A Japanese Dream in Seventy-Nine Letters (standard:fantasy, 66813 words)
Author: Namiko	Added: Jan 11 2003	Views/Reads: 3674/3523	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Namika, a young Japanese woman travels to Oxford. There she meets a German student. After having returned to Kyoto, her home town, she starts writing seventy-nine love-letters in a period of 20 consecutive months.

Oct. 8, 1975 

Dear Hubert, 

Autumn has at last come to us: this summer the heat remained longer than
usual. The air is quite cool and pleasant now. The blossoms of the tree 
smell in our garden. The scent is sweet but it somehow stirs up the 
desires inside me. I don't like it very much because it makes me 
restless. Quite recently my grandfather, the father of my mother, died 
of cancer. He was 85. My letter is usually quite long, but if it is not 
interesting at all for you, I'm awfully sorry and forgive me. And also 
please don't mind any more to write to me in block letters. In whatever 
way it is written, I'm happy to get a letter from you. As I told you, 
my brother, 26, is going to engage this autumn. So my parents bought 
his fiancé a diamond engage ring. The size of the diamond is like this 
and it cost about 290 Pounds. Don't you think it silly to spend that 
amount of money on the ring? His fiancé is short and fattish and I've 
nicknamed her as 'pig'. So I always say to my mother, "Hey mother, it's 
like 'a diamond for a pig'!" Teaching at Notre Dame Girls' High School, 
my alma mater, is monotonous, boring and unbearable. But on the other 
hand, I'm beginning to feel recently that I'm learning something new 
from teaching. I think this is a good discovery. But the bad point is 
that other teachers are so often having a chat about their little 
children or about the too domestic matters. I'm fed up with hearing 
them. So in my spare time in the teachers' room, I'm either reading 
something or speaking with the American sisters. By the way the Emperor 
and the Empress of Japan are paying a visit to the United States from 
Sep. 30 for 8 days or so. And finally how do you feel about your new 
university life? I hope it's interesting and enjoyable. I'm looking 
forward to hearing from you quite soon. So Hubert, good-bye and good 
luck. 

Namiko 

Oct. 21, 1975 

Dear Hubert, 

What a nice letter you gave me! And I'm glad to hear that your college
life is not bad except your room. If your room is so small, I wonder if 
it is an attic or something. You mentioned you applied for a job as 
international telephonist, but how can you find time to work besides 
being a student? As a matter of fact, one year ago when I was senior, I 
applied for a job as international operator to Japan International 
Telephone and Telegram Co., Ltd. I passed the paper examination in 
English, but after having an interview with the staffs of that company, 
they informed me of their not adopting me. I suppose they didn't adopt 
me, because I didn't look sociable, and strong enough to endure the 
work. By the way, it just came to my mind that some day I'd like to 
talk with you on the telephone. Well, Hubert, I'm going to take an exam 
of Cambridge certificate of Proficiency in English on the 10, 11th 
December. I don't like exams; I'm really fed up with them. But if I 
pass it, it will be a good qualification of English when applying for a 
foreign university. As for what I'm going to do in the future, I'm just 
thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and 
thinking and thinking ...! But sooner or later, I must decide anyway. 
My present social obligation is solely to teach at Notre Dame until the 
end of the next January. By the way, did I tell you I play the violin? 
I started practicing it at 12. Now I'm not having a private lesson, but 
quite often I play it just for enjoyment. It somehow helps me to 

be out of the nihilistic mood for a moment. But since my performance is
awful, I assure you will get stomach indigestion or terrible headache 
to hear it! Just a couple of days ago a friend of my mother visited our 
home. Her husband, a professor, is on his research trip to Canada, the 
U.K. and Europe. As he has such a dark brown skin, his wife got so 
worried and felt shame that he would go to the white men's countries 
and so she desperately tried to put powder or something on his face, 
only in vain, to make it look more white. But she's a very good natured 
woman. In Japan it rains quite often in autumn. But we also sometimes 
have a beautiful weather in which the sky is blue and the air is fresh. 
I want to read D.H. Lawrence once in English someday. I may be a little 
sentimental. Anyway, je dois te dire adieu, maintenant, mon cher 
Hubert. 



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