MY OTHER ESSAYS. BACK TO TOP
Amazing Grace.
Most Japanese remember the melody which is so beautiful.
Many people forget when and where they listened to the melody.
Amazing Grace is such a song for Japanese.
In Japan we are able to listen to only the original melody, but in America
I listen to several melodies of the song.
I thought that the song meant solemnly sorrow by the melody.
But I knew that the words of the song mean thanks to God and pleasure at
being relieved from one's own sins.
Rumor says that the composition was made by a man who was transporting
slaves for many years.
The man John Newton (1725-1807) recalled leaving school at the age of 11
to begin life as a rough, debauched seaman. Eventually he engaged in the
despicable practice of capturing natives from West Africa to be sold as
slaves to markets around the world. But one day at age 23, the grace of God
put fear into the heart of this wicked slave trader through a fierce storm.
Greatly alarmed and fearful of a shipwreck, Newton began to read
The Imitation Of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis. God used this book to read him
to a genuine conversion and dramatic change in his way of life.
At the age of 39, John Newton became an ordained minister of the Anglican
church at the little village of Olney, near Cambridge, England.
To add further impact to his powerful preaching, Newton introduced simple
heart-felt hymns rather than the usual psalms in his services.
When enough hymns could not be found, Newton began to write his own,
often assisted by his close friend William Cowper. In 1779 their combined
efforts produced the famous Olney Hymns hymnal. "Amazing Grace" was from
that collection.
The song spread to the world.
Now, a large number of people, even non-Christians, who are discouraged
are consoled by the song, because the melody gives all people beautiful
emotions and courage.
I tried sing to "Amazing Grace" but it was too difficult for me, because
I ran out of breath often.
Many difference but.......
About 10 years ago, my family watched the TV drama "Laura on the Prairie."
by Laura Ingalls every week.
The story is very famous in Japan, because we can see the books by Laura
Ingalls Wilder all the time at bookshops in our country.
The TV station has even old film reruns of the drama sometimes.
The drama had a good impression and a good influence on our children.
We called the girl who was nasty "Nellie" and the woman who was vain
"Mrs. Olson."
I think that the TV drama represents the human conscience which is the
same in different countries and cultures.
Now in Japanese Journalism reports say the USA is dangerous,
for example there are a great many guns, drugs, AIDS and a great many criminals.
Also USA journalism reports that Japan is an economic animal, and has
soldiers to companies, and too many workingmen are married to their companies.
I can say confidently from my experience in the USA, the reports are one-sided
and not completely true.
I would report the true image using Internet.
English words coined in Japan.
In Japan we use many English words coined in Japan.
We misunderstand that words are used also in America.
I introduce there words with the explanations.
1.Virgin road
When there's a wedding ceremony in church, a bride walks on this way
with her father to front of the pastor.
2.Cunning
When examination in school, students cheat on it with some methods,
for example peeking or using secret memo.
3.Service
In shop this word means free of charge or special discounted price.
4.Shoe cream
Most children like it with ice cream. It's called cream puff in America.
5.Trainer
A kind of popular shirt, people put it on when they exercise.
That is called a sweatshirt in America.
6.Viking
Sometimes hotels provide this meal for breakfast. This is called
a buffet in America.
7.Bed town
Located around a big city. People go back from the big-city to this
town after their work and sleep there.
8.Punk
When there's a nail on the road that pokes a tire of a car or bicycle,
the tire becomes flat.
9.Paper test
Examination in writing.
10.Health center
Often used for the name of spa.
11.Home drama
TV drama about something in the family.
This is called family sitcom in America.
12.Live house
Young people gather in the hall and they dance to noisy music.
13.Jumper
Jacket for non-formal wear. Popular clothes for winter.
14.Chuck
After using the restroom. If a man forget to zip it, he gets in
big trouble with the women who see him.
15.Adballon
Big balloon with advertisement. Often used when new shops open.
16.Sharp pencil
Great invention of "SHARP." Thanks to the pencil, students don't
need to sharpen their pencils.
This is called "Mechanical pencil" in America.
17.Macdo.
Famous fast food shop which came from U.S.
Now in Japan, main food for young people.
18.Smart
This means slim and slender person.
It doesn't mean clever in Japan.
19.Diet
This means reduction of weight.
Many women are trying it but it ends in vain.
Japanese misunderstand the original meaning.
Exciting Experiments.
We know not to heat a raw egg in the shell in the microwave oven because
the egg would explode.
One day, I saw peeled boiled eggs in my refrigerator.
I thought that probably the eggs wouldn't explode even if heated by the
microwave oven because there were no shells.
I put the boiled egg in the microwave oven. then I turned it on.
Some minutes later, I heard a thick sound from my kitchen.
I saw scattered pieces of egg though the glass of the microwave oven.
I had to spend a lot of time cleaning up the microwave oven.
I published the experience on a small Japanese computer net.
Someone said that if you heat the egg in water, the egg wouldn't explode
even when using a microwave oven.
