Chapter 62: CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

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PART XXII

OSHOGATSU AGAIN

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

It was.

But instead of an irori in the middle of the room, there were two kerosene stove room heaters, like the one in my apartment, near each of the left and right walls, their large round cores burning a bright red cheery warmth. I guessed this must be their living/dining room because the floor was made of wood, not tatami mats, and had western furniture including a dining table near the far wall. A woman was sitting in a lounge chair nursing an infant with a baby bottle.

"Mom? This is David. Let me take Yumi-chan and breastfeed her in my room." Ruriko said, taking the baby from the woman who stood up. "Dave, this is Mom. why don't you introduce yourselves while I go feed Yumi-chan?" Ruriko said as she disappeared through a door on one side of the room.

Again the bowing and the 'Dozo yoroshiku's of greeting between 'Mom' and me. "I'm David. Nice to meet you."

There followed the usual problem of how pronounce my name in Japanese. 'David' comes out as "Debido" since Japanese has no "V" in it. 'Dave', though, can lead to problems. You have to pronounce it "Deebu" with a long AAYY sound, not "Debu" with a short AY sound, because that means "Fatso"!

"And you can call me 'Mom' if you want. Almost everybody else does."

"Are you sure that's all right? I mean, I'm not your son-in-law."

She waved her hand. "Oh we don't stand much on formalities out here." Then almost disdainfully, "This may be Kyoto Prefecture but it certainly is not Kyoto City."

And so, from then on 'Mom' became Okaasan and 'Dad' became Otousan to me, same as to Ruriko. Just as in Shirakawa with the Okumuras it was 'Okusan' wife and 'Dannasan' husband.

Which was all fine with me. Because I suddenly realized with all the Americanized informality that Fumie insists on between faculty members at our college, I don't even know Ruriko's married name!

While we were waiting for Ruriko to return with Yumi there was an uneasy silence between us. "Otousan, what do you do with that piece of farm equipment I saw as we parked?"

"Oh, you must mean my field tiller. I use it for farming, of course. Right now, I'm growing daikon radish because it's winter. But I can get in four crops a year on my plot now."

"But what about your regular job?"

"Regular job? What regular job? I'm retired now, of course. My company had a mandatory retirement age of fifty."

"Fifty? But why so young?"

"Because most companies set their mandatory retirement age at fifty. Isn't that the same in America?"

I shook my head. "Most companies have their mandatory retirement at sixty-five. If they have one at all, that is."

"Toshi, that's my husband's name, Dave," said Ruriko just as she was returning with Yumi who was now fast asleep in her arms. "His company has a retirement age of fifty-five. That's one reason why he decided to enter it."

"Hmm. I wonder what our retirement age is? Fumie's never mentioned one to me. How about you, Ruriko"

"Me neither. But knowing Fumie, she probably doesn't have one. Or if she does it's probably sixty-five or over."

With Ruriko now with us the conversation between all four of us went much more smoothly. Or sometimes five, counting whenever Yumi woke up from her nap and started crying and Ruriko had to rock her back to sleep.

"Dave, we're starting our Oshogatsu housecleaning to make the house nice and clean to welcome in the New Year. Do you want to help?" Ruriko asked.

"Housecleaning? For Oshogatsu? I sure didn't do any for my last Oshogatsu. Well, I'd like to help if I can. But what can I do?"

"Dad, can Dave help you with your farm work?"

Dad shrugged. "With the daikon radish crop already planted and the winter snow keeping the weeds out, there really isn't much to do until harvest time. But that won't be until late February at the earliest. So there isn't much to do until then."

I said, "'Dad', I sure would like to see your field, though. I've seen many driving by on my bike, of course. But never one up close."

"About all you can see right now are the green leafy tops of the daikon I've planted."

I looked at the straight rows of green tops sticking up out of the snow cover. "Dad, why are the crop rows here in Japan so narrow? On American farms they're much, much wider."

"That's because the fields there are so much larger. Hundreds, maybe thousands of hectares. They can use big tractors on them. Japan just doesn't have anywhere near as much arable land. My field is only eight hectares. You saw my crop tiller outside the house. It's blades are only half a meter wide. So each row can only be that wide. And my tiller has the about the widest blades available. That's why the rows on the other farms are no wider than mine, either."

"Didn't you say you could get in four crops a year?"

"That's right," proudly. "Nijin carrots in the spring. Kyuri cucumbers in the summer. Satsumaimo sweet potatoes in the fall. And now daikon radish in the winter."

"That sounds like a lot of work."

"It is. But I'm really glad I can do it. The money I can make off them is enough for me not to need to get another job after I retired."

"Well, why didn't you get another job after you retired? You could keep working until you're well in your sixties or maybe even your seventies."

"Because after I turned fifty I could only be a part-timer no matter what company I worked for."

"Yeah, I can understand that," remembering what John had warned me about being only a part-timer.

"And besides, after I got used to it, I found I really like being my own boss. And the feeling that I'm actually creating something, not just pushing papers around. But let's get back to the house and see if we can help the women folk with the Oshogatsu housecleaning."

Submitted: January 16, 2025

Romance romance japan gaijin travel-in-japan japan-1970s

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B Douglas Slack

That's the one thing I noticed about Japan. There is no "what to do with mom and dad when they get old." That seems to take care of itself naturally, doesn't it?

I didn't know that fields could be productive even with snow cover. So, radishes, huh? I never would have guessed when I saw those little green tops peeking up out of six inches of snow.

Bill

Tue, January 28th, 2025 1:13am

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According to the various Japanese agricultural websites I have checked, daikon radish is a winter crop. Although we're in the city, there is a farm very near us that, sometimes using a hothouse, seems to get in about six crops a year. Note, you have seen green tops peeking out of snow. Yes, they are probably Japanese radishes.

As for 'Mom' and 'Dad', I'm not really sure, to tell the truth. But I have seen wives who have a child from a previous marriage call their current husband "Father" even though he isn't and has never had a child. Also note that Dave asks Ruriko's mother-in-law if it's OK to call her "Mom" even though he's not her son-in-law.
As for taking care of them, yes, they did back in the late 1970s to a great extent. Now they're having trouble just taking care of themselves. Sound somewhat like the U.S., only just a little later?

Ken

Tue, January 28th, 2025 11:52pm