メリディアン
日本語
帰還宣教師から
From Returned Missionaries
Dwayne N. Andersen-Excerpts from Autobiography
Mission President continued
MY FAMILY ADJUSTS TO JAPAN
My family consisted of Peggy H. Andersen, my wife, and Trudy 12, Allen 8 , Valerie 6, and Douglas 4 years of age. Peggy was my personal secretary, plus doing a marvelous job supervising and training leaders in the Relief Society, Young Women, and the Primary. The children had the biggest adjustment; being confined somewhat in the mission compound, but also having to adjust to schools for their education.
Trudy had to catch a bus each day and travel to her school on a military base at Tachikawa. Her only friends were on the military base. However, later, some of the building supervisors had children close to her age with whom she could relate. We placed Allen and Valerie into a Japanese elementary school for the first year. Doug went to a Japanese kindergarten. Allen was placed back two or three grade levels because he had no Japanese language experience. It was very hard on him because he was larger than his classmates; and he was the only American on campus. The Japanese kids made fun of him. At first he didn’t know what they were saying, but as he picked up the language and could understand what they were saying, it hurt him very much. He had an emotional struggle that first school year, but certainly did well with the language. Some days we thought our hearts would break as we realized how brave our children were in trying to be good missionaries by doing what was required. Valerie was younger and put in her own grade level. She learned the language very fast.
By the end of the year, her language and writing skills were comparable to the Japanese in her class. When she was in conversation with Japanese children, even the native teachers could not recognize any accent in her speaking. In Allen and Valerie’s school, they had athletic days where the children would perform dances and participate in athletic competitions. Valerie created a lot of attention with her bright, blonde hair. We loved watching these activities and mingling with their classmates. Allen and Valerie were the only light-headed ones in the whole school, so we could keep track of them as they performed. It would have been more difficult, for they all were in school uniforms, even for athletic achievement days.
Douglas went to a Japanese kindergarten, called “Yochien,” and received much attention from everyone. All the teachers and children loved him; and he got along well with them. At the end of the school year, Valerie and Allen’s principal asked us to put them in an American school. He felt it was too stressful for them in this Japanese school; and since we were not planning to make Japan our permanent home, they would miss too much of their American curriculum. The only alternative, then, was a military base at Camp Zama, a long distance from the mission home. It was over an hour commuting from the mission home. By this time Doug had finished his school and would now join his brother and sister in the first grade of their school. Their daily trip started out by our taking them to the Shinjuku Train Station, which was about 10 or 15 minutes by car. There they caught a jam-packed train to the Zama area.
Following that, they walked some distance to catch a school bus that eventually took them to the school. At the end of the day they reversed the pattern to return home, thus making a very long day for all of our children.
The mission home was located across a busy street from Arisugawa Park (or koen). There was a large wall around the mission home property. The Mission Home was an old embassy building, which had been hit by an incendiary bomb during the World War II. All that was left was the strong concrete walls, flooring, and most of the concrete flat roof. The church restored it to become the mission headquarters–with an apartment for the mission president and family, quarters for the office missionaries on the second floor. In the back of the building was a small apartment for the Japanese cook and maid. Only the mission president’s apartment had beds. All others slept upon tatami mat floors. There were no neighbors or other children for them to play with. So they had to play with each other around the grounds of the mission home.
They found a way to build a “secret” fort under the mission home, just under the mission president’s office. They felt it quite “smart” to listen to their father’s voice, interviewing the missionaries, even though they could not distinguish words–just knew that it was their dad!
Above their heads was a concrete floor, so they felt safe in burning candles for light! They also played on the flat roof, third floor, of the mission home. It was fairly safe, as it had about a three feet wall of concrete around it, and they were old enough to understand there could be no mischievous pranks or scary activities.
I guess their favorite place was the park across the street, where they could watch many people exercising, fishing with small poles, run in and around lots of trees and a pond, plus some play equipment. Sometimes they would venture to play on the equipment with Japanese children, whom they did not know. Elder Fillmore and other missionaries on the office staff put up a rope swing in one of the large trees within the mission yard. Sometimes the missionaries would take a break from the office, or spend part of their lunch break and play with our children. We appreciated that.
One of the frightening but miraculous experiences occurred when the children were coming back from school at Camp Zama. We went as usual to pick them up from Shinjuku train station, which is one of the largest stations in Tokyo. In the evening there are many thousands of people scurrying across the corridors as they load and unload from the different trains coming into the station. The children had to remember the right station where they get off (listening in Japanese). After getting off the train they had to make their ways across the platforms and then up the correct stairs and through many corridors to the exit, pushing their way through the crowds. As we arrived to pick them up, they were nowhere to be seen. We waited and waited, but no children. So I went into the station and followed the trails to the track platform where the train stops for them. Then I returned to the exit where we usually meet them, looking all around as I did so. But still no children! Again I began to feel concerned and said a silent prayer.
Finally, Allen and Valerie showed up. They were as glad to see us, as we were to see them! But Doug was still missing. They told us that the train had stopped near Camp Zama. They were ready to board the express train. Doug just barely made it, but as he stepped across the gap between the cement platform and the train, his boot caught on something and dropped off. He stepped off the train to pick up his boot, and the train immediately started without him. Allen and Val had tried to get him on before the doors closed, but they could not.
