Essay Awards Ceremony Memories

The "Heisei" era lasted for 30 years to be replaced by "Reiwa" in a few days with Crown Prince Naruhito succeeding as Emperor. My retirement in the U.S. and homecoming to Japan was unforgettably remembered in the year 1995 of the Great Kobe Earthquake, which was the 7th year of Heisei. It means I have been back in Japan now for 23 years.

Japan surprised me with frequent earthquakes and flash floods, the impermissible crime sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by a religious cult, the sudden bankruptcy of Yamaichi Securities Trading with 200 billion Yen debts,  and the ensuing deflationary economic trend and unusually prolonged stagnation plaintively dubbed the "Lost 20 Years". I remembered my American friend's question, "Why are you heading back to Japan?"

Here I am in disaster-prone Japan, getting older each day, relearning living is getting old. Late last year, I saw Kitakyushu City inviting submission of essays for the first time from those who celebrate 88 years by the end of November, in addition to the annual novel, poem and Haiku.  I decided to apply, writing about my life after the homecoming.   Around mid-January, I was notified that my essay was selected as prize worthy by the committee with an invitation to the ceremony at Otani Keikan Hall in Yawata on March 24. The award winning writings were collected in a publication called Hibiki.

The day came.  I was accompanied by my son who happened to be visiting from New York City.  About 30 prize winners for various categories from all over Japan attended with their friends and families at the ceremony.   Of the said essay category by “eighty-eighters”, three were Kitakyushuans, two from Sendai and Nagano.  Ms. Minako Goto, President of Kitakyushu Association of Literature gave out certificates of awards to all the winners. The Chair of the ceremony was Ms. Tae Wakasugi.  A celebratory banquet followed, with various entertainment (some by the award winners), attended by Kitakyushu Mayor Kitahashi and Ms. Imagawa of Kitakyushu Museum of Literature.  I was lucky enough to thank Mayor Kitahashi in person for his gift of money for my "Beiju" celebration.

The event was held at Otani Kaikan Hall with symmetrical Art Deco style architecture, built in 1927.  The building was then owned by Yawata Steel Works, but it is now open to the public.   It received the Kitakyushu City Architectural Culture Award in 1989 and was registered as a modern architectural heritage in 2007.  My memory is still fresh also, as the site of dining with the Moes before building Kitakyushu Toastmasters Club.

P.S. - Coming soon!  I am printing a small booklet of my prize winning essay, both in Japanese and English, of about 20 pages plus.