Dignity
A typhoon is on its way to Japan. In Japanese there is a saying; Jishin-kaminari-kaji-oyaji. It literally translates to ‘earthquakes, thunderbolts, fires, fathers’, arranged in order of fear of natural disasters. Fathers are not a natural disaster, of course. The original phrase was not ‘oyaji’ (fathers) but ‘ooyamaji' (typhoons). There is a pun due to similar pronounciation. In past times, fathers were dependable, had great dignity, and were a little frightening for kids, unlike nowadays. Earthquakes, thunderbolts, fires, typhoons - that makes sense.
My grandfather had great dignity, though he was soft on us (his grandchildren). Every time we met, he made me write a short letter to him that ‘I want you to live a long time’. It was almost a peremptory demand, but I wrote it because I wanted to see a delighted look on his face. He had a habit of saying that he wouldn’t live long because he ate a lot of delicious foods. True to his words, he died at the age of 69, I was 9 years old. He probably wanted to negate his thoughts by his grandchildren’s letters.
He was a stationmaster, strict about time as a railway timetable, and stubborn as well. I’ve heard that when he was a young man, he got into a quarrel with his boss. He got angry and stood on the boss’s desk with his shoes on. (In Japanese culture this is considered very disrespectful and impolite - like soiling the desk with his shoes). Consequently his salary was delayed. There are a lot of interesting episodes about him. I loved him very much, and I still love him. After he retired, he learned Japanese calligraphy to become an instructor, but he couldn’t get a qualification during his lifetime. He wanted to move to his house in Iwaki-city, Fukushima, but he died before he had time to do so. These are my memories with my grandfather, a respectable man of great dignity.
Since when did fathers lose respect and dignity?
My grandfather had great dignity, though he was soft on us (his grandchildren). Every time we met, he made me write a short letter to him that ‘I want you to live a long time’. It was almost a peremptory demand, but I wrote it because I wanted to see a delighted look on his face. He had a habit of saying that he wouldn’t live long because he ate a lot of delicious foods. True to his words, he died at the age of 69, I was 9 years old. He probably wanted to negate his thoughts by his grandchildren’s letters.
He was a stationmaster, strict about time as a railway timetable, and stubborn as well. I’ve heard that when he was a young man, he got into a quarrel with his boss. He got angry and stood on the boss’s desk with his shoes on. (In Japanese culture this is considered very disrespectful and impolite - like soiling the desk with his shoes). Consequently his salary was delayed. There are a lot of interesting episodes about him. I loved him very much, and I still love him. After he retired, he learned Japanese calligraphy to become an instructor, but he couldn’t get a qualification during his lifetime. He wanted to move to his house in Iwaki-city, Fukushima, but he died before he had time to do so. These are my memories with my grandfather, a respectable man of great dignity.
Since when did fathers lose respect and dignity?
