Japan - Day 7, Part 2: Meeting Sumiko and Harumizu

We continued on to meet more relatives.  As we drove up to this home, I couldn't help but notice the bonsai pots growing around.  Either bonsai trees are a common hobby in Japan or it's simply common in our family.

 We were welcomed into Aunt Sumiko's home by her daughter-in-law Akiko.  When I saw Aunt Sumiko I started to tear up.  She looks so much like my grandmother.  I felt like I got to see and touch and hear a piece of her as I got to see and touch and hear her sister.  She is my grandmother's youngest sister and everyone affirmed to me that they look the most like each other.  I love the series of photos that Blake took of us trying to talk to each other.

 I don't remember what she said to me, but she slapped me on the knee and laughed.

Akiko, Janet, Sumiko & Youichi.  Youichi is Sumiko's son (my dad's cousin) and Akiko is his wife.  He had been working outside and came in when we arrived.  He and Shinobu chatted while we were sitting with Aunt Sumiko.

I remember thinking that I needed to bring my kids back to meet Sumiko again.  In fact, I even think she asked me to visit again and bring my kids back with me next time.

Next we headed even deeper into the country side to visit my dad's Uncle Harumizu.  As we drove past rice paddies, raised beds, and country homes it seemed to me that I was seeing in real life what the animators so accurately depicted in My Neighbor Totoro.  The details were amazing - the people walking in sun hats, the raised dirt barriers by the rice paddies, the wooded hills shooting up from the flat rice paddies, even the ice and water signs at the entrance to small streets and driveways.  As much as the big city had lots of things to look at, I was taking in all the details of the countryside.

My uncle Shinobu hadn't been to Harumizu's home in a long time and pretty soon he pulled over to call Harumizu to get directions.  That gave me time to step out of the car and look up close at the rice neatly planted rows of rice in the paddy.

Harumizu drove his little white truck out to find us and we followed him back to his home.  The detail on his roof looked nearly as detailed as some of the temples we had seen earlier.

He had married a woman who's family had no sons to inherit the family home, so he took her last name and they continue the legacy of her family.

My dad grew up calling Harumizu "Hakko Onchan", meaning Uncle Hakko.  He was the youngest uncle, a teenager when my dad was little, and Hakko Onchan was his favorite.  When they spent the night at his grandparents home, my dad always wanted to be next to Hakko Onchan for the night.

When I saw Harumizu for the first time, I was shocked.  He looked more like my dad than my grandmother or my grandfather.  It was like I was looking at my dad 15 years in the future.  His body shape, his posture, his head, his hair, his walk, everything seemed the same as my own dad.  While our other relatives maybe had a family resemblance, my dad was the spitting image of Harumizu.  Blake recognized it, too.  I mentioned this to the group and they all told me that they always said he and my dad had the same face.

Again we sat and showed pictures.  They were shocked that my parents both have grey hair and look like grandparents.  And again they brought out, one at a time, every kind of snack and treat we could have imagined.  They even brought out hot face towels to refresh us.  Look at that spread!  I was particularly amused by the ice-cream cup.  The grape flavored swirl was in the design of a happy face.  I expected it to get less distinctive as I ate, but it stayed a perfect smile straight down to the bottom of the cup.  The salt pickled cucumbers were a treat, too.  They had even brought us mugicha, a barley drink, since we don't drink tea.  For not having a formal meal our tummies were full!

I loved these flowers next to the house.  They looked like paper folded up, and then when blossomed it still looks like a delicate tissue paper star.

Aunt Akemi, Uncle Harumizu with his wife, daughter (in law?) & granddaughter, and me.

I barely rested my hand on Harumizu's back as we posed for the picture and I was again shocked that his back even felt like my dad's.  I wonder how similar their personalities are as well.

Japan - Day 7, Part 1: Aunts Toyoko & Miye, My Grandparents, and Kakko Dango

When we woke in the morning we could appreciate the setting around Uncle Shinobu's house.  His own property is gardened carefully, but just beyond his home are rice fields and farms.  The morning light filtered in.

On the left is the front entry way that starts at ground level and steps up into the rest of the house.  We stayed in the room at the right.

The walls were sliding Shoji panels toward the windows, and Fusuma sliding panels dividing the space between rooms.  The floors in the rooms are tatami mats.

Shinobu warned us that we needed to get started quickly and make short visits so that we could see everyone before the day was over.  And he mentioned we would eat a LOT.  Aunt Akemi also took the day off work so that she could come with us, too.

Our first stop was my Dad's older brother's home.  Uncle Keiichi was ill and had just had a transfusion or dialysis and was not able to take a visit.  But his wife Aunt Toyoko greeted us at the doorway and gave us a gift box of crackers to take home and some cash to help buy my brother Sam a ukata and our kids souvenirs.

