2018/10/18 San Marino

Bongiorno. Hello everyone, I am San Marino. My official country name is the Republic of San Marino. I am a country within a country. Can you guess which country surrounds me? Good guess. It's Italy. I am located near the eastern coast of Italy. You can find me about 170 kilometers south of Venice. I am as large as Hachijojima Island and the fifth smallest country in the world. You will only need about 20 minutes to drive around me.

Let me tell you about my history. I was born around the beginning of the fourth century. Are you surprised? I am quite old. It is said that a Christian stone cutter named Marinus escaped to the mountains from the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor did not allow the Christian religion at that time. After Marinus escaped, he created a community for people like him. I am named after Marinus. The government started here even before any Europeans knew about America.

The population is only about 33000. People do most things themselves, but they asked people from outside my country, usually Italians, to help with their courts. The reason is because everyone knows everyone else here very well. But I am proud to have one of the lowest crime rates in the world. And no one in San Marino has died durig a war for more than 550 years. You see, San Marino hasn’t been in a war for a very long time.

I also have a very unique government. The people don't want one person to become too powerful, so there are two top leaders called captains regent. Two people are chosen from 60 members of the government. Their jobs are for six months, so no one is a leader for a long time. And after they finish the six months, they cannot become a captain regent again for the next three years. This government system is more than 750 years old.

I want to tell you about Aringo. It's a system to give people a chance to talk directly to the government. It is an old tradition that is very important. It started when I was born. When a new leader is chosen, anyone can directly write to the government about something they want to say. And each opinion is read out loud by the government. These opinions are taken very seriously. I am proud that my people continue to hold this tradition.

I hope that the people of San Marino will continue to be strong and value peace and freedom just like the people who started the country.

2018/10/17 Palm reading

Okay. I understand. I'll be there tomorrow evening. Thanks for letting me know. Good night.

Was that your mother?

Yes. I got some bad news. My uncle died this morning.

I’m sorry to hear that.

Yeah. He was only fifty years old.

Fifty year's young.

I need to help with the funeral, so I’m going to my hometown tomorrow.

Okay. Did your uncle have a family?

No. He was never married. He always said, I think I’m going to die young, so I won't have a family. He was right.

He really said that?

Yes. My uncle was good at palm reading. Maybe he saw his own future.

Palm reading? You mean finding out about a person by looking at the lines on their hands?

Uh-huh. You know, he once taught me haw to read palms. Let me see your hand. Hmm. Ah, this is interesting. Your head line and your life line don't touch.

Is that bad?

No. It usually means you are creative and think a little differently than most people.

I’m a little different?

I think it makes sense. You're a professional illustrator. You need to be creative,

Maybe.

And this line is straight. It means you are honest and hardworking. Even when life is difficult, you won't give up.

That’s interesting, but how about you?

Me? Well, I have a short line here. That means I don't show my emotions that much. People might not know when I’m happy or sad.

I think that’s right.

That’s why my uncle always told me to show my emotions more.

So how are you feeling now?

Sad, of course! Are you saying I don't look sad?

Don't worry. You look sad. Anyway, let me read your palm.

Do you know how to read palms?

Just a little. Hmm. Oh, you will be surprised soon.

Are you joking? Today is not a good day for jokes.

Well, it says that you will be having a child next year.

What are you talking about?

The child will be born around January twentieth.

Wait. You mean.. we're having a baby?

That’s right. I went to the hospital today, and they told me. So how does that make you feel? Are you happy?

I,I don't know what to say.

Didn’t your uncle tell you to show your emotions more?

Yeah, I’m happy. This is great.

Then, why do you look so sad?

Sorry. It's too bad I can't tell my uncle.

Well, some people think when you die, your soul goes into a new baby. This baby might have your uncle’s soul.

My uncle’s soul? Ah.

So are you looking forward to becoming a father?

Of course, I am. I can't wait to meet our baby.

2018/10/16 The bee in the dream

Once upon a time, a young man and an old man left their village and went to the mountains to gather firewood. After working for several hours, they decided to sit down and rest. The old man lay down and went to sleep. He soon started snoring.

As the young man watched, something came out of the old man’s nose. It was a bee. It flew away to the east, and then, after a few minutes, it came back. The bee flew back into the old man’s nose.

Then, the old man’s eyes slowly opened, and he said, I just had a good dream. The young man asked, What was your dream about? And the old man answered, I was flying along somewhere, and I came to a river. I flew over the river and then went up a small hill. On the hill, there was a big tree with white flowers. From the top of the tree, I could see a hole in the ground. I went inside the hole, and it was a really big cave. There were big gold rocks everywhere. The cave was really beautiful.

The young man thought, He was flying in his dream? Oh, I know. That bee must have been his spirit. It left his body and flew around. I think his spirit found a cave of gold.

The young man jumped up and ran to the east. Soon he saw a river, and he swam across it. Then, he saw a tree with white flowers on a hill. He ran up the hill and climbed up the tree. From the top of the tree, he could see a hole. He jumped in. Now he was in a big cave, and there really was a lot of gold. It was just like the old man’s dream.

