2018/09/21 I am a cat Episode three

There is a small tea field in the back of my house. On a warm, peaceful spring day around 2 p.m., I went for a walk there. Suddenly, I saw a big fat black cat. He was sleeping on top of flowers and crushing them. He was really big and looked like the king of cats. I looked at him with amazement and curiosity. Then, he opened his round eyes.

Who are you?

I…I am a cat. And I don't have a name yet.

Where do you live?

I live here at the teacher’s house. Who are you, by the way?

Me? I’m the riskshaw-driver’s cat, Black.

Black was famous as a dangerous cat. He was strong, but he wasn’t educated, so we kept our distance from him. I decided to see how smart he really was.

Which do you think is better, a teacher or a rickshaw driver?

The rickshaw driver. He's much stronger. Your teacher is just skin and bones. You should follow me instead of walking around in this tea field. You'll be bigger and fatter in less than a month.

I may ask you later. But a teacher lives in a bigger house than a rickshaw driver.

Stupid cat. A big house isn't going to fill your stomach. How many mice have you caught?

To tell you the truth, zero. But you, you must have caught many.

Not too many, just around 30 or 40. you know, I will fight 100 or 200 mice, but a weasel is another story. They are terrible.

I see.

During the big cleaning at the end of year, my owner went under the house, and a big weasel came running out. I thought a weasel was like a mouse, just bigger. So I chased it into a corner.

Good for you.

But you see, smelly air came out of his butt. It was terrible. So whenever I see a weasel now, it makes me sick.

Oh. But you can probably scare a mouse just by looking at it. Your fur is shiny. And you are so big. It must be from eating all the mice you catch.

That’s the sad part. There is no creature as selfish and bad as a human. No matter how many mice I catch, my owner takes them away from me. and then, he takes them to the police station. They pay a small amount of money to anyone who brings them mice, you know. My owner has gotten money thanks to me. But he has never given me a good meal. Humans are thieves.

Although Black wasn’t smart, he understood the unfairness of the situation. The hair on his back was standing as he talked. He was very angry. I decided I would never catch any mouse.

2018/09/20 Qatar

I am the State of Qatar. Many of you in Japan may know me because of a soccor game at Doha that took place in 1993. Doha is my capital city, and about half of the population live around there.

I am almost in an island. The water is of the Persian Gulf are all around me except in the south. Saudi Arabia is my neighbor there. I’m about the size of Akita Prefecture, but much, much hotter.

My population is about 2.6 million, and most people are Muslims. So I hope you will respect their religion and rules when you visit me. For example, you should try not to take pictures of people, especially women. And it's hot in my country, but you shouldn’t show much of your skin.

Since the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, many buildings have been built. Also, my country is getting ready to host the 2022 World Cup soccer matches, and I will be the first country to do so in the Arab world. We are building many interesting looking stadiums now.

I’m also famous for the many different shapes of my skyscrapers. When you see them, you might think they will fall down. But I don't have many earthquakes like your country. So we are able to make buildings with unique designs.

The new Doha buildings are wonderful, but feel if you want to see a more traditional side of me, you can visit a market called Souq Waqif. Oh, and you have to see my man-made island called Pearl-Qatar. It is about four square kilometers. You will find a five-star hotel, shopping malls, schools, and several marinas that can holds many boats.

My people used to look for pearls in the Pearl-Qatar area. That is why it has that name. The pearl industry was very important in my country for a long time. It started about five thousand years ago. But in the early twentieth century, the Japanese succeeded in farming pearls, and the price of pearls dropped. So many fishermen stopped looking for pearls. I understand. Sometimes you could only find a few good pearls in ten thousand oysters you opened. It was a difficult job. Then, my people found oil and natural gas. Now they are the most important products in my country.

When you come to Doha, you will see a very modern city. But outside the center, time passes quietly and peacefully in the desert. But sometimes there is some excitement in the desert. People have enjoyed camel races here for a long time. These days, robots ride the camels as jockeys. You have to come and see for yourself. I will be waiting for you.

2018/09/19 I would love to

Hana-chan, did I keep you waiting?

Haruki-san? No, not at all. I just got here. So, umm, what did you want to tell me?

Oh, actually, I’m not ready yet. Could you wait a little longer?

Uh, sure. But…

Great. I'll be right back.

Haruki-san was my high school boyfriend. About one month ago, we met for the first time in ten years. In high school, we were very young and didn’t know how to talk with each other. That’s why we stopped dating. Now, I’m surprised because Haruki-san has really grown up. Working has changed him. I know I've changed too. But know, when I talk with him, it feels like we are in high school again.

Haruki-san and I met again because there was a small party for a our high school classmates. The party was so much fun, and many more parties followed. I was happy to go to these parties because I could see Haruki-san. Each time I saw him, my heart beat a little faster. At a party last week, Haruki-san said he wanted to talk to me. so we decided to meet by ourselves. So I’m meeting him today.

I wonder what he wants to tell me. Wait. I think I know this place. I saw it on TV once. A man propsed to his girlfrirend here. When the couple came here, the people walking by all started to dance. The man started to dance, too. And then, at the end, he took out a ring and said, Will you marry me? Oh, no. Is this Haruki-san’s plan?

Actually, I’m not ready yet.

