#いまあなたに伝えたいこと　(お父さんへ) What I Want to Tell You Now (To My Father)

Father, there is something I want to tell you.

When I was a child, you were hardly ever at home. I have very few memories of you playing with me.
You were devoted to your work and to your club activities, and you were rarely home even on weekends. Watching my mother struggle, I may have resented you.

However, when I look back, I realize that you were a sincere and trustworthy person.
You went to great lengths for your students, invited them to our small home for sukiyaki parties, and through those gatherings, they were kind to me as well.
When I was accepted into Kobe University, and when I decided to go to America, I later learned that you were quietly happy for me and respected my decisions.

You held the rank of 8th dan at the Kodokan and devoted your life to mastering martial arts, receiving many honors.
I now believe that your strictness and sincerity were simply the way you lived your life.

Even in your later years, you continued to train your body, doing sit-ups on your bed.
Even after developing liver cancer and having half of your liver removed, you never stopped training.
You were a proud man and allowed only my mother to care for you.
And still, my mother continued to support you.

Eventually, your liver cancer worsened, and you passed away at the age of eighty-seven by the traditional Japanese count.
You were a man who lived according to your principles until the very end.

Now, I sometimes feel that I wish you had paid a little more attention to your family.
Yet I also realize that I had been watching the way you devoted yourself entirely to your work.
From the bottom of my heart, I wish I could see you one more time.

⸻

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#ToMyFather #FamilyMemories #Gratitude #Respect #LifeLessons #MartialArts #Father #FamilyLove #Memories #Reflection