"Daily Word" Echoes
P.0 Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 Tel. (052)794-6422

November 30, 1997 Number 58 \200
(Essays submitted by listeners/readers on themes of "Daily Word" messages between
September 2 and October 7, 1997. Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.)
*--A-*******************

September 2 Messaae (Theme #332_)

One result of Japanese society becoming
more democratic may be seen in
a subtle change in language used by
young people in particular. For better or
for worse, many young people are not using
the polite forms of words or are using
them incorrectly. It is also said that
sales people often use excessively polite
forms when speaking to a customer in
order to secure a sale. This may be good
for business, but it is a misuse of traditional
language. Now, a panel of fifteen
experts is studying the present situation
related to polite language and will report
to the prime minister this fall.
Some educators advise discarding polite
or humble language forms altogether.
What do you think about this problem?
Do you think polite forms should be
continued in the future? Will they be
continued? Why are young people not
using such forms correctly? Is your use
of polite language different from that of
your parents? from that of youth today?
What do you consider the pros and cons
of polite language forms?
******************k**
It is often said that the polite forms
of words are used incorrectly among
young people in particular, but it may be
better to say that polite forms of language
are becoming obsolete . However,
if such trends continue they will lead to
the loss of a characteristic feature of
Japanese.
The Japanese language has a structure
capable of expressing who did some
action or who is being talked about by
the use of honorific expressions, .even if
we omit the subject. So, if we do not
use the terms of respect, it is necessary
for us to mention the subject clearly.
For example, okaeri nasaimashita suggests
one's senior or superior has come
back, even though no subject is specified
I presume that keigo, or "terms of
respect" are a vestige of the age of feudalism
when people were classified into
four categories: samurai, farmers, artisans
and merchants. In those days, people
were very careful in choosing their
words when addressing magistrates or
government officials.
I think the most difficult part of
Japanese is related to the usage of honorific
expressions, including humble
words and polite words. It is in regard
to these terms of respect that foreigners
often make mistakes. If they are
used properly, I think there is no language
that can equal Japanese in facilitating
smooth human relations.
We do not need to use polite forms
excessively, but interweaving the ordinary
style of speaking with polite forms
is the essence of Japanese. "Japanese
without polite forms" will be dry, dull
and uninteresting just as "sushi without
wasabi, or horseradish". I believe "polite
2 NOVEMBER 30, 1997
forms of words" make Japanese
what it is. (SHOJI DOMAE, Kasugai)
I presume it is difficult for foreigners
to learn the Japanese language which
have words with the same meaning but
are more or less polite. Elderly Japanese
can use them correctly. In my thinking,
polite language is important in our relationships.
Recently, I feel that the language
of young people is disorderly. They
use simple, easy words, including a, un,
etc. It saves time to use short words,
but they do not express their thoughts.
Next, I wish to emphasize that young
people should have better manners. They
do not even say such short words as a rigate)
or sumimasen. I consider this to be
the main problem in Japan. Words have
meaning which express our minds and we
Japanese should hold on to such words.
(MICHIKO SONO, Minami, Nagoya)
Terms of respect (keigo) are peculiar
to the Japanese language, but even
Japanese sometimes cannot use them
properly. In recent years, there are many
Japanese who cannot speak Japanese
correctly, whether they are old or young.
When I was a little girl, my mother
taught me how to use terms of respect
and told me not to use vulgar words. I
also learned to use the respectful terms
at school.
As far as I know, today's parents do
not teach their children how to speak
Japanese correctly. The Japanese language
spoken by junior or senior high
school students proves that. I think language
should be taught at home.
Besides, there is another indication
of how the Japanese language has become
corrupted. Some people make Japanese
impolite under the guise of politeness.
Originally, we do not put an honorific
"o" on such words as "beer", "fire"
and so on. However, a certain cooking
teacher says Chi o tsukeru, and I have
heard some ladies say, Obi-ru o kudasai.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
I think that not only studies to note
the deviations, but studies related to
how to speak the Japanese language correctly
are required.
(_ M NI! FURUTII, Kita, Nagoya)
My wife is a lecturer at ChOnichi
Culture Center on Hanashikata (the Art
of Speech and Conversation) and ROdoku
(Recitation). (Incidentally, recently she
has written a book entitled Hanashikata
Kyoshitsu, the result of years of research.)
According to her, one of the
most notable trends in the disorderly
speech of young people is seen in their
use of polite language forms. This trend
should not be attributed to our democratization
after the war, I think, but is the
result of young people's laziness in regard
to the study of our traditional language.
In other words, they are lacking
the spirit of ai-go, or cherishing words.
In our language, we have three kinds
of honorific forms: sonkei-go (respectful
words), kenjei-go (humble words) and
teinei-go (polite words). The first group
expresses the speakers' respect for the
listeners or the subjects involved. The
second group humbly expresses something
concerning oneself. And the third
expresses politeness mainly by using different
words. Examples are as follows:
1) Respectful words = kuu, nomu-->agaru,
suru-->nasaru, iu-->ossharu, kaku-->
kakareru; 2) Humble Words = yaru-->
ageru, suru-->itasu, morau-->itadaku,
au-->omenikakaru; 3) Polite Words =
aru-->gozaimasu, da-->desu, yomu-->
yomimasu, benjo-->otearai.
Some of these honorific words have
more than two forms according to the
degree of respeCt, modesty or politeness.
For example: suru--sareru--nasaru--
asobasu, kuru--korareru--irassharu
(respect), yaru--ageru--sashiageru,
iu--mOsu--mOshiageru (humble),
da--desu--degozaimasu (polite).
It is very difficult, even for us Japanese,
to distinguish these three cateNOVEMBER3
0, 1997
gories of honorific words. The most
common mistakes are related to the confusion
of respectful words and humble
words. We often hear speeches in the
Diet which include such expressions as
tadaima daijin ga moshiageta yoni .
This expression is not correct, because
meisu should not be used as a respectful
term for another's speech. Another intolerable
example of misusing words i s
an excessive use of "o" as a prefix. 0-
bfru, o-kohi are permissible, I think, but
I cannot admit that o-juken, o-tenpura
are correct expressions.
To use polite language forms is surely
difficult. It can readily be imagined
that foreign students of Japanese will
find it very difficult to remember them
correctly. I no longer expect young people
today to have a good command of
them. Rather, I wish to point out other
kinds of disorderly language among
young people at present: strange accents
on the ending of words, question-like intonations
in affirmative sentences, an
excessive use of adopted words and so
on. We would do well to follow the
French people's obstinate attitude to
preserve their own language.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHINIOTO, Gifu)
I am in favor of the continued use of
polite forms of words in the future. I
am against the advice of some educators
that polite or humble language forms
should be discarded altogether. If that
were so, our society would become very
miserable because such expressions of
politeness, gratitude and respect are indispensable
to a wholesome social order.
Real respect will be expressed by external
forms first of all. External forms,
such as deeds, looks and attitudes are
very important. No feeling of internal
politeness can be experienced without an
external expression of politeness.
Conversely, if someone uses polite
words when he actually does not respect
others, his deceitful heart will be re-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3
vealed in a short time. If Lencountered
such a person, I would intentionally use
impolite words when speaking to him because
I can easily judge what he is really
thinking. On the other hand, when
someone impolitely criticizes others,
pretending to show his frankness however,
I would rather sympathize with
those he criticizes. Frankness and impoliteness
are basically different.
When we are watching television,
we sometimes come across a scene in
which men use extremely impolite, rude
words. In such a case, I soon turn that
channel off. The fact that such programs
are allowed to be broadcast, must be considered
a very serious social problem.
MOM! FLIKUMI, Minarni, Nagoya)
I think it is very difficult to speak
polite Japanese in a suitable way because
its usage depends on the situation.
cannot be the judge of whether it i s
right or wrong but many young people
speak Japanese in a different way than I
do. For example, I don't say dekai to
mean "huge". I think this word used to be
spoken only by males in casual conversations.
People of the younger generation
now use it as if it just means "very big".
Still, I don't like to hear young ladies
say that word. I also don't say mukatsuku
to mean I am angry. I use this word with
a different accent when I am sick. These
two words contain an implication that
makes me hesitate to use them.
I have also noticed that many young
people speak in a similar way regardless
of their sex. There used to be a distinct
difference between the Japanese spoken
by men and women. I think the tendency
for young men and women to speak in a
similar way is quite natural if we consider
it the result of a democratic education
for more than fifty years. But
some people seem to have misunderstood
the meaning of equality in a democratic
society. I am sorry to see that some
people seem to have lost their respect
4 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
toward others,--especially toward elderly
people. This is a problem which precedes
their ability to speak in a polite way because
it is related to their basic attitude
toward others. Many aged people
are offended by the malicious words of
young people toward them. Such words
are often seen in letters to newspapers.
Our society is surely losing one of the
great emphases of Confucianism.
We should not blame this trend only
on schools. Children learn how to speak
at home before they enter school. Many
children don't have the chance to learn
how to respect elderly people at home,
because their grandparents live separately.
Therefore, it is very important
for parents to teach their children how
to speak polite Japanese and how to
respect the aged, especially when they
are very young.
(TOS1-11fiKI MIYFIKE,Tsuzuki,Yokohama)
ltadakimasu is an expression we
Japanese use before starting to eat
meals. itadaku is one of the modest
words in Japanese. If it were not for
this expression, we would have to say
tabemasu instead, but taberu can mean
only the act of eating. When vie say itadakimasu
before each meal, it connotes
our thankfulness to many people who
have been involved in growing or preparing
the food on the table for us to eat.
Using the polite or humble words enables
us to express such inner feelings as respect,
gratitude, affection, pleasure,
sympathy and modesty much better than
if we communicated without them. And
that is one of the important roles of languages
as well as conveying the literal
meanings of words or sentences.
I do not care if young people are not
using polite forms incorrectly, because
when I was young, I also could not use
them correctly. Different from former
days, children do not use polite forms
when speaking to their parents at home,
nor to their teachers at school. So it i s
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
quite natural for them not to be accustomed
to using polite forms correctly .
But as they grow older, they will gradually
learn how to use those polite forms
in practice through various relationships
with many people. When they enter society,
they are sure to come to learn that
the people in higher positions in a company
and customers or clients as well as
elderly, experienced people are those to
whom they should be very careful to use
polite forms, not only from the viewpoint
of common sense but out of necessity
because they do not want to fail in
their work or career. At that stage, their
attention may be focused on grammatical
accuracy of the polite forms they use
or whether or not their usage of honorific
words is proper to the situation.
As young people get older, and gain
more experience, they will realize how
important ordinary people around them
are, regardless of age, experience intelligence,
work or social status. They will
feel like using polite forms quite naturally
to those people without any special instruction.
That is the time they will really
understand the true significance of polite
and modest words and can feel invisible
help or support from them when
they say itadakimasu before each meal.
(KIKUKO KUMMORR,Nakagawa,Nagoya
It is natural that words change as
time passes. For example, in the movie,
Tokyo Monogatari by Director Ozu, which
depicts a typical middle-class Japanese
family before World War II, the words
used in the home are very, very different
from those used in our homes now. They
are excessively polite words. I think
that shows how great fathers' prestige
was in homes at that time.
