February 2022

It was when I was three or four. One day, I was sitting in the playground with my friends with a bunch of older kids. Some of our mothers were also there casually watching over us. I was sitting across from a boy a few years older than me. He had been assigned the role […]

It was when I was eight or nine years old. One summer, my mother and I were visiting my grandmother’s house, and one day, we needed to buy something for the house urgently. My eldest cousin was at home and she offered us a ride to a shopping mall near the train station. It was

I grew up my entire childhood taking piano lessons and learning to play many classical music pieces. Both of my parents loved classical music, and the entire CD collection at home consisted almost solely of classical music, some piano pieces, some orchestra pieces, and some were pieces for other instruments. Whatever BGM we played at

In Japan, there is a national holiday in September called “Respect for the Aged Day,” when people express their gratitude for the elderly members of the society. For children, this is the day when they usually write a letter or do some special activities with their grandparents. When I was five, one day in September,

Throughout my childhood, my maternal grandmother often visited our house to spend several days with us. Since we lived far away from each other, I was always delighted whenever my mother announced my grandmother’s visit. I absolutely loved spending time with my grandmother, but there was another thing that I always secretly looked forward to

It was when I was ten years old when I first heard about Harry Potter. A family friend who used to often travel to England gave me the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Japanese translation as my birthday present. The book was still new in Japan, and nobody really knew about it.

When I was five, there was an annual rummage sale at my kindergarten. On the day of rummage sale, there was no class, and the children were invited to arrive at the rummage sale at certain hour depending on their age. My mother left for the kindergarten early that day. She was supposed to be

When I was four years old, there was a time when my little brother was staying in a hospital for a brief time due to pneumonia. My father and I were alone at home, and would make a regular visit to the hospital to see my brother and mother. One day, my father had found

When I was five, I used to take bath every evening with my mother and my little brother. In Japan, it is a common practice for young children to take bath with their parent. Each evening, I was the first one to wash my body with the help of my mother while my little brother