Aoyama Foreign Cemetery, a proof of spiritual tribute to Japan and Asia...

October 13, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
Today NHK  TV showed that China is not only accepting capitalism but also Christianity and growing fast.  I think there is a hint in my future mission so as to all in Japan.
 Aoyama foreign cemetery reveals  the dedication and devotion of Christian missionaries who gave their lives for modernization of Japan and Asia. Most of them risked their lives for their mission and died in Tokyo not in Yokohama or their home countries.

Today's quote:
"An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living."
Nicolas Chamfort
French writer
1741-1794
経済学者とは、切れ味抜群のメスと刃がギザギザのランセットを手にした外科医
であり、死人には見事な手術をやり、生きている人間には非常な苦痛を与える。
What do you think about this?

Aoyama Gaikokujin Bochi(Tokyo Aoyama Foreign Cemetery)

October 12, 2013

I went to Aoyama Cemetery first time. It is a huge place . It must be four to five times larger than the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery. The governor of Tokyo decided to keep the foreign section as a historical spot. There are the graves of missionaries, scholars, and doctors who came to Tokyo and devoted their lives for Japanese and Asian modernization.
As I went to the cemetery with the Quakers( officially Tokyo Yearly meeting of "Christian" Society of Friends)(in America they are called the Religious Organization of Friends because you don' t have to be Christians, happened to be mostly Christians). The ceremony is conducted by three other churches, namely Akasaka Kyoukai, Izumi Kyoukai, and Hongou Kyoukai with the Quakers. The founder of those churches were a Quaker and a doctor and father in law of Lord Katsu Kashu's son and Katsu himself became a member in the time of his death. So the grave was erected by Lord Katsu with his signature.
 After being introduced to the group as a director of Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery,
I had a chance of talking to the ministers of the churches and found out that they see Quakers as a lay Christian organization. In a sense it is true and reminded me of the Japanese Buddhist lay organization(信徒集団）. They are SoukaGakkai. I see a good contrast between the two.
SoukaGakkai based on their organizational structure of the Imperial Japanese Army whereas the Quakers based on democratic consensus structure. And today Soukla Gakkai or Koumei Party looks very middle path and pacifist is a sign that Japan is becoming authoritarian militant base. But let's face it, Japanese history has a  long military rule--Bakufu system and Meiji Fukoku Kyouhei system.
I think it is very hard for these 65 Quakers(if one increase in December it will be 66)to survive in this militant base going to be authoritarian state in future.
I am a realist and not an idealist but feel that there must be a Christian silence- belief, listening to your inner self and talking with Him in silence.
gto

...he who has not first laid his foundations....(The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli)

                                 Greek/Russian Orthodox Church in Yokohama
October 8, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
Read and think:
"...he who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards,
but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building."
from The Prince
Niccolo  Machiavelli
Italian historian, philosopher and writer
1469-1527

Assignment for the students taking "Newsmakers"

October 6, 2013
Dear Students for taking "Newsmakers"

Discuss
"Japan has its own territorial disagreement with Russia over the northern territories east of Hokkaido.
How do you think Japan and Russia should solve the this problem?

gto

Quote of the day...discuss with your friends... essential to success...

                                 Overlooking Tokyo from Liberty Tower, October 2013

Dear Friends and Students
Reading/writing class should be according to the task and Blogs,
but listening and speaking classes should have more pair speaking.

Quote of the day.
What do you think about it.
Discuss with your friends.
"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance.
It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
John D. Rockefeller
US industrialist and philanthropist 1839-1937
いかなる成功にも不可欠な資質は。忍耐強さをおいてほかにはないと思う。
忍耐強さは、ほぼすべてのことを、　自然をも、克服する。

A message from a sage...Ecclesiastes...コヘレトの言葉

October 4, 2013
Dear Friends and Students

I went to Aoyama Gakuin University today and learnt about Ecclesiastes as this week's bible lesson.

In Japanese, the line of なんという空しさ、なんという空しさ」being repeated.

" Life is Useless."
These are the words of the Philosopher,
David's son, who was king in Jerusalem.
It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher
Life is useless, all useless.
You spend your life working, laboring, and what do
you have to show for it?
Generations come and generations go, but the
world stays just the same.
The sun still rises and it still goes down, going
wearily back to where it must start all over again.
The wind blows south, the wind blows north--
round and round and back again.
Every river flows into the sea, but the sea is not
yet full.  The water returns to where the rivers
began, and starts all over again.
Everything leads to weariness-- a weariness
too great for words.  Our eyes can never see enough
to be satisfied ; our ears can never hear enough.

from the Bible
Ecclesiastes, 1.1

gto

How to be rich.....

October 2, 2013
Dear Students and Friends
How to be rich is the big discussion we always have.

" It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune, and when you have got it, it requires ten times as much wit to keep it."

Mayer Amschel Rothschild
German intetnational banker
1744-1812

”そうだいな富を築くには、かなりの大胆さとかなりの用心深さが必要だが、
それを手にしたら、今度は　それを守るために１０倍の才覚が必要になる。