Category: Nature and Life

And my grandma worshipped the sun… Is it that crazy?

Mt. Miwa – Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

My mother visits Omiwa Shrine in Nara, Japan, every 1^st day of the month.  It takes about an hour by train and bus from where she lives.  Rain or shine, she never fails to make a visit, and always brings back sacred water in bottles.  She shares the water with my cousin and her family who live nearby. 

Although Omiwa Shrine has an impressive building, the sacred object is not housed there.  The sacred object of worship is Mt. Miwa, a mountain, or rather a large hill behind the building. 

My mother told me that her mother (my grandmother) used to bow down to the rising sun every morning, praying that the day will be a good one for her and her family.  My mother has a little shrine at home and bows to that shrine every morning as well. 

Praying to the sun and worshiping the mountain… I grew up despising these behaviors of my mother and grandmother as superstitious and primitive.  In today’s scientific, modern days, they are outdated.

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When I went back to Japan several years ago, I decided to accompany my mother to visit the shrine.  It was April 1^st, and the cherry trees in the shrine property were in full bloom.  When I looked up at Mt. Miwa through the pink clouds of the cherry blossoms, I felt awed. 

The clothes that people wear, the vehicle they used to come here, and the buildings surrounding the mountain have all changed.  But for centuries and centuries, the mountain has welcomed those who come to worship it.

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Even with today’s advancement of science and technology, there are so many things that human beings don’t know at all.  One scientist was saying in the interview that the more you research and study the more you realize how little the understanding is of us human beings.

Both my mother and grandmother realized that their existence is tiny compared with the sun, the mountain, or the whole existence in the universe.  Their perception is not blinded by the arrogance of human beings. 

What a fool was I to despise their behavior?  Time for me to be humble…

Now it’s my turn to take care of her

Photo by RepentAnd SeekChristJesus on Unsplash

“Are you having enough vegetables?”

“Are you following the doctor’s instructions?”

“Don’t forget to go to the bank!”

“Be careful when crossing the street by bicycle.”

Those were my mother’s words I would often hear on the phone, when I started living alone, to go to college.  Mother, I’m not a little girl anymore.  Treat me as an adult, was my response.  To my mother, however, I was still her daughter who needed her care.

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Forty years later, living thousands of miles apart, my mother and I video chat almost every day.

Now it’s my mother’s turn to hear words like those stated above from me.

Mother, it sounds strange, but I’m kind of happy to be able to treat you like my child.  Now I’m able to pay you back at least some of the abundant love you have given me. 

Let me keep on treating you as if you were my daughter, the longer, the better…

And that was the best way to lose weight and keep it for 30 years

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

In my teens and twenties, I was always overweight, by the Japanese standard anyway. 

I had a hard time finding good-looking skirts and pants in my size.  I hated my body shape, wished to be skinnier, weighed myself every day and night, got depressed if I gained half a pound, skipped breakfast, and got depressed again if the scale was not showing any sign of improvement.  For a while, I was in the state of eating too much and throwing up right away (is it called bulimia?). 

Then I turned 30. One day I told myself.  “Let’s stop weighing myself.  I will listen to my body.  I will eat as much as I feel like eating.  If I feel full, I will stop eating.” 

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Listening to my own body… That was the best decision I ever made. 

Soon I stopped overeating and going to the bathroom right away.  Whatever the kilograms or pounds, I threw away the number to describe my weight from the primary place in my memory pool.  I was sick of creating an emotional rollercoaster every day by looking at the numbers.

Rather, I started touching my tummy, my thighs, arms, wherever in my body to give me some indication of my body weight.  If I feel a little more volume of fat than before, I told myself, “Maybe you don’t need much food,” then I ate less.

In the last thirty years, I wonder how many times I stepped on a weighing scale at home.  I have a scale, but now I use it to weigh our suitcases before going on a trip, not my body.   

I can still wear the same jeans I bought over ten years ago.  Once a year I step on a scale at the clinic for my annual physical checkup.  My doctor hasn’t raised a red flag on the number it spits out.    

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I’m not a fashion model.  My thighs are still pretty substantial.  But I trust my own senses rather than a machine to tell me if I’m overweight or not.  I want to be in control of my physical status. 

It’s not as bad as you think

Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

When my husband moved from Florida to Seattle, his colleagues gave him a raincoat as a farewell gift. 

As such is the reputation of Seattle.  A TV crime drama called Killing was set in Seattle, and it was raining in every episode.

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Well, having lived here for 28 years, I have to admit that Seattle’s reputation as a rainy city holds.  According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Average precipitation days is over 156 days a year.  It’s more than twice as many days as San Francisco (71 days/year), and 25% more than New York City (125 days/year).

By the amount of annual rainfall, however, Seattle doesn’t even come close to the top of the list.  With 39 inches, Seattle picks up less precipitation each year compared to New York City (47 inches). 

A drizzling shower early in the morning, thick fog developing late morning, the fog burns off by 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and the bright sunset… Such a variety of weather can be seen in a day, but still is counted as a rainy day. 

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I took the photo from our window.  The rain shower cleansed the air.  The leaves are vivid green.  And here, it’s a rainbow!

Well, is half the myth of rainy Seattle gone?

My travel wish list for 2023

Photo by Ross Parmly on Unsplash

Our trip to Vienna last Thanksgiving was a special reunion.  After over 10 years of interval, my husband and I got together with our old-time Austrian friend and had a wonderful time together. 

