Rāhui Day 22 (24): in my lifetime there have been 19 Prime Ministers. I’m really glad that, when the shit’s hit the fan, we’ve got this one. It’s a shame for her, but for us it’s sublime.
Pasta. Real nice.
‘The Big Chill’ and ‘47 Ronin’. Both very moving but for different reasons.
‘The Big Chill’ was my life in microcosm: the music, the substances, the people etc. Also set in the state that I’ve always felt a strong affinity for: South Carolina. Weird? Yes, it is. Blame Pat Conroy and ‘The Prince of Tides’.
‘47 Ronin’ – the story seems to epitomise bushidō to our family: loyalty, honour, sacrifice. The movie déviâtes wildly from the history but it’s still a damn good yarn and many such stories, known as Chūshingura, do get pretty fantastical. Also known as the Akō Incident, it’s a story of revenge in which Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio and 47 ronin (leaderless Samurai) seek out Kira Kozuke-no-Suke Yoshinaka who has dishonoured their master and forced his suicide. When they track him down, they kill him. Because the Shogun had specifically told them not to seek revenge for the death of their lord, and they had clearly disobeyed his order, they were automatically sentenced to death but were allowed the privilege of an honourable death by seppuku (ritual suicide) rather than the death of a street thug which might otherwise have been expected. The youngest was spared to ensure the story would be told.
The last resting place of the ronin is Sengaku-ji Temple in the Takanawa District of Tokyo and when in Tokyo we always visit. On her last visit at the end of 2018, Cushla attended the annual Festival of the Ronin known as ‘Akougishisai’ on 14 December. It’s a very special place and time.
The movie ended, it was midnight, and my family enjoyed the ‘happy birthday in isolation’ moment just a little bit too much I felt.
These are extraordinary times and, in some ways, it’s a bit of a privilege to live through them. Assuming, of course, that we do. Live through them, I mean. Bit of a bleak moment there. Sorry about that.
Cushla made a lolly cake and it was absolutely crash hot. More excitement tomorrow as I am to leave the house to get my old person’s ‘flu jab. As my driver’s licence runs out today and I can’t renew it online because I need an eye test I will be driven to my doctors like Lady Muck of Turd Island as my somewhat earthy old Mum might have said. Appropriate, I thought, because it’s all very secret squirrel with codes and special passwords and ‘ring the bell but don’t come in’ stuff. All for a little prick – and if anyone mentions Mike Hosking they’ll get a damn good slap.
dykiegirl 