Maybe it is his plan. So that means… He is going to propose to me here? Oh, what should I do? But wait. Isn't it too soon? We’re not dating. Or is he going to propose on our first date? Oh, I’m having trouble breathing. Calm down, Hanako, calm down. You're not in high school anymore. You're a grown woman. Ah, I feel bad because I know his secret surprise. I hope to I'll be able to act surprised. Oh, and what should I say when he asks me to marry him? Well, of course I'll say, I would love to. I can't believe on I’m going to marry my high school boyfriend. When should we the wedding be? Should I invite our classmates? Oh, maybe they are already waiting nearby waiting to start dancing.

Hana-chan. Sorry to keep you waiting.

No problem.

Well, I wanted to tell you that.

Tell me what?

I’m going to propose to my girlfriend right now, and I need your help. It's a surprise.

W-wow.

Uh-huh. The people aroud us are all here to help. They are going to start dancing. Isn't this great?

Okay?

Hana-chan? Do you think you could film us?

Uh. I would love to.

2018/09/18 Chikara-taro Part one

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife. For some reason, neither of them had never taken a bath. They were very dirty.

One day, the old man said, We have grown old, and we have no children. All we have is the dirt on our skin.

That’s true. And we are lonely. So why don't we take the all the dirt off and make a doll with it?

The two of them made a baby doll with the dirt. Suddenly, it became a human baby. They were so surprised. The couple named him Chikara-taro and brought him up with love.  The baby ate well and grew bigger and bigger. He became a strong young man.

One day, Chikara-taro said, Father, I want to travel. I want to see how strong I am. Then, Chikara-taro started traveling with a big iron stick in his hand.

After walking along for a while, he saw a man carrying something on his back. It was a wooden temple five meters wide, five meters long and five meters high. The man blocked the road with the temple on his back. So Chikara-taro pushed the man off the road.

The man became angry and said, You made a big mistake. I am the strongest man in this country. My name is Mido-taro.

Chikara-taro answered, Let's see who is stronger.

Mido-taro ran toward Chikara-taro. But Chikara-taro picked him up and threw him into a tall tree. Mido-taro cried, Hey, help me please. If you help me, I will be your servant. Mido-taro was high up in the tree. So Chikara-taro pulled the tree out of the ground to help Mido-taro get down. They started to travel together.

Soon, the two of them saw a man breaking big rocks with his hands. A big piece of rock came flying toward them. Chikara-taro blew a strong wind with his mouth and pushed the rock away. The rock flew back and hit the man on the head. The man became really angry. Who threw the rock at me? I am the strongest man in this country.

He ran toward the two of them. But Chikara-taro picked him up and threw him at a rock. Chikara-taro threw him so hard that the man’s head went into the rock. The man tried to pull his head out of the rock but he couldn’t. So Chikara-taro pulled him out of the rock and made him his servant. The man said his name was Ishiko-taro. The three of them started to travel together.

Soon, the three men came to a big town. But something was strange about the town. There were no people on the streets. All the doors and windows of the houses were closed.

2018/09/17 A&B @ Nagasaki

Thank you for watching our performance. We hope to see you again.

We love you all. Good bye.

I’m Akito. Today, we are in Nagasaki City in Nagasaki Prefecture. People really seemed to like our performance, but I was thinking about something else. I was so hungry. I just couldn’t stop thinking about eating champon, a Nagasaki specialty.

Nagasaki champon? What's that? Is it good?

Of course, it's good. Champon is a noodle dish, and Nagasaki’s is the best. Some other specialties in this city are castella and Turkish rice.

Those are unique names. I know what castellan is, but Turkish rice? Is it a famous dish from turkey?

No, it's actually a plate of fried rice and ketchup-flavored spaghetti. Oh, and there are pork cutlets on top.

That’s a lot. But why do the dishes sound foreign?

Well, Nagasaki is really special place. For a long time, Japan didn’t have any contact with other countries.

The sakoku period, right? People couldn’t leave Japan, and no one could come here.

That’s mostly true. But Nagasaki was different. Some foreigners could come here.

How?

Well, threre was a small island called Dejima near here. During the sakoku period, the foreigners could only live there. Also ships from countries such as china and Netherlands brought things there. They brought foreign books, artwork and food.

So that’s why Nagasaki looks a little like a European city.

Uh-huh. There are many European-style buildings. The Glover House is the oldest western-style wooden building in Japan.

It's a World Heritage Site.

Wow. That church we just saw was impressive, too.

That’s the Oura Church. It has an interesting history.

I want to hear about it.

Okay. You see, before the sakoku period, some leaders in Japan decided to stop Christianity.

Really?

Uh-huh. But some Christians wouldn’t give up Christianity, so 26 European and Japanese Christians were put on crosses. They died.

Unbelievable.

Yeah. And many more Christians were injured or killed later. Some people say that about 40 thousand people died in total.

That’s such a sad story.

After more than 200 years, the sakoku period ended, and in 1873, the Meiji Government allowed Christianity again. The Oura Church was built to remember the 26 people who died on the crosses.

I see. So it's a really important church.

Uh-huh. But that’s not the end of the story.

What happened next?

Well, when this church was built, some people came and said they were secret Christians.

You mean their families were secretly Christians for over 200 years?

That’s right. They're called hidden Christians. I read that many of them lived on the islands of Nagasaki and Kumamot Prefecture.

Christian people in Japan had to hide for over 200 years? That’s a realy long time.

Someone sounds hungry.

I was so busy explaining that I forgot I was hungry.

Well, let's go get some Nagasaki champion.

Ben, it's champon, not champion.