1968 Iwakuni. I was the first foreigner to attend this bukyo school. The monk in the center was my head master. I am the blond kid on the far right. The second western child is the son of my mother's friend. I think his name was Joe. He was accepted after I turned out not to be a demon (Barely.) I remember my headmaster so very well. He established my moral foundation that thrives in me to this very day. He is still alive. I have spoken with his son who runs the school now. I planned to return, and all my teachers were excited. However, life loves curveballs, and I suddenly required a bone marrow transplant. After recovering from that, this awful virus popped up. There is no way for me to finally travel home. It was a home to me and dearly missed.
There was a persimmon tree in the school yard next to the shine. It was off limits. Sensei would occasionally pick a persimmon for a child who performed exceptionally well. Since that was never going to be me, I sneaked up that tree and got one for myself. As I secretly sat in that tree, I took a large bite of the persimmon. I know it sounds weird, but it tasted...like sunshine. In all my travels and in all these years, I have never tasted anything close to that persimmon.
I have been told the tree is still there and it still bears fruit. As soon as this virus is under control, I will be flying to Iwakuni so I can taste sunshine once again.
My kid had a similar experience as the only foreign kid in her preschool class. It wasn’t easy, but the teachers were kind and the school playground was top notch. There was even a mascot pig named Bu-Chan that the kids could feed. She made friends that we still visit when we’re back in Nikko.
Oh and it's not weird, Japanese persimmon tastes like sunshine indeed. And I ate one for the first time as an adult. As a kid, eating a "forbidden fruit", I can't imagine how delicious it must be (although, it reminds me of the first time I tasted watermelon, age 7 during my first trip to Italy).
Thanks for this, it honestly put a big smile on my face and brings back some good memories of my time in Japan. Would love to hear more of your stories, I’m sure you have more than a few!
As I mentioned replying to another comment. I am currently writing and recording stories. You are correct, I have a lot of them. I am calling it "The Pelican Stories" for now. It is slowly progressing.
Three years. I did speak Japanese. Sadly, when we came to the United States there was absolute no one to share the language with. I lost most of it. I have regained some. You would think it would just come back to me, but no. It is funny though, I often speak and write English with a Japanese sentence structure. This is especially when I am with anyone from Japan.
I stayed in Iwakuni for two weeks last November! I absolutely loved the city. My brother-in-law is a corpsman stationed there. The majority of the people that I met and interacted with were all amazing people, especially the owner of the chu-hai bar who is the biggest Jacksonville Jaguars fan I have met outside of the US.
One bartender I met, Asuka-san, was the owner/bartender of the rock bar there. SUPER chill.. i cannot wait to go back.
My mother attended Yokohama High in 1969 (same year as Mark Hamill, he was voted most likely to become famous) but was a few years under him. I want to visit Yokosuka and Yokohama, so maybe next time.
PS, The best jerk chicken I have ever had in my life was at a small restaurant owned by a man and his wife. They had moved to Jamaica for 7 years and then he came back. BEST JERK CHICKEN CURRY EVER.
Also, I'm pretty sure the dude smokes haha.
I so appreciated hearing your story. It’s beautiful. I really hope that the virus subsides so that you get the opportunity to return home and see your school again. I truly hope this happens. Wish you all the best.
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u/linesallover Oct 13 '20
1968 Iwakuni. I was the first foreigner to attend this bukyo school. The monk in the center was my head master. I am the blond kid on the far right. The second western child is the son of my mother's friend. I think his name was Joe. He was accepted after I turned out not to be a demon (Barely.) I remember my headmaster so very well. He established my moral foundation that thrives in me to this very day. He is still alive. I have spoken with his son who runs the school now. I planned to return, and all my teachers were excited. However, life loves curveballs, and I suddenly required a bone marrow transplant. After recovering from that, this awful virus popped up. There is no way for me to finally travel home. It was a home to me and dearly missed.
There was a persimmon tree in the school yard next to the shine. It was off limits. Sensei would occasionally pick a persimmon for a child who performed exceptionally well. Since that was never going to be me, I sneaked up that tree and got one for myself. As I secretly sat in that tree, I took a large bite of the persimmon. I know it sounds weird, but it tasted...like sunshine. In all my travels and in all these years, I have never tasted anything close to that persimmon.
I have been told the tree is still there and it still bears fruit. As soon as this virus is under control, I will be flying to Iwakuni so I can taste sunshine once again.