maiko-san

I'm supposed to take part in Japan-German-society to discuss about " Old Communication Means & New Communications Means" next month. I have written key words for this theme. Today I'd like to focus on an old telephone and a new cell phone. First, a black rotary dial telephone in my childhood. Our house was equipped with this telephone when I was a pupil at elementary school. For the most part my father used the phone. Especially before the proffessors' meeting he talked with his fellow professors for a long time. He wanted to discuss about agenda with them beforehand and how to persuade other professors of different opinions. My mother was angry at him, because she was unable to call her sister in Kyoto. I remember vividly our telephone number, that is 311-8114. The former user was a Japanese chess champion, Mr. Masuda. We received phone calls from his acquaintances frequently. They'd say, "Is this Mr. Masuda's residence?" I was on the p...

Last Saturday I took part in a discussion at Japanese-German Society. The theme is about "My favorite German words." First of all I talked about "on the move" or "under way" .In German they say "unterwegs." When I was a pupil at elementary school, I was always on the move especially after school. I didn't come back directly home. I visited my friends. For my father stayed almost every day at home and read difficult books and wrote a manuscript for philosophical and ethical magazines. Our family members were not allowed to make any noises. I remember I had to whisper to my mother. I was sick and tired of this custom in my house. I preferred to be with my friends, playing sword-fighting, slingshots and hide and seek. Next I talked about destiny. In German they say "Schicksal". Destiny means fate, what must happen and cannot be changed or controlled. Man can't escape from his destiny. I am going to give you an example. W...

Last week my wife read an article in the newspaper on my grandfather's rented house in Kyoto. The old house will be broken down soon. The photo's image was different from the house in Tanaka Asukai-cho which I visited with my mother in my childhood. As a matter of fact the house was bigger than I imagined. I was absorbed further in the article. I noticed the address of the house was different from Asukai-cho. It's located in Tanaka Yanagi-machi. The inside of the house can be seen on the homepage of Kyoto University for which Professor Hayashi is responsible. Immediately I wrote email to Professor Hayashi, as my wife wanted to see the house passionately. In the course of email exchanges with him I got to know he studies Nishida's philosophy. His ten- year- older wife was also a student at Tokyo University and knew of my elder sister. I asked him whether my wife and my daughter could drop in the house and see it. It was kind of him to let the owner of the house kn...

In 1996 I was in Atlanta, Georgia to attend World Sales Meeting. I was with other member of a Japanese -American joint venture, named Teijin Amoco. I met with not only American counterparts but also Amoco sales person from all over the world, such as the UK, France, Germany,Singapore and Hong Kong. The obnoxious part of the meeting was that we Japanse salesperson hat to give a speech in front of the formidable Americans. The conference started on Monday and ended on Thursday. I gave a speech in English one way or another. When I was done with the speech, i was so relieved. Over the weekend the Japanese members were allowed to stay in Los Angeles. My American counterpart, Richard Sullivan, asked, "Kaneko-san, so you're catching a red-eye flight?" I didn't know what the red-eye flight meant. It was nice of him to explain to me, it was a flight taken at night. If you took a red-eye flight from New York to Los Angeles, it would take about 6 hours. and  the possibility...

Once a year I make it point of taking a blood test at a clinic in front of Minoo Station. The doctor graduated from Shinshu University and stayed in California for one year. So we have lots of things in common. The topic is always about learning English and German. I feel at home when I talk with him. On the contrary I hate to go to a clinic for a physical check-up (free of charge) in Kita-ku. When an unfamiliar doctor takes my blood pressure, I feel nervous. As a result my blood pressure skyrockets. Moreover I am always anxious about the results. due to my overreacting sensitiveness I dwell on the results forever. Anyway last Tuesday I went to the clinic near Minoo Station. As I had to attend the Harry Potter Club starting at 10 am, I left home at 7:40. When I got on the JR train at Sakuranomiya, I encountered a rush-hour. For years I haven't experienced the rush-hour. But I could manage it, because Osaka is only two stations away from Sakuranomiya. I arrived at the clinic at 9:...