contents - Gallatin School of Individualized Study - New York ...

Hanako SakagamiSakurafor the Japanese, sakura, or cherry blossoms in English, have special meaning.They are the symbol of spring and have been loved for ages. They were usedin the traditional Japanese poems, waka and haiku in the Heian era (794-1185). If atraditional poem just says “flower,” we think of cherry blossoms. Even nowadays,we hear about cherry blossoms in pop songs during springtime, and they alwaystop our hits chart.In addition, our new school term starts in April, which is springtime, andcherry blossoms are usually planted in the schools. Therefore, it is the flowerthat paints March graduation and the first day of school. Cherry blossoms are thecolor of our lives. When we see cherry blossom trees, they trigger memories of ourcountry’s past.In my memory, too, cherry blossoms are special flowers. I lived with myparents and grandparents in Japan. My grandfather had a cerebral infarction,and he gradually lost his ability to walk. First, he used a cane and then becamewheelchair-bound. Finally, he had a compression fracture and couldn’t get upfrom his bed. He was in the hospital for quite a long time, and he had always saidthat he wanted to go back home. But every time we planned to go back, he got afever or caught pneumonia, so we couldn’t get permission from the doctor.I usually visited him in the hospital on the weekend. I talked with him andmade him food to eat. He was hard of hearing and had difficulty speaking clearly,but he could understand when I spoke near his ear. He stared at me and tried tosay something. He opened his eyes wide, smiled, and sometimes grimaced. So wedidn’t talk much and just stared at each other. One time, I made him yogurt fordessert. He looked happy because he liked sweets. I said, “See you,” as I usuallydid. And he said, “Thank you,” again and again. I could hear those words veryclearly. They were the last words I heard from him. Five days later, he passed away.Unfortunately, he couldn’t go back home. We had plans to go back, justtwo days later, but we didn’t tell that to him because he was always disappointedwhen he couldn’t leave. My mother often tells this story to the family and cries.Being Together83hanako sakagami