Oh, all the Sweet Things that make life worth living! One is Chef Shinsuke Nakajima's Super Melon Short Cake and it is nothing short of a masterpiece! Yum, yum, yummy!
Check out Chef Nakajima in Words to Live by !
Each and every part of this Super Melon Short Cake is perfection: the melon, the cream, the sponge cake. Oh, I wish I could eat one right now! It's so pretty, like the cakes I imagined and tried to draw as a kid, but could never quite make them as beautifully cake-like as this, and so sweet, like my great-grandma's desserts, which were my favorite treats in the world. Nakajima san went all out and I sure wanna stay in and keep savoring his handiwork. The Super Melon Short Cake is perfect, except for its price: 1575 yen for one slice! Seeing my stunned expression, Nakajima san explained that one melon costs 15,000 and the eggs, the butter, and the rest of the ingredients all come from the best producers in Japan so the price goes way up there, along with the quality. Yum, I get it! I guess it would be a tall order to want the best short cakes and still pay the lowest price. Life is sweet but not that much: we get what we pay for.
Lesson: I'd better start making some serious money, ASAP!

Here are some more wonders of nature and man: Nakajima san and his Short Cakes and me, moments before I sunk my fork and teeth into another super-dooper sweet, Plaisirs Sucre, an incredible mixture of hazelnut dacoise, milk chocolate thin with praline, and chocolate ganache, created by pastry chef-extraordinaire, Pierre Herme. Here it is, looking simple but don't let looks fool you: It's complex and a taste wonder!
Pierre Herme on Wikipedia
Pierre Herme's Website
PH, merci beaucoup! Je t'aime! I've been to heaven and I'm back to report that it is perfect up there, as long as it is same as down here: all so sweet!
Pierre Herme san sent this note about Nakajima san:

Translation from French to English: "Talent, passion and open-mindedness are some of the many words that come to mind that characterize my friend Shinsuke Nakajima ." Pierre Herme
I understand: Nakajima san can really cake and bake fantastic sweets! Go get some at the Patisserie Satsuki at the Hotel New Otani, Tokyo! Qui, Pierre Herme's amazing sweets are also waiting there for us! CU there, I hope! JK

Hi Everyone! I love Japanese food so anyone who cooks it well and invites me for a meal is my friend! Yup, you guessed it well: I'm not a big chef but Keiko Aoki san is!
Keiko Aoki in Words to Live by
And she's also healthy, beautiful and thin which proves that eating Japanese is the way to feeling and looking great! No wonder that Japanese have the longest life expectancy in the world! But we don't have to be born Japanese to live longer: I am sure that anyone living on a Japanese diet can extend their life span by years. Ganbarimashou!

Keiko fell in love with Rocky Aoki, the founder of the Benihana restaurant empire and her love drove her right into the kitchen to prepare nutritious and delicious meals for the guy who was eating out way too much. Yes, love is crazy! I would have hired a chef instead... but Keiko wanted to create a home with real food like her mom used to cook for her and she succeeded big-time. She even published a cookbook:
Easy & Healthy Japanese Food for the American Kitchen
If you live in New York, you are lucky as you can call her catering company to prepare a feast for you and your friends.
Keiko Aoki Specialty Catering
Altesse Co. Ltd is Keiko san's consulting firm:
Altesse Co. Ltd
I met Keiko san with Doctor Shigeaki Hinohara sensei, who is my hero and Keiko's good friend.
Doctor Shigeaki Hinohara in Words to Live by
The two are so similar! They are both curious and fun and are bursting with energy. And they are always doing many things at the same time. For example, when I was at Hinohara sensei's office, he would mention a poem and while he continued talking to me, he would be also calling his staff to get me a copy of the book. His speed amazed me! Talk about taking action ASAP. Keiko san is the same, up and running 24/7, following in doctor Hinohara's footsteps to a long and productive life. I am right behind him, too!
Hinohara sensei's great book,
Living Long, Living Good is a must-read for everyone.
Happy Cooking and Healthy Eating to All ! JK

Happy Golden Week! Hope you all are having some fun this holiday.
May 8th is not only this blog's 3rd anniversary but the day the new Gekiron Mook hits bookshelves! Nice timing!
In this issue of Gekiron Mook, Tamogami san and Nishimura san and I continued our taidan on Japan and our love affair with it. In another article, Nishimura san and Kobayashi Yoshinori discuss NHK's foreign broadcasts---who is watching and who is listening??? There's also has an interview with my husband, Morinosuke on Japanese monozukuri! Read the best magazine in Japan and spread the word: knowledge is fun and more power to you for sharing it! Thanks for your supprt, always!

I am sure this hot magazine will not only keep you glued to its pages when you read it but that its topics will spark lively conversations. Keep your comments coming, please!
Gekiron Mook: Sekai wo Aishta Nihon
The previous issue was sold out in bookstores so fast that I recommend you ordering your copies at your local bookstore or on Amazon asap! Amazon Link is right up there! Thanks JK

Have you already gotten your copy of Gekiron Mook? If not, please run to your local bookshop for a copy or click here to Amazon. Gekiron Mook on Amazon
Tamogami san, our editor, Nishimura san and I talked about Japan and how much we LOVE IT and you will love our every word!


Thanks JK

Hi Everyone! Giant, amazing, wonderful news! I had the honor and the pleasure to do a 3 some ---all talk, no action!---with fantastic Tamogami san and wonderful Gekiron Mook editor, Nishimura san and let me tell you, we had a great time! Thanks, Guys! Our fun conversation is printed word by word, uncensored, in Gekiron Mook, a great magazine book (mook) published by Okura and sold at booksellers and here on Amazon, from April 2nd:
Gekiron Mook on Amazon
Gekiron Mook's 撃論ムック　世界に愛された日本」 The World Loves Japan! issue,
published by Okura 出版社「オークラ出版」

Gekiron Mook
撃論ムック　世界に愛された日本」 The World Loves Japan!
出版社「オークラ出版」

Run and get your copies because Gekiron Mook flies off the bookshelves faster than they can print it! Their last issue is ranked third on Amazon, an incredible achievement that proves that great stuff sells, even in recession and at 1200 yen a copy!
The visionary behind Gekiron Mook is its editor, Kohyu Nishimura san, who came up with the super idea to pair Tamo chan and me. Nice move, Nishimura san! Check out his blogs:
Nishimura Kohyu's blog
Nishimura's Voice Part 2
Few people are busier in Japan now than Tamogami san. I am so so so lucky because I saw him twice within a week! Thanks, Tamo chan!
Toshio Tamogami on Wikipedia
Toshio Tamogami's Website
We took this photo, just before he ran to the podium for his lecture, one of the 28 or so he has a month!

I listened to his lecture and loved every word he said. He is great! No wonder he was fired--shows how weird Japan is: the guy who loves his country is fired from his job. Go listen to Tamo chan's lecture as he rocks!
Thanks!
JK

Hi Everyone: Would you like to live a healthy, happy and long life? I know one person who can give us pointers: Shigeaki Hinohara, M.D., a physician in Tokyo who is one of my heroes. Doctor Hinohara works 18 hours a day and has not had a day off in his life. Yes, that is true! He is 97 years and 4 months young so he punched in more work hours than maybe anyone else on the planet. He is the heart and soul of St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. His lovely spirit is stamped all over this beautiful hospital, filled with great paintings and the kindest, most caring staff on earth. Stay healthy but if you ever get sick, this is the place to go!
Recently I spent four days following him around town and was flabbergasted by his power and curiosity for everyone and everything. He has a kind word for every person he meets and answers questions so willingly and wisely that I could not stop taking notes. He is absolutely wonderful! Check out his schedule book! It is filled till 2014! Inside I saw lectures scheduled for 2014 in Kumamoto, for example. He has no intention to slow down and I am preparing to run with him!

One afternoon I went with him to one of his "Inochi no Jigyou" (Life Lessons) lectures at an elementary school. Here he is conducting the children as they sing some lovely song. Hinohara san is a fabulous musician and composed a CD of his own songs!

