Izumi’s Father’s Born Place

Dear Family and Friends,

“Anne Chan, I want to take you to my father’s born place. It is in Furukawa, north of Sendai. My cousin has invited us for lunch. When can you go?” Izumi asked me.

All of us, Izumi, her husband Yoshiki, her cousin Noriko, and I were free today. So, we arranged to meet at Noriko’s place. Izumi had talked very fondly of that house for years, so I was eager to see it.

Izumi is an only child, but she has cousins upon cousins, all living in Furukawa. So, every summer as a child, she would go stay with her grandparents in the home where her father, and 17 generations of Suenagas, had been born and raised. The house was a lot bigger then than it is now.

Izumi loved it there. She said there were so many kids that at night it was like a hotel with rows off futons spread out over three rooms. During the day, they played all over the village and helped out in the fields. There was rice and potatoes, beans and tomatoes, pear and plum trees. For Izumi, it was sheer heaven.

And sure enough, today as soon as we arrived, it was as if Izumi had finally arrived home. Her roots are truly there. She visibly relaxed and felt at ease as she showed me around, explaining everything, and as she helped Noriko in the kitchen.

(A very old Tansu Chest, which Noriko still uses)

Noriko was lovely to us. She had woken at her usual 3:30 a.m. and started preparing our feast. Dish after dish arrived at the table, each one tastefully and delicately arranged. The ingredients had come from either her garden or her neighbors’. People in Furukawa share with one another like family.  The taste of each dish was subtle, allowing it to blend perfectly with all the others. Dessert was green tea and pickles. The meal was indeed a feast. 

We chatted and laughed a lot. But curiously, Noriko did not eat with us. When I had a chance, I asked Izumi why. “Country people are like that,” she said. And Noriko herself told me, “I am filled by your happiness.” Indeed, she only ate the rice crackers Izumi and Yoshiki had brought. She did drink coffee and green tea with us, however.

After we had eaten our fill, Noriko said, “Let’s take a tour of Furukawa.” So, we all piled into Yoshiki’s car. Noriko was so short, though, I had to literally lift her into the back seat. And then we headed off.

Touring Furukawa meant looking at rice paddies. In fact, we were surrounded by their beautiful chartreuse green for almost as far as the eye could see. It was softly raining, so the distant mountains were hidden from us today. But Noriko asked us back in the autumn after the summer rains were over.

After our paddy-and-vegetable-garden tour, we headed back to Noriko’s home for more coffee before heading back to Sendai. But that was not quite enough. True to rural Tohoku style, she gave us a few more gifts: soon-to-ripen tomatoes, dried pickled plums, origami bags made by a friend, and for me a blouse that was too big for either tiny Noriko or Izumi. Everyone felt it was perfect for me. And they were right. In fact, I plan on wearing it to work tomorrow.

It was a beautiful day. I am so grateful that as we experience the rapid changes happening almost everywhere today, some treasured things remain the same. And of course, I hope Noriko will come to Sendai so we give her the hospitality she so generously gave us. Of course, we are all looking forward to that special time, whenever it will be.

Love,

Anne