Beech Tree

Shirakami is famous for Beech Forest. Last August I visited Shirakami and a local guide has shown me in the forest. He was raised in a family living on hunting (called “matagi”) and knew the forest very well like his own yard. He taught me why the beech trees turn down and then up like the following photo. They are fighting against the weight of snow. I was impressed by ttheir flexibility and hardiness. I am wondering how they are this winter.

(Biceps)
(Beech Forest)

Snow

There is a very short poem of snow, which was created by Tatsuji Miyoshi, a famous poet. I feel the quietness and warmth of snow. Try to feel the Japanese language, too.

Yuki

Taro*-o nemurase,
Taro-no yane-ni yuki-furitsumu.
Jiro*-o nemurase,
Jiro-no yane-ni yuki-furitsumu.

*Taro and Jiro are all too common names in old days.

The following are Barba’s translation.

Snow

Laying Taro to sleep,
snow lies thick on Taro's roof.
Laying Jiro to sleep,
snow lies thick on Jiro's roof.

Winter Scenery

We had much snow yesterday even in Yokohama.

(Winter Scenery)

(Play with Snow)

Snow Hut and Snowman

(Berry in Red)

There is a cheerful song titled “snow” which appears in elementary school textbooks. A simple and rhythmical song! Try to sing.

The meaning of the lyrics is shown below. (translated by Barba)

Come, come, snow!
Come, come, hailstone!
Falling and falling, it lies thick.
Mountains and fields wear snow caps.
All the dead trees produce flowers.

Come, come, snow!
Come, come, hailstone!
Falling and falling, it won’t still stop snowing.
Dogs rejoice and run around the yard.
Cats snuggle under the kotatsu.*

*Kotatsu is a traditional heating appliance. A latticed wooden frame is placed over the heat source such as charcoal and a quilt covers the frame. We put both legs into the frame for warmth.

Hiroshima

It was a movie titled “Thousands of Paper Cranes” (not sure) that I was connected to Hiroshima for the first time. The movie I watched at the primary school described a true story of a girl who had died by leukemia. She had been folding paper cranes, hoping she would be cured if she could make thousand. Second is a fiction titled “Black Rain,” but not the movie by Michael Douglas and Ken Takakura. The book a junior high school teacher recommended described a social discrimination against a young lady soaked by rain after the atomic bombing. Third is an essay “Hiroshima Notes” by Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel Prize-winning author. This made me think what I can do. I took my children to Hiroshima. I think the Japanese more or less have such experiences through their life. Hiroshima is a place to visit once at least.

(Hiroshima Peace Memorial)

(People Visiting Hiroshima Peace Memorial)

(Prayer for Peace)
Thousands of Origami cranes sent from all over the world are displayed in the Park.

Inawashiro

This winter there is much snow especially in the areas facing the Japan Sea. From Siberia, swans and wild geese migrate to the Lake Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture. If you visit there, try to drink Japanese sake, looking at snowy landscape. Enjoy Japanese atmosphere.

Coming-of-Age Day

Today is the Coming-of-Age Day and ceremonies were held nationwide. Many of the girls wear traditional long-sleeved kimono. The number of 20-year-olds falls to 1.43 million, the second lowest figure on record. I hope each of them will find something important for them by 30 years old.

Ritual at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura

I like Kamakura and I take a walk in and out of the town 5 or 6 times a year. There are a lot of nice places.
What I’ll show you today is a ritual called “Joma-Shinji.” Several years ago I happened to see this ritual at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine on New Year's Days. Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, who established the Kamakura Shogunate, moved a shrine which his ancestor had reared, and worshipped the Hachimangu Shrine as a guardian god of Minamoto family. Joma-Shinji is a rutual for a professional archery to put an arrow in the target in order to expel the evil spirits.

Visiting a temple

Many of the Japanese visit a temple or shrine on New Year’s Day to make wishes of the coming year. I went to Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji Temple in Kawasaki City next to Tokyo. The temple ground was crowded, though today kicked off another year of work at a lot of companies. The number of new year visitors to Kawasaki Daishi in 2005 ranks third in Japan. (Meiji Shrine ranks first.)


There are several Dharma doll shops near the temple. Dharma dolls are derived from the Buddhism sage, Dharma. The Japanese have the custom of drawing one eye on a Dharma doll when they make a wish, and drawing the other eye after they fulfill the wish. I bought a small Dharma doll. It cost 250 yen. I think the size of a doll will not affect the grace......

Year of the Dog

Year of the Dog

(Yokohama Bayside Marina)

A Happy New Year!