A trip to an old temple and a memory of the doctor having worked there

I have visited Saimyouji, an old temple, in the town next to ours. It was the place I took Joe AJ2Y visiting here several years ago. It is my habit to visit there once several months by myself or with some visitors. I needed walking a little bit. I also wondered if I could fine anything which showed the arrival of early spring. It was a fine day without any clouds in the sky. Pretty cold but not freezing. It was 3 or 4 PM and sun was ready to sink in an hour or two. It was a plain week day. And there were almost no visitors in the grounds. Among high trees, there were the temple buildings on the top of a hill. Quiet and peaceful as if time has stopped to flow.

The entrance stairs. Going up only dozens of steps made me short breathed even if I might excuse that due to the steep slope. I felt I needed more exercise or walk for training every day.

   

Here is the history of this old temple.
It says it was founded by a famous
Buddhist Gyoki in the 8th century.

The buildings had been (re)built from
16th through 18th century. The temple
has suffered from fires a few times
and has lost the old buildings. The
lords in this area has given the temple
generous and courteous asylum.

The entrance gate. The strong structure with straw thatched roof.

The three storied pagoda. Each story is constructed in japanese, chinese and mixture style

A storage house with the buddha statues kept in it. The roof is again strawa thatched one. This roof used to be pretty common whe I was born and spent first several years in this area. It should be renewed every several years and has already abandoned everywhere.

The main building, pretty new with metal sheet roof, stood in the most inner part. Again, it is not so old but must be rebuilt after the old style.

The front view of the main building.

The grounds were surrounded with numerous old and high trees. They have been designated as a special naturel treasure by the government. So serene and peaceful. I could understand the ancient people have founded this temple at this place which might look suitable for worshipping.

At a foot of the hill of this temple, along the road of steep slope, there is a clinic named after the temple, Fumonin Clinic.

The son of the former chief priest of this temple has become a medical doctor. He has worked at the National Cancer Center in Tokyo after graduating the med school. He must have served a lot of cancer patients at that time. Years later, his father could not carry on the priest job and, after studying Buddhism at a university, returned and took over the priest job here. At the same time he has started that clinic.

Some twenty or more years ago, my father used to attend to the clinic. Even though I have not heard how my father evaluated him as a doctor, judging from the fact he had attended there spending half an hour for driving there on one way, he must have been happy being taken cared for by the doctor. I remember he told me of the fact such a doctor was working there at that time.

Several years ago, the doctor was diagnosed as the final stage of pancreatic cancer. They say he has told he had been caring for the terminal patients with cancer throughout his life and then was in his turn. Since then, he vigorously started or emphasized his activity to advocate the importance of religious background for the terminal care givers. He has written a few books of that theme and has visited Catholic Conference in Vatican to make an address of the subject for 4 times.

When I was working at own practice of pediatrics, I had a secret dream to be involved in the terminal care at a hospice in the future. I was inclined to visit this doctor and to hear any advice from him. I remember telling this dream to my father who was happy to hear that. But without any personal relationship with him and with my busy daily work burden, sadly, it did not come true. I knew it was not easy for any doctor to start with terminal care from quite different speciality career. I still recall of him with much respect that, despite of his own fatal illness, he has served for the patients in terminal stage cancer for some time in the very end of his life. Very few could do such a thing.

Three years ago, I have read on a news paper that he died. His wife, also a doctor, has taken over the priest job as well as the president of the clinic. Their daughter, another doctor, seems to work with her at the clinic. There were several cars parking at the parking lot. I am sure they are going on good work for the people in this area.

Looking sun sinking on the horizon in the rice paddies, I headed back to home.

How to identify a decoder user on the air

For just fun, I have posted to a CW operators' group in facebook regarding how to know someone using a decoder. It says as follows;

1)A few seconds delay to change from reception to transmission. 

2)Often omitting name etc, the ordinary format of QSO. And ending transmission with BK. 

3)In addition, using a key board. 

4)Impossible to communicate other than exchanging call sign.

I was a little bit kidding and added that I would quit there as soon as I identify the guy in QSO using a decoder. Rather, he or she would touch and go before I do that. 

There were a lot of comments, pro et contra, as usual for such a post. Beginners seemed to be irritated by such a comment. I should have behaved more courteously. But this thought is still what I think in the usual QSOs.  

My reply to the comments is here; 

Ｗow, lots of comments! 

I just wanted to let you know how I judge certain operator is a decoder user. I won't hate new comers or even decoder users. When I have time free, I would slow down and try to make an ordinary QSO in "traditional" style. I am not very happy to work anyone who just hits and runs. Whenever I read various posts/comments here, there are different kinds of topics by CW operators with different background. I hope you to mix them up. I believe, when you would be a CW operator who could communicate on CW fluently, there are 3 steps. 

1) Remebering code 

2) Getting used to QSO in traditional style 

3) Talking freely on this mode with the skill of head copy. 2) and 3) often goes at the same time in a person. 

But 3) is difficult to achieve without being conscious of head copying. If you are accoustomed with writing down message or even with using decorder, it bothers you to accomplish this step. One additional and most important point is that only when you could get through 3) step, you may have pleasure of CW communication. It is related with rewarding sense in your mind which comes from reading the message through expectation in head copy. This point is regarded needless to comment by old timer with proficiency. As the other easy going communication modes are accessible among new comers, this point should be emphasized. Only grinding away at head copying would give you the real pleasure of CW communication.

