Opinion

Counting my blessings

By Joseph LaPenta

Recently, many of my friends have accused me of going sour on Japan. Certainly in these Opinion columns I have been critical of some aspects of the country I live in. I think it is because when you ask someone to give their opinion in English, most people respond with something they have strong feelings about. And that often means you are likely to hear a negative opinion. I don't really have opinions about blue skies, flowers and good wine. I like them. That's three words, not a 600-word column.

But this summer gave me cause to count my blessings to try to put into words what I like about Japan. It all started with a train ride.

In the past, whenever I went to Narita Airport, I always took the train from Ueno Station straight to the airport. I never got off at the city of Narita. But in late June, I went to pay a housewarming visit to a friend who had just moved to the city of Narita. During the day, we went for a walk through the part of the town surrounding the temple district. The streets were lined with wonderful shops selling traditional folk crafts and sweets.

Climbing the steep, stone steps up to the temple was like climbing a wall. But when we finally got to the top, a vast space opened out with a huge temple and pagodas, all surrounded by trees. The scene was breathtaking.

By the time I got back to Ueno, it was 7 p.m. — still early enough for dinner and a sauna before heading home. I went off to a place I knew in shitamachi, but when I entered the building, it seemed empty except for the man at the front desk.

"Where is everyone?" I asked. "They're all on the roof," he said, pointing to the big poster on the wall behind him. It was the night of the Sumida River Fireworks Show. I changed quickly, took the elevator to the roof, and there it was: Bursting stars and showers of color, so close you could almost touch them. The roof was crowded with people in yukatas, all watching the stunning display.

The beauty of that day and night reminded me of the thrill of my first days in Japan. The memory of that beauty helped me get through the annual summer ceremonies commemorating the horrors of World War II.

In the midst of the discussions about the war and the movie "Pearl Harbor," I recall hearing a young Japanese man on TV who said that he didn't bomb Pearl Harbor. I am sure he would also say he didn't massacre any Chinese at Nanking either.

Well, I'm an American, but I didn't bomb Hiroshima or Nagasaki. I was arrested protesting the war in Vietnam, and one of my favorite quotes is from Dwight D. Eisenhower, a U.S. general and president: "I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of their way and let them have it."

So here are some reasons I like where I am. I live in a country that is dedicated to peace. I love the temples, the fireworks and the food — especially the fish — and the beer and sake, despite restaurants and bars full of cigarette smoke. I live in a country with one of the best systems of public transportation in the world, despite the crowds and noise. I love the beauties of nature in Japan — at least the part that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has not yet covered with concrete. I think I have a lot to be grateful for.

Shukan ST: Sept. 21, 2001

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