2002 | Heian-jingu Shrine, Kyoto
Eighty-two years ago today, we all learned something at Pearl Harbor, but since then, not enough.
My parents brought me into a world that had been recently war-torn. My father was a fortunate, precious survivor of the fierce fighting for Okinawa, but he was stranded for another year, waiting for a ship to bring him home to his little family.
I am saddened to hand down our present war-torn world to my own offspring and their generations, and I have to trust that the rare comfort and safety that they enjoy now will allow them to continue their work offsetting greed, anger, and illegitimate power.
▹ Just a few days ago, I found a fine, old, supple Japanese-English dictionary at a closeout sale. When I got home, it fell open in my hands, to the page where mikata was defined in various ways as “point of view.” The footers in this volume include direct and metaphorical usages of each page’s key words. My favorite today for mikata is — “I do not view the matter in that light.”