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.
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.
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.
