Passage to Fudaraku and Final Reflection on book

Passage to Fudaraku- This story was very different. I am a religious person but I could never see myself being so religious that I would let myself die at sea. It was crazy how Konko was able to remember every little detail about the past priests journeys. I do not know how Konko was able to bring himself to go on the journey to Fudaraku. It was kind of crazy how the people believed that once the dead priest's body reached the Island they would come back to life. I guess it is all a part of believing in reincarnation. If I were in Konko's situation and I saw how happy the people were to see me taking the journey I would probably get mad at them because all the journey would accomplish is my death. It was really mean of the priests to send Konko out on a second boat when he had used so much energy to get out of the casket. I was happy to see that, after Konko's journey had gone so bad, that the priests no longer made it mandatory to make the journey to Fudaraku. This story made me realize just how much some people follow their religion.

Final Reflection- Well I only had to read the first half of the book since Millie and I split it in half, but overall I liked what I did read of this book. Although some of the stories were very strange and icky there were others that I did really enjoy. I am glad that we did this project because I was able to learn a lot about Chinese and Japanese culture. If I had the time I would try and read the other half of the book, but since I do not have the time I am glad I got to read the first half of it.

Blind Chinese Soldiers and In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom

Blind Chinese Soldiers- This story was really sad and it made me want to cry. I am not really sure why the story talked about the Prince because he did not really play a significant role at all. The only reason I could see for having him in their is to show how in just one train you could be caring people from two totally different worlds. I felt so bad for the blind soldiers. I am sure when they signed up for the army they did not plan on having it end that badly. The Japanese soldiers could have at least tried to be a little bit nicer. I was shocked to see that the people were able to get over the thought of seeing the soldiers so quickly. If I would see something like that I would not be able to soon forget it.

In the Forest, Under the Cherries in Full Bloom- At first this story was ok and I was enjoying it and then all of a sudden it became really gross and disgusting. I wonder why the cherry blossoms in bloom made the people so scared. The story never really did say why the people were afraid of them in the first place. People have always claimed that men can become stupid when it comes to a girls beauty and this story fits that line perfectly. The robber was willing to do whatever the woman wanted, but I never thought the woman would become so evil. While reading I found myself, at first, defending the woman's actions because she had just seen her husband killed by the man she was now with, but as she went on I saw that she was completely crazy. When she wanted him to kill his wives I could understand, because she was jealous but it was still cruel. Then when she finally got him to move her to the capital she became a complete disgusting individual. The book got so gross throughout this part that it made me want to throw up while I was reading. I can never imagine why a person would want to line their house with other peoples dead heads. Also why did no one not notice the stench coming from their house or why wouldn't someone be wondering why people are turning up dead every night and being found with no head? The man was totally crazy for staying with the woman he should have gotten away as soon as possible, but no he stayed like an idiot. A part of me felt bad for him but another part of me knew that he was the one doing the killing. I was happy when the man decided to take the woman back to the mountains. I was not surprised at all when the woman turned into a demon in the cherry forest, and I was glad when the man killed her. I was mixed on how I felt when the man died too, but in the long run the world would be a lot safer without the both of them. I wonder what the old maid will do with all the heads when no one returns? Someone has to discover all those heads eventually!!!!!

The Accordian and the Fish Town and The Flower-Eating Crone

The Accordion and the Fish Town- This was a rather interesting story. I really liked the girl that was in it . Her mom was really mean to her; doesn't she know that growing girls are going to to eat more. The girl could not help it that she was hungry all the time. I don't understand why the father had to sell medicines and lotions for money. Why couldn't he just play his accordion and get people to give him money for his playing. I was surprised when the girl told her parents that she did not want to go to school she seemed really smart. I was happy when she did decide to go but then all of a sudden she quit because the kids were mean to her. Kids can be so cruel for no apparent reason. It was really scary when the old lady fell down the well. It was a relief to read that she was ok. You would think that they would try and put some fencing up around the well but no they just let it go. My heart went out to the girl when her mom told her that her dad had got arrested by the cops. That had to have been the worse news in the world; I do not know what I would do if someone told me that one of my parents was in jail. I wish that the story could have went on to tell what happened to her dad but I guess I will never know. I really liked this short story.



