Morikami Sukeji, who traveled to America as a member of the Yamato Colony in South Florida and stayed there alone until the end of his life after the colony was disbanded, continued to write letters to his sister-in-law and her family, whose husband (Sukeji's younger brother) had died after the war. In 1960, after living in America, he was finally able to receive an end-of-life pension. He still had a strong desire to read, and said he wanted to live to be 100 years old because he wanted to discover the mysteries of the universe.
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January x, 1960
Southern Florida is a paradise
Thank you for your letter, Aki-chan (niece). Happy New Year. I hope you have a good year. Today, on New Year's Day, I went around to thank people in a haori and hakama, but that was a long time ago. In Japan, I think it's easy to say congratulations over the phone and get it over with. Today is a holiday here too, but some people are working.
The whole world is covered with ice and snow, a perfect weather for the New Year, but this is only in the northern part of the country. In southern Florida, you don't even need to wear a coat, it's a total paradise. The beaches are bustling. Southern Florida is at almost the same latitude as Okinawa.
The plan for the year is made on New Year's Day. It is important to study slowly and steadily, without rushing or hasty. This country has also been in a state where the morals between men and women have generally become corrupted since the end of the war, and it is inevitable that America will be criticized for having no virgins. Japan seems to be in a similar state. The state of affairs between teenage boys and girls is completely unacceptable.
They date, end up having children, or run away, causing headaches for parents and authorities. They treat marriage as a game, get together when they like, and break up when they get bored. It is not uncommon for women to become mothers of three before the age of 20, and even get married three times in that same year.
My health is the same, but I have had some big changes mentally. I get tired of doing anything. This is the first time I've ever felt this way, and I find it strange. Maybe it's just old age.
April 22, 1960
" Once you lend it, you'll ruin both your money and your friendship ."
The other day, an elderly man from my country who lived nearby was robbed and brutally murdered. It seems that a large amount of money was stolen from him. These days, it's dangerous and rape, robbery, murder, and other crimes are occurring frequently, so you can't let your guard down for a moment.
Never talk about money with other people. Don't carry more than pocket change and don't walk alone at night. One thing to be careful of is lending or borrowing money from others. It's hard to refuse, especially with close friends, but once you lend money, you should assume it won't be returned. It will ruin both your money and your friendship.
April 28, 1960
The cedar and cypress trees planted in my hometown
It seems that this year, after a long time, there has been a bumper crop of mangoes. Harvesting will begin around June. It's a delicious tropical fruit that is hard to describe. I would like to send some to someone nearby, but they don't last long, so I can't. I think there are South Sea mangoes in Japan now. They must be quite expensive.
I love Japanese persimmons more than anything. I still haven't forgotten the taste of well-ripened Mino persimmons. They are grown in the northern part of the country, but I never got tired of the taste. Just across the bridge from Takiuma's house, there was a single Mino persimmon tree. There were sweet persimmons on the terraced fields above the house. My grandfather planted it, so I think it would have grown into a large tree if it had survived. I also planted pears, plums, mandarin oranges, etc. around the house, but I wonder what happened to them.
Even now I sometimes think of the cedar and cypress trees I planted half a ri (about 2 km) deep in the mountains. They must have grown to be large trees. They may have been cut down by someone now. I painstakingly collected the seeds, made seedlings, cleared the field and planted them. When I return to Japan, I will rush over and see them first. Ah, I'm getting sentimental again. Sorry.
May 1960
Receives a monthly pension of $52
I read in the newspaper last night that the life expectancy of humans is getting longer every year. It seems that in the not-too-distant future, everyone will be able to live to be over 100 years old. I wonder if humans are really happy living so long. In this country, too, the elderly are seen as a nuisance. I still have 26 years left before I reach 100 years old.
I have been single up until now. I am resolved to remain single from now on. There used to be quite a lot of fools in the world who would marry daughters who were like granddaughters to them, or rather, they were just old loves, but it seems to have become obsolete recently. Needless to say, the result was a well-known failure. Regardless of age, marriage for money is never going to be easy.
To those who have gone off topic... I don't know about other people, but I want to live to be 100 years old or even older. And I want to be able to solve the mysteries of the universe. There is no end to the universe, no matter how far you go.
