimono and zOri in their daily
lives, which was not the case in Tokyo
those days. Children could make zOri for
themselves out of straw, which we
called waraji, or straw sandals. Soon I
was also taught how to make them and I
had no lack of footwear,
Another experience of using footwear
other than shoes was in my student
days in Kyoto. University students often
wore geta , or wooden clogs, during their
free time those days and I also did so. I
often walked in geta on Sundays even on
ShijO-dOri, the busy amusement quarters
in Kyoto.
14 MARCH 23, 1997
We do not wear shoes in our office
during business hours because we have a
room for water analysis there. We, the
staff and visitors, put on slippers at the
entrance. Owing to this practice, by the
way, I have never suffered from mizumushi,
or athlete's foot, since I began
working at my present office. During my
recess after lunch, I usually take a walk
in sports shoes in the area around our
office which is now used as a park. Now
that I use a car to go to work, my shoes
are not worn so much and last a long
time. My wife often complains about my
old shoes and urges me to buy new ones.
In answer to her advice, I reply, "These
shoes graciously accompanied me on my
Visit to Egypt and India. They stood beside
the Pyramids and the Ganges. Never
despise them."
To change the subject, Westerners
are much different than us, I think, in
their feelings ;-'bout shoes. I hear that
they feel it is unnatural to cemove their
shoes in public and some of them are
mentally reluctant to do so. They feel uneasy
and become nervous without shoes.
We often see ladies wearing shoes even
in bed in Western films. In the occupation
years after the war, we often sa w
foreigners spread a carpet on the tatami
of a Japanese house, which they rented,
and wear their shoes in the house. By the
way, a much more surprising fact was
that they painted the daikoku-bashira, or
central pillar of the house. Many Japanese
accepted the situation, thinking
that the foreigners' behavior was the result
of a difference in culture. Nevertheless,
It was very troublesome for people
to repair the tatami or the pillar after
they recovered their house.
We Japanese usually take off our
shoes as soon as we enter a genkan, or
entrance, and then step into the house.
For us, taking off our shoes after coming
home is the beginning of our relaxation
at home. When we make a call at another
person's house, taking off our shoes at
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
the genkan is a manifestation of our
friendship, or lack of hostility, because
we are in a defenseless state without
shoes. (MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I happened to wear waraji while
climbing a =mountain in my teens. They
were so light and fit my feet so well
that I found them quite comfortable, but
I have never worn waraji again since
then. Years later, I happened to wear a
pair of very light shoes made of cloth
and rubber when I suddenly recalled
wearing a 'pair of waraji. I associate the
soft touch and lightness of waraji with
delightful memories of my school days.
When I was a boy, people around us
used to wear geta or zori in their daily
lives. I wore them too, except when going
to and from school. At the New Year,
I used to get a brand-new pair of geta.
The smell and smoothness of the wood
pleased me and encouraged me to move
ahead in the new year. The memory of
the New Year's brand-new geta carries
me back to [hose happy old days.
As social customs drastically
changed following the end of World War
II, waraji and geta disappeared before
we knew it. They gave way to a variety
of footwear, such as sneakers, sandals,
etc. I would like to emphasize that geta
should be judged on ,their own merits. We
should be fair in our appraisal of them.
It is very agreeable to wear geta on our
bare feet, especially on sultry summer
clays. Finding fewer people are wearing
geta on scorching summer days, I wonder
what made them forget such excellent
footwear. Formerly, doing away with
traditional customs was considered to
be modern. That way of ignoring tradition
seems to be cause for the disappearance
of geta.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
Now I have four kinds of footwear:
low-heeled shoes to go to church or out
on business, rain shoes, canvas shoes to
MARCH 23, 1997
go for a walk and sandals to walk around
my apartment house. In my own home, I
have some pairs of slippers for visitors
and others for my own use. This indicates
that most Japanese, including me,
wear Western style clothes and live in
semi-Western style houses. When getting
dressed up for special ceremonies
or parties, some ladies wear zOri to accompany
their kimono. In my childhood,
almost all Japanese housewives wore
geta, ashida (rain clogs with high supports),
zOri made of leather and setta
(high-supported clogs with toe covers
used on snowy days). However, when it
snowed heavily, the lumps of snow
packed between the two supports of setta
often hindered them from walking as
they would. Sometimes, they fell down
in the snow. In such cases, they should
have worn a pair of rubber boots along
with skirt pantaloons.
During World War II, shoes and boots
could not be found in the stores, so we
had to wear geta instead of leather
shoes and rubber boots to go outside.
This continued even after the war for a
few years. It was a day in September
1945 when I went food-hunting to my
friend's farm in the country area near
Sendai that my clog was broken on the
way back home. I had to get on the train
of the JOban Line barefoot. Fortunately,
I found a seat. An old man sitting in the
opposite seat gave me a pair of straw
zOri that we cannot find these days. I
was very happy, thanked him and offered
to give him some of the beans I had, but
we would not take them and got off the
train before I did, one station this side
of Sendai. I cannot forget his kindness,
even now after more than fifty years. I
think we used that kind of straw zOri to
wear indoors for visitors at the school.
I have never worn waraji. This kind
of footwear must have been worn in the
1800s until the very beginning of the
20th century. And the writer of Hymn
#404, Yamaji Koete, Sugawo Nishimura,
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 15
must have worn waraji in 1903. How
faithful he was! That is one of my favorite
hymns.
I remember Dr. Hansen and Miss
Lindsey had rubbers on the outside of
their semi-high-heeled shoes when they
walked outside even on fine days. They
used to take them off when they entered
the school building. Some Japanese
called them "overshoes". I liked rubber
high boots at that time. I called myself
"A Pussy with Boots on" while some oth -
ers called me "Miss Boots".