The kids loved him: he worked the room like a kid himself, full of energy and playfulness, asking the children smart questions and answering theirs with funny anecdotes from his own childhood. He is a brilliant entertainer and everything he says is a life lesson.
The next day, after meetings from 8 am, at 1 PM , he did a 90 minute lecture at a hotel for 1000 business people. He always stands during his talks, walking on the stage from left to right while some of his important messages are projected on three giant screens around the room. It's so fun to listen to him! Here he is at his afternoon lecture:

Then next off to meetings until 6 PM when we were in the Palace Hotel for another 90 minute lecture, this time for 600 business people. Mr. Tatsuya Ueta, Head Coach of the Japan National Volleyball Team and Altesse Co.Ltd. President, Keiko Aoki san joined Hinohara sensei on stage. This time, Hinohara san was forced to sit down!

After a lively conversation among the three on stage, we had a buffet dinner and Hinohara sensei rushed home to work on some papers. He ran up the stairs, two steps at a time. Yes, another slow day in Doc Hinohara's life. Here we are stopping for a second to take a photo:


Hinohara sensei is an energy generator who produces a lot more power than he needs himself so there's plenty left for others. Take some! He is one of my great teachers and inspiration. I feel truly blessed to know him and I hope you will also learn something valuable from this great man. I introduced him in Words to Live by in the Japan Times . Check out Doctor Hinohara's advice and please, follow in his footsteps! I am right behind him. Thanks to him, elevators and escalators are history for me, I walk up every staircase two steps at a time, exactly like him.
To buy his book Living Long, Living Good, in English, please click here:
Living Long, Living Good on Amazon
I love Doctor Hinohara and highly recommend this book, full of thought treasures from an exceptional person!
xox JK

Happy New Year! Hope you all got a good start for 2009. I pray that this year we will all be healthier, kinder and smarter than ever before! And may we all have peace and more time to read great books and articles.
Let's start with one of 2008's most talked-about book, Morinosuke Kawaguchi's "Otaku de Onnanoko no Kuni no Monozukuri", published by Kodansha. Last October it won Japan's prestigious NikkeiBP BizTech Book Award for 2008:
Nikkei BP BizTech Book Award 2008
The author is my husband and he is a genius!

The book's English subtitle is "The Neon Genesis of Geeky-Girly Japanese Engineering" and it's a must-read for everybody who appreciates Japanese technology, monozukuri and otaku culture.
Here are comments by the NikkeiBP BizTech Book Award selection committee chairman, Mr. Hirotaka Takeuchi, Dean of Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University: "otaku de onnanoko-na kuni no monozukuri" (by Morinosuke Kawaguchi) shows a number of "tools and products that are only natural to the Japanese but unique by international standards" and analyzes the temperament, mentality, and values of the Japanese people who create them. The author, who works for a consulting firm and knows well about subcultures, points to 10 aspects of the geeky nature of Japanese products and says that what drives Japanese product-making are the country’s standout "childishness" and "effeminateness." He also claims that the country can expand its future by utilizing strategically its "geeky and girly" culture, which is at the opposite end of the "mature and manly" culture of the West. The book was received highly in the way it showed the source of strength in future Japanese product-making from a new perspective, drawing on numerous illustrative examples." Thanks, Takeuchi sensei!
From washlets to stationary, from kabuki masks to Japanese bikes, from manga and anime to Prius and robots, this fun book gives readers a deeper understanding of Japanese culture. The book is loved by engineers, designers, and Akihabara's otakus as well as by world-famous Japanese fashion designer, Hanae Mori san, who wrote a wonderful book review of it for the Sankei newspaper. Thanks for everyone's support, it's in its third printing within just about one year. Thanks for reading it!
Otaku de onnanoko-na kuni no monozukuri is already being translated into Korean and simplified Chinese. We hope to have it available in many countries so please contact me if you know a publisher that would like to publish it in other languages.
And here is the link to Morinosuke Kawaguchi's article series for Nikkei BP online. They're fun!
川口盛之の「ニッポン的ものづくりの起源」
このコラムでは、商品の機能やデザインにフォーカスし、その商品が生まれた発想の起源を探ります。特に日本の商品に密かに隠れたいかにもニッポン的な「和」のテイストに注目しながら、日本のものづくり文化に息づく競争力の源泉をひもといていきます。
Morinosuke Kawaguchi's Nipponteki Monozukuri series for Nikkei BP

To write the next book, we recently flew to Guam. We love Guam! I am also a huge fan of the local newspaper, Pacific Daily News and read it from top to bottom every day. It's such a fun newspaper because it's so much about Guam. I feel part of the community when I read it and I don't even live there. I even rip out pages and bring them home to put into photobooks ! So I was thrilled that my favorite Guam newspaper ran a story about my husband. Thanks a million, Guam Pacific Daily News and their wonderful writer, Levanna Eugenio!
Pacific Daily News Article on Morinosuke Kawaguchi

I also found that Arohan, a blogger, picked up on the PDN article and ran with it. Thanks, Arohan! Check out what he's talking about right here:
Personal Dividends
Thanks for reading! JK

Happy Holidays! 2008's speeding by so quickly that we barely said hi to each other and it's already time to say bye-bye.
But before that, on December 30th, which happens to be my mom's birthday---Boldog Szuletesnapot! --- Words to Live by goes out with a huge bang: our guest is superstar athlete, hammer thrower Koji Murofushi san, who's my favorite sportsman.
Here's Koji and me at the Seiko Super Track and Field Meeting in Kawasaki, 2008 on September 23rd, just after Koji won with 81.02 meters.

I've been following Koji's career and was thrilled to sit down and listen to him throw some of his wisdom my way. Thanks, Koji san!
Koji Murofushi Official Web includes messages from Koji and lots of photos, many taken by him on his world travels. Nice!
My husband and I are huge Koji Murofushi fans. We always watch his events and pray, cheer, send our power to him, scream, and jump around to Koji's beat. Since he often competes with Hungarians, it should be a tough choice for me but it really isn't: I end up screaming " Koji, GO! Come on, throw an 86! Let's go! You can do it! " Sure, I also cheer the Hungarians, for example, in Kawasaki I did yell out to Krisztian Pars: "Gyerunk, Krisztian, dobj egy jo nagyot! " Yes, I cheer others but my heart is not 100% in it: it's with Koji. Sorry, magyarok! Hungarian hammer throwers
Whether Koji wins a medal or not, he never lets us down: his form is always absolutely beautiful. Watching Koji Murofushi is like seeing great art, alive. Hammer throw might not be the most popular sport but if anyone could ever make it so, it's Koji. His looks help, too: he's gorgeous and tall with features fit for the gods on Mount Olympus.
Koji's attraction goes beyond nationality: he's the finest, the best, the ultimate champion with the most beautiful throws. He's elegant, even when he's swinging a hammer around under 400 kilogram pressure. I'd love to film Koji to show how truly exceptional his form is. His movements are the most graceful and delicate and he still swings the furthest.
I'm sure that Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, would love to see Koji throw. Coubertin's Olympic Games included art and poetry and his idea was that athletes should be examples of beauty.
The International Pierre de Coubertin Committee
Jean Durry on Pierre de Coubertin
According to Jean Durry, in his 1908 speech, Coubertin confirmed that the Olympic idea is "the conception of a strong sporting culture, based in part on the spirit of chivalry, which you so attractively call fair play;, and in part on an aesthetic ideal, the cult of beauty". Jean Durry writes that in 1919 Coubertin explained that "sport should be considered as a producer of, and an occasion for, Art. It produces beauty because it engenders the athlete who is a living sculpture." Unfortunately, the Olympic Games nowadays focus less on form and more on exceptional performance that can be measured with numbers, regardless of aesthetics. This is why Koji is so special: his throws combine distance with beauty.
Koji Murofushi is one of the GREATEST ATHLETES IN THE UNIVERSE, EVER! He won everything already but instead of retiring and becoming a movie star, which he could easily be, he stays on because he loves the hammer. Gotta love his dedication to the sport and to the fans, too.
iaaf page on Koji
Koji's also one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's sweet, serious, and funny, all rolled into one huge handsomest package. Yes, he's still single which explains why the stadium was filled to the brim on September 23rd at the Seiko Super Track and Field Meeting, Kawasaki, 2008.
RunBlogRun on the Seiko Super Track Field Meeting Kawasaki 2008
There were many other star athletes there, including the four Japanese sprinters who won the bronze in Beijing in the 4x100 meter relay; Nobuhara Asahara , Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Naoki Tsukahara. Guys, you were great! Amazing Usain Bolt was also present and what a presence he has!
I rarely go to sport events so it was a special treat to take a few trains and a bus out to Todoroki Stadium in Yokohama. I love the stadium! Check out the roof design and those gigantic lights.
Todoroki Stadium

