It is difficult for me to write about him. We have never been that close, though we never argued or had a fight. I can't easily describe the relationship we had. He wasn't really what I would call 'family'. We weren't friends nor flatmates. He was my mother's partner after she divorced my dad. They …
It has been 8 years since my grandfather passed away. He was nearly 80. I know about his work. I know about his family and social life. But, I hardly know who he really was. My mother’s father, Haruo, was a successful businessman. After returning from a military service for WWII, he started his small …
I remember when I went to a local Shinto shrine with my dad two years ago. Hatsumoude, or the first visit of the year, is an important ritual in Japan. After wishing the best of luck and prosperity for the new year, we tried Omikuji, which is a fortune-telling custom. Typically, Omikuji predicts your fortune …
This New Year’s Day I was reminded of the New Year’s Days of my childhood. These have been days filled with joyful memories. I grew up in a large, two-storey, five-bedroom house on a mountainside suburb in Japan. I was living with my parents, grandparents and a younger sister. We had a big drawing room …
A Thousand Years 