“A witch diary _ great grandmother _”
When I was a child, I lived in the grandmother house for about 6 month. Her house is very old wooden Japanese style home. And the main gate is opened only for guests coming; usually we use the door from the kitchen. Therefore, the main entrance was dark. There was the great-grand mother’s room near the main gate. She was often sitting on her bed. She always had good posture. Her back was always straight. She looks a tough old aunt, I didn’t know her personality. Then she looked like a "big witch" for me.
Grandmother prayed 6am every day. She had sit down on the floor and face to the direction of the sunrise or face to the altar, prayed with loudly voice (like Tantra). She had not forced other people, prayed by her every morning. Also, as the poet, she was reading her old style poem. It was sounds like an old music and I didn’t understand it. Especially the Morning Prayer, she looked very strange, she was a "witch of morning" for me.
The house had the Japanese garden. There were some glass bottles in the garden corner. Caterpillar’s dead bodies were in the water in the bottle. “Sister Asako” was a maid who was living in grandmother’s house. She caught caterpillars, and then let the caterpillars putted in the bottle and drowns them. She washed herself in a tub outside every night. Even if in the winter too. They let her use the bathroom, but she didn’t want to use it. I remember when was taking a bath, I had listen the sound of water from outside. It was the sound of the water of that “sister Asako” washing her body. She remade the crochet-hook from bamboo chopsticks and she was knitting sweaters. It was first time to see that somebody repair holes in socks and to wear again for me. She taught me how to knit sweater too. Every time she made something much unexpected me, and also killed the caterpillars. "Asako sister" was the “the witch of life and death".
There were some snake-sake bottles in the old Japanese style shelf. They were my grandfather’s bottles. And some antique bowls, old wooden sculpture on the shelf too. I was pricked my feet on a thorn on wooden floor many times. And it had a dark room, this house's atmosphere was fit for the witches.
This Diary was started to write when she stopped a geisha job and married then came into "Onogi" family. This diary had the meaning to change her old habits and had meaning for her psychological therapy. It was beginning to believe from a group of Shinto "Matsushita ancestral Shinto" in 1931 (Showa 6), until her death in 1978 (Showa 53). Then my grandmother edited these diaries and wrote down the modern Japanese version. Then Self-published the book and gifted to her son, daughter, grandson’s home. There was sad memory at that time in the diary. Also we can see her as a local people she did self-cultivation process for" people valued selflessness ". I don’t remember the character of the great-grandmother. My grandmother died at age 98 in 2010. Before she died I found her calligraphy at her room in a nursing home. It was only one word "emptiness" on the paper. She was already 98-years-old but still followed her ideal, and wrote a poem. I thought her mind is really beautiful.
(* Shinto is a local religion of the nature. The biggest natural God is the sun. That’s why my grandmother prays every day to east. to rising sun. They believe the ancestor worship too.)
I start to read the diary that was written by them who gave me a strong influence. I had edited it and I had drawn some small illustrations, made a diary of the “exhibition version ". The female had traditional divine work of ritual at the family in Japan. “Onogi” family (my grandmother family) had same system. So, I am the first granddaughter from her daughter, so maybe that’s why I had produced this book. I think this memorial work is a kind of imagination history of a family.
I am thinking to remake this diary of English version, and Chinese version.
Megumi Shimizu
2011
“A witch diary _ great grandmother _”
When I was a child, I lived in the grandmother house for about 6 month. Her house is very old wooden Japanese style home. And the main gate is opened only for guests coming; usually we use the door from the kitchen. Therefore, the main entrance was dark. There was the great-grand mother’s room near the main gate. She was often sitting on her bed. She always had good posture. Her back was always straight. She looks a tough old aunt, I didn’t know her personality. Then she looked like a "big witch" for me.
Grandmother prayed 6am every day. She had sit down on the floor and face to the direction of the sunrise or face to the altar, prayed with loudly voice (like Tantra). She had not forced other people, prayed by her every morning. Also, as the poet, she was reading her old style poem. It was sounds like an old music and I didn’t understand it. Especially the Morning Prayer, she looked very strange, she was a "witch of morning" for me.
The house had the Japanese garden. There were some glass bottles in the garden corner. Caterpillar’s dead bodies were in the water in the bottle. “Sister Asako” was a maid who was living in grandmother’s house. She caught caterpillars, and then let the caterpillars putted in the bottle and drowns them. She washed herself in a tub outside every night. Even if in the winter too. They let her use the bathroom, but she didn’t want to use it. I remember when was taking a bath, I had listen the sound of water from outside. It was the sound of the water of that “sister Asako” washing her body. She remade the crochet-hook from bamboo chopsticks and she was knitting sweaters. It was first time to see that somebody repair holes in socks and to wear again for me. She taught me how to knit sweater too. Every time she made something much unexpected me, and also killed the caterpillars. "Asako sister" was the “the witch of life and death".
There were some snake-sake bottles in the old Japanese style shelf. They were my grandfather’s bottles. And some antique bowls, old wooden sculpture on the shelf too. I was pricked my feet on a thorn on wooden floor many times. And it had a dark room, this house's atmosphere was fit for the witches.
This Diary was started to write when she stopped a geisha job and married then came into "Onogi" family. This diary had the meaning to change her old habits and had meaning for her psychological therapy. It was beginning to believe from a group of Shinto "Matsushita ancestral Shinto" in 1931 (Showa 6), until her death in 1978 (Showa 53). Then my grandmother edited these diaries and wrote down the modern Japanese version. Then Self-published the book and gifted to her son, daughter, grandson’s home. There was sad memory at that time in the diary. Also we can see her as a local people she did self-cultivation process for" people valued selflessness ". I don’t remember the character of the great-grandmother. My grandmother died at age 98 in 2010. Before she died I found her calligraphy at her room in a nursing home. It was only one word "emptiness" on the paper. She was already 98-years-old but still followed her ideal, and wrote a poem. I thought her mind is really beautiful.
(* Shinto is a local religion of the nature. The biggest natural God is the sun. That’s why my grandmother prays every day to east. to rising sun. They believe the ancestor worship too.)
I start to read the diary that was written by them who gave me a strong influence. I had edited it and I had drawn some small illustrations, made a diary of the “exhibition version ". The female had traditional divine work of ritual at the family in Japan. “Onogi” family (my grandmother family) had same system. So, I am the first granddaughter from her daughter, so maybe that’s why I had produced this book. I think this memorial work is a kind of imagination history of a family.
I am thinking to remake this diary of English version, and Chinese version.
Megumi Shimizu
2011