A Long History
TITLE: A Long History
GROUP: NEWS
NOTES: I come to you from the lobby of a Japanese hotel with free wi-fi. Please forgive horrible grammar and spelling mistakes, I don't really have the time to edit right now, but I wanted to post something. Also, I have no idea what my internet is going to be like for the next few days, so sorry, but I might not respond to a lot of comments. I'll try to, but no promises. And sorry if I butchered Japanese history. I used Wikipedia as a reference (my profs would be ashamed).
They're all sitting around a table with an interview when Koyama happily says, "We're all so close! It's like we've known each other forever!"
What Koyama doesn't realize is that he's right. The life each of them is living now isn't the first one, and certainly isn't the first time they've all met. It's not easy to escape the cycle of samsara, and each one of them is, and has been, trapped in it.
The first time any of them met was almost 1,000 years ago in the Kamakura Period. The mongols were invading and every samurai in the region was called up. With tears in his mother's eyes, Katou Shigeaki placed his swords in his belt, and with as much tact as he could muster, left for the coast with his father and the other samurai. As far as he could see were samurai, ready to die for the defense of their island nation. Without a doubt, Shigeaki was among the youngest, but there was another, camping nearby just a year older than him.
His name was Masuda Takahisa, from further up north, armed with a spear. He was a whimsical sort of fellow and smiled easily. Shigeaki thought his mannerisms strange for a samurai, but it wasn't his place to judge an elder.
As it turned out, a divine wind came up from the sea and destroyed the Mongolian fleet. From the beaches and bluffs, the samurai watched the boats crash into each other and sink. The samurai all lingered for a few days longer, just to be sure the threat was gone, and then all started leaving for their respective homes.
"Katou-kun is a very serious and smart sort of fellow." Masuda clapped him on the shoulder, just before he left to return to Kantou. "I won't be surprised if I hear your name again."
In the Muromachi Period, the merchant family Yamashita lived in a modestly-sized coastal port. They were rich with cash, but still looked on without favor by others, because they produced nothing, gaining comfort from the hard work of others. Such an opinion though never hurt business though. The eldest son, Tomohisa, was destined to inherit the family 's business, but he had no desire for it. Often, he would wander down to the piers and watch the men unloading boats, taking stock, figuring out which cartons went where. On that pier, he met two men - Koyama and Nishikido. Both of them lived where ever they pleased, wandered where ever the wind pushed them. They told Tomohisa of distant cities along the coast where pale, wide-eyes foreigners could be found if you looked hard enough.
They laughed at Tomohisa - Koyama's good-naturedly, and Nishikido in a mean sort of tone - at their prediciment. Tomohisa was provided for and had no need to ever leave the port town, but it was all he wished for. Koyama and Nishikido had been so many places they couldn't remember any more where they'd come from. All they could remember of their home towns was that there was nothing there for either of them. The city of Tomohisa's birth had been good to them, and they were happy to live the rest of their lives there.
"If you're both happy here," Tomohisa unwraps a bundle and hands each of his friends an onigiri, "then I guess I can be too."
When Tokugawa united all the country at the beginning of the Edo Period, Tegoshi Yuuya had been young, barely able to remember the lavish parties, celebrating the victory of their leige lord. He grew up the spoiled, only son of the family, having whatever item he wanted. Other samurai families wondered how the only son of the Tegoshi family ever could have ever been able to survive in a battle - he was thin boned, with a slight build. He was fast on his feet certainly, but how could he have been expected to carry all the weaponry and armor of a samurai? But Yuuya's father scoffed at them, telling his son to learn, because there would be no more wars in Japan.
Tegoshi's family is given a great honor when the Sho-gun chooses Tegoshi's father to be the right-hand man of the daimyo in a southern region. Their home in Edo is kept, but many items are sent south to their new home. When they arrive, there are a few servants around, putting the finishing touches on the welcoming meal. Yuuya is tired and doesn't each much, and his father says he may go to his room and rest. He pretends to do that, but instead, Yuuya meanders around their home, and finds a small garden in the inner courtyard, where a young man is pruning a tree. Yuuya sneaks up on him, and immeditely, the other bows deeply. Yuuya laughs and starts talking - in a very friendly manner with the gardener, who is some what put off by the tone. Yuuya learns the gardener's name is Shigeaki, the only son of a local peasant family who was hired to tend to the garden's of the Tegoshi household. Everyday, Yuuya goes to talk to Shigeaki, and they strike up an odd-sort of friendship.
