Dogen Sangha (6) In the case of Dogen Sangha Nishijima

After having experienced the compressed break of the second lumbar vertebra, I closed the dormitory of Dogen Sangha in Ichikawa City, and moved to Takashimadaira in Tokyo. Leaving from all kinds of job, I have begun a completely personal life. But I am still continuing Dogen Sangha life, and so I would like to describe the outline of it.
(1) Getting up: Nowadays I do not decide the time of getting up in the morning. Because of going to bed earlier than usual the night before, I get up for example 4 or 5 o'clock, and sometimes I get up at 7 o'clock because of going to bed late the night before.
(2) Massage: Because of becoming older, it is easy for my skin to get rough, and so I massage some parts of body with olive oil, if it is necessary. During that time I usually listen to a tape for learning a foreign lunguage.
(3) Washing the face: Before washing the face, I shave my head everymorning with electric razor. About washing the face, Master Dogen described many cares of it in Shobogenzo, and so I am careful to follow them, but at the same time nowadays we have so convenient things of toothbrush, and so forth, and so I think that if Master Dogen lived in the modern age today, he might be very happy to utilize those developed convenient things for washing the face.
(4) Learning foreign language: After moving to Takashimadaira, it is almost impossible for me to have a chance of having conversations with others, and so it seems to be necessary for me to listen to human voice in my daily life. Therefore a habit of learning foreign language has begun naturally, and now I read the beginner's course of "Teach Yourself" 2 pages a day every morning. Thinking about my age, it might be impossible for me to become skilful in speaking the foreign language, but it is rather pleasant for me to learn something itself. Now I am struggling with French.
(5) Gymnastics: The gymnastics, which I have practiced when I was a member of athletic sports, have been continued even today, and it is a common western rhythmic one. The gymnastics seem to be good for cure of the broken lumbar.
(6) Zazen: Before beginning the practice, I put a folded Kashaya on the head, and recite the poem of admiring it. In Shobogenzo, it is taught to recite silently in heart, but in my case after stopping my lecture, it has become much rare for me to speak loadly, and so I recite it loadly.
(The poem) Daisai Gedatsu-fuku Muso-fukuden-e Hibu Nyorai-kyo Kodo Shoshujo
(The meaning) How it is great, the clothes of emancipation! The field of happiness without rigid form Now I will wear it as Gautama Buddha's teachings And I will save all living beings widely.
Gautama Buddha's teachings are not only thoughts, or artificial mimic, but our real act in our dally life. Therefore when we do them really, we can realize them, but if we do not practice them actually, there is no Buddhism at all.
About the practice of Zazen itself, I have described it before, and so I do not explain it here again. However, it seems that to practice Zazen is much useful for curing the broken lower spine better.
(7) Blood suger test: Because of preventing a high blood suger, I measure a blood suger before breakfast every morning.
(8) Breakfast: Buying germinated brown rice, I boil it with an electric rice cooker. Side dishes are bought at shops, and I cut vegitables by myself.
Before beginning meals, I recite the five reflections for eating meals loadly.
Hitotsuniwa ko no tasho wo hakari, kano raisho o hakaru
(No. 1. Thinking the volume of my efforts, I suppose so much volume of enormous efforts, which has been used for producing and preparing meals in front of me.)
Futatsuniwa onore ga tokugyo no zennketsu o hakatsute, ku ni ozu
(No. 2. Thinking the facts that my moral behavior is completely lacking, I eat the meals.)
Mitsuniha shin o fusegi toga o hanaruru koto ha, ton to o shu tosu
(No. 3. Avoiding mental anxiety and shunning mistakes, the main causes are to guard ourselves from greed, anger, and stupidity.)
Yotsuniha masani ryoyaku o koto to suru wa, gyoko o ryo zen ga tame nari
(No. 4. The reason, why I eat meals as good medicine, comes from that I would like to guard myself from physical weakening.)
Itsutsuniha jodo no tame no yue ni, ima kono jiki o uku
(No. 5. Because of just accomplishing the Buddhist truth, I receive the meals now.)
(9) Posting blog: After reading newspaper, first I post Japanese blog, and then I post English blog.
The address of blogs: In the case of Enlish, < http://gudoblog-e.blogspot.com >.
In the case of Japanese, < http://gudoblog-j.blogspot.com >.
(10) Receipt and dispatch of emails: I receive and send emails.
(11) Walks: For avoiding scarcity of exercise, I take a walk about 3 km. everyday.
(12) Dinner: Because of keeping health, I eat meals 2 times a day, and the contents of dinner are almost the same as breakfast.
(13) Reading books: After reading newspaper, if there is a time I read books.
(14) Taking bath: On Monday and Thursday a helper will come every week for cleaning rooms, washing cloths and dishes, and prepare bath, and so then I take a bath.
(15) Going to bed: Following the volume of jobs everyday, I go to bed about from 9 to 11:30.

