2019/03/18 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.

2019/03/15 I am a cat Episode two

My master was a teacher. After he came home from school, he spent all his time in his study. All the people in the house thought that he was a hard worker. But the truth was he slept with his head on his books. It made me think that teachers have an easy life. If I were a human, I would become a teacher.

My master wasn’t very good at anything. But he loved to do everything. So he tried haiku, new style poetry, Engligh, archery, the violin. He was never good at any of them, but he did try very hard. Then, one month after I came to this house, my master came rushing home with a big package. He had bought some watercolor paints, brushes and some paper. He said that he was going to start painting. So from that day, he painted all day long. But when people looked at my master’s paintings, no one knew what they were. My master also must have thought that he wasn’t good. One day, I heard him talking with his friend. His friend’s specialty was art.

When you look at other people painting, it doesn't look so hard. When you tried to do yourself, it's not easy.

It's natural to be bad at first. And you can't stay inside and paint by using just your imagination. A great Italian painter named Andrea del Sarto once said, If you are going to paint, then you have to paint nature as it is. The stars are in the sky. The birds fly, and animals run. Nature itself is one big living painting. If you want to be a good painter, go outside and try sketching.

My master was impressed with his friend’s answer. But I saw a smile in the friend’s eyes. He was making fun of my master.

The next day, I was sleeping comfortably on the porch as usual. Then, I felt my master doing something behind me. I opened my eyes just a little and saw that he was drawing a sketch of me. It was funny. My master was following his friend’s advice.

I tried to be a good cat and not move for him. But after my long nap, I wanted to strech my body. After a while, I couldn’t stand it anymore and stretched. Next, I decided to go to the back of the house to pee. Then my master said in a loud voice full of disappointment and anger, You fool.

I find that people are too proud of being humans and their own power. It's time that humans meet something that is more powerful than them. Or else their bad attitude will not stop.

I think I can forgive selfishness. But I have heard something that is much worse and sad about humans.

2019/03/14 Slovenia

Hi. I am the Republic of Slovenia. My population is about two million, and I used to be part of  Yugoslavia. I am about the size of Shikoku, and about sixty percent of my land is forests. My capital is Ljubljana, and it's one of Europe’s greenest and most charming capitals.

I have four seasons just like your country. You can enjoy a nice summer day by the Adriatic Sea, or in the winter, you can ski and snowboard in my mountains. I’m a small country, so you can visit both the mountains and the sea in a few hours. If you want to see a scene from a fairy tale, you have to visit Lake Bled. It's a beautiful blue lake with a charch build in the middle of it.

If you come visit me, you will find that I am a country with many landscapes forests, mountains, rivers, caves and the sea. And I am surrounded by four countries-Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.

These two factors have made my country’s food culture very interesting. You will find many delicious and different kinds of food in my country. I’m even devided into 24 different food areas, and there are about 170 traditional Slovenian dishes.

Some people say that my people eat more buckwheat or soba than the Japanese. But we don't use buckwheat for noodles like your country. We use it in sweats, powder for warm milk, and many other ways. And there's even a dish that’s similar to sobagaki.

Humans aren’t the only ones who like buckwheat. Bees love buckwheat flowers. The honey from those bees is really delicious. In Europe, I’m famouse for my honey, you know. There are more than 8000 beekeepers in my country. That’s about four out of every 1000 people. Honey was an important food for people living in the mountains. It kept them healthy during the long, cold winters. Beekeeping is an important tradition here with a long history.

We also have cave tourism. Actually, I was the first country to have it. A lont time ago, my land was under the ocean, so the ground here is made of limestone. Limestone is a type of rock that comes from dead sea animals, and it's not very strong. So rainwater can change its shape. That is why there are many caves of different sizes here.

Skocjan Caves are a World Heritage Site, and Postojna Cave has lots of interesting things for you to see. There are even a post office and a train inside.

I could tell you many stories about how interesting I am. But I want you to find out for yourself. So make sure to add me to your next travel plan.

2019/03/13 Think before you act

Excuse me. Don't run here. This is a hospital.

I’m sorry. It's my wife. She's… honey? Are you all right?

Wow. Did you run here?

Huh? You're okay?

Of course, I’m okay. Why were you running?

