Busy Sunday

Day 237 of writing every day.

August 6th marks the day the first atom bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. I don’t have historical dates remembered, so I was reminded by an announcement by the city speakers stating that it’s the day the bomb was dropped and for a moment of silence. Being early Sunday morning and with so many people logged into their devices and tuned out from their surroundings, I don’t think it reached the ears of many. I kept walking in silence but reflected on the event that took place close to 80 years ago. What I was taught in school was just a white washed, justified version from easily swallowed from the American standpoint, but I think and feel differently now than I did back in school.

Anyways, August is also the month where many Japanese go to visit their family graves to pay respects to deceased relatives, and my dojo organized a visit to my aikido sensei’s grave as part of a tradition we started for those who wanted to pay their respects. The location is in a small town of a less populated part of Kyoto, so that meant waking up early in the morning.

Fortunately there was a fair amount of cloud coverage and a cooling breeze that made being out in the open more bearable. Visiting a grave also means tending to it and removing the wild vegetation that has grown over the small plot of land housing the grave. It’s been so hot that the dirt was dried stiff and the vegetation had gone brown. Bending down low and pulling out weeds in the heat was still exhausting nonetheless.

I was starting to get sleepy by the time we got lunch afterwards and wanted to doze off on the ride back to Osaka, but I held on and will be taking it slow after I get home. I’ll shower first before trying to take a quick nap to boost my energy levels before the night. I don’t want to nap too late and find it even more difficult to go to bed at a reasonable time past midnight.

Next year instead of visiting the grave in the summer, the plan will be to push it back to fall when it should be cooler and maybe even wait until the leaves have changed color to get a different breathtaking view of the surrounding forest.

Thanks for reading!