Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Home Nov 27
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Coastal Connections
  • Bass Coast Prize
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Jordan Crugnale
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Phil Wright
    • Robert Scott
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
  • Features
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Special interest
    • Birdwatching >
      • Birdwatching
    • A cook's journal
    • Foreign Correspondent
    • Gardening
  • Comments
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
  • Contact us

Flying high

12/11/2020

6 Comments

 
PictureClose 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.


Read More
6 Comments

A spring in her step

17/9/2020

3 Comments

 
PictureEtsuko 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. 


Read More
3 Comments

Second time round

2/7/2020

8 Comments

 
PictureEtsuko, 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*.
Picture7-5-3 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.


Read More
8 Comments

Gotta run

29/4/2020

14 Comments

 
Abalone. Photo: Etsuko Yasunaga 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. 


Read More
14 Comments

Memories of Hiroshi

20/2/2020

16 Comments

 
PictureA 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. 



Read More
16 Comments

Between the lines

11/12/2019

16 Comments

 
PicturePhoto: 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.”


Read More
16 Comments

New horizons

10/10/2019

12 Comments

 
Picture
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.


Read More
12 Comments

What remains

18/8/2019

16 Comments

 
PicturePhoto: 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. 


Read More
16 Comments

Born to run

12/6/2019

4 Comments

 
Picture
By Etsuko Yasunaga
 
ON MAY 25, I reached the milestone of my 50th parkrun. It was the day before my first anniversary of joining the amazing Inverloch parkrun community.
 
My beginning was serendipitous. I didn’t plan, and only registered the night before after talking to my dear friend. Back then I didn’t know that planting this tiny seed would lead to such a significant achievement.
 
When I was young, I loved running, especially sprints. I liked the fact that I could push myself to the limit, then it was over in the blink of an eye. I didn’t mind longer distances, but it required me to be more disciplined. I am fit and healthy but running disappeared completely from my life as I grew older. I would have been content as a strong walker for the rest of my life, until parkrun reignited the joy of running.


Read More
4 Comments

Checking out

17/4/2019

10 Comments

 
PictureEtsuko Yasunaga came from Japan to Australia with a suitcase, a little savings and a little English. These days she is happy to call Inverloch home.
By Etsuko Yasunaga
 
ADVANCED technology changed many aspects of our lives in the modern world. It brought many positives of convenience and effectiveness, perceived connection with others and a culture of sharing. The world is virtually right in front of us, just a click of the finger away. We can search pretty much anything and get answers instantly.

​I can’t disagree with the positives that the technology has brought to our modern lives. However, I sometimes can’t deny the feeling of detachment, disconnectedness and shallow emptiness, especially in many social media sites. I feel its instantaneous nature encourages superficiality. I have several social media accounts, although reluctantly. The introverted nature of my personality is revealed strongly in those social networking sites. My accounts are often inactive as I don’t post much on those.


Read More
10 Comments
<<Previous