Dogen Sangha (5) Transfiguration of Dogen Sangha

An Outline of the Transfiguration

(1) The Progress of Information Technology

About 9 months already have past since I began the Dogen Sangha Blog on November 29th of last year. And I think that there have been so enormous changes during that time, even though we haven't noticed them clearly. Because before that time in the case of Dogen Sangha usually tens of people have come together at adequate places for them to practice Zazen and have Buddhist lectures, but recently utilizing the so developed information technology the contents and width of Dogen Sangha activity have developed so much.

And nowadays, by utilizing this blog, people in the world, even though they are living throughout the world, they can get very exact and clear informations from Dogen Sangha by reading clear sentences on the desktop. Furthermore, the informations are described with a printing type, and so readers can get Buddhist philosophical system conceptually and clearly, and so if the readers have any kind of questions, they can ask the questions, and they can also read the answers directly on the desktop. And even though they are living anywhere in the world, they can get the answers also just on the desktop. Nowadays, a man, who is living in a isolated primitive place in Brazil alone, reads Dogen Sangha everyday actually.

(2) Actually Printed Information

At the same time it is very valuable that the Blog is printed with printing type. If the informations are represented only by voice, the contents of informations can not be so exact and clear, but if we post the informations relying upon the Blog, the intellectual meaning of informations can be represented clearly and exactly. Therefore even in the case of explaining the precise meaning of Buddhist philosophy, we can transmit the meaning of it so exactly and clearly, and so the transmission of Buddhist philosophies have become much easier than before. Of course there are still maintained so delicate and profound parts, which should be transmitted, but at the same time it is very clear that mutual communications in Buddhist societies have developed so much.

(3) The Limitless Area of Transmission

Furthermore it is never necessary for us to limit the width of information without a reason, and so we can limitlessly enjoy our freedom of expressing our thoughts, if we keep the natural limitation, which our civilization enforces us as our human duty. I think that we, human beings, have got so excellently powerful methods of informations recently relying upon so powerful development of information technology, and so I hope that all human beings might be careful in utilizing so powerful civilization of the new Age. Relying upon the so progressed information technology, we are going to enter into so gorgeous and so effective Age of civilization already, and I think that it is very important for human beings to utilize so excellent new civilization without fail. We are just facing the very splendid new Age, and so it is very important for human beings to utilize the important chance effectively.

(4) Appearance of Dogen Sangha Personal

It is necessary for me to think the appearance of Dogen Sangha personal. Actually in my case, in the middle of June last year, I broke the second lumber vertebra, and so I closed Dogen Sangha in Ichikawa, and I have moved to an apartment in Takashimadaira in the north-west of Tokyo. My wife has died about two years ago already, and so I am living in the apartment alone. But I am continuing my Buddhist life, and so I practice Zazen two times a day everyday. Therefore even though I am living in the aparment alone, actually I am continuing my Dogen Sangha life.

And if there is a married couple, who practice Zazen together everyday, there can be Dogen Sangha of man and wife. And if their children have begun to practice Zazen together with their parents, there must be Dogen Sangha as family.

Therefore relying upon the so developed information technology, the situation of Dogen Sangha must change so enormously, and so we should think about such a kind of enormous change in Dogen Sangha too. And in such a kind of historical change, there might be enormous change, which might be impossible for us to suppose its situations exactly now.

Dogen Sangha (4) The Two Reverend Masters

The Two Reverend Masters

I have had two reverend Masters who taught me directly. One is Master Kodo Sawaki, and the other is Master Renpo Niwa.

In October of 1940, I was fortunate to receive information that Master Kodo Sawaki would have a Sesshin at a temple called Daitu-ji in Tochigi Prefecture And so I attended it carrying rice in a clothesbag, because at that time the Japanese food situations had become much worse already.

