Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On Friday, November 13^th, 2015, at St. Paul’s Kindergarten, located in Koriyama City, Fukushima, Ms. Kazumi Ushijima from the Kyushu Diocese of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan held a free concert to entertain and encourage the children, after a child blessing ceremony.

Accompanied by instruments played by some teachers of the kindergarten, Kazumi sang with “a lot of heart.” The enthusiasm in her songs moved the audience deeply.

In her first song, a Japanese one titled “Niji (Rainbow),” Kazumi taught the sign language for a rainbow, which the kindergarteners then learned. The audience and the singer thus came together on an emotional level.
Then she sang more Japanese songs such as “Kimi wo Nosete (Carrying You),” “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (Always with Me (Spirited Away))”, and “Sayonara Boku no Yochien (Bye, My Kindergarten),” with the children joining in on the chorus. When she finished her last song, “Hana wa Saku (The Flower Will Blossom),” the whole place felt clean and bright.
Responding to “Encore!” Kazumi sang a cappella a song named “Ito (Thread),” which moved some of the mothers to tears.

After all the songs, the faculty of St. Paul’s presented Kazumi with a key holder they had handsewn with gratitude.

Then, Kazumi greeted the audience saying, “I always pray for you (Fukushima people), from Fukuoka, Kyushu,” which comforted everyone at the kindergarten.

After the concert, she shook hands with every single kindergarten child—a memory for them to cherish for the rest of their lifetimes.

Refresh (Retreat) Program: “Summer Holidays in Takashima, a Southern Island of Nagasaki”
Over the last four years, the sincere assistance of the Kyushu Diocese has been of great help to the “Refresh (Retreat) Program,” which is targeted mainly at the children, and their parents, of kindergartens affiliated with the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan.
After the concert, the mothers served a luncheon to show their gratitude to Kazumi and Mr. Kimihara, who accompanied the singer. Mr. Kimihara was on the welcoming staff at the retreat program in Takashima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu. He took very good care of the program’s participants. Meeting him for the first time after many months, the participants talked happily about their experiences at the program.
The mothers served home-made foods like “imoni (boiled potatoes *),” a famous local food of Yamagata, a prefecture west of Fukushima, to communicate their gratitude to the guests from Kyushu.

After lunch, the children came in when their schools/kindergartens were over. They were overjoyed to see Mr. Kimihara after so many months. It was an encouraging moment, which demonstrated what a wonderful time those kids had in Takashima during the retreat program.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to Ms. Ushijima and the Kyushu Diocese for their warm encouragement.

* Translator’s note: ”Imoni” is a get-together held in many parts of Tohoku. In fall, many relatives and friends get together on a riverside around a big boiling pot of many ingredients.

Original Japanese written by Koichiro Sasaki, staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On Friday, October 30, 2015, St. Paul’s Kindergarten held its fall excursion. The kids and the faculty went to Kamegajyo Park, Inawashiro Town, Fukushima.

When the kindergarten held an athletic meeting the other day, I joined in and soon discovered that I needed to gain more strength and stamina. So I prepared myself well for this excursion by jogging and doing other exercises. The excursion was expected to involve a lot of running and walking around.

On the day of the excursion, it was slightly chilly here in Koriyama, Fukushima, yet we were bathed in comfortable, bright sunshine. Knowing that I would be having some “active” time with all those kids, I could tell that I would be hot soon and wore only a short-sleeved shirt. Though some nurses kindly asked me, “Aren’t you chilly in that shirt?” I was already excited thinking of the park.

So, there we were in Kamegajyo Park. All of us did good warm-up stretches and shook our arms and legs. Then we kicked off the long-awaited running race in the form of a wild game named “Catch Ms./Mr. XX.”

All the children chased after their nurses and instructors, who were supposed to “run for their lives,” in order not to be tagged out. Needless to say, the kids ran around frantically, trying to tag the faculty members. This was a rather unusual experience for me, since I seldom run around on grass. When I run, it is usually on a paved road, and pavement and grass create different sensations in the legs and feet as I run. Still, in front of all those kids, I did not want to look like a worn-out old man. I simply had to run like a young criminal—until I ran out of breath, oh my God, in only five minutes. My legs were working wham-bam as well. The kiddy hunters were coming in from all directions, in a great number and with great vigor! Alas, the only choice I had was to give up and be tagged out.

We had a plan to stroll around the remains of the Kamegajyo Castle. Then, however, the weather proved its capriciousness and it began to rain. We had no other choice but to have lunch and go home earlier than scheduled. (I had prepared well for visiting the castle—I learned its history in advance, and the sudden rain made me miss a good opportunity to prove I am a history buff.)