These are my memories related to
footwear.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)
In my childhood, we often wore warazOri,
or straw-woven sandals on casual
occasions. Wara-zOri had some advantages
over rubber shoes, especially in summer,
because they were light and pleasant
to wear and, above all, they did not
induce hot and sultry feelings. However,
they had one big defect. As you can easily
imagine, they wore out soon and their
straps were easily broken. So they could
no longer be worn after a week or so.
Anyway, they fulfilled their function as
a substitute for shoes for a certain period
after the war.
Over the New Year's holidays, each
member of the family wore new geta, or
wooden clogs. Geta for men were of plain
wood and usually had black thongs while
those for women were sometimes lacquered
and sometimes plain and had beautifully
colored thongs of silk or velvet.
When I went out at night with geta on,
the clatter they made echoed through the
silent streets and I secretly enjoyed
hearing that sound.
After the war, we faced a shortage
of commodities of every kind. Footwear
were no exception. Various kinds of
footwear were improvised. ZOri-geta
was one of them. This was an ifio-Ddz
,sa of my mother. When our geta
were separated from their thongs, she
16 MARCH 23, 1997
attached wara-zori, or straw sandals, to
the geta because hanao, or thongs, were
very expensive for us to buy at that
time. In this way, we put on specially
recycled geta, which were nowhere else
to be seen. I recall many things in my
youthful days associated with memories
of footwear. (SHOJI DOMAE, Kasugai)
It was a tiny bit of red paint on my
mother's sneakers that became the only
evidence to identify the truck driver who
had driven away after hitting and killing
her. An analysis of the paint proved that
it was from the bottom of the truck. The
license plate was stained with mud, so
no one was able to see the number distinctly.
Under supervision of the Aichi
Police Department, many plainclothes
men from both the local and prefectural
police force kept looking for the truck.
Wakou, a young priest, was the only person
to have seen the truck clearly and
was very helpful to the police, going
downtown with them several times to
look for the same type of truck, whether
running on the street or parked in a parking
area. Three weeks later, the culprit
was arrested and we found out that he
was the son of an elementary school
principal. I asked the police to give me
back her. sneakers, but the exhausted
lieutenant sympathetically shook his
head, saying, "I'm sorry, but it's better
for you not to have them."
Two months later, Wakou started to
weave straw into a pair of waraji to
wear. Actually, until my mother's accident,
he was a little hesitant about
whether or not to manage a small temple
his mother is related to in this not-veryreligious
society, but my mother's death
stimulated his decision to become the
priest of that Zen temple and he began to
prepare to undergo the strict training required
in another large Rinzai Sect temple
in Higashi Ward. He wanted to become
a priest who could help many people
who are in hopeless situations. At
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
the end of August of that year, around 5
o'clock in the morning, he left for his
three-year training in traditional priestly
garlp ,and his handmade waraji, which
is one of the rules for a trainee crossing
the threshold of a Zen temple. My sister
and I saw him off in front of his temple
along with his parents. It was the beginning
of his purely religious life which
would be filled with ascetic training and
various Buddhist observances and rules "But it's also our own beginning .
, isn't
it?" my sister said.
The way to attain salvation or enlightenment
according to Zen doctrine is
quite the opposite of Jodo, in which anyone
can be saved by the mercy of Amida-
NyOrai. Zen priests have to'cleepen their
Buddhist nature by leading a Buddha-like
life themselves from early morning to
late at night to gain the spiritual enlightenment
with which they can help those
in need. Zen teaches that every person
is considered to be a hotoke himself or
herself, whose essential nature is darkened
or covered with various evil human
desires. To get rid of, control or overcome
those desires is the purpose of Zen
training represented by zazen or an ascetic
life. I'm afraid putting this Zen
theory into practice is impossible or unsuitable
for common, weak people who
have to live in this secular society .
On New?Year's Eve of that year, four
months after Wakou began his Zen training,
1 visited the Zen temple for the f irst
time in order to toll the bell, joya-nokane.
It was an extremely cold night, so I
left home wearing heavy socks and warm
boots. I didn't expect to see Wakou there
because I knew he was working in the
kitchen rather than in the b_e_ifs.y., I only
hoped the act of tolling the bell might
console both my mother's soul and my
own heart somewhat. After tolling the
bell, I slowly walked down the steep
steps of the belfry. Then I saw Wakou
among several other priests in the cold
darkness. How thin he had become! I
MARCH 23, 1997
gas_ped. He wore_only light cotton clothes
called samui, and plain geta. His feet
were bare on such a freezing night. Suddenly
the biting cold made me feel as if
the thongs of his geta were biting into
his bare feet so as to break the flesh.
The cold bare foot was my heart and
the bitter bite was an idea that had arisen
out of the depth of my mind and distressed
me repeatedly: "It was me that
killed my mother." Only tolling the bell
once did not have the la_o_p_e_d,for_effect. I
bit, bit, bit my heart, hoping it would be
broken by the sharpteetli_of_repentance.
It was impossible for me to be free from
the thought that if my trouble had not
happened just before her accident, she
would not have died. She was very worried
about me. She must have been thinking
of me and not noticed the truck until
too late while walking in the crosswalk.
"No
, I assure you the truck driver was
100% wrong." I recalled \A/akours words.
"Whether or not she was thinking
, she
couldn't have avoided the truck at that
time. It just .spgd through without stopping."
But I could not accept that. I still
continued to bite my heart until it became
as bloody as her sneakers.
(I(IKUKO KUWAHARA,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
************************
February 13 Message (Subiect#324)
The suggested theme for an essay
this week is: "Hospital". This word is
derived from a Latin word meaning
"guest" and is related to hospice
, hospitable
and hospitality. I'm sure you have
had experiences of being either a guest
in or a visitor to a hospital and you may
write .about personal experiences, memories
or ideas related to hospitals. Some
foreigners confuse the Japanese word
for hospital (bybin) with that for beauty
parlor (biyain). That word gives rise to
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 17
quite different thoughts or memories
and, if you prefer, you may write on that
subject instead.
