English Blog

Christmas Prayer 12/24/18 December 24, 2018

Holy God of love, we rejoice in the reality of who you are. We live within the joy of your love for us. Our contentment comes and goes. Our happiness ebbs and flows. Our feelings depends upon our circumstances, but our joy is deeply rooted in our identity as you beloved children.  We give you […]

A Movie “Shoplifters” 万引き家族 12/3/18 December 3, 2018

I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since this summer. Finally it is showing at the nearby theater. I love Kore-eda’s movies. “Shoplifters” won this year’s Palme d’Or! Kore-eda revisits the theme on “Family”, this time even deeper. The made-up family lives with an old lady in the very tiny house in Tokyo. […]

A Movie “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” 11/20/18 November 20, 2018

She is Maria Callas!! And she talks about herself. So it is easy to imagine what we may see in the movie 🙂 What a life! She died when she was 53 in her apartment in Paris. When I was in Paris I happened to spot her tomb. It is very simple, unlike her real […]

Beethoven: Piano Sonata Op. 109 11/5/18 November 5, 2018

I have been studying Beethoven’s piano sonata Op. 109. I have taught this piece, but I have never performed it. Op. 109 has been living in my heart for a long time, and I am glad to prepare for the performance, finally. As everyone knows it is a very special piece. The first movement is […]

Beethoven Second Piano Concerto Op. 19 10/26/18 October 26, 2018

In 1795 Beethoven had a mission to achieve! He had a Vienna debut concert coming up. Beethoven was 24 years old (at the time of the concert), and he needed to show how great he was as a composer and a pianist. Beethoven had 2 big musicians to follow, Mozart and Haydn. He carried their tradition […]

Good Things to Remember Everyday 10/16/18 October 16, 2018

Recently I changed my long time routine. I quit reading books when I am in bed before going to sleep. From my very young age I always carry a book to go to bed, and read it. Instead I gently close my eyes and start remembering good things happened that day. Tasty fruit at breakfast, […]

A Movie “The Old Man and The Gun” 10/15/18 October 16, 2018

This movie is based on David Grann’s 2003 New Yorker article about Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), a criminal expert (!) who robbed many banks, escaped from prison on at least 18 separate occasions (he escaped from San Quentin at the age of 70….), and went on his final crime attempt at the age of 79! That […]

A Movie “Science Fair” 10/1/18 October 1, 2018

What an energy!! Being young is just wonderful! The film picked 9 brilliant high school students from all over the world to follow their path to come to ISEF (The International Science and Engineering Fair). I really did not know anything about ISEF! It is a huge event. And many high schoolers think ISEF is the key […]

A Movie “Kusama: Infinity” 9/21/18 September 21, 2018

Yayoi Kusama, a 89 years old Japanese artist, is the top-selling female artist in the world. Her exhibitions are often sold-out. She speaks in Japanese in this movie and I hope the audience can feel the nuances in her Japanese in the subtitle. Her speaking manner is quite unique, but totally sincere. Kusama went through a hard […]

Convenience Store Woman (コンビニ人間)Sayaka Murata (村田沙耶香) Portobello Books 9/10/18 September 10, 2018

I got this book at Hong Kong Airport. I saw the review on “Convenience Store Woman” on LA Times a little while ago, and I was interested in reading it. The translation from Japanese to English is very quirky and funny, for purpose, I think. It sometimes sounds some of bad owners manuals in English we found […]