Road of Flowers

By Masahito

“According to Road of Flowers, Mr. Kawashima’s life has been a tremendous one.”
-Hakubu Shimomura, Minister of Education

“I hope as many people as possible read his book to gain a better understanding of courage and to dream of a better future.”
-Tadao Chiba, Denmark-Japan Social Living Institute

“Describing his life full of vicissitude, Camino de Flor is, so to speak, an autographic story and persuades us that nothing is impossible for a person who has a strong will.”
-Dr. Gregory of Tokyo University

Life is a drama. Each person has their own drama and lives according to scenarios bestowed upon us by God.

God bestows a simple life to some and tremendous drama to others. Whatever scenario a person faces, as long as we give all effort, we are all equally successful.

In my case, being innocent and naïve, I was faced with tremendous drama throughout my life. These experiences made me into the person I am today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Masahito
• Release date: Aug 31, 2015

Book preview

ROAD OF FLOWERS

by Masahito Kawashima

Road of Flowers

Rivershore Books

Copyright 2015 by Masahito Kawashima

Smashwords Edition.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Road of Flowers

Preface

A Very Liberal Infancy

Dream Beyond the Sea

The Trip on the Argentinamaru

My First Step as an Immigrant on the Watagishiki Farm

My Secret Crush at the Tanimura Farm

Flowers and Night School at the Ebi Farm

The Sakamoto Brothers

The City of Flowers

Japan After Five Years

The Boss of Los Angeles

Journey to Mexico

The Return to Argentina

Chapter 2: ¡Viva México!

Back in Japan

Work at the Japanese Embassy in Mexico

New Life with Yoshiko

Let God Decide

Sometimes You Win; Sometimes You Lose

Tacos, the Big Earthquake, and TV Show Coordinator

The Dangerous Truth about Mexico

Rodrigo’s Betrayal

A Photographic History of Memories

Recommendation Letters

Preface

Renaissance of Heart

Life is a drama. Each person has their own drama and lives according to scenarios bestowed upon us by God.

God bestows a simple life to some and tremendous drama to others. Whatever scenario a person faces, as long as we give all effort, we are all equally successful.

In my case, being innocent and naïve, I was faced with tremendous drama throughout my life. These experiences made me into the person I am today.

After twenty-five long years in Latin America, I returned home to a new Japan in the midst of the bubble economy. Japan had completely changed and the minds of the Japanese changed with it. Almost everyone had subconsciously become slaves to materialism and a convenient way of life. We had also lost our ability to think independently and our ability to make our own decisions.

The main purpose of this book is for people to think about humanity through my experiences.

Peace and democracy can’t be obtained just by talking about them. We are all responsible for all the problems and conflicts throughout the world. We can’t pretend they don’t exist.

In conclusion, in order to pass on an abundant Japan to the next generation, all Japanese people have to think more seriously and take more responsibility about our future. We must accomplish a renaissance of heart.

Masahito Kawashima

Chapter 1

Road of Flowers

A Very Liberal Infancy

I was born at a Railroad Training School in Beijing, China on January 3, 1946, 5 months after the end of the Second World War. I am the second born son and the third eldest of five siblings.

At that time, there were more than 2 million Japanese in China, and they were forced to go back to Japan because we had lost the war. The lost war was a great disappointment for my father who had immigrated to China hoping for success. He had worked hard for more than seven years in a business he had made and now it was all gone.

I was born in a harsh winter and on a stormy night. The temperature was minus twenty degrees. My parents received me with joy but at the same time worried if I was going to make it. It was a new life, full of hope and expectation. I was the future of the new Japan, but it was a hard time. My parents had to return to Japan with three small children, my five-year-old brother, my three-year-old sister, and myself.

Many babies were victims of the cold and a lack of nutrition. Most parents were terrified to think that the next victim would be their own child. Despite the situation, I was very lucky. My parents had been kind to the Chinese people, so even though Japan had lost the war, they gave us food and hospitality. Because of their help, my family was able to return to Inage, Chiba: the prefecture where my father was originally from.

Fortunately, Inage was a fertile place famous for gathering clams. Thousands of people visited Inage every year for them. After we returned to Japan, my parents had two more sons. My mother sold clams to raise the five children, but back then Inage still had a closed environment where established vendors discriminated against newcomers. My mother was treated uncaringly by her colleagues, but she was a hard worker and a very caring person. As time passed, other vendors started to care for her and respect her. But even though she worked day and night with five children in her care, the economic situation of the house didn’t get any easier.