In regard to words used in companies,
I do not find a big difference between
the present time and previously.
can say, however, that words used in
schools by students to their teachers
have become much worse. It may imply
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
friendliness but I am afraid it also indicates
a lack of respect.
As the democratization of society
develops, polite or modest words seem
to be used less and less. Equality among
people is important, but it is also necessary
that everyone shows respect to others
and use proper, polite words. And it
is useful to maintain one aspect of Japanese
culture, I think.
(YOSHIKO TOYOTH, Kanie, Aichi)
Some educators are said to advise
discarding polite or humble language
forms altogether. I would like to voice
an objection to their proposal. I do not
understand what makes them consider
such an outrageous idea.
I recommend that polite language
forms be preserved for I believe that
such forms perform an important lubricating
function in social life. People are
prone to become rude without the polite
language forms. You cannot keep polite
company if you neglect polite words.
It cannot be denied that polite language
forms come from the so-called
vertical human relations of the old
times. This fact does not mean, however,
that polite forms are unsuitable to
modern times. Good traditions should be
preserved. It is only because the polite
language forms have performed some indispensable
functions in society that
they have continued through the ages.
Generally speaking, people at large
are using polite language forms less often
than before. Especially, young people
are less careful in using correct forms
because they are not so concerned about
them. Some say times have changed, but
I do not completely agree with them.
Some indescribable tendency seems responsible
for the trend. No one can reverse
the trend. This is the way times
change, isn't it?
It is a misconception that polite
language forms do not fit in with a democratic
society because that society's
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 5
human relationships are horizontal __rather
than vertical.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
"Language is a dress of thought ." I
learned this tasteful saying from "Daily
Word". As we change our dress from time
to time, so the words we speak must be
changed occasionally. It was quite natural
for us to speak politely when we
spoke to the elderly. That is what we
were taught from our childhood and put
into practice as a matter of course.
France is not exceptional, but all nations
are proud of their own languages. I
believe that Japanese is a beautiful language
when it is either written or spoken.
Nowadays, however, the disorderly
way of speaking of the younger generation
is often pointed out. I think this is
a temporary phenomenon. As a part of
their growing up, it seems to me they
are having fun speaking in such a way
but when they get home and speak to
their parents, they do not speak as they
do to their friends (I hope).
Only human beings have language as
a means of communication, so a beautiful
language should be handed down to
the next generation.
(MIDORI Midori, Nagoya)
*********************
Lentember 9 MessaReiThetrie #333)
On September 9,1850, 147 years ago
today, the state of California was officially
admitted to the United States of
America as the 37st state. Named after
an imaginary island (an "earthly paradise")
in an old Spanish romance, it i s
the third largest state, a little larger
than Japan. What does the name "California"
bring to your mind? You may have
visited there or know some famous cities,
people, events or natural wonders
6 NOVEMBER 30, 1 997
related to that state. California is one
theme for those who wish to write a
short essay for me to correct and print
in "Daily Word" Echoes. The second suggestion
is related to another event that
took place on this day in 7776, when the
Continental Congress ruled that "Un ited
States" should replace "United Colonies"
as the name of the new nation. As
a result, we U. S. citizens do not have an
appropriate designation for ourselves,
for the term "Americans" may actually
include citizens of 35 countries on the
American continents. At the present
time what does the name "United States
of America" bring to your mind? I would
be interested in reading your frank impressions,
memories or opinions on e i -
ther of these themes.
*"k * **** * * * * ** * *** *
In 1974, I had a wonderful opportunity
to go to the United States of America
and make a short visit to California. At
that time, Nagoya Broadcasting Network
(NBN) and the University of Utah had an
exchange program for students enrolled
in any college or university in Aichi, tvlie
and Gifu prefectures. I applied and was
accepted as one of the twelve students.
Since I am a high school English
teacher, you. think I was majoring in
English literature or something like that
but I was not. I was in the department
of Business Administration and one of
my favorite subjects was marketing. My
teacher was Professor Nonaka, who i s
now a professor at Hitotsubashi University.
He was so happy that I was selected
for the NBN program that he introduced
me to one of his former classmates
at the . University of California at
Berkeley. I cannot remember his name,
but I recall that he was a tail man with
a mustache. As I went through customs
at the San Francisco Airport, I was extremely
happy to see him holding a large
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
"pMiecre of paper on which were the words: . Kimura, Welcome to the U. S. A." He
first drove me to the Golden Gate Bridge,
then to Fisherman's Wharf, where we had
lunch. and then rode on a cable car.
One of the most interesting experiences
I had in San Francisco was when I
ordered a salad at a restaurant. Since I
could not recognize any food on the menu
I ordered what looked "delicious" only by
its name. I asked my teacher's friend
how it would taste and he replied "Good",
so I ordered it. To my surprise, however,
what was served to me was much lettuce
and a few other vegetables in a big
bowl. It was a large amount, but it could
not fill my empty stomach.
After a one-day stay in San Francisco,
we students flew on to Salt Lake
City, where we enrolled as "temporary
students" at the University of Utah for
three weeks. Then vve travelled across
the northern and eastern parts of the
state and then back to California. It was
at that time that I went to Disneyland
for the first time. Everything was so
exciting that I felt it was a real amusement
park even adults could enjoy. The
things and buildings I saw and the people
I met during this first trip abroad were
all so good that I did not have even one
negative impression of the U. S. or California
and I still have some contact with
some of the people who helped me with
this trip through NBN.
I have met many Americans at home
and abroad and the image of Americans I
have gained through these people is this:
cheerful and positive. That it probably
because most of the Americans I have
met are Christians. Whatever may occur,
they look calm and have enough energy to
try to make the situation change for the
better by taking advantage of what is
available. Dr. Offner and his wife have
also given my wife and me a good example
we would like to follow.
CromuTT:L: Nishi, Nagoya)
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
My first contact with the U. S. A.
was observing B29 bombers from an airraid
shelter of our school in Hiroshima
and the second was encountering American
occupation troops at a street corner
of the city. Soon after that, many American
movies began to be shown in our
country and we could get a peep at American
culture and people's life there. In a
documentary film on the Olympic Games
(at Berlin, maybe, when Owens set a new
world record), I saw the letters USA on
some players uniforms, but I did not
know the meaning and wondered about it.
It brought to my mind the name of a
place in Kyushu. Looking at some love
story films, I was deeply impressed by
the fact that such films had been produced
during the war.
It was in 1977 that I visited America
for the first time. My main purpose
was to attend the International Trade
Fair in Dallas, Texas. I visited various
parts of the country by myself before I
met with other members of the group in
Dallas. When I boarded a domestic plane
for Chicago at Los Angeles, I was confused
by the rapid speech in the announcements.
I was moved with admiration
at the sight of the broad expanse of
ground without end. Once, when a stewardess
passed by me, she stuck a label
on which was printed "occupied" on my
bald head for fun and then laughed uproariously.
I was surprised at her innocent
joke, which we could never imagine
happening in our country. In Chicago, I
visited Lake Michigan and wondered at
the beauty of the lakeside.
In Dallas, I attended the International
Trade Fair at the World Trade Center
with our governor and received a nomination
to become an honorary citizen of
that city. I had much difficulty understanding
the language spoken there, especially
that spoken by the general public.
I had thought that my words would
be understood by others, even though I
could not understand theirs, but I was
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 7
completely -mistaken. No matter how
clearly I tried to pronounce "World Trade
Center", my destination, it took much
time to make a taxi driver understand
what I said. Anyway, I was able to find
great pleasure and many surprises on my
first visit to the U. S. A, and gained a favorable
impression of that country.
Each of my family members has had
some relationship with the U. S. A. My
daughter had a chance to study at Harvard
University for two years, being sent
by the government. She stayed in Boston
during that time and was able to observe
American society and culture in addition
to her major field of study. When her
graduation ceremony was held, my wife
visited Boston and attended the ceremony
in a kimono. When they walked together
along the street of the city, many people
called out "Congratulations" to them,
which my wife recounts excitedly even
now. My wife stayed at the lodging house
for some time and even now continues to
correspond with the owner. My son also
experienced studying in a college in California
and often writes treatises on
American society. I think America has
some kind of charm, which makes me desire
mutual friendship between our two
countries in the future.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I have visited California. It is a
place with a nice environment, warm
hearts, sweet fruits and so on. But I will
write about another kind of "California".
This word brings oranges to my mind.
California oranges are famous now,
but I first heard this word when I was a
child. My mother said one day, "California
oranges are sweet. I found and bought
these." We ate some of them and they
were very sweet. I wonder how my mother
knew that name at that time. I presume
it was because she was young during
the Taish6 period, which was much
freer than ShOwa. I was sometimes surprised
to hear her talking to my aunt
8 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
__about when she was in high school and
college. In Japanese, we have the expression,
Taishei modan. They had a much
freer youth than I can imagine. The atmosphere
in my youth was a step backward.
My experience tells me that happy
memories or progress will be born in
a time of peace. I recall my mother's
face in relation to the word "California".
(MICHIKO SENO, Minami, Nagoya)
When I listened to the telephone
message of September 9, 1 learned for
the first time that California was named
after an imaginary island (an "earthly
paradise") in an old Spanish romance.
Since my childhood, the word "California"
stimulated an image of an earthly
paradise. filled with beautiful flowers,
young trees with green leaves, many
singing birds and an abundance of rich
fruits. Now that I was informed about
the origination of its name, I can easily
understand why I had such an image of
California. I have often heard that the
state of California is a little larger than
Japan, but I could not immediately believe
it because I have never been there.
However, I can easily imagine how rich
and romantic the land of California is.
Contrary to my imagination about
that beautiful land, however, I heard
that there were many Japanese immigrants
of prewar days who endured very
difficult experiences when they , were
forced to move to a relocation center in
a mountainous area during the war. And
to relate a personal experience, in the
latter part of the 1980s, a client of my
company who was a successful Nisei mer
chant from Japan hired some American
employees in San Francisco and suddenly
failed in his business due to the severe
competition there. I was deeply impressed
with the severity of the actual
lives of human beings even in. the midst
of such a peaceful and romantic natural
environment.
Minami, Nagoya)
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
The word "America" used to be associated
in my mind with a country of
freedom and the "American dream". I had
thought that those who worked hard in
America would surely succeed. When I
told this to an American friend living i n
Colorado several years ago, he said to
me: "While I was working at an oil company,
I was quick at learning and I was a
valuable person. My colleague knew that
and exerted his influence against me to
keep me from getting a promotion, so I
was sent to the warehouse." I wonder
why his boss didn't give him an opportunity
to gain a promotion earlier.
Also, when I visited a Philippine acquaintance
living in Glendale, California
a few years ago, his Philippine friend
said to me: "Oriental people are discriminated
against." He was working at a hotel
in those days. According to what he
said, it seems that he did not have much
of a chance to get a promotion.
Furthermore, a Japanese actor working
in Hollywood, named Sho Kosugi, said
on a television program: "One of the most
popular white American actors told me
that as I belonged to the yellow race, I
would not be able to succeed in America."
Thus, my positive images of America
were destroyed.
(MGM runtrin, Kita, Nagoya)
It has been more than ten years
since I came back to Japan from Columbus,
Ohio. I stayed there for two years
as a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio
State University. During our stay, I had
a variety of experiences unrelated to my
academic work. Above all, our long
drives are very exciting memories. We
were able to visit more than twenty national
parks and national monuments. I
will write about how I drove there.
