The old house where I spent childhood had two persimmon trees in the yard which my grandfather planted for his grandchildren. They had many thick branches onto the massive trunk, and in autumn they would bear plenty of fruits without an exception. Even to my eyes as a kid it was obvious they were greater than any of persimmon in the neighborhood.
Whether by the mistake or on evil intention of gardener, the persimmon were SHIBU-KAKI(bitter flavor). So picked fruits would be stuffed in a barrel with Shouchu which is a Japanese equivalent of Vodka in order to remove the persimmon's bitter.
I loved persimmon flower. It was white with a small cyllindrical shape and had a sweet smell. It changed its color to dark brown instantly after it fell. I gathered the cyllindrical flower and made a flower necklace. I was happy, naming it "gold necklace".
My grandfather lost his wife and a little daughter. It may not be an unusual story. My grandmother whom I have never seen alive is still young and beautiful in the sepia photography. I've already surpassed her age. Deceased never ages. They say memories are always beautiful. I too am captured by a nostalgic feeling when I try to remember those juvenile days. At the time my life was already content materialwise. I loved my room which was stuffed with a set of encyclopedia and ever growing number of toys. From the window I could see the persimmon trees grandfather planted and hear bamboo leaves whispering through the wind. Also I remember seeing Japanese flags fluttering in the wind at every house during national holidays.
My grandfather strongly lived through ten years after the war with his two sons, burying the sadness deep in his mind. He died while my father was at a college. I grew up content materialwise, but never knew my grand parents. However I could keep on remenbering them. About my grandmother who was killed in the war, and about my grandfather who was taken his wife and daughter by the war. My grandfather's name was kikuo. I like the name very much.
Noriko KAWAMURA (April,10 1996)
Copyright(C) Noriko KAWAMURA 1996
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