In the morning we got up at 3 o'clock, and we practiced Zazen for 45 minutes each sitting, two times before breakfast, two times in the morning after breakfast, two times in the afternoon, and once at night. And Master Kodo Sawaki presented his Buddhist lectures two times a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. While listening to his Buddhist lecture I was much surprised that I heard a true Buddhist lecture for the first time. His voice was so loud and strong, and what he said was so understandable and so persuasive.

The textbook of the lecture was Fukan-Zazen-Gi. Fukan-Zazen-Gi was the first book that Master Dogen wrote just after coming back from China, and it was the first book that he wrote in his life. Master Kodo Sawaki had studied the Buddhist philosophy called Hosso Gaku, which was established in Tan Dynasty in China. Master Kodo Sawaki studied it in his younger age, and so his Buddhist philosophy was very exact and theoretical. Therefore his lecture was so profound and exact. When he was young, he studied Hosso Sect theory under Join Saeki in Horyuji temple, and so even though Master Kodo Sawaki's basic Buddhism was established by practicing Zazen, at the same time his Buddhist philosophical structure was also very logical and exact.

At the same time, I think that the most excellent point of Master Kodo Sawaki's Buddhism was his absolutely pure attitude to pursue the Truth. In Shobogenzo there is a chapter which is called "Ju-un-do Shiki." And in it Master Dogen described that "A person, who has the Will to the Truth,
and who has idea to throw away Fame and Profit, can enter. A person, who does not have sincerity to the Truth, should not enter. If someone, who does not have sincerity, has entered (into the dormitory), we should discuss the problem, and after consideration, it is necessary for us to expel him (from the dormitory.) We should notice that if we have begun to have the Will to the Truth, we can suddenly become free from Fame and Profit perfectly."

We can think that Master Kodo Sawaki knew this fundamental Buddhist principle perfectly in his practical Buddhist life. Therefore he didn't have his own temple at all throughout his life, because he knew well that if a Buddhist monk has his own temple, his job to manage the temple leaves him so busy, making it is completely impossible for anyone to study the true Buddhist teachings well. Therefore Master Kodo Sawaki nevered married at all, and he offered everything for promoting Buddhism thoughout his life.

After the Second World War, an American man called Victoria wrote a book. In this book, Victoria criticized Master Kodo Sawski, because Master Kodo Sawaki cooperated with the Japanese Governamental warlike policy. However, looking at Master Kodo Sawaki's attitude during the war, I think that he was never cooperative with the government positively in that matter, and so I think that the author's attitude is much more one-sided from the fact, in the case of Master Kodo Sawaki.

Abbot Renpo Niwa

The other Master, by whom I was so much instructed, was Master Renpo Niwa. Owing to the fact that he later became the Abbot of Eiheiji Temple, I would like to call him the Abbot of Eiheiji, following a traditional habit that is observed sometimes.

By the time I was 16 years old, I had begun to have much interest in Master Dogen's Buddhist thoughts, especially in Shobogenzo, and so I have studied it for so many years.

After studying Master Dogen's Shobogenzo for many years, I began to translate it from the old Japanese language into the modern Japanese, including the original Japanese text, comments on vocabulary, and the translation in modern Japanese. After accomplishing the translation I began to publish "Gendaigoyaku Shobogenzo, or Shobogenzo in modern Japanese." At that same time I wanted to begin my lectures of Shobogenzo at several places. Therefore first I asked Doctor Akira Hirakawa, who was the Chairman of The Youngmen Buddhist Association of Tokyo Imperial University, and I was permitted to have a lecture on every Saturday in the afternoon. And at that time I made my mind to become a Buddhist monk in Soto Sect.

Therefore it was necessary for me to find a Buddhist Master, who would permit me to become a Buddhist monk. And fortunately I have found the name of Abbot Renpo Niwa in the graduated students-list of Shizuoka Governamental High School.

I visited the Master at the Tokyo Branch of Eiheiji, and I asked to become a Buddhist monk by him, and I was happily permitted to become a monk by him. And when he listened to my proposal of becoming a Buddhist monk, I noticed that he shed a little bit of tears in his eyes, and he wiped them. So I felt that it might be a joyful fact for him to have me as his monk, who was a graduate of the same high school 14 years younger than he. At that time I already had become the chief of a section in the Japan Security Finance Co., and so he was very kind and careful for me not to meet any kind of difficulty in my secular job.

