Dear friends, Sorry for not having written a letter last month. We plant rice in May in Shikoku, and I also planted rice. It was a lot of fun but I was a little tired. Murder cases by teenagers happened in succession last month. In one of them the murderer, reportedly, said that he was eager to experience murder and that he wanted to know how he felt when he killed a man. This is the explanation that I can never understand. What do you think of it? By the way, June is the raining season and it associated with ajisai(Japanese hydrangea) so I 'll read about it from "Japan - an illustrated Encyclopedia"(Kodansha). hydrangea,Japanese(ajisai)Hydrangea macrophilla Deciduous shrub of the family Saxifragaceae, developed in Japan as a horticultural variaty from the wild gakuajisai (H. Macrophilla f. normalis) and cultivated widely as a decorative plant. Its stems grow in clusters to 1.5 meters(5 ft.); the leaves are opposite, ovate to broadly ovate, thick, and dark green, with serrated margins. In summer numerous small flowers appear in ball-shaped clusters(corymbs) composed mostly of sterile flowers, each with four or five large, light blue to deep purple petallike sepals. The acidity of the soil changes the color of the plant's flowers; acid soils produce more bluish blossoms and alkaline soils more pink ones. References to ajisai in Japanese literature appear as far back as the Man'yoshu, an 8th-century poetry anthology. Mention of ajisai usually alludes to the spring rainy season. The explanation above say that "Mention of ajisai usually alludes to the spring rainy season". There are some ajisai in my yard and they are coming out their flowers now. Ajisai associated with June(rainy season) for me. The colors of them in the yard are light blue and white. I wonder if white flowers are not so popular. They look brighter when it rains. Well, see you next time!!

Dear friends, How are you ? I'm fine. TV and newspapers report the food poisoning caused by Snow Brand processed milk every day. Not writing in detail, this is the problem of a sense of morality, I think. By the way, do you know that wa can see a total eclipse of the moon on July 16's night in Japan? It is said that it will begin at about 9:00 p.m. and the moon will be totally hidden in the shadow of the earth at about 10:00 p.m. The time of the total eclipse is about two hours. I wish it would be fine and observe it. July 7 was Tanabata, so today we'll read about it from "Japan - an illustrated Encyclopedia"(Kodansha). Tanabata Festival(Tanabata) One of Japan's traditional five festivals, or gosekku, currently observed on 7 July, or in some locales, 7 August. Its celebration originated in a Chinese folk legend concerning two stars--the Weaver Star(Vega) and the Cowherd Star(Altair)--who were said to be lovers who could meet only once a year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month. When introduced to Japan, it merged with native legends concerning a celestial weaving maiden(Tanabatatsume) believed to fashion clothing for the gods. Termed Tanabata(a shortened form of Tanabatatsume), this festival became one of the annual events(NENCHUGYOJI) observed by the imperial court. Since Tanabata fell close to the time of the BON FESTIVAL for the souls of the dead, its celebration became associated with some of the practices involved in welcoming and seeing off the spirits of one's departed ancestors. I didn't do anything on Tanabata, but its legend makes us look up the sky and see the stars in it. So, let's observe the lunar eclipse on Sunday without fail!! Then see you next time!

Dear friends, It has been hot here in Shikoku and I was a little heat-stricken. How are you getting along? The other day, a student of the near-by high school was drowned at the bathing beach. That day the waves are running high by the influence of the typhoon and was prohibited to bathe. Old people here would say that we should not swim during Bon period because the souls of the ancestry will pull us into the water. This story means that the waves are getting high in August and that it being dangerous to swim, we should be careful, I think. By the way, today is the day when the Pacific War(World War II) ended. So I'll read about the end of the Pacific War from "Japan - an illustrated Encyclopedia"(Kodansha). By 1945 Japan's situation was desperate. Japan turned to the USSR in the hope of finding as intermediary that could help in negotiating some sort of compromise peace, but this hope was shattered by the firmly worded call for "unconditional surrender" enunciated by the United States, Great Britain, and China in the POTSDAM DECLARATION of July 1945. As Japan hesitated, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan (August 8). Still unable to decide whether to fight on or to accept the Potsdam Declaration, the deadlocked cabinet of Prime Minister SUZUKI KANTARO, in an unprecedented move, appealed to Emperor Showa for guidance. The emperor responded that Japan would have to "bear the unbearable" and accept its defeat. On 15 August 1945, WORLD WAR II came to an end. More and more people who experienced the war were dead and people who were born after the war are increasing (including me), but we should think about war and peace on this day, I think. Well, see you next month!

Dear friends, How are you? It has got a little cooler but it rained very hard. According to TV news they had a record-breaking rain in Tokai District and many houses were flooded. I express my hearty sympathy to the sufferers. Sydney Olimpic Games begins at last today. I'm interested in the athletic sports and swimming because three athletes and a swimmer from Tokushima would participate in the Games. So today I'll read "Olympic Games" from the Encyclopedia Americana. Olympic Games major athletic contest in ancient Greece and, in modern times, the world's foremost amateur sports competition. According to tradition, the games were first held in 776 BC at Olympia, Greece, and at four-year intervals thereafter. After the subjugation of Greece by Rome, the games declined and were finally abolished in AD 393 by the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I. At first the program of the ancient Olympic Games was confined to one day and consisted only of a single event, a footrace the length of the stadium. Afterward, additional races, the discus throw, the javelin throw, the long (broad) jump, boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, chariot racing, and other events were added; and the duration, including religious ceremonies, was extended to five days, although tis may have varied. In the late 19th century, through the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, the Olympic Games were revived. Though I played tennis in my schooldays, I seldom take part in sports recently. Walking (on the hill) iis the only exercise I take now. But looking sports is very exciting. This Olympic Games will give us great impressions, I feel. Then, see you next month!