Etsuko Yasunaga

Lost and found

7/4/2021

By Etsuko Yasunaga

I USUALLY walk to and from my French class in the town centre. Heavy rain was forecast on the day. I also slept in. A return trip from my house to the café by foot is around 6 km. There was no choice but to drive to be on time for the start of the class. After the class I drove to the rotunda, and decided to head east to one of my favourite walks in Inverloch: Screw Creek-Townsend Bluff Estuary Walk.

In spite of the heavy rain warning, the sky hadn’t opened by mid-morning. The walk was exceptionally calm and pleasant in the moist and humid air. How many times have I walked this path since I moved to Inverloch? I have lost count.

0 Comments

The best of company

11/2/2021

6 Comments

After our year of hibernation, Etsuko Yasunaga savours the special pleasure of sharing an experience with good friends.

By Etsuko Yasunaga

DURING January we enjoyed our friends’ visits from Melbourne. Especially after the year we had, it was high time to appreciate good company. We rejoiced with each opportunity to rekindle and deepen our friendships. Summer was at its height and the sea breeze was gentle on our skins. After months of lockdowns, particularly for Melbournians, finally our spirits were free to explore and take on new adventures.

Pip told me she was visiting Inverloch for a weekend in early January. She had a catch up dinner with her school friends as well as meetings with her clients. She could easily have stayed with one of her friends but texted me asking whether it was ok for her to stay with us on Saturday night. I was delighted. It had been a long time since we caught up properly. Nowadays there is less opportunity for me to visit Melbourne simply because I’m reluctant to be in the big smoke. I rang her back straight away to say ‘Yes’ and we planned to spend time together on Sunday morning.

6 Comments

Flying high

12/11/2020

6 Comments

Close encounters ... the injured swallow

By Etsuko Yasunaga

I WAS only few hundred metres from home on my daily walk. Two birds flew across my eyes swiftly. It felt like an arrow. They were so fast, but I managed to identify that a wattle bird was chasing an eastern rosella. I was in awe of their speed and admiring their nimble flying ability.

Next second I heard a heavy thud. The eastern rosella hit the wall of a house and with a dull sound fell to the ground near the rainwater tank. It didn’t move for a good few minutes. It was hard to tell from the distance but one of its wings seemed damaged.

Satisfied with the chase, the wattle bird was long gone, had flown away from the scene. Here I was hopelessly left alone with the possibly injured bird, with no clue what to do to save this tiny creature. One thing was clear. I couldn’t keep on walking as if I hadn’t witnessed anything. I had to do something, but I didn’t know what. I felt an urge at least to tell someone to offload my laden chest. Witnessing the fallen bird was simply too weighty for me to carry. Luckily Rob was home, working on our front garden so I returned home to tell him what I had just witnessed. I realised I was quite upset when I was telling him about the poor bird.

6 Comments

A spring in her step

17/9/2020

3 Comments

Etsuko Yasunaga: "Never question when you are intrigued about something. Follow your intuition ..."

By Etsuko Yasunaga

OUR camper stayed under cover for most of this winter. We had a few short trips in between lockdowns, but our annual winter escape journey to the north didn’t happen. The only way I could travel was virtually. When I joined Run Down Under in January this year, little did I know this unique concept would keep me going during challenging times. Each month RDU provided monthly competitions to keep us motivated. August was the Points Challenge.

I was intrigued when I saw the promotion material for this challenge. First of all, the visual image of a lean athlete pushing herself powerfully forward with a big stride caught my eyes. It symbolised her intention, focus and purpose. It captured the beauty of strength so elegantly. I decided I would become an elite athlete on my own terms.

3 Comments

Second time round

2/7/2020

8 Comments

Etsuko, aged 1

By Etsuko Yasunaga

MAY is my birthday month. I like the month of May both in Japan and Australia. In Japan after the spectacular array of delicate pink cherry blossoms that seems to engross the entire nation, May is the season of fresh verdure. The sunshine is brighter and the wind is refreshing and pleasant in late spring. Here in Australia autumn deepens in May and we witness how beautifully leaves grow old, still full of colours on their last days, then they eventually decay. I adore the crisp air in the morning and the glorious sunny afternoons when I can spend many hours immersed in my garden.

It was a culturally significant birthday for me this year. Turning 60 years old is called kanreki in Japan. The characters in the word kanreki literally mean ‘return’ and ‘calendar’. The passage of each of the five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water – combined with each of 12 zodiac animal sign years makes up the sexagenary cycle. The cycle of life returns to its beginning in 60 years in the lunar calendar.

I was born in 1960, the year of the metal rat, and the full 60-year cycle has come full circle this year in 2020. The 61st birthday (60th on a Western calendar) marks the beginning of an individual's second childhood. It is an important event for many Japanese families, often celebrated with a special family gathering. Traditionally, friends and relatives are invited for a large party or a celebratory feast. It is customary for the celebrant to be given a red hood and to wear a red vest. The colour of these clothes is associated with a Japanese word aka-chan, simply a little red one for babies, and thus symbolises the celebrant's return to one’s birth*.

