Focus on what’s in front of you

       People may be troubled by doubts. “What am I suppose to do now?” “Is this really the right thing to do?” “Am I certain about this decision? Maybe there is something else I should be doing…”  No matter how many friends you ask to seek an answer, you cannot be certain. That's because future is a blank sheet of paper. The only truth is what you are experiencing right at this moment. Fate is about the past. It’s the result of the path you took. But is the future also on the same path, one line? No, it doesn’t have to be on the same one line.   




     To explain this, a divine spirit gave me a vision of a process of twisting fibers to make one thread.  There are five thin fibers to make one thread. The five fibers are spreading out like different paths of the future. When we twist these fibers it makes one thick thread. 
The part that is already twisted and became a thread is the past. The yet spreading fibers are the future. And the point in the middle is the present. We are constantly twisting the fibers, always in the process. Which five fibers becomes the main path is up to your choice. It’s not decided for you. It's blank. There is no fixed destiny. It's all up to your will. 
(Whichever path you choose, the rest of the path will be interwoven and absorbed in one thick thread. It’s just not significant but it's there. )

    So just keep focused on the now moment. That is all you can do. There is no point in doubting and questioning. Simply do what you think is best in twisting the fiber to make the thread. There are no mistakes. The continuing now moments creates the future. It’s unnecessary to check the woven past. It will only make you tangled.



     There are no Heaven’s will. You were born as a perfect and free divine soul. All you need to do is to acknowledge this truth.  If there is a Heaven’s will, it is to simply twist the fiber, to focus on the now, and live your daily life.  The only truth is what you are living at this present moment. Even the present is something you cannot enjoy continue to twist the fiber. 
It will always change. At some point a better situation will come. If you look at others, the twisting will tangle and may take more time to fix it. So simply focus on what you are doing now. Be grateful for what you have. And create your one and only thread. This is the only way to build up a good life. Treasure what you have now in front of you.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live


I would like to spread the Gratitude Awareness towards ancestral spirits and everything around us so 5% of the world population will start acting on it on a daily basis.

Shiko stamping on the sacred ground

(written November 22nd)

     The Japan Meteorological Agency announced an earthquake prediction in the area offshore of Miyagi Prefecture. They say there is a 15.1% chance of M7 level earthquake occurrence between now and December 14^th. They have publicized the warning with the Earthquake Prediction Committee.  The people living in the stricken area must continue to be cautious.  The agent said, “In the past thirteen years, offshore of Miyagi has experienced four earthquakes over magnitude 7. This occurrence rate of 15% is higher than the past prediction rates. The agent has also mentioned that they have been announcing the prediction rate for three days in advance right after the March 11^th disaster. However, they stopped publicizing the report after May since the prediction was showing under 10% ”.  The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan has announced that after the Tohoku earthquake disaster, the only area that showed a rebound from the subsidence of the ground is Tokyo. Through out Miyagi to northern Ibaragi on the Pacific Ocean side, only 20% of the ground is showing a rebound. The rest still remains the same. The shoreline of Iwate is continuing the subsidence. According to a calculation of recovery, the approximate 1.1 meter of subsidence in Oshika district of Miyagi will take 990 billion years. At Soma district of Fukushima, the subsidence is approximate 31 cm. This is calculated to take about 1.7 million years. 【Asahi Newspaper 2011.11.19 morning edition】

（my comment）Yesterday, there was a magnitude 5 at northern Hiroshima. Earthquake rarely occurs in this area.  This area is one edge of the Eurasian Plate. Until now, the earthquake was occurring at the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate areas. And now the Eurasian Plate area is also starting to make a move. This is a beginning of a new level of Earth shift. 

We have to consider the crushing activity that might occur between the Eurasian Plate and the Filipino Plate. The Chain of Islands of Japan is a rare place where four huge plates come together. This only happens in Japan. This is where the Earth plays the Shiko (four legs stamping the ground in Sumo wrestling) 

    Shiko (四股) derives from an ancient Shinto ritual.


