Et Pourtant
(And Yet)
1. My Most Favorite Story
As introduced, it is the story of Jonah in the King James Version of the Bible:
Jon 1:1 - Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 - Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jon 1:3 - But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Jon 1:4 - But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Jon 1:5 - Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
Jon 1:6 - So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
Jon 1:7 - And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
Jon 1:8 - Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
Jon 1:9 - And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
Jon 1:10 - Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Jon 1:11 - Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
Jon 1:12 - And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Jon 1:13 - Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
Jon 1:14 - Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
Jon 1:15 - So they look up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Jon 1:16 - Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
Jon 1:17 - Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights...
2. My Favorite Song
I have to confess that I once heard somebody saying that Mr. Charles Aznavour was a nice singer.
So, I secretly bought a music album with his songs in to find his way of singing very rich and deep in romantic emotion of a middle-aged French man.
http://musico.jp/contents/artist_track.aspx?id=a9M89
3. My Favorite Country
I really think I am very lucky to be born in Japan.
I must not have been born in sinful Europe or North America; I must not have been born in terrible Africa and South Asia; I must not have been born in the Islamic world so demanding; and I must not have been born in China and other regions once fully or halfway colonized by Europeans.
Yes, I must have been and was surely born in Japan, the nation of Mt. Fuji and cherry blossoms and with a potential to honor and lead Asia and mankind.
4. My Favorite Party in Japan
Japanese politics has been dominated so far virtually by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a tested and tried friend of the US Government.
Generally speaking, LDP's power base has been local people living in rural or rice-producing areas, or more roughly speaking, farmers and their direct descendants or neighbors but not modern city workers in Osaka, Nagoya, or Tokyo.
As LDP is so strongly linked with traditions, traditional values, and traditional human-relations, I suppose they can easily find attractive female candidates for election, since this is Japan.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) can embrace more venture-minded politicians, though the party includes old-fashioned conservatives and labor-union experts.
So, I cannot help but like to pay attentions to female LDP lawmakers as well as forward-looking DPJ lawmakers or independents for fairness.
However, critics in Japan like to use the terms such as politicians steeped in neo-liberal reform (for freer economy) or neo-conservatism (for traditional nationalism), or otherwise enemies of free economy or nationalism, especially in a case leftists if not opportunists.
But, my measure is related to how much a Japanese politician understands Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, or otherwise original Buddhism, even sacrificing their habitual practices related to free economy and nationalism or otherwise Western ideologies.
It is because it is more than 60 years after World War II, 140 years after the Meiji Restoration, and 400 years since the completion of the Edo Castle or the present Imperial Palace, and 800 years since the beginning of the first samurai regime in Kamakura.
And yet, the glorious party in the 21st century is to be so proven in both Japan and the U.S.
(That is why I do not blame you, if you run away from a holy mission, love three-starry cuisine in Paris or Tokyo, get associated with families of leaders of LDP, DPJ, US Republicans, or US Democrats, or otherwise run for election to defeat an incumbent prime minister like the case in Australia, even if you are not a member of a royal family or a friend of a prince of the Church in this worldly world.)
"A LAMP UNDER A BOWL"
"Vom Verstehen der Guten Nachricht"