During those days, her mother wandered about their neighborhoods all day, and if she saw a boy around 5 yrs old she followed him around until the boy went into his house. Then, she sat down by the door waiting for the boy to come out. She didn’t come home for the dinner time, so Mitsuko’s father and Mitsuko looked for her many times. When they found their mother by the stranger’s doorway she said,
“Akinori went into the house and he never came back to me.”
Because of their mother’s strange behavior their neighbors started to complain to control her.
Mitsuko’s father’s business wasn’t great at the time, so he had to work extra hard and long hours for his business. He asked Mitsuko to take the leave of absent from her high school and take care of their mother. Mitsuko was doing many household chores and shopping with her mother all day.
One day her mother and Mitsuko were sitting down together by the old washtub and washing the clothes. One fly was flying around annoyingly, so Mitsuko smashed and killed the fly with the soapy hands. Mitsuko’s mother with serious tone of voice said,
“Mitsuko, you killed Akinori”
“…….?!”
Mitsuko didn’t know what to think, and just looked at her mother.
Mitsuko was so surprised to hear what her mother had said, because Mitsuko had guilty conscious and felt responsible for Akinori’s death. Mitsuko was thinking that she might have given Akinori a wrong food during the day before Akinori died. Mitsuko had been taking care of her brother after school before he passed away. Mitsuko was wondering her mother was blaming Mitsuko for Akinori’s death.
Then, Mitsuko’s mother said,
“Akinori came back from the other world to here as the life of fly.”
“…….?!”
Again Mitsuko couldn’t say anything and just stared at her mother.
Then, her mother said again,
“The fly came to us saying ‘hello.’ The fly must be Akinori.”
Mitsuko’s mother was talking about reincarnation theory of Buddhism, Mitsuko realized. Mitsuko screamed at her mother,
“If Akinori comes back to this world with the life of a fly, Mitsuko will kill the fly hundred times or thousand times. I don’t want to think Akinori is living as a fly? I’ll not believe reincarnation theory after this. I don’t want to come back in the life of a fly or any other form of animals.”
Mitsuko’s mother looked astonished for Mitsuko’s screaming and didn’t say anything.
Mitsuko asked her mother firmly,
“Do you want to think Akinori is living as a fly?!
Mitsuko was so scared of the idea of reincarnation, and trying to convince and clear up her mother’s mind. After several conversations with her mother, Mitsuko’s mother agreed with Mitsuko even though in clouded mind, and said that her mother didn’t want to think Akinori living as a fly.
Many children in Japan heard or warned when the children did something wrong, like lying, even stealing from one’s own home, fighting with brother and sister. Adults were always saying to the children, when you die you come back to this world as a worm as lowest class or other different forms of animals until you could go to Gokuraku (Heaven) with Buddha. That is the simple idea of reincarnation of Buddhism.
On the day, the idea of reincarnation came to Mitsuko so vividly, and she felt like she became a fly. Mitsuko would not think and believe the theory of reincarnation as long as Mitsuko lives, Mitsuko swore to her mother. Since that day her mother had also never mentioned about coming back to this world with some form of animals or insects.
Do you like to think that you might come back to this world after death as a fly?
Soon after the fly incident, Mitsuko’s auntie came to see her mother again and asked the mother,
“Sis, how many children do you have?”
The mother couldn’t understand what the auntie was trying to say.
The auntie asked again,
“Sis, look around, what do you see?”
The mother looked at the auntie, and paused …. and was thinking, and then looked at Mitsuko ….
Then, at that moment, the auntie said,
“Isn’t it funny? It is week-day, today. Sis, I truly understand what you are going through, because I lost my daughter in the train accident. So, it is so sad, angry, and can’t believe the death of Akinori. But Sis, you have other children to look after. Mitsuko has to go to school today.”
Mitsuko’s mother looked at Mitsuko and started to cry.
The auntie said,
“It is good. You should cry more. Let’s visit Akinori’s grave yard.”
Mitsuko’s mother had never visited Akinori’s grave yard or Buddhist alter, but that day her mother agreed to visit the grave yard.