    The stamping of the feet purifies the earth ground so the shinki (神気), divine energy, is able to be erupt.  The earthenware from the Kofun Period (300~700AD) has left us some traces about the ancient Shinto believing that from the cracks of the earth the divine breath of the gods erupted. 

    From the very ancient times, cracks in a large rock or the ground were considered a sacred place. They created a shrine and sent blessings to the place. The “crack” or a split was considered a symbol of a female. It shows the idea of strong goddess worship in Japan. The Chain of Islands of Japan stands on top of four “cracks.” It is a mother earth that gives birth to many. I sense that this idea will bring great invention in the future. The shape of Japan is a large dragon. The entire area is a sacred land.  It is also similar to the curvy shape of a shimenawa (sacred straw ornament hung over the entrance of a Shinto shrine).

     All people who live on this land should be sending gratitude to this land. It's not a religious act. It’s a spiritual act to acknowledge the Earth as a living organism. And I think it’s only natural to say thank you for letting us live.


    The borders of the four plates that I see through my psychic eyes are different from the scientific one shown on the map. 

With my vision, the four borders are right beneath Japan. One of the most important crack/border is where Ise Jingu is located. The breath of the gods erupts from the earth at this point. The last empress Yamato-hime who founded Ise Jingu must have felt the divine breath on this land. 

     The Japan Meteorological Agency announcement mentioning about the prediction rate being higher than normal is a warning that we should pay attention. The Eurasian Plate has started to move. This means not only in Japan but China and Europe need to be cautious. From now on, always have the disaster awareness in your daily life. The areas that rarely have earthquakes may be stricken as well. Set the tools to hold your furniture. Consider where your bed is located and prepare for safety.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live


I would like to spread the Gratitude Awareness towards ancestral spirits and everything around us so 5% of the world population will start acting on it on a daily basis.

Enjoy all process of life

    If you think your life is hard that is a false thought. It’s actually a precious experience. It’s because time will pass and things will eventually change and come to an end. When you look back in the later days, you’ll know that those days were most valuable and be thankful you had the experience. You’ll see that your soul was glowing in those days.

     I came into this life with memories and consciousness from the life before birth. I also have memories from 0 yrs old. When my family talk about the old days, the details about the home we use to live in, I’m always the one who remember the most. My parents often told me that they were worried about me because I didn’t learn any Japanese until age 3. I was speaking some foreign language that they couldn’t understand. It sounded a little like Hindi, they said. I still remember those days, how irritating it was. I was trying very hard to resonate with Japanese but the words that come out from my mouth was from my past life. I was left-handed at birth, but was forced to correct using the right hand before entering elementary school. Around that time, my language from the past life started to disappear from my memory.

      From the time I was a baby, just gazing the things around me, until now with my middle age body, my heart remains the same. The core is still the same, no development and no decay.  It has some filth from the outside knowledge of today but the eyes of the heart remains unchangeable and definite.

     After the death of this lifetime, my ego is lost and my heart will still remain the same. I know it because I remember my heart still remains the same from my past lives. It is the same with you. Your memory is blocked. That's all. Once you leave this plane, you will remember.













    Your heart is a never changing place. It is a sacred invariable part of you. So try to see things from this sacred place. Try to observe the hardships in a calm peaceful manner. 
No matter how painful it feels, the core part of your heart never wounds. It’s only your ego that is hurt. So don't worry. Simply watch it passing through. In the later days, it will all become a good memory. 
There is always an end to everything.

      This dimension we live in, the time is short and there is a beginning and an end.  The life after death is sort of boring because the time stops and no diversity, nothing new happens.  All the sufferings, sorrows, excitements can only occur in this limited time frame. It’s a gift from god.  Let’s praise the experiences and devote to it! 



    The most important thing to remember is that “No matter how painful it feels, the core part of your heart never wounds. It’s only your ego that is hurt. ”

     Before you came into this world, you all decided, this time I’m going to succeed in letting go of my ego. When you are on the other side, you know you are stuck with your ego from the previous life. You realize that you have limited yourself from freedom. You are stuck in a certain dimension where all the people who had the same ego come together. Some people called that place a hell (from now on, this system too will change).

