Memories of My Mother:
November 26th is the 7th anniversary of my mother’s death, which I consider to be the Starting Point of my medical profession inherited from my acupuncture-moxibustion specialist mother. Not even a day has gone when I did not think of her since her passing. What is more, I always feel that she is with me when I give treatment to my patients. I owe my mother for everything that I am and have today. And for the coming month, I wish to remember my mother by committing my memories of her to writing. What I learned from her is the starting point of my medical profession. October is the month in which I was born. So, I wish to get back to the starting point as the basis of my pursuit of this medical profession through my writing which helps me reaffirm my determination.

No Compromise in Life:
My mother was born in the first decade of the Showa era, which we commonly call “The One Digit generation of the Showa era.” Her father had practiced acupuncture-moxibustion treatment for a long time in Fukushima Prefecture. She owed it to him that she was able to acquire a license to practice the same profession at the age of 17. Thus, she worked under the strict guidance of her father. She loved reading and acupuncture practice, which were her only interests in life. So much so that she was considered a sort of “square” by her sisters. But in my eyes, she was remarkably capable of handling more than one thing at a time. She was always studying acupuncture and moxibustion while listening to music on the radio or watching TV. Once she asked me while watching TV, “Do you know why this ramen-shop is so popular?” She answered her own question and said, “That’s because the master never makes any compromise on the taste,” though she had never eaten the ramen at the shop. “Oh, yah?” I casually responded. I then realized that making no compromise in the way one handles one’s business is not such a simple thing. She, too, made no compromise and was so dedicated to her work as listening to her mentor’s taped lectures before dropping off to sleep or keeping his book in hands in bed.

Maintaining a Consistent Attitude:
My mother maintained an unbelievably consistent stance toward all her patients, always giving thought to how to make their lives easier and more comfortable. I have heard many touching words from her ex-patients about how thoughtful she was when looking after them. Not a few of them say that visiting Nishinomiya brings back vivid memories of my mother and tears to their eyes. Now I have a patient who frequently suffered from brain infarctions after my mother died. She sees me now for treatment and she has had no relapse of the problem.
Last year, a man who was one of my mother’s patients came to me from Kyoto. He put himself to bed for treatment. When I entered the room, he was putting his hands to his eyes to control his tears. I asked him what he was crying about. He said, “Your voice sounds like your mother’s, and made me imagine as if Kazu-Sensei was back here.” The man, now 95, who had hit it off so well with my mother Kazu, remembered her and saw her at my side and choked back tears. He is just as thoughtful about my health as he was about my mother’s. Thus, even after passing away, my mother is loved so much by many as she was in life. What happiness, indeed!

Her Letters to Patients … She was always looking at her ways of living:
As I was going through things left by my mother 6 years ago, I saw so many notes and memorandums written by her. They filled almost 10 cardboard boxes. I was reminded of her words that she was committing every important piece of professional information to paper. Writing was the best way to learn, she used to say. What surprised me more was an uncountable number of encouraging letters she wrote to her patients, in which she expressed her honest thoughts, ideas and opinions. Some of these letters, written by hand, are back in my hands now. They make me realize anew that she was always trying to confirm and reconfirm if her heart and mind were pure and clean in the strictest sense of the term. A couple of examples: “I want to live, always trying to correct my course of life…,” “What shocks me in a crushing sense of defeat comes when I realize I am still unable to change my mind’s impurity….” Thus, even after she turned 60, she was still challenging herself and trying for her self-revolution. In one letter that she wrote a year before her death, she says: “As compared with the eternity of life, one’s own lifetime lasts only a short period. I’m living this short period to the fullest extent of my strength in order to win another victorious life. So, I will give myself in its entirety to acupuncture practice again from tomorrow.” To me, it sounds like some unforgettable lines from a movie! I’m sure that it was her patients who thus kept giving constant encouragement to my mother.