Because our residence was located
in :the Midwestern plain, I sometimes
longc:d to see mountains. One day in late
August of1986, I -1:inallyd ecided to drive
across the continent by car and take my
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
family to the national parks in the Rocky
Mountains. It took us three days to get
to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
via Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota.
We stayed there for several days
and enjoyed beautiful scenery and wild
animals. I had never been to Grand Teton
National Park, just south of Yellowstone,
but the shape of the Teton mountains
looked familiar. Later, I realized that
they are the mountains viewed at the end
of the old movie Shane. A winding river,
named Snake River, runs through the
park. We saw an osprey dive into the
river and fly away holding a big fish. I t
was an unforgettable moment for us.
Then we headed north, traveled
through Glacier, Montana, crossed the
Border and went into the Canadian Rockies.
After a few days of experiencing
the rather cold weather for September,
we wanted to enjoy the summer sunshine
again, so we went down to the desert i n
Utah by way of Montana and Idaho. Afterward,
we crossed the Great Divide at
Loveland Pass (11,992 feet above sea
level) in Colorado. Along the mountain
road, we saw bright yellow aspen leaves
under the blue sky. I drove more than
800 miles in one day heading back to
Ohio. Interstate 70 in Kansas was so
straight that the morning sun shone i n
front of us, and in the evening, I could
see the sun setting in the rearview mirror.
We cannot find such a road in Japan.
I think driving is the best way to feel
the size of the continent.
We also went to the East Coast and
then down to Key West, Florida during
the Christmas holidays. On our way back
to Japan, we crossed the continent once
again by car, going to Washington by way
of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California
and Oregon. I am very sorry that I
cannot write how we enjoyed these long
drives in the limited space here.
Some people say that driving on Interstate
highways is boring because the
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 9
scenery doesn't change so often, but it is
fun for me to drive a car for a long time
without bothering about traffic lights. I
understand that freeways are not only
free of charge but also free from traffic
lights. The most wonderful thing about
driving in the U. S. is that you can go to
any state except Hawaii by car. Our long
distance drives were enhanced by handy
motels and low-priced gas. It is no wonder
that many American families enjoy
driving camping cars from coast to coast
I would like tp encourage more Japanese
to enjoy driving on Interstate highways
and visiting the countryside in the
U. S. They will surely see wonderful
sights that they cannot find through
package tours. We don't have to be content
with driving on expensive and often
jammed highways in Japan.
(TOSHIRKI MIYFIKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
"Melting pot" was a term repeatedly
used by professors to symbolize the U. S.
A. when I was studying American history
in university. Actually, America is composed
of many races with various cultural,
religious, political and economic
backgrounds. Different from us lazy students,
young professors were very eager
and active in studying about America.
They suggested that America was a kind
of miniature of the world and that if the jf-4
complex American society faxed we Ir'z-`14,
that could engender hope of a peaceful
world. Studying Arnerica might provide
hints to make our world better, considering
the many difficult problems both the
worlda ndt he U:S . A.w eref acing.7 \--Stc_h
But in those days, superpower Amer-r:
ica was in the midst of the Vietnam War,
suffering great harm, which resulted i in
the loss of a dream or expectation many
people in other countries had held of
America. It is said that the American
frontier spirit which had developed
through the ,r.eclamation. of the West did
not disappear; with the end of the "Frontier
Line" of California in 1898, but con1
10 NOVEMBER 30, 1997
? tinued to extend even over the Pacific
Ocean to other countries.
During my 40-day trip to the U. S. A.
15 years ago, I visited Plymouth, Massachusetts
where the Mayflower arrived in
1620. Many -seagulls were flying low
over the quiet ocean and . I got. a very
harsh impression viewing the coast
where 102 Pilgrims landed. I could not
help thinking of the great hardships they
experienced in that new world. That was
the very beginning of the American frontier
spirit that has been evident in its relationships
many other nations with its
superpower responsibilities. I was also
impressed by the Statue of Liberty, not
because of its height but because of its
posture. It stares far out over the Atlantic
Ocean toward many other countries,
not toward the U. S. A. I think this
shows very. clearly the character of the
United States--broadminded and tolerant.
Of course, now it is impossible for
the U. S. to accept immigrants as it used
to, but the spirit of acceptance regardless
of nationality or race has continued
to be seen in various areas of American
society. t
While AMerica has many -difficult
problems, it has even more advantages,
think.eLearning, much from America, but
not ,becoming overly dependent on it, we
should try to cooperate in making every
effort to build a peaceful and beautiful
world.
(K IMMO .,-:T,u11,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
'R
ecently, I had a chance to visit Okinawa
and was stimulated to think about
the relationship between Japan and America.
In the Pacific War, it was only in
Okinawa that ground -battles were fought
on Japanese land between the Japanese
Imperial Army and the Allied Forces led
by the United States. Even now, a very
large amount. of land is occupied by the
U. S. forces..
The first place we visited related to
that war was the Hirneyuri-no-To, Tower
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
of the Wild Scarlet Lily, located on Mabuni
Hill, which is well-known as the
site where two hundred female students
were killed by gas bombs thrown by U. S.
Marines. The cave where they hid and
lost their lives remains. In the Memorial
Building which stands nearby, the student
victim's photos were displayed on
the wail and various kinds of articles
and belongings left by the deceased were
exhibited. It was such an impressive
sight that a middle-aged man was sobbing
in that room.
The place we visited last was an
underground tunnel which was used as
the headquarters for the Japanese Navy.
The ,Japanese defending troops could not
hold out against the overwhelmingly superior.
Allied .Forces. This battle which
lasted for three months claimed 200,000
Japanese lives, including both soldiers
and civilians, while 12,500 Allied Forces'
men died. This indicates how fierce
this battle was.
After the war ended, the Occupation
Forces, which were commanded by U. S.
General tvlacArthhur, carried out various
reforms, such as demilitarization, dissolution
of conglomerates (zaibatsu kaitai),
liberation of farmland, reformation
of the education system, and so forth.
As a result, Japan was able to recover
after going through a time of great economic
hardship in the following years.
Before Japan was able to stand up on its
own feet from its completely shattered
condition, America extended a helping
hand. For that reason, we owe America a
great deal and are deeply grateful to the
United States for what we are now.
On the other hand, however, it is
true that we are influenced negatively
by such trends as the "Women's Liberation
Movement" in America. That is contrary
to the traditional way of thinking
in the Orient, i. e., male chauvinism. After
the war, this women's liberation tide
washed ashore onto the Japanese archipelagofrom
the other side of t PacifNOVEMBER3
0, 1997
ic. As a result, male chauvinism has
waned and women grasped predominant
power over men, as is often noted, "women
and stockings have become stronger
after the war."
As we have seen, the United States
played a leading role in the restoration
of Japan after the war. Now, as members
of a group of developed countries, Japan
and America have to be cooperative in
many ways and try to contribute to the
development and welfare of the whole
world. (SHOJI oamnE, Kasugai)
I have only one Rand McNally road
map. It is of California, even though I
cannot drive a car. In 1987, I made a
trip with nine others by a rented car,
mainly in California, but also going into
Arizona and Nevada. We stayed at motels
in each city, without reservations,
except for the first and last ones. Starting
from Los Angeles, we visited Long
Beach, Sequoia National Park, Fresno,
San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Santa
Barbara, Williams and Las Vegas.
When I close my eyes, various memories
come to mind: the deep blue sky,
old giant sequoia trees over 2000 years
old, the horizon seen from the California
Route No.1 Sea Way (to me, it seemed
curved like the round earth), strange
double rainbows following an enormous
shower in the Mojave Desert, fruit car
trains along the roadside from which we
often bought various kinds of fruit, the
magnificence of nature at the Grand Canyon,
etc. Some day I would like to visit
there again and have more opportunities
to talk with Californians.
(YOSHi(J TOYOTH, Kanie, Aichi)
First, I would like to share a wartime
memory. One fine day during World
War II, more than half a century ago,
several B-29 plans making a flight in
formation high in the azure sky happened
to catch my eye. In an instant, I was totally
absorbed in admiration looking up
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 11
at those state-of-the-art aircraft shining
brightly in the sky. I completely forgot
they were the very aircraft that had
dropped devastating incendiary bombs on
my hometown a short time before. The
planes looked majestic. There was no
possibility of their being shot down by a
barrage of shells, for the Japanese army's
defensive artillery fell short of the
public expectation that they would shoot
down the abominable enemy planes.
The second anecdote I wish to share
is this. A private English school was
opened just after the end of the Pacific
War. An American military officer of
the Occupation Forces was our teacher.
His gentlemanly demeanor as well as his
dignified, disciplined appearance impressed
me so deeply that i came to have
great respect for him. Happy memories
of the handsome officer still remain vivid
after so many years.
The name, U. S. A., stimulates in my
mind a vague image of how it looks. Vast
ness, abundance, variety and democracy
are the main concepts. On the whole, it
makes me feel at ease, except for its
belligerency against some countries.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
Los Angeles and San Francisco are
the places I visited in the state of California.
Three years ago, I visited there
for the first time as a member of a
friendship mission from Nagoya to celebrate
the 35th anniversary of our sister
city relationship with Los Angeles. It
was right after some terrible violence
had taken place., I saw a number of broken-
down homes, especially in the residential
areas where Koreans and Chinese
lived. Many homeless persons were sitting
along the road even in daytime. We
were told not to walk around alone. Thus
my impression was not favorable. Afterward,
however, I realized that that was
only one of the faces of that big city.
During my short stay, I met many
nice people who participated in various
12 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
events, such as the second generation
festival parade and reception. The highlight
of the official events was a big
party which was attended by the mayors
of both cities: Nagoya and Los Angeles.
Following all the official events, we
had an exciting time, visiting ? amusement
areas. Disneyland, Universal Studios
in Hollywood, the Chinese Theater and
Marina Del Ray are places that vividly
come to my mind. Last summer, on my
way to Mexico, I stayed overnight in Los
Angeles and again visited Marina Del Ray
for dinner. While we were having dinner
in a restaurant by the seashore, we saw
a beautiful sunset.
In Los Angeles, there is an association
called LANSCA, which stands for
Los Angeles and Nagoya Sister City Affiliation.
Mr. and Ms. Houser used to be the
chairpersons for that society. We meet
each other once a year and they are now
visiting Nagoya for the Nagoya FeStival.
This coming Sunday, I am looking. forward
td joining them on a trip to Kyoto.
Finally, have you ever heard of a
"Saturday Night Special"? It i
s not a
night of an enjoyable weekend. It is the
name of a cheap gun, costing around $60
and mainly produced in the state of California,
maybe in Los Angeles. I have
heard that whether or not to continue
producing the guns is becoming a major
issue for the state government.
(MIDORI Konnmn, Midori, Nagoya)
.*********************
Septemberl 6 =sue Theme #334)
T is the 20-th letter of the modern
English alphabet. A "tee", spelled t-e-e,
is a small peg on which a golf ball i is
p"ltaecae"d before hitting it. Another kind of
, spelled t-e-a, denotes a certain
kind of evergreen bush, the dried leaves
of that bush and the beverage made from
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
putting those tea leaves into boiling water.