     There is no one to judge you where to go. By a gravitational pull, you naturally gather together with those who have the same type of ego residue. This is absolutely the at most fair treatment. This world of reality that we live in is the only place where all kinds of souls have a chance to gather. That's why it’s so valuable.

    There is the goodness, the positive part exists in all human beings once the ego part has been removed.  One part of you is the ego part. This part will change all the time. And humans make efforts to change it for the better. Efforts are necessary on this part. The other part of you is the true-self.  This part is perpetual and unchangeable. So in a deeper sense, you are who you are and you don’t have to try to be someone else. This part doesn’t have to be changed. Therefore the effort is unnecessary on this part. It’s important to acknowledge there is two parts in you. And  to figure out the true essence of self and the ego part. We were determined to let go of our egos this time. We told ourselves, “this time I’m really gonna make it.”  So all the hardships you are experiencing today, is for the training for you created by yourself in order to lessen the ego part of self. It’s a chance for you to grow.

     Observe the matters in a calm manner as if you are a god. And enjoy the hardships! It’s all for the better. Once you are able to enjoy everything, the fog will be cleared. And another fog might come around later in your life. But the physical body is going to disappear at some point anyways. So know that there is nothing to worry about. There will always be an end to all matters.

     Once you learn how to enjoy every moment of your life, then you have succeeded.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu 

Thank you for letting us live


I would like to spread the Gratitude Awareness towards ancestral spirits and everything around us so 5% of the world population will start acting on it on a daily basis.

There are no mistakes

  The biggest problem many people have is that they cannot believe in themselves. That's why they worry about what others might be thinking. Somewhere in your heart, you feel that you are not good enough. That's why you always carry anxiety and fear for making a mistake or failing.

   But if you could strongly look at your life from a point of gratitude for being alive, you will realize that there are no mistakes. Even mistakes are merely an experience. And experiences can only be experienced because you are alive.


  Imagine if your doctor told you that you have to spend the rest of your life in the hospital. You will probably envy a friend who talks about a heartbroken relationship that she just experienced. Whether it’s sad or happy, it’s all an experience. And you would wish you could experience any of it.

   When you look at life from a point of life&death, you will know that every moment has its own shinning light.

   Lets imagine a little more. A mother and child get into an argument. Sometimes you might hate the child so much you wish they would just disappear. But the experience can only exist because you have a child. For those who couldn’t have a child, this problem is an envious one. If you knew your child might die tomorrow, you probably wouldn’t have fought with him/her. You might be tired of looking after your parent and wish you can sever the relationship. Even those stresses will be a good memory when you become your parent’s age. Your problems at work would be an envious thing for those who lost their job. Everything happens in a limited time frame. It will always end at one point. And every problem exists because you are alive.

    You might be experiencing extreme hardship and you wish you are dead. But you also have to realize that you had chosen to be born to experience the hardship. You knew that you needed to experience it in order to grow as a soul/spirit.







   There is no change, no experience in the life after the physical death. So in this limited time, experience as much as you can. Know that you wanted all the challenges and you had chosen this life. And you are still in the process of experiencing the challenge. No matter how miserable it seems, don’t forget your innate god is watching you and experiencing it together.  As long as you are doing your best, there is no mistake, no failure.  As long as you are alive, there is still a chance for you to grow. So don't worry too much and just do your best to try and keep your light shinning.

    When you were a spirit without the physical body, you wanted to come to this world to challenge again. Those souls who thought they could handle a lot in one lifetime, gave themselves many hardships in order to achieve a greater growth. 

But once he was born, he had forgotten about his plan and becomes overwhelming. He doesn’t remember that he planted the seeds himself, and he thinks he is unlucky or ill-fated. He also compares his life with others and feels sorry for himself.

   Don’t try to run away from your problem. 1. Know that the challenge is for your own growth. 2. Know that your good will is tested. 3. Know that your soul is watching how well you are able to deal with the situation.



 Don’t run away from your problems but you can avoid unnecessary troubles. Use your brain wisely.