Tegoshi's mother wants to celebrate the New Year in Edo, so in the middle of December, the house is packed up. Before they leave, Yuuya makes a point of finding Shigeaki.
"Are you going to be here after the New Year?"
"I don't know, sir." Shigeaki is bowing on the ground.
When they return Shigeaki isn't there, and Yuuya is distraught. He hears from one of the maids that a horrible flu went around the area while they were in Edo. Shigeaki caught it, and unfortunately, died. Yuuya is in bed crying, for days, and his parents can't figure out why he's so upset about the death of a peasant. Yuuya himself falls sick, but he recovers for the most part. However, for the rest of his life, he's plauged by a hacking cough during the winter months.
In 1853, Japan is opened up to the rest of the world when Commodore Perry arrives with his Black Ships. On the day of the treaty signing, the head of the Masuda family, a blacksmith, sits at the table shaking his head. He tells his wife that this treaty will only hurt Japan. His young son, Takahisa, sits next to him, and his father dreads at what kind of world is being made for his son.
When he's 20 years old, the Sho-gun resigns and the Emperor is restored to power. The entire political and social structure of the country is thrown up into the air, and no one knows what to do, or how to act. Takahisa has no skill at metal-work and joins the military, for lack of any better skills, and there he met another young man. A Japanese who talked with a funny accent and told him stories about far away places and wide-eyed foreigners. His name was Yamashita Tomohisa, born in Edo, but educated in a placed called London. He had great dreams for Japan, of entering the world and being part of the globe.
"There's more to us than just being Japanese!" Tomohisa would always say. "Every other man on this planet is our brother, and every woman is our sister! We're family! We can't go around acting all high-and-mighty. We must be humble and assist others."
Takahisa didn't always agree with Tomohisa, but he could recognize a more intellegent person when he saw one, so he kept his mouth shut. Often, Tomohisa's knowledge of foreign customs gave him an advantage against the other young soldiers. Superior officers looked upon Tomohisa as a future general or admiral, some one who could lead a modernized Japanese army. And then they'd look at Takahisa and tell Tomohisa he should have better friends.
Tomohisa would smile, and throw an arm over Takahisa's shoulder. "This isn't just my friend. This is my brother."
In the mid-20th centuries, Japan expanded their territory all over Asia with a series of short wars. They withdrew from the League of Nations and continued expansion. Relations with western powers were tense, but the Japanese government cared not.
There's a song playing out in the hallway, and the noise wafts in through the open door, while Nishikido stares out the small window in his room. He sees some children playing and wonders how his brothers and sister are doing. There's a knock and he hears the nurse enter.
"Good morning, Nishikido-kun. How is your leg feeling today?"
He's in a hospital on one of the Okinawan islands. Nishikido Ryo was a part of the first wave of Japanese soldiers that landed on the beaches of Vietnam. It was hard, advancing up the beach, and then the forest hadn't been any better. The Vietnamese has laid traps all over the ground, and Nishikido had the bad luck of stepping in one, sharpened twigs going through the meaty part of his calf, trapping him in place. The medical facilities in Vietnam were so poor that he had to get evacuated to Okinawa for proper medical treatment. And the worst part was that he couldn't even get a female nurse. He had to get the one male nurse - a frail-looking young man named Tegoshi Yuuya. One glimpse on the first day, and Ryo knew why he was working in a hospital and not a foot soldier.
"It's fine."
Every day, it's fine. Because if Ryo can't be in Vietnam doing what he does best, then he might as well feel the pain. It'll make him a better soldier once he's out of here. Yuuya steps closer and rests a hand on Ryo's shoulder. Ryo frowns. He doesn't like being touched.
"Someday, the war will be over."
Ryo laughs. "The war hasn't even started yet. Don't you read the newspapers?"
Yuuya is still for a minute. "And someday, that war will be over."
It's 2008, the Heisei Period, and NEWS is sitting around a table with an interviewer. Koyama is called a spaz and a mother-hen by the others (mostly Ryo and Shige), but what none of them realize, is he's the one with the deepest sense of time and karma. The others can't feel it as strongly, if at all, but Koyama can feel it when he looks at them. He knows there's a connection between the six of them that's older and stronger than they realize. So he nurtures the connection they have now and feels assured that where ever and whenever they all end up, some how, he'll see them all again.
