Morikami Sukeji came to America as a member of the Yamato Colony in South Florida, and remained there alone until the end of his life after the colony was disbanded. After the war, he continued to write letters to his sister-in-law and her family, who had lost her husband (Sukeji's younger brother). When a friend invites Sukeji to develop land in Honduras in Central America, he is moved. Is there anyone who can take up Sukeji's will as a single person and start a business using the land? He expresses his honest feelings in this work.
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May 9, 1960
Work hard for your future .
Thank you for your letter, Aki-chan (niece). I sent you some reference books in yesterday's email. I don't even know what your major is, so I have no idea what kind of magazines I should send you. If you want some, please let me know in detail. In this country, the higher the level of the university, the more skilled the lecturers and professors are. They are on a completely different level from half-hearted teachers who are all red-faced. Don't confuse school with a picnic. When it comes to schools and universities, students come from all over the country. They are all excellent people with different backgrounds.
My right leg is injured and I can't walk easily. My right arm has been hurting for the past few days. If it gets worse, I might not be able to hold a pen. I use a typewriter these days. I can get by with just one finger. You too should try your best even if it's hard. It's all for the sake of your future. From now on, the world will be competitive, and it'll be a fight to survive. If you get discouraged by a small failure, you will end up a loser.
I miss my friends from school. We didn't get along and we fought all the time, but I feel close to them. There were 78 of us in my class. After graduating (high school), I only met a few of them at a class reunion. I felt an indescribable loneliness during the four years between graduating and moving to the US. Your friends will also be scattered in a few years. I sometimes think of my classmates.
A few years ago, the Miyazu Shimbun newspaper wrote an article about me. The names of nearly ten of my close friends were included, but there was no response. Most of them must have died.
There are thunderstorms today and the winds off the sea are quite strong. Maybe showers will come in the afternoon. I arrived here 54 years ago tonight.
June 2, 1960
" Shall I learn Spanish ?"
My condition is unchanged. It's gloomy because of the rain every day. I moved to an apartment the day before yesterday. It's bigger and more comfortable than the trailer. I plan to stay there until November. I can't stand up, so everything is canceled.
It's hard to just sit around doing nothing. I'm thinking of taking Spanish lessons to kill time. There are free night classes three times a week in Delray Beach.
I don't understand the mindset of Japanese universities. What is the state of students these days? They are flattered and run around without thinking about the consequences. From what I see on TV, there seem to be quite a few female students.
It's been a week since we moved here, and today I let Pinky (the cat) outside for the first time. He got into a fight with a big brown cat in the neighborhood, got scratched on the bridge of his nose, and ran back home.
We're heading to Hokkaido soon. Hokkaido is a cold country, so it's quite unusual. The Ainu people live in Hokkaido. They've become almost Japanese now, and it's hard to tell them apart. When I was a child, an Ainu spectacle came to the area. Both the men and women were of average height, but they were very fair-skinned, and I think their eyes were blue. They all had straight noses and tattoos around their mouths. When Minamoto no Yoshitsune was pursued by his brother Yoritomo and crossed over to Karafuto (Sakhalin), the Ainu sang a farewell song called Chappoi Chappoi.
The melody sung to the accompaniment of applause was monotonous, but full of melancholy. The Ainu are of a different lineage from us, and belong to the Caucasus. Even school children know this well.
June 8, 1960
If you guys would come
Thank you for your letter, Reiko (niece). As I get older, I forget things more and more, and even when I go to the store to buy something, I can't remember what I came to buy. Sometimes I go home without buying anything. I'm sure I'm innocent.
I sent a check to Sumitomo Bank in Japan by letter. A few days later, I received a notice of payment, which made me suspicious. When I investigated further, I found that the letter was still sitting on my desk, unsent.
