We went to Kumamoto City to meet with one of my predecessor's dad's cousins--a professor emeritus of English literature at Kumamoto University. Yoshida-sensei, a man in his seventies, was full of kind-heartedness as well as a deep love for his university. He showed us the beautiful campus grounds and then took us out for a bite at an on-campus restaurant where we had pizza and salad. He also introduced my mom to a Chaucer scholar who had been a student of his.

Tomorrow we head out for Kyoto. I am looking forward to this trip. Although the cherry blossoms are probably all gone, I tend to think the beautiful, fresh green of the new leaves is just as beautiful (or maybe even more beautiful partly because they are generally less appreciated and thus more of a secret affection).

Saying goodbye to people here is very hard. I think it is a central part of the culture here to make things like goodbyes and graduations deeply felt (on a personal level). It is never a casual wave of the hand but a deep, heavy exchange of heart. The feeling conveyed: you will be missed, we will be lonely when you are gone, we do notice very much that you are leaving. It makes the person leaving feel more than a tingle of guilt, and in some cases, a kind of indebtedness that is never forgotten. I think this is how filial piety works in Japan.

So my mom will say goodbye to this town for the second time--and you can be sure she doesn't want to leave yet--and I will be gone for a few days. So if I am not making new posts here, that is why. Of course, please be well.