The express train passes many small stations before it stops again. When the train finally stopped, the older children got off and took the next train going back to the station where they had left Doug. But there was no Doug. So they took the next express train back to Shinjuku Station. All of us continued to wait, but no Doug. We thought maybe the police had found him and taken him home. We returned to the mission home and he was not there. Panic began to set in. With prayers in our hearts, Allen and I returned to Shinjuku Station. Shortly after we entered the station, we spotted Doug walking casually on the correct course that led to the right exit.
How excited we were as we ran to greet him, picking him up and hugging. He was very calm and not frightened. He told us he knew the exact station to stop and how to come to the right exit to be picked up. He then related his story: He said that when the train pulled out, he climbed down on the tracks and picked up his boot and waited for the next train to come along. This train happened to be a “futsu” train, one that stopped at every station along the way. Of course this train took much longer to reach Shinjuku! We thanked our Father in Heaven for a guardian angel to help him get the right train and the correct corridors!
The mission experience was the hardest on the children because they had to play within the mission compound and in the park across the street. They also had hours of amusement with the fishes, frogs, and ducks that lived in and around the pond in the park. We held family home evenings with the children as much as we could. To help break up their isolation, we took them to as many places of interest and fun that we could. We took them to movies, went bowling, and visited parks and zoos. We took them to a glass blowing factory and also to some festivals with beautiful decorations and costumes, parades, and Japanese dances. We visited some of the old Japanese castles and fascinating Japanese gardens, and many other famous places. One day we took them to the beach, which was several hours away from the mission home. They enjoyed roasted corn and other cultural treats that were available in the little stands lining the beach.
How they enjoyed the water. I made a mistake by taking off my shoes and socks, rolling up my pants, and playing in the surf with the children. For two weeks afterwards, I suffered extreme pain from the sunburn on my feet, especially when I stood up and the blood rushed to my feet; also when getting in and out of cars. It was a painful lesson to learn; and I resolved not to let that happen again.
We were fortunate that we had servicemen’s families who lived on bases not too far away, whom we could visit. Then our children could play with their children, sometimes even staying overnight. Some of the construction supervisors had children our kids’ ages, so they sometimes could play with them on arranged times, since they also lived quite far across the city.
To help broaden their experiences, I took each child separately on various trips by trains to visit branches. On one occasion I took Trudy to Karuizawa. It was necessary that we return on Sunday, so we had our “own” sacrament service on the train. We partook of the sacrament, read scriptures, and bore our testimonies. It was a sweet, spiritual experience that we will never forget.
On another occasion we took all the children on the “bullet” train to Osaka for a district conference. We stayed in a beautiful Japanese-style hotel, with exotic gardens, bridges, waterfalls, and total oriental architectures. We all slept in a large room on the floor, each with his/her own futon bed. The children thought it was great for us all to sleep in one room. They also had fun exploring the corridors and gardens surrounding the hotel. The children enjoyed a rich, spiritual conference. Before returning to Tokyo, we were able to visit some tourist spots.
On different occasions we took them to Japanese castles, scenic buddhas, etc. The family had an opportunity to visit the famous NIKKO area on two occasions. The first time was with Captain Huish and his family from Okinawa. The second time was when Mother Andersen visited us for a six-week period. NIKKO is a religious center with many shrines, beautiful gates, bridges, and gardens scattered over a large area within a pine forest. The entire area has an array of fall leaves so spectacular that I don’t think I have seen any to compare. This is the place where Pres. McKay told me: “You haven’t been to Japan if you haven’t been to NIKKO.” They surely enjoyed every minute of those two experiences. When Mother was with us and we saw so many fascinating shrines, we wondered about the tremendous time and money the Japanese had expended on them to praise a pagan god.
One time I was asked to speak to the LDS servicemen stationed on the USS Kittyhawk, an aircraft carrier. The whole family was invited and given a tour of the ship. The children were allowed to climb into the cockpits of the jets lined up on the deck. We were also privileged to dine with the Captain and other servicemen, a special dinner prepared for our family. Afterwards, I had the opportunity of speaking to a fairly large group of members, stationed on this carrier.
Brother Yamanaka was an older man who joined the church and I will tell about him later in my story. But he had a well-to-do business friend who wanted to help the church. His name was Mr. Aiyama. He invited us as a family, along with Paul Hyer’s family visiting us at the time, to go to his mountain home in Karuizawa for a two-day vacation. He took the children shopping, horseback riding, and hiking in the volcanic mountain park. We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting vacation! The longest and one of the more exhilarating times was when we all went to Okinawa to hold leadership meetings with the mission leaders and the Okinawan saints. I will discuss this trip later in the leadership section of my story.
In the mission home we had two live-in maids, one being a cook, and the other one, to help the cook and also take care of our children upstairs when Sister Andersen and I were both out-of-town. Yoshiko was the upstairs maid. How happy the children were to take part in her conversion and later baptism.