After having the ceremony to become a Buddhist monk formally, I began to teach people Zazen and Shobogenzo, even in the Tokyo Eiheiji Branch too. And because it was held every Thursday afternoon, I finished my job a little earlier than usual, and went to the temple wearing a common suit as an usual salaried man. Therefore taking off my coat, and wearing the Kashaya over a white dress shirt, I gave my Buddhist lecture in the temple. But Buddhist monks in the temple thought that it was much inadequate for a Buddhist monk to have a Buddhist lecture wearing a Kashaya on the western white dress shirt, and so they asked the Master to stop such an informal style in the temple. To this Master Renpo Niwa said, "It is not so bad, because he seems to be like an Indian monk," and so I could continue my Buddhist lecture in the temple without changing my style.

Then I began lead Sesshin in the temple at the end of Summer, and at that time, of course, I wore the formal black clothes of the Buddhist monk. Also, at The Buddhist Association of Tokyo University, and so forth, I used the formal Buddhist clothes as a monk without fail.

Then I began to lead Sesshin in Master Renpo Niwa's temple called Tokei-in. I lead Sesshin at Tokei-in 6 times a year, for my Japanese audience once, for a foreign audience in English once, and for Employees of Ida Companies four times a year.

Master Renpo Niwa was born at Shuzenji in Shizuoka Prefecture as the third son of Katoda Shioya, in February of 1905. His father was a schoolmaster of several schools, and had sons and daughters totalled 10. And Mura, his mother, worked hard as a farmer for further support of their family. Master Niwa told me that he was a rather tender boy, and enjoyed to play with girls. But when observing the very smart style of a Budhist monk who commuted to Shuzenji temple, he found himself wanting to become a Buddhist monk. So when he was 11 years old, he asked his family if he could become a Buddhist monk, and he was permitted.

And fortunately because his uncle Master Butsu-an Niwa was the Master of Tokei-in in Shizuoka City, and so Master Renpo Niwa became a son-in-law of Master Butsu-an, therefore Master Renpo Niwa commuted from Tokei-in to a primary school. But because he selected Nirayama Middle school near Shuzenji, and so he commuted to the middle school from his home, but because he entered into the Shizuoka High School, therefore he commuted to the high school from Tokei-in again.

When Master Renpo Niwa was going to enter into a University, Master Butsu-an asked Master Renpo to select a law division in the University. However, because Master Renpo strongly hoped to study Buddhism in the University, he insisted his own strong hope, and Master Butsu-an permited Master Renpo to enter into the division of Buddhism. I guess that at that time, even in the Soto Sect, there might have been so many lawful problems occurring, and so Master Butsu-an wanted to get a good assistant for himself in the Soto Sect. But I heard that Master Butsu-an easily permitted Master Renpo to select the Indian Philosophical Division.

Master Renpo Niwa entered the division of Indian Philosophy in Tokyo Imperial University, and during the first summer vacation, he visited Eihei-ji as a Buddhist monk officially for one month. After graduating from Tokyo University, he became the head official in Tokei-in, and then visiting Antaiji in Kyoto for commuting to Otani University, and then he entered into Eihei-ji. Then he became the Master of Ichjoji and Ryu-un-in in Shizuoka, and he succeeded the Master of Tokei-in in November of 1955. He became the Master of the Tokyo Branch of Eihei-ji in 1960, and then he worked as the 77th Abbot of Eihei-ji from April 1985 to September 1993.

I was taught so much by the Abbot Renpo Niwa about how I shall live as a human being. The Abbot Renpo Niwa was a very delicate and generous person, and he didn't have any possibility to become emotional. I have heard a story of him like this. One night, many young monks of Eihei-ji Tokyo Branch went out to drink alcohol, and they didn't come back throughout the night. At that time Master Rempo Niwa got up early in the morning, and when the monks came back from outside, and he was standing at the entrance of the temple. Meeting them there he said, "I guess you are very tired from working so hard without any sleep at all during the night." Just saying so, he quietly returned to his private room. Therefore the monks were so surprised, and I heard that since then they stopped going out so late to drink alcohol
.
When I visited him in his private room accidentally, he sometimes served me a cup of green tea that he himself prepared. And at that time, even though he did not teach me especially with words, I was able to gain so much knowledge simply by watching his behavior.He showed me at that time that there were so many teachings in his behavior.