   There is also a misunderstanding in the ancestral kuyō. Don’t put up an incense because you are suffering and in need of help. It has to come from your genuine caring thoughts. When the energy of your kindness is emanated, the energy is reflected back to you. But it has to be an honest pure minded act. In other words, you created your own luck. Everything that happens in your life is created by yourself. The cycle of energy does not end in one lifetime. It continues to come around even in the life after death. The good will would become the most precious treasure. So stay positive and just do what you can. 

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live

It’s all up to you

     Once you are born, you will certainly die one day. We are always walking in between birth and death. It’s really unnecessary to be in distress. When you die, it’s all going to dissipate. So why waste time in troubling yourself? We might as well enjoy every aspect of life.

      Life is full of unpleasant matters, sorrow and anguish. That is true. But even these things will eventually change and come to an end. If you could just laugh it off, you are a strong person who has won over your own karma. You will become an enlightened being.  You can’t just pretend to look good in front of others. Even in your alone time, if you are able to be in gratitude and feel blessed, then you are a winner.

     Come to a realization that everything is merely an experience. Then your life will glow. You will grow and evolve as a human being, when you are able to see everything from the point of “thank you for letting us live.” Your path will turn around to a better direction. There is a Japanese saying, “a dog only has to walk around and it is sure to come across a stick.”   You’ll only come across lucky findings when you realize that there are no mistakes.

     It’s also true that this way of looking at life would actually solve problems faster.

     Going to a hospital for an annual check-up always makes me feel humble. I see all kinds of drama, life while I wait for my turn. Imagine your doctor had told you that you would only live for another month. All the things you did in the past will probably flash in your head. And start to be grateful for many things. You would probably remember about someone who you need to apologize to. 

      Don’t stay in agony for too long. Don’t blame yourself too much. Don’t say bad words. If you had decided to only say positive words aloud, your luck will change. If you seriously act on this, it will be enhanced on your karma for sure.  When you put your thoughts into words and say aloud, it’s like you have pushed the discharge button of a missile. You might have bad thoughts toward some person, but when you actually say it aloud or write about it, you have pushed the button. If the opponent didn’t accept the energy, it will come back to you right away and turn into a self-destructive bomb. If it had reached the opponent and hurt him, the karma will come back to you sometime later. This is one law of the universe.

     So the best way is to simply continue to say, “ikashite-itadaite arigatō-gozaimasu, thank you for letting us live.”  There will be no mistake in saying this not only in this lifetime but becomes an eternal passport.

Ikashite-itadaite Arigatō-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live

The changes in preference of food

    In China, half of the population of a small mountain village of Huáibĕi City, Anhui province has caught a rare disease.  168 residents of this village had claimed that suddenly they couldn’t eat four legged animals. They simply don’t feel like eating them. And when they force themselves to eat, they get symptoms such as heart pain, rashes, diarrhea or nausea.  Some claims that they cannot eat common meat such as beef, pork and ram. And others claim, they couldn’t even eat small four legs such rabbits and dogs. When they have the urge to eat meat, they eat chicken or fish and they have no problem eating those. Ram farming is one of the major operations in this village, but many people no longer consume it but rather put it out on the market. Some of the younger ones from the village go out to work in the city. Once they leave the village, that disease disappears after a certain time. But when they return home, the symptom comes back.  The China News reported that the government is trying to investigate the cause.　

（Search News October 14^th,(Fri) 17:10 reported by:Hayato Kisaragi）

My comment：

I’m not sure how accurate this information is, but the phenomenon is very close to the revelation I received in the past about the coming of the Days of Miroku.

What caught my attention is;

1. Pain in the heart. It was not a heartburn, rather a pain. It seems to me that it’s more of a soulful cry.

2. When living in the mountain surrounded by nature they couldn’t eat the four legs. But when they moved to the big city, it became all right. This is an interesting phenomenon. The government is currently checking on tap water pollution. But in my opinion, the energy of the city puts a lid on one’s soul. So you become less sensitive to the environment. In other words, to be in touch with the energy of the great nature will help you maintain your true heart (senses from the soul).

    

   The phenomenon that makes people feel all right about eating meat once they enter a big city, has a commonality with feeling all right to commit war or a crime.