The Japanese term for these things
is cha, but when speaking of the beverage,
it is usually preceded by an honorific
prefix. There are various kinds of
ocha, depending on the plant itself, when
the..leaves are picked and how they are
prepared, but there is a general distinction
between so-called black tea (literally
"crimson tea", according to the Chinese
characters) and green tea. Tea is
said to be used by more people throughout
the world than any other beverage
except water and recent research indicates
that drinking green tea may prevent
or postpone the onset of cancer .
"Tea" is the suggested theme for an es -
say this week. What thoughts or 'experiences
does this word bring to your mind?
********************-k
About 1500 years ago, tea was introduced
into Japan from China along
with Buddhism.
About 88 days after the beginning of
spring, many girls in dark blue kimonos
cover their heads with white Japanese
towels, tuck up their sleeves with red
bands and pick tea leaves. It is a beautiful,
picturesque scene.
Our tea shrubs are about one-meterhigh
and we pick fresh tea leaves only
once -a year. To my surprise, in Indonesia,
tea trees may be several meters
high so people usually use ladders when
picking tea leaves and they pick young
leaves several times a year.
Many years ago, when I was riding a
1st class Chinese train, train employees
handed passengers empty tea mugs with
tea leaves in them and a lid on top. Several
minutes later, they poured hot water
in them. I removed the lid and looked
inside the mug. The tea leaves were
floating around on the water and I was
quite embarrassed when I noticed how
the Chinese people were drinking their
NOVEMBER 30, 1997
tea. They were sipping it through a thin
gap after lifting the lid just a little to
keep from drinking the tea leaves. I was
quite interested to see the Chinese way
of drinking tea.
(TSUYOSHI HEIMHDFI, Minami, Nagoya)
It is said that tea has medicinal value.
Of course, Japanese knew its value
in the Edo era, but it has now been proven
by medical research. Recently, natural
foods are being promoted and tea is
being reevaluated along with this trend.
But I will write about a memorable
incident related to tea when I was young.
My home town is in Shizuoka Prefecture,
which is famous for its tea. When I was
in the second year of high school, my
friend and I went into a woods and enjoyed
walking around. We found a small
but where no one was present where tea
leaves were being dried in a large earthenware
vessel. The but was filled with
a pleasant fragrance. A man came back
to the but and saw us. He smiled and
continued to stir the leaves. That was
my first and perhaps last experience to
see how tea leaves were prepared in the
traditional way.
I cannot find the words to describe
my sweet memory. Time does not return.
Where is my friend? Where are the
woods? I do not know.
SEINO, Minami, Nagoya)
There is no other beverage so universal
as tea (in a wide sense, including
green tea, black tea, etc.) for all ages
and in all places, except for plain water.
(Coffee is pOpular throughout the world
now, but its history in the East is not so
long.) This is evident in the fact that
the pronunciation of each nation's word
corresponding to "tea" resembles each
other: French the, German Tee, Italian
and Spanish te, Russian chaff, Chinese,
Korean and Japanese cha. This universality
can be understood by investigating
the history of tea.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
13
The original habitat of the tea (cha)
plant is said to be China. At first, tea
was said to be used as a medicine in old
China. Tea plants along with the habit of
drinking tea gradually spread throughout
the world. Concerning Japan, it is said
that Saicho (the founder of the Tendaish0)
carried back seeds of tea from China
in 805 and planted them in Hiei-zan.
There are different kinds of tea depending
upon how they are processed.
Black tea is refined through a process of
fermenting tea leaves and green tea is
refined without a fermentation process.
Oolong tea is refined through a half-fermentation
process. The habit of drinking
black tea was introduced into Europe in
the 17th century. Now India and Sri Lanka
are the main areas for growing tea
leaves used for black tea. It was in the
Meiji era that people began drinking
black tea in our country.
Cha (green tea) is the most popular
beverage for us Japanese. It has permeated
deep into our lives. In the feudal
age, drinking tea was esteemed by the
bushi, ruling classes, and was developed
to the level known as sadO or cha-no-y0
(tea ceremony). A man named Rikyil further
developed cha-no-y0 into its present
form in the 16th century. The tea
ceremony is considered to be part of the
aesthetic education of young women
even today. We have many daily expressions
concerning tea, for it is inseparably
bound up with our lives. 0-cha-nisuru
means taking a rest from one's
work; o-cha-o-nigosu means patch up; ocha-
o-iu means bantering and o-cha-jo
means a resting place of a temple or
shrine where tea is served.
am very fond of drinking green tea.
Though young people in my office drink
coffee during a break, I prefer green tea.
As my secretary knows that I drink a
large quantity of green tea, she places a
teapot on my desk full of green tea in
addition to my own regular teacup. Today,
there are many magazines related to
14 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
health and they often emphasize the benefits
of green tea, which I think is quite
natural considering that tea was originally
used as a medicine. According to a
recent study, green tea is said to be effective
for preventing cancer. Tea is also
very convenient to carry when we go
abroad to other countries where we cannot
drink water. I will continue to drink
this cheap and handy beverage, green tea,
hereafter as a part of my life.
YOSHINIOTO, Gifu)
I prefer tea to coffee. Every day, I
drink various kinds of tea, except for Korean
tea. At present, I am crazy about a
healthy tea called dokudarni:
One day, one of -my friends said to
me, "If we don't go to the bathroom very
often, that means our kidneys are not
functioning well. Dokudarni tea helps us
urinate; thereore it is good for the kidneys."
What she said is very true. When
I drink dokudarni tea several times a day,
go to the bathroom six or seven times.
It is said Japanese tea contains
much vitamin C, which enhances one's
beauty. As a child, I heard that Japanese
tea made one's skin dark. However, that
is completely wrong and I, myself, am
proof of that.
I will close my essay with a helpful
suggestion. If you visit Eikoku-ya at KakuOzan,
you can find various kinds of tea
from all over the world.
(1-21E7=::-..M.:1U1 T H, Kita, Nagoya)
We are enjoying a peaceful time
these days with plenty of food and
drinks, but when I was a schoolboy, before
the Pacific War, ocha was rather
precious. At lunch time, ocha was only
given to teachers while we .pupils were
provided with hot water .poured into the
corner of a .lunch box. During .my six
years in grade school, pupils were never
given ocha at lunch time.
Since ocha was valuable, the
yea grounds were not carelessly thrown
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
away. They were used again as food for
horses. We ourselves would sometimes
eat them, mingled with a little bit of
boiled rice, toward the end of the war
when foods, including rice, were scarce.
Tea grounds were alsoused for cleaning
rooms. Before vacuum cleaners were introduced
into homes, brooms were used
instead. When using brooms, some housewives
would scatter tea grounds on the
floor of living rooms. Then, the dust
sticking to the grounds was completely
swept out of the room.
Ocha is said to be one of the best
beverages to keep a person in good
health. I believe ocha is the best drink
for maintaining one's mental and physical
health compared to alcoholic cr soft
drinks. However, I try not to drink too
much sencha, a kind of ocha, because it
keeps me from sleeping at night.
(EiTZAJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
I am a tea lover. A cup of cold mugicha,
made from roasted barleycorn, is
better than cold beer to me. I have black
tea at breakfast, oolong tea at lunch,
green tea with a snack and roasted tea
(hoji-ch,-1) at supper.
I usually get back from work too
late to have supper with my family, but
while my wife serves me supper, my
daughters appear from their rooms and
join me at the table. Then they. pick up
something from the table and put it into
their mouths. They say apologetically
that they are a little hungry. We talk
about what has happened during the day.
They wait for me to have tea and fruit
together. This tea time late at night is a
precious time for us.
When my wife doesn't have time to
make a cake,, we buy several kinds of
cakes at-a. confectionery shop on weekends.
We share each piece of cake and
talk about the taste over a cup of tea.
Therefore, tea not only quenches my
thirst but also give me time to be with
my family at home. We can talk, think
NOVEMBER 30, 1997
and relax with it. I cannot
life without tea.
(TOSHIOKI MIYHKE,Tsuzuki,
imagine my
Yokohama)
I am reminded of the trip to England
I made some fifteen years ago. I wa s
taking private English lessons from a
British young man at that time who
organized a tour group one summer from
among the students he was teaching.
Even now, I remember clearly the
first sight of England when our plane
flew over the patchwork of green and yellow
fields. The hotel we first stopped at
was in Gosport, a small town in southern
England where our tutor's family lived.
To my surprise, there was a kettle in
each room so that guests could make tea
at any time they wanted. Furthermore,
what startled me was the white stains
on the inside bottom of the kettle. However,
that is easy to understand for the
water in England contains much calcium
and magnesium which caused the "white
bottoms of kettles". On the following
day, we had a chance to experience a socalled
afternoon tea-with-bun in the
backyard of a restaurant. The bun went
very well with tea and I realized why
British people are so fond of tea.
Now I remember reading about
George Orwell sipping tea, not from a
cup but from a saucer. This might be
considered impolite, but he wanted to
identify with the working class people
in the Victorian Age. He also wrote a
booklet on how to make good tea. He
wrote in that book that the teapot must
be warmed first before pouring the tea
and so on.
Although our trip was very short,
only two weeks, we enjoyed sharing the
experience of genuine British life because
our teacher himself drove a rented
minibus and took us to places off the
regular tourist routes. After that trip, I
acquired a taste for tea and wine which
has continued ever since.
(SHOJI DOME, Kasugai)
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 15
I enjoy pursuing topics which I have
taken for granted and have never thought
seriously about in my ordinary life. Today's
theme of Tea is a case in point.
Usually, when I compose an essay, I
first consult a dictionary or encyclopedia
to get relevant information. In the
process, I am especially pleased when I
come across many unknown facts or
anecdotes. In regard to tea, I came to
know how to make tea best according to
its varieties. Features of each variety
differ from place to place. This practical
information made me happy. I will
now be able to enjoy subtle differences
in the taste of tea. The amount of tea
leaves, the temperature of the water,
the length of time--all these factors
have a delicate effect on the taste of tea
In retrospect, it has been customary
for me to make tea by the rule of thumb.
But now I have a better understanding of
how to brew the best kind of tea, considering
the subtle differences between
each variety. This was the great benefit
gained from writing these lines on the
theme of Tea.
Now, wouldn't you like to have .a cup
of tea which I will make for you?
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
Today, there is a wide variety of
beverages from which we can choose,
but in the old days, Green tea was the
simple but precious beverage for Japanese,
deeply rooted in their daily lives
and became an important part of Japanese
culture. When we sit in the stillness
of a tea room, surrounded by elaborate
tea utensils at a tea ceremony, we
can easily escape from the hustle and
bustle of our daily lives and completely
relax over a cup of tea. In February, at
Shiratori Garden, I had such an experience
for the first time in many years.
Todzy, more and more people are
concerned about their health, especially
when they reach a so-called ripe age.
Cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure,
16 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
and so on, which are called adult illnesses,
are their undesirable companions.
Recently, medical research has proven
that green tea contains various elements
that stimulate good health. That is good
news to know. I myself drink quite a bit
of green tea. I don't need to buy it because
in Japan, on many occasions, green
tea is used as a gift and i try to use it
before the taste is spoiled.
