Death of a Farmer

This morning there was a funeral at the compound next door. We heard a few days ago that the grandfather had died. I didn’t even know there was a grandfather. Apparently he has been in the hospital the whole time we’ve lived here.  Three or four generations live in the house next to ours, but I’d only ever seen one man over there, and when I first moved in, I was introduced to my mother-in-law’s cohort and no one else. My mother-in-law handled neighborhood relations, receiving grannies and their offerings in her entryway, o rmaking the rounds with the cookies I brought back from America herself. The younger generations around here don’t mingle much. And though I’ve greeted the younger neighbors when they’ve gone past with their dog or small child, they’ve never stopped to chat about the weather or anything else. I don’t even know their given names.

In spite of this, I feel a certain intimacy with them. I can hear their doorbell ring as I sit at my computer. I hear the child’s squeaky slippers as he runs around the compound. And they probably know quite a bit about our lives as well. (The grannies do talk!)

I must confess, I don’t really know how to behave at times like this. I’m sure that there is a phrase like “I’m sorry for your loss,” but I don’t know what it is in Japanese.” And although I feel that I should have helped out, I think I would have gotten in the way. I feel that my presence would have been conspicuous. In the past, my mother-in-law would have been the family rep at a neighborhood wake and funeral, but this time it was my husband. I went over with the neighborhood women (the ones my mother-in-law’s age) the day after the death. I asked my mother-in-law’s closest neighborhood friend what I should say. “Don’t say anything,” she said. “Just bow your head.”  And that’s what I did.

Slumdog Millionaire author at Japan Writer’s Conference – October 17-18

I loved the movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” so imagine my delight when I found out a couple days ago that Vikras Swarup, the author of Q & A,  the book on which the film is based is now living in Osaka where he works as a diplomat. Not only that, but he will be presenting at the third annual Japan Writer’s Conference (an event originally cooked up by my friend poet Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, who will also be presenting) to be held October 17-18 at the Imadegawa campus of Doshisha Women’s College in Kyoto. Swarup will talk about how his novel became an Academy award-winning movie.You can bet your britches that I’ll be there.

This conference is shaping up to be perhaps the best ever. Not only will participants be able to enjoy the dazzling fall colors, but also they’ll have a chance to listen to the likes of Judy Halebsky, who just won the prestigious 2009 New Issues Poetry Prize for her forthcoming collection Sky=Empty; renowned translator Juliet Winters Carpenter; Holly Thompson, author of the novel Ash and the recent picture book The Wakame Gatherers; rabblerouser and Japan Times columnist Arudou Debito; and poet/translator Taylor Mignon, plus a host of others. Should be a good time – and guess what – it’s free and open to the public!

Mixed Chicks Chat with Me

I’m looking forward to being a guest on the Mixed Chicks Chat podcast tomorrow morning at 6:00 (2PM Pacific Time on Wednesday in the U.S.). I hope the alarm clock goes off!!

6 Things I Love About School in Japan

I realize that I have devoted quite a few posts to things that irk me about my children’s schools, so to prove I’m a glass-is-half-full type, here is a brief list of things I love about my children’s schools.

1. Morning Poetry

Every morning my son recites traditional Japanese poetry at school. He and his classmates are going to give a public recitation later next month. Being a lover of poetry and literature in general, I think this is great.

2. Ballet Workshop

At my daughter’s school, outside experts are often brought in to teach the kids things like indigo-dyeing and, now, ballet. My daughter gets to participate in a ballet workshop at school with a professional dancer tomorrow, and next month will be onstage in the chorus during a performance of “Swan Lake.” The boys don’t get to participate in the actual dance, but since I’m the mother of a girl, this doesn’t bother me.

3. Gardening

I love it that the kids at both schools grow and harvest vegetables. My kids will never wonder where a tomato comes from.

4. Sign Language

There are some deaf schools in Japan, still, I believe, where sign language is not used. At my daughter’s school, however, everyone uses it. I also appreciate that kids in other schools learn at least one song in sign language.

5. School Lunch

In Japan, kids at school get healthy meals made with local ingredients. I also love that the kids help to serve the food and clean up afterward.

6. Music Class

When I was kid, we gathered around a piano, a songsheet clutched in our hands, and sang once in awhile. Maybe there was a tambourine or a triangle or two. But my kids get to play on real instruments. I also love the traiditional taiko drumming at the deaf school – and so does my daughter.

Farewell, Sheila

Two of my favorite cookbooks are Sheila Lukins’ U.S.A. Cookbook and All Around The World Cookbook. Sometimes I leaf through them just for fun. Although Lukins’ lists of ingredients are typically very  long, the results are always yummy. Thanks to Sheila, my family has enjoyed Mu Shu Chicken Burritos, Berta’s Carrot Cake Caribe (truly fabulous), Tiny Potato Croquettes with Orange-Rosemary Mayonnaise (standard Christmas Eve fare chez moi), Spiced Carrot Pie and Grilled Fish with Mango Maui Barbecue Sauce. Not only were her recipes challenging and enticing, but her marginal notes (anecdotes about local fairs, international customs, and travel adventures, etc.) made for entertaining reading.

There will be no more cookbooks, but the meals will live on.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

“Sheila Lukins, co-author of The Silver Palate Cookbook and The New Basics Cookbook, and author Celebrate!, Ten and other cookbooks, died yesterday. The cause was brain cancer, diagnosed three months ago. Lukins was 66.”