Ignorant of my mother’s sacrifices, I was a very disobedient child. I used to play pranks on a kid named Kazuo all the time, and then I would run back to my house. After a while, Kazuo’s mother would come banging on the door and screaming at my mother. She apologized, saying, It will never happen again. But instead of reflecting on my actions, I responded, Parents shouldn’t get involved in children’s business. I continued this belief until one day I was punished by God for my disobedience. When I jumped out of the closet, I felt a sharp pain in my heel. It felt like I was stabbed by a knife. The pain was so intense I wasn’t able to walk. My mother carried me on her back and ran to the Saito Clinic in Chiba. The doctor was surprised to see how much I suffered just by a touch on my heel, so he decided to cut it open. Back then, anesthesia was very expensive and hard to get so the surgery was done without it. I was crying and screaming while my mother and a nurse held me down. When I looked at my foot, it was covered in blood. For a moment, I thought that my leg was amputated. Even after all the effort, the doctor wasn’t able to diagnose the problem, so I was transferred to Chiba University Hospital. The doctors at this hospital were very skilled, and they were able to figure out the problem right away. I suffered from periostitis. My grandmother died of tuberculosis, so the doctor diagnosed me with periostitis from a tuberculosis virus. For a year and a half after that day, my mother carried me on her back to the university hospital no matter if it was raining or snowing. My treatment was to not move my leg at all and I had to wear a cast twice the size of my leg. A year after I started wearing the cast, I was able to walk again, even though it was by dragging my leg. Six months later, I was well enough that I could ride a tricycle, but I was afraid that the terrible pain would come back if I placed my foot on the ground. Then one day, when I was walking with my left leg on the tricycle, a rooster we were raising at the house jumped on me and attacked me. The rooster probably knew from animal instinct that I was weak. I was terrified and ran as fast as I could. I fell into a ditch and off the tricycle, but I just kept running on my own. The cast was soaked with the dirty water from the ditch, so I had to get it taken off. My leg was no longer swollen, and I knew that I had been completely cured. The rooster became my savior and even congratulated my recovery by becoming the main dish that night.

I wasn’t able to go to kindergarten because of the periostitis, so I had no friends when I entered primary school. The other children bullied me, and I became a crybaby. The leader of the class was a kid named Kenichi, a son of a dentist who was the chairman of the PTA.

I always played with a boy named Yoshio. Yoshio’s father died of tuberculosis. Back then, tuberculosis was an incurable disease and because Yoshio’s house was on the way to school, most kids picked on him, saying that they would catch tuberculosis if they got close to his house. To make it worse, Yoshio was thin and frail, so he was an easy target for bullies. But by the time we were in the 4th grade, Yoshio had grown strong and tall. He was much bigger than all the other children; there was no one in the same grade that could stand up to him. He was also good looking, so the girls couldn’t leave him alone. By the time we were in 5th grade, he had already lost his virginity and most of the girls at our school became his victims. Even in those days, it was rare to see a child who grew up so fast and full of lust.

I didn’t grow up as fast as Yoshio, but my academic results were exceptional. My grades were always first or second in class. Just when I thought that I would be able to win the annual academic award again, the award was given to a boy named Makoto. Makoto had decent grades, but he was the teacher’s pet. I was only awarded with the effort award. I wasn’t satisfied, so I told the teacher in tears, I have better grades; why did you give the award to Makoto? You are unfairly favoring Makoto. But the results didn’t change.

Most of the students from Inage Primary School 1 entered Konakadai Secondary School. The secondary school was about 2 km from my house, which was about a 30-minute walk. Like my older brother and sister, I never missed a day of school no matter the weather. I walked every day on a small path between rice paddies.

When I advanced to second grade, I was invited by a friend named Kimoto to join the tennis club. At school, the tennis club was not official since there was no one who could coach us, but this was exactly the reason I joined. There was no one to tell us what to do, so we could do whatever we wanted. We just played without practicing, so it was much more fun. We took over the court every day before and after school, and we played until we weren’t able to see the ball. But without anyone to coach us or proper training, our results in the city tournament were miserable. It was a great achievement if we could win once or twice. I am a very competitive person, so after losing so many times, I started practicing harder and things became more serious. I went to school with gym clothes under my school uniform, and the moment I heard the bell for recess, I took off my uniform and started to practice.