*************************
I go to a hospital once every four
weeks. The purpose of my visit is to get
my doctor's prescription for the preventative
medication I have been on for the
past nine years.
As a matter of fact, I had a heart
condition nine years ago. (In technical
terms, it was a light case of arrhythmia
due to atrial fibrillation.) Since then, I
have had to pay regular visits to the hospital.
Actually, I see my doctor once
every two or three months.
Fortunately, my doctor is so kind as
to respond in detail to my questions
relating to my troubles and I am very
grateful to him for his correct prescriptions
as well as his relevant advice.
Thanks to the combined effort of those
concerned at the hospital, that is to say,
physicians, nurses and clerks, I have
been able to keep well and I wish to
thank everyone working at the hospital.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
According to a recent article in the
Asahi Shinbun, hospitals have become
places where aged people await their
deaths. The reason for this depends on
individual circumstances, but in some
cases it is because of the physicians'
attitude toward their practice. Most
doctors in Japan still hesitate to state
the facts clearly to their patients when
they are suffering from an incurable disease.
Elderly patients are thus convinced
that they are receiving effective medical
treatment in the hospital for a long
time. At times, unnecessary operations
give them great pain and deprive them of
the important time to prepare for their
last moments. It is usually the doctors
that decide how to treat their terminally
18 MARCH 23, 1997
ill patients. Most patients agree to their
doctors' suggestions, hoping to be cured.
Some may wish to be with their families
at home as long as possible if their case
is hopeless. I think that physicians
should not just try to prolong the beating
of a patient's heart. It is very important
for doctors to consider the quality
of life of their patients.
On the other hand, I recently saw on
television that a lucky man survived serious
brain damage due to his doctor's persistence
in his treatment. On that program,
I was shocked to see a similar patient
in a hospital in the United States
was considered to be brain dead and his
organs were removed for transplantation.
I think that the only thing we can
do is choose a good doctor, but that may
be impossible in an emergency.
By the way, there are some problems
in hospitals that cannot be alleviated by
doctors' decisions and efforts alone. Like
it or not, we have to go there when it is
necessary. Therefore, I would like to
suggest some ways for hospital owners
or executives to make their institutions
more convenient, reliable and comfortable.
First, more effective appointment
systems should be established. Several
years ago, my daughter was allergic to
something. Then my wife took her to the
hospital twice a month for more than a
year. Every time, they had to wait for
three hours before seeing a doctor. Afterward
they waited another hour for the
prescribed medicine. It was a waste of
time. It was not an urgent visit. It was
the day the doctor had arranged to come.
And it was not an undistinguished hospital.
It happened at a state-owned children's
hospital. We used to fear that our
daughter might get a contagious disease
while waiting in the hospital.
Secondly, patients' privacy should be
protected more carefully. It is disheartening
to see only a curtain hanging between
a treatment room and a waiting
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
room. People in the waiting room can
hear the conversations between a doctor
and a patient. Satisfactory doctor-patient
relations cannot be established under
such circumstances.
Lastly, the atmosphere inside a hospital
should be changed to a more comfortable
one. I have been in some patients'
rooms that seemed like a concentration
camp. I think there are many good
examples in lobbies and rooms of modern
hotels. I sometimes get sick just being
inside a hospital building. I always feel
relieved when I leave and take a deep
breath.
I am sure these suggestions would
tend to improve the quality of life of
many patients. I hope that there may be
many hospitals I don't know about for
which such suggestions are unnecessary.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
I have had doubts for many years
why the words "hospital" (byoin) and
"hospitable" (motonashi -no-yoi) had no
connection with each other in their
meanings. Now, after my investigation
for this essay, I understand the connection.
Ordinary English dictionaries give
simply byoin as a translation for "hospital",
but the Oxford Dictionary includes
such definitions as: "establishments of
Knights Hospitallers, hospice, charitable
institution" in addition to "institution
for care of the sick". And the word "hospice"
is derived, as Dr. Offner pointed
out, from a Latin word, hospes, which
means "guest". Thus, my question noted
earlier was answered.
Dr. Offner touched upon two confusing
words: by6in and biyoin, which reminded
me of an anecdote. A husband returned
home from work and found a note,
written in hiragana by his daughter, a
first grader, which read as follows: Mama
wa atama ga okashiku natta node,
byoin e ikimashita ("Mommy went to the
hospital because she lost her senses").
The husband was thrown into confusion
MARCH 23, 1997
and began to look for the hospital. Then
his wife came home and calmly said; "I
have been to a beauty parlor as my hair
was _disheveled."
It seems that the meaning of "hospice"
has also undergone a change. The
Oxford Dictionary defines it as "travelers'
house of rest kept by a religious order;
home for the destitute or sick", but
today the word means medical facilities
which specialize in terminal care (medical
treatment for "terminal patients",
patients who are expected to die within
3-6 months.) By the way, the word "terminal"
itself is shunned today by some
people because it reminds them of death,
as in the case of the above-mentioned
"terminal care" . There was a hotel near
Nagoya Station named "Terminal Hotel",
but recently, its name was changed to
"Hotel Associa" because of the unhappy
word-association.
Now, to return to the theme, "hospital"
(byeiin), thanks to my good health, I
have had very little contact with hospitals.
I have a hibakusha-techo, certificate
of an atomic bomb victim, which I
obtained several years ago. I was qualified
to receive it because 1 entered the
area within two kilometers of the center
of the blast in Hiroshima within two
weeks after the bombing. As I was quite
healthy and felt nothing abnormal in my
body, I had ignored the system for a long
time, but my friends advised me to obtain
the qualification before I get old. I
accepted their advice and submitted an
application. Having this certificate, I
can undergo a physical examination
twice a year, free of charge. This is the
only occasion for me to go to a hospital
for my own health.
With advancing years, many of my
friends say they often go to hospitals.