I was amazed by the crowd and the number of the cheerleaders, too. The stadium's capacity is 26,000 and I could not see many empty seats. The weather was fantastic and it was nice to see families munching on homemade bentos while cheering for the athletes. I saw my neighbors well but the athletes were faaaaaaar, just tiny points on a field and to my surprise, there was only one TV screen set up in the stadium. I assumed that in Japan they would have screens everywhere but not so.
Stadiums are not particularly well-designed for viewing sports---if we want to see anything, it's better to stay at home and watch it on TV. I guess we go to stadiums to feel the excitement: how often can we experience the same thrill with 20,000 people? Nothing beats being out there from an emotional viewpoint. Vision of the games is another issue, though.
The setup at the stadium seemed especially unkind to hammer throwers who have to enter a cage covered in a green net. Once hammer throw is on TV, the camera crews do their best to eliminate the net and the steel frame from view and focus on the athletes and the hammer but in the stadium, the whole cage is really an annoying obstacle. Look below!

I found out that the size of the cage changed since the 1960's. With every decade it shrank: in the 1960's, the sector was 90 degrees, by the 70's it went down to 45 degrees and now it's only 35 degrees. The hammer throwers often hit the net as the space is not enough for them to swing in. Why put such majestic athletes in such a cramped space? Working in these shrinking cages also means that records set up in earlier times are harder to break as conditions are not the same today--they are much worst now. I'm sure Koji and his dad have plenty of ideas how to improve the situation and I hope that those in power will listen to them. Please do!
Still, I saw Koji throw a few beauties on September 23rd and he won with 81.02 meters. Congratulations! I quickly took Koji's photo and the next second he was surrounded by dozens of journalists. He was smiling, answering every question like there was nothing he wanted to do more than talk to us, yet I found out later that he had a fever and a terrible cold that day. Nobody noticed! That's what a real pro is, I thought. I already learnt something valuable from him and our interview hasn't even began yet.
When we met weeks later, he was already in perfect health. I felt privileged to spend time with Koji, who's really busy perfecting his throw. Thanks, Koji san!  I hope that you all enjoy reading about this amazing person in the Japan Times on December 30th.
Japan Times Articles
Special thanks to the The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo whose staff took really good care of us. Thanks a lot! JK

Koshu Morioka san and me in his office, holding the kanji for kokoro or heart and soul
Graphology on Wikipedia
Japan Graphologist Association
Japan Graphologist Association English Page
I always thought that judging people by their writing, including their handwriting, was pretty accurate and great fun. I had a wonderful time talking to Koshu Morioka san, who is the founder of the Japan Graphologist Association. He knows what he's talking about: he predicted that Obama would win and thinks that I'm very open-minded and fun. My kinda guy! Check out the article about him on December 23rd in the Japan Times and please follow his advice! Happy Holidays! JK
Japan Times Articles

Congratulations to Ruth Hetcamp, the founder of Japan's first telephone counseling lifeline, Inochi-no-Denwa. Ruth set up this free, confidential and anonymous lifeline decades ago and she's still working hard to help others. An amazing woman whose words and actions are truly inspiring. Next to her is Yukio Saito san, who has been IND's director for a long time and has done an incredible job of building up the organization to its current size. Thanks Ruth and Yukio!
We talked in Yukio's book-filled and comfy office, sipping green tea.
Japan TImes Articles

For her tireless efforts to help those who might feel lonely, scared and hopeless, this October Ruth received one of Japan's highest honors, The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, awarded by the Emperor and the Office of the Prime Minister.
I was lucky to have accompanied her and Yukio to see Ms. Seiko Noda san, Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, Consumer Affairs and Food Safety and Space Policy. She sure has a lot of work on her hands but that's not all: Noda san is also in charge of suicide prevention. Gosh, ganbatte Noda san!
Seiko Noda on Wkipedia
Seiko Noda's resume
I hope that Noda san is always OK but if she ever feels overwhelmed with all this work and pressure, Inochi-no-Denwa's and TELL's volunteer counselors are just a call away.
Tokyo Inochi no Denwa
With the holidays coming up, you might feel lonely, maybe you miss your loved ones. If you feel down and you are a Japanese speaker, Inochi no Denwa's trained counselors are here to listen, 24 hours a day. The telnumber in Tokyo is 03-3264-4343. There is no additional charge for the call other than the usual charge your telephone company bills you for.
For web counseling in Japanese, connect here:
Inochi no Denwa Net
For English speakers, Tokyo English Lifeline's trained counselors take calls from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., 365 days a year. TELL Lifeline: 03-5774-0992
TELL Tokyo English Lifeline

Be good to yourself and to others, too! JK

Ready to party? Then maybe you need to shop and there is no place more fun to pick out a few pairs of hot two-toned shoes and a flaming red suit than at Sati's in Okinawa! Check out these great fashions!

About two years ago I was filming Okinawan music for NHK in Koza, which is the other name of Okinawa city, when I saw these supercool windows. I had to run in!
Okinawa City
How about these Zoot suits? Man, they rock! Zoot suit

I love these Bowler hats in wild colors! Bowler hat


Located in the city of music, also known as Koza or Okinawa city, this legendary clothing store is filled with treasures: owners Paul and Neeta Daswani and their unique selection of fashion from the 1930's to the future!
Here's the article about them in the Japan Times, on October 28th:
Words to Live by
Can't fly to Okinawa? No problem! Call or e-mail them! They ship all over the world. And yes, they make ladies' suits, too! They visit Tokyo and Osaka a few times a year--that's where I saw them recently---so it's possible to meet them in those cities, too. They take clients' measurements and ship the suits to them later.
Sati's is closed for renovation between October 27th and November 11th.
Sati's address: 1-Chome 3-50, Uechi Okinawa City
Okinawa, Japan 904-0031
Tel: 098-933-2853
Fax: 098-933-9266
satis@sunny-net.ne.jp

Hello from rainy Tokyo! This week's Japan Times article is about Vivienne Sato, a cultural concierge whose fabulous looks always put a smile on my face!
Japan Times articles
Here is a fun photo of Vivi and me at a party:

Vivi's blog and
Vivi's other blog
Both have lots of information on what's happening in town and you can see many more photos of her great outfits and super wigs! Enjoy and party on! xoxJK

Hiya! In this week's Japan Times article I introduced wonderful Tatsuo Asakura san who is a train driver in Yamagata prefecture, on the super-scenic Flower Nagai Line.


That's him in front of Nagai station. He is a local hero who saved the little train from bankruptcy but he told me that to secure the company's future, they need a lot more revenue. So he was in Tokyo recently, visiting travel agencies to gather more tourists for his beloved Flower Nagai Line. He thinks they need another 30,000 visitors a year so gather your friends and go take a ride! You will love every minute of it!
Flower Nagai Line on Wikipedia
Flower Nagai Line Japanese website
We met for the first time this June when I was filming in Yamagata prefecture for NHK TV's Out& About. NHK Out& About
I wish I were on it right now, right next to these cute regular passengers:

This obaachan told me that she takes the Flower Nagai Line to see her doctor and the trip only costs her a few hundred yen but a cab ride would be about 10 times more expensive, about 7000 yen! Imagine! So she hopes more tourists pour in and keep the company afloat forever. Me, too! See me on the tracks? The line rides smack in the middle of rice and wheat fields and unless you have a car or a bicycle, all you can do here is walk!

Nagai station has tatami mats! I think that is the first station I have ever seen with wide tatami mats so the passengers can take a nice nap while they are waiting.