Ume flowers blooming and the 3rd piano concerto by Bartok

On the way to a supermarket for shopping as I do once 2 days, I have found a tree with numerous scarlet colored flowers in the propery of a factory near here. It was a corner sun shined a lot. Having parked on the side of the street, I walked close to that tree. It was a ume, japanese apricot, tree. More than half of blossoms were coming out.

A close up view.

Compared with the same ume trees in our garden, this tree surely ran ahead of them. One reason of blooming early must be the location of the tree where it could enjoy a lot of warm sunray. A blessed tree. Seeing those flowers typical for the arrival of spring made my mind warmed a bit. It might not be too long before the flowers on the trees in our garden come out. 

Another news for me. I thought Bela Bartok, a hungarian composer having lived in the first half of the last century, had composed atonal music with dodecaphonism technique adopting melodies and forms from ethnic music. A critical essay on this composer  by Hidekazu Yoshida, an excellent critic of music, sadly dead at the age of 98 years in 2012, has taught me his last works had gone through that modern music age but had reached a new horizon. His swan song, the 3rd piano concerto, typically shows the point he has achieved far ahead of the dodecaphony. This work sounds serene as well as energitic. The 2nd movement has surprised me with its almost religiousness. Even though he was thought to be an atheist, he has reached a religious transparency with this work. A real surprise! He has been criticized for his style achieved in the last years of his life by those dodecaphists. But he must has believed the modern music of atonality won't realize the lively world of music in this way he has shown in this concerto. His biography tells us at the very last moment of composing this concerto, he has got fatally ill with leukemia and could not compose the last 17 bars in the last movement. His disciple has finished the music according to the sketch he had left. 

There is still such a music I have not known yet and must listen to before the end of my life as well. I would explore for such a music in the vast ocean of the music in the past as well as at the present time. What an exciting and meaningful adventure!

Beef noodle with home made japanese leek

This blog is not a food blog, never, never...

But this is a dish of beef noodle for the lunch today. Noodle is a special product in Kagawa area, where my wife came from. She loves noodle dish. She says noodle has been served at any occasion. Even for snack in the afternoon.

Whenever we got back to Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture to see her parents, we used to enjoy the noodle at restaurants. Even at a simple reaturant in the station. Smooth touched and tasty noodle. 

This japanese leek in the dish is home made one. While the outer portion of the leek was again almost decayed like the cabbage harvested yesterday. the leek itself in the round was fresh and well nourished. 

Our ancestors have enjoyed noodle as preserved food but also for its unique subtly crunchy taste in the smooth soft outlook. It is a food culture of tradition.  

A long lived cabbage

A few cabbages were planted in the farm last fall. They were grown in this way.

When it got cold, three of four were shaped successfully spherical. I knew becoming spherical was to live in the cold atmosphere. One of them was harvested last November as below. It was cooked as rolled cabbage etc. 

The very last one was left in the yard farm alone. The surface was almost decayed with freezing etc. A miserable cabbage there. A few days ago, I had an idea to cook cabbage with beef seasoned with oyster sauce and mustard. As soon as I found the recipe of that dish, I remembered of that poor almost given up cabbage. 

I have forgotten taking a photo of the original outlook of this vegetable. The surface leaves were half decayed and dirty. But, being cut, it turned out to have thickly packed content. Fresh and almost juicy.

Before cooking the dish mentioned above, I tried it for a dish of warmed vegetables. Surprisingly sweet. Fresh vegetables could be sweet. Among those fresh ones, this was literraly like a fruit. I bet it has produced much sugar in order to survive in the freezing temperature. I thanked it a lot, of course. It was also used for the cabbage and beaf dish.

In a couple of months, it will be the season to start planting or seeding vegetables. That work will keep me busy and vivid. I am looking forward to having that season.  

Ume flowers and ume-boshi

On a ume tree most exposed to sun in the garden, the buds of flowers are growing. Small parts of the petals are almost uncovering the buds.

Within a couple of weeks, they start to bloom at the same time. Red ume will follow these white ume. Spring will be fully blown by that time.

As often mentioned, these trees were planted by my father almost 40 years ago. My mother as well as father has loved these plants.

Late in spring, these flowers would turn to ume fruits. They have made ume-
boshi, that is, pickled plum. It is not really pickled. Ume has a variety of acids as constituents. It contains 4 or 5 times of citric acid more than lemon. When ume fruits, salted, are dried in sunray for a week or two, the variety of acids are concentrated and produce particular sour taste of ume-boshi. It has been used in various kinds of dishes in Japanese style. Being against growth of bacteria, it is used as a kind of preservative for foods. Rice ball has ume-boshi in its center, which preserves it for a day or two.

I and my wife have made ume-boshi for the past several years like my parents used to. Ume juice as well. I wonder if we should do that this year. It takes much time to dry the ume fruits avoiding rain fall.

Maybe, yes, we will repeat it recalling of what my parents did in the spring. 

Wine stew of beef with tomato and other vegetables

I thought I hadn't cooked beef for a while. Purchasing a bloc of beef, I stewed it in wine with vegetables. The secret seasoning was miso. Not bad.

Though it doesn't seem to contain much beef, total of 500g beef was cooked.

I am trying to cook main dish once 2 days. The problem is that we eat too little and there could be redundant things left while new one is added. 

I found a dish named Oden, that is, soy soup stew of vegetables, boiled eggs and meat balls etc, was left in another pot. We should consume them at the same time. Avoiding obesity, let's enjoy them.