Seventy two years have passed

Seventy two years have passed since Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from atomic bombing. Three days ago in Hiroshima while today in Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly non military citizens, young or old, have been killed at once. Many more should spend their hard lives with the late onset sequel of irradiation afterwards.

I have a few points to comment on this memorable days.

Firstly, we are obliged to ask ourselves why the people should undergo such a tragedy 72 years ago. I know quite some people in the US and the other countries think it was a retaliation for Pearl Harbor attack and the invasions to neighbor countries by our military. In addition, some people insist the atomic bombing has hastened defeat of our country. I won't discuss on these point in detail. They are making the points to some degree. But it doesn't seem to be the main reason. i would emphasize the emperor as well as the government/military authority should have admitted being defeated in the war much earlier. The authority is told to have expected mediation to the allied nations by Stalin, which was a ridiculous dream. It is not yet elucidated who was responsible for this delay to accept the unconditional surrender. The authority was concerned only about survival of the emperor system. It is the reason why this tragedy has happened even though the responsibility for this wrong decision has never investigated yet.

Whatever the cause/reason might be, it is a reality that innocent citizens have been killed. It should be remembered as a war crime killing so many non military people. It should never be happened. The world leaders, especially the president of the US, seem to be inclined to use nuclear weapon in certain conflict or in certain local war. I should say, however, it is a crime of mass murder and an event which leaves so many people suffering from the effects of irradiation throughout their lives. It is still a crime to human being.

Third, among 140000 victims in Hiroshima, 30000 to 40000 are told to be Korean people. Even more than 10 American people were killed. Some Korean people moved to Japan with their own will while there were a lot of people who were forced to come to Japan. Either case was due to poverty in Korea which had brought them to Japan. With this respect, we, Japanese, are not the sufferers but also the offenders to the neighbor country. Commemorating this event, we should never forget this fact.

Nuclear weapon is not only a mass destruction/murder arm but also leaves the irradiation effects on many people who survive the destruction. It is an arm of the evil. The balance of nuclear weapon is quite unstable and always tempts certain leader of a country to use it. It could result in ruining the world. It is only a false optimism that the balance of nuclear weapon will last forever. 

Lorin WA1PGB

It has been 10 years since I first heard of Lorin WA1PGB from Drew VK3XU. Drew told me there was a ham who had been a professional pianist as well as an enthusiastic CW lover. I had to wait for another 6 years until I could meet that pianist on the air.

He was in Maine, where I could scarcely have good path with. We have still enjoyed conversation on music as well as CW. He has made debut as a professional pianist at Carnegie Hall at age of 11 years. He seemed to have spent a brilliant life as a pianist. Recently, I have run across with him staying in California. His simple set up at the temporary place has put out a great signal compared with that in Maine. He said he would move to somewhere in the Bay area very soon. He has decided to make that move because his son is living in Berkeley and he wanted to live close to him. I believe he is already in his 80s now. It is a good chance for him to spend his retirement in California.

He has let me know of his performance of Schubert piece with his young wife Tara in Youtube. I haven't known of this piece. I was moved at its ever lasting song by Schubert for 4 hands of piano. Dark and melancholic. Sometimes it expresses will for life but still sinks in the darkness. This gloomy song was composed in the last year of Schubert's life. In addition to its nature as a present to a heartbroken lady, the time this piece was composed must be a reason why it sounds so gloomy. I still enjoy his performance with warm touch in perfect harmony with his wife Tara. 

Even though I am the least musician, he told me he enjoyed talking to me about music on the air. I am looking forward to talking much more on music and his life when he is settled down in California.

  

It's the season of Indian Lilac

The Indian Lilac at the entrance gate is blooming. My father used to tell us it was coming out in this season. Even though I can't remember how he told about it to us, I bet he might have been smiling then. It was impossible what he has thought about it then. Now, I could share that with him. Vividly and clearly. There is something we could hardly understand or sympathize at young age.

In a few weeks, hopefully, there will be cool breeze blowing in morning and evening. 

I am still cooking dinner almost everyday. This is pork with eggplant seasoned with soybean paste. It was dished up on the leaves of perilla, an Asian herb, which gives refreshing odor to the dish.

In commemoration of my history

I have a couple of bookcases of moderate size;apx, 1.2mx2.0m in my study as well as the room for radio, that is, the shack. They are too small to store all the books I own. But it is what I could set in my small room. Since I retired, I have added books of history and social science in them. Even though I have already moved most of the medical books to a storage room, a thought I might be forced to quit from medicine completely once I organize the bookcases and do away with the old medical texts etc has made me hesitate to do that.

However, the bookcases are almost full. I have decided to move several medical books left there now. I have scarcely read or looked up with them for the past years since retirement. And those medical texts are getting older in content in several years. Some of them were added to the bookcases even a few decades ago.

A couple of books remained in the book case. One is the textbook of pediatrics, Nelson's, famous for a textbook of pediatrics. It is a token that I have studied and worked in pediatrics. The other is a diagnostics textbook written by a professor whom I have been taught at the medical university. The field of diagnostics does with diagnostic procedure with very simple tools like stethoscope or hammer etc. It was a subject we had to learn in the beginning of clinical medical training. Almost half a century ago, CT scan has just introduced into the clinical services. There were only limited number of diagnostic tools or machines available. Moreover, the diagnostic procedures with very simple tools were really fascinating to us, medical students. Reading that textbook, I surely felt a historical atmosphere in it. Without modern medical equipment, the ancestors of doctors have made effort to reach right diagnosis with their perception and the simple tools. It was sure a historical heritage which was still useful to us. What an excitement to learn it! I know I won't read it for practical purpose any longer. It is, however, still to commemorate in my memory that I have studied medicine and worked for the patients.