Here we are in Yamagata with Asakura san and in Tokyo station, holding up his book, map and the "world's longest calendar" that he created with the help of his two friends, Mr Ito and Mr Nomura. Great job, guys!

They sell them online for 500 yen a pop on the Flower Nagai Line's shopping site. I have all three of them and the design rocks! Highly recommended!
Thanks again for visiting and till next time, keep on training! JK

Hi Everyone!

Today's Japan Times article is about Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno, who is a businesswoman and the widow of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno. Ratna Sari in Sanskrit means the "Essence of Jewels" and it's the name Sukarno gave her.
my article on Dewi Sukarno
Here is the link to the whole series: Japan Times Articles and President Sukarno on Wikipedia
President Sukarno was a charismatic leader who fought fiercely and wisely against the Dutch and succeeded in getting his country out of the chains of colony. Bravo!
He was smart and diplomatic and in Dewi Fujin, he found his match. The two looked so gorgeous and perfect together. I feel sad that their happiness was so short but they certainly achieved a lot. Thank you! 
President Sukarno and Dewi Fujin were vital to the development of both Japan and Indonesia. Their union brought the two countries closer and no nations needed each other as much as these two. Back then Japan was desperate for Indonesia's wealth of resources and Indonesia needed technology and finance from Japan. President Sukarno and Dewi Fujin connected them.
I imagined her as a female version of Hideyoshi Toyotomi: with a brilliant mind, always positive and constructive and really good at people. And she is all that plus funny, too!
Hideyoshi Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Dewi Fujin, these two great communicators both rose from humble beginnings to very powerful positions. Good for both and Japan!
There is a famous Senryu (Japanese poem) that asks what the three legendary leaders of 16th century Japan would do if a nightingale stopped singing. It says that:

Nobunaga Oda would kill it while ordering the next nightingale to be delivered
Tokugawa would patiently wait for it to sing
And Hideyoshi would talk the bird into singing!
Nobunaga Oda
Ieyasu Tokugawa
Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Seems like Nobunaga Oda was all about function, a practical man who operated much like a tough executive. I find him pretty Un-Japanese in that sense. Ieyasu Tokugawa was very conservative and careful, with a long-range viewpoint. He was happy to gaman (endure) in the present for better results later. Very Japanese! Hideyoshi was a genius at people and managed to work with anyone. Just like Dewi Fujin. After years in exile in Paris, she moved back to Indonesia and worked under Suharto's regime. Suharto, the man she calls the Indonesian Pol Pot for murdering about one million innocent civilians. Suharto, who was behind the coup d'etat that ousted President Sukarno.
I am amazed at Dewi Fujin's strength! Not only she was brave enough to move back to Jakarta, she even succeeded as a businesswoman in those hostile circumstances. She attended several World Tenders and made history bidding successfully for one billion dollar projects. In my book she qualifies to be in the league of the world's toughest. She keeps on fighting and winning and manages to do it with great style. Yes, in high heels, no less.
BTW, she is Megawati Sukarnoputri's stepmother, who was Indonesia's first female president: Megawati Sukarnoputri 
This is Dewi Fujin with two of her dogs:

She always looks impeccable which is a miracle since she's constantly surrounded by her beloved dogs, all eleven of them. These little dogs run a big house and in all the right directions. As we talked, cute doggies would be licking my hands and gently scratching my back. I felt happy!
Dewi Fujin paints:
I love her work! Hope you all got some of Dewi Fujin's power. I certainly have. Thank you! Judit

Hi! We received a question on the comment board but due to some technical problems I can't post a reply there so am answering here on main page.
First of all, thank you for asking: "Hey why did you delete a comment on 武田邦彦? "
Sorry, although we did not delete a comment on Takeda san, it is indeed missing. Thank you for noticing and letting us know. It was in Japanese with links, right? I am so sorry! I have no idea when and how it disappeared. We have been having some technical trouble in the last few weeks. Some links were deleted by administrator and I guess, so was the one you mentioned. Or I did it by mistake as I was trying to get rid of weird links that did not respond...SORRY!!!Thanks for telling me and please upload it again. I was glad to get feedback on him and I know he or she was critical of him. All responses are truly appreciated so I hope he or she writes again. Sorry 4 not responding but I am still having trouble uploading even this reply to you. I tried to post it on the comment board a few dozen times and typed in the required 4 numbers but it keeps asking me for more numbers. Crazy!
So we are having some serious technical trouble. Again, my apologies, I hope to figure out how to work this blog so we never have a miss like that again. If you can, please kindly send the comment and links on Takeda san again. Please trust me that we never delete any comments that relate to the content of this blog. We are happy to get feedback so please have them coming. And if you do not see a response from Mina or me, it is because we can not upload it--like maybe now!!!-- so please wait a bit and one of us will reply asap. Thanks a lot! Judit

August 15th, at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine:

Yes, that's me today, on August 15th, 2008, standing in front of the Third Shrine Gate with the Haiden or Main Hall just behind me. I hope you can get a feel for how beautiful this shrine really is, even with me blocking the view. I love going to Yasukuni Shrine and visit it often all year round. If you have never been there, you're missing a treat. You will love it! The walk from Kudanshita station is breathtaking: Japan's largest Shinto torii gate, perched on top of a small hill welcomes us. No matter how tired or busy I am going there, I always feel a sudden burst of energy when I see this first gate: I know that I am entering a peaceful, beautiful garden where every step takes me deeper into the heart of Japan. An avenue with large gingko trees leads to the statue of Omura Masujiro and to the second gate which is the biggest bronze torii in Japan. Please check the Yasukuni Shrine website for more detailed information, including a great map with photos:
Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine is a very special place where the spirits of those who sacrificed their lives during wars, all the way from 1853 till the end of the Greater East Asian War( WWII), are enshrined: a total of 2,466,000 of them! Of course, most of them were young men who wanted to protect their families and country. I heard a lot about them from former soldiers who survived and are in their late seventies, or eighties and some are even in their nineties. These survivors keep coming to Yasukuni Shrine from all over Japan to say hi to their friends enshrined here and to thank them for their sacrifice.
August 15th marks the end of the Greater East Asian War ( WWII) in 1945 in Japan. Yasukuni Shrine is especially crowded that day, full of those who want to show their appreciation for those who gave their lives for Japan. I'm married to a Japanese and live in this fantastic country so naturally I go, too! I pray at the altar for those 2,466,000 men and the many more who also died during those wars.  I also thank the survivors, who worked so tirelessly to build up Japan from the ruins. Today Japan is a wonderful place to live and all of this prosperity is based on their sacrifice and hard work. I want to keep remembering those who didn't have such an easy life as me and to always feel humble and thankful for what I have. By going to Yasukuni Shrine I show my appreciation for all Japanese people, whether they are alive or not. Arigatou gozaimasu!

Today I went earlier than usual because I had a date with Hiroo Onoda san and his lovely wife, Machie san.
my article on Hiroo Onoda san

Yes, that's Onoda san who at 86 is still looking great, thanks to his amazing DNA and because of the love and care of his wife, Machie san who always accompanies him everywhere. They make a great couple and are very active!
Onoda san's book, No Surrender: My Thirty-year War is so exciting and incredible that I read it in one sitting and immediately read some of it again. Highly recommended!
Hiroo Onoda san's book on Amazon

Onoda san is living history and a pleasure to know. I hope he lives longggggggggggg!Machie san is a lot younger and she is also full of energy so the two are always busy with many projects, such as their Shizen Jyuku, a nature camp for kids:
Onoda Shizen Jyuku

To learn about Japanese history, the best place is the beautiful Yushukan Museum, right next to Yasukuni Shrine. Yushukan Museum
You can easily spend a couple of hours there because the exhibition halls include films, anime and documentaries, too. It's my great honor that the TV program I made about Hideo Suzuki san, who trained as an ohka pilot, is also displayed here at Yushukan Museum, in the ohka room:

Ohka in Wikipedia: and my article on Hideo Suzuki san
Hideo Suzuki san was a member of the Jinrai Butai Ohka, a special unit within the Japanese Navy during the Greater East Asian War ( WWII) whose members were training to fly on deadly one-way missions in an ohka. This is Hideo Suzuki san back then:

He was so young, so handsome and full of courage. Although 63 years passed by, he's still handsome and brave, just like before! Here he is on the left with two of his fellow ohka pilots, Naito san and Shinjo san. Looking great!