Whenever we get together for a class
meeting or at other gatherings, a central
topic of conversation is our health and
sickness. When we were young, we used
to talk about our aspirations for the fu-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 19
ture. I think it is a sad tendency, but we
must accept the hard realities of life
which cannot be helped. We, the aged,
should get along well with hospitals
without being hostile to them.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I have a favorable impression about
the hospitals with which I have some relation.
I will not write about them, however,
but about a memory I have related
to the word "hospital".
One day I was visiting Meiji Mura
with my friend. We got on a train to go
to an elevated area and sat down on a
seat next to two Americans. They had
the same guidebook I had. When I opened
it and saw the picture of a Military Hospital,
I noticed that the explanation was
only in Japanese. I asked them, "Can you
read Japanese? Do you understand these
pictures?" They replied, "Unfortunately,
no". So I began to explain about the pictures
in the book, from the beginning to
the end. They listened and wrote.
Our train went and came back time
and again, but we did not get off because
then we could not get back on. I cannot
forget that day and the picture of the
Military Hospital continues to be in my
mind and I can draw it in my memory.
(MICHIKO SAND, Minami, Nagoya)
ByOin and biyoin are the suggested
themes. A place where women go for
hair styling, manicuring, etc. is called a
biy6in (beauty salon), which is unrelated
to me, except that, if January 15, 1998
falls on an off-duty day for me (it is now
too early to tell), then I must take my
younger daughter, Sumako, to a beauty salon
in the early morning, about 5 o'clock,
because she will wear a wafuku (Japanese
kimono)--furisode (long-sleeved Idmono)
to attend the Coming-of-Age-Day
Ceremony sponsored by Owariasahi City.
An institution where the ill or i njured
may receive medical treatment is
called a byeiin, with which I am deeply
20 MARCH 23, 1997
concerned. Thus far, I have been hospitalized
four times. Right after I was
employed by a trading company some
decades ago, I had to be hospitalized because
of a serious accident caused by
the president's son who was driving a
car without a driver's license. In that
accident, the two bones in my right
wrist were crushed between the car and
the company's concrete wall. Beside
that, what was worse, most of the _capillay
vessels in my right hand were damaged,
resulting in my hand becoming deformed.
A four-month hospitalization
was required to recover instead of spending
time at the office. Even so, a complete
restoration of my hand was not
possible so the shape of my right hand
differs from that of my left one.Conse-
_Liiggr, my hand has become tired and
painful after writing for 20 minutes. For
more than three-and-a-half decades, I
have been afthLted with a damaged right
arm which Lam not able to use as I want.
The company must not have known my i nconvenience,
including my inability to
play my dear Jose Ramirez. Furthermore,
the company's compensation was limited
to the medical expense. It has forgotten
this serious accident and I cannot help
being upset with their irresponsibility.
Though I have been suffering with a
severe backache for more than two decades,
I am not considering having another
operation to repair my spinal column
(I have had three operations' thus far, including
an appendectomy) because doctors
who examined me consider it difficult
and I decided that enduring the pain
is better than partial paralysis.
Another memory related to hospitals
is related to this "Daily Word" telephone
service. (as written in a previous issue
of the Echoes). During my parents' hospitalization
(when I was assisting in the
publication of this periodical), .1 was not
sure about the hospital system, but most
hospitals in Japan close too early and
require lights to be turned off too early.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
Despite the adjustment problems related
to an overly-rigid time schedule and other
heart-rending moments at the beginning,
I came to the happy conclusion that
the hospitals where my parents were
hospitalized were fine. The care-givers
were kind and supportive. The food was
healthy and quite tasty for the price and,
most important of all, everyday turned
out to be fun, but I had no time to work
on the "Daily Word" essays because I had
to go back and forth between my office
and the hospitals instead of returning to
my home. Seeming to reflect a moment
before responding to my question and
being aware of my situation, the head
nurse gave me permission to continue
working after the "lights-off" time.
Thus, I was able to work by my parents'
bedsides at the hospitals while they
were sleeping. For this reason, when I
look at the compilation of "Daily Word"
Echoes, Volume One, and the Recognition
Plaque which Dr. Offner presented me for
my assistance, they always remind me
of the hospital and my parents. (Due to
my neglect, Volume Two has not yet appeared.
On a more positive note, I have
given much thought, planning for further
volumes, 2-10, in due time.)
(JAIME IWAI, Owariasahi)
I have never been to the hospital for
the past three years. I'm very happy that
I'm so healthy that a hospital is unnecessary
for me these days.
I sometimes come across deplorable
stories related to hospitals, such as injecting
milk into a patient's veins, giving
them medicine mingled with the Aids
virus and receiving bribes. I'm afraid
that the quality of doctors and nurses
has degenerated these days.
There is a bonesetting hospital near
my home which runs a gym for aerobic
exercises as a side-business. The exer
cise hall has some large mirrors in it
and is equipped with many kinds of machines
to help one improve one's physical
MARCH2 3, 1997
strength. It is really splendid. I hear,
however, the management is not so good,
because of the severe competition, overdue
loans from banks and poor managerial
ability. Nevertheless, the business
continues. Why? It not good to make
a wrong guess, but it is presumed that
the hospital is using its surplus profit
to support the poorly-financed gym. In
general, hospitals are rich. Hospital
buildings are generally splendid, even
though all of them are not so. Some hospitals
are criticized for their unethical
abuse of the health insurance system. I
hope the bonesetting hospital is not doing
so, but if itis, it can be said that it
is committinga crime. *because it is obviously
spending the precious money paid
by many honest workers.
I dare say that all hospitals should
realize that their main purpose is to
cure the sicknesses of suffering patients,
not to try to make as much money
as possible.
(HARM FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
I have never been hospitalized during
the fifty years of my life, but in the
past two years I have had to go to the
hospital frequently for others in my
family.
