My trivial thinking

 Last Wednesday I went to Wakayama City on business, and on my way back to the office I stopped by Wakayama Castle. Since it was a weekday, the grounds were quiet and peaceful, even though the sky was a bit cloudy.   Wakayama Castle was originally built in 1585, and from 1619 to 1868 it served as the residence of the Kishu?Tokugawa family, one of the three major branches of the Tokugawa clan. The eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, was born here.    The castle was destroyed in Allied air raids during World War II, but it was rebuilt in 1958 using reinforced concrete and is now open to the public.   In spring, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the castle surrounded by pink flowers is truly beautiful.   

 The UN plays an important role in resolving international conflicts and supporting refugees, but I realized I actually knew very little about its real activities. My understanding had mostly come from TV news and newspapers. This book is the biography of Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed in the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing while serving as the UN Secretary?General’s Special Representative in Iraq. The author is Samantha Power, a Pulitzer Prize?winning writer. Sergio was born in Brazil in 1948, the son of a Brazilian diplomat. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he joined the 1968 student protests. I’m from the same generation?slightly younger?and Japan experienced similar student movements at the time. In 1969, he found a job in Geneva as a French editor at the UNHCR, thanks to his exceptional language skills. From there, he went on to work in some of the world’s most difficult conflict zones?Rwanda, Lebanon, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, East Timor, and others...

My niece, Meg, went to London to study art when she was twenty. She stayed there for more than three years and graduated from an art college. After returning to Japan, she worked as a designer in Tokyo. But her passion for studying art more deeply never faded, so she saved up enough money to go back. She returned to London and earned her master’s degree at Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. When my daughter Yumi was living in London to study at SOAS, Meg supported her with great kindness. After leaving London, Meg found a job in Dubai, but less than a year later she became ill. We later learned it was a serious disease. She came back to Japan last year. Her parents were deeply worried and searched for the best medical care available. She underwent treatment for a full year, and with her strong spirit, she overcame the illness. All of us?her family and relatives?were deeply moved by her determination. Today, she has returned to Dubai to work again. We are behind you all the w...

 The photograph of a naked little girl running down a road is one of the most iconic images of the Vietnam War. Taken by Nick Ut, it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972. The girl in the picture is Kim Phuc, and The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong tells her life story against the backdrop of modern Vietnamese history. Kim Phuc’s village was mistakenly bombed with napalm by the South Vietnamese air force under the direction of American military advisers. She suffered severe burns across her back. Nick Ut and other Western journalists rushed her to a hospital in Saigon, where her life was barely saved. After the war, the government used her as a propaganda symbol against American imperialism. Yet she dreamed of becoming a doctor so she could help people who suffered as she had. She also secretly held a Christian faith. Because Prime Minister Pham Van Dong cared for her like a granddaughter, she was allowed to study in Havana. In 1992, she married a fellow Vietnamese student, and durin...

 I enjoy jogging on weekends, but I hadn’t been able to go for a long time because I’d been very busy since last October. During the New Year holidays, all the factories are closed, so there’s very little traffic noise and the air and water are much cleaner. This morning, I went jogging in the pleasant, chilly winter breeze. Many people were out walking and jogging along the Otsu River near my home.    I brought my camera with me today and took some photos of birds and fish. I’m neither a birder nor a photographer.  I enjoyed taking pictures, but I couldn’t identify the exact species of the birds I saw.  

 My wife, who is a calligrapher, wrote this for our New Year’s greeting card. It’s pronounced “yo-shun” and means “brilliant spring.”   She writes words like this every New Year. I also drew this snake as the zodiac animal for this year’s New Year’s card.