Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

 

A story of a B-29 bomber pilot who time-travels from the war-time Tokyo to present-time.

Please read from Chapter 1 to Chapter 5 first.

　Jim and Sayuri were taking a taxi to get to where his sister, Katie was. Sayuri had been worried that how Katie would respond to Jim’s appearing. It has been 60 years since Katie parted from her brother. How would she believe that Jim was real brother who she had believed being dead. In fact, no one could believe Jim time-slipped and he was still 21 year-old man.

 Jim suddenly said “Stop, please.” The taxi stopped on the street near sidewalk. Then Jim said to Sayuri, “Is that store selling dolls?”

Sayuri looked at where he pointed by finger. She could see the show window that displayed several dolls on the shelf. The sign of the store said “Akasaka Ningyo-ya (Doll shop).”

“Yes, it is doll store. Why?” said Sayuri.

“Well, I want to go there and buy a doll for my sister. Can we go?”

Sayuri couldn’t understand what he was up to but said “Yes, let’s go.”

They went out of taxi. Sayuri asked the driver to wait for 10 minutes. They went inside of the store.

 There were lots of kinds of dolls displayed in the store. Western antique dolls, Chinese dolls, Japanese traditional dolls with kimonos. Hundreds of dolls to choose. She asked Jim what kind of doll his sister would like. She just teased him because she knew his sister was too old to like a doll. But in Jim’s memory, Katie was 10 year-old girl. Jim looked very serious looking for a doll.

“I am searching for a particular one.” After a while, Jim shouted “Oh, there it is. I found one.”

Sayuri was surprised that it was Japanese dolls wearing bright yellow kimono. Sayuri paid the money for a doll and they went back to the taxi.

 

After 10 minutes, they reached the U.S. embassy. They got out of a taxi. Nancy was waiting at the entrance.

“Thank you, Nancy .”

“My pleasure, Sayuri. The ambassador is waiting for you, two” said Nancy .

Nancy took them to the ambassador’s office. Actually, she was not the ambassador any more.

Kathleen Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to Japan was packing her things. Tomorrow she would be flying back to the U.S. Kathleen Bolton heard the knock on the door by Nancy .

“You can come in” said Kathleen. Nancy opened the door.

Jim and Sayuri entered the office. Jim looked at Kathleen. They both looked shocked. Jim was shocked to see Kathleen looking like his grand mother he knew. Jim had already seen her at the Civic Hall. But at this moment he was seeing her in much closer distance. Kathleen was shocked to see her brother who was supposed to be dead 60 years ago looking just like she remembered.

“Nice to see you again, the ambassador. As Nancy told you and it should be hard to believe this is your brother, James Austin.” Sayuri said very nervously.

“So you are the one who claims to be my dead brother.” Kathleen said smiling.

“Are you really Katie? Kathleen Austin? You really survived from the sickness” Jim asked.

“Yes, I am. Austin is my maiden name. I was married to a man named George Bolton later. He died 10 years ago. Yes, I was survived because I was the only hope for my parents since my brother died. I went through many surgeries to survive. That is common knowledge. What are you after? Is this some kind of joke? Do you want some money? Yes, everyone knows I am a widow of a very rich man. I do have so much assets. But you should be more clever to deceive me.”

The way Kathleen talked sounds accusable. That was what Sayuri expected.

“I know you would be surprised. I am the one more surprised. I still could not believe I time-slipped to 60 years later. But it is true. I do not know how to prove it. Well, why don’t you ask me any question only you and I could share? I know a lot about you and our family.”

Kathleen then said, “Actually, I am too busy to play such a silly game but since you came over here and resembles my brother so well. You seem to talk the same way as my dead brother as far as I remember. Alright. What is your favorite tune, which we always listened to?”

“Glenn Miller’s In the Mood” Jim answered.

“Correct, next is who was your girlfriend you date with when you were in high school? What was her name? I met that girl several times at home. She was a beautiful girl with brown hair.”

“Her name was Dorothy Jackson. But I broke up with her before joining the army. She already dated with other guy.”

The question and answer time went on for 20 minutes. The ambassador asked questions related her brother’s personal matters, her parents, relatives, neighbors and herself which he might know. All the answers he gave her seemed correct. But the ambassador still looked suspicious.

