Another walk and a memory of Christmas in '79

It was a warm breezy day today. In the afternoon with no clouds in the sky and sun was shining warmly, I went for a walk over to the rice farm area west of here. It took only 15 minutes to walk down there. Vast rice paddies spread. No one there. There were occasionally cars coming and going. A quiet place.

Northwest of here, we could see the mountains in Nikko. Clouds have covered the range and could not be seen. 

In a harvested paddy, pruned or cut branches of trees were piled high. I remembered it would be for a fire festival named Dondo Yaki which would be held in the mid January next year. They will burn all the ornaments or the religious tags given at shrines for the New Year's days. 

Some dishes and rice cakes will be served as well. I have never attended such a meeting. One reason was because I had been pretty busy around New Year's days for my work. My father or my wife used to join it when we were responsible for that. 

Looking up about this common festival in the season, I knew the same event had been held all over our country with different names. It seems to pray for good health and fortune in the new year. Another old religious tradition.

A road is running north and south between this rice farm area and the residential area east of it. Along that road, my mother's birth place is located. There used to be a spouse lady of my uncle, that is, my mother's elder brother, living there. My mother used to tell us the family was wealthy with a lot of properties. After the WWII, it has fallen to a common family. Now a daughter of a cousin and her family are living there. All of them, except for the cousin's daughter and her family, have already died. 

In the Christmasn of 1979, when we were newly married and started residency, we visited there for a Christmas event. An old aunt has brought Christianity to this country side when she suffered from tuberculosis and was well cared for by an American missionary lady in her student days in Sendai. I might have already told in this blog about her and her sanatorium having been started during WWII. She has advocated Christianity in conjunction with that small sanatorium. The sanatorium was for tuberculosis patients who had no aid from their families etc. Of course, it was a illness with absolutely poor prognosis those days. I bet it was a kind of private hospice welcoming those without any help in the society. I was born at that sanatorium. I have also written about that story elsewhere. 

I can't remember if we were invited to or were willing to. We came to this aunt's home for a Christmas event in the late Dec. Without own car, we came here on train and bus. It took us almost 2 hours. We didn't care for that. I was pleased to introduce my wife to the people there. Taking off a bus from the railway station nearby, 30 or 40 minutes ride, we were walking on this street. It was not paved. It was much colder than today. Hard wind was blowing from the Nikko mountains. Nostalgic enough. My wife did not complain of the long journey at that time. who knows how she reacts to such a proposal of trip in the cold wind. We both were young and ambitious for the future at that time. 

I had least idea to be settled down in this area those days. Sometimes ideas for another choice in life comes up in my mind. It is, however, no use to recollect old things like that. It has been the only choice for me and I should be grateful for that.