Chapter 63: CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

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CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

As Dad and I returned, the 'women folk' were really at it with their Oshogatsu house cleaning. Mom was armed with a long handled, flyswatter-looking duster of some sort that she kept patta-patta-patting the dust off all the furniture, window panes, ceiling lamps, curtains, stairs -- you name it. And Ruriko was zoom-zoom-zooming all the floors -- wooden, tatami mat, or otherwise -- with a vacuum cleaner.

Ruriko looked up looked up from her vacuum cleaner, "Dave, do you want to help us?"

"Well, I'd like to. But what can I do? You and Mom seem to be doing all the housework."

"Dad? Why don't you show Dave how to beat the dust off all the futons? You men have such strong arms."

Dad led me up to the second floor and opened a window to what seemed like a small balcony. But I had learned this was where the housewives always hung out their laundry to dry. Dad handed me something that looked like a couple of thick wire cloverleafs stuck to a long wooden handle. "Hold this while I go get the first of the futons."

I looked at the thing in my hand. Hmm. I'd seen some of the housewives in my neighborhood banging away on their futons laid over the railings of their balconies with something that looked like it.

Dad came up with the first futon and hung it over the railing. "Give it a really good whacking, Dave."

I banged on the thing with whatever it was I was holding.

"No, no! Hit it like you're hitting the person you hate the most in the world."

I thought of that damn bully I hated back in primary school who was always hitting and kicking me. WHACK!! My God! Thinking of that bully really makes this feel good!

"That was a good one, Dave. Just keep whacking away at it like that while I go get the next one."

When Dad came back with another futon, "Dad, I've walloped one side of this futon. But how do I wallop the other side?"

"Just lean out over the railing a bit and whack it from there."

I did. But I found whacking it sort of backwards from that side didn't let me whack it as hard. But I guessed it was good enough.

After I whacked away on five futons that Dad kept bringing up one by one, "Dad, my arm's getting a bit tired. Can I take a rest?"

"Sure thing. Let me take over." He took the thing out of my hand.

WWWHHHHAAACCCKK!!! Ooh man! I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that whack!

"Dave? Why don't you bring up the rest of the futons while I do the whacking?"

"Okay. But I don't know where they are."

"They're all the first floor now. Mom or Ruriko can tell you where they are."

And so the few days left before Oshogatsu went. And then it was the New Year's Eve day. Or Omisoka as everybody was calling it.

Mom was out in the kitchen cooking the osechi special New Year's food with Ruriko helping . . . when she wasn't in her room breastfeeding Yumi, that is.

"Dave, I've got to go and pick Toshi up at Fuchiyama Station," Dad said. "With that snow we got last night on the road, I'd better use the pickup. It gets better traction on deep snow. But it only can only seat two. So I can't take you and Ruriko with me this time

After he was gone, I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I knew I wouldn't be anything but a nuisance in the kitchen. What do I know about cooking osechi? Or almost any food for that matter. So about all I could do was sit around and wait for Dad to come back with Toshi.

Finally I heard the minitruck returning.

Ruriko ran out from the kitchen. "Oh, Dad and Toshi are back! Dave, let me introduce you to Toshi."

When Toshi and Dad came in, Ruriko hugged Toshi, then introduced him to me. Again the head bowing and dozo youroshiku's.

Then Toshi smiled at me, "Dave, I really want to thank you for telling Ruriko about using the green car. I'd never even thought about it before. But it was really worth the extra cost."

"Was it almost empty like when I took it?"

"No, it was almost full because it's Omisoka and so many people from the city are going back to their hometown today. Particularly businessmen like me who have to work at least half a day before their companies let them off for the Oshogatu holidays. But I had a really comfortable seat, lots of space for my luggage, and nobody was standing in the aisle. Quite a change from my other hometown return trips. I even bought a green car ticket at the station for my train back to Kyoto on the third."

I smiled back. "Glad I could help, Toshi."

Instead of the usual Japanese dinner that evening, Mom brought us bowls of Japanese style buckwheat noodles.

When I looked at it questioningly, Ruriko explained, "It's toshikoshi soba, Dave. We always eat it on Omisoka. It means 'out with the going year' soba.

"Well, if that's what you usually eat here in Japan," rather reluctantly, remembering the store-bought New Years' food I had eaten last Oshogatsu. But when I stuck some of the noodles in my mouth, "Hey! This is really good!" and noticed that the others were really gobbling down theirs and getting more bowlfuls. "Mom, can I have another bowl too, please?"

"Of course," Mom said going into the kitchen to fetch more bowls for all of us.

After three bowlfuls, I was stuffed. Quite a nice feeling!

Then came the inevitable 'Kohaku Red and White Singing Contest' on NHK. We all watched sitting around their quite large color TV in their living room.

Just like last year, I found most of the singers to be pretty bad and really missed Momoe Yamaguchi. And of course the Fat Lady sang to end it all. But with the others seeming to enjoy it and the TV screen being so much larger, I somehow didn't feel anywhere near as bored by it. And even though at nine o'clock, they didn't change to Beethoven's Ninth on NHK Educational.

The came the 'Yuku Toshi, Kuru Toshi Going Year, Coming Year' with all the ringing of the temple bells from Sapporo up in Hokaido down to Kumamoto in Kyushu. And being here with the others, I enjoyed it even more than last year.

"Dave," Ruriko said as the program ended. "We usually go to a shrine at this time. There's really nice one not to far from here. But now with Yumi-chan, We'll have to wait until tomorrow -- oops, I mean today of course. And this year. Is that okay with you?"

"Oh damn! I totally forgot about going to a shrine. I didn't bring any of my business clothes with me."

"That's alright, Dave. It's a local shrine and pretty informal."

After we had wished each other"Omedeto gozaimasu!!! Congratulations!!!" -- a Japanese "Happy New Year!" -- the others went to their bedrooms. But I stayed in the living room for a while thinking of how different this Oshogatsu was from last year. As I was going to my bedroom, I heard some intimate ooohs and giggles and chuckles coming from Ruriko and Toshi's bedroom. Lovers making up for lost time?

Then Yumi started bawling her head off. Well, so much for tonight's loving, huh guys?

Submitted: January 30, 2025

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

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B Douglas Slack

When I was a teen and living in Germany, I'd become friends with a local girl whose family were farmers. Eventually, my whole family got involved and we were invited out to spend Christmas and New Years with them at their farm. I had no idea their family numbered well over 30. We got along together famously, celebrating traditional German Christmas instead of our normal one. Luckily, I had progressed in my knowledge of German that I got along with the other just fine. I did a lot of translating for my dad, though.

One of the things Felon45 (Trump) wants to do is get rid of Daylight Savings. I can't remember if Japan has it or not.

Bill

Sat, February 8th, 2025 12:32am

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No, Japan doesn't have Daylight Savings Time. Thank God, in my opinion.

Ken

Fri, February 7th, 2025 6:30pm

Lydia Crazy

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Best regards,
Lydia