Memories of Summer

August 21, 2007 (Tuesday)

Summer in the Japanese peninsula this year was an unusually hot one. Beginning in August, Japan was hit by a high pressure system and a tropical heat continued for over two weeks. In some regions history was made, with the heat reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius. This abnormal weather could be another reflection of the global greenhouse effect.

Amidst this heat, summer was spent by each in his own way. I had an enjoyable summer, engaging in various activities such as traveling, playing golf with friends, and painting. I would like to take this opportunity to share one of these activities in more detail.

It is the memory of visiting Lake Inawashiro and Ten-ei village in the mountains of Fukushima prefecture (northern Kanto region) with a group of 20 business executives.

I have for some time been involved in policy proposals and planning as an advisor to the government concerning the revitalization of regions across Japan faced with population decline. I have also personally visited such regions with the Shimada Jyuku, a study group of executives that I have organized, and have tasted firsthand the goodness of these regions and studied their possibilities. This program was one such visit.

Inawashiro is famous for being the birthplace of Hideyo Noguchi, a world-class medical scientist. It is in a mountainous region that has not been immune to the trend of population decline. The lake is nearly the same width as the area within the Yamanote train line in Tokyo, and its lake water is among the three most transparent in all of Japan. We divided into five groups and enjoying cruising and swimming on large motor boats and yachts.

Ten-ei village is at 800 meters altitude in an expansive mountain, and while the population is small it is surrounded by lush nature. We received a heartfelt welcome from the villagers, and feasted on the special delights of a farming village such as locally harvested and fresh vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and rice) and fish (iwana, a local specialty, and yamame) that were barbequed, broiled, or made into mochi.

While Ten-ei village suffers from population decline, it enthusiastically promotes programs such as creating a man-made lake for boat recreation, digging trails in the forest for strolling, and providing English education for middle, high, and university school students from all over the country through the “British Hills”, a town re-created in the mold of 18th century England and run by the Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages.

We stayed in the British Hills where it seemed as though Harry Potter would appear at any moment, and enjoyed the local and simple Bon festival dance and wild fireflies deep in the mountains. The Bon festival dance is a ritual common throughout Japan. Yet, when I joined the rest of the villagers in the simple dance, with red paper lanterns hanging from handmade frames pouring faint light upon the shrine grounds in a small hamlet in the mountains, I felt as though I had returned to the good old Japanese traditions that have continued for hundreds of years, the heart of Japan.

This is but one snapshot of this lifestyle. All over Japan, where the population is in decline and society is aging, there is value that should be treasured more. Maximizing this value holds the precious potential to realize affluence and good health for people in the true sense of the words. I hope that we will all discover more and more of these small potentials around us, and treasure them.