Please watch this program about Suzuki san with either Japanese or English subtitles on my website: morinoske.com to find out why Suzuki san and other young men like him, who were well aware that Japan was losing the war, volunteered to be ohka pilots. You will also learn why Japan developed such kamikaze-type corps and why did these brave young men decide to join such a unit.

The Yushukan Museum has a lot of information on the background of the war so I recommend you all to visit.
On morinoske please click on the photo of Suzuki san in the top left corner to see the menu and make sure you watch our brand new 48 page manga, too!

Thanks for reading and hope to see you all at Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum ! JK

2008-08-10
Maruyama Ohkyo's Paintings in Daijyoji Temple, Kyoto

Last August I was lucky to film Nippon Art Tour for NHK TV on the Edo era artist Maruyama Ohkyo's (1733–1795; 円山 応挙) works. His paintings are beautiful!
Maruyama Ohkyo on Wikipedia:

We found these scrolls in a Kyoto antique shop whose owner loves Ohkyo so much that he has trouble parting with his collection. After looking through a few dozen paintings I could see why: they are GREAT! I was also hooked. In search of more of his masterpieces, we hopped on this cute open Torokko train in Sagano, Kyoto city and took it to Ohkyo's birthplace, Kameoka city. Torokko Train

This is a great ride among mountains and over rivers and gives you a chance to see the landscape that inspired Ohkyo. From Kameoka you can take the express train to Kasumi where the Daijyoji Temple is located.
Daijyoji Temple
I LOVE DAIJYOJI TEMPLE! The whole complex was designed and its dozens of sliding doors painted by Maruyama Ohkyo and his apprentices. It took them eight years to complete it and it shows: it is magnificent! Look at some of the photos but please keep in mind that my poor shots really don't do justice to its beauty:

The fascinating aspect of these fusuma sliding doors is that once you open them, you see other paintings in other rooms. Imagine a whole bunch of spaces interconnected by sliding doors, all painted on both sides. As you move the fusumas, the view changes and the number of combinations are almost endless. It is like being an artist yourself: you create a space, a view, a three and two-dimensional puzzle that doesn't need figuring out. Of course you are also part of a dialogue with nature and Ohkyo, too. You see the surrounding gardens, mountains and other buildings, you hear insects, smell the tatami and the flowers in the garden. It's wonderful! Japanese architecture is truly part of nature and one of the greatest places to feel that is here, at Daijyoji Temple. I highly recommend you all to visit! The priest, Mr. Yamasoba is from Osaka and he's not only knowledgeable about Ohkyo but he's also very funny. He said his three kids were not paying much attention to either Ohkyo or him. Ouch!

Later on, as we were trying to buy some cold drinks at a convenience store, our director noticed that she had lost her wallet. We filmed at a few different locations, including a couple of rice fields, towns, temples and it could have fallen out of her bag just about anywhere so there was no way to trace our steps back. She filed a report with the local police box or koban and asked them to call her if they had found it. Sure enough, she soon got a call that someone had found her wallet, brought it to the closest koban and the policeman took it to the police station nearest to our location. Please check out this photo of what was returned:

All her credit cards and over 40,000 yen or roughly 400 US dollars were inside her wallet. Nothing was missing! I just love Japan! There are so many honest people and the police service was fabulous, too. I hear that this kind of thing happens here all the time.
Now back to Maruyama Ohkyo:

For those who live outside Japan, please see your local TV guide for broadcast times of NHK TV's Nippon Art Tour: Maruyama Ohkyo, which is supposedly shown on the following days and times abroad:
8/5（火）5:15, 8/8（金）7:15、8/10（日）11:15、8/13（水）16:15、8/20（水） 6:15、8/21（木）10:15
And some sad news: this and most of the other hundred or so NHK TV shows that I have made ---please check category for Judit Kawaguchi's Reports---are unfortunately not broadcast in Japan. We are making them for the foreign market. Who is watching? If you are out there, please mail me! I used to believe that many people outside Japan enjoy our shows, but now I'm wondering if that is indeed true. For example, my friends in the US just mailed me that TV-Japan in the US doesn't televise this Maruyama Ohkyo program in August. I asked my NHK directors and one checked and found that: " The Ohkyo program is shown on NHK World, but not on NHK World Premium, which is part of cable TV in some countries." One needs an additional satellite dish to see NHK World. Having regular cable is not enough.
NHK International
Basically it seems that only people who live outside Japan and purchased a satellite dish that can transmit only NHK World broadcasts can watch these programs. Yet the NHK International website boasts that 57,000 TV programs have been produced by NHK International and are shown in 129 countries.
NHK World TV
That's a lot of shows! Again, who is watching? Because people living in Japan can not see these fabulous TV programs, either. Seems strange since NHK is the Japanese national broadcaster and their shows are produced from money collected from people living in Japan, not outside of Japan. People living in Japan are required to pay a yearly mandatory subscription fee of 15,500 yen per year per TV set for regular NHK two channels and 26,000 yen per year including BS. For these prices, only programs made for a national audience can be viewed, not those produced for international broadcast.
The Japanese government also heavily supports NHK, from taxes collected from us. I must check on the exact amount! I was told by NHK directors that all programs are produced only from subscription fees because NHK doesn't want to be controlled by politics. Government funding is only used for advertising, they said.
Summary: People in Japan pay for programs they never get to see. People outside Japan pay for cable that does not include many of these NHK programs, either. If one lives outside of Japan and purchases a separate satellite dish and I guess, pays a separate subscription fee, one can see NHK World broadcast. Some programs produced by NHK International are included in local cable programs abroad. In a nutshell: the vast majority of NHK International TV programs are only seen by a handful of people.
This is all not very clear but I guess that is NHK's vision, or at least how I see it. Please send us your questions, ideas, opinion! Thanks for your support! Judit

HI Everyone: It's hot in Tokyo! To escape, I was at home watching TV a few weeks ago when Professor Kunihiko Takeda 武田邦彦came on and talked about how most recycling made no sense: I knew instantly that he did! I immediately made an appointment to see him. He is a great talker and a very pleasant man who explained the pros and cons of recycling and why the arguments on both sides are so heated. He sure keeps a cool head about it all! Suteki! Please check below for the interview in the Japan Times:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080722jk.html
This is Professor Takeda's homepage:
http://takedanet.com/

Television is a great source of information: I often have it on as a radio while working and look when something interesting is happening. That's how I noticed Yuko Matsuoka 松岡佑子san who was at a bookstore event and remembered that I have been wanting to interview her for years. I flew over to her place the next day and found out that she not only managed to translate all 7 Harry Potter books and some related literature--bless her eyes, mind and fingers--but stayed sane in the process, a crazy feat only one with magical powers could have managed. She is happy to be called a witch, which is also a compliment in my dictionary but I could also call her an angel. Her unbelievable story, still unfinished but already with many happy endings, includes the mysterious circumstances that allowed her company, Say-zan-sha　静山社  to secure the Japanese rights for the Harry Potter series. To find out more, look at her website:
http://www.sayzansha.com/
and also please check out the article on Matsuoka san in the Japan Times:
"Harry Potter" Japanese translator and publisher Yuko Matsuoka Harris
As always, stay cool! xox Judit

ユディちゃんからの最新レポートです。
佐藤錦おいしそうですね
あと山形県は紅花もとても有名みたいです。知らなかったです！
ユディちゃんが日本全国を飛び回ってくれているので、色んなことが分かりますね。

ユディちゃんはさくらんぼをたくさん食べ、紅花踊りを踊り、紅花料理を地元の方々と楽しんで山形を十二分に堪能してきたみたいです。



Check out those delicious cherries that Masanori Ono kun and I picked on his grand parents' farm in Yamagata prefecture! They are the best! Sweet, crunchy and amazing. I just stood under the trees and I ate non-stop for the two days we were filming cherries! Lucky! Although I have lived in Japan for almost 15 years now, I have never bought these delicious Sato Nishiki brand cherries because they are way too expensive. As the Onos told me, most Japanese buy them as summer gifts. Gosh, can't wait till someone wonderful sends me some! ヨロ ピク！




Did you know that Yamagata prefecture is also famous for benibana, or safflowers? Safflower farmers Katsusuke and Michiko Aoki invited their local benibana dance teacher, Ms. Kano to show us the moves. We had too much fun dancing on the street and ended up eating and drinking delicacies made from safflower inside their home till late afternoon.Next I hopped on the Nagai Flower Line train and met supercool train driver Asakura san who saved the little train, the lifeline of the community from bankruptcy. I am writing an article about him in the near future so stay tuned, please.

