A Man Who Stayed Home

keiko.amano — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:23:34 -0700

He was an insect painter. His works are very detail and warm. This is the story about Kumada Chikabo who recently passed away at 98. From the documentary program I watched, I learned that all his life, he never slept outside his home in Yokohama. His home and town was his kingdom. About four times a month, he took train to go places. ...

A Miniature Dash Hound Puppy

keiko.amano — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:06:27 -0700

While I was in the U.S., a friend of mine and her daughter bought a puppy. I wished it wasn't a miniature dash hound because it seemed everywhere in Japan. As I walked through my town, I was concerned about over-breeding pets and consumers' behaviors. When I was small, spitz was the most popular dog here. Spitz is a mid-size dog, has white fluffy hair, and barks in a high pitch ...

Three Scenes

keiko.amano — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:26:44 -0700

The first scene. The other day, I rode on a bus heading toward Yokohama Bay to renew my ten-year-term passport. I dreaded to take a photo of myself, but I couldn't avoid it this time. A passport photo costs 1800 yen next to the passport office. I thought photo booths at stations usually cost 700 yen or so. So, I went outside the building and went into a photo shop right next to it. ...

Jealousy is Alphabet Scones

keiko.amano — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:54:18 -0700

To make scones, I have to add buttermilk to sifted flour. Like jealousy, it sticks to my fingers. But if I want to cut scones in alphabet shapes, I will probably suffer more than cutting in a traditional shape. I tried a gourd and a fan shapes before, but they didn't turn out right. So alphabet shapes are probably much more difficult to cut. That's this story. E-ko is one of my ...

The First Female Captain

keiko.amano — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:12:11 -0700

Her name is Mrs. Chaotse Lee. I call her Akiko-san, but she is Taiwanese. She is my neighbor and very good friend. She is my model. I'm her fan. There's nobody like her. I've known her for about ten years, and I often praise her for being very healthy and active. She walks fast. But two weeks ago, she stopped walking. The southland wildfire had heated our hot air hotter, and the ...

Tamil and Japanese

keiko.amano — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:38:06 -0700

Sumathi asked me about the language connection between Tamil and Japanese. I don't have the related books with me right now, but as to the time of the origin, probably nobody can say for sure. The books I read were written by Oono Susumu, the most well known Japanese linguist, and his interviews conducted by Shiba Ryotaro, the best selling historical novelist in Japan. The ...

Sakuma-Drops

keiko.amano — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:04:08 -0700

My parents told me very little about their families and ancestors. The only thing they told me a lot about was how little food they had during WWII. Because they didn't have white rice, I was sure they didn't have any candies. But maybe an exception would be Sakuma-Drops. A few weeks ago, I happened to type, "You're a life-saver" to Mary Wilkinson on her blog, and I thought ...

Fig Trees

keiko.amano — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:09:44 -0700

I love nature. But I didn't plant fig trees in my backyard. I think birds flew over to my yard and dropped some seeds. I appreciate birds and seeds. One day, a thin fig tree appeared. It was natural, so I liked it. A year or so later, another fig plant appeared ten feet away. I believe in nature, so I let it grow. Soon after that, I had the third fig tree. Two or three doesn't ...

The Most Beautiful Woman

keiko.amano — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:21:44 -0700

"Among our relatives, Miyoko-san was the most beautiful woman," my mother used to tell me about her cousin. This wedding photo was taken around 1940. She looks so serious, but in other photos, she shows her warm smile. I knew one of her younger sisters, and she was also beautiful and kind. All I know is that Miyoko-san was beautiful, and that meant she was ...

The Mayfly (Part Two)

keiko.amano — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:40:28 -0700

"The Mayfly" is the 52nd chapter of Genji Monogatari. Prince Kaoru set up the 49th day Buddhist chant for the death of his lover Ukifune at his mother-in-law's residence. The mother and his wife travelled together to some other far-away location. Right after the chant ended, he walks to the west bridge-way of the residence. He has no business being there. But he's ...

Marketing

keiko.amano — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:30:39 -0700

The below is an Ebooker's site. I submitted a three page story "Pickles" to this Japanese site for a short short contest. No money is involved. I have blogged a similar story in RR before and recently made a haiku in the "Say Yes to Haiku" club in RR. On the site, my name is the third from the bottom：「ピクルス」天野啓子　Last night, I ...

Say Yes in Cornish

keiko.amano — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:06:21 -0700

Say Yes in Cornish Some people wonder why I'm interested in words and sounds and variety of things. I don't know why. But I am. Last Christmas, I watched a Cornish Christmas Carol Choir on the television. The program was "California's Gold" from Grass Valley hosted by Huell Howser. I knew only Cornish hen, but I was intrigued by their story. I wondered why ...

Ocha

keiko.amano — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:26:29 -0700

Because Sumathi made a request in my blog "Sanskrit," I decided to introduce the best, classic book on ocha (a nickname of Chanoyu 茶の湯). O is an honorific word to respect the word, cha means tea, and it pronounces like Cha Cha Cha or Chao. I don't want to confuse you, but first, I want you to know that we simply say ocha for tea ceremony. I strongly disagree with the ...

Eighty Six (Part Two)

keiko.amano — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:14:12 -0700

In the recent Ellen Sheeley's blog "Emperor's new clothes," I wrote the following comment:"I just read a Japanese Wikipedia site and learned that in 1880, Japanese women who were the head of household gained the right to vote. It said this was one of very few such examples in the world then. But four years later, it was taken away from them. After that, the laws liming ...

Eighty Six (Part One)

keiko.amano — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:54:37 -0700

A few days ago, I heard the average Japanese women's life expectancy went up again. It's now 86.05. Men's is 79.29. It's the highest so far for both. I wonder what those Meiji women writers would say if they learned about this achievement. This blog is my tribute to those Meiji-era women writers who passed away young. The women I listed below are from the volume one and two of ...