Uncle Keichi's home in Ichinoseki

Blake, Aunt Toyoko, Janet

Next we went to visit Aunt Miye who also lives in Ichinoseki.  My dad called her "Tsuriyama Obachan" which basically is like calling her "Aunt who lives near Tsuriyama park".  My mother nick-named her "Aunt Ha-ha-ha" because she likes to laugh so much.

Aunt Miye is Sachiko's mother.  Sachiko was the first relative we met in Kamakura.  Here we are enjoying the pictures that I brought of my parents, my siblings and my children from home.

We sat at her table, which is traditional in that you sit on the floor mats but underneath the table the floor is dropped to give space for your legs to rest.  If it was winter time, the heater under the table would warm your legs.  Being as it was the middle of summer, it was not being heated of course.

Janet, my Great-Aunt Miye, Blake

She had fresh mountain lilies in her home.

Next we went to the cemetery to pay respected to my grandparents.

This is our family Haka where my grandparents ashes are enshrined.

On the far left, the black granite engraving says these are the servants that had served the family in their home.  Well before WWII and the redistribution of wealth, the family had been nobles and had servants to cook and clean.

The next gray stone shows Buddah holding a baby and a small baby next to him.  Here is where infants who died after only living a few days were buried, usually before being named.  The kanji says "Water Child" which is what these babies were called.

The large black stones in the middle is the family resting place.  The wooden markers leaning up to the right are what are used temporarily until the stone can be properly engraved.

The older engraved stones had been gathered and brought here, too. You can see them behind the modern stone.

I'm not sure I can describe the feeling at being at my grandparent's grave stones.  I was mostly sorry that I hadn't come back sooner to meet them in life.  But I was glad to finally be there.  Shinobu showed us how to properly bow to pay respect.

My dad asked us to bring American flags for my grandparents 

This is the marker with 4 generations of Chiba so far buried here.  The first is Seiichiro Chiba, my father's paternal grandfather.  Then is Miyoshi, Seiichiro's wife, my great-grandmother.  Next in order are my Grandfather Riyokichi, Grandmother Fuyo, and my dad's sister Miwako who died at age 39.

Shinobu then paid his respects  here to Miye's late husband.

Our next stop was to visit my dad's high school friend and his famous "Kakko Dango" shop.  We parked at the edge of the street and walked in to the restaurant.  Dango is like mochi on sticks with various sauces on them.  They serve only dango and tea here.  But the way they serve it is unique and what made them famous.

We walked in and read the history while Uncle Shinobu talked to the ladies in the kitchen - who told us to go up some narrow stairs.

These are the beautiful gardens below the restaurant where patron can sit to enjoy their treats. 

Haruo and my dad were best friends in high school.  His last name is also Chiba so they ended up sitting close to each other alphabetically.  His bento lunch boxes were always better than my dad's and so my dad would always eat his food instead.  

Haruo was light hearted and made us all laugh the whole time.

This is Haruo.  His grandfather started this business years ago.  Haruo now runs everything.  This is his routine every day.  

Crowds and tour groups come to the other side of the river to order their treats and have them delivered by basket across the river.

Patrons put money in the basket.  Haruo pulls it up and determines what to put in the basket based on the amount of money that is inside.  He pours the tea into cups and puts it with the dango back into the basket and lets it slide down the cable to the other side.

Once we got there we all laughed as Haruo hung the American flag, put small Japanese and American flags on the delivery basket and played the American National Anthem over his loud speakers.  Everyone at the other side of the river even laughed.

There's our little basket free falling, little flags furling in the wind.

 Aunt Akemi got the first turn at operating the basket and then Blake and I both got a turn.  I'll have to figure out how to get our video clips on the blog to fully demonstrate!

And, of course, we got to open a box and eat the treats!  From left to right are the dango covered in red bean paste, black sesame paste (my favorite), and a sweet soy sauce glaze.

The walls of the cramped operating quarters are covered with layers of visitors that have been privileged to come up.  It's the equivalent of the walls in restaurants where they display pictures of famous people who visit.  He took several pictures of us and had us sign his autograph book.  Ha!

This is the space where we got to sit and write our autograph page and watch the antics going on.

Haruo also showed us a screen where he can see what is happening at the bottom of the cable where the basket is delivered.

Here is the camera that zooms in to the other side.

He showed Blake his video editing equipment.  Before he took over the business from his father, he spent most of his time working with cameras and film.  Now he doesn't have time for his hobby, but still enjoys it.

One of his prizes from his media days was being featured in a beer commercial.

Such a fun excursion to Kakko Dango and a great visit with my dad's friend.