Luckiest Man in Japan

Nice to meet you. Or should I say, it’s good for you to meet me because I’m special you see. I’m the luckiest man in Japan. Even better, I’m not the luckiest man because I’m good at pachinko* or I’ve cheated death so many times. It’s nothing as simple or material as that. No, I’m lucky for other reasons, many reasons. One of those reasons is sitting next to me on this train.
My girlfriend? No, but isn’t she cute? This is my daughter. I have three daughters. Would you like to see a picture? No? Ok, sorry, I’m just so proud of my daughters that I don’t care who sees. It’s probably unseemly for a man to be so bursting with joy but again, I’m about to retire so what do I care? Hisako, there are so few “ko”* names now, is my middle daughter though she’s the tallest so people often think she’s the oldest. She has two sisters, Naoko and Rie. Naoko is my oldest daughter and Rie is my youngest. Naoko is married with one baby. They’re coming to visit us for Obon* and my wife and I are very excited. Rie is married as well and very pregnant. She’s short so her belly just overwhelms her frame. She does look like she swallowed a beach ball every time I see her. They both have good husbands and I’m glad of it. A good match is important. I swear if I ever hear their husbands have made them cry I’d break every bone in their body. I’m not keen on getting arrested so I’m very glad they have loving husbands.
I am certain their husbands love them like I love my wife. I’ve always loved my wife. We met through family in our little town. She was very quiet which I didn’t like at first but as we’ve been married I’ve noticed she’s quiet because she’s listening, always taking things in. I often find my wife picks up on even the tinest change in my speech and seizes on that to ask about my welfare. She keeps a neat house and cooks well. I’ve made it a habit of telling her that I appreciate it. That I love her. She blushes like a first year high school student even still. I’ve been openly loving her for quite some time and it still makes her blush. Sometimes I tell just because I think she’s cute when she blushes.
Have I always loved my wife? Yes, but I haven’t always told her. No, I’m not a member of any clubs for men who can’t tell their wives they love them and are deathly afraid of divorce. As you get older, your priorities change. Soemtimes something happens and it makes you see what’s been going on around you.
It wasn’t a heart attack or a cancer diagnosis or losing my job. It wasn’t even something that really happened to me. It was seeing something that happened to someone else. It was the suicide man that gave me pause. I didn’t know this man, this man in a business suit who looked just like me. I figured he was standing close to the platform because he wanted a better seat on the train at a busy time. But that wasn’t it. When I look back I can’t help but wonder if I’d been as I am now if I would have saved him. He wasn’t big or dramatic about it. He jumped at the last minute, one second he was “waiting” for a seat the next he was on the tracks waiting to be cleaned up. There wasn’t much in the news about it, trains were delayed but that was it. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. I’ve had trains delayed for “technical difficulties” before but I’ve never seen someone become a technical difficulty. More and more I was struck by how much this man looked like me, like all the other commuters. Did he have a family? Was he in debt? Was he fired? Did he have friends? Would someone put incense at his alter in the coming year or did he just vanish? Was all that was left of him a pension?
I didn’t think then “Ah, I’m going to let my family know I love them”. My life, as fantastic as it is, isn’t a movie. It was a change I didn’t realize until my wife pointed it out. It started that night. I came home late. Hisako was up studying for high school exams at the time. She never slept well even when she was a baby. She’s more like her mother, constantly taking in the world and worrying about it. Math, she was struggling with math. I don’t know why I did it, but I sat down beside her and we talked about math. Usually I just ate the dinner my wife left out but tonight I sat down with my middle daughter, the quiet daughter and shared a bit of her world of tests.
We still do that, today I’m visiting her after a doctors appointment. I’m still very healthy for a man my age. She explains to me about the reorganizing of her company and I tell her a little about mine. She’s a little jealous of her sisters, married with babies but she’s happy at her company. I’m happy she’s happy. I’ve told her before I’d rather she waited and found a good husband than just settled for the first one to come along. I confided in her that I’d like to stay out of jail for assault. She laughs at my jokes, as many times as she’s heard them. Her laugh is small where mine is big and I’m certain it fills up the whole train. As she gets off at her stop I say good bye to her and take my seat again.
If I am not the luckiest man in Japan, I don’t know who is.
Pachinko- Kind of like pinball and slot machines combined.
“Ko” names- A while ago most girls names had the kanji “Ko” attached to their names. As the years have gone on this has become less and less common.
Obon- the time in the summer when people go back home to tend their family shrines. It’s a bit like Memorial Day.
I had the privilege of sitting next to this guy on the train. Alas he didn’t talk to me but he kept looking over my shoulder while I was writing. He also had a big deep voice and made huge sweeping gestures. He reminded me a lot of my own father. He was with a younger woman who looked quiet but very interested in what he was saying. He smiled a lot and even dared to smile at me. Considering people are usually very put out by having to sit next to me, I was glad of a smile so I gave this guy a nice story.