March 31, 2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's March 31 issue.
* * *
Here is a verse I would like you, a newborn baby boy, to read someday.
In a period of coldness
You were born
With tears
This was written by haiku poet Koichi Masaki. You also were born on a chilly night in coldness, the day the Japanese archipelago filled with a flood of tears.
On the evening of the day when a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck northern and eastern parts of the nation, a woman went into labor at a shelter in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Several other women who also were evacuated to the shelter offered helping hands. The shelter was plunged in darkness due to a power outage. Using a flashlight, the women reportedly bound the umbilical cord with sewing thread and warmed the newborn baby in a polystyrene foam box.
I knew nothing about you except that you are a baby boy. But it crosses my mind that we might be siblings sharing the same birthday.
Since the earthquake, all Japanese have been trying to lead new lives, in which they have become a bit more sensitive than before to the pain of others and are more easily moved to tears than before. A serious crisis continues at the crippled nuclear power plant. There are yet to be any positive signs for the reconstruction of disaster-hit areas. But the period of coldness will turn to one of warmth, or we will make it happen. It will be a race between us over who can first stand firmly on their own feet.
March has become a month of special importance for the Japanese, just like August's commemoration of the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings and end of World War II. This March ends today. To you, though I do not know your name, let's grow together to become tough and beautiful.
(Apr. 4, 2011)
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's March 31 issue.
* * *
Here is a verse I would like you, a newborn baby boy, to read someday.
In a period of coldness
You were born
With tears
This was written by haiku poet Koichi Masaki. You also were born on a chilly night in coldness, the day the Japanese archipelago filled with a flood of tears.
On the evening of the day when a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck northern and eastern parts of the nation, a woman went into labor at a shelter in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Several other women who also were evacuated to the shelter offered helping hands. The shelter was plunged in darkness due to a power outage. Using a flashlight, the women reportedly bound the umbilical cord with sewing thread and warmed the newborn baby in a polystyrene foam box.
I knew nothing about you except that you are a baby boy. But it crosses my mind that we might be siblings sharing the same birthday.
Since the earthquake, all Japanese have been trying to lead new lives, in which they have become a bit more sensitive than before to the pain of others and are more easily moved to tears than before. A serious crisis continues at the crippled nuclear power plant. There are yet to be any positive signs for the reconstruction of disaster-hit areas. But the period of coldness will turn to one of warmth, or we will make it happen. It will be a race between us over who can first stand firmly on their own feet.
March has become a month of special importance for the Japanese, just like August's commemoration of the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings and end of World War II. This March ends today. To you, though I do not know your name, let's grow together to become tough and beautiful.
(Apr. 4, 2011)
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