Japan’s favorite sport is still baseball, but back then it was even more popular so most people played it. In the same grade as mine, there was a kid named Hayashida on the baseball team. He was tall, handsome, and the best player of the team. He was also what we call bancho in Japan: the leader of the bad boys of the school. All the girls wanted to be with him, but the only problem he had was his grades. On the other hand, I was always 4th or 5th highest in my grade even though I did not study and did whatever I wanted in the tennis club. Hayashida didn’t like me for this reason, so he told me to meet him in a forest in Inage. When I got there, Hayashida’s buddies forced me to sit on an old chair and tied my arms around it. Hayashida yelled, Smoke this cigarette! He grabbed my head and pressed the cigarette toward my mouth. Smoke it and you can become one of us! he said, but I never gave in. Because of this experience, I never even wanted to try smoking.

When I advanced to 3rd grade, the teachers wanted to send as many students as possible to Chiba High School, the best high school in the prefecture. All the teachers were concerned, but our homeroom teacher, Mr. Kase, was especially passionate about it. He was ambitious and he told us, I won’t end up just as a mere teacher. Someday I will be someone important. Fortunately, his dream came true: after we graduated, he actually became a member of the prefecture congress.

My grades were good enough to be admitted to Chiba High School, but it wasn’t certain that I would be. Most students who applied to Chiba High School also applied to other private schools just in case they weren’t admitted, but my parents could not afford to pay the tuition for a private school. They told me, I’m sorry, but if you don’t get admitted you will have to work. About the same time, my father became a member of a new religion. The religion claimed that by believing, sickness would be cured and life would get better. My mother didn’t pay any attention to it, but my father became more and more devoted to his new beliefs. My father blamed my mother for our poverty and said, The children do not respect me because of you. We can’t have a better life because you won’t become a member of the religion! Day and night, it was always the same argument. I grew up watching my mother enduring hardship and hating my father. I had a strong complex about being poor, but I never did anything to hurt my mother. How could I, knowing that she woke up before everyone else did to go collect clams and worked hard to raise us?

Fortunately, I was admitted to Chiba High School. I wanted Mr. Kase to be the first one to know, so I ran to the secondary school. I went to the school office and I was told that I could find Mr. Kase in the teacher’s break room. When I got there, Mr. Kase was playing Mahjong with three other teachers. Congratulations, Ryuta! You passed! Come inside; we are playing Mahjong; let me teach you. Mr. Kase seemed to be really happy for me and taught me how.

Once I learned how to play, I gathered my friends Takeshita, Umauchi, and Koyama, wanting to show off what I knew, but to my surprise, Takeshita already knew how to play it. His mother was a Tokyo University dormitory housemother, so the students at the dorm taught him how to play. We gathered our pocket money and bought used Mahjong tiles and started to play for money. I had a natural instinct for these things, so my skills got better rapidly. We started betting 1 yen per 1000 points, then 2 yen, and gradually the rates got higher. I didn’t have much spending money, so Mahjong was my way to earn some extra allowance.

The Umauchi brothers were my best customers. They came from a very elite family whose grandfather and father graduated from Tokyo University, but the brothers were rebellious and denied education. The elder brother, Daisuke, and the younger brother, Hiroji, both refused to attend school and they were expelled because of insufficient attendance. Their mother was working hard to find a school that would accept them.

The gambling escalated and we would play without sleeping for up to three days. By this time, I had become so good at it that I could even beat semi-professionals. I didn’t have to worry about money anymore.

I joined the tennis club just before the summer vacation of my freshman year of high school. I became so devoted to Mahjong that I had kept a distance from tennis, but it was still the most exciting sport for me. Chiba High School used to be highly competitive in all sports, but by the time I was there the school was more interested in sending as many students to Tokyo University as possible, so not many students played sports.

Tennis was great. The senior students would coach us. Itoh, who went to Housei University, and Abe, who went to Aoyama Gakuin University, were especially passionate and came every day to coach us. Abe played at the second-division league, and he was very good at volleys.

There were two students in the same grade as mine who had joined the team: Imai and Fujita. I joined the tennis club after these two, so at the beginning I didn’t stand out, but by the time we had finished our summer camp, my skills had improved impressively. I was better in real matches than in practices, while Imai couldn’t show his true abilities in competitions. At the beginning, Imai and Fujita were playing as pairs, but the senior students wanted to see how it worked to pair me up with Fujita. Unfortunately for Imai, it worked out. We improved rapidly and our motivation also grew. Due to our hard work, in our junior year we had no match we couldn’t beat in the city of Chiba, but in the prefecture there were still strong opponents like Awa, Chousei, and Sousa. We practice even harder, and by the time we started our summer camp, we beat Abe’s team once every three games. The word spread, and even former students of the school came to watch us. This motivated us even more and made us practice even harder. After our summer camp ended, I was involved in