(MIDORI KODFINIA, Midori, Nagoya)
*-k*******************
Seotember23 Messaae(Theme #335
This 23rd day of September is called
Shabun no Hi in Japan, autumnal equinox
day, when the length of day and night are
equal. ("Equinox" comes from Latin words
meaning "equal night".) In the West, it is
considered the first day of autumn and
here, it is the middle of the traditional
p"eortihoedr schalolreed" higan, literally meaning
, when visits are made to
the graves of loved ones. It is also the
day in 7790 when Karai Senry0 departed
for that "other shore". His name was
given to a peculiar type of Japanese poem,
senry6, which he made popular For
an essay this week, I am suggesting one
of those four themes: Equinox, Autumn,
Higan, or Senry0, depending upon the
writer's interest.
*********************
The smell of burning dried leaves
and twigs and feeling the coolness of the
autumn air on my skin reminds me of the
difficult days just after the war. Japan
surrendered on August 15, 1945 and we
Japanese who lived in Korea were all
compelled to return to Japan. My family,
except for our father who had to remain
there for a few more months to settle
many difficult matters caused by the
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
surrender, left our home in early September
in order to embark from a former
naval port located west of Pusan. However,
the ship was greatly delayed due to
the general confusion of shipping arrangements.
So we had to stay there for
a month and a half waiting for the ship
that would carry us to Japan. It was October
20, 1945 when we arrived at our
father's birthplace, then owned by his
brother, located in a rural village in the
western part of Tottori. Prefecture.
For a while after that, I could not
help having a difficult time which may
be called, with a bit of, exaggeration, a
"revolution" in my life. Until now, I have
spent 17 years in Korea and 51 years in
Japan, which is a three-to-one ratio, but
insofar as fond memories are concerned,
it is one-to-one. This comparison will
not change to the end of my life.
Three big reunion parties sponsored
by the three different schools I attended
long ago will be held this autumn. The
atmosphere at these parties is still very
lively. All members seem to have similar
memories of the days just after the
war. (1-11111UdFi U KUM1, Minami,Nagoya)
The 31-syllable-poem called waka
(tanka) has been popular throughout our
history though it remains unclear exactly
when and how this ancient poetic
style developed. The first half of a waka
(kami-no-ku) consists of 5-7-5 syllables
and the second half (shimo-no-ku) 7-7
syllables. Later, the first half of a vvaka
developed into an independent poetic
form called haiku. The concise form of a
haiku requires it to convey a vivid image
with no superfluous words. As it was
also called haikai (a joke) at first, haiku
was originally a comic verse, but it was
refined into a highly sophisticated form
of serious poetry; the comical and satirical
elements evolved as an independent
genre known as senryCi.
Senry0 was developed into its present
form by Karai Senrya, as Dr. Offner
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
noted, and became popular in the middle
of the Edo era. When composing haiku,
basic rules related to kire-ji and kigo
must be followed. Kire-ji is a word
which indicates the end of a phrase, such
as kana, keri, etc. Kigo is a word which
is related to one of the four seasons.
But in the case of senryCi, there are no
such requirements, so it is rather easy
to compose in comparison with haiku.
Senry0 acutely deals with humane feelings,
the prevailing state of society,
manners and customs, etc. as its subject
matter and is characterized by comicality,
satire and wit.
Here I will provide some illustrative
examples of modern senryt) quoted from
books and newspapers at hand.
Mada-neteru, kaette-mireba moneteru.
(Still asleep. ? When I get home,
already asleep.) We must be frugal in
our usage of words when composing
haiku or senry6 because we must use
only 17 syllables in them. Therefore we
must adopt many abbreviations. The subject
of mada-neteru may be the writer's
wife. The subject of kaette-mireba i s
the writer himself and the subject of
mo-neteru is his wife again. There are no
explanations about subjects and times,
but we can easily imagine that the sleeping
person is his wife and the times are
early morning , and late at night. Furthermore,
we can imagine a salaried man's.
disappointment and his wife's situation,
getting tired awaiting her husband's return.
Imagination is the most important
element when we read senry6.
li-kanai,jDnen-tattara okkanai. (Good
wife. After ten years, dreadful.) In this
example, "good wife" at the beginning
means a newly-married wife. Needless
to say, kanai and okkanai rhyme, which
makes-this poem more interesting. ?
Hai-hiru, ano-menseki-ni kono-taija.
(High heels; this weight on that area.)
Of course, "this weight" suggests a woman's
great body weight and "that area"
means the small area at the base of the
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 17
high-heeled shoes. -Ttle image of a fat
woman walking moves us to laughter.
0-goe-de kagi-no oki-basho iwanaide
(Don't tell me where you put the key i n
such a loud voice--a thief may hear our
conversation.)
We often experience such situations
in?our daily lives. The themes of senryii
are our lives themselves. Senry0 can be
said to be the simplest and easiest genre
of our literary arts.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I have been interested in senry6 poems
for a long time. They are the same
as haiku in that they have seventeen syllables.
But senry0 include current situations
or daily events the writer encounters.
It will bring. enjoyment when a
good senryt) is composed. It is really a
casual hobby among elegant and romantic
people in "Senryt) Fan Clubs" throughout'
Japan. I remember some senry0 I learned
in my high achool days. For example:
Koko o shitai jibun ni oya wa nashi
("His parents are no longer around when
he wants to be devoted to them"). Honburl
ni natte tobidasu amayadori ("I ran
cut of the place where I had taken shel?-?
ter when it began to rain very hard").1s6-
re) sanbaime niwa sotto dashi ("A hanger-
on hesitates to ask for a third helping
of rice"). As soon as I read these verses,
I exclaimed; "They are very true." At the
same time, ?I understood that senryet involved
a human touch, cynicism and sarcasm
directed at others or to oneself
while haiku are descriptive of human
life and nature ? with seasonal words included.
Anyway, senryt) or haiku are the
shortest poems in the world. It was very
good of Mr. Senry0 Karai to leave us such
a wonderful Japanese literary form more
than two hundred years ago.
Recently, I thought again "very true"
upon reading these senry6 in a current
magazine: Shiawase na han.ashi ni akiru
hito no mimi ("A man prefers pitiful stories
about others more than happy ones.
18 NOVEMBER3 0 , 1997
Listening to the happy experiences of
others bores him"). Jisho ni nai kotoba de
chichi o mata damasu ("A son deceived
his aged father again by using words not
found in the dictionary. The father pretends
to understand the new words his 1,
son uses, even though they may be coined
by the son"). Toshiyori ga ninpu ni yuzuru
shiruva- seki ("An aged person offers
his reserved "silver seat" to a pregnant
woman. Aren't there any reserved seats
for pregnant women?")
It is interesting to read senry0
with a human touch for weak people and
cynicism for persons in power.
(IMMO TIMM, Fukushima)
My essay is about higan-bana, or hi- c
gan flower. Of course, you know that the
flower with this name is big and red.
I was fond of reading books when I
was a child. I remember the story about
a higan-bana which I read when I was
very young. have forgotten most of the
story, except for its ending. I felt very
sad when I read it because a good girl
died in a field near a mountain where
higan flowers were blooming profusely. 44-/L��
The lasting impression of higan flowers
I gained from that story was very sorrowful.
A childhood memory is very c
strong, so I still feel sad when I see that E
flower.
I think that childhood impressions
were very important in my experience. A
child's education exerts a great influence
throughout his or her life even to
old age. Children who are acquainted
with God's Word should experience
healthy growth. Even if they forget it,
they may remember it when they are in
doubt and can find the right path.
We should express our thoughts
which we think are right. Recently our
entire society has become more d if ficult,
but we should have the courage to
do what we believe to be right.
(N1] .7. Minami, Nagoya)
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
For many years, I thought that higan
vas what we called the world after
death, as opposed to shigan, but now I
understand that higan is what we should
keep in our minds during our lifetime.
Whenever either of the higan periods
came, my mother made many large ohagi,
using malted crystal sugar instead of
regular sugar. They tasted so delicious
:hat I always ate too many and was
called anko-musume. During those times
my parents used to visit the family's
grave with beautiful flowers, but they
didn't force me to go with them. My
mother said, "When the time comes, you
will know." Now I sometimes visit the
grave where she is sleeping at times
other than the higan and bon periods to
;lean the gravestone and recite a sutra.
Especially on Mother's Day, I never fail
:o take many red and pink (not white)
carnations to decorate the grave beautifully.
Fortunately, it is situated on the
top of a large, low hill in Heiwa Park and
can enjoy viewing a pleasant, calm
panorama of the Higashiyama area while
talking to her in a quiet atmosphere.
It- Many people question how such me-
Mprial services for the dead are related
:o' Buddhism. What on earth does Buddhisrn
have to do with such a service?
But such questions are not so important
:o me. Vikiting graves of loved ones to
pray for the of their souls is a
very natural feeling of human beings regardless
of faith. I consider it a good
custom for us Japanese to designate certain
days in a year to remember the de-
:eased, especially for those who are
leading busy lives every day,
Actually, holding memorial services
for ancestors was not at the heart of
Buddhism. It is said that ek6, an old
Indian concept for applying one's good
deed to another person's benefit, was
connected to DaijO Buddhism, in which
:he spirit of doing good for others was
considered very important. In Japan, ek6
has been applied to the benefit of a dead
NOVEMBER3 0 , 1997
person who can no longer do good deeds.
The relationship between Buddhism and
funerals in Japan dates back to the Nara
period. With the widespread cliSseminathan
of Ride) doctrine in the Heian period,
how to ensure that their loved ones
would be reborn in the world of _rodo became
very important for people. Connecting
the ideas of ekO and jock), which
supported and developed the custom of
holding memorial services for ancestors,
was thoroughly confirmed by the establishment
of the danka and temple system
in the Edo period.
The word jodO sounds more romantic
than the word higan, but when I started
to read the MuryOju Sutra, in which the
circumstances of jOdO are described in
detail, I was very disappointed with the
Indian paradise after death because i t
was far from the image of the pure land
which we Japanese usually have in our
minds. Higan is very different from jodO
in many ways. It is what Shakamuni's
teaching is really about and ,efe, cannot
reach it or gain it by only repeating sacred
words. It is a state of mind rather
than a place, completely released from
every human evil desire or worry or de-0
. , luwsieos nuwifnfhe rriec lahil f e
In order to gain higan, we are required
to practice six haramitsu disciplines
in our daily lives which are taught
in the Daibon Hannya Sutra. We can learn
them by understanding the Hannya Shin
Sutra, which is the most popular short
sutra we can recite in front of altars at
home. Not across the Ganges River nor
far away in the western pure land nor
high in the glory of heaven, I hope higan
always resides in our hearts.
(KIKUKIJ ECULIMillill,Nakagawa,Nagoya
This time, a number of themes were
suggested from which we can choose.
Considering the various themes, the one
which is of particular interest to me is
"Autumn" .
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 19
Thinking of autumn, or fall, I naturally
think of reading books as every one
else does. Nevertheless, I am in a somewhat
different mood now. I would prefer
to take advantage of this opportunity to
do some recollecting now at the beginning
of an early autumn evening instead
of doing so as the newspapers do during
the hectic time at the end of the year.
Most Japanese newspapers choose ten
big, serious events both domestically
and internationally at the end of every
year. I am not sure whether the same is
true in foreign countries.
