Miwako was born in a cave, a bomb shelter. It was December 1944 the war was raging. Kyuushuu 九州 is located north of Okinawa. Air raid was constant. Hitoyoshi had an air port which made itself a good target for the bombing. Large cave were cut out at any hills and amall mounteins as a bomb shelter. Miwako's mother Chiyo later told stories about the cave. Because they spend so much time in the shelter her husband Takeshi made the cave very comfortable. It also had a pond with gold fishes. Miwako happens to dream about gold fish swimming in a streem and river untill this day (gold fish are not usually found in natural rivers or streems.) Till this day,no body remember Miwako's true date of birth. Those days babies birth were not reported nor registered for some time after the birth. Parents waited 10days or more to make sure they are to survive. So many babies died in the first 30 days of their birth. By the time Chiyo sent Takeshi to go to city office to register Miwako's birth, no one was sure which date the baby was born. After all there are more immediate worries on everyone's mind, avoid being hit by guns of B29 bomber, gather enough food each day to fill starving family's belly, etc,. It was not all that pressing issue to memorize the date which baby was born. Well, so Takeshi put december 23rd as her birthday. It is the same date as future emperor's birthday. Chinese charactor MI=美（beuty）WA=和(peace) KO=子(child...this was originally used for royal princesses in old days, after the end-of-Tokugawa revolution it is widely used for most of girl's name)were chozen by Chiyo. It was Chiyo's wish that her 4th girl child grows up to be a beauty. When Chiyo was young, before she had six babies, Chiyo was the most beautiful girl in the Hitoyoshi basin. Every one expected Chiyo to produce girl child as pretty as she was. The first born was a girl named Takeko in honer of her father. Takeko resembled her mother, but she was just ordinary. second daughter Toyoko(豊hoping to accumulate wealth) favored her father, which is most unfortinate. Takeo was a hard working good man but he was not blessed with a good look.
So the third baby was expected to be a beauty, but she died a few month after her birth. Now the hope was placed on this tiny red head baby, yes Red ! Japanese babies are supposed to be born with thick black hair. But this baby was born with red hair. Long war and lack of nutrition, every one was malnurished. Malnutrition makes hair color red. The war had ended before miwako's one year birthday, but her hair was still red! Chiyo was not allowed to take Miwako out side of their house. Miwako's red head hair was not to be seen by anyone other than family. Takeshi was trained as a barbar at one time. With his skilled hands he shaved Miwako's hair deligently untill the hair root color showed blackness at age of two.

Labels: Birth of miwako 美和子の誕生

Two years flew by since last post. It does not matter, after all we all are in Time-continuum. The Moon still looks the same as 2 years ago. Old stories are unchanged. A young samurai is running in the forest behind the crescent castle, have never aged. He is still young and handsome. Hi's sweet heart (he wish she is his)glows with the dew of youth sprinkled by the keeper of the forest, the wood nymph. She has gone home now. Isao the young samurai reached the stream where Rin the girl came to bath in late evening. But she was not there. Isao overheard old falks chatting about their daily routine. Rin's grandmother Yoshi was amongst old women. From what Yoshi said, Isao found out Rin's habit of going to the creek late in the evening. Alas, he missed the first attempt of viewing Rin in the moon light. What Isao didn't know was that Rin saw Isao eavesdropping old women's chattering while he was pretending to fix an old women's hut. Rin went to the creek earlier than usual bathed in a hurry and gone home to avoid him. Isao has never said a word to Rin, but Rin felt his eyes focust on her wherever two happened to be in the same area at the same time. Isao is not a bad looking boy. That was the problem. He is a boy, not a man yet. Rin always dreamed of a handsome man to fall in love. The man of her dream was much older. and not a boy.

Labels: In the Bamboo bush 笹の陰で