My condition hasn't changed much, but now my left leg has started to hurt. The pain is a little too much, so I'm constantly getting electric massages. It's the rainy season here, and it's irritating with the rain every day. Humidity is the worst thing for this disease. If the weather improves, the pain will subside. Sometimes this disease gets better suddenly, and doesn't come back for two or three years, and sometimes it lasts for years.
Either way, there's no need to worry. I'm not going to die. I'm a little inconvenienced, but I'm feeling like I'm resting. But when I'm bored, I can't do it. I get bored of reading books, TV, and the radio. I wish you guys would suddenly come to visit me. (Don't tell your mother about this!!!).
I often take naps to ward off boredom. Even at night, I have a hard time falling asleep. When I think I've managed to get some sleep in the morning, I always have a dream. Last night, I had a dream about my father, someone I hardly ever see. It was an unpleasant dream that reminded me of the time before I went to America. There is nothing more strange than a dream. I flew through the air like a bird, slid across ice as if skating, or had a big snake approach me and I couldn't take a single step. When I finally woke up, I was sweating...
My friend and his wife are going to Japan next week. Both of them are the first to visit Japan as members of the 50th generation. They run a Japanese goods store here. The Japanese newspaper in the north is looking for autumn tour members for their home country. They will be touring for 15 days. They will arrive in Tokyo from Miami in 30 hours by air.
In two or three years, it will be possible to go there by jet plane in three hours. It's just like a dream. I want to live a long life. I want to live to be at least 100 years old and discover the secrets of the universe.
The other day, I received a letter from a Japanese bank, written on a Japanese typewriter. It is written horizontally in English style, so it is a little difficult to read, but it looks business-like and is quite impressive. I think that all Japanese companies that do business with foreign countries use English typewriters. This is a great opportunity for people who have graduated from high school or college and can speak and type English.
< Invited to develop Honduras >
An acquaintance of mine has recently purchased a vast tract of land in Honduras, a British colony in Central America, and has begun cultivating it. He invited me to join him and make some money, but I can't go because of illness.
Honduras is a two-hour flight from Miami. It's much hotter than Florida, but it's not a jungle. It's a promising area for business in the near future. I get excited thinking that I wish I was at least twenty years younger, or that I was a son who would carry on my legacy.
I sometimes wish you were a boy. You are progressive and courageous. You are honest and responsible. I hope you will carry on my will. I still have 190 acres of land. If I sell it, I can buy 7,600 acres of land over there, about 40 times as much.
They cut the land little by little every year, planting tropical fruit trees such as bananas, pineapples, and coconuts, and also raising livestock. After a few years, they can harvest. However, it is quite a difficult task. It is something that young people today, who are all talk but no courage, cannot even dream of.
There are many women in the world who have accomplished great things. I've talked a lot, but I'm not just talking nonsense. It's almost noon now. I'm not hungry, but I'm a little sleepy. I'll take a nap and dream about you guys.
* * * * *
The earthquakes in Chile, South America, have not yet stopped. The devastation is indescribable, and the death toll is said to have already exceeded 5,000. Several new volcanoes have appeared, and in one area the water has fallen by 1,000 feet, turning into a large lake 25 miles long. In addition, landslides have dammed up rivers, and many villages have been destroyed.
Legend has it that Mt. Fuji rose up overnight, and Lake Biwa dropped at the same time. I think Japan also had a number of major eruptions and earthquakes in ancient times. Southern Florida was the bottom of the sea in ancient times. Wherever you dig, you will find shells.
Fortunately, there are no earthquakes or tsunamis and we are safe now, but the only natural disaster is the typhoon that strikes from time to time. It has been quiet for about 10 years, but we don't know when it will come. I think it will come this summer.
How was your trip to Rokko, Rei-san? It would have been too short if you had done it in a day. You need to stay at least two nights to see everything. I also want to travel around slowly when I get back to Japan. But traveling alone is boring.
It's just after 4am, but I haven't been able to sleep at all tonight. It's probably because I took a nap. Summer vacation will soon be upon us in Japanese schools. I've gained weight again and my 140cm figure is now perfectly straight. I can't fit into my 32 size pants anymore.
