Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Jim KABLE's avatar

Yet another thoughtfully written story of an aspect of human experience set in Japan. My real hero and a kind of senpai is YOSHIDA Shōin (1830-1859) as I am sure I have mentioned before. Many times I visited his grave in Hagi - and twice in Setagaya-ku in Tōkyō. And equally, many times, the grave of Mori Ogai (Rintarō) in his hometown of Tsuwano at the very southwestern part of Shimane-ken - just a tunnel length from north-eastern Yamaguchi-ken. And it's not only in Japan that I so indulged over the years - including in Matsuyama-city of TAKASUKA Jo (Isaburō) the pioneer rice-grower of Australia in the early 20th century - but also in England that of Pocahontas. Of war cemeteries - in Japan (Hodo-ga-ya-ku - Gontazaka BCOF cemeteries) on New Caledonia, in PNG - at Gallipoli in Turkey - etc etc - paying my respects - but also every time I visit my mother - now 95 and living some 300 km north of me - every six to eight weeks - calling in some 70 km south of her - to greet my father (and, yes, to commune with him, too) who died in a car accident in 1951 when I was just turned two) exactly 74 years ago to-day. Or my ancestors' First Fleet arrival to these shores in January, 1788 - my great x 3 grand-parents - buried in the graveyard of one of Australia's most historic churches - St Matthew's (Anglican) of Windsor to the north-west from Sydney's centre. Of other literary figures here in Australia - Henry Lawson, Barbara Baynton - both at Waverley Cemetery overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Sydney's east and so on. I visited my great uncle's grave in Warner, southern Alberta from whose given names came my own - James Stewart. He passed away in September, 1947. I was born in Australia 20 months later plucking a James from an uncle and the Stewart from my father - both named by their Scottish mother to honour her only brother - in western Canada. One of Australia's most remarkable cemeteries is in Broome in north-western Western Australia. Over 900 Japanese pearl shell divers lie buried there - from the latter through into the mid-20th century - not only from suffering "the bends" [sensui-byō] but mostly from suddenly-arriving cyclones (typhoons/hurricanes) when the fleets were diving on reefs some great distances offshore. Noted Australian folksinger/songwriter Ted Egan (and a former Administrator of the Northern Territory) wrote a song about such deaths: "Sayonara, Nakamura" - you can google him/it. To follow up on a point from Kjeld - when my mother passes away we will sprinkle her ashes over the graves of my father and of her second husband's grave as well. My wife and I who have no living children will be donating our bodies to the Medical faculty of our local regional university - there will be no memorial marker. But our presence may - who knows how - be there - in the air - all around the world - where we have lived, stayed or visited...

Expand full comment
Kjeld Duits's avatar

Although graves use a lot of real estate, it calms the heart being able to visit one. You have described that beautifully in this essay. There are no graves for my parents and grandparents and it feels lonely…

Expand full comment
8 more comments...

No posts