 “Well, you know so much about my brother, me and my family. Some of the things were I did not even remember. But I still cannot help thinking about you being imposter. You can do complete research for me. If you are after big money, you would want to do that. You can even get a plastic surgery. But this is too strange if you impersonate my dead brother and tried to look as young as he was at the time of his death. Making up such a fairy tale. You know I am not that stupid. I graduated from Harvard University and then worked for State Department for decades. I am now 70 year old lady. You should know you cannot make me believe such a Hollywood kind of fantasy. Why are you doing this?”

For a while, there was a silence among 3 people in the office. But Jim said to Kathleen.

“Kathleen, do you still have a Clara?”

“Clara? What are you talking about?” Kathleen wondered.

“A doll I bought for you before leaving home.”

“Yes, a doll, Clara. Yes. I still have it right here.”

Kathleen pointed to a doll in the glass case set on the side board. There was a doll of little girl. Typical western doll but it got tainted after 60 years of the time. The clothes Clara was wearing faded. No one could tell what it looked like when it was made.

“You know about Clara. Well, I talked about this doll’s story with some people. You might hear from them. It is a doll I kept because it was precious gift from Jim. Last gift from him. One time for many years I put it in the attic to forget about him. But since I was appointed to live in Tokyo where Jim died, I brought it here. Why do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you remember what we promised before I left home? I bought a present for you. Clara’s sister.”

“Clara’s sister. Yes, I remember Jim promised to bring Clara’s sister with him if he would come back home alive. You also heard that story from someone” said Kathleen without surprise.

“You and I should remember what should Clara’s sister wearing” said Jim looking Kathleen seriously.

“Yes. So what? Is that what you brought?” Kathleen looked annoyed.

“Katie, please open it. This is Clara’s sister, only I could choose what you want.”

Jim handed the box wrapped with “Akasaka doll shop” logo paper. Kathleen took it saying nothing.

She then opened the box and saw the doll wearing kimono.

“Oh my god. This is the doll I asked Jim to buy. You know it. Only he could know that. You are my brother, Jim.”

To be continued to Last Chapter.

 

Male Colors: The construction of homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan

by Gary P. Leupp, Professor of Japanese History at Tufts University, USA,

I happenned to buy this book almost ten years ago in America.

Before reading this book,  I had thought it unlikely that there was any homosexuality in Japan . I also took a negative view of homosexuality, seeing it as a result of the decadence of Western culture. When I came across this book, while in the USA , I was therefore astonished to learn about an aspect of Japanese history about which I, a Japanese, knew nothing.

 

The book is primarily concerned with male homosexuality in Japan during the Edo Era. However, the Introduction also mentions nanshoku (literally, “male colors”), as the practices of homosexuality and pederasty were then known, as it was prevalent at earlier times. It is said that Kūkai a monk who introduced Buddhism to Japan from China brought the practice of nanshoku, and it was at first mainly among monks that the practice spread. However, during the Age of Warring States (16th century), nanshoku became extremely common among men of the samurai caste. Historical records show that famous samurai lords such as Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen, for example, had sexual relations with their retainers, and there still exist documents showing that Takeda Shingen and his vassal Kosaka Masanobu wrote pledges of sexual love to each other.

 

After the years of war and chaos, the Edo Era (1603-1867) began with the Tokugawa Shogunate establishing its rule over Japan . However, the Nanshoku Culture continued, and records show that 7 of the 15 Tokugawa shoguns engaged in homosexual activities. Homosexuality was not restricted to the samurai, but was prevalent among the ordinary townsfolk as well. At that time, nanshoku was classified as two main types. In the first type, a couple of men with a marked age difference were seen as having a relationship modeled after older and younger brothers. The second type, on the other hand, was influenced by the male-chauvinist perspective of contempt for women, and one partner took the female role, enabling two men to imitate a heterosexual relationship without having to lower themselves to sexual contact with impure females.

 

Ihara Saikaku famous novelist in that era, wrote Kōshoku Ichidai Otoko (The Life of an Amorous Man) which is representative of the practice of nanshoku among the common people. The principal character, Yonosuke, the son of a rich merchant, has sexual intercourse with 3,275 women and 725 men during the course of his life. That is a ratio of 5:1, but it probably reflects the general male sexual orientation at the time. To summarize, homosexuality was not a minority concern in society during that era, and the typical male sexual orientation was what would now be termed “bisexual”.

 

The above information raises the question of why Japan changed so drastically to a society in which homosexuality is regarded with loathing. Leupp indicates the process of modernization during and after late 19th century known as Meiji Era as the cause of this. After Japan opened up to the rest of the world, many Westerners visited Japan and transmitted aspects of Western culture, one of which was severe criticism of the Japanese nanshoku Culture. The ruling and influential classes at that time had great concern about such hostility, and started to insist that nanshoku was morally wrong, in order to bring Japan into line with the Western system of values.