I am finally being supported by the government. I will receive a monthly pension of $52. Mine is on the small side, but there are people like the Yamauchi couple in Miami who receive nearly $200 a month. There are also many people who receive nothing at all. This pension is available to everyone from the president to street cleaners. In this country where prices are high, $50 is not enough to cover even half of the cost of living for a single person. But if I become penniless, it will prevent me from starving to death, and I will receive it when I spend the rest of my life in my home country.
I came to this place 54 years ago today. It was an uncivilized land filled with poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, and flies, and the heat was 100 degrees. When I think back, it seems like a dream. So, everyone, take care of yourself. Goodbye.
May 25, 1960
<Will Chile earthquake cause a tsunami in Japan? >
I heard that Japan was hit by a big tsunami (note) . It seems that God will continue to torment his country, just like last year and this year. Today it is for other people, and tomorrow it will be for me. Florida is a low-lying area with no hills, and it's scary to think of a tsunami coming in the unlikely event of one.
(Note) This is believed to be the tsunami that struck the Sanriku coast in the early hours of May 24th. 142 people died. Affected by the Chilean earthquake.
Pinky (the cat) is feeling much better. He's lying down in the shade of the tree in front of the house. His neck is still a little twisted, but I'm sure it will get better soon. The ordered seaweed tsukudani, kamaboko, miso, Nara pickles, etc. have arrived. I'm going to cook some rice tonight and eat a lot. It's hot again today. It's over 90 degrees every day, and even for those who are used to it, it's quite tough.
They say that America is currently in a booming economy, but that's just on the surface; the flow of money is not good.
September 1960
" Second and third generation people avoid first generation people "
The newspapers are reporting on the typhoon in Japan. It will also affect agricultural forecasts. It's a pity. The day before yesterday, I happened to meet a fellow countryman. She is a woman who emigrated from Hawaii and has been in America for 50 years. I had heard that she was a second generation immigrant, so I didn't visit her.
I think I've said this before, but anyway, there is a tendency for the second and third generation to avoid the first generation, and even if they meet on the street, they won't even say a word to them. From their perspective, the first generation doesn't look good, and they can't speak English very well. This woman moved to Hawaii as a child, but she received a Japanese education and is quite a cheerful person.
We spoke in Japanese for almost three hours, and he was better at both Japanese and English than I was. He has two daughters and one son, and both of his daughters are already married, one of them married a white man and has a boy with red hair. All three of them are excellent and graduated from college, and his son is currently visiting Hawaii.
The second generation are all built like white people and achieve better grades in school than white people. Nearly 40,000 military brides have come to this country, and the number of mixed-race children will exceed 100,000 in ten years, but the first generation, on the other hand, will almost disappear. What is unfortunate is those who married black people; there are not many of them in the southern region, but there are quite a lot of them in New York and Chicago. They are rejected not only by their own compatriots but also by black people, and they live a tough life.
< Tears at the girl's voice on the radio >
Now I can hear a girl singing on the radio. A sweet girl who has been heartbroken sings in a sorrowful voice about the troubles of love as if crying and praying. I listen with a pen in my hand and my eyes closed, and one day my eyes begin to tear up. When the song ends, the girl turns to the audience and says thank you, I love you. I once saw the singer's daughter on TV; she is a high school student with pigtails.
It is 11 o'clock at night. The radio reports that a typhoon with a wind speed of 135 miles per hour is moving toward Florida, 1,500 miles southeast of Florida (in the Caribbean Sea). It will take several days to get here. It may change direction on the way. It has been calm for a long time (10 years), but I feel like I will be hit by a typhoon this year.
" When I was in my hometown, I was absorbed in reading adventure novels"
My eyes are in good condition, but I'm having trouble reading as much as I'd like. I've loved reading since I was a child, and on autumn nights, when it gets really cold, I'd carry my youngest brother, Yoneji, on my back and read adventure novels by the light of a pine log in the hearth.
There was only one oil lamp in the house, and since my father and mother were working at night, there was no other way to get light. My favorite story was Ukijo Monogatari, a story about a Japanese naval training ship that was washed ashore on an isolated island near the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America, and the trainees falling in love with the island's girl. When I was in Kyoto, I found this book in a used bookstore, so I bought it and brought it here, but I lost it in a typhoon in 1926.
(Titles omitted)
© 2019 Ryusuke Kawai