How to Nurture Friendship across the Ocean

She was a great host.  She showed us around the town, introduced us to her local friends, and took us to her favorite coffee shop and farmer’s market.  After spending seven days with her, my husband and I developed illusions as if we were locals of Vienna.

Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

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The final night in Vienna.  My husband and I were all done packing, but reluctant to admit we were leaving this beautiful city and our wonderful friend.  When will we see her again…

Then she brought her calendar.  So did we.  Now the COVID lockdown is behind us, my husband and I will get back to our routine of traveling abroad for Thanksgiving. Why not she joins us next year? Would be fun to travel together!  Where?

Somewhere warmer.  Somewhere sunnier.  Somewhere none of us have been before. 

It didn’t take too long for the three of us to come to an agreement. 

We will see each other again next November, in Israel!

Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

Celebrating the Centennial anniversary of Japan-America Society of Washington State

Chiyo Sanada’s powerful calligraphy art: Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

Japan-America Society of Washington State (JASSW) is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. 

JASSW was established in 1923 to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of Japan and Washington State by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

New Year’s party was held yesterday and many members old and new got together and enjoyed Ms. Chiyo Sanada’s powerful calligraphy art.

When talking about the relationship between the US and Japan in the last 100 years, it’s impossible to ignore World War II.  Only after I moved to Seattle did I learn about the experiences that the Japanese Americans endured during the war. 

Nations, after all, consist of people.  How can we learn from history so that we won’t make the same mistake again?  How can we expand mutual understanding and friendship beyond many borders in the world? I believe this community-level effort is vital to influence national-level relations. 

The joy of cooking vegetables to serve our friends

Photo by Author Akemi Sagawa

I belong to, not a book club, but a TED talk club.

Instead of reading a book, a host for the month picks one TED talk video and shares it with the rest of the group.  Everybody watches the video, and we discuss what we learned at the meeting.

The group members take turns hosting the meeting, and it was my turn this month.

I’m the only Japanese in the group, so I try to add some Japanese flare to whatever I serve.  It may be the ingredient I cook, the type of serving plates I use, or the table runner repurposed from an old Obi.  Something new to the group to give a hint to start an interesting conversation before we dive into the main discussion.

When I was wondering what to prepare for the upcoming meeting, I found out about Dr. Preeti Singh’s writing prompt for this week.  Vegetables!  Why don’t I serve only vegetables, focusing on the cutting method into different shapes?  Visual presentation is an important element of Japanese cooking!

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The bright red in the center box (see the photo above) is beets, roasted and cut into cubes.  I placed white goat cheese on top of the cubes and added a drip of aged balsamic vinegar.  The sweetness of the beets and the vinegar, plus a hint of sourness of the goat cheese is my favorite combination.

I added steamed broccoli and cauliflower diagonally to add color variation.

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Can you guess the two vegetables in the photo above? 

The whitish ones are satoimo in Japanese.  Taros, they are called in an Indian store.  I didn’t know this kind of potato is used in Indian cooking. The color of satoimo, cooked with mirin and soy sauce, is rather dull. Cut into hexagon pieces, however, they add some charm to the dish. 

The other ones are kabocha squash pieces. The vivid green outside and the rich orange color inside are great for adding accents.  I cut them like a cone shape so that they stand upright. 

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I carved Shiitake mushrooms so that they look like flowers.  Not only are they pleasing to the eyes, but the mushrooms also absorb the sauce better, resulting in a shorter cooking time.  I cut carrots to look like flowers also, but I need some more training.  The lotus roots with so many holes are always fun to play with.  This time I cut out the outer rim alongside the holes.  The crunchiness of the lotus is a nice addition to the biting experience.

My TED talk group enjoyed the food as well as the discussion. These vegetables nourished us, entertained us, and helped us grow our friendship.  Thank you, vegetables!

How reliable is your inner clock?

Photo by Kate Stone Matheson on Unsplash

In the last several days I had special events back-to-back. 

A private Ikebana workshop for employees of a major IT company, Ikebana International New Year party, Hatsugama (初釜), the first formal tea gathering this year.  Each event requires preparation from the night before till late and early morning on the day of the event.

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Normally I never set an alarm.  I wake up at about the same time every morning, no matter how late I go to sleep the night before. 

The last several days, however, I had to get up about an hour earlier than usual.  Just in case I set an alarm so that I won’t oversleep. 

While I was setting up the alarm, I consciously told myself to wake up at the set time.  The next morning, without exception I woke up about an hour before the time I was supposed to get up.  I lingered a little before I got out of bed, but I could turn off the alarm before it made an annoying sound. 

Then I thought, maybe I can rely on my internal clock a little more. 

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A dog or a cat, your pet begs for food same time every day.  Without an alarm clock, they seem to have a daily routine set up for doing when to do what. 

Time, after all, is not created by human beings.  Maybe we creatures were created because there is a cycle in the universe. 

I’m not advocating discarding your alarm clock at all.  Our social structure requires us to be super punctual.  But you may be surprised by the ability of your body to tell you time.  Because, you know, we human beings are part of nature.

Remember, human beings are living creatures

Photo by Sue Thomas on Unsplash

Whenever I hear discussions about AI and how afraid we humans are to be replaced with AI someday, I feel something off the point. 

Those discussions seem to assume that human beings merely consist of their brain. 

AI might surpass human beings in its memory capacity and computing capability.  But without power can AI function? 

A bug, on the other hand, is born, eats, reproduces, and dies someday. The body returns to earth.  So does a human.  We are living creatures.  AI is not… Will it ever gain life?  More importantly, should we ever allow that?