First, my father had an operation for
cancer. He stayed in the hospital for
three months. What worried me most
was how to keep him from becoming senile
during his hospitalization, Most i npatients
were senior citizens and stayed
in bed all day long. Perhaps due to a
shortage of nurses, the inpatients remained
calm and slept with the help of
medicine. Then, they gradually lost their
perception of time and became senile. My
father .began to move . both of his hands,
as if practicing calligraphy,. while sleeping
on his back. An elderly woman in the
next bed also moved her hands as if she
were sewing. One woman in the same
room said, "If he continues under these
conditions, he will become senile. You
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 21
must talk to him as much as possible." -Iappreciated
the fact that having conversations
with an inpatient was very important
to prevent senility. But the hospital
now limits the visitation time
from 2 to 8 o'clock. Therefore, the time
to talk with patients is very limited.
Ten years ago, the hospital in my town
allowed a family member to stay near
the patient's bed all day long, but now
this is prohibited.
During the last stage of my father's
illness, I went to the hospital every day
and talked with him. He was happy to see
me and smiled at me, but suddenly he became
unconscious due to pneumonia and
two weeks .later he died. The doctor said
something he ate might have entered his
lungs and he could not remove it with
his own strength. If better care had been
given him, he might have lived longer. It
is difficult to find the best hospital for
our family. We live in a rural area. Modern
hospitals with up-to-date medical
equipment are far from our residence
and difficult to visit every day. We preferred
visiting the hospital in our town
every day to having better medical treatment
in an urban hospital far away.
My mother shows symptoms of senility.
I go to the hospital because she
sometimes suddenly gets irritated and
have to 'get medicine to keep .her psychologically
stable. But medicine by itself
is not enough, so I take her to a day care
center for senior citizens. Now, the ability
to care for senior citizens is low for
each family. We hope to have facilities
that will care for senile women that
utilize both medicine and psychological
treatment.
A month .ago, my younger son broke
his arm while arm wrestling. He had an
operation and stayed in the hospital for
two weeks. Inpatients in the same room
were old women and old men. One woman
was wandering in the corridor, shouting,
"Help me! Help me!" it was very diffi -
cult to keep him from getting depressed.
22 MARCH 23, 1997
We brought a CD player, CDs and a radio.
(YOSHIHISA KAWAHARA,Mihama,Aichi)
My mother had lived with us for a
long time until she passed away at the
age of 91 two years ago. For several
years before her death, she had to receive
treatment for her heart problem
once a month at a hospital. Though she
was not bedridden, she could neither
walk nor take a car to the hospital because
of her weak back and legs. In the
house, she could barely walk, using a
handrail, but outside she could walk just
a little using a cane. We could not take
her in a car for fear of twisting her fragile
hip. What we could do was to take
her to the hospital in a wheelchair. Fortunately,
our house was close to the hospital
and I did not want her to stay there
for a long time for fear of getting an infection.
When the appointed day came, I hurried
to the hospital by 7:45. Already
many people were waiting in lines
before the reception counter which
opened at 8:30. Then, having received a
examination number, 1 hurried to the medical
office to wait there in her stead.
The doctors came there to see patients
at 9:00. Around that time, my husband
came there with my mother in the wheelchair.
Sometimes, we had to wait for a
long time for her turn. When her exami?
nation was finished, my husband took
her back home in the wheelchair while I
paid the fee at the cashier's counter and
received her medicine at the pharmacy
counter. At both places, I had to wait
for a long time and usually came back
home nearly at noon. We felt it took us
too much time, but we could not deny we
were more or less fortunate. I suppose
in most cases, people have to go to a
hospital located further away from their
home and go there more often when they
feel sick. I sincerely hope that hospital
procedures will become more efficient,
though I do not deny that much effort has
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
been made to that end and, nowadays, us---
ing a computer system enables the job to
be done more efficiently so that we may
not wait as long as before.
Japan now enjoys the longest life
expectancy in the world. Through education,
the people have learned much about
diseases and how important a balanced
diet and hygienic practices are. Also,
Japan now has medical, health insurance
and medicare systems which provide excellent
medical services to the people.
When I was young, many people were so
poor that they could not got to a doctor
to have their illness treated. The fees of
some famous doctors were so high that
only rich people could afford them. I t
was quite unfair and depressing. How
happy we are now, compared with them,
to be able to enjoy such a privilege.
Today we should realize that, in the
long run, the health insurance system
has been so abused that the system i s
now being confronted with great d if f
culty. I would like to urge doctors not to
give irrelevant treatment to patients
who have no hope of recovery but to try
to ease their pain even though such a
procedure might not require much health
insurance funds. They should also try not
to prescribe too much medicine. I believe
that doctors are generally ethical, but I
sincerely hope that they will abide by
the Hippocratic Oath, solemnly pledging
themselves to the service of humanity.
All Japanese should try hard to make our
medical and health insurance systems
healthier, as much as possible, for ourselves
and for future generations.
(MICHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo)
*************************
February 18 Messacie (Subiect#325
One meaning of "code" is a set of signals
used to represent letters or numMARCH
23, 1997
hers in transmitting messages, but itsprimary
meaning is a systematically a rranged
collection of laws or regulations.
Many organizations have codes of one
kind or another that its members are expected
to follow. Schools have dress
codes which indicate the kind of clothes
students are permitted to wear. And
some companies also have dress codes
for their employees. The modern dress
of young people especially has become
very informal. But even some teachers,
other respected professionals and elected
representatives are dressing less formally
than previously. What do you think
about the trends of modern dress--of
young people, middle-aged or older folks.
How and why has it changed from previous
times? Do you dress differently
than you did ten years ago? Thoughts,
memories, comments regarding present
fashions related to dress is the suggested
theme for an essay this week.