GROUP: NEWS
NOTES: I come to you from the lobby of a Japanese hotel with free wi-fi. Please forgive horrible grammar and spelling mistakes, I don't really have the time to edit right now, but I wanted to post something. Also, I have no idea what my internet is going to be like for the next few days, so sorry, but I might not respond to a lot of comments. I'll try to, but no promises. And sorry if I butchered Japanese history. I used Wikipedia as a reference (my profs would be ashamed).
They're all sitting around a table with an interview when Koyama happily says, "We're all so close! It's like we've known each other forever!"
What Koyama doesn't realize is that he's right. The life each of them is living now isn't the first one, and certainly isn't the first time they've all met. It's not easy to escape the cycle of samsara, and each one of them is, and has been, trapped in it.
The first time any of them met was almost 1,000 years ago in the Kamakura Period. The mongols were invading and every samurai in the region was called up. With tears in his mother's eyes, Katou Shigeaki placed his swords in his belt, and with as much tact as he could muster, left for the coast with his father and the other samurai. As far as he could see were samurai, ready to die for the defense of their island nation. Without a doubt, Shigeaki was among the youngest, but there was another, camping nearby just a year older than him.
His name was Masuda Takahisa, from further up north, armed with a spear. He was a whimsical sort of fellow and smiled easily. Shigeaki thought his mannerisms strange for a samurai, but it wasn't his place to judge an elder.
As it turned out, a divine wind came up from the sea and destroyed the Mongolian fleet. From the beaches and bluffs, the samurai watched the boats crash into each other and sink. The samurai all lingered for a few days longer, just to be sure the threat was gone, and then all started leaving for their respective homes.
"Katou-kun is a very serious and smart sort of fellow." Masuda clapped him on the shoulder, just before he left to return to Kantou. "I won't be surprised if I hear your name again."
In the Muromachi Period, the merchant family Yamashita lived in a modestly-sized coastal port. They were rich with cash, but still looked on without favor by others, because they produced nothing, gaining comfort from the hard work of others. Such an opinion though never hurt business though. The eldest son, Tomohisa, was destined to inherit the family 's business, but he had no desire for it. Often, he would wander down to the piers and watch the men unloading boats, taking stock, figuring out which cartons went where. On that pier, he met two men - Koyama and Nishikido. Both of them lived where ever they pleased, wandered where ever the wind pushed them. They told Tomohisa of distant cities along the coast where pale, wide-eyes foreigners could be found if you looked hard enough.
They laughed at Tomohisa - Koyama's good-naturedly, and Nishikido in a mean sort of tone - at their prediciment. Tomohisa was provided for and had no need to ever leave the port town, but it was all he wished for. Koyama and Nishikido had been so many places they couldn't remember any more where they'd come from. All they could remember of their home towns was that there was nothing there for either of them. The city of Tomohisa's birth had been good to them, and they were happy to live the rest of their lives there.
"If you're both happy here," Tomohisa unwraps a bundle and hands each of his friends an onigiri, "then I guess I can be too."
When Tokugawa united all the country at the beginning of the Edo Period, Tegoshi Yuuya had been young, barely able to remember the lavish parties, celebrating the victory of their leige lord. He grew up the spoiled, only son of the family, having whatever item he wanted. Other samurai families wondered how the only son of the Tegoshi family ever could have ever been able to survive in a battle - he was thin boned, with a slight build. He was fast on his feet certainly, but how could he have been expected to carry all the weaponry and armor of a samurai? But Yuuya's father scoffed at them, telling his son to learn, because there would be no more wars in Japan.
Tegoshi's family is given a great honor when the Sho-gun chooses Tegoshi's father to be the right-hand man of the daimyo in a southern region. Their home in Edo is kept, but many items are sent south to their new home. When they arrive, there are a few servants around, putting the finishing touches on the welcoming meal. Yuuya is tired and doesn't each much, and his father says he may go to his room and rest. He pretends to do that, but instead, Yuuya meanders around their home, and finds a small garden in the inner courtyard, where a young man is pruning a tree. Yuuya sneaks up on him, and immeditely, the other bows deeply. Yuuya laughs and starts talking - in a very friendly manner with the gardener, who is some what put off by the tone. Yuuya learns the gardener's name is Shigeaki, the only son of a local peasant family who was hired to tend to the garden's of the Tegoshi household. Everyday, Yuuya goes to talk to Shigeaki, and they strike up an odd-sort of friendship.
