Mieko-sensei’s Kindness and Cultural Sharing — Dressing Up in Traditional Yukata
(Out of respect for their parents’ wishes, we will not be posting photos of the two teenage daughters.)
Mieko-sensei pulled up to the Komurasaki An with her friend’s family of four in tow. Greeting them briefly, she quickly ushered them inside and began unloading a large bundle of belongings. To my surprise, the bundle contained yukata (kimono-like summer robes) and geta (traditional wooden sandals). “I brought these for everyone to wear,” Mieko-sensei explained. She proceeded to expertly dress the American mother and two daughters in their yukata.
Meanwhile, the father, Amir, watched with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. “Aki,” Mieko-sensei said, turning to me, “would you mind helping Amir with his yukata?” Aki’s heart sank. “Eh?! No way!” I exclaimed. I had never dressed anyone in a yukata before, nor had I even worn one myself. “Mieko-sensei, I can’t!” I cried out in protest. As Mieko-sensei finished dressing the three women, Aki and Amir stood awkwardly by, unsure of what to do.
Mieko-sensei and I were colleagues at Doshisha Girls’ Junior and Senior High School. She was the music teacher, and I taught English. Although we have both retired now, she has remained close to my wife, Naoko and me, even after I retired. In particular, after my wife went into cardiac arrest and narrowly escaped death,
Mieko-sensei was very concerned about my well-being during her three-month hospitalization. She often brought me containers filled with vegetables and delicious side dishes, saying, “Make sure you eat properly. Here, eat this.” Mieko-sensei is truly a compassionate and caring senior colleague. I am so grateful for her kindness and thoughtfulness.
The American family was an acquaintance of Mieko-sensei’s. Nina, the wife, and Amir, the husband, met at a Japanese language school in Nagoya and later got married. They have two adorable daughters. I asked Amir, “Why did you choose Nagoya to study Japanese?” He bashfully confessed, “Actually, I started studying in Tokyo at first, but it was too expensive, so I moved to Nagoya,” However, if he hadn’t moved to Nagoya, he would never have met Nina. I felt that there was something fated about their meeting.
Amir is an associate professor of Computational linguistics at Georgetown University and is fluent in Hebrew, German, English, Japanese, and other languages. It’s a shame I can’t include pictures of his daughters, but Amir and his daughters are conversing in Hebrew. When I said, “Your daughter can also speak German and English in addition to Hebrew, just like you. That’s amazing!” He nodded and added, “She’s also studying Chinese.”
Tonight, a welcome party will be held at Mieko-sensei’s elder sister Mihoko-san’s house to celebrate the Amir family’s reunion. I hope they enjoy their stay in Japan.
