When the Year Turns Anew | Kikuko Ota (Dean, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care)

2010.02.01

When snow falls, the grasses and trees that hibernate

Bloom with flowers unknown to spring. (Ki no Tsurayuki)

In the coldest season leading up to Setsubun, even when your breath is white and your gloved hands are cold, the scent of wintersweet and the yellow flowers of the Amur adonis tell us that "spring is just around the corner."

Risshun (the first day of spring) is the first day of the new year, and Setsubun, the day before, is the last day of the old year.

On Setsubun, we ward off misfortune and pray for good health by loudly shouting "Fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto" (Fortune in, demons out) as we scatter beans. There is a certain novelty in being allowed to do something not normally done, like scattering beans inside the house.

When the year turns anew, I believe that what we practice at these milestones, through various events, is prayer. Why do we pray? We seek to renew ourselves from the reflections and regrets of the old year, imbuing our prayers with the hope that the new year will be better.

I have almost never missed hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the New Year. I walk along the gravel path leading to the nearby Hachiman shrine. It is said that Minamoto no Yoritomo stopped there during his conquest of Oshu, and there was a large pine tree he planted himself. After praying, I would strike the large taiko drum in the shrine grounds with all my might, and the vibrations would travel from my hands through my entire body, further steeling my resolve.

Another of my annual pleasures is buying a small figurine of the year's zodiac animal at a raku-yaki pottery shop in front of Jindaiji Temple in Mitaka. Feeling the warmth of the handmade pieces, I carefully compare each one to find the one with my favorite expression. I place it in my entryway and ask it to watch over me for a safe year.

Recently, while watching the sunrise over the horizon, I was overwhelmed by the vivid change in color of the clouds, sky, and sea from crimson to white, and by the dazzling, gradually intensifying light. I found myself instinctively putting my hands together in prayer at the solemnity of it all.

Praying with a sense of reverence for a greater presence beyond my own power, and praying in a way that clearly acknowledges my own thoughts and wishes, as if engraving them in my heart, is something I believe to be very important. It means that there is a part of me that strives to move closer to those thoughts and wishes in my daily life.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of SFC and the 10th anniversary of the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care. The pursuit of what makes SFC unique will not cease, and it is a time to build on our past achievements and exert our strength on an even greater scale.

Let us reaffirm our aspirations for the future and take on various challenges to make those aspirations a reality.

(Date of publication: 2010/02/01)