      You don’t have to stop eating meat right away, but I think, if you pay attention, it will come to you naturally to what your body is in need and not. When I have an opportunity to dine out and the food is ordered together with a group, I will try to eat chicken rather than other types of meat. Talking about beef, there has been much news about food poisoning at Korean barbeque restaurants in Japan.  This is some kind of sign as well.

     There is a relationship between you and the food. It is important to sense what your body is urging. If you feel like you need to eat a certain type of meat, then your body is in need for it. And you should eat it. There are elders who lived very long and stayed healthy who had the urge to eat steaks once in a while.

    From now on, I feel that the necessary type or quality of protein is going to change. Another concern is that the large four legged animals are consuming an enormous amount of grass that grows on the ground. The signs of the body that is telling you to stop eating meat, is when you start to have loose stools or diarrhea.

    Sending daily gratitude to your ancestors (caring for your DNA) will also help you to sense the right food for yourself. Taking meals are a very important and sacred action to nurture you mind and body to become one. Listen to your body for what he/she is wanting.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live


In October, every morning start with disaster awareness. This consciousness can help prevent from the disaster to happen. 

Steve Jobs

(written on Oct.8,2011)

     Steve Jobs, the great inventor in the field of computer science, has stated in the past, a prediction about what is now happening in the US, the protest going on at Wall Street.

"We are the 99%," the group chanted, a reference to their insistence that most Americans lack the influence in their country's political and financial affairs enjoyed by the elite 1%.” (Quote from CNN news site.)



  Jobs once said, “I think you all know that most of us didn’t make the food we eat. We wear things made by someone else, talk other people’s words and use mathematics that was invented by someone else. What I’m trying to say is that we are constantly receiving things from others. And it is a wonderful feeling to be able to give back to that enormous fountain made from human intelligence and experiences.”
  I feel that this statement of Jobs implies the problem the world is going to face soon and it also shows the answer to the solution.

      The current tax system in the US seems to be preferential to the wealthy group. At the same time, it is said that the actual unemployment rate is much higher than the percentage publicly announced. Many of the modern day people are deluded that by having a lot of paper money, they possess other people’s mind, body, pride, labor, materials…  Jobs had an immense wealth but he knew that he really didn’t possess any of it and it’s all an illusion. He knew that if he received something from others, he should give back in return. His annual salary from Apple was only $1. His total estate is estimated to be $7 billion. He made great success in the Disney animation business as well. If he was a greedy entrepreneur, he could have made ten times more.

      When I look at him with my psychic vision, I see a unique god spirit related to Judaism. The unique character of this figure is in the head. This spirit showed a vision in his brain. He interpreted it and invented into the most advanced technology. He had an image many people couldn’t understand. It must have been very difficult to work with him. I can see why many of the technicians left him because of that. If he had known how to get rid of these deep-seated grudges, he could have lived much longer (the key is to have mercy, gratitude and the yorishiro*). The Talmud text of Judaism is deeply imprinted in his DNA. I don’t know if he had read the Talmud, but his DNA carried the knowledge. If he had ever visited the outer shrine of Ise Jingu, he would have recognized the existence of the god spirit behind him.

     The Talmud text is said to be the secret that brought out the most Nobel prize winners and one of the richest people in the world. The recitation of this text since childhood is said to bring out the highest talent and wisdom into one’s life. Some examples of the teachings are “Being unconfident of oneself is like stealing something from oneself.  ” “True opposition is about fine competitors working hard as a friendly rivalry. And this is a necessary factor in a society.” “There are three things that hurts people; anguish, argument and an empty wallet. Out of the three, an empty wallet hurts the most.” “There are eight things that must not be over exceeded; traveling, sex, money, work, alcohol, sleep, drug, spices. ” “A flexible tree does not break but a stiffened tree will break.” “Pigs eat too much, suffering people talks too much.” “The wise man knows what he is talking about, but a foolish man talks about what he knows. ” “Money can buy everything but a good sense.” “When a flour dealer fights with a chimney sweeper, the flour dealer becomes black and the chimney sweeper becomes white. ” “Scratching an itchy part and borrowing money are only a temporary stopgap.” “Even if your close friend is sweet as a honey, you shouldn’t lick it all. When a friend is angry, don't try to pacify. When a friend is in sorrow, don't try to comfort. Rumor is the best introduction and facial expression is the worst informant. Jealousy has a thousand eyes but none is seeing correctly. Walk towards a marriage but run towards a divorce. ”  These are few examples of the Talmud’s pragmatic rules to survival.


