A milestone in my life

Having had so many books piled on the table and pushed into the spaces in the bookshelves, I decided to dispose some books on medicine. I have already discarded or stored those books elsewhere when I remodelled this room for radio as well as study years ago. Still little room for books mainly on social science and history.  When I retired from my profession, it was actually least possible for me to return to work as a pediatrician. But I still wanted to keep the books I had studied with for years.

This is a part of books to be disposed or to be stored elsewhere. Among them, there are two volumes of thick book titled as "Pediatric Xray Diagnosis by Caffey". When I started serving residency, I purchased them. It cost me about 500USD at that time, which was half of my monthly salary. I didn't care spending much money for books or magazines if they were necessary for study. This famous radiological textbook must be out of date for now. I won't use it any longer. However, I still could not dispose it. It will be asleep in the storage room from now. 

Now I am much more interested in the other subjects than medicine. I am sure books on the above mentioned subjects will take the place where these old books have taken for years. I know I could not memorize what those new books say. I still would like to know something new to me. It is challenging to me to learn where I am located in history/ideology. It might be a self-satisfaction but still worth doing that intellectual wandering trip until I could not do that.

This replacement of books is a milestone for a new journey in my life.

Something lost here and the other thing lasted since the old era

It was the day for me to attend to the ophthalmologist today. Just for follow up. I was told to take less number of eye drops for now.

On the way back home, I made detour and went through the roads I had commuted to my office. One end was to make shopping at a super market where I used to go after work in the evening on my way back home. Surprisingly, it has ceased business there. The lights went out while the sign was taken away. The parking lot was closed. It has been there for at least 20 years or longer. It has survived the big earthquake even though the interior seemed to have been damaged a lot, so that they should postpone business for a few weeks. Just cessation of business. But I could not help wondering how the employees were doing. There must be elderly people who had been dependent on it for shopping daily items. The other supermarket near there has been closed since the earthquake. How could they do shopping for living without two of them? It was a relaxing place for me. Sure I missed it.

Again, I felt everything would be changed in time like this. We should just get used to it. No other choice. In a few seconds, I realized it would be my turn to undergo such "a change" in some time. That idea made me cynically smile to myself. The meaning of elderly days might be in the fact that we would lose things familiar to us one by one and it makes us realize what is important to us.       

I have posted about Bentenzuka in a previous article here. It is located halfway between the old office and my home. I stopped by there on my way home. Neatly cleaned possibly by the local people.  

A tiny shrine structure on the top. I wondered what they had worshiped there. I have made a bit of research on it, even though I could not find any explanation on this particular tomb place. Bentenzuka seems to mean a shrine or a tomb for the belief in the guardian diety in Buddhism. It is named Benzaiten. There seem to be hundreds of the places named Bentenzuka all over Japan. It has been introduced into Buddhism from Hindu. Our ancestors have accepted Buddhism in flexible ways. This round shaped tomb must have been for a person of the power in 6 or 7th century, who has not been related with that deity in Buddhism at all. In the later era, people must have started worshiping that deity at this place.

It was a primitive religious behaviour. But I still feel relieved to know that our ancestors have worshiped someone supreme in the world.   

The view toward east from the tomb place. It has been a fun to drive through this farming area with music played loudly.

It is the time for me to prepare for the concert in the end of this month for now.

An eye patch off

Having finished the surgery of cataracts on the left eye, I have had the eye patch taken away today. It was really annoying to have it. It was also a disturbance to drive car as well since I had to drive with only right eye. As soon as I got out of the clinic without the eye patch, I felt this good weather had invited me for a short drive, even though I fully knew it was not an advisable behaviour for a patient on recovery of the surgery. I could not resist to go out in the crystalline clear sky with mild breeze. I haven't driven anywhere except for a supermarket and the clinic for several weeks. I was wearing the UV cut guard glasses while driving.

Driving 10 minutes from the clinic, I reached a foot of Mt, Tsukuba. It is 877m high above sea level, the most prominent mountain in this area. From Fukushima, there is a mountain range named Yamizo mountains running north to south. This mountain is located the southern end of that range. It is the most conspicuous mountain in this area as told above, so that there are a few communication relay facilities on its peak. There are a famous driving course along the range and a few parking lots along it. 

Though imperfect, the mountain had the umbrella like cloud on the peak. The sun ray was so bright as if in spring, which could be thanks to my better vision as well.     

The view over to south from the range. Thirty or 40 miles south west of this place, the city of Tokyois located. Tsukuba city is only a few miles west, where our daughter is working busily. Some 30 years ago, I used to bring family every January here and took photos on the lawn along the road. It was scheduled every 15th of Jan, a national holiday those days. We have done that for a few years. I have remembered of that driving alone the winding road on the range. 