On Acupuncture Needles:

“Use good needles.” “Handle your needles with care, ‘caressing’ them lovingly.”
These are the words of advice usually given by my acupuncture mentor, especially referring to the ancient needle (meaning the non-disposable contact needle).
On one occasion, I was told that each acupuncture point has an eye, and is likely to “react” quickly if a needle point is directly aimed at it, so I should hide the needle point within my hand. Although such a remark may sound somewhat singular in the medical world, the words of my mentor fascinate me all the time.

On Trainees:

The mentor is tremendously attentive to the attitude and behavior of each trainee, and gives proper advice. For instance, to a trainee who holds his/her head down, he says: “You have some useless thoughts in your mind. Don’t be bothered by them. Try to live straight without wavering!” He is watching how a trainee opens a door, how he/she walks, or what he/she leans against while having a rest. His words, uttered abruptly and unexpectedly, do have a surprisingly deep meaning to us, which we come to understand a little later.

On Patients:

As a patient arrives at the entrance of the clinic, the mentor catches the glimpse of the patient, and makes close analysis of the person’s handwriting used in the clinical chart. Not a few patients are moved to tears at the advice given in a few words given by him, whose piercing power of observation and intuition is extremely strong.

On My Mentor’s Blogging:

Every time I attend his workshop, I am impressed by his manner and thought of preparing his blogging, which he recently started. He selects the relevant photographs most carefully for each blog and makes painful efforts, asking the opinions of his trainees as well, to retain the interest of its readers. He says such considerations will never fail to strike the hearts and minds of readers. His words apply to all our relationships with the people we treat.

The Importance of one’s feelings toward others:

He attaches the highest importance to “thoughtfulness” toward people we meet. How thoughtful we are toward our patients when we provide acupuncture treatment to them, and how we face and listen to our mentor are the fundamental key that helps bring about the success of the treatment. It also helps us ascertain where the thought of the patient is, which also helps us harmonize with the patient. As a consequence, we are made to realize that all these considerations are mutually connected and lead us in the direction of profound optimism.

Transmission of One’s Feelings:

When my mother was fighting against her illness, another woman, who was a little older than my mother, was lying in the bed next to hers at the same hospital. One morning, as I went to the hospital, my mother, who was already in the terminal stage of cancer, was carrying a meal tray with a feeble step to the woman. Seeing my mother, I instinctively offered to take the tray from her hands, and carried it myself to the woman. Looking at me, my mother said: “What a tender-hearted voice you have! Such a compassionate voice will surely soothe the minds of many patients.” It was something unusual that my mother praised me by such words. If my voice really sounded so tender-hearted, it must have been evidence of my mother’s heart being transmitted to me.

The Reward of Bearing the Unbearable Grief:

The 7th anniversary of my mother’s death will come around this November. Her struggle with illness taught me the preciousness of each moment of a human life. The diminishing of her precious life helped me find and entertain profound love toward all forms of life. It is in the border between life and death that we realize the solemn truth of the value of feelings. My mentor lost his beloved daughter to an illness, too. No matter how much time has passed since, I still sense the grief he is still feeling, when I see him. Indeed, I can engage in this profession of mine thanks to the experience of bearing the unbearable grief, for which I always feel deep gratitude.

We are always exposed to heatstroke unless we take care:
“It’s really hot, isn’t it?” is not a simple expression of greetings. It is an honest utterance of one’s “agony” in this continued heat every day. During the week after July 19, more than 9,000 people were taken to hospitals by ambulance for heat attacks. Of them, as many as 100 or more lost their lives under the heat. This phenomenon continues despite the daily report on heatstroke, commonly called Necchusho in Japanese. What does it mean? It means people are not taking enough care of their health which is being damaged tremendously beyond imagination. In Gifu Prefecture, it was reported that the temperature marked 39.4 degrees Celsius on a blast of burning wind, which brought cutting pain to the skin. The temperature on the ground rose to 50 degrees or higher.
This state of weather is not limited to Japan but it covers the whole hemisphere. In the vicinity of Moscow, Russia, the heat caused forest fires at 28 locations and the smoke contaminated the atmosphere, resulting in heavy smog. People there are wearing face masks, they say. The high temperatures are a result of triple effect of the Tibetan and Pacific high atmospheric pressures, and the high pressure above the 6,000 meter altitude. In other words, the entire atmosphere on earth is covered by high atmospheric pressures.