June 11, 1960
Rei-san, I just received the newspaper. Thank you. It's been a while since I last read my hometown's newspaper, so I've been reading it from cover to cover. Japanese newspapers seem to have changed a lot without me realizing, and they now seem to be semi-American style. The only thing that hasn't changed is that they carry serial stories. The one thing that's lacking is that there are almost no articles about the regions. This means I can't even find out about the situation in the Miyazu region, which is under the same jurisdiction.
This morning, I hurt myself in the toilet again. I had done the same thing before, but when I stood up to relieve myself, I opened the window and hit my head hard on the crank. Unfortunately, I was at the top of the car, where the hair is thinnest, so I got a cut about an inch in size and bled. I dyed a handful of toilet paper bright red.
I hear that young girls in Japan are dying their hair red these days, and it seems strange to me to imagine you and Akiko like that. No matter how fashionable it may be, I don't think there's anyone who likes to imitate it as much as the Japanese. Soon their eyeballs will be blue. Plus, they'll be blabbing foreign languages and no one will be able to guess where they're from.
Today, for the first time in a while, there was no rain, and the wind was strong, so it was very cool. My leg is feeling much better, too. However, it is only temporary. Sometimes it doesn't come back for a year or two. Once I get better, I'll have to work a lot this summer. There is a mountain of work to do.
How was your trip to Rokko? I'm sure a day trip was not enough. Schools here are on summer vacation, and everyone from university students to elementary school students is finding work and working hard to earn money for school fees and pocket money. Work is sacred. Even the children of wealthy families are not playing around.
< Laundry after a long time >
Today I did laundry for the first time in a while. About 10 shirts, 6 underwear, 3 work pants, and 15 pairs of socks. I don't have a sewing machine, so I also mended my work clothes with a needle. I used to mend shoes, but I don't do that anymore.
When I was in Japan, I also did the tooth-setting for geta sandals. I am good with my hands, so I do everything myself. It has been said that a jack of all trades is master of none, and it seems to be true. It seems that most people who have done big jobs since ancient times are clumsy. I am not good at speaking and I am not good at writing.
(If you find a second-hand copy of the book "Oeyama Shuten-doji", please send it to me. We do not have any new editions.)
July 14, 1960
< Neighbors are on vacation >
Hi, I haven't seen you in a while. I hear you're sick. Please be careful not to push yourself too hard. I'm still resting. I feel better for a few days, but then I get sick again. I'm suffering more from boredom than from illness. Most of my neighbors are on vacation. I have to go to the post office or the store to have a chance to talk to people.
Pinky seems to be lonely since we moved here, and doesn't like to go out much. If she can't see me even an inch, she starts crying. It must be annoying in Kyoto during the rainy season. Here, we get showers almost every day.
Peaches remind me of home
Peaches are cheap these days, but they don't seem to be sweet enough. Because of the heavy rainfall, peaches don't grow well here. Whenever peach season comes around, I remember something from long ago. I bought three peach seedlings and planted them in the terraced fields next to my house. Soon, they bloomed and produced about 10 fruits. I covered each one with a paper bag to keep out bugs, so that rain wouldn't accumulate in the bags.
The weather was good and the fruit grew rapidly. Yoneji (the youngest brother) would go and look constantly. He had been told that if he touched them they would rot. The ripe fruit was as beautiful as a picture. We each ate one. Yoneji got an extra one as a look-in fee. Mother sold the rest to the store. I think they were three sen each. This was the year before I left the country.
It's pretty hot these days, so there are a lot of people at the beach. I'd like to swim here for the first time in a while, but I'm refraining from doing so because it's dangerous if I get a clump. The deep blue ocean surface is completely still, and looks just like a painting. The horizon you see here is not a straight line, but an ellipse.
(Titles omitted)
© 2019 Ryusuke Kawai
