Towel

In my parents’ house, the rules about towels were very simple. We used “dusters,” “towels,” and “wiping rags.” We wiped the table with a duster. We cleaned the floor with a wiping rag. Towels had various uses and didn’t belong in any category.

When I married my wife, I was surprised because she had complicated rules about towels. There was a separate towel for the bath, the sink, the kitchen, and the toilet. The design of each group of towel has unity. I had to memorize which towels belonged to which groups. I couldn’t use a kitchen towel in the sink. When I did laundry, I had to keep the towels separate depending on which group they belonged to.

If I made a mistake, my wife scolded me: “How many times do I have to tell you?!” It was difficult for me. I have never paid attention the design of any towels. For wiping the table and floor, she never used cloth. She used disposal paper towels.

After a few years, my wife held up a kitchen towel and said to me: “This towel is too old. You can use this after bathing.”

I protested: “I want to use a new Imabari towel after bathing!”

Some people say that Imabari towels are the best towels in Japan.

I said this as a joke. But my wife actually bought Imabari towels for me.

We have been married for twelve years. Even now, I use an Imabari towel after bathing.

I recommend that you use Japanese Imabari towels. They are the best towels. They are extremely soft, but a bit expensive.

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Picture by Kaeru WORKS

The Last Wish

Once, I lived with my grandmother. She was a nice lady who had high intelligence. She passed away at ninety-six years old. She could walk by herself and didn’t have dementia. But she had a problem with her respiratory organs, so she was constantly in and out of the hospital.

When she was in the hospital, I visited her as often as possible. She was usually sleeping. One time, I didn’t wake her up because I didn’t want to disturb her sleeping. But after that, she scolded me. She always wanted to be woken up when someone visited her.

One day, I visited my grandmother in the hospital. When I walked into her sickroom, she woke up and sat up. She opened her eyes wide and said in a strong tone: “Dying in a such place is ugly. Take me to our home.”

 I couldn’t make that decision by myself. I called my family members, but I couldn’t contact anyone. I tried to find a doctor, but the doctor in charge was not at the hospital. I found a nurse and talked to her about my grandmother.

 My grandmother grasped the nurse’s arm and said she wanted to go home. The nurse was surprised and said, “You are strong.”

 I thought about my grandmother. It was possible that somehow, she realized that her death was near. It was also possible that she simply had a nightmare. The nurse was surprised that my grandmother’s hands were so powerful. It could mean she might have a strong desire to live. If she recovered, she could return to our home with the doctor’s permission.

 As a result of these thoughts, I decided not to take my grandmother home. At that time, our house was not in good enough condition to take care of her. My mother had Alzheimer’s disease.

I asked the nurse to calm my grandmother. And I left the hospital alone.

The next morning, my grandmother passed away.

I still regret this. I should have believed my grandmother. I couldn’t fulfill her last wish.

I found her will in the things she left. My mother was her only child, but because of her Alzheimer’s disease, I carried out my grandmother’s will faithfully.

I hope this might be her last wish.

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Picture by Akemi Zyuzi

Forbidden Horror

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law live in England. Sometimes my wife and I send presents to them. Japanese tea or spices … things that are difficult to buy in England. They have a sweet tooth. They love Japanese chocolate.

My wife sends the packages from a post office. There are regulations. We are not smugglers. Of course we will follow the regulations. But my wife found a unique regulation.

We cannot send horror comics to the UK.

I don’t know why. Are Japanese horror comics too scary to send to the UK?

My brother and sister-in-law love chocolate more than horror comics. That regulation means nothing to us.

Are Japanese horror comics an international problem now?

Picture by Minoru Mizuno

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Condolence

In September 1996, I was studying in Path, Australia. My classmates were from many countries. It was an interesting experience. I had conversations with students from different countries.

One day, when I arrived at the school, a student from Hong Kong offered me words of condolence.

She offered me words of condolence about Japanese cartoonist Fujiko F. Fujio. He passed away at that time. One of his works, Doraemon, was popular in Hong Kong. I was surprised. I also love Doraemon. But I have never met Fujiko F. Fujio. However, I accepted the words of condolence on behalf of Japanese people.

The author of Dragon Ball, Toriyama Akira, recently passed away. I saw that many people posted words of condolence on SNS. I was surprised that I could only see pictures of him in his twenties. He passed away at sixty-eight. But I have never seen a picture of him around that age. I heard he hated having his picture taken. So, I don’t know his recent face.