Tegoshi's mother wants to celebrate the New Year in Edo, so in the middle of December, the house is packed up. Before they leave, Yuuya makes a point of finding Shigeaki.
"Are you going to be here after the New Year?"
"I don't know, sir." Shigeaki is bowing on the ground.
When they return Shigeaki isn't there, and Yuuya is distraught. He hears from one of the maids that a horrible flu went around the area while they were in Edo. Shigeaki caught it, and unfortunately, died. Yuuya is in bed crying, for days, and his parents can't figure out why he's so upset about the death of a peasant. Yuuya himself falls sick, but he recovers for the most part. However, for the rest of his life, he's plauged by a hacking cough during the winter months.
In 1853, Japan is opened up to the rest of the world when Commodore Perry arrives with his Black Ships. On the day of the treaty signing, the head of the Masuda family, a blacksmith, sits at the table shaking his head. He tells his wife that this treaty will only hurt Japan. His young son, Takahisa, sits next to him, and his father dreads at what kind of world is being made for his son.
When he's 20 years old, the Sho-gun resigns and the Emperor is restored to power. The entire political and social structure of the country is thrown up into the air, and no one knows what to do, or how to act. Takahisa has no skill at metal-work and joins the military, for lack of any better skills, and there he met another young man. A Japanese who talked with a funny accent and told him stories about far away places and wide-eyed foreigners. His name was Yamashita Tomohisa, born in Edo, but educated in a placed called London. He had great dreams for Japan, of entering the world and being part of the globe.
"There's more to us than just being Japanese!" Tomohisa would always say. "Every other man on this planet is our brother, and every woman is our sister! We're family! We can't go around acting all high-and-mighty. We must be humble and assist others."
Takahisa didn't always agree with Tomohisa, but he could recognize a more intellegent person when he saw one, so he kept his mouth shut. Often, Tomohisa's knowledge of foreign customs gave him an advantage against the other young soldiers. Superior officers looked upon Tomohisa as a future general or admiral, some one who could lead a modernized Japanese army. And then they'd look at Takahisa and tell Tomohisa he should have better friends.
Tomohisa would smile, and throw an arm over Takahisa's shoulder. "This isn't just my friend. This is my brother."
In the mid-20th centuries, Japan expanded their territory all over Asia with a series of short wars. They withdrew from the League of Nations and continued expansion. Relations with western powers were tense, but the Japanese government cared not.
There's a song playing out in the hallway, and the noise wafts in through the open door, while Nishikido stares out the small window in his room. He sees some children playing and wonders how his brothers and sister are doing. There's a knock and he hears the nurse enter.
"Good morning, Nishikido-kun. How is your leg feeling today?"
He's in a hospital on one of the Okinawan islands. Nishikido Ryo was a part of the first wave of Japanese soldiers that landed on the beaches of Vietnam. It was hard, advancing up the beach, and then the forest hadn't been any better. The Vietnamese has laid traps all over the ground, and Nishikido had the bad luck of stepping in one, sharpened twigs going through the meaty part of his calf, trapping him in place. The medical facilities in Vietnam were so poor that he had to get evacuated to Okinawa for proper medical treatment. And the worst part was that he couldn't even get a female nurse. He had to get the one male nurse - a frail-looking young man named Tegoshi Yuuya. One glimpse on the first day, and Ryo knew why he was working in a hospital and not a foot soldier.
"It's fine."
Every day, it's fine. Because if Ryo can't be in Vietnam doing what he does best, then he might as well feel the pain. It'll make him a better soldier once he's out of here. Yuuya steps closer and rests a hand on Ryo's shoulder. Ryo frowns. He doesn't like being touched.
"Someday, the war will be over."
Ryo laughs. "The war hasn't even started yet. Don't you read the newspapers?"
Yuuya is still for a minute. "And someday, that war will be over."
It's 2008, the Heisei Period, and NEWS is sitting around a table with an interviewer. Koyama is called a spaz and a mother-hen by the others (mostly Ryo and Shige), but what none of them realize, is he's the one with the deepest sense of time and karma. The others can't feel it as strongly, if at all, but Koyama can feel it when he looks at them. He knows there's a connection between the six of them that's older and stronger than they realize. So he nurtures the connection they have now and feels assured that where ever and whenever they all end up, some how, he'll see them all again.