Nagasaki Road Trip, the countryside

This is the House of the Ishizuka Family, where we have stayed several times before, and had another great time last weekend. This area, in the countryside, was not directly damaged by the Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki city in 1945.

This house is where Michiyo`s Dad Minoru grew up, one of eight siblings. Many Japanese houses have a shrine to ancestors inside. The daily custom for residents, as well as the entrance and exit rituals for visitors, is to kneel before the shrine, break an incense stick in half and place it in an urn of ashes, ring a small gong(?), put hands together and say a Japanese prayer.

These shrines usually have pictures of relatives near it. The shrine at the Ishizuka`s is in the room that I sleep in, under the eyes of Minoru`s parents. I wrote about this room and the experience of staying here for the first time two years ago.

These pictures are Mrs. Fumi and Mr. Kichizo Ishizuka, parents of Chio, Kazuyo, Kanji, Yoshimichi, Minoru, Yotaro, and Hitoshi Ishizuka.

These two keep an eye on us as we sleep. This year, Hiroki was at the beginning of the futon row, next to Mommy and Daddy.
The Ishizuka`s run an orange farm (The oranges are the Japanese kind called mikans--small, sweet like tangerines, and incredibly delicious). My Uncle Kenny and Aunt Mary, and now their son Craig and his family, have a dairy farm in Illinois outside of St. Louis. Whenever we go there, we check out the cows and sometimes wander through the corn fields. At the Ishizuka`s farm, we picked oranges. Michiyo`s cousin Akiko helped Hiroki do his part.
Then it was time for the barbecue!!! All manner of meats and vegetables, chopped into small pieces, to go along with rice balls, and of course, Japanese beer and sake. In this picture, to my right is Minoru`s older brother Kanji, who had throat cancer and is now mute--very fun communicating with him.
Another memorable family gathering is in the books. This picture does not show everyone, but standing to the right of Michiyo and me is the Yoshida family, Tomoko and her kids Hana, now 9, and Shiki, now 13. They came to America for our wedding, and have changed a lot in four years.