Still, the fall excursion was a lot of fun. Running around on grass is such a pleasure. The smells of plants and the wind made us feel the season passing from summer to fall. We learned the weather can suddenly change over mountains. I learned I need to build up my strength further. Most importantly, St. Paul’s kids are always full of vigor and health.

I am already looking forward to an excursion to the same park next year.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On November 9, 2015, a duo named “Rocket Crayons” held a concert at St. Paul’s Kindergarten in Koriyama, Fukushima. The duo is loved by many kindergarteners. This was their third visit to St. Paul’s Kindergarten, and the kids still remembered the duo’s previous performances.

The duo consists of Mr. Takashi Yamaguchi and Mr. Satoshi Takada. In 1996, the two were working at the same nursery as children’s nurses. They added some melodies to what children were saying, which led to some original songs and action rhymes. Then, in September 2004, they kicked off the duo, Rocket Crayons, which has since been performing in concerts that light up the audience’s hearts. The duo has been striving to spread the message, “Life and friends matter.”

▾ In a song-exercise named “Karada Karuta (Body Play Cards),” they sing and touch parts of their bodies. A kindergartener and Satoshi competed in this.

(Translator’s note: “Tanuki” dogs, Nyctereutes procyonoides, are mammals native to East Asia. They do not exist in the Americas, Britain, Africa, the Middle East, or Australia. In Japan, there are many fairy tales of a “tanuki” turning itself into something else.)

▾ To conclude the concert, two nurses gave the duo small tokens of gratitude—two teddy bears, wearing the kindergarten’s logo on their chests. The nurses had applied the logo to the bears, and the two recipients were very happy receiving them.

They all sang, danced, and communicated with each other with lovely smiles. The whole audience, including both the kids and the adults, was delighted. Many thanks, Rocket Crayons!!

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On Wednesday, October 27^th and Thursday, October 28, 2015, all eleven bishops of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan, as well as Revd. Shin’ichi Yahagi, the General Director of the Japan Province Office, came together at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Koriyama, Fukushima.

The bishops were scheduled to visit some areas hit hard by the earthquake of March 2011. To prepare them for the visit, the Project on Nuclear Power and Radiation held a PowerPoint presentation to show them the current state of those areas and to outline what they need. Prior to this meeting of the bishops, our staffers visited those areas to collect data, and then we prepared the PowerPoint slides based on the data collected.

Now, almost five years after the disaster, in Koriyama many citizens are living with the fear of radiation. At the temporary housing facilities, many residents are experiencing a greater need for mental care. Some biological mutations, probably ascribable to radiation, are developing in many plants in Fukushima Prefecture. We presented these and other issues, showing the bishops specific data.

Original Japanese written by  staffer
The English below translated from the original Japanese by Heeday
The English translation edited by Rev. Dr. Henry French, ELCA

On October 29^th, 2015, the hand bell choir of All Saints Chapel, Rikkyo Gakuin (schools in Tokyo and Saitama), held a mini concert at St. Paul’s Kindergarten in Koriyama, Fukushima.

The concert began with a tune called “It’s a Small World.” This was followed by an introduction to hand bells. The kindergarteners, who had their first encounter with hand bells, seemed to be enchanted by the bells’ graceful sounds. They listened very enthusiastically. Then, the kids tried working with the bells themselves. They seemed to be having a very good time, ringing the bells.

To conclude, the hand bell choir played two Japanese hymns, “Kotoritachi ha” and “Galilee no Kaze Kaoru Oka de.” They were joined by the lovely voice choir of Rikkyo Gakuin. The kindergartners sang with them, enjoying a time of comfort with their parents.Following the mini concert, we, the Project on Nuclear Power and Radiation, held a presentation in response to a question from the hand bell choir about the current state of Fukushima.

Some people of the BSA (The Brotherhood of St. Andrew in Japan) were there from the Kanto Region and they too were eager to see the presentation.

We told them that in Koriyama, Fukushima, most citizens were still living every day under stress related to radiation, regardless of what the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown had actually done to them. The whole audience listened to us intently.

To those in the audience who were college students when the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown began in 2011, our presentation likely included some things that they were hearing for the first time. Also, living in Tokyo, many of them were not aware of radiation problems. We hope that their visit to Koriyama has given them a lasting awareness of issues with radiation and nuclear power. They are the young ones who should build the future of our society.