I tried it with interest. The egg's shell broke in the water, but the water
prevented a violent explosion. I ate the strange boiled egg which had
yolk protruding from its shell.
Finally I was interested in perfecting the explosion of the egg in the
microwave oven.
I put a raw egg in a glass which was covered by a plastic bag. Then I put
it in the microwave oven and turned it on.
I heard an awful sound. The glass fell over in the microwave oven, but it
wasn't broken.
I didn't have the courage to eat the egg because the yolk, the white and
the shell were all mixed together.
If my wife were here, I could never try these exciting experiments.
Shame of the sport.
I haven't liked sports from my childhood. I think that hiking isn't a sport,
but it is an enjoyment of nature.
I am not knowledgeable about anything about sports, for example, baseball,
golf, boxing and basketball.
A few days ago, Barry said "Do you want to come to our home to watch
boxing?"
I didn't know about the sport, but this fight was the biggest in the U.S.
because the winner was the strongest man in all the world.
My friends and I waited for the beginning time which was later than
anticipated.
The game was miserable because the challenger twice bit the ear of the
rival. The supporters began fighting in the ring.
I thought that the game wasn't a sport, but it was a vulgar show.
That game was worse than the fighting of dogs.
In Japan, the people who play traditional games must be polite.
The players must show respect to each other.
This respect is evident in Japanese sport, for example sumo wrestling and
Judo.
But now in the schools, the coaches of Western style sports, for example,
baseball and soccer, tell the players to be stronger and beat the rivals.
They do not emphasize respect and politeness.
I think that this philosophy is a bad side imported from the Western
countries.
A Memorable Day of The Pacific War.
August 15 is a memorable day when the U.S.A defeated Japan in 1945.
The fascism which controlled Japan for a long time ended that day.
It inflicted violent suffering on the people not only of Japan, but on all
Asian people.
The freedom and sometimes even the lives of the Asian people were usurped
by the military.
Basically Japanese people have had compassion for all lives, not only
human, but even animals because their religion has the precept of respect
for all life.
Every time, war has seared the human conscience and faith.
A great number of civilian people were killed in the war.
For example, tragedies occurred at Nanjing, Auschwitz and Hiroshima.
After the Pacific war, the American government broke up Japanese fascism.
The methods were wise. They practiced creating their ideals.
They broke up the financial groups and the large-scale landowners which
had prevented the growing of democracy in Japan.
They even constructed an original form of the Japanese constitution
because the ruined Japanese government didn't have the ability to make it up.
I think that the process was a rare successful case in history, because
many countries have frequently started wars again after the wars were over.
We can say that human history has consisted of wars since Genesis.
It is an undoubted true, but now we can see the globe from outer space.
We have to think of all things globally.
Apollo 11
I watched the Apollo 11 movie on TV.
I remember even the scene when Apollo 11 arrived on the moon.
That was 30 years ago, so it was July of 1969.
We watched TV even during working time because our boss said "Stay here."
Even now I can't forget the impression that was so great.
I remember the famous sentence "That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind."
I think now, of what we have because of the great Apollo Project.
One is a micro technology that was born in the mid 1970's.
Many excellent minds left NASA to go to civilian companies,
so diverse technologies were developed.
Therefore the Apollo Project gave unlimited contributions to mankind.
I have one proposal- the installation of a TV camera on the moon,
continually sending to earth, the view of the earth.
The people who watch this view, may change their own world view.
For example, they would feel it is nonsense to fight about insignificant
issues.
Memorable Day of Pearl Harbor.
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
which was used as a naval base for much of the U.S fleet.
Consequently, about 1100 sailors were killed. It was the beginning of
the Pacific-War in W.W.Ⅱ which continued for 4 years.
The attack was before any war-proclamation. Therefore the U.S government
made a famous slogan: "Remember Pearl Harbor!"
Today we can watch documentaries about it on the history channel.
An American asked me. "Why did the Japanese forces attck the U.S navy?"
At the time, there were several ideological reasons.
(1) Conflict of imperialism of western countries and Japan in China.
outheast Asian countries were invaded by England, France, America and Japan.
(2) The fascist regime of Japan invaded China with the Japanese army.
Japanese fascism was ideologically compatible with the fascist regimes of
Germany and Italy, and an alliance was signed between the nations.
(3) Anti-fascist countries were allied to prevent the invasion of Japan.
They began an economic blockade of goods including oil to Japan.
(4) Japanese forces advanced to the Southern Asia to overtake an oil field.
The war ended in 1945 with a great number of victims including many
civilians.
Atomic bombs were used on Hirosima and Nagasaki in Japan.
About 200,000 civilians were killed with only two bombs.
It proved that nuclear weapons would be ruinous to mankind,
because radioactive fall-out has caused serious cancer in many survivors.
We have a rare constitution which declares the "RENUNCIATION OF WAR."
Constitution of Japan Article 9.
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the
Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and
the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea,
and airforces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right
of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.