When the 76th Abbot Egyoku Hata was so seriously sick in his own temple, I was in Master Niwa's room for a private talk accidentally. At that time Master Niwa was calling up the Abbot's temple, and asking whether it is necessary for Master Niwa to visit the Abbot for consolation. But the information from the Abbot's temple was that "The Abbot's condition has become much better, and he is now practicing rehabilitation, and so please do not worry about such a problem." But Master Renpo said that he had received exact information of Abbot Hata, that his situations were so serious, concretly from a person, who was sitting in the Abbot's room at that time, and so situations were never so peaceful. And listening to such a situation, I could notice clearly that everyone could never tell a lie at every moment throughout his or her life. And at the same time I noticed that a person, who has become powerful in human societies, must to be careful of information.

Dogen Sangha (3) The Special Training By Father

The Special Training by Father

When I think about why I was so attracted to Buddhism, even though I was not brought up in an especially religious family, I usually remember the special training of running that I received from my father in my childhood.

By the time I became 6 or 7 years old, I was not so stout a boy. My physical size was rather small, and it could not be viewed as strong. At the athletic meets held each year in primary school, I always came in last.

Because of this, I suppose that my father worried about my situation. One evening after dinner, my father recommended that we go out for a walk together. After walking a bit, he found a place where it was not so crowded. Then he ordered me to run to an electric light pole a short distance from us, and to run back again to the starting place where we were standing. I couldn't understand the reason why he said so at all, but there was no reason for me to refuse doing it. And so, I followed my father's order every evening.

Without noticing it, the length of the run became longer and longer. Also, the time of day that I ran changed from evening to morning. As I continued, the distance of my run lengthened enormously, and so I began to notice that I was running a rather long distance, about 3 kilometers already. Each day, while I was running, my father waited for me at the starting place, and so, for example in winter, I guess that it was very cold for father to wait for my return on the street, but he continued to make such dedicated and difficult efforts for several years without stop.

In my case, however, enormous changes began to occur in my private life. In my primary school, from the first year to the third year, I came always in last in the athletic meet race. But, from the fourth year to the sixth and final year of primary school, I always won first place in the race.

At the same time, other kinds of changes also occured. For example, even though I was clearly a child, I felt that my childish tendency had vanished, and my attitudes in my daily life had become much more similar to an adult. It seemed that I had lost a childish tendency to be sometimes enormously joyful, and sometimes to be enormously sad. I had become much more calm and emotionless. My thinking method, even though I was a child, had become much more realistic, and the romantic idea or sensitive directness, which are usually common to children, decreased so much. And even though I felt regret to meet with such a situation, the fact was just the fact, and it was impossible for me to change the situation by myself. And such a situation was not happy for me.

One cold winter morning I noticed that my hands were enormously hot, but it was impossible for me to know why my hands were so hot. And feeling so strange, I plunged my hands into the cold water of a big tub used for fire-fighting purposes in the playground of the school. I worried about the rather strange situations of my physical condition. Of course, considering the situation today, it seems very natural that my hands would have been so hot after running so hard before breakfast. And so sometimes I recall such kinds of unusual episodes in my childhood.

Reaction from the Regulated Life

After becoming about 13 years old, and being quite shy, I have stopped running, in spite of my father's opinion. It was very strange that after I stopped running, my regulated personal life also stopped enormously. Even though I did not notice exactly, still it was very clear that my daily personal life had lost the former well-regulated conditions gradually. And my daily life had become very irregular unconsciously. It had become very uneasy for me to stay at home, and so it became very common for me take up wandering outside, going to the cinema, looking for secondhand books, and so forth. In short, it had become very difficult for me to regulate my daily life, and even though it was very uncomfortable for me, it remained completely impossible for me to regulate myself.

Of course, I wanted to get rid of such an uncomfortable situation, but actually speaking, it was completely impossible for me to flee from such an uncomfortable life, and the painful conditions became deeper and deeper endlessly.

During such uncomfortable daily living, I took up the enjoyment of reading so much excellent Japanese literature, as well as many novels and texts of English, French, German, Russian, etc., literature, all in Japanese translation. At that time, the Japanese Government was making its efforts to maintain the gold standard for money, and so things were very inexpensive.The value of money was very high, enabling me to buy so valuable secondhand books at a very cheap price.