The Perception of Heat Attacks in Oriental Medicine:
Oriental Medical term of heat attack is “Chusho,” meaning “in the midst of heat.” When the attack gets worse, it is called “Shousho,” which means “injured by heat.” Those who get dehydrated and lose their lives due to disturbance in consciousness are victims of “Shousho.” Its symptom differs from person to person, but in early stages,
headache, nausea, lethargy, and lack of appetite are common among the sufferers, but many fail to realize that these symptoms are caused by the heat.
These days, a number of people come to my clinic, complaining of one symptom or another, but few of them seem to realize that the heat is to blame. Some admit one single acupuncture prick on the abdomen has made them feel much better and relieved.
In deteriorated cases, they tend to feel sick and dizzy and even driven to puke up, or become unable to keep standing and sustain consciousness.
The most perilous aspect of a heat attack is it causes physical dehydration. Those who have high blood-pressures, a tendency toward myocardial infarction or thrombophilia must be very careful. The important key in coping with heatstroke is to know how to keep well-hydrated.

Susceptibility to Heatstroke:
Elderly people are more likely to be affected because their bodily functions to absorb
and retain moisture decline, hindering effective metabolism. The process can be likened to a cut flower. While a freshly cut flower has a more effective capability of raising and preserving water, older one loses such effectiveness. Likewise, elderly people’s water preserving power is weaker than that of younger people. Also, the people whose bodily functions are weakened due to atopic heatstroke, physical strain or lack of sleep should take extra care. Thus, we should have a good knowledge of our physical mechanisms and take care not to fall victim to extreme heat. It is indeed very regrettable that some people are dying unnecessarily due to carelessness. Not keeping
the stomach and spleen appropriately warm is just as bad and may cause loose bowels and exhaustion. Thus, it is very important to know about one’s body conditions and try to keep them well balanced. Give thought to the following (20) assumptions and check the numbers where you think you fit in. The more numbers you check, the greater is your susceptibility to heatstroke.

1)Those who are older than 60 years and have higher blood pressures
2)Those who have a tendency to constipation
3)Those whose intake of vegetables are deficient
4)Those who are fond of meat and greasy food
5)Those who are susceptible to skin festering
6)Those who are fond of drinking cold beverages
7)Those who are excessively sensitive to hot weather
8)Those who tend to discharge deep yellow urine
9)Those who lose appetite due to hot weather
10)Those who are fond of drinking and smoking
11)Those who have suffered from itchy skin inflammation or eczema
12)Those who tend not to sleep well
13)Those who tend to suffer from mouth sores
14)Those who are impatient and get easily irritated
15)Women whose intervals between periods get shorter (twice a month, for instance)
16)Those whose eyes are usually bloodshot
17)Those whose legs tend to feel glowing hot in bed at night
18)Those who tend to overeat themselves
19)Those whose tongue tend to look red and dry
20)Those who feel a burning sensation around the anus when excreting

In all cases, except No.9 and No.12, dehydration due to heat is involved. Taking care of oneself, wherever is possible, is important by eating much vegetable food, for instance, keeping exhaustion away, sleeping well, and maintaining well-balanced diet. I would recommend a habit of eating such items of food as melons, watermelons, cucumbers, and fruits, which are all effective in keeping the body temperatures down. Also, do not forget to take enough salt-containing food such as pickled plums.
I would also advise keeping room temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius, and using things that help keep temperatures down, such as water pillows or some sort of refrigerant. In any case, try to overcome this heat, for I believe that, if used wisely, human cleverness can prevail over the rage of nature.

