The duty of young people and students is to study…so what about the duty of the elderly?
Good morning to the World and Kanmon!
The host still thinks of himself as young, going to the beach and traveling around Japan by car, but…
Now that he has school-age grandchild and be in a position to receive congratulatory messages.
Now I feel a strong sense of accomplishment.
When I was younger, I was told, “The duty of young people and students is to study!”
So what is the duty* of the elderly? (*Duty: The duty that one should perform)
Is it enough to just wear a red kimono and take a commemorative photo with a peace sign?
Is it okay to lean back and relax on your pension, thinking it’s just a deserved reward?
Is it really okay to spend all that money on pachinko and other public gambling?
Is it okay to just sit back and watch variety shows and TV shopping programs?
Is it okay to drink during happy hour while it’s still in sunshine and people of working age are still at work?
Is it okay to just be happy about the increase or decrease in my available funds by utilizing NISA?
Is it really okay to extend the retirement age, reduce the productivity of the company that has been so kind to us, and deprive the younger generation of opportunities to excel and get raises?
Is it okay to start preparing for the end of life even though I haven’t accomplished anything yet?
I’ll think about it seriously.
It’s not just about being respected, but also about understanding and deciding what I need to do, and how to accomplish it through until that day will come…
Thank you and you have a nice remaining life, thinking about friends of the same age who unfortunately passed away early.
from Yassan,
Manager of a Little Guesthouse under a Little Lighthouse TOUKA
( http://touka-kanmon.com )
The dialogue is based on an exchange story that took place before 1969, so the story takes place around 24 years after the end of the war.
A story about soldiers returning from the battlefield, something that might have been possible back then…
I can’t help but feel that we should have heard directly from the Japanese soldiers not only how “difficult” they were, but also the “terrible things” they committed.
(As a soldier at the time, it is a shame that 80 years have passed and the dead tell no tales.)
I can’t help but feel that there are (even more) memories of the war that we must not forget, not just the damage caused by air raids and the atomic bomb.
As neighboring countries celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, there is a lively movement to turn the records of the invasion into documentary films and new exhibits at war museums.
However, we, the postwar generation in Japan, have not even been told what happened or what the facts are, so we cannot refute them.
Do the people at the heart of this country realize how negative this is?
Isn’t it necessary for this country to accurately record what happened in the areas where the army advanced at that time as historical records and leave them for future generations?
The true nature of Japan’s invasion remains unclear due to the negligence of the Japanese government from the time of its defeat until the present day and the underhanded response of the Ministry of Education.
Japanese people need to know the facts about what happened on the battlefield.
Eighty years later, many young people from those countries have come to Japan and here too.
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At this guesthouse, we have a policy of connecting with these people and providing heartfelt hospitality, so they cannot be simply classified or understood as inbound tourists.
Although I don’t intend to bring it up, I would like to understand and digest the fact of the invasion, and keep it in mind as I interact with our guests from neighboring countries.
Thank you and you have a nice day recognizing facts as facts and leading to a better future and peace.
from Yassan,
Manager of a Little Guesthouse under a Little Lighthouse TOUKA
( http://touka-kanmon.com )