     I sense similar ideas behind Steve Jobs statements. I would like to jot down his words to pay a tribute to the great life he left for us. “Don’t settle. Stay hungry. Your time is limited. So don’t waste it by living other people’s life. ” “You are always facing death.  This idea had helped me at times when I had to make a really big decision.” “Everyday, I ask myself. What will I do if this was the last day of my life?” “To acknowledge that one day I will die, is the best method to keep me away from the illusion of fear of loosing something.”



(The words are not exactly the same as his speech since I had translated back from Japanese wordings)

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live

*Yorishiro: A place for the spirits to reside. A tree bark (paper) is the right material (more in the search engine within this blog and the Dictionary -Ise-HakuSun-do on right column)




In October, every morning start with disaster awareness. This consciousness can help prevent from the disaster to happen.

The danger of group consciousness

　　 A documentary was shown on TV, tracking down how people behaved during the tsunami approach on March 11^th. The result showed that many people were trapped into a same peculiar behavior.  In a psychology term, it is called majority synching bias or normalcy bias. This phenomenon is seen all over the world. In an emergency situation, many people are trapped into a so called “emergency spell” which makes them stop thinking. Bias, in a psychology term, means “mental tendency or inclination, especially an irrational preference or prejudice.”  In a natural disaster and/or emergency situations, many people have the tendency to go blank. In few seconds, the mind would wonder around what to do first and then it gets confused and stops, becomes blank.


　 Looking at the results from March 11^th, those who lived close to the shoreline knew that the tsunami might approach due to the large earthquake, but they didn’t think it was going to be that big. 
The data shows what people did at that time. 1. Didn’t feel that they need to run away from their home and starts to clean the mess from the earthquake. 2.Started to repair the furniture that was damaged by the earthquake. 3. Slowly started to make a move by following the same direction as others.  Everyone was just following others but no one really knew where to go. The mass reached the playground of a nearby elementary school. Many drove there and caused a traffic jam. Those who couldn’t get into the playground were waiting inside the car. Then one guy heard the news that the tsunami might be reaching over 10m high. So he immediately went to the middle of the playground and shouted to go either inside the school building or run to a higher hill.

     What did the mass do? 1.Those who were standing at the playground looked at each other and didn’t move. 2. Those inside the car stayed in the car. (they must have been listening to the radio but didn’t make any action because they are in a hypnotic state wanting to believe it’s not going to happen). 
3. One guy is shouting to escape, but they all looked at each other and decides to wait and see.  The guy who warned the others felt their eyes saying, “he’s over reacting,” “it’s going to be fine,” “he’s just trying to scare us.” He escaped the playground and survived, but those who stayed at the playground or stayed in the car were all washed away by the strong tsunami. 

Another survivor witnessed, once people start to see the tsunami coming towards them, they all rushed up the stairs causing a panic and people on top of one another creating an even more dangerous situation.

     The danger factor in this kind of emergency situation is the mass consciousness.




     I, as the writer of this blog, am experiencing a similar situation as this guy who shouted for warning. I get comments accusing me as an unpatriotic person who are creating unnecessary fear on others. I would like to say those are the hypocrites. At this time, the government is preparing for large earthquakes and tsunami and publicly announcing the details. If many of you try to look away from these facts, the mass consciousness will create a large number of victims.






      You must be consciously aware of your own sense and not to be hypnotized by the mass consciousness. Raise your senses to have good instinct and to make quick reaction. In order to sharpen your instinct, you can do the following things from today.

1.  Practice to be honest to yourself. Don’t look at other people’s face but analyze on your own about the news and current situation.