The article about the Onos is here on the Japan Times website:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080708jk.html

I hope you also watch my report on Yamagata's wonderful people and products on NHK TV's Out& About!
http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/outabout/archives080414.html

Hi Everyone! Have you seen Judit's last article in the Japan Times? If not, please click below and have fun reading about Moe Enomoto, the cute women's shoe designer you see below with Judit chan. They look so great together! Judit was browsing around in Ginza last year when she saw some boots she liked. The young salesgirl brought her a pair, they talked and it turned out that she was not only the selling the shoes, but she was the designer of them! Judit bought the pink gold pair you see on her feet and loved them so much that a few weeks later ordered another one in red. Looking wonderful!

Japan　Times
Sellenatela

ユディちゃんの新しいジャパンタイムズの記事読みましたか？
まだでしたらぜひ上のリンクから読んでくださいね！
お二人ともとてもかわいいです☆
お二人の出会いは、去年ユディちゃんが銀座を歩いていた際、かわいいブーツを発見したときに始まります。そこで接客をしてくれた女の子と話をしていたら、なんと！彼女はそれらの靴のデザイナーでもあることが判明しました。ユディちゃんは写真にあるピンクゴールドの靴をご購入。そしてまた後で赤いのも買ったそうです。よくお似合いですね〜。

CONGRATULATIONS！
川口ユディファンブログ、スタートしてから2年が経ちました。
現時点で　69124名様のアクセスです。
多くの方々のサポート、本当にありがとうございます。そしてこれからも日本応援団長のユディちゃんをどうぞよろしくお願いします。

今回のジャパンタイムズインタビューはユディちゃんも敬愛する宮脇 修氏。海洋堂フィギュアミュージアムの館長です。質にとことんこだわる日本のものづくり精神の継承者です。ものづくりとは、毎回毎回、前回作ったものよりいいものを作り続けていくことだと・・・厳しい世界です。でもこれこそ日本のものづくり魂ですね。全く頭が下がります。それにしても、宮脇氏の奥様は大した器をお持ちの縁の下の力持ちだなと思いました....

以下はユディちゃんからの皆様へのメッセージです。インタビュー現場での様子がつづられています。ユディちゃんもとても充実した楽しい時間を過せたようです。

Thank you so much for supporting Judit for more than 2 years!!! Thanks to your support, this blog has welcomed 69124 visitors in 2 years. And please keep loving her and give cheer to her in the future, too!!!

In Words to Live By, Judit interviewed Mr. Osamu Miyawaki. He is a founder of Kaiyodo company and Museum, a figure museum where so many neat and realistic figure dolls are displayed. It is just amazing to know his pride toward Japanese MONOZUKURI SPIRIT and practicing it everyday. And also, what is amazing almost to the same extent is his wife....enjoy the article!

Japan Times, Words to Live By, Mr.Osamu Miyawaki

--Message from Judit--

Thank you ALL for your support these past 2 years! In today's Japan Times I introduced Osamu Miyawaki san, who is the founder of Kaiyodo, which is one of my favorite companies. I have so many of their amazing, beautiful, super cool figures that soon I must move to a bigger house...check out some of our collection on the photos below.




I love everything about them so when we arrived at the Kaiyodo Figure Museum Kurokabe, I literally ran into Miyawaki san's office, because I was so excited to finally meet him. Once we looked at each other, we totally clicked. He is so wonderful! So straightforward and funny and a protector of Japanese monozukuri and culture. He told me that so many investors have been asking him to increase the number of his artists in order to increase production and basically make money, but he always refuses because he thinks monozukuri's quality is proportional to the time one invests into making it. He doesn't rush his artisans, gives them total freedom of expression and everyone is happy to work there. As he says in the article, no way to run after profit and still make excellent products. Right on! I hope you have fun reading about him in the Japan Times!

今回は舞台のお知らせです。
タイトルは・・・

第２４回東京の夏音楽祭２００８
西郷隆盛〜最後のサムライ〜
−語りと琵琶による創作舞台−
西郷隆盛舞台URL
2008年７月５日
紀尾井ホール
前売り券　３５００円　（当日４０００円）

出演者　青山伊津美
琵琶　　　坂田美子
作・構成　斉藤講

そうです。あの西郷隆盛です。NHK大河ドラマ「篤姫」にも登場していますね。
ユディちゃんいわく、“The　Coolest Guy in Japanese History!” です。
近代日本を作るため粉骨砕身して働きながら、最後はその見返りを何も得ることなく死んでいった姿に涙をそそられます。実直で純粋な生き方に共感してファンになった方も多いでしょう。
またトム＝クルーズ、渡辺謙出演の映画“The Last Samurai”の勝元盛次（渡辺謙）のモデルが西郷隆盛だって知っていましたか？
ウィキピディア　ラストサムライ
The Last Samurai　Official　Site

今回の舞台は“Japan and The Japanese”という世界へ日本を紹介する本を書いた「内村鑑三」の視点から見た西郷像という点がスペシャルな所です。

ぜひ皆様お誘い合わせの上お越しくださいませ☆

WORDS TO LIVE BY
Tokkotai survivor Hideo Suzuki
By JUDIT KAWAGUCHI

Eighty-five-year-old Hideo Suzuki is a reluctant survivor. A former tokkotai (Special Forces Unit) member of the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps), Suzuki volunteered to be the pilot of an Ohka, a manned rocket-powered aircraft, during World War II. For sailors on U.S. warships in the Pacific, the Ohka was the most feared suicide bomber. Suzuki became an Ohka pilot because he was convinced that the only way to quickly end the war (called the Pacific War in Japan) was to cause massive damage to U.S. military targets. His hope was that news of such attacks would enrage the American public, triggering antiwar demonstrations in the United States that would lead to the end of the war and save the lives of Japanese citizens as well as U.S. militarymen. Before Suzuki could fly on a mission, though, the war ended. Feeling great shame for having survived, he decided to honor his comrades by living long and dedicating himself to rebuilding Japan. Still passionate in his opinion about the war and its results, he keeps his fellow soldiers' memory alive, often visiting Yasukuni Shrine.

In war, attacks on civilians are unforgivable. War should be fought only among soldiers. I get angry when I hear Japanese bombers mentioned together with terrorists who attack civilians. We Japanese tokkotai only aimed at military targets. That is the complete opposite of terrorists.



Hideo Suzuki JUDIT KAWAGUCHI PHOTO

Sitting down today will make it harder to stand up tomorrow. I try not to take it easy in my daily life. For example, I don't sit down on the subway, because resting weakens the muscles, which would ultimately cause me to get older faster. I stand straight to stay strong.

There are circumstances in which you, me, anyone would willingly give up their life. I wished I had died in an Ohka. For months, I kept seeing my comrades off. They all smiled as they boarded the plane, thinking that we would soon meet in Yasukuni Shrine. Our impending deaths did not feel like a sacrifice but more a chance to do something good for others.

Karoshi (sudden death from overwork) attacks those who hate their jobs. People who are reluctant to work have a lot more stress than those who love their jobs and feel happy about contributing to society. I worked very hard every day till my retirement at age 70 and I was never sick and never sick of it.

Japan had no way to win The Pacific War. The incredible power imbalance between the U.S. and Japanese forces was obvious to all of us. For example, in 1944, the United States produced 209 times more oil and 100 times more tanks than Japan. And for every Japanese bullet fired, 524 U.S. bullets were fired back. By 1944, the U.S. air arsenal was 8.6 times bigger than the Japanese one, so Japan came up with the idea of suicide bombers to speed up the end of the war.