The Flower-Eating Crone- This story was very interesting to say the least. It was very strange when the old lady pulled one of the flowers off of the plant and stuck it straight in her mouth. I do not think I have ever heard of anyone eating a flower before. When the girl was reflecting back on her childhood and how she had always liked flowers but not eaten them in made me think of how little kids are always eating grass and worms. I feel bad for the two woman in the story when it comes to there eyes. It would be horrible to lose ones eye sight; I do not know how I would be able to manage without my eyes. It is bad enough when I don't have my glasses on in the morning. It was scary when the girl talked about having goblins and demons of her past haunt her. I felt sad for her when I read about how she use to have a beau but he was way to old for her. It must have been really hard to get the big brown envelope full of letters back from her beau's wife after he died. If I was the beau's wife I would have found it kind of hurtful that he still thought about his first love so much even though he was not married to her. I felt bad for the gentlemen in the park when the girl turned him down. I think the girl needs to let go of the past and get on with the future.

The Izu Dancer and Lemon

The Izu Dancer- This story was kind of boring; nothing really happened in it that was that interesting. It was kind of weird how the gentlemen who joined the performers only joined them because he thought that he could get the youngest geisha to sleep with him. When he found out that she was only 13 years old he definitely should have left her alone since he is 19 but he did not which was kind of gross. I was really happy that he was never allowed to be completely alone with the girl cause who knows what he would have done to her. It is so sad that she had to get caught up in that profession; especially at such a young age. I'm glad the gentleman and the young girl were still able to be friends with each other. The rest of the performing people seemed nice. It was strange how Chiyoko was married but yet she still hung out with all of the men. I do not understand how her husband was able to handle that. Overall this story was not the best one so far; but it was not the worst.

Lemon- This was a very weird story and it was kind of sad. I am starting to think that China was not very big on medicine because this is not the first story that I have read in the book where the guy was really sick and stayed sick for a long time. I am slightly confused about the whole lemon thing because I thought that the guy had an actual lemon and then when he left the lemon on his sculpture in the store he referred to the lemon as a bomb. So was it a lemon or a bomb that looked like a lemon that he left in the store? I am also starting to think that China might not be the greatest place to live; this is not the first guy in this book that was depressed.

Spring Riding in a Carriage and Carp

Spring Riding in a Carriage- This story wanted to make me cry the whole time I was reading it, it was so sad. It was horrible how the husband and wife fought all the time, but I know it was only because the husband knew the wife was dieing. It was upsetting how the wife was so cruel to her husband everything he did was not good enough for her. I am leaning my opinion on the fact that the wife felt bad that the husband had to give up his life to take care of her 24/7 and she really did not know how to show her emotions any other way. It would have had to have been really tough on the husband to just sit by and watch his wife slowly pass away and know there was nothing he could do about it. It was really weird that the lady wanted to eat chicken innards all the time. Most people when they are sick they want soup but not this lady. It was really sweet how the husband brought his wife some spring flowers before she passed away. It is such a shame that the lady had to die so young.



Carp- This story was not very good. I did not see the meaning of it. All the other stories so far have had some kind of meaning to me, but yet this one did not. I had never imagined that anyone would give someone a carp for a present. I guess there is a first time for everything. I also do not understand how the Carp troubled the man sure he had to move it around a lot bur still it was a gift and he should have been grateful. The man who received the fish seemed to be rude all around. He was awfully mean when his friend Aoki wad dieing, he could have taken it more seriously. I just did not care for this short story at all.