Helen Keller and Satoshi Fukushima
As I was watching a late TV program, occasionally dozing off, something woke me up and glued me to the program. It was Professor Satoshi Fukushima’s remark, “If we discover the meaning of living, then there’s no reason to get desperate….” Professor Fukushima, who I had’nt
seen before , became completely blind and deaf at the age of 18 in the 100th anniversary year of Helen Keller’s birth (1880).
Professor Fukushima is now teaching at the University of Tokyo (Todai). I understand that it is something unprecedented in the world for a completely blind and deaf person to be a professor of a university. Not long ago, I had an opportunity to buy and read his book titled “To live means to associate with people!” I found the book advertised in a newspaper.
He was born in Kobe in 1962. When he was four years old, his right eye was excised, and at age nine, he lost his entire eyesight. At age 18, he was also completely deprived of his hearing. He writes in his book: “How should I or can I continue to live in this condition?” He says it felt as if he was hurled into complete emptiness of the dark universe. “My soul was literally enshrouded in frozen solitude,” he says, looking back on his agonizing past.
Professor Fukushima tried to conduct communication with others by means of a particular type of braille, which was worked out by his mother (having somebody write in braille on the back of a hand). His efforts and hardships are unimaginable, but he is an astonishing optimist. His book tells here and there how he is attempting to live a most meaningful life for both himself and others.

Living a natural and comfortable life
While I was reading his book, the following passage struck me as the very core of his philosophy: “Maybe it is an impossibility for a physically handicapped person like me to live on a par with non-handicapped people (in terms of power of action or productivity), but that does not actually have much meaning in itself. The purpose of life exists not in being able to act equally well with able-bodied people but in carrying on a life of spiritual comfort naturally, regardless of handicaps such as not being able to see or hear like myself. Being physically handicapped is one thing, pursuing a spiritually rich life of comfort is another thing completely.”
“Richness of life has nothing to do with physical handicaps…” These words can come only from a person who has overcome an unimaginably enormous handicap.

Softening up mental tension through physical treatment
Nowadays an increasing number of people are coming to my clinic, complaining of
problems in eating, depressive psychosis, or suffering splitting headaches for many years. These problems are nothing new at all. In proportion to the seriousness of the symptoms, almost all of these cases seem to be connected with long-term emotional turmoil even from early childhood. In other words, these physical problems are the result of prolonged struggle with mental depression.
In order to release these people from the long mental depression, I am treating them on the physical side by acupuncture and moxibustion. It proves the real value of Oriental medicine. In fact, many of my patients suffering from eating problems say acupuncture helps clear up their minds. A close relative of one patient said she had not seen the patient smiling so happily in many years.

Changing the way of thinking
When I carry on conversations with my patients, I often feel respectful toward them and admire their powerful stance to the difficult environment they find themselves in. But what about the patients themselves? How do they regard themselves? Contrary to what I think of them, many of them keep blaming themselves. Blaming oneself hinders the free budding and development of one’s possibilities. Though not directly related to the hardships conquered by Professor Fukushima, we all must learn from his experience that any human being is blessed with the same kind of power as his to face and overcome his/her own handicaps, whatever they are.
Professor Fukushima writes in his book, “I owe my life to other people…. It is a well-known fact that all of us, without exception, owe our existence to the people around us. The awareness of the “vulnerability” and “weakness” we all share leads to compassion and kindness to others.” It forestalls the tendency to feel humbled or arrogant. His egalitarian way of thinking about human beings greatly impressed me. The uncontrollable physical and mental conflict he suffered under agonizing circumstances led to his capability to empathize with other.

Hardship is just another name of one’s mission
As he kept practicing on the piano at his home, Professor Fukushima felt his hearing was gradually weakening. He recollects how sadly frightening it was that the pitch of the sound, though being produced on the same keyboard, kept changing day after day. Three months later, his hearing was completely gone. During those three months he wrote letters to his friend, and I wish to conclude this writing by quoting one passage from his letter introduced in the book: “If I, too, have a mission for life, then it is my absolute responsibility to fulfill it. Fulfilling the mission necessitates successfully overcoming this painful handicap, because I have reached the conclusion that my mission is none other than my success in the attempt….”