I was told that you were taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I got here as quickly as I could.

Did you ask anyone why I’m in the hospital?

Umm, not really.

You always act without thinking.

I know. But. Hey. You have a cast on your leg.

Yeah. The surgery went well.

Surgery?

Uh-huh. I tore my Achilles tendon.

Your Achilles? Are you okay? That’s a big injury. Did you do it when you were playing futsal?

Yeah. But.

That’s why I told you to stop playing.

Don't be angry. It's good exercise. I’m just doint it for fun.

If it's just for fun, why did you hurt your leg?

Well, that’s because..

Listen. I know that in university, you were good enough to go to the national championship. But you are older, and your physical strength isn't the same anymore.

I know that.

I don't think you do. That’s why you got hurt.

Listen to me. I didn’t get hurt because of futsal.

What do you mean? You just told me you got hurt while playing fotsal.

Well, not really. Let me explain. You always start talking when I’m still talking.

Okay. I’m listening.

Well, our team had a practice match scheduled for today.

Oh, yeah. You were saying something about your uniform this morning.

Yeah. So I got to the soccor field and was going to change. But it wasn’t in my bag.

What wasn’t in your bag?

My uniform.

Really? What happened?

Well, I washed it last night and left it hanging to dry in the living room.

That was very careless of you.

I’m human. I sometimes forget. And you do things like that all the time. You never think before you act.

Wait. But if it was a practice match, you didn’t need to wear a uniform, right? Practice jerseys are all right for practice matches.

Yes. But at that time, I forgot that it was just a practice match, and I thought I needed my game uniform. So I ran home.

I see. And then, what happened?

This happened.

What do you mean?

This happened?

When I ran out of the changing room, a funny sound came our of my leg. It sounded like something broke. Then, I couldn’t even walk.

Wait, you weren’t playing futsal when you got hurt?

I told you before. Futsal is part of the reason, but the main reason is because I suddenly ran before doing my stretches.

Huh. I see. I’m glad you're okay, but next time, think before you act.

What?

2019/03/12 Princess Kaguya

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife. They had no children. The old man went to a forest every day. He cut down bamboo trees to make baskets.

One day, he found a strange bamboo tree. A bright light was coming from it.

The old man thought, What is that light?

He cut down the bamboo tree and found a cute little baby girl inside.

Don't cry, little baby. You must be a present from God.

The old man happily took the baby home. The old couple named her Kaguya-hime, which means princess of light. They brought her up with love and care.

The baby girl grew into a very beautiful woman. The beauty of Kaguya-hime became famous, and five young men came to propose marriage.

Kaguya-hime said, I will marry the man who brings me what I want.

She asked each man to bring something difficult to find. But none of them could do it.

Then, the Emperor heard about this beautiful woman and wanted to see her. So he sent messengers to her house again and again. But Kaguya-hime always sent them back without an answer.

The emperor did not give up. I must see her, even for just a second. One day, he was hunting near her house. On the way home, he decided to stop by Kaguya-hime’s house. The emperor stood behind a fence. He saw her. She is more beautiful than I imagined. I would like to get to know her. The emperor started sending letters to Kaguya-hime, and then she finally wrote back.

After a while, Kaguya-hime started to look at the moon every night. September came, and she started to cry every day. The old man and his wife asked her why she was so sad.

Kaguya-hime said, I am sorry. I am not from this world. I am from the moon. On the night of the next full monn, someone from the moon will come for me, and I will have to go back. I have no choice.

The old man and his wife were shocked.

They went to the Emperor to ask him, Please send us some soldiers to stop anyone from taking Kaguya-hime. The Emperor agreed.

The night of the full moon came. The old man put Kaguya-hime into a room at the back of his house and locked the door. On the roof and on the walls, there were 2000 soldiers.

At midnight, the house was lit up brightly. Soldiers from the moon appeared in the night sky and came down to the earth with a beautiful flying carriage. The Emperor’s soldiers tried to fight, but they could not mover their arms and legs. Suddenly, all the doors in the house opened.

The old couple could not do anything. Then, Kaguya-hime came out of the room and said, Thank you for taking care of me. But now I have to go.

She got in the flying carriage and silently flew up into the sky.