A Monkey, a Man, a Forest- Continued

The monkey: You humans were once as agile as us monkeys, but no longer. Why, I'd say you're regressing. Humans have become lazy, and clumsiness is the result. On the other hand, your neglect and carelessness grow by the day. You humans boast of your advanced technology, but in truth, all your fancy contraptions bring about human misery. The man, yelling: Cocky beast. Get down here, now. Monkey: Look around you. Do you see any other creatures in such decline as humans? I don't think so. Look at us, with whom you share an ancestor. We monkeys move about freely, whether on the ground or up in the air, swinging from tree to tree. You used to be like us, the forest for a home, but you now share a home on the ground with the snakes and frogs. I don't know what to call this, maybe not corruption, but think about it, humans on the ground, monkeys in the treetops, who's closer to heaven, who's nearer hell?

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest (continued)

The man, disdainfully: What are you talking about, dolt. You monkeys are inferior to humans in every way: intellectually, emotionally, and technologically- that's why your development is arrested. You don't have a roof over your heads and, unlike humans, you haven't the refinement to cover your nakedness. You nibble on nuts, whereas we humans dine on the choicest delicacies, of which you haven't the slightest conception. The monkey, chuckling: Our natural clothing is our fur, which protects us year-round. You talk about monkeys lacking sufficient hair, but I wonder how much warmer we'd be with more. As for not having what you consider a proper dwelling, this forest is our home. And not just this, either, but all the forests of the world are home sweet home. We don't forbid you to enter our home, yet you can't even say hello. Why is that, I wonder. That's the way of polite people, surely. The man, screaming: Come down here, come down right now. I dare you to say that to my face. Monkey: So, you're the violent type. I'm the master of this house. You don't just enter another's dwelling without announcing yourself. You should ask for the head of the household and exchange greetings. I've got some tasty chestnuts here. Why don't you climb up and help yourself? The man looked up at the monkey, who was beckoning him to ascend. The monkey was out of reach, and the man became more and more irate as he considered the grinning monkey. Monkey: Why are humans so pitiful? Because they can't spring handstands? Pick up objects with their feet? Look, we monkeys have four feet, which also serve as hands. Long ago humans had bodies like ours, capable of wonderful things. Not any more.

Ishikawa Takuboku's サルと人と森 (1907)

A man walked into a forest. A monkey was sitting on a branch of a tall tree, watching the man. -- We monkeys are humanity's ancestors. I wonder why people look down us. The man replied, -- We humans are different from monkeys, we're more intelligent. If we are descended from apes, then where does our heroic nature come from? The monkey: -- If that is so, how can humans be such pitiable creatures? It seems to me that humans have already forgotten the past. How do you happen to be here in the first place if not for sharing a common ancestry with us? Those who forget the past have no future. If you really believe yourselves to be the most advanced, the most amazing creatures, you'll know no happiness in the future. Pitiful humans. Surely the time of human extinction draws nigh.

Japan's MAGA

I and foreign friends have noticed a definite uptick in sneers and looks that plainly say Go Home in recent weeks. Not Happy Days.

Japan's MAGA: Sanseito

Sanseito. Slogan: Japanese First. Vaccine conspiracy theories- ✓. Anti-foreigner-✓. Example: Party rhetoric purposely muddies the difference between the government's guest worker program (5-year visa) to combat the country's severe labor shortage, and immigration, which in Japan is unpopular and definitely not a thing anyway. Sanseito is on the rise, currently no. 2 in polling in the upcoming contest. The local candidate in the 7/20 election is Hirai Eriko. Like Hirai、I have 3 kids, though 'half', in Japanese parlance. My, children, born and raised here- does Sanseito consider them Japanese, or second class, to pure Japanese stock? Oh, Eriko-様、my eldest is a brain surgeon at a public hospital in Japan, treating Japanese with severe neurological conditions. And, he and his Japanese wife have a new baby (you know, the birth-rate thing). And my younger kids are adults, employed, paying taxes, and otherwise contributing to society. 'Half' as they are, do they fit into Sanseito's master plan, Eriko-様? Anyhow, a troubling development, particularly as other parties are rushing to board that bus.

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest

Definitely read this story; サルと人と森. It was written over 100 years ago but has a most relevant message for our times. (The author is one Ishikawa Takuboku.) In the coming weeks I will be providing serial translations of this extremely rare text.

University Cafeteria

The daily special. Still just 500¥ despite price increases on just about everything over the past year.

Get Out and Vote

There's an upcoming election, and local secondary-school students have submitted original posters urging those 18 and older to perform their civic duty. A common theme: your vote can change the future.