Thursday, November 20th

Up by 6:00a.m. and an hour walk with Tetsuo Furguya. (Three words that are the same in English and Japanese: crow, sparrow, and swallow). Tetsuo’s wife fixes a fantastic breakfast for us each morning. Orange juice, green tea, salad, one soup (French onion, really delicious pumpkin, and potato & vegetable soup), tossed green salad with dressing, fried egg, sausage, ham, thick toast with blueberry jam. Now that you have finished all that, would you like seconds on anything? It was very difficult to get her to sit down for two minutes and eat with us-she is always busy. This was a vocational day so Tetsuo took me to places he thought that I would like to visit. In the morning we went to Yagamanshi’s most famous shrine which had a beautiful park like setting. It looks very similar to a Buddhist Temple. First we went into a private waiting room and in comes the Shinto Priest who is a friend of Tetsuo and belongs to the same Rotary Club but who understands no English (Eggoga Whada masi). We are served a cup of green tea. Tetsuo explains who I am and I explain what I know about the Shinto religion-fortunately I had read a little bit about it. The priest escorts us a museum like large room that explains the last 800 years of history of the Kofu area (maybe only the last 795 years). Then back to the waiting room and I think we are finished, wrong again we are now ready for the main event. We are led by a woman who dressed in Shinto clothing to an area where Tetsuo and I are prepared by a very through washing of the hands and placing of a long sash that hung around my head and we walk with the Shinto Priest and the women dressed in Shinto clothing into the Shinto Shrine. There are two teenage girls dressed in traditional Shinto costumes. Fortunately I had seen one Shinto ceremony before or I would have been completely lost. Tetsuo and I were seated in the middle of the room on a very low seat maybe 10” tall where we knelt. The two teenage girls complete a 10 minute or so ceremonial dance. Next Tetsuo and I went to the altar where I was given a branch to place on the altar which must be pointed in the right direction (I needed some coaching). Next two slow bows followed by two claps, then one more bow and clap. Next we each drank a very small amount of Osaka from a small shallow bowl. Finally pictures of everyone. I was ask what I thought of the ceremony I said in Japanese “the best”. For the first time the two young girls smiled. I was given the sash, small drinking bowl, a clapable fan with four of the traditional Shinto symbols (wind, fire, woodland, and mountain). During the ceremony there was a constant gentle breeze in my face which is a reminder of my son Shaun, it was very difficult to keep the tears from my eyes. This was one of the highlights of my trip. Lunch on the fourth floor of the hotel with Japanese food grilled in front of you with a view of Mt. Fuji. Tetsuo Furuya always gives me the first class treatment. We drive by one of his businesses (wholesale storage units) and then an hour drive for a good view of Mr. Fuji (I enjoy a short nap on the way). Great view of Mt. Fuji plus several buildings with interesting displays, shops, and a restaurant. When we return home my laundry is done and placed back in my room. Tetsuo’s daughter and her family join us for dinner at a restaurant serving Japanese dishes and some others that area little spicier. It takes some time for the two young grandsons to become comfortable with me (ages six and four). When they do the six year old says I don’t know where the United State is. Then he ask why does he have a big nose. Everyone enjoys a good laugh but no one can really answer his question. Then I let the two boys look through a Pittsburg State University booklet and he comes to a picture of a young man from Africa. Apparently it was the first black man he had ever seen so he ask his mother. “Why is he burnt?” The family laughs uncontrollably. What a great day!