*************************
The slovenly fashion of young people
is oftencriticized today. Girls' loose
socks are a typical example. They seem
very untidy. It is very strange, I think,
that so many girls follow the fashion all
at once. Why are they so reluctant to be
different than their friends? Recently I
heard a funny story. A young man visited
his grandmother's house after a long
time, wearing his jeans with a big hole
in the knee, of which he was very proud.
The next day, he changed his clothes and
went out for a while. When he returned,
he cried "Hang it!" finding the jeans he
had left. His grandmother had seen the
hole in the jeans- and had kindly' put a
patch on it in hiS absence.
As I give further thought about this
tendency, however, I recognize my own
weakness in blaming them too easily. In
my high school days, we were proud of
so-called hell-hob& which literally
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 23
means wearing a shapeless cap and shabby
clothes. The students recognized no
value of a new college cap and a new
regulation uniform. They purposely tried
to stain their cap and uniform. It was a
sort of student dandyism.
Generally speaking, people's fashion
in dressing has become less formal than
previously. For example, elderly persons
wear colored (even red) clothes for everyday
wear today, but it is limited, after
all, to leisure time. Office workers'
dress remains as it was before. They
wear plain and conservative clothes, usually
men's three-piece suits. This tendency
is remarkable, especially in the
case of bank clerks or public employees.
I have spent most of my life until now as
a public official and my fashion in dress
has not been an exception to the style
mentioned above. I know well that public
officials are spoken ill of, using the
expression "Dobu-nezumi (a sewer rat)-
style of Kasumigaseki".
Today, the style of dress is facing a
reformation, one of which is the introduction
of "casual Friday". Many organizations
recently have adopted a dress
code which allows their employees to
dress in casual wear on Fridays. The Gifu
area is one of the chief producers of cas
ual wear. So the Prefecture and main
companies of the area have promptly i ntroduced
the system. But, the employees
of these organizations have met another
"pcroasbuleaml wteoagre"t hedro es wintoht fnreeecdeossmar ilyb ecmauesaen
a cheap, inferior dress. They worry about
the choice of dress on Fridays because
they think they are not fit to be seen in
the same outfit every Friday. Sometimes
I hear that they are obliged to order new
casual wear, but I think they should not
consider the code so seriously. They
should be able to wear whatever they
have on hand.
I began to recite Noh texts (utai) several
years ago and usually put on a kimono
at recitals. I use a kimono which my
24 MARCH 23, 1997
wife's father used before his death for
the same purpose. I think kimono are
very reasonable because their fashions
do not change for a long time though they
are much more expensive than Western
clothes. (MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I feel that students' dress has recently
changed a little and become more
modern compared to ten years ago, but
the school dress code has remained practical
despite the changing fashions. Regarding
our dress, fashions change year
by year in relation to color and style.
Young people are most sensitive to
change, followed by middle-aged people.
Older folks are not so interested. Recently,
I see people who are not concerned
about modern styles and some young people
like the old fashion. I think that fashions
repeat themselves.
Usually I have no concern about being
up-to-date, but I did feel that a dress
made ten years ago somehow did not
seem suitable. I could not understand
why until I visited and asked a dressmaker.
She immediately told me that
the dress had no shoulder pads. I was
very pleased and told my friend who
laughed at me. This shows my lack of
sensitivity regarding fashions.
(MICHIKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya)
I often see small boys and girls
walking along a street by twos and
threes. Their dress is very informal.
The knapsacks on their backs shows that
they are elementary school pupils. I t
seems that they have no dress codes.
Their dress is quite different from pupil
to pupil.
Come to think of it, when I was an
elementary school pupil, more than three
score years ago, I always wore a uniform
designated by the school. People took it
for granted for pupils to wear uniforms.
The contrast between pupils of former
times and those of today surprises me
very much.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
--What has brought about such a stark
contrast? A change in times has, of
course. People underwent very drastic
changes in their life style in the wake of
the Second World War. Toward the end
of that war, even ordinary people were
forced to wear some kind of uniform.
Then came the emancipation after the
war. Wartime regimentation turned into
a free, informal style. People were glad
to doff the required uniforms. The emancipation
marked the beginning of informality
which has remained until today.
Informal fashions related to dress
have gradually become established
among the Japanese as peaceful times
have continued. Some people say it does
not matter whatever dress people ?wear,
but I do not think so. People can hardly
be free from being influenced by the kind
of clothes they are wearing. The way people
dress somehow affects their minds.
That is to say, people are frail beings in
that they cannot be free from the influence
of the clothes they are wearing.
In his sense, I would like to recommend
to young students to wear neat and
tidy clothes when going to school instead
of the loose-fitting clothes they
are wearing. Needless to say, loosefitting
clothes are apt to encourage a
loose attitude in general. At least,
loose-fitting clothes are not compatible
with the tense atmosphere required for
concentrated studying.
I do not disdain the extremely loose
and untidy fashion some young people
follow on purpose. Youth often tend to
do such things only because they want to
stand out among their peers.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
I don't like to wear clothes that look
odd. I remember the clothes worn by political
leaders in the past who misled
the people with unhappy results. For example,
Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, always
wore - a military uniform which
symbolized abominable imperialism.
MARCH 23, 1997
Stalin;-the leader of the old Soviet Union,
always wore his own military uniform.
I've never seen him wearing a casual
sack coat. In Japan, Hideki TOT& the
prime minister at the beginning of the
Pacific War, always wore a Japanese army
uniform, or a prisoner's uniform afterwards.
Thus, those political leaders
who misled the people used to wear unusual
uniforms.
What about after the war? I remember
Yukio Mishima liked to wear his own
military uniform. He was not a statesman,
but a novelist and finally committed
suicide. As to recent politicians, the
former prime minister, Hata, wore an
odd sack coat during the summer. It had
sleeves that were half-length and was
called shO-ene, energy-saving. The coat
strongly recommended by him was completely
opposed by most people and he
himself resigned after a very short time.
Anyway, it can be said that oddlydressed
leaders were not worth respecting
at any time. I hope that political
leaders who want to wear odd clothes
will not appear anymore.