 

However, a great change can now be seen to have taken place in Western society. In Europe, the USA, and some other countries, the Gay Liberation Movement has been successful in recent years, and in some European countries and some US states even homosexual marriage is now accepted. In other words, Westerners, who introduced loathing of homosexuality to Japan , as part of “modern culture”, have now reconsidered their own value systems. These are certainly curious times in which we live!

 

Leupp also points out that, in terms of the main currents of society, nanshoku in pre-modern Japan offers a good historic example for discussion about homosexuality. Homosexuals are now generally considered to be a minority of the population, making up 2% to 5%, or perhaps 10%, of the total. However, at least with respect to Japan during the Edo Era, it is difficult to see this as being the case. At that time, Japanese men seem generally to have been bisexual. To conclude, this book suggests that human sexuality is neither innate nor created by a particular family environment, but is a product of the wider society.

 

It is not just a history of Japan but whole humanity, isn't it? 

I rent the DVD of the film. It is one of Clint Eastwood's set of 2 films about Iwojima battles.

The story of surviving soldiers who raised the pole of the flag on the Iwojima Island during WW II.

I've already seen the other one at the theater last December. So I was not very much impressed by this film except one of the heronized soldiers was Native American whom they called "Indian" in those days.

 I could not believe the army, the government and even general public in those days treated him as a war hero. Even it was a time of racism. He was invited to the White House. He toured the whole nation to raise fund for the war.

Maybe because the war can make all races equal. The war can unite all races in America. Kind of a sad thing to know.

 

When it comes to homosexuality, the entire American society is softening up in recent years evidence of which can be seen in the revisions in the legal systems of several states that have made possible the union of gays in matrimony or some other partnership arrangement. Also, movies like “ Brokeback Mountain ”, which brings homosexuality to the fore for all to see, are getting rave reviews thus demonstrating a trend that sees the lessening of bias and prejudice.

　I had lived in San Francisco, a city known to be one of the US’s most liberal cities, during a popular movement that would brand it as the Gay Capital . With most inhabitants of that city tolerating homosexuality, when I spoke harshly about gays usually they shunned me .
　I met with some gay liberation activists in that city and asked the following questions.

－Children cannot be born from gay sex, therefore, it is against the laws of nature and accepting it would imperil the humanity. What do you think of this?

Humans engage in sexual activity not for procreation but for pleasure. Sex without the intent of making children is practiced equally by heterosexuals as it is by people who have lost their ability to reproduce as well as those practicing birth control. Also, with the explosion of worldwide population in recent years threatening the very survival of humankind, all those “pro-lifers” now have it wrong.

－Isn’t homosexuality forbidden by Christianity?
Christianity is but one of many religions and there are many followers of Jesus that are gay. In the Old Testament, it is written that sex between same-gender individuals is behavior punishable by death. However, in the very same book, it also says that those who work on the Sabbath Day and those who wear clothes made with a mix of different fabric are to be condemned. There are many “Commandments” that just make no sense in this day and age. The Bible in its present form was compiled in the Middle Ages and, since we know that Jesus Christ himself never said anything homosexuality, it cannot be definitely asserted that Christianity forbids it.

－Isn't homosexuality mental disorder that ought to be cured?

In the US, psychiatrists and psychologists have agreed back in the 1970s that homosexuality is not an illness. The behavior itself is between consenting individuals and does not pose a threat on others. It is not scientific to brand perfectly sane individuals as neurotic only with respect to sexuality and nothing else.

－Why do people become homosexual?

Many say that it is a product of the environment in which one is born, however, in actual fact, no one really knows why. This can also be said of heterosexuality. It is not scientifically proven why men love women and women love men. It is in the quest for a reason for this that one encounters the belief that homosexuality is abnormal behavior.

－So, why is society regarding gays as outcasts?

A major factor is the fact that statistically gays are a minority. But aside from this, it is the general repulsion of the sexual act itself by society. Sex is regarded as impure not just between gays but also between straights. This is why virginity is revered as a virtue. However, if no sex occurs between members of the opposite gender, humanity will be extinct. This is where the notion that only heterosexual love for the intent of reproduction is accepted as holy and sex for the purpose of sheer pleasure becomes regarded as sinful. And, not only homosexual love but all sex performed with, for example, a condom or some other form contraceptive is also seen as a sin.

What do you think?