And so I was able to read so many valuable books at an inexpensive cost. This way of mine at the time, a kind of random reading of books, would later prove to be very meaningful for me in my approach to the truth by the practice of Zazen.

At that time I also had many opportunities to see many kinds of foreign movies from France, German, and so forth, and those foreign movies were some of the best textbooks for me to study Euro-American Humanism.

Actually what saved me from such a confused adolescence was the approach of the entrance examination for high school. My confused adolescence had decreased gradually. And one day I found myself regulated again, while I was running on the street. And so I clearly noticed that my running was exactly useful to regulate my life. I remember that the number of the goverment high schools at that time were about 40, or so, and I selected Shizuoka High School among them. Later I heard that I had passed the examination in the literary course at the top.

The Athletic Life in High School

Just after the examination there were many invitations from many athletic divisions, but I wanted to select track and field. In middle school I received a black belt in Judo, and so a member of the Judo division recommended me to enter into the Judo Division so eagerly, but I wanted to enter into the track and field division because I had a rather lengthy experience in running.

I clearly remember that my physical build was not so well developed for athletic training, but I positively thought that if I would try to do a very hard training, the problem would be solved naturally. In other words, I thought that training hard was just the only one solution, and there was no other solution than that of training hard.

The challenge I took upon myself at that time was done with too much stubborness and was a very stupid trial honestly. Actually, I am afaid that I had been trying a very stupid trial of challenging human limitations. But at the same time, because of my very stupid and very pure efforts in the athletic training, I met something that is such a so pure and so true fact, something that manifests itself as an act at every moment.

After my stupid trial ended, I began to think that in human civilizations there are so many excellent and powerful philosophies and religions that have arisen throughout history. I continued thinking that if we looked for and studied them, there must be just a philosophy or religion that can be called the Truth without fail. This suggested to me that if someone
tried to make their efforts in their act so sincerely and so hard, there might appear a very clear philosophy or religion, one that can be called the Truth without fail. At that time I made up my mind to look for such an ultimate Truth in human civilization.

Dogen Sangha (2) Before the Sprout

It might be inevitable for me as a human being to be influenced by genes following the Rule of Cause and Effect. Therefore I would like to write a very short record of my grandparents and my own parents for reference of my becoming a Buddhist monk.

Grandparents on the Father's Side

The grandfather was called Tanemi Koganemaru, who was a warrior of the Fukuoka Feudal Clan. And even though the Fukuoka Feudal Clan was loyal to the Tokugawa Government, he was very enthusiastic about establishing the new Imperial Government. Therefore before the establishment of the Imperial Government, the grandfather was caught by the police of the Clan, and he was in a jail in the castle when the Imperial Government was established. Therefore he could become free at that time suddenly, and came back to his family life. On the west side of Fukuoka City there is a small mountain called Kaya Mountain, (or Tsukushi Fuji), and at the foot of the mountain, there was a village called Koganemaru Village, where almost all families were called Koganemaru. And it is said that a warrior called Kuniomi Hirano stayed with the main family of the village, and later he became the leader of the revolt at Ikuno Silver Mine in Hyogo Prefecture against the Tokugawa Government, and so we can guess that the grandfather might have been much influenced by Hirano's instuctions of loyality to the Imperial Government.

After the establishment of the Imperial Government because of situations, of which I have explained a little above, the grandfather worked as an assistant of Soho Tokutomi, who was very famous as a historian at that time. However, it seems that the grandfather was not so happy in his economical conditions.

The grandmother was so diligent to bring up two sons by herself alone during her husband's absence from his family life, and of the two brothers, the younger one was my father, Iwao Nishijima. The grandfather had taken off his family name by the Clan when he was in the jail, and so he was given the new family name from the Clan, the name Nishijima.

Grandparents on the Mother's Side

The grandfather on the mother's side was called Sukeyoshi Terai, who was a warrior of the Tokugawa Government, and so after the Imperial Government established, he followed the Tokugawa Governmental Army for fighting against the new Government to Aizu City in the North-East District of Japan. However, he was a very sincere believer in a personal God called Sugawara Michizane, and so when he dreamt that Sugawara Michizane appeared in a dream, advising him to return to Tokyo, he followed such advice, and he came back to Tokyo. Later he became an officer in Yokohama City as the chief of a section. At the same time he was a teacher of Haiku in a traditional old style. When my mother was very young, his wife died, and so my mother was brought up by the new mother in law.