Stand in the Freezing Cold. I'm waiting for Spring!

We stand to appeal for anti-war, anti-nuke, and anti LDP government at a busy crossing every Friday or Saturday. Everyone joins voluntary, on hot days, and on cold days. I really respect them. Last Saturday was 243^rd , in the freezing wind.

The man in the photo is one of the members. He seldom speaks, but writes funny, but sharp sign boards every week. The right one says “200 thousands signatures sent to the White House that appeal not to throw sand into the sea of Henoko, Okinawa”  The next one says” The busy dog that have to obey both USA and Russia” Of course the dog is our Prime Minister. The left one says, “A lie above the lie. Repeated lie. How scary.”  This must be about the government.  My favorite one is “Come out of the hiding place, dear first lady.” This was about the Prime Minister’s wife who caused a big problem about the government’s politics.  She should have testify in the congress, of course, but Abe refused and hided her. She is not the first lady.

A Trip on a Winter Day

   I like traveling around. When we were young we often went driving tour. usually with our sons. After retirement we visited several foreign countries, sometimes on cheap tours, sometimes visiting friends abroad. The most interesting and exciting part of traveling is not historical sites or good cuisine, but seeing local people’s lives and talking with people. I remember the cheerful conversation with young girls in Uzbekistan and the life of the people I saw in India.

But recently it is becoming difficult. Reason1 Money. We live on a small pension. Reason2 Health. We are getting old for a long flight.  Reason3 Time. We are taking care of the garden, and so it is difficult to leave home long. (Our trips were always in winter.) And my husband is responsible in some activities for peace and local NPO, and it also makes us difficult to leave here long.

In this cold season we have nothing to do outside, so we sometimes go walking around, one day into the forest and another day visiting the ruin of a Medieval castle, and the other day finding so many ponds. It’s like a small trip to find out our town again.

Today, we picked some wild butterbur scapes on a rice paddy bank, which we like for tempura, then walked into the forest, where we found someone’s footprints, a rabbit’s or a fox’s,  And then we went to see a line of icicles along the river. The water from the cliff gets frozen and makes various icicles, some huge like pillars. Instead of flying to warm Hawaii, we made a short but interesting trip for free..  But telling the truth, I would like to travel around the world!!

 

exhibition of sixty pictures the sixty artists of the children’s books painted each for peace.

   February 11th is a holiday in Japan because it is a memorial day the first emperor was crowned about 2700 years ago. History textbooks tell us the people on Japanese islands in those days lived in pit dwellings and made primitive earthenware, gathered nuts and berries. The story about the first Emperor is just a myth. But since Meiji era till 1945 emperors were considered Gods, and the day was one of the most important days.

   After the defeat in the World War ll, the emperor admitted he was not God but a human, and Japan became a nation with republican system. We stopped celebrating the day.  But the ghost that was hiding after the war is slowly appearing again and trying to turn the history back. So, the national anthem is the same one as before, which is wishing the Emperor’s reign may last forever. They want to make Mikado a head of the nation.(I don’t think he wants it.) They are frantically militarizing Japan buying  expensive weapons from the U.S. and trying hard to abolish article 9 of Japan’s constitution, which declares that we will never go to wars and so we will never have armies. And they made February 11^th a national holiday again        

   So, we have decided to do something about peace on the holiday. This year we are preparing an exhibition of sixty pictures the sixty artists of the children’s books painted each for peace. Imagine the wall filled with sixty colorful, cute pictures for children! Some newspapers are writing about the exhibition. And, oh, I ‘m going to speak on the local TV next week.    

You should Try Outdoor Bath

   Snow monkeys are popular among the foreign tourists to our prefecture. They are the wild monkeys that enjoy hot spring even in the snow. I have never seen the monkeys but seeing their photos, they look mellow in the hot water. Not only monkeys but also we, mankind love hot springs especially in winter. Thank to the volcanoes(!?), we have so many hot sprigs in this area, Nagano. Last Sunday I enjoyed a hot spring that located ten minutes drive from my house. Since long ago people go to hot springs when they get tired or have pain in their bodies . It really works!  

 Once one of my colleagues refused bathing in the public bath saying, “ I’m a shy Westerner.” Japanese public bath culture must be very different from other ‘s. We don’t wear swimming suits. Usually we bath with other people. We even enjoy talking with others like, “ It isn’t much cold this winter, is it?” “No, indeed .we have little snow. Will we have enough water for the rice pad?”  When you visit Japan, you should try onsen, hot springs. I especially recommend ‘rotenburo’, outdoor bath. You can see mountains, trees, or flowers from the bath. At night you can watch the moon and the stars. In this season you can see the scenery covered with snow while you are in the hot water. Sounds great?   

I Feel Uneasy On a Beautiful Snowcovered Day

　　On the Halloween last year, big mob made a fuss on the busy street of Tokyo. Some of them overturned a truck. After a month the police announced they arrested the guilty persons, It used the photos from surveillance cameras on the streets, railroad stations, and from the people’s smart phones. They could trace the offenders and determined them out of ten millions!  The police seemed to be announcing they have such a great technologies, so don’t do anything bad. “We’ll find you out. You can’t run away.”

    I read an article about Chinese children with IC chips on their school uniforms. They say it’s for their security. Some day people would have chips in their bodies like dogs and be monitored.  

    Today surveillance cameras are everywhere and we are always filmed. I feel uncomfortable with this. We are watched, listened, filmed, and checked up. By whom?

 

   Another topic.  I have written about Okinawa a few times. A young man started a hunger strike and this is the fourth day.  

What he is protesting is this. Okinawa is planning the voting to ask whether the people agree with the new US military base or not. But the government and the LDP are obstructing the voting, and some cities are claiming they won’t join the voting. At the same time the government is throwing earth and sand into the sea everyday though more than 200 thousands signs on the internet including many famous people says to stop the work until the voting . The young man says in the tent in front of the city hall of Ginowan, which is his home and is against the voting  ” I also have the right to express my opinion about the base. Are they such scared to see the will of the people? I will continue the strike till the city withdraws the decision.

I really admire his brave act, but worrying about him. Even in Okinawa, it is cold in this season. And we know cruelty of Abe government, which will never listen to the people against it. And it is the most sorrowful and vexing is thus Okinawa to be torn up.