Maiden's Prayer(PART 2 OF 3)
Oh, my goodness! Sendai is very close to Fukushima, isn't it?
Oh yes, it is.
So you were exposed to the atomic radiation, weren't you?
Don't be silly, Diane. I was in Vancouver when the disaster took place.
Was Emiko in Sendai at the time?
Oh no, she entered a prestigious conservatory of music in Tokyo.
You couldn't meet her, then.
So I phoned her when I went home on my summer vacation.
What for?
I felt competent so that I wanted to play "Maiden's Prayer" for her.
But you had never talked to her before, hadn't you?
No, never...but she remembered me.
I don't believe it. Why on earth did she remember you?
'Cause she was a top student in the middle school. So was I. You see, Emiko and I were rivals.
Is this a true story, Kato?
Yes, it is. You'd better believe it because I even wrote a story in Japanese about this episode, using her real name.
■【One-sided love with "Maiden's Prayer"】
(Monday, June 19, 2006)
Anyway, I can hardly believe it.
Well, in that case I'll tell you another amazing story.
Another episode about you and Emiko?
Oh no, this story is my father's life and death, and the Empress of Japan.
Are you serious?
Of course, I am. My father graduated from only elementary school because, when he was a kid, his family was so poor that he couldn't afford higher education. So he worked as a school janitor and studied by himself to obtain a teacher's certificate in music.
Why in music?
My father told me later that music was the easiest subject to obtain a teacher's certificate because not many people applied for.
I see. And did he eventually get the certificate?
Yes, he did, but soon the war started and he had to fight in Okinama.
Okinawa? You said? The battle in Okinawa was the worst in the World War II, wasn't it?
Yes, it was.
Shootout on Okinawa
The Last Battle Of WW2
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Did you father survive the war.
Yes, of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been born after the war. My father was stationed in Miyako Island, which is the fourth-largest island in Okinawa Prefecture. My father survived the war because the US army took a hopping frog strategy, in which they ignored insignificant resistant forces.
So the US army ignored Miyako Island, didn't they?
Yes, they did.
Miyako-island, Okinawa
(宮古島の旅)
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But tell me, Kato, how on earth your father came to know the Empress of Japan.
Empress Michiko
Empress Michiko of Japan (皇后美智子 Kōgō Michiko was formerly Michiko Shōda (正田 美智子, Shōda Michiko).
born on October 20, 1934.
She is the wife and consort of Emperor Akihito, the current monarch of Japan.
She was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family.
As crown princess and later as empress consort, she has become the most visible and widely-travelled imperial consort in Japanese history.
Her full title is Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Japan.
Empress Michiko was born in Tokyo, the eldest daughter of Hidesaburo Shōda (1904–1999), president and later honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company, and his wife, Fumiko Soejima (1910–1988).
She attended Futaba Elementary School in Tokyo, but was obliged to leave during the fourth grade because of the American bombing during World War II.
She returned to school after the war ended and attended the Seishin (Sacred Heart) junior high school and High School in Tokyo.
In 1957, She earned a bachelor of arts in English literature from the Faculty of Literature at the University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo with summa cum laude.
Biographers of the writer Yukio Mishima report that he had considered marrying Michiko Shoda, and that he was introduced to her for that purpose some time in the 1950s.
Yukio Mishima
SOURCE: Wikipedia
PICTURES: From the Denman Library
You see, she was the first commoner to marry into the Japanese Imperial Family. When she married the crown prince, almost all the Japanese were fascinated by her charm and beauty. Before the royal marriage, the world-famous Yukio Mishima had met her on an arranged meeting with a prospect of marriage. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.
You mean, your father also met her on an arranged meeting?
Oh no, he didn't. It's impossible because my father was living in a different world. Nonetheless, Princess Michiko bacame my father's idol. My father knew that she loved music---especially, songs for children. So, one day he composed a piece of music based on her poem, and let his pupils sing the song and recorded it on his cassette tape, then sent it to the palace. Princess Michiko seemed to like it. And her secretary wrote a thank-you letter. When he received it, my father literally jumped up and down with a great deal of ecstacy.
Is this a real story, Kato?
Yes, of course, it is. In fact, later, my father and mother built a new house and set up an alcove and placed the letter in the alcove. He said that he would make the letter a family treasure for generations to come.
Amazing! But I can hardly believe it.
【Himiko's Monologue】
Wow! What a fascinating story?
Can you believe it?
Well..., you'd better believe it because I saw the letter when I visited Kato in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture.
Playing the piano is one thing; romance is another.
Come to think of it, I've never met a decent man in my life.
How come I'm always a loner?
I wish I could meet a nice gentleman at the library in my town as Kato met Diane.
Well, they say, there is a way where there is a will.
Have a nice day!
Bye bye ...
■"Cleopatra"
■"Queen Nefertiti"
■"Catherine de Medici"
■"Catherine the Great"
■"Mata Hari"
■"Sidonie Colette"
■"Marilyn Monroe"
■"Net Love"
■"Complicated Love"
■"Electra Complex"
■"Net Début"
■"Inner World"
■"Madame Riviera and Burger"
■"Roly-poly in the North"
■"Amazing Grace"
■"Diane in Paris"
■"Diane in Montmartre"
■"Diane Well Read"
■"Wantirna South"
(To be continued)