In a Grove and Bears of Nametoko

In a Grove and Bears- This story is about a murder but the weird part is that nobody really knows who murdered the man. Throughout the story a policeman interviews people about a mans death. At first everything makes sense the Priest's story falls in line with what the police know, a lower policeman's story falls in line with the high officer knows, and then out of no where a man named Tajomaru confesses to the murder. His tail of how the murder happened was very strange. I do not think I could someones beloved spouse just so I could get them to be with me. I would think that if a person did not want to be with you when their spouse was alive that when you kill their spouse they would not want to be with you even more. It was foolish of Tajomaru to think that the girl was telling the truth when she said she would be with him; it was stupid of him to be surprised when the girl was no where to be found. Well after reading this part it made sense and I thought that he was the killer but then all of a sudden the story goes on to talk about the confession of the dead man's wife. The wife confesses at a temple that she was the murderer of her husband because after Tajomaru had tied him to a tree she could see deep into his heart and she did not like what she saw. So if that did not confuse me enough the last account of the story comes from the dead man's spirit. You talk about a weird interview to have; the confession of the dead mans spirit. The spirit claimed that he wife was willing to go away with the robber to where ever he wanted to go and this made him mad. Then all of a sudden the robber turned to the man and asked if he wanted his wife killed but the girl ran away and then the man ran away. The spirit then claims that it kills its own self with a dagger. So the question still stands; who killed the man????

The Bears of Nametoko- This story was very unbelievable. I was following the story along pretty well until the bears started to talk. I felt real bad for the bears and Kojuro; neither of them liked the situation they were in. I felt bad for Kojuro because he loved the bears and did no want to have to kill them but at the same time he needed money to get food for his family. I also felt bad for the bears; they liked Kojuro a lot and it made them sad that Kojuro had to kill them. I wish Kojuro could have made a living in a different way. It was really sad and weird when the one bear talked to Kojuro and asked him not to kill him for another two years because he had things that needed to be done. The bear being able to talk reminded me of reincarnation and how some of the people believe in it. It makes me wonder if they are right or wrong to believe that animals were former people. I do not understand why Kojuro had to get killed by a bear; I guess it is because he had killed so many bears. It was weird to read about how the bears all gathered around the mans dead body and sat in a praying position about him. It was different to read about how the animals loved the man so dearly even though he killed them.

Blowfish and Portrait of an Old Geisha

Blowfish- This store was a little bit on the strange side. The story is all about this man who got sick on a business trip and never seemed to recover a 100%. On his way returning home the man eats a meal at one of his favorite restaurants. He love to eat blowfish at this restaurant even though he known it can be poisonous. Later on that day while the man goes to visit his favorite geisha he starts to feel sick and remembers the blowfish he ate and becomes really sick. The geisha called a doctor and by the evening he was not doing well. The man knew it had to be the blowfish that had made him sick. It was really strange how the Chinese buried Endo in the ground leaving his head out; because they believed that it would make him better. They sure do have some weird rituals. While Endo was in the ground he sort of came to and started dreaming of these weird situations with his job at the theater. This made me think of how people say that your life flashed before your eyes when you die and according to the story it must be true. Endo passed away shortly after. This story taught me never to eat anything as exotic as blowfish.

Portrait of an Old Geisha- This story was hard to figure out; I am still not sure if I liked the old geisha or if I found her utterly annoying. I think it is a little bit of both. It was great that the old geisha decided to retire and adopt her relative as her daughter, but I still do not understand why she had to take in a boy named Yuki and make her his little project. I guess she just had too much money for her own good. The geisha's daughter Michiko was also a very strange child. I do not see why she would try and string Yuki along but then never really truly seemed interested in him. I was surprised when Yuki started to get tired of being able to work on his inventions. I thought that he would have always been thrilled because the geisha gave him everything he ever wanted. I would have thought that the old geisha would not have cared when Yuki ran away but in reality it made her very angry. I don't understand why she couldn't just let Yuki go since he was miserable. I guess this story goes to show that money can not buy happiness!