(HARUJI FMK Minami, Nagoya)
When we shop for clothes to wear
around the house or for sportswear, we
consider the feeling, warmth or coolness,
comfortableness, durableness and
wearing qualities first. When we look
for street clothes, or party clothes, we
are keenly conscious of PTO, place, time
and occasion. In both cases, fashion has
become a very important factor these
days. Fashion occupies our minds so
much that, consciously or unconsciously,
we try to satisfy our vanity by following
the fashion so that we will not be despised.
by others and considered old-fashioned
or shabby-looking.
Today, fashion has become a very
important industry. A new fashion created
someplace can travel all over the
world in a single day by means of modern
communication devices and be widely
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 25
accepted before long. I can understand
the trend, but nevertheless, I wonder
whether Japanese are the most vulnerable
people in regard to fashion. This winter,
a long, black overcoat high-heeled
and thick-soled shoes and animal-patterned
wear are widely worn by young
women. High school girls all wear- baggy,
loose, thick white socks. TV programs
show Japanese dress in the same
way all over the country. Certainly, they
are quite conscious of the trend and try
to look as fashionable as possible, but I
cannot deny they look quite monotonous
and boring. Since we are Japanese, we
should have uniqueness, different from
others and each local area should have
uniqueness likewise. When I traveled
around Europe a few years ago, I was impressed
that they were not so concerned
with fashion as Japanese are. In the
street, many people were wearing outdated
clothes.
Japan used to be a silk-exporting
country. Then it developed a fiber industry,
textile industry and clothing industry.
Today, by the development of other
industries, the weight of such industries
has run down, but still many people are
engaged in those industries. Nowadays,
we have strong pressure from the outside
world to import more of their products.
We understand the theory that production
must be backed by consumption
and that consumption must be created by.
demand. Fashion plays a very important
role in creating demand in the field of
clothing. To create a new fashion, great
talent and sophisticated efforts are needed.
To maintain those industries and to
respond to the demand from outside, we
are required to consume more and live
affluently.
As an old woman, I remember that
just after the end of the Second World
War, many used clothes that were still
usable were imported from the States
and I was told that they discarded things
following the principle that mass produc26
MARCH 23, 1997
tion must be backed by mass consumption.
I understood that the United States
was a very rich country, and although I
was not happy to hear that, I can never
blame them for that. In the course of
time, we came to follow the same way,
consciously or unconsciously, and the
present situation has become far worse
than theirs. We can easily suppose that
our housing condition, especially in urban
districts, is so much worse than
theirs that we have little room for storing
and discard clothes quite easily, just
because they have become old-fashioned.
It is very hard for us old people to
understand the present trend. In days of
old, Japanese were pantheistic and
thought everything had a spirit in it.
They treated things carefully and tried
never to be punished by the spirit. Even
rich people believed that thriftiness was
a virtue and tried never to waste things.
We should try never to discard clothes
just because they have grown outdated.
We should remember how many material
and human resources are put into those
clothes. In this world, many people do
not have enough clothes. We should make
efforts to help them. We should try to
reform or to recycle clothes as much as
possible and to reduce the amount of
discarded clothes or trash to conserve
the environment for the benefit of future
generations.
(MICHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo)
There is a saying in Germany: "One
can think differently from others but one
cannot dress differently from others."
This is true. You can have thoughts or
ideas totally different from what other
people hold, but you cannot be so different
from your contemporaries in regard
to dress. If you walk down the street in
the kind of garb samurai used to wear or
in clothes Sherlock Holmes preferred,
people might think you are going to a ?
costume party.
"DAILY WORD"
ECHOES
In feudal society, there were strict
dress codes in Japan. Only samurai were
permitted to wear silk. Farmers, merchants
and craftsmen were not allowed
to wear it. During the war, when luxury
was forbidden, people were forced to be
humbly dressed. Women were compelled
to wear monpe (a kind of trousers) remade
from kimono. Dress codes became
stricter when the ruling authority's control
was stronger.
After World War II, Japan became
democratic and improved its trade and
industries. Western fashions were imported.
People got out of obsolete dress
codes and enjoyed wearing fashionable
clothes. When miniskirts prevailed a I I
over the world, even Japanese women
wore them. And I mimicked the others.
Miniskirts were unsuitable for me with
my short bowlegs, but German girls with
long, straight legs were attractive in
them. I had no other choice but to wear
miniskirts because all the girls around
me wore them.
These days, however, people feel
free to express themselves in any kind
of apparel. They can don miniskirts, long
dresses, tight suits, loose shirts, baggy
pants, pantaloons and so on. I like this
diversity and am happy about it because
I usually wear kimono and sometimes a
jacket and monpe reformed from kimono
by myself. Such apparel is rather
strange, but no one stares at me.
Young people who often want to distinguish
themselves with their unique
fashions become suddenly obedient to
commonly recognized dress codes when
they go to the Coming of Age ceremony
and to companies to be recruited. They
want to be considered ordinary and not
differently dressed from their peers
just at the entrance into adult society.
(NAOMI KONDO, Handa)
I am not qualified to write about the
latest dress fashions, but traits of the
younger generation occasionally surprise
MARCH 23, 1997
me. As far as clothes are concerned, I
am satisfied with simply wearing clean
and comfortable ones. Because of my job
as a research chemist, I don't have to
wear a suit every day. I usually wear
clothes similar to those I wore when I
was a student. I think I am relatively
conservative in regard to color and style.
Once I become fond of some clothes, I
wear them until they become worn out. I
may beconsidered an enemy by the apparel
industry.
It usually takes a long time for me
to examine things before buying them. I
like to see and compare new functions of
gadgets. But it doesn't make sense to me
that many people buy new clothes for
skiing every winter. Also, why do many
people buy a new bathing suit every summer?
Is it because of fashion?
