My Furusato: Spiritual Greetings

Looking down from the Lookout Point above Rokurosh Heights, Fukui, Japan

*****

It is a long weekend. It is "Respect for the Aged" Day today.

Respect-for-the-Aged Day (Keiro no hi) is a Japanese holiday celebrated annually to honour elderly citizens. A national holiday since 1966, this used to be held on September 15. Beginning in 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September.

This national holiday traces its origins to 1947, when Nomatanimura (now Yachiyocho), Hyōgo Prefecture proclaimed September 15 Old Folks' Day (Toshiyori no Hi). Its popularity spread nationwide, and in 1966 it took its present name and status. Annually, Japanese media take the opportunity to feature the elderly, reporting on the population and highlighting the oldest people in the country.

Mayu's best friend Yukiyo is here for the weekend. She arrived on Saturday and we have been running ever since. After she arrived, because it was raining, we took her shopping for a bit.

Then the weather cleared and I drove the two of them up into the mountains where we spread her father's ashes three years ago, after his painful death from cancer. It took some time to find the mountain road as I haven't been there for some time but we got there, and the weather was wonderful for us.

We spent some peaceful time up there chatting, and taking photos. I even made a little video, all in Japanese just of Yukiyo talking about telling whoever might watch it (her family I imagine), that she made it again to say hi to her father. Then I cut to the scenery, and Mayu describing it in her beautiful Japanese voice. There is no English explanations, and for some reason my camera wouldn't focus well on Yukiyo (hmmm... did her Dad have something to do with that?) but if you would like to watch, and if you have any "spiritual talent " (Paula...) and can see spirits, if you would like to look at this video and see if you "see" anything, I would love to know! It is called "Aisatsu" in Japanese (Greeting), and I called it "Hi Dad" in English. You may watch it on YouTube if you like, but I won't post it here.

Now you may be wondering, "Why on earth (on heaven?) would we spread the ashes of a Tokyo-jin (Tokyoite) out here high in the mountains?" Well, let me tell you the story...

Me being me, I've always been as friendly and as close to Mayu's relatives and friends as I can be. And Yukiyo's family ... well, they love me! And I love them. I have visited them a few times at their house in Tokyo and they have come out here several times on holidays. Yukiyo's dad is the only one who never made it out here. They would go back and tell him the stories of how wonderful it is out here, how beautiful the scenery is, how delicious the fish is, and the food, and the rice, and the beer, and the wine, and the.... Everything about this area is absolutely beautiful for sure, especially so for someone from Urban Metropolitan Sprawl Tokyo.

Her father always wanted to visit with them but because of work was unable to do so. Then he got sick and had to go in the hospital. When Mayu and I were in Tokyo one time we went and visited him there. We talked, laughed, I made him laugh and told him stories about Fukui and where we live. He said he longed to come and visit one day. I told him that I would promise to take him around and show him wher we live as soon as his back had healed and he was able to come for a holiday.

Yukiyo and her mom watched Mayu and I make her dad a very happy guy that day.

We never knew he was dying of cancer until they called us a (very) short while later and said that he had died.

"What??? Of Back Pain???!?!?!" That was all we could say other than our sorrowful, genuine regrets. Then they told us the real story, and that he was dying of cancer and in terrible pain when we went to see him. But they couldn't bear to tell us. So we honestly did not know.

When I heard that her father had died, I immediately told Yukiyo that I want to keep my promise to her father and show him our beloved Fukui. I promised her that if she brought out some of her father's ashes after the cremation (cremation is the norm in Japan), that I would take the entire family up high into the mountains to a spot where they will be able to show her dad the beauty of where I live and all the outlying area.

I kept that promise.

About a year (I think), after his funeral, the family all came up (there were five or six of them). We went up to the top of the mountain above Rokuroshi Heights, enjoyed a perfect day, and spread his ashes to the wind.

Yukiyo has been back after that... once was to find her younger brother who got very depressed after their father had died, left his job, and just "disappeared". They heard from the police here in Fukui that they had found him sleeping in his car out here in a pachinko parking lot. I guess he was coming to find Dad, but couldn't find him (we hope that was all he was thinking). So they drove out to come and bring her brother home. We did not see them that time as it was a very private family thing.

There was another time I think... where she and Mayu tried to find that mountain road but couldn't so she had to give up on going for a visit.

Yukiyo says that she always has that memory of seeing Mayu and I make her father laugh in the hospital during his last days....

So this past Saturday we took Yukiyo up there again to visit her father, and tell him she still thinks of him, and still loves him.

There have been many other events going on during her visit of course: Sunday morning Mayu took Yukiyo to Kanazawa to visit the "massage therapist spiritual healing guy". He told her that in one of her former lives, she was a male, high level buddhist priest. Ooooh. Exciting. I guess.... Then in the early evening there was a live concert for the locals that was put on by Mayu's friend here in Fukui (the daughter of the Rebirth Shop Owner). After that there was dinner out at Zeniya (I've done video on that awesome restaurant). Today there was a noon visit to Eiheiji temple (which Yukiyo has always wanted to go to but had no chance yet). Tonight is the "singing crystal salad bowl spiritual healer guy" and then they want me to light up my chiminea and we can cook a bunch of meat on it that Osaka-san gave us from his restaurant. Osaka-san is not a "spiritual healer guy"; he heals the carnal senses, where carnal refers to carnitine, or meat, not sex.

Tomorrow Yukiyo will be leaving, and I am driving her early (about 6:20) to the expressway entrance where she will catch a bus to Komatsu airport and fly home. And that will be that. After that I have to kill some time before I have a business meeting in Fukui about a potential project with a company. It will last all day I guess. So it will be a busy day after dropping Yukiyo off, hugging her hard (she's Japanese, she's not into snogging her best friend's husband, unfortunately...) and then letting her go until the next time we have the good fortune to meet.

It was nice to go up into the mountains and say hi to Yukiyo's father again after these years have passed. It was very nice to get up deep into the mountains and look down upon the valley in which I live.

I love you!

Cam