Camaraderie -- especially in the military -- is a powerful force. The pilot sat in the Ohka, which was carried under the belly of a much larger mother plane. Smaller aircraft surrounded the mother plane to protect the Ohka from enemy fire. Once a U.S. aircraft carrier was spotted, the Ohka was released and the pilot navigated it, dodging enemy fire, as it glided at up to 600 kph before firing its rocket engine and crashing into its target. The explosion was enormous because the Ohka's tiny 6-meter body was filled with around 1,200 kg of explosives. At that point, the mother plane would turn back and pick up another Ohka, but sometimes the seven other airmen aboard decided to follow the Ohka and also crashed into the U.S. ship. They wanted to cause even more damage to it, and since they had trained together with the Ohka pilot, they wanted to join him.

Tokkotai members were not crazy, brainwashed suicide bombers. Many of us thought that since Japan had won the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, we were going to win this one, too. But as early as 1943, when I was a student at Waseda University, top navy officials had come to our school and told us that even though Japan was winning at the time, if the war lasted another two years, we would surely lose.

Victors write their own version of history -- and we are all losers if we believe them. As if the cruel firebombing of Japan's cities were not enough, the U.S. dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. The fact that a completely different type of nuclear weapon was later used on Nagasaki is evidence that the U.S. was performing an evil scientific experiment on the Japanese people. Yet even now the U.S. insists that the atomic bombs saved lives. It's a preposterous idea that has been repeated so many times that many people accept it as truth! I certainly do not.

In amarriage, one must feel responsible for the other's happiness. When my wife and I were introduced 56 years ago, we were not in love immediately. But I thought that if I were upright, responsible and faithful, she would be able to love me. I was right. She is always so kind and supportive, and I simply adore her. Of course, I never pronounce this, but she feels it through my actions. We both make efforts to behave so that we never have to feel shame or regret. I always think of her parents, how much they loved her and wished her to be happy. We still go on dates to Ueno Zoo, where we went the first time we met. We are head over heels in love.

I'm glad I was pushed into getting married. I was 29 and not very interested in tying the knot when my boss told me that in order to get promoted I would need to be married. The thinking back then was that married people were inherently more responsible than single folk and therefore could be trusted more in the company, too. I am not promoting that idea at all, but I certainly got lucky thanks to it.

Japan is still an occupied nation. The U.S. did a great job at deboning the Japanese until most have no spine, no guts and no strength left in them. They couldn't do much to my generation, but most younger Japanese are as weak as one can get.

Hanging out with older and much younger people is rejuvenating. I have two close friends who are both 97 years old and who often call me to play golf or the board game Go with them. Because of their age, I always say yes to their invitations. Hey, if they can still swing a golf club, so must I! I also have friends in their 30s who are fun to be with.

Japan Times: Tuesday, April 8, 2008

２００８年４月８日のジャパンタイムズにユディちゃんによる鈴木さんのインタビュー記事が出ます。鈴木さんは海軍の神雷部隊に所属し、特攻隊員として出撃する直前に終戦となり一命を取り留めた方です。戦争体験者の生の声を聞くことのできる貴重な機会だと思います。実は、この方は、ユディちゃんの「盛之助」番組にも登場されています。まだ見ていない方はそちらもどうぞ！

In 2008/4/8 Japan Times, there will be an article of Mr.Suzuki's interview by Judit. Mr.Suzuki belonged to the Navy in the period of WW2. He was a member of Tokko-tai, suicide attack in Jinrai-butai and saved his life because the war ended just before his attack. It is a great chance to listen directly to the story of the person who experienced the war in a forefront. He is also interviewed in Judit's Web-Tv program in morinoske.com. For those who haven't seen it yet, please visit the site!
morinoske.com

ユディちゃんのWords to live byのナカヤマタカヒコさんにインタビューした記事が、あちこちで反響を呼んでいるようです。一つご紹介しますね。
ナカヤマさんは窓拭きを仕事にしておられます。高いところ怖そう。。。
でも窓拭きならではの人間模様も見られるようです。


Judit's recent Words to live by article interviewing Takahiko Nakayama, a window cleaner has been commented by many sites. I will introduce one of them.
Mr.Nakayama is a window cleaner. It seems so scary to do the work in high places, but there are things that only they can see.

Words to Live By
Mr.Takahiko Nakayama
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080219jk.html

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
READERS IN COUNCIL
Inspiration for a working man
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/rc20080228a1.html

ユディちゃんの旦那様の川口盛之助氏が講演します！
今までも日経BPで、日本のものづくりに関するコラムを連載されてきました。
毎回読ませていただいていますが、ものづくり現場でのキャリアと鋭い洞察力により、なるほど！と毎回うならされる内容です。ほんとにオススメです。
日経BPへ
今回の講演会は無料で100席限定です。メールでお申し込みの上お越しいただくようお願いします。

Judit's husband Mr.Morinoske Kawaguchi is going to give a lecture in Ginza, Bunshodo. He has been writing articles on Japanese manufacturing in Nikkei BP Online. I am one of the biggest fan of his article because his insight is very deep and it is well balanced with his own experience of being in the Japanese manucacturing business. You will get totally new inspiration from his lecture!!!
Since the seats are limited, please email beforehand to attend the lecture.

文祥堂フォーラム
http://www.bunshodo.co.jp/forum.html
● お申し込み 住所・氏名・電話番号を明記の上、FAXまたはEメールにてお申し込みください。
<文祥堂フォーラム係>　TEL: 03-3566-3560　FAX: 03-3566-3510
Eメールでのお申し込み　→　e-mail: forum@bunshodo.co.jp

● 会 場 文祥堂イベントホール　東京都中央区銀座3ー4ー12　文祥堂銀座ビル２Ｆ　 地図

● 時間 ＰＭ6 ：00 〜 ＰＭ8：00《 開場　PM 5：30》

● 定 員 100名

●参加料 無料

...続きを読む

私、先日遊就館に行ってまいりました。
たくさんの展示がリニューアルされていて、以前行ったときと印象が全然違いました。様々な映像が駆使してあったり、英語の説明も充実していたり、とても濃い展示となっていました。
お客さんもたくさん来ていて、中には外国人の方も結構いました。

そして、ユディちゃんの番組もちゃんと置いてありましたよ！！！
特攻隊のジオラマの横です。展示の最後の方にあります。
巨大なipodのようなディスプレイに23分の番組が流されていました。
ぜひ足を運んでみてくださいね☆

I visited Yasukuni Shrine Museum, YUSHUKAN recently.
A lot of displays were renewed beautifully and I had quite a different impression from what I had seen before. Lots of movies, English instructions, and so on.
There were a lot of visitors, too, including foreigners.

AND, ofcourse there were Judit program going on beside big diolama of Tokkotai.
It is placed near the exit. It is 23 minute program. Please have a look!

もうすぐ2007年も終わりになります。2007年、ユディちゃんの各地での大活躍が見られた年でした。最近ユディちゃんは毎週のように靖国神社に行っているようです。そして大晦日、新年の初詣ももちろん参拝にいくようです。これは毎年のお決まりで、2007年の感謝をして2008年の始まりをはじめるために行くんだとか。

ちなみに靖国神社境内にある博物館、遊就館は大晦日は深夜から翌日夕方まで開館しているそうです。初詣のついでに寄ってみてはいかが？
Yasukuni Shrine

そして靖国神社では、ユディちゃんがＷｅｂＴＶのために制作した番組が今流されています。
写真はコチラ。いすもあるのでゆっくりできますよ。
また同じ番組が”morinoske.com”でも見られます。





この番組制作を通してたくさんの元特攻隊員の方々から本当に大切なことをたくさん学べてとてもうれしく、また遊就館にて流してもらえるなんてとても光栄に思っているそうです。ユディちゃんも本当によくがんばりましたね。

この番組の主人公は鈴木英男さんです。元特攻隊員のおじいちゃんで、出撃ぎりぎりのところで終戦になったため助かりました。なぜ特攻隊員になったのか、なぜ特攻隊は結成されたのか、戦争をどう見ていたのか、など、当時若者だった鈴木さんが伝えてくださっています。
これからもユディちゃんは戦争体験者の生の声を取材、番組制作して、遺していきたいそうです。でも戦争体験者の方々はもう８０代９０代でらっしゃるので、とにかく急がなければなりません。しかしヘルプ、特にスポンサーが必要なことも確か。皆様ご協力お願いいたします。

The end of 2007 is coming! In 2007 we could see Judit doing lots of activities in various fields. Especially, she visited Yasukuni Shrine so many times this year like every week. Ofcourse she is visiting there for Omisoka(12/31) and New Year to thank for 2007 and begin 2008. She loves there so much.

