Good morning everyone

Good morning everyone?

How was your Thanksgiving? Michi and I caught a cold and so although we were invited to Reiko Kurahara’s home for Thanksgiving, we just stayed at home. But by Friday night, we were feeling much better, so we cooked Sukiyaki. It was delicious. If you want to try our Sukiyaki, Michi can give you our recipe.

Last Sunday I was invited to the Orange County Buddhist church as their

Eitaikyo service guest speaker. Most of you know that the Orange county Buddhist church is one of the biggest temples in BCA. They also have the second largest Dharma School in BCA. I wonder which temple has the largest Dharma School? Hmmmmm.

The Orange County Buddhist Church is in Anaheim. Do you know what else is in Anaheim? There is a professional baseball team called the Anaheim Angeles...

And there is Disneyland!! Did you know that some of the property of Disneyland used to be owned by Orange County Temple members?

Fortunately, last Monday Michi and I took some time to visit and enjoy Disneyland. It was my first time to go to Disneyland, so, I was very excited. We tried the roller coaster rides, we went to It’s a Small World and into the haunted house. Also we saw a show called Disney Magic and we also stayed to see the famous Electric Light parade.

Michi and I drove to Anaheim. We started out early Saturday morning because we wanted to also visit the Manzanar Relocation center on our way down.

I’m sure that most of you know about the Relocation Camps. During World War II, all Japanese and Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and they were sent to one of 10 Camps like Manzanar. Some of you might not know where Manzanar is, so I drew a map.

The Manzanar relocation Camp was located between Sequoia National park and Death Valley National park.

When we arrived at Manzanar, it was a sunny day and temperature was about 70 degrees. We felt the Manzanar was a very comfortable place. So, I said to the guide who was on staff, "This area of Manzanar seems like a good place to live.”

The guide said, now is a best season to visit. If you come to visit in the Summer time, it would be over 100 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night. If you come to visit in the Winter, it will be about 50 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night. During the World War II, people did not have central heating or air conditioning. It was not a comfortable place to live for those who were forced to live here during the War.

And I answered, whose that had to live here must have had much suffering and hardship.

I found a poem written by Mrs. Yasuko Motowaki. The title is Remembering Manzanar. I would like to share her poem with you this morning.

Remembering Manzanar --- by Yasuko Motowaki

Just on the basis of our different faces,

they locked us in places like Manzanar.

There were no traces of disloyal cases,

but differences in races built Manzanar.

They say time erases the pain on our faces,

but time never erases Manzanar.

Michi and I were fortunate to have had an opportunity to visit the Manzanar relocation center. Now we have a deeper appreciation for the history of Japanese in America.

In Buddhism we are taught that everything is impermanent and everything is constantly changing each moment. But we should never forget the important message within Mrs. Motowaki’s poem.