  

Discussing proper sending way of CW

In the FOC reflector, there has been a discussion going on regarding sending CW. Some people claim that we should send accurate CW with proper dot dash ratio and spacing for some time. It helps the listeners to read us easier.

The problem may be divided into two aspects. CW sending should be accurate as if it were sent by keyboard. Dot dash ratio should be exactly 1:3 while there should be proper spacing between characters/words. The other problem is that such mechanically accurate sending is often boring to our ears. We appreciate musical rhythm in CW. It varies in time. We often feel comfortable with something exquisitely changing. It may reflect our heart beats. Anyway, that is why CW is called as an art.

Even though I admitted that such a discussion is not meaningless and is quite right, I felt a bit reluctant to go on such a discussion. This is the reason why I feel that way as shown in this post in the reflector. 

Quote;

Everyone、



In my view, there are two points which make me reluctant to discuss

 about this problem. 
Firstly, this problem is often critical since recognition of bad keying 

could be subjective. Certain keying could be artistic to some 

operator s while it sounds like a mess to the other, depending on 

the capability of reception.

Secondly, another difficulty to discuss about keying is that some 

operators have physical or even mental problems which prevent 

them from sending appropriately. It is not courteous nor beneficial 

to comment on their keying since it is almost impossible for them 

to improve it. 

However, there seem to be the case of anosodiaphoria. The operator 

could have improved keying but are not conscious of the problem with
their keying. In this case, we should tell them it is difficult for us to read 

them. It may let them realize the problem with their keying.
With this anosodiaphoria, they won't record their own keying etc. Our 

candidate report must be the only thing to help them realize it. Maybe,
no use to discuss about it in the recflector.

Let me realize it when my keying sounds sloppy. I will try not to be 

cranky at such a report.

Shin
JA1NUT     

Kidney beans and carrot rolled with pork

Kidney beans named "Morocco Ingen" in Japanese have been harvested for the past week or two. Being boiled, it is served for salad. Soft and a bit sweet. Those sold in super markets won't taste that way.

I have cooked it with carrot rolled with pork. Seasoned with sweetened sake and soy sauce. Pretty good.

The garden farm will be into the time of harvest very soon. As often told, I feel blessed having a gust of cool wind touching me in the mid summer sunshine while working in the farm. 

I was invited to an orchestra where I used to play cello a couple of years ago. A small ensemble. They might be puzzled not having any cellist in it. No matter what reason they have had to invite me, I was glad to come back into that cozy company. I felt really excited playing the fugue in the 3rd movement of Brandenburg Concerto Nr 4 by Bach. So far as I could, I would go on for such ensemble. It is the day for another ensemble in Tokyo. It must be a hard work to walk outside carrying cello. However, I would go there. I would play the Concerto for Two Violins by Bach. In that music, two violin concertants would sound like one instrument. It is another fascinating piece by Bach. I would smile at myself sweating much to travel to Tokyo with cello. However, it is one of the reason why I still live. 

 

My Father's 13th Anniversary

It will be my father's 13th anniversary in 3 days. My sister has written to me telling she had been reading the papers for application of pension of military he left to her. It says he has served in the army from 1939 to 1945, that is, from 20 to 26 years of age. His youth, which could have been most brilliant time in his life, has been forced to serve for the military nationalism.

He has been sent to China where he experienced the hell of the war and was almost dying in the battle. It was his regret that Japanese troops had done all criminal behavior to Chinese citizens over there. He has repeatedly told us we had owed much to them. It was his dream to travel Chine for a trip of apology, which did not come true.

Coming back from China, he was luckily assigned to an educational division of the army in this area. It meant he had been spared going to abroad again in the end of the war. Later, he might feel guilty for those having lost their lives abroad on behalf of him.

After the WWII, he has become a firm pacifist. It was due not only to his belief in Christianity but also to his cruel experience during the war. He must face to the problem of emperor system when he searched the cause of the war. It was the reason why the people have approved the invasion to the neighbor countries based on the aberrant idea of elitism. In the present time, studying of the reason why our society, at least, a part of the politics, is heading back to the regime before WWII, I feel we could not go without dealing with the problem of emperor system as a quasi religion which leads us to the nightmare idea of nationalism. I sometimes could not help smiling at myself reading the same kind of books as my father used to and thinking in the same way as he did.    

On July 1st 3 years ago, the collective self defense was approved by the government, which has been the purported reason why a nation started any war in the past. Whatever the government might explain of that change in explanation of our constitution, it meant our country would go for war abroad in the future. I often wonder what my father would say about this situation.

Remembering of him, I would do what I could to protest against such movement in the politics. It was a bit muggy morning when I and my wife have been called for his passing by the hospital staff. It has come on all of sudden. How lonely he has felt when passing away. I would take over his pacifist position for the token of my apology for not being with him at that time. It is also important what a country we would leave to the next generation. Even if I could do little for that.