Should we ever feel that we have “collapsed” in our journey through life, we must recall these words of Professor Fukushima and resiliently rise again. It is my belief that anyone is surely capable of doing so.

(Wonders of Nature)

There was a great volcanic eruption in the Eyjafiallajokull area in Iceland on April 14th.　The horrible scene of the eruption makes us think that “our planet” is very much alive. Most of the Icelandic islands are volcanic and carry extensive glaciers. It is said the high-temperature magmas meet glaciers, resulting in steam explosions. According to environmental specialists, even greater explosions may occur at the adjoining volcano any time.
The recent volcanic eruption affected the life of eight million people. Airlines lost 38 billion dollars per day. The total loss in general rose to 280 billion dollars or more, which exceeded the damage caused by the terrorists’ act in the U.S. Since the volcanic eruption was an act of God, nobody could complain or blame anyone. Thus, Nature sometimes teaches us how small human beings are. But we also learn some lessons from this sort of natural phenomenon, and begin seeking how to co-exist and cope with Nature.

(Oneness of life and its environment, or esho-funi in Japanese)
This means non-duality of life and its environment. As I said above, our planet earth is much alive and, like us human beings, shows its various expressions from time to time. Esho-funi is a Buddhist term, meaning our environment (eho) and our life (shoho) are not two entities but one single reality. The two are closely connected in essence and is never separated. Some years ago, it was reported that soon after a large-scale cleaning campaign in New York the number of crimes remarkably decreased. It proved that human minds are inseparably connected with the environment. Thus, the human desire to protect nature leads to harmonious collaboration between life and its environment.

(Oneness of mind and body, or shinshin –funi)
In oriental medicine, it has been said for thousands of years that our mind and body are closely connected and inseparable, too. Now I have a patient who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Her limbs are constantly shaking. Her life has been loaded down with difficult problems. On one occasion I said to her, “Isn’t it true that the shaking gets exacerbated each time your mind is disturbed?” She said I was right and candidly admitted that she was always worried and irritated about this and that. And asked me, “How could I handle this?”
In fact, there are other health problems besides Parkinson’s, such as atopy cases and many others. In many cases, mental stress worsens the symptoms. In answer to her question, I said, “Compare yourself to your husband who is bound to bed and even cannot eat. In contrast, you are able to enjoy eating at least and can walk and talk. Don’t you feel happy to think of these blessings?” My answer seemed to wake her up. She said, “You’re right, indeed! I’ve been always complaining about this and that and never ever been thankful for anything that happens in my life. I must change my way of living.”

(Sense of gratitude)
Disturbing emotions occur not by themselves. It is always us ourselves that are responsible for emotional disturbances. We ourselves are causing them. How can the disturbed emotions be calmed? It is the sense of gratitude that helps the disturbed emotions calm down. The sense of gratitude motivates our whole system, body and mind, and accelerates the correction of the deranged mentality. The woman troubled with Parkinson’s disease just mentioned above began to change her expressions all of a sudden when we discussed the role played by the sense of gratitude. The wrinkles between her eyebrows disappeared. She changed into a happier individual, thus benefiting from the virtuous cycle of her mind-set. In other words, she learned how to steer her life in the right way.
It is not sickness itself that deprives us of happiness. What we must guard ourselves against is the likelihood of letting our spirit weaken because of the sickness. In fact, sickness itself often serves for us to learn the in-depth meaning of life and to grow into a warm-hearted individual. Sickness is not our enemy but a mentor. Our fundamental life power helps us to steer our daily lives in the right manner., even in making necessary changes in the environment in which we live.
Every human being without any exception is equipped with explosive life power such as we saw in the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. This is what I keep telling myself when treating my patients each day, feeling excited at the wonders of Nature and humankind.