While they visited Akinori’s grave yard, Mitsuko made a good lunch for them with many different kind of Tsukemono. The auntie and her mother were enjoying her cooking.
Twenty some years later, Mitsuko believed the Word of God in Philippians 2:6-7, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (incarnation)” and saved by His grace and mercy.
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Here are some recipes inherited from Mitsuko’s mother:
The Tsukemono’s basic idea is preservation of vegetable for the winter season. Japanese dietitian presented ‘tsukemono’ as nutritious as any salad. Tsukemono vegetable can be eaten more than fresh vegetable, so tsukemono is more nutritious than salad. Home-made tsukemono is controlling in the amount of salt for the high blood pressure.
1. The most basic Tsukemono
Cucumbers, Turnips, Daikon (Japanese radishes), Turnip/Daicon Leaves, Cabbages, Japanese small Egg Plants, Hakusai (Nappa)
Cut one of these vegetable or mix two or three with bite size
Mix with 1 tsp. salt for 3 cups vegetable
(Optional) grated or powdered shoga (ginger), shiso or myoga (Japanese herbs), cayenne pepper, etc.
Note: Basic one is only salt
Put one or couple cut-up vegetable into bowl (prefer ceramic or glass)
Place small plate on vegetable, and cover with plastic wrap.
Put a weight* on the plastic wrap covered vegetable
Ready to eat three or four hours for leaves, or over night for hard vegetable;
*for the weight – big stone preferable, bottle with water,
or unopened any glass jar, do not use cans - See the picture
2. Tsukemono to keep long time
Those farmers in the Northern part of Japan in ancient days, there are no vegetable in the winter time, therefore many kinds of the vegetables were turned into the form of ‘Tsukemono.’ Here are couples of famous Tsukemono to keep for a long time.
5 Daikon (Japanese radishes) and 5 bunches of Daicon & Turnip Leaves
(Those farmers in the Northern part of Japan used 40-50 daikons and 100 bunches leafy vegetable to make Tsukemono for eating throughout winter.)
Chop these vegetable small
Massage the chpped vegetable with 3 Tbsp salt
Put these chopped vegetable in the large container (ceramic or glass)
Place ½ cup of salt on the top of vegetable
Cover them with plastic and put the weight on
2 to 3 day, the Tsukemono is ready to eat
These Tsukemono can be kept 2 to 3 month in the cold place
3. Cabbage Tsukemono – basic one
i. chop half of medium size cabbage
Massage the chopped cabbage with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. vinegar several minutes or till soft
This is ready to eat. This Tsukemono is good for 2 days
ii. With cabbage Tsukemono
Mix with chopped ginger, or shiso or myoga (Japanese herbs), or cayenne pepper
iii. Healthy coleslaw (no mayonnaise)
With cabbage basic Tsukemono
Mix ½ cup chopped apple, onion, celery
1 tsp. celery seed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp mayonnaise (optional) can be mixed
4. Kyu-chan
5 good size cucumber (use sugar recipe)
Take seeds out from cucumber and slice them
Mix 3 Tbsp. salt with the cucumber
Keep them in the jar over night with weight
Throw the juice away, and squeeze out the juice from cucumber
Set them aside
Boil 2 cups of water with 1 Tbsp. salt, 3 Tbsp. sugar and 3 Tsp shoyu (soy sauce)
Add 3 Tbsp. vinegar to above water
Pour the water over the cucumber and put weight on
Three days later, it will be done
This Tsukemono can be kept 2 or 3 months
5. Make Tsukemono Juice
1 cup Water
2 tsp Salt
½ cup Vinegar (use vinegar for less salt)
2 tsp Red Pepper flake
2 tsp Sugar (Optional)
The Middle one is my Tsukemono Juice. Can you see cucumbers in the jar?
Place daicon, turnip, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, Japanese egg-plant in this juice to soak
Cucumber, egg-plant will be ready to eat over night
Daicon, turnip, carrot, and cauliflower take about couple days for ready to eat
Keep this juice in a refrigerator for years
Place those vegetable again and again
At third time to place new vegetable, add salt, vinegar and red pepper flake