The young man picked up as much gold as he could and went home. Then, he sold the gold and became rich.

A few days later, the old man thought, How did the young man become so rich? And he suddenly remembered, I told him about my dream. He must have gone there and taken some gold. I should go there, too.

The old man found the tree from his dream. It had the same beautiful white floweres. And then, he found the cave. Inside there was still a lot of gold. I can make a lot of people happy with this gold. He picked up as much gold as he could and went back to the village. He also became rich.

The young man used all his money on expensive clothes and food. Soon he became poor, and his life became very difficult. The old man used his money to help people in his village. He lived a happy life, and people still remember him today. They call him the Dream bee millionaire.

2018/10/15 A&B @ Koedo-Kawagoe

Hey, Akito. Don't you think I look good in the samurai costume?

No, it's too small for you.

What's that sound?

It's coming from Toki no Kane or the bell that tells time. It's in that tower over there.

Oh, I didn’t know that was a clock.

The bell rings four times a day at six a.m., twelve noon, three p.m., and six p.m.

So it's three p.m. now. It's snack time. I heard there was a place called candy shop lane nearby.

You are right. It has many candy shops. It looks a little like old Japan.

Let's go.

Wait, you're going to wear those samurai clothes?

Of course, I am. The rental shop told me I can walk around Kawagoe in this.

No way. I don't want to walk with a funny-looking samurai.

We're street performers. It's no problem.

Ben is always making all the dicisions. I wanted to go to Ikebukuro today, but Ben suddenly wanted to come to Kawagoe.

Hey, Akito. They're selling sweet potato snacks.

Sweet potatoes a specialty of Kawagoe.

They have sweet potato dorayaki, taiyaki, and even cream puffs. You bought all of them? What about candy shop lane?

I can fit a lot in this stomach.

Along the Kurazukuri zone, or the old storehouse zone on the main street, there are many old buildings. Some are from the Edo and Meiji periods. Others are from the Taisho and Showa periods.

Wow. It feels like we're traveled back in time.

How do you know what old Japan was like?

I saw a samurai movie once. Hey, what's that?

It's candy.

Canda? It looks like a stick.

Watch. That craftsman is going to cut it into small pieces.

That’s amazing. It's so much better than your juggling.

What?

Hey, is that candy, too?

No. That’s called fugashi. It's a soft breadstick with a brown sugar coating. It's a famous Kawagoe snack.

Let me buy some.

You know, we're lucky we can enjoy this town. There was a fire here in 2015, and five shops burned down.

Really? It's only been a few years, but everything looks normal.

The people here worked hard together to rebuild the shops.

That’s great. Maybe we can learn from that.

Learn? What do you mean?

The people build this town, and they keep on making it better. I think we can do the same thing with our performance.

I like our performance. We don't need to change it.

But I think we can make it better. There's a movie theater here. Sometimes they have special events events for the movie they're showing. Maybe we could do something special in each town.

Like that what?

In Kawagoe, we could juggle sweeet potatoes.

Ben, you shouldn’t play with food.

2018/10/12 Run,Melos! E2

Melos run all night and reached his village. Melos‘s sisiter was surprised to see him so tired and dirty. She asked him what happened.

Everything is okay, but I must go back to town quickly. So, we're going to hold your wedding tomorrow. Now go and tell everyone.

Melos was tired, but he prepared for the wedding. When he finished, he fell down on the floor and slept. The wedding started at noon on the second day of his promise to the king. But before it finished, the sky turned black, and it started to rain. Some people thought…

It feels like a bad sign…

Still people sang and danced. Even Melos forgot about his promise to the king for a moment. But he remembered and thought..

My body isn't only mine. My friend is wating for me.

So he found his happy sister and said…

Congratulations, my dear sister. I am going to sleep now. When I wake up, I must hurry back to town. But you don't havr to feel sad or lonely. You have a kind husband now. You know that I don't like people who lie and can't believe in each other. Remember that and never keep a secret from your husband.

Melos slept until early in the morning of the third day. It was still raining lightly, but he ran like an arrow through the rain. Melos thought…

I am going to be killed tonight. I am running to my death, but I must run. For my best friend.

There were many times when Melos thought he could not run anymore. But he said to himself. You can do it. And continued. The sun rose higher, and by noon, the rain stopped. Melos was now halfway to the castle. But he suddenly stopped in front of a river.

Oh, no. The bridge is missing.

The river was moving very fast from all the rain. Melos looked up to the sky and cried out.

Please gods. Slow down the river. I must go back to the castle before the sun sets, or my friend will die.

But the river became even faster. Melos had no choice. He had to swim across the river.

Look at me gods. My love and true strength will win againt this fast river.

The waves of the river looked like a hundred big snakes. But Melos jumped in. It took all of his energy to swim against the water. Maybe the gods felt sorry for him. The water pushed him to the other side of the river.

Thank you, gods.

The sun was starting to move to the western sky. Melos had to hurry. Suddenly, many mountain robbers jumped out in front of Melos.

Stop!