Especially on 12/31, Yushukan(Museum in Yasukuni Shrine) is open from midnight to evening of 1/1. Please stop by when you visit Yasukuni Shrine for Hatsumode(The first worship in a year). You can learn a lot about WWII and Japan.

The picture above is TV program made by Judit for WebTV. It is shown in Yasukuni Shrine beside the diolama now. There are chairs, so you can sit, relax and learn. You can also see the same program in "morinoske.com".

Through this program, she met so many former Tokkotai(Kamikaze) soldiers and she is really honored that her program is shown in Yasukuni. Good job to Judit, too! The hero in this program is Mr. Hideo Suzuki. He was a former Tokkotai pilot. You can hear about the background of WWII and why Japanese developed Tokkotai and why Suzuki san decided to volunteer to be a Tokkotai soldier.... There are so much unknown information from the point of view of young man at that time.

She is going to continue collecting these precious records of the real history, but without help, she can not do it quickly enough as all the survivors of war are in their 80's, 90's so we must get their stories soon and she is searching for sponsors and help. Anyone??

ユディちゃんのWeekend JapanologyのOut&Aboutは今回で最後になります。
さみしいです。。。しかも12月は一回だけです。。。残念。
でも新番組でのユディちゃんの大活躍を祈りましょう！

In December, there will be only one Out&About by Judit. And also, this will be the last time that we can see Judit in Weekend Japanology. HOW SAD!!!
Let's pray for her wonderful activity in the new program.

2007/12/8 Sat. 3:00am〜3:45am　NHK sougou (Ch.1 in Tokyo)
「こま犬」　Komainu

今回のヒーローは角田信朗さんです。NHKのOut＆Aboutの石見銀山での撮影にてユディちゃんは出会いました。
道場や人生そのもので学んだレッスンを、教えて下さっています。挌闘家のイメージが強かったですが、それだけではなくて、実は教育家であり、いい旦那様であり、お父さんなんですね。ユディちゃんの視点を通してより生き生きと伝わってきました。お楽しみください。

NHK Out&About website

The hero of the article is Mr.Nobuaki Kakuda. Judit met him in filming of NHK Out&About in Iwami Ginzan. He tells us many lessons that he learned through fighting and actual life. I only had the image of "fighter" for him, but through Judit report, I could feel truely that he is a good educator, good husband and good father. Please enjoy!

WORDS TO LIVE BY
Nobuaki Kakuda

By JUDIT KAWAGUCHI




Nobuaki Kakuda JUDIT KAWAGUCHI PHOTO


Nobuaki Kakuda, 46, is a karate fighter with the Seido Kaikan organization and the executive producer of K1, the Japanese sport that matches up practitioners of a variety of martial arts, such as karate, kickboxing, kung fu, tae kwan do and boxing. One of the world's strongest fighters, Kakuda is in the 2001 and 2002 Guinness Book of World Records for breaking 27, and later 33, baseball bats within 1 minute, using only his right leg and super concentration. Although in the ring it was his punches that spoke volumes, in person he tells eloquent tales in fluent English and French. He also speaks Thai and Korean. Kakuda is a licensed high-school English teacher, an accomplished actor, singer and dancer of the tango and rumba who considers his memory his strongest point and credits his wife and two children for all his strength.

The best training is in daily life, not in the dojo. How a person lives every day, whether he faces hardships or not, is the test of a true fighter. If they pick the easy way out of responsibilities in life, then escaping inside the ring gets so much easier, too. Just fall down and wait for it to end. Training hard at life — being a life champion — is the best path to success.

Fighting in the ring is easier than outside. Right after university I opened a karate dojo in Kobe, but couldn't make it a success and had to shut it down after 2 years. I continued karate training while washing dishes at a ramen shop, till I worked my way up to cooking. By age 28 I was a bouncer in a Nara public bath where I dodged knives thrown at me by the yakuza who were refused entry because other patrons were scared of them and their full-body tattoos. I was so afraid that I stuck a cup in my pants to protect my manhood. I survived 6 months there.

If you have a goal, you can endure just about any hardship. Next I worked in construction for a year. At the end of the day I would go up to my boss to thank him for letting me work. It was a routine. He would spit to his side, search his pocket, pull out a 10,000 bill and crush it with his fist. Next he would throw it on the ground, as far as he could. I would thank him, bow deeply and pick it up. I never showed him how I felt, but inside I swore I would rock him. I have never seen him since.

I am powerful because my wife is like a mountain — peaceful and relaxed — and like an ocean that envelops and holds life. Because a man is always up front and fighting, a woman should always accept him with warmth. No matter what happens, my wife is there, stable, flexible, fluid and infinite.

Don't forget to feel impressed and moved, no matter how old you are. Some people forget what is important and keep talking about disappointments and crises and whatnot. But there are too many good stories to listen to, so I always find scenes that touch my soul. I cry a lot — I'm so emotional that if I see a child laugh on his mom's lap, I burst into tears. Of course, I hide this because I am very shy.

Fighting sports are very primitive. If you stay in that world, you can remember what humans are. Outside the ring, technology overwhelms culture, when it should be giving us support.

Competition is the destruction of the body and the building of a strong soul.

Make it harder. I'm a fighter, so if the hurdle is raised, I will jump it.

I'm a chicken at heart. I actually care about what people think or write about me. Still, though I might get angry at a negative review, I take hints from it to get better. For example, some baseball players complained that I broke too many baseball bats for my Guinness World record. Once I heard that, it dawned on me how they viewed my achievement totally differently. I became more adult by looking from their side.

A man has to be strong. A group of six or seven kids beat me up for what seemed like no reason. I was 10 years old and maybe not happy, which is why they bullied me. I cried at home. My mom panicked, but my dad didn't even look up from his newspaper, just listened to my sobs. All I saw was his back, leaning over the evening paper. He said that if I felt sad, I must get stronger as a man. That was it for me: at that moment I realized that if I didn't get strong, I'd be miserable like that forever.

In elementary school I thought about how I should sign my name, not what I should do. I didn't have a clear ambition of what I would be, but I had a strong desire to be a man who was asked for his signature.

Smart people have a sense of whether something is a chance or not. Once you recognize that something is indeed a chance, pursue it. Some can get it, others can't. Make your best effort and stay in control.

I never hit my children. Once I told my son that I was going to punch him because he broke a promise. He said that I was right and he was sorry.

Parents and teachers are not strict enough. They can't control themselves. They always push the responsibility onto others. For example, if a teacher hurts your kid, it is because your child did something bad. Think of this! In karate it is easy to explain the rules. We tell parents that we are very strict, but it is they who must ultimately show restraint. We cannot beat sense into their kids for them. They gotta do it themselves.

Children are great motivators. My daughter's dream is to be more international, which to her translates into marrying a non-Japanese. I told her that her boyfriend must beat me to get her hand. I guess I'll have to ramp up my training routine!

Ghosts and spirits are real, so I always protect myself. I carry good luck charms with me at all times. When I fly, I put a necklace on, but keep my most powerful amulet hidden as it might be too strong for others. It is a stone from the Emperor's grave.

A good partnership is about different values, different sense, like when magnetic poles are attracted to each other. My wife seems to have no interest in my work at all. When I'm kicking a sandbag on the roof balcony, I can sense her looking at me from inside. I hope she feels proud of me but instead she says, "You look silly," and shuts the window. I don't mind. I go my way. We are good partners. We have been together for 16 years and support each other.

Japan Times: Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007