2. Do the daily gratitude sending toward your ancestors. This is about nurturing your DNA. I believe this is most important. The last moments has to do a lot with luck. And the luck comes from your ancestral spirits’ support.  The last minute instinct has a lot to do with the power/energy from your ancestors. By being consciously aware of them in your daily life can help you a great deal in an emergency situation.

     Continue to send the daily gratitude towards your ancestors and get on with your daily life with a positive attitude and a good smile on your face just like this shiba dog. This will bring you good luck. This is the best way for you to lead the right path.

Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live 




In October, every morning start with disaster awareness. This consciousness can help prevent from the disaster to happen.

The boy standing by the crematory

Joe O'Donnell, a U.S. Marine photographer took this photo, “the boy standing by the crematory” (taken in 1945, Nagasaki ground zero ).

  I came in from Sasebo to Nagasaki and looked around from a hill. Men walking with white masks caught my attention. The men were working besides a big hole of about 60cm deep.  They were putting the corpses pilled up on a wagon into the hole with burning lime
. Then I saw a boy of around ten years old walking toward them. 

He has his little brother baby strapped on his back. In those days, it was quite common in Japan to see young boys carrying their little brother or sister on their back while playing at the field.
  But this boy wasn’t here to play. He had a very important duty to come to this crematory. 
You can see it on his face. And he was bare feet. 

The boy came to the edge of the crematory. His face is stiff and eyes bracing for an ordeal. The baby on his back looks deep asleep and head bent backward.  The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. Then the men with the white masks came towards him and started to untie his strap. At this moment, I realized that this baby brother he was carrying was dead. 
The men gently held the baby’s arms and legs and slowly put him into the hole where the hot stones are laid.  I could hear the steaming sound of the baby’s flesh burning. Then a gleaming red flare danced up in the air. The bright red color like the sunset was reflecting on the yet tender boy’s cheek as he stood there straight and still.  That moment, I realized that the boy was biting his lip and it was bleeding. He was biting hard as he gazed his little brother in flames. 
When the flames had calmed down, the boy turned on his heels and left the place silently. 


（extraction from an interview by Seiko Ueda)



My impression：Looking at this boy in the photo, I was very moved by his posture and attitude. I saw the true nature of a Japanese mind. He was standing up straight. I could tell from his posture and eyes that he was trying his best to pay respect to all the people who lost their lives and now laying inside the hole. He was still very young, but he knew what to do. I could see in his eyes bitterness from the tragedy and at the same time compassion towards the dead. He looked like a real samurai, brave and manly who see death with not attachment. 
He is a proud Japanese child. A soul who was chosen to be on this land strongly tied with the ubusuna-gami (the god of the land).

     

Joe O'Donnell had joined the army because at first he hated Japan and wanted to fight against them. 
And he was assigned to be in Nagasaki right after the drop of the atomic bomb.  The damage was more than he could ever imagine. He witnessed the people who were disfigured yet still alive and helping and caring the severely injured and close to death people. 
This made him change his feeling toward the Japanese people. The nation he witnessed was not the nation he hated. People were all helping each other in spite of their own severe pain. And the biggest shock for Joe was to see this young boy. The boy with his dead brother on his back was standing straight in bare feet yet not loosing his dignity. And much older guy like himself couldn’t even go and say or do something.

       When he went home to the US, he raised a big question. Was it really a righteous thing to drop an atomic bomb and kill so many of the innocent lives? Was that really necessary as a war between nations? He said he held gatherings to discuss this issue and he was bashed and experienced bitter criticism. Every time Joe returned to Japan after the war, he had the boy’s photo with him trying to find his whereabouts. But he was never able to find his trace or information. If he was carrying the baby, I assume his parents were already dead. The bleeding lip tells that he wanted to cry so hard and trying to hold it so badly. He must have been deeply lonely and lost. But he kept his dignity and tried to stay strong.






     Today in this modern Japan, we are in peace without war, yet we trouble our hearts and cry. Looking at this boy, we have to come to a realization. What we are experiencing today is not a big deal. There is still room for us to make it better. We are going to be fine. The time will always pass and things will eventually change. 

Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live