Another baptism that was special occurred on July 30, 1962. Allen turned eight years old. The family and the office staff gathered together to honor him for his baptism. I had the privilege of baptizing and confirming him as a new member of the church. The baptism was done in a small font at the back of the mission home.The children were thrilled to attend an All Japan Youth Conference, which made an excursion to Gunma. There they could visit the largest standing Buddha in Japan, which towers over the trees and surrounding area.
My mother, Ora N. Andersen, was honored as Utah Mother of the Year early in 1963. She went on to the National Mother of the Year contest and was awarded the First Runner -Up to the National Mother, her title being Homemaker of the Year. Mother arrived in Japan to visit us on October 18, 1963. Somehow the press got word that she was runner-up to the U.S. Mother of the Year; and the press came to interview her and snap pictures. This resulted in a few articles being published in a Japanese newspaper and military newspaper. Mother had the opportunity of meeting Elder and Sister Gordon B. Hinckley and their daughter, Jane, when Peggy and I picked them up at the airport, October 22, 1963.
The next day Peggy and I took the Hinckleys to look at the progress of the Tokyo North and West Branch chapels. Mother went with us. On October 26, Peggy was not feeling well, so I took Mother with me to attend a servicemen’s conference in Fukuoka. They were very gracious and good to us, housing and feeding us. On Saturday night Mother and I attended a delicious servicemen’s dinner, which was to be the beginning of their conference. Sunday morning we held a marvelous, spiritual conference. Sunday afternoon was spent with the Fukuoka elders. They took us to visit a potential property site located by a zoo. We were cordially invited to go in and inspect the building on the property. Mother experienced a rather embarrassing situation as we were being shown through the rooms. I felt an impression that this was a suitable place to have a future chapel. Later the property was approved and purchased by the church.
On November 9, 1963, Mother attended a special missionary meeting, where Elder and Sister Hinckley and daughter were present. The meeting was so inspiring that everyone had tears, even Elder Hinckley. It was the most spiritual time that we had had with the missionaries up until this time. I will describe this in greater detail in the section on missionaries. The next day brought more excitement, as Mother was able to attend the East Central District Conference held in the new West Branch Chapel that was not yet dedicated. Elder and Sister Hinckley and Jane were present. The chapel was filled to overflowing with excited Japanese members. The spirit of the Lord was felt by everyone. It was also thrilling to hold this conference in our own chapel. One could see the thrill on the faces of the Japanese members as they gloried in having a chapel of their own.
I needed to take care of some business in Matsumoto, so I took Mother with me, leaving Peggy home with the children. We had to literally run through the crowded Shinjuku Station to catch our train. Nowhere in the world are trains more punctual than in Japan. They actually arrive and leave on their posted schedule. If a person is a minute or two late, he misses the train. This was an exciting experience for Mother. The night we stayed there, we stayed in a Japanese style hotel. When the maids came in to make our futon beds on the rice mat floor, Mother said she could not sleep on the floor, so I asked the girls to stack her bed up with futons to about 2 ½ feet high, which they did. With that soft bed, Mother had a wonderful night’s sleep.
The next morning she wanted to take a bath. All they have is a large 0-furo, or a big hot water “pool” for people to soak themselves. Along the walls of the room are water spigots where a person sits and soaps himself and cleans himself before getting into the hot tub. The bathhouse is public and accommodates both men and women at the same time. We went there early so no one was in the area. Mother had me stand guard so no one would enter the bathhouse until she was finished. On Saturday morning, November 23, 1963, Peggy and I took Mother with us on an airplane to Hokkaido to a district conference. That afternoon we visited the famous Sapporo Ice Festival. It covers a very large area in the middle of the town, where artists have carved dozens and dozens of ice figures. They include animals, people, buildings, temples, shrines, etc. It was glorious to walk through this ice winter wonderland. Some of the figures were 10 to 15 feet tall; and some of them had lights inside which made the figures sparkle at night. We all agreed that we had never seen such a spectacular sight.
Saturday evening, we attended a district play put on by the Japanese members. The play centered around the wicked king Noah, the prophet Abinadi, and the high priest Alma. It was choreographed by one of the members. The costumes were beautiful; and the acting was superb. Mother said she had never seen anything quite like it. The actor portraying Abinadi was outstanding. He shed tears as he warned the wicked king Noah while the fire was leaping up around him. It was an inspiring event to set the stage for the conference on Sunday.
Mother sat spellbound as she watched the proceedings of the conference Sunday morning. There was a large crowd of Japanese members. The singing was exquisite; and the spirit of the Lord touched all of our hearts. I was glad that Mother could witness the sincerity and faith of these Japanese saints.
The following week we took several days to visit the city of Kyoto, which was the former capital of Japan, plus the religious center. It has some of the most beautiful shrines, temples, castles, and gardens found in Japan. We were very fortunate to have Sister Akimoto, a very cultured member, be our personal guide. This was a very special climax to Mother’s visit to Japan. Several days later the family took her to the airport, where she boarded a plane for New Zealand, to visit her two sons, Lloyd and Paul, who were teaching at the LDS school in Hamilton.
During January of the new year, Brother Yamanaka, who played a major role in the Hawaii temple trip, invited Peggy and me to a very gala reception for a popular singer in Japan.