One of the foots of the mountain. Some woods and farms were spreading there. A peaceful scenary.

This week end, I will have the practice of piano trio after almost a year long hiatus. Then, a week later, we will perform a piece at a small concert in Tokyo. 

What made me happiest with this eye surgery was that I could read the music score without glasses. I would enjoy this period given to me for a while playing with those great company. I should thank the ophthalmologist for what he has done for me. Even though he is an experienced doctor, he might feel a bit stress to treat me. In addition to being an ex doctor, I have not been a loyal patient!

Plum blossoms

I happened to find a few plum blossoms coming out in the garden this afternoon. They are ushering in the arrival of spring here. It is still getting frozen every morning. But the plum tree must know that the daytime getting longer. It tells we won't need to endure this bleak weather too long for now.

For what am I moved by such a small thing? I might have overlooked when I was young. This tree is placed just before the dining kitchen of the my parents' house. They might have had fun watching these flowers coming out. Again I thought of the flow all the lives shared at this moment. I am sure my parents used to feel in the same fashion if not being clearly conscious of that.

Pleasure to do with the variation of Brahms

As I have written else where in this blog, all the variations by Brahms attract me a lot. He has composed a part of or whole music in many works with this technique. Coming up with at this moment, I could count several variations composed by him, such as Haydn Variation, the 4th movement of Symphony Nr4, the 2nd movement of String Sextet Nr2 or the 4th movement of Clarinet Quintet. This one, the 2nd movement of Piano Trio Nr2 could not be forgotten. The passionate beautiful theme is given by the strings in unison. It will be varied with different rhythms and tonalities. The melodies are all fascinatingly impressive to me. In every variation, there is a song like breathing, crescendo and slight accelerando toward the climax, and then decrescendo and slight ritardando toward the end of the variation. 

What was this form of music meant to Brahms? I don't know of the answer to this question. Undoubtedly, this form must have not been only a composing technique but have been a form quite necessary to express himself. Life must be like a variation for him, I guess.

As I already told here, with the cataracts surgery done, I could read the score quite well. Before that, flats and sharps looked the same! Reading score is only the very 1st step in performance. But this is a big difference. I asked the violinist and the pianist to start practicing the trio again. They had been so kind to offer that last year when I told them I should quit the ensemble with the vision problem. In a week after the 2nd surgery, we will be immersed in this music. On Jan 31st, we will bring it to a small concert held for amateur players in Tokyo.       

This is another performance by the musicians in '50s. I love this dignified way of performance as well. I still remember, when the cello solo by Mainardi started playing the last variation of sadness in the 2nd movement, I felt my heart was tremoring with its beauty.

I don't know how long I could play such a music by myself even with better vision. Not so long, I believe. So far as I am allowed to do that, however, I still appreciate it from the bottom of my heart and go on enjoying it with such nice company.

Again on Okinawa

In the Congress, there have been the diet deliberations going on. I have watched a part of it as the live program on the TV this afternoon.

An opposition lawmaker has given questions to the government. He has been elected in Okinawa. His question was what the government had done against the problem by the US troops in Okinawa.

According to his saying, there have been flight training of helicopters etc in the habitation area around Futenma. Ospray has been flying around Henoko. The people have had terrible noises due
to shell processing training at the US military base. The noises were so loud as over 100dB at a habitation area. That training has been made late at night or very early in morning. It is against humanity.

It seems our government won't protest or claim about these problems to the US military. Or, even if they make an offer for improvement to the US military, nothing has been changed. It seems the US military takes Okinawa as a territory. Even after 70 years have passed since the end of WWII. This deliberation has made me feel suspicious of the independent status of our country.

Is it a small problem? In addition to these serious troubles regarding daily lives of the citizens, Okinawa has suffered from crimes by the US military for the past decades. The US military base has been in extraterritoriality. If US military personnel have committed a crime during their duty, our police and justice could do nothing for them. If the criminals are in the base, our police could not arrest them.

At present, all politicians elected in Okinawa belong to any opposing parties. No LDPJ, the ruling party, politicians elected. The governor has been in strict conflict with the government regarding the new base construction at Henoko. The public opinion in Okinawa is converging into the anti US military base, whatever party it might be. I am afraid the present situation will hurt the interest of the US if it is allowed to be as it is.

Sea bream with sweet and sour sauce

Sea bream was sold in the super market the other day. As shown on the photo below, the body was cooked with sweet and sour sauce while the head was used for the stock of soup. The tiny bones were a bit troublesome when we ate it. But it turns out very good.