We lived in the same prefecture. My house and his house were not so far apart. It is possible to imagine that I might have passed him on the street.

I offer words of condolence to everyone on the loss of Toriyama Akira. R.I.P.

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Picture by N

A Picture for a Funeral

 　　　I used to live with my paternal grandmother. When she passed away, my mother was in trouble. She could not find any picture of my grandmother for the funeral. My mother and my grandmother hadn’t built a good relationship. Then my mother hadn’t taken her picture at all—but a funeral needs a picture.

After my paternal grandmother passed away, we started living with my maternal grandmother. My mother, having learned from her experience with my paternal grandmother, took my maternal grandmother’s picture all the time. My grandmother hated that. I agreed with her. It was almost like saying, “Your death is almost here. I am taking your picture because I will use it for your funeral.” It was not nice to do that to an old person.

My maternal grandmother lived a long life. She passed away when she was ninety-six years old. Unfortunately, my mother had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. So all the procedures related to my grandmother’s death fell to me. The undertaker asked me for a picture of my grandmother. I picked one of her pictures, which was an okay picture.

After the funeral, I needed to clean up my grandmother’s room. There, I found something shocking. I found two pictures of my grandmother for her funeral. They had already been stretched and framed. Why two pictures? Because she wore a Western-style dress in one picture and a Japanese traditional-style dress in the other picture.

These were beautiful pictures. I am sure these were taken by a professional photographer at a photo studio. My grandmother had prepared these by herself. I am sure my grandmother had talked about these pictures with my mother.

A long life might be nice. We can have enough time to prepare for our deaths. However, in my grandmother’s case, she was unlucky. She had prepared beautiful pictures for her funeral, but her only child, my mother, had Alzheimer’s disease before her death. My mother forgot about the pictures and kept taking pictures of my grandmother. My grandmother hated having her pictures taken by my mother. It makes sense.

We don’t know when we will die, but we can prepare nice pictures for special occasions at any time. I suggest an annual photo event for families. Once a year, all family members should wear their best clothes and sport their best hairstyles. Then everyone should visit a photo studio, where a professional photographer can shoot the best pictures of them. This might help make the best pictures for a funeral.

If you don’t have a funeral, you are lucky! These pictures might contain the best memory of you.

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Picture by Sue Hoshino

The Disadvantage of a Slim Body

I have always had weight problems. I have been on a diet for most of my life. Sometimes I can lose tons of weight and become a slim person. Sometimes I can gain tons of weight and become a fat person!

When I was a slim person, I could move lightly. I think I was a good-looking person. I wish I could keep my body slim. However, there is a big disadvantage to a slim body. When I had a slim body, people tended to sit next to me on trains or at theaters.

You know what? When I was a fat person, people avoided sitting down next to me. Thanks to this, I could enjoy almost three seats and relax! However, when I was skinny, people often sat down next to me. I am not tall. I was a small, skinny guy. Their first choice was always next to me!

Actually, I would make the same decision. When the venue starts to become crowded and if I have to sit down next to someone, I would try to find the smallest and skinniest person. I realize this because I have experienced being both a slim person and a fat person.

Dear friends, if you are on a diet now, don’t be on that too much. You will lose the privilege of enjoying almost three seats and relaxing!

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Picture by bee

Mysterious Café

 

It was over thirty years ago. One day I visited a café. I ordered a cup of coffee. In the café, there were no other visitors. There was just one waitress. I was the only visitor there, as if the café had been reserved by me. The waitress then brought me curry and rice.

I should have said, “Excuse me. I ordered coffee, not curry and rice,” but I couldn’t because I smelled the curry and felt hungry.

I didn’t say anything. I silently ate the curry and rice. The waitress didn’t say anything either.

I wondered about the payment. I checked the check. It read, “Coffee — $3.” I brought the check to the checkout counter. The waitress asked me for $4. The curry and rice were $7.

Was I lucky or unlucky? I had just paid $4 for curry and rice. Maybe I was lucky. However, I had paid $4 but couldn’t drink a cup of coffee. Maybe I was unlucky too. Still, if someone brings you curry and rice, you wouldn’t resist eating it.

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Picture by Minoru Mizuno