The Personal Letter from Miyagi Hinanjo Resident
Written by GR long lost friend, Kaori Shoji who lives in Tokyo, this piece is moving. It’s not just another experience from hell story. Instead this letter from a 74 year old about living in a shelter is written from the perspective of being thankful, but more so of a person who might be looked as older, still has something to give.
“Some of us may need care, but many kōreisha have a huge reserve of knowledge and experience to draw on, namely those awful years during World War II. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sensochū no kotowo omoeba nandemonai(戦争中のことを思えば何でもない when I think of what it was like during the war, this is nothing.)”
“The nationwide slogan now calls for all Japanese to be as one (ひとつになろう、日本 hitotsuni narō, Nippon) but it feels like we oldies are being left out. I speak for many when I say, we want in! Chikarani naritai (力になりたい I want to help) is not just the battle cry of the young.”
Good job Kaori on an interesting piece that gives a perspective that I haven’t heard yet. That’s hard to do with the bombardment of news about the disaster in Japan.