7-5-3 Festival. Etsuko, aged three

For my birthday this year I toyed with the idea of a large gathering with my life-long friends with a few entertainments thrown in or an intimate dinner party with a small number of dearest friends. In the end the pull of the motherland was strong; I decided to celebrate my special birthday with Robert, my mum and sister in Japan. When we booked and purchased our tickets in early February coronavirus was already affecting China. I trekked across Nepal when SARS hit the world in 2003, so I was confident that we could still travel to Japan. I’d never imagined the COVID-19 situation would unfold in the way it did. Travelling home to Japan was only a 10-hour flight before. Now I feel Japan is so far away.

I was pleased to find out that mum wasn’t inconsolable as I expected, but was quite philosophical about the whole situation. She was certainly very disappointed that we couldn’t visit them in May to celebrate my birthday together, but she made her resolve to stay well and healthy until we could meet again. I regularly contact her via LINE, a communications app popular in Japan. She is often cheerful and her voice is usually filled with energy, which makes me happy.

8 Comments

Gotta run

29/4/2020

14 Comments

Photo: Etsuko Yasunaga

By Etsuko Yasunaga

“IT’S QUITE possible that you may have had a heart attack in the past.” My cardiologist said calmly. My mind was racing however, trying hard to absorb and comprehend what she had just said to me. It certainly wasn’t the sentence I expected to hear. It was the end of March. The world was already shrinking due to COVID 19, but this was when my whole world came crashing down on me. I felt heavy and suffocated.

A regular base ECG test at my GP a week prior revealed a few concerns for my heart, so I was referred to a specialist. Doctor’s orders were simple but painful – no more running until I get the all clear. Only three days before this, I participated in a fun run, and officially ran 10 km for the first time in my life. I trained hard and consistently for this event since January. It was a brilliant run, and I had a ball. I just had a taste of the exhilaration of distance running, then only to be taken away from me a few days later. Life was cruel.

14 Comments

Memories of Hiroshi

20/2/2020

16 Comments

A dogwood (Hanamizuki), a tree that Etsuko associates with Hiroshi.

By Etsuko Yasunaga

FEBRUARY comes. When I’m least guarded, after the celebration of festive seasons and an aspiration for the New Year, February comes relentlessly. Summer is at its height and the harvest is abundant. Yet February comes brutally, again and again.

After nine years February still brings a piercing ache to my heart. Though the pain from Hiroshi’s passing continues to heal slowly, a sudden burst of intense sadness engulfs me out of the blue. Still I do not wish to be defined by just one tragic event that took place in my past. As the anniversary of his departure draws near, I can’t help but feel a strong urge to better myself and better the world. This sense of urgency is very personal and only focused at Hiroshi - for him, in honour of him and in respect of his life which was cut short and he could not fulfil.

16 Comments

Between the lines

11/12/2019

16 Comments

Photo: Robert Kenyon

By Etsuko Yasunaga

IT ALL started like this. Miriam asked me one day “How is your writing going, Etsuko?” I can’t recall exactly when she asked this vital question. It must have been at least 18 months after my book launch back in November 2016. To be honest my writing wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t writing as much because I didn’t have readers to write for. I knew I would pick up my writing again soon, somehow. When the pivotal question was asked, however, I was on a sabbatical. “I’m not writing much lately.” At least I was honest with her.

“Why don’t you write for the Bass Coast Post? Introduce yourself to Catherine, the editor. Start from there.”

16 Comments

New horizons

10/10/2019

12 Comments

By Etsuko Yasunaga

HOME is a simple word that conjures so much sentiment. The ache for home resides in all of us. The privation we sometimes experience in our travels makes us appreciate the small things in life. I believe one of the most important reasons we travel is to gain a renewed appreciation for home on our return.

Since we moved to Inverloch, we have been fortunate enough to escape from the winter cold in our camper for a couple of months. We’ve travelled to NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory so far. We headed north again this year. It was our fourth trip to far north Queensland. There wasn’t much excitement as we knew most of the places we were visiting like the back of our hand. Just for a change, we decided to go up the coast. There were quite a few places on the NSW coast we wanted to explore.

12 Comments

What remains

18/8/2019

16 Comments

Photo: Sue Snell

By Etsuko Yasunaga

Empty poppy pod

It was in April, near Anzac Day. I dragged out a shoebox full of seeds, and searched for the poppy pods I had saved from the previous season.

Gardening Australia once had a segment on poppies. The presenter mentioned that if I were to sow the seeds around Anzac Day in April, there should be a wonderful display of poppy flowers in my garden around Remembrance Day in November. It was easy to remember the timing because of the two significant days.

16 Comments

<<Previous