Not only in Britain but in other countries
as well, people will remember
what they were doing on the day Princess
Diana, who was in the prime of her
life, was killed as the result of a stupid,
preventable, reckless automobile accident
caused by a drunken driver who was
weaving along the road at a ridiculously
high speed of between 120 and 160 kilometers
an hour and not wearing a seat
belt. Soon after Diana's death, we heard
of the death of Mother Teresa, the Nobel
laureate, an even greater humanitarian
who had been suffering from a heart
problem.
No sooner had we learned that the
haze caused by forest fires caused two
deaths in Indonesia than we heard of the
crash of an Indonesian airplane which
might not have been unrelated to the forest
fires. Thus, the smoke pollution
from those forest fires may have been
the cause of 234 deaths, including six
Japanese. One of them was Kazutomo
Otake who was despatched by the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
and was a specialist in engineering science
at a university. He was making a
determined effort to discover how to reduce
toxic substances when making a
fire. He was also involved in the study
of how to protect the environment by reducing
atmospheric pollution in Indonesia.
It was ironic that he was killed as
20 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
the result of forest fires that had
caused serious atmospheric pollution.
Looking back at the past, it was said
that most senior citizens in the U. S.
clearly remember what they were doing
when the 35th president, John Fitzgerald
Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas in
1963.
Thus far, I have noted a number of
newsworthy events that outshone the
repatriation of Mr. ShOichi Yokoi in the
47th year of Showa (1972). When thinking
of this man who had been hiding and
wandering in a dense jungle for almost
28 years not knowing that the war had
ended, the environmental pollution in
Yokkaichi City comes to my mind. Many
items related to his return were reported.
On the day following his return, a
group of athletes gained gold, silver and
copper medals in the 70-meter-high sk
jumping competition in the Winter Olympic
Games in Sapporo City, Hokkaido.
Two weeks later, the Asama Sanso mountain
villa in Karuizawa was turned into a
battleground between the Red Army and
the police. Two days after the Asama
Sanso event, a thaw in U. S.-China relations
resulted from the visit to Peking
of the 37th U. S. president, Richard Milhous
Nixon.
After five decades of being occupied
by the U. S., on the 15th day of May,1972,
Okinawa was returned to Japan. Thus,
Okinawa Prefecture was born and joined
the other 42 prefectures, so now there
are one to (Tokyo-to), one do (Hokkaido),-
two fu (Osaka-fu and Kyoto-fu) and
43 ken (prefectures).
It was on September 25, 1972 that
Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka signed an
agreement to normalize diplomatic relations
between Japan and China, after expressing
his sincere apology for Japan's
past actions. For two-and-a-half decades
after that, Mr. ShOichi Yokoi spent
his life in Japan.
Global warming has now become an
international problem which we must
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
consider deeply. It is more important to
consider it than to determine companies'
responsibilities regarding environmental
pollution. Tens of thousands of Japanese
and American companies have invaded
China resulting in the amount of trade
increasing some sixty times what it was
previously. It seems everything has expanded
very rapidly, but some things
haven't changed, such as the avarice and
discord against which Mr. ShOichi Yokoi
protested. Avaricious conduct is similar
to war.
When people have more arms than
necessary, they want to fight. It appears
that Mr. Yokoi's protests have not
been heard. This is a pretty dark ending
for this essay, but I will try to be more
cheerful next time.
(JAIME IWaI, Owariasahi)
On a fine morning just after the second
equinox of the year, I breathe deeply,
inhaling the fragrance of autumn. It
comes from a kin-mokusei, or fragrant
olive tree, in the front yard. Looking up
at the tree, I find it studded all over
with tiny, golden blossoms, the very
harbingers of the new season, autumn.
"Now
, the heat of summer is gone,
the autumn has come," I say to myself.
The beautiful scent of the tree is the
spirit of autumn itself. How beautiful it
is ! I cannot help but inhale the superb
aroma to the bottom of my lungs to fully
enjoy the autumnal quality of life.
Autumn brings mellow fruits. People
are busy celebrating an abundant
harvest. Everywhere in the country, festivals
are held at village shrines where
young and old gather together to share
the joy the season brings them. But the
season of merrymaking is too short. Autumn
is called the fall of the year. The
daytime is getting shorter and shorter,
day by day, with the night getting longer
and longer. Full of pathos, reddish leaves
of maples cause us to think about the
brevity of life. They grow scarlet until,
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
at last, they will fall in the nippy air,- a
harbinger of winter.
(SHOJI SUGItvIOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
*********************
Seotember30 Messaae(Theme #336
This last day of the month may be an
appropriate time to consider the relationship
of "first" and "last", recalling Jesus'
words in Mark 10:37. Earlier this month,
the news media concentrated on stories
related to the lives, deaths and funerals
of two outstanding women. One was
called "Princess" and the other was
called "Mother". In many ways, considering
their ages, social positions, nationalities,
personal histories and life styles,
these women were very different, but
there was also a certain human, or feminine,
quality that was similar; their
spectacular funeral processions were
televised to a worldwide audience. Now
that a few weeks have passed since
their departure from this life, what impressions
remain in your mind regarding
Princess Diana and Mother Teresa?
What reactions did you have regarding
how the media treated their lives and
their deaths? What memories, current
impressions or general comments on
either or both of these extraordinary
women do you have?
*********************
I know well the name of Mother Teresa.
She was given love from God and
she shared it with people who .needed it.
I. read that she.. had nothing but a small
bag even when she went on a trip. I cannot
find words to praise her. I remember
a novel written in Japanese by Elicit')S husaku,
Kawa. When I read about
India or the Ganges River, I felt some-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 21
thing related to God's will in the story. I
feel the same about the end of Mother
Teresa's life.
In regard to Princess Diana, I did not
know about her activities, so I was more
astonished at the funeral procession and
the public funeral than about the news of
the accident. I do not like gossip, but I
felt that she loved many people. Her
death was regrettable because she cannot
continue to carry on her volunteer
work now, but I hear that a volunteer
fund has been established for that purpose.
Perhaps God loves her.
I am thankful for God's eternal love
and I reflect upon my thoughts and actions.
I must do what is right even
though it is difficult.
SAND, Minarni, Nagoya)
Everybody in the world was shocked
to learn that Diana, Princess of Wales,
was killed in an accident in Paris. She
did not die happily.
According to the television broadcasts,
her life lacked love from beginning
to end. She was never blessed with
good boyfriends. That might be one of
the causes of her death. If she had not
fallen in love with the rich Egyptian, she
might still be alive. She led a miserable
life, especially during the latter part of
it. There is a proverb which fits her case
very well: fairest flowers fade soonest.
Both Princess Diana and Mother Teresa
excelled in welfare work. Although
they did the same kind of work, the former
was showy and the latter was conservative.
Likewise, the funeral of Princess
Diana was a large-scaled one while
the funeral of Mother Teresa, on the other
hand, was simple. But I was shocked
to see the face of Mother Teresa displayed
in public.
It is said that death makes a person
a saint. Watching the funeral of Princess
Diana on television and noticing the attitude
of the people, her death might be
such an example. In the case of Mother
22 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
Teresa, on the other hand, she was already
a saint, so she didn't have to be
made one.
Finally, we can say with certainty
that the mass media changed Diana's
life. If she had not been hounded by the
mass media, she could have enjoyed her
life as a human being more. With regard
to Mother Teresa, the mass media gave a
faithful report of her work and did not
interrupt her life. Sometimes, Princess
Diana took advantage of the mass media
to gain the support of the people, but
Mother Teresa always had the support of
the general public even if she didn't take
advantage of it.
(1-11112131v,i1 Kita, Nagoya)
The death of Princess Diana has
posed many problems to the whole world.
Diana provided a topic of conversation
from the very beginning of her marriage
to Charles, the Prince of Wales,
because of her attractive appearance and
elegant behavior. It was a matter of regret
that the couple got divorced owing
to each other's infidelity.
Diana was very popular among people
even after her divorce and became a
suitable target for the mass media. It is
said that an indirect cause of her death
was the persistent chase by ill-bred
journalists called paparazzi. It is easy
to . criticize the ruthless conduct of
these pursuers, but they are supported
by the public's insatiable curiosity
about famous people. The situation is
almost the same here in Japan. Television
programs on weekday mornings are
full of trivial gossip about public entertainers:
their marriages, childbirths, i mmorality,
divorces and so on. Whenever I
happen to stay at home on a weekday, I
am amazed at such worthless rumors,
which waste valuable time. Members of
the imperial family often become the
subject of a talk and Princess Masako is
a prime target. She has not yet produced
an heir to the imperial throne, so the
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
mass media is much concerned about her
becoming pregnant. In the case of the
Japanese mass media, however, I think
their attitude and ways of obtaining information
are more refined than that of
the United Kingdom. If they are impolite
to our imperial family, they will certainly
be castigated by public opinion. I think
this points up a difference regarding people's
respect toward the imperial family
in Japan and the royal family in Great
Britain. According to recent news, the
government of Great Britain is investigating
how to control the eccentric activities
of the paparazzi at this time.
Princess Diana was a glorious symbol
of the royal family. Her death has
stimulated anxiety about the existence
of the royal family itself. Charles, the
Prince of Wales, has already lost popularity
due to his infidelity and his attitude
toward Diana thereafter. They say
that people over there support Prince
William as the next king, skipping over
the Crown Prince.
In countries with royal families, generally
speaking, it is a difficult question
whether people wish to continue to support
them in the future. The situation is
as noted above even in the United Kingdom,
which has been said to be the last
country to maintain a royal tradition. Also
in Japan, people's feeling toward the
imperial family has changed very much
in this half century. Young people today
especially are indifferent, not to say
disrespectful of the imperial family. Our
constitution states: "The Emperor shall
be the symbol of the State and of the
unity of the people, deriving his position
from the will of the people with whom
reside sovereign power." Here, the people's
will is most important. I cannot
guarantee with confidence that our imperial
family system will continue for a
long time in the future after my generation,
which has a special feeling of respect
for the emperor, has passed away.
Gifu)
NOVEMBER 30, 1997
The tragic death of Princess Dianamade
us reflect on various problems she
confronted and which we also face in our
lives, but Mother Teresa deeply moved us
by her extraordinary way of living. She
didn't need jewelry, dresses, a husband,
children, boyfriends or a comfortable
house to find happiness. Wealth, fame,
honor, social status, which most people
(especially men) are likely to hope for in
reward for their contributory _ work, had
nothing to do with her. All she had in
her life were two saris and love for everybody,
especially the poor and sick people
lying in the streets.
Usually, people want to get out of
the misery of poverty. In contrast, she
left her career as a teacher at a convent
school and went into the slums of Calcutta,
becoming poor herself, in order to
help and love the poor, dying people, following
the words of God she heard in a
train at the age of 36. "Devoting myself
to the poor and suffering people is my
mission given by God," she said. But it i s
far beyond our thought and imagination.
We can easily imagine a person making a
great effort to engage in respectable
work to contribute to society, the nation
or the world, which usually ensures higher
income, social status or honor, but
she dared to situate herself in the lower,
darker, dirtier, poorer slums to accomplish
her mission in the love of God.
She believed that each body she
nursed was the body of God and in loving
those who came to her, she was loving
God. "It's very impressive for a person
to die filled with love," she stated. "So
spread your love everywhere you go,
first in your own home. Give love to your
cilldren, to your wife or husband, to a
next-door neighbor." Her love of God motivated
her every action and she taught
us how much one person can love people.