I am wondering why apparel manufacturers
are able to announce popular
styles and colors six months before the
season. For me, they only promote what
they want to sell. I can't believe that
many people buy new clothes just to follow
the fashion for makers' convenience.
Incidentally, I don't change clothes
every day except for underwear. It is
hard for me to understand the current
trend to wash garments after having
worn them only once. I hear many people
wash their clothes that way these days.
Basically, I don't care much about
other people's dress. People have a right
to wear whatever they want. However,
we should not forget that some young
fellows commit crimes just to obtain
fashionable jackets, sweaters or something.
We must consider what makes
them put so much emphasis on style.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
The 15 writers of the 45 essays
in this 56th issue of "Daily Word"
Echoes reside in 11 different cities
and towns. Some essays required very
little correction; others required
more, but all were interesting.(C.O.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 27
*************************
January 19,1997 Meeting Theme:
A Memorable Trip
I was in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee
from November 25th to December 9th to
visit Ms. Landis who had been a ?Bible
Class teacher in our Fukushima Church.
As it was the first time for me to go
abroad by myself, I felt uneasy at first,
but it was really a safe and pleasant
trip. After a flight of eleven-and-a-half
hours, I arrived at the Ohare Airport in
Chicago from Narita. There, I had to
transfer to another terminal to take an
American Airlines plane. It was colder i n
Chicago than in Fukushima.
It was 2:30 in the afternoon, Novem
ber 25th, local time when I arrived at
Nashville Airport in Tennessee. I was
very happy when I saw Ms. Landis who
had come to meet me. She took me to
her house, far away in the suburbs, in
her car which could carry seven people.
It was a very quiet place. There were no
tall buildings. The car turned left onto a
narrow road which a sign indicated was
"Maple Drive" . There were wide lawns
on both sides of the road. I could see
some scattered one-story houses. We
entered one of them after getting out of
the car. It was her house, which had
many rooms, a basement and three entrances.
Her big house looked like an
apartment house. She said that she lets
others stay in some rooms and leaves
the keys when she is away. She had a
guest room with a bed and shower where
I stayed for two weeks except when we
went to Kentucky. She had many things
from Japan, such as kokeshi dolls, kakemono
of Japanese-style pictures and
calligraphy in the parlor. She had very
many books in her library den. Her neighbors
on this Maple Drive are retired missionaries
from Japan and India. The
Lammers had taught at TOhoku Gakuin
28 MARCH 23, 1997
forty years ago and Mr. and Mrs. Vogle
Schwaltz were from Hiroshima Gakuin.
In this rural Pleasant Hill (including Maple
Drive), there is just one post office,
one elementary school, one junior high
school and only one church and only one
God. There are no stores to buy daily
necessities, so all residents have to go
to supermarkets and banks in Nashville.
On November 28th, we left Pleasant
Hill at 9:00 o'clock in the morning to go
to Homestead, Kentucky to visit the
Kroehlers who are missionaries in Aizu
Takada in Fukushima Prefecture. They
were also visiting in Kentucky to see
their daughter, Margaret, and her family.
They were there to spend Thanksgiving
Day all together. Margaret lives there
with her husband, Jeffery, and their son,
Gilbert. Ms. Landis and I were invited to
join this happy family reunion. Along the
way there, we saw many rocks on both
sides of the road which looked like artificial
blocks. At noon, we stopped at a
rest house and had a lunch of sandwiches
and cranberry juice while sitting on
chairs outside. At 3:00, we arrived at
Margaret San's house. All of them welcomed
us.
After Gilbert's daddy, Jeffery Pasquale,
came back home, we had a big
Thanksgiving dinner. At the table, Rev.
Kroehler prayed, thanking God for the
good harvest that year and for the delicious
food before us. And as Thanksgiving
Day .last year fell on Mrs. Kroehler's
seventieth birthday, we also celebrated
it. Ms. Landis had baked a big, round cake
for Evelyn Kroehler. She also had prepared
seven. candles, instead of seventy,
to put on the cake. Little six-year-old
Gilbert presented her a picture he had
painted, saying, "Happy Birthday, Granmama!"
He is a very cute boy. His mother
is a beautiful lady and his daddy is a
man of Italian lineage who resembles a
Japanese. It was a big dinner?stuffed.
turkey, large slices of ?ham with bones in
the center, cooked vegetables, many
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
kinds of cookies and ice cream. We sang
a Thanksgiving hymn, Warera tagayashi
Lane o makedo, which I suggested, and
"Happy Birthday" to Mrs. Kroehler. We
stayed at Margaret's house until November
30th.
I attended a Sunday morning service
twice. On December 1st at Pleasant Hill
Church, it was the beginning of the Advent
season. There were Christmas decorations
in the church. Before the service,
the organist played the original Japanese
hymn, Mabune no naka ni ubugoe
age, which had been translated into English.
We sang some more traditional
Christmas hymns, including "Hark the
Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the
World, the Lord has Come". _
I did not have my glasses with me
and could not read the verses, so I sang
them in Japanese loudly, which pleased
the worshippers who were sitting around
me. I understood the sermon preached
by Rev. Schneider pretty well. I was
very happy to be able to take part in the
Communion Service on that Sunday. I
was also very happy to meet many American
Christians at the luncheon following
the service. Four ladies, Abigail,
Eloise, Frances and Margaret are especially
good friends of Ms. Janell Landis.
They often visited her home and I became
close friends with them.
I had a chance to go to the playhouse,
mini-theater, in .Pleasant Hill to
enjoy the drama, Oliver Twist, produced
by residents of Pleasant Hill on December
9th, the day before I left. The English
spoken in the drama was Old British
English, so even Ms. Landis could not understand
some of the words, but the performance
was very well done and I enjoyed
it very much.
I left Pleasant Hill on December 10.
Ms. Landis came to Nashville to see me
off at the airport. I am very grateful to
Ms. Landis who made my trip so enjoyable.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)