I believe she is one of the greatest
persons of modern times and is considered
to be a living saint. Most of us
could not do as she did, but anyway we
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 23
should start with an easy thing and progress
little by little, first in our home
and around us, lust as she said. Eotlowing
the love Mother Teresa has shown us
through her outstanding activities, let
us try to make our homes places of love
and forgiveness.
(KI(UKO KUWRIIIIFIFI,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
All human beings have their respective
fates which are not under the control
of their own wills. Even if a certain
person wants to obtain a certain result,
the outcome is liable to be quite different
than the original expectation. Even
if other people around a person make efforts
to make that one admirable, there
could be a miserable result. Conversely,
even if other people plotted to snare a
certain person, that person could possibly
be highly rewarded.
I believe that the ability of human
beings is limited and there seems to be
anoiTher, unseen power which can control
human abilities, which may be said to be
controlled by God. Popularity, respect
and grief were common to the late Princess
Diana and Mother Teresa, but there
seems to be a basic difference between
them. It is that the former died without
living her entire life given by Heaven,
whereas the latter died after she had
lived her entire life given by Heaven.
Many people all over the world deplored
their deaths similarly. However, I cannot
help thinking their fates were decided
by the will of God which is quite fair
for all people.
(innudi FUKUNII, Minami, Nagoya)
All men are created equal, yet there
is nothing so equal as death for human
beings.
Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic
nun who devoted her life to the poorest
of the poor, passed away on September
5, at the age of 87. She was a great
"mother"
, bringing her messages of faith
and love to all the people in the world.
-1
24 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her
charitable work and earned her nickname,
"Saint of the gutters".
There was a meaningful encounter
between Mother Teresa and Princess Diana
in New York on June 18. They had a
healing effect on lonely and needy people
around the world. Their genuine kindness
to the needy deserves respect.
Princess Diana's fatal accident on
August 31 was a shock beyond expression.
She had been a star whose every
move, every gesture, every smile, every
frown were news! Many people had such
an abnormal interest in her that the paparazzi
did' not mind the risk of being
accused of bad manners. On the one
hand, she was scandalous and had to
shoulder some of the blame. On the other,
she was not only a loving mother for
her children but also a good will ambassador,
a nurse and an anti-mine crusader.
Her rebellious spirit against the establishment
blew fresh air into the monarchy.
It is said that "the nail that protrudes
gets beaten down", but she was
really brave to venture forth. Princess
Diana's life was far different from that
of Mother Teresa, but how human, how
feminine she was! Beyond question, she
wasn't a perfect person, but who is?
There are thousands of people, including
me, who are still being inspired
in many ways by these extraordinary
women. May the "Mother" and the "Princess"
rest in peace forever.
(SHORE Minami, Nagoya)
I was somewhat ashamed to realize
how little I knew about the great "Missionary
to the World" as I read a couple
of her obituaries. She founded Missionaries
of Charity. She made up her mind
to devote herself to the poorest of the
poor. I heard that a Japanese Buddhist
priest who saw her called her a "Bodhisattva".
His awesome words regarding
her tell me everything about the great
woman missionary. I cannot help bowing
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
in prayer. I had better learn more about
this contemporary saint. I firmly believe
that she will go down in history as
the great Missionary to the World.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
While I was watching a talk show
on CNN (Cable News Network), a caption
suddenly appeared. It reported that Diana,
Princess of Wales, was seriously i njured
in a car accident and taken to a
hospital. A few minutes later, the regular
program was replaced by a special
report from Paris before dawn. At first,
I was wondering how she could have survived
in such a badly damaged car as was
shown on television. About half an hour
later, I was shocked to hear a doctor's
announcement or her death. She was too
young to die. Her two young sons especially
need her care and love. Her job as
a princess could be done by another person,
no one else can replace her as their
mother.
Within a week of her death, Mother
Teresa passed away. It was sad news,
but not so shocking. I was prepared for
that news because I knew that she had
been suffering from a serious illness in
recent years. The Asahi Shinbun carried
a picture of her, taken in New York City's
South Bronx in June this year, on the
front page with a brief article reporting
her death. In the picture, she was standing
with Diana. It seemed as if they were
together in heaven, too. It is said that
her activity toward dying poor people
was consistent. She didn't give them
medicine but let them die with the dignity
of a human being. She reminded the
rejected people that they were also
loved by God.
Mother Teresa's story was completed
by her death. Her activity will be carried
on by the members of the order she
established. There remains no worry after
her death. On the other hand, Diana's
story suddenly ended while many people
still thought it would continue. That
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
was one reason that I was shocked with
her death.
I have heard that when Princess Diwas
a high school student, she realized
that she had a special ability to make
other people happy. If it was true, she
naturally had what it takes to be a princess.
Unfortunately, I think, she didn't
know how to make herself happy. Her
parents got divorced when she was very
young. Since then, she grew up without
their care and love. Her repeated failure
to make up with Prince Charles might be
ascribed to her lack of experience of being
with her parents. It might be in vain
to write about her with "if", but if her
parents had loved each other and not gotten
divorced, her story would be quite
different. I perceive her death as another
lesson regarding the important roles
that parents play for their children.
(TOM WI NI I YRKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
*********************
October 72 e me 11332_1'
If we look up at the sky on a clear
night, we will see a multitude of stars,
and some of us will share the reaction of
the writer of the 8th Psalm who recognized
how insignificant human beings
are in comparison with stars, both of
which were created by God. Yet, since
human beings have minds, they are superior
to stars and able to study them.
Such a scientific study is called astronomy.
Astrology is the study of the positions
of stars in the belief that they
have an influence on the course of human
affairs. Some people regularly consult an
astrological chart but as Shakespeare
noted in his drama, Julius Caesar, "the
fault , . . is not in our stars, but in ourselves".
A traditional Japanese festival
is related to a couple of stars and popular
actors, singers and athletes are also
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 25
called stars:? "Stars" is the suggested
theme for an essay. Writers may choose
which kind of stars to write about.
*********************
Human beings have been concerned
about the stars in the sky from time immemorial.
In ancient times, people must
have been struck with awe by the very
existence of the heavenly bodies. The
polar star stands still and other stars
move around it incessantly. The sun and
the moon sometimes are eclipsed for
some mysterious reason. A comet suddenly
appears with its long tail. The
feeling of awe, however, gradually
changed into the spirit of inquiry regarding
those natural phenomena and thus as
tronomy, the science of stars, began.
Astrology, the study of stars in order to
discern the future, must be considered a
debasement of astronomy. I believe
these two disciplines have the same origin.
Astrology developed both in the East
and the West, though the content is quite
different. In our language, one of the
meanings of hoshi is "something which
governs fortune". For example, we have
expressions such as hoshi-mawari (a
turn of fortune's wheel) and kOun no
hoshi no mow ni umareru (to be born
under a lucky star).
The mysterious existence of stars
also stimulates people's yearning for
them. Stars have been a universal subject
matter of poetry, songs, pictures,
etc. both in the Orient and the Occident,
together with the sun and the moon. We
learned the poem "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star" in our middle school days and
most of us still remember it. The stars
very often appear in our kayo kyoku (popular
songs). They may be one of the most
common themes of these songs, along
with the moon, night, a flower, a harbor,
etc. Stars have also become a motif of
festivals throughout the world. Tanahata
26 NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
(the Star Festival) in our country is one
of them. It is said to be a combination
of Chinese tradition with beliefs peculiar
to Japan. We are told that once a
year in the evening of July 7th, the Herdboy
Star (Altair) and the Weaver Star
(Vega) meet, in the Milky Way. It is said
that our wishes will come true if we
pray to these two stars. Today the legendary
romance has been somewhat lost as
a result of outer space exploration.
Stars are used as a symbol on the
national flags of some countries. The
Stars and Stripes of the United States is
a typical example. The fifty white stars
on the flag show the number of states at
present. The national flags of China, Singapore,
Australia and Turkey all include
a design with stars on them. I wonder
why administrators of those countries
decided to adopt stars as symbols. What
I mean is that stars appear in the evening,
which, in Japanese thought, is a
time of decline. (Our national flag depicts
the rising sun, which symbolizes
national prosperity.) Maybe the stars in
the minds of Westerners symbolize the
greatness manifested in another use of
the word "star", meaning a distinguished
person or a well-known actor or singer.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I have many memories about stars. I
shall write about three of them.
One is a song about a star. You know
it, of course, very well. It is "Twinkle,
twinkle, little star, how I wonder what
you'are . . . ." I sang this song even though
I did not know its meaning when I was
five years old. it was the first time I
sang an English song.
Next, I often look up at the stars in
the constellation called Scorpion. My
aunt lived in Taiwan when I was thirteen
years old. Her letter informed me that
she was looking at Scorpion and thinking
of us. I looked up at the sky and longed
for her. I have loved her very much from
my childhood until now. She lives near
,1^14111
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
my house now, but I still look up at the
sky and look for Scorpion. Perhaps it
has become a habit of mine.
Third is Tanabata in Japanese. This
was a traditional event in China that
was brought to Japan and was mixed
with Japanese religions. My family observed
the traditional customs, not only
at Tanabata but at other times as well. I
wrote my hopes on rectangular pieces of
paper and hung them on bamboo branches.
I have little interest in achieving
stardom.
(MICHIKO SONO, Minami, Nagoya)
These days I am not able to view the
stars in the sky. A short time ago, I had
the custom of finding three stars in the
constellation Orion. Consulting a Japanese
dictionary, I find that the Japanese
word hoshi can also mean a criminal.
Anyway, I envy those stars who are
popular actors, singers and athletes
these days. (YASUKO IZUMI, Seto)
Just after the war, there was a
best-selling book entitled Aij6 wa Furu
Hoshi no Gotoku, Affection Is Like Falling
Stars, written by Shujitsu Ozaki,
who was captured by the Japanese army
on a charge of spying for the German
government and died in prison just before
the end of the war. It was a collection
of letters written by him in prison
to his wife and daughter from his heart
which suggested how to live through the
hard times during the war. On the other
hand, there were many movie stars such
as Setsuko Hara and Yukiko Todoroki during
the war years. And superior hotels
have many stars marked beside their
names in reference books. Thus star is a
symbol of tenderness, admiration, love,
beauty, elegance, noblity, superiority,
purity, respect, etc.
I have an unhappy memory related to
stars. Around 1940, there was a popular
song titled Kirameku Seiza, Glittering
Stars, which was a modest Japanese
NOVEMBER 30, 1 997
love song. At that time, a "star" was the
symbol of the Japanese Imperial Army,
which was notorious for its tyranny.
Military leaders became angry with that
song because it included many unmanly
words, such as love, tears, dreams, etc.
which they disliked. They thought the
star, their symbol, was degraded by the
song and put pressure on Victor, the
record company, which could not avoid
changing the words of the song as they
insisted in order to survive. It was the
time when such unreasonable power was
exerted over the whole nation. However,
their influence waned in due course, being
neglected by the stars. I hope stars
remain as symbols of peace, love, beauty
and tenderness.
(WHIM FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
Thinking of stars, the Star of Bethlehem,
which is seen at the top of every
Christmas tree in December, first came
to my mind. It reminds us of the three
Wise Men from the East who were led by
it to the manger where the Baby Jesus
lay. I like to sing ". . . the little Lord Jesus
lay down his sweet head. The stars
in the sky look down where he lay." I also
like the poem "Twinkle, twinkle, little
star/ How I wonder what you are." Indeed,
there are many poems related to stars.
They stimulate hope and dreams in me.
In the dictionary, I found the following
kinds of stars: fixed star, morning or
evening star, binary star, double star,
falling star, North star and shooting
star. I am wondering about the last one,
nagare-boshi in Japanese. When I looked
up at the starry sky at night or in the
early morning, I must have seen them.
also remember the words of one of my
schoolteachers: "Be hopeful whenever
you look up at the stars." The American
flag has the same number of stars as the
number of states in that country. Since
America was established, everyone has
been living in the hope that the stars
give, I think. Also in Japan, a couple of
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 27
stars are happy to meet each other on
the Star Festival evening. Usually, a star
has five points, but the Star of David in
the Israeli flag, made up of two triangles,
has six. And I can make some green
edible stars when I cut okra or gumbo, a
kind of vegetable. They are sticky, but I
eat them raw, flavored with soy sauce,
and they taste good boiled in soup.
Stars are also related to fortune. I
found such interesting expressions as:
"He was born under a lucky star"
, "I trust
my stars", "The stars were against it","It
is not in my stars to become wealthy". I
would like to add that I like confetti and
lumps of sugar shaped like stars. And I
wish I had some star-shaped buttons on
my blouse, if there are any.
(KHZUKO MUCH!, Fukushima)
After arriving at Aukland Airport
around 6:00 p.m., we took a bus to Rotarua.
There was a flat, spacious plain as
far as we could see. It was getting dark
and we were told that it would take four
and-a-half hours to arrive at our destination
so we all expected it to be a boring
bus ride. Then, it became completely
dark. Nowadays, we seldom, if ever, experience
real darkness, even if we live
in a rural area, but this was complete
darkness. Then we saw the Milky Way
high up in the sky. The stars stretched
for miles and miles across the heavens.
It was an incredibly beautiful sight. I
was sitting in the back row of the bus.
Fortunately, the top of the bus was a
glazed glass window. All I had to do wa s
rest my head on the seat pillow and look
up. I could observe millions of stars
without getting tired of it. It was truly
a beautiful night. I will never forget it.
(NIMBI KODIIMR, Midori, Nagoya)
I have never read my stars, but I occasionally
look up at stars in the sky. I
only know the names of a few famous
ones. Nor do I know the names of constellations,
with a few exceptions.
28 NOVEMBER30 , 1997
I remember an impressive _occasion
when I had a chance encounter with the
constellation Scorpion at a remote seashore
on a fine summer day. I was on a
tour. I went out of a hotel with some of
my friends to enjoy the cool air along
the seaside, when a group of spectacular
glittering stars near the horizon caught
my eye. "That's the constellation Scorpion",
I shouted. I was too absorbed in
looking at the group of stars to think of
those around me.
Come to think of it, I also remember
those winter evenings when I was on my
way home from the office more than a
dozen years ago. I used to enjoy looking
up at the constellation Orion in the eastern
sky. Its almost rectangular shape
with three stars inside made me realize
that it was Orion. I hurried on my way
home toward the constellation. It is a
good old memory of mine.
News has recently reached us that
the biggest, brightest star in the universe
is said to have been identified.
The celestial mammoth, named Pistol
Star, may have been more massive than
any other star. To my great surprise, the
Pistol Star cannot be seen from the
earth with the naked eye despite its
brightness because of interstellar dust
between the earth and the center of the
Milky Way where it is located, the report
said. On top of that, the mammoth star
is estimated to have a mass 200 times
that of the sun.
Now I am becoming more and more
curious about stars, the very source of
life of all living creatures.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
My knowledge about stars may be
similar to that of an average elementary
child. It is partly due to the location of
our home. The sky is too bright to see
stars here. I can recognize only a few
constellations and stars of the first
magnitude, Therefore, when I was in a
desert in Arizona at night, it took me a
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
while to find the locations of familiar
stars in the sky for there were too many
stars there.
I missed the chance to see the Hyakutake
Comet last year and the Hale-Bopp
Comet this year, so I do not consider myself
a frequent stargazer, but I once
made a major effort to watch the Giacobinid
meteoric shower about twenty
years ago. Unfortunately it was cloudy
on the day that we would most likely see
the spectacular swarm of shooting stars.
My brother and I had been looking forward
to seeing it, so we searched for a
high place on a map and decided to drive
to Mt. Fuji. Although it was still cloudy
at the foot of the mountain, we were
able to drive up to a place above the
clouds. We saw several cars parking to
gaze at the sky along the road. It was
chilly outside of the car. We took out an
emergency blanket from the trunk and
wrapped it around us. it was my first
experience to see falling stars go across
the sky. Above all, it was impressive
when I saw a very bright one falling and
felt able to hear the sound. But they
were not what we expected to see. We
waited until early morning, but the
shower of meteors did not show up. The
newspaper that evening carried a very
short article reporting that the Giacobinid
shower turned out to be not so
bright as had been predicted.
Incidentally, I was interested in the
crash of. the Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet i nto
the planet Jupiter in 1994. The enormous
energy on the impact produced a
fireball bigger than Earth on Jupiter.
Thanks to the Hubble space telescope,
we could observe the spectacular space
show. I have been to the Meteor Crater,
east of Flagstaff, Arizona. It looked like
a big volcano on a plain but it was actually
made by the collision of a meteor.
People who saw the movie entitled Starman
might remember its last part which
was filmed there. I can easily imagine
the scene when the crater was made.
^14
NOVEMBER3 0, 1997
Therefore, I support the hypothesis that
the extinction of dinosaurs was caused
by a collision of a huge meteor followed
by a drastic change in the weather. It is
said that people who lived in a country
named Kiyu in ancient China were worried
about the possible falling of the
sky. Now I cannot laugh at them. Have
our space science and technology developed
sufficiently to avoid such a tragedy?
I will try not to think about it too
seriously.
(TOSHIFIKI M1IYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
July 15 Messaae (Subject #328
Today's theme is : "Diet". One kind
of diet is the usual food one eats, or a
special selection of food chosen for
medical or health reasons. Do you watch
your diet carefully? What kind of diet
do you prefer? What do you think of the
diet of your country as compared to
that of other countries?
*********************
There is an old question about whether
we eat to live or live to eat. If we only
eat to live, we are living in a very convenient
society. Nowadays many kinds
of cooked foods are available at various
places besides restaurants. While some
are ready to be eaten immediately, others
require heating. We don't need a
kitchen to heat them. All we need is a
microwave oven or boiling water. If we
don't have to cook at home, it can save a
lot of time.
It has become common to see students
in our lab eat instant food for a
meal these days. One student atea cup of
instant noodles for lunch every day for
three years. He had enough money to buy
a decent lunch, but he saved most of h is
money to go skiing. He just didn't consider
the quality of his lunch very im-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
29
portant. His case was not exceptional.
When I was a student, instant noodles
were considered a kind of snack. I am
not sure if we can get enough nutrition
if we rely too much on instant food.
On the other hand, since the Meiji
era, many kinds of foreign foods have
been introduced into Japan. It is good
that we can enjoy various kinds of meals
at home.
I think cooking is a part of culture.
Therefore, our culture is changing along
with the progress of the food industry
and the introduction of foreign foods.
But I still believe, whatever progress
has been made, nothing is better than a
home-made meal. While I am eating
what my wife prepared, I can sense how
she loves me.
(TOSHIFIKI MIYAKE, Tsuzuki, Yokohama)
*********************
September 21 Messaae
A popular singer or speaker who often
appears on television may be called a
tarento in Japanese. This is a transliteration
of the English word "talent", meaning
a natural gift or ability. The English
word is derived from a parable of Jesus,
found in the 25th chapter of the Gospel
of Matthew, in which a man entrusted
various amounts of money to servants,
according to their abilities, before going
on a journey. Upon his return, he required
an accounting of how they spent the
money. Those who used the money wisely
and earned more were praised and rewarded,
but the one who made no use of
the money but hid it in the ground was
condemned. The Greek word for the
amounts of money in this parable was
talanton, which originally' denoted a
weight. The meaning of this parable i s
that God has given all of us certain
gifts, or talents, that are to be used for
^1111
30 NOVEMBER 30, 1997
a good purpose and that we will be held
accountable for how we use them. From
this parable, "talent" entered English
with the meaning of a divinely-given
gift. Not only special people, but all
people, have natural gifts; this parable
should cause us to reflect on whether or
not we are using such gifts and how we
are using them.
*********************
The parable of Jesus found in the
25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is
one of my favorites. Before going on a
journey, a man entrusted various
amounts of money to servants according
to their abilities. The Greek word for
the amounts of money was talanton.
Those who were entrusted with five and
two talanton respectively used the money
wisely and were praised and rewarded.
But the one entrusted with one talanton
did not make use of it but hid it in
the ground. Different people may learn
different lessons from this parable, but
the person who made no use of the money
attracted my attention.
I am sure that all people vaguely recognize
that they have been given certain
"giinftfse,r iobr"u t toth otsheo sew hoof foetehle rsth eitre ndg ifttso dairse -
regard their abilities. This tendency
seems to be especially noticeable among
us Japanese who I feel have been "graded".
according to the results of various
tests. If we are graded "high", we gain
much self-confidence, but if we are rated
"inferior", we see little or no hope of
success in the future. What we must consider
here is who is able to evaluate our
abilities and on what basis: tests? teach
ers' comments? parents' judgment? I do
not think any one of these is absolutely
right, for they have not given the abilities.
I believe it is God who gives us our
natural abilities and since he has told LIS
through this parable in the Gospel of Mat-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
thew that we are all given certain abilities,
we should ask him to help us recognize
them. Once we have found them, we
should make full use of them.
I notice I have been given such gifts
as arranging various kinds of meetings,
helping others study English and making
a constant effort to reach a goal, so I am
trying to make the best use of them. I
am now in charge of several meetings,
research projects and one club, so I find
it enjoyable to work to make each one
better and better. I also enjoy teaching
English at various places: Chigusa High
School, NHK Culture Center and as a private
tutor of my own children.
I am now very excited about a new
research project under way: "On Communicability."
I spent a few years collecting
raw data of student writing, analyzing
the data and making a report on my
research, whose main purpose was to
see how communicable my students'
writing was. Now the focus is on what
criteria we can establish to measure the
"communicability" of student writing .
The research group, "Error Analysis", has
decided to reanalyze the data I collected
before and help me establish the concept
of "communicability" after finding out
about the objective criteria for that.
Originally, Mr. Manabu Miyata, associate
professor of Nagoya City University,
took note of my data and suggested to
the research group that they should
study it more exactly.
(TOMOYHSU KiM1111P-, Nishi, Nagoya)
The 30 pages of this 58th issue of
"Daily Ilford" Echoes contain 55 essays
contributed by 16 writers. In comparison,
the first issue of the Echoes, dated
August 29, 1982, had 11 pages with
27 essays contributed by 10 writers,
including 4 of the writers in the current
issue, whose English writing and
listening ability has (hopefully) linproved
over the past 15 gears. (C.O.)