Second House's Vote

The New York Times reports,on September 29, 2008, "In a moment of historic import in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry.Supporters of the bill had argued that it was necessary to avoid a collapse of the economic system, a calamity that would drag down not just Wall Street investment houses but possibly the savings and portfolios of millions of Americans. Moreover, supporters argued, a lingering crisis in America could choke off business and consumer loans to a degree that could prompt bank failures in Europe and slow down the global economy. Opponents said the bill was cobbled together in too much haste and might amount to throwing good money from taxpayers after bad investments from Wall Street gamblers."
I do second the vote by the House of Representatives and agree with the opinions of opponents. Actually the financial market must be one of the most important industry, but these crisis came from the failures of investment. Investors should bear their responsibility.
I am afraid Japanese government could not make above judgement in fair points of view. USA will keep the position of the leader of the world.

Governmental Accounting

When I learned governmental accounting in USCPA examination preparation in 2001, I thought why this system was not been adopted in Japan.
The governmental accounting system has a different focus for measuring accounting than private sector accounting. Rather than measuring the flow of economic resources, governmental accounting measures the flow of financial resources. Instead of recognizing revenue when they are earned and expenses when they are incurred, revenue is recognized when there is money available to liquidate liabilities within the current accounting period, and expenses are recognized when there is a drain on current resources.
Nowadays not only Ministry of Finance but also Tokyo Metropolitan Government have published their financial statements. I do appreciate their tries.
MOF = http://www.mof.go.jp/jouhou/syukei/fstop.htm
TMG = http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/INET/KEIKAKU/2008/09/70i9g200.htm
If the governmental accounting system is regulated in future, budget control will become more smoothly operated and fiscal year concept will be weakened. Unnecessary engineering works at the fiscal year end and wasteful expenditures will be dramatically less. I strongly recommend Liberal Democratic Party or Democratic Party of Japan to adopt it in their manifests.

Last Shogun

I enjoy "Atsuhime", NHK's historical drama. I read again Ryotaro Shiba's "Saigo no Shogun" (Last Shogun), which is a story of the 15th (=last) Shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa (1937-1913).

He succeeded the Tokugawa shogunate and soon returned back political power to Tennou in 1967 . After resigning in late 1867, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his life. Shiba wrote that he was so talented and he must be the best contributor for peaceful Meiji Restoration.

Both Shintaro Abe and Yasuo Fukuda resigned prime minister in short period. There is so much difference between Yoshinobu and them. They just gave up their capability to maintain administration, while Yoshinobu sacrificed his talent to hand over to next era. In financial world, Nomura or Mitsubishi Bank start playing important rolls. I hope Taro Aso ( be careful to pronounce, not "asshole" ) or Ichiro Ozawa will lead Japan and the world in political field.

Suteishi

"Suteishi" is a word used in Igo game, which means a sacrifice stone. Itself will be taken, but it will play a very functional roll to gain the initiative.

I sometimes play Igo game with my son, who is much stronger than I. He gives me 4 stones handicap. After I learned "Suteishi" thanks to Michel Redmond's Igo lecture, I could win him a lot.

Yuta Iyama, 19 years old challenger, won the second game in Meijinsen ( Master tournament ) again with Cho U, 28 years old defending champion yesterday.

Yasunari Kawabata (1899 - 1972), Nobel prize-winning novelist, loved Igo so much and published "The Master of Go" in 1951, which he himself considered his finest work. It was the last game of the master Shūsai's career and he lost to his younger challenger, to die a little over a year later. Cho U Meijin is still so young. I hope their hot games will increase fans of this so intellectual game.

Investment Bank

Investment banks help companies and governments raise money by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets (both equity and bond), as well as providing advice on transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. This functions are played by securities companies like Nomura, Daiwa, Monex, etc. in Japan.

In New York, on September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers Holdings announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing bank debt of $613 billion, $155 billion in bond debt, and assets worth $639 billion. On September 16, 2008, after an AIG liquidity crisis following the downgrading of its credit rating, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank stepped in to prevent financial collapse of the company. The Fed announced the creation of a credit facility of up to US$85 billion in exchange for warrants for a 79.9% equity stake and the right to suspend dividends to previously issued common and preferred stock.

What's the difference between Lehman Brothers and AIG ? LB is an investment bank and AIG is a conglomerate of insurance finance services. The key of judgement whether public rescue is required or not is the influence volume of counter parties, an analyst says. The core competence of investment bank is brokerage service and trading. Collecting money, then investing it. No big assets are required. Only excellent fund managers and traders are required. They will move to other banks to look for higher revenue after bankruptcy. Invisible hand of God ?

Strong in the Rain

"Strong in the Rain" is one of the most popular poem of Kenji Miyazawa 宮沢賢治　(1896-1933）. Coming September 21st is the anniversary of his death. In my junior high school days, my teacher let us read this poem every morning before starting classes during the second term. I do appreciate this education.

I found an excellent translation by Roger Pulvers, thanks to my son.

Strong in the Rain

Strong in the Rain
Strong in the rain
Strong in the wind
Strong against the summer heat and snow
He is healthy and robust
Free from all desire
He never loses his generous spirit
Nor the quiet smile on his lips
He eats four go of unpolished rice
Miso and a few vegetables a day
He does not consider himself
In whatever occurs… his understanding
Comes from observation and experience
And he never loses sight of things
He lives in a little thatched-roof hut
In a field in the shadows of a pine tree grove
If there is a sick child in the east
He goes there to nurse the child
If there’s a tired mother in the west
He goes to her and carries her sheaves
If someone is near death in the south
He goes and says, ‘Don’t be afraid’
If there are strife and lawsuits in the north
He demands that the people put an end to their pettiness
He weeps at the time of drought
He plods about at a loss during the cold summer
Every body calls him ‘Blockhead’
No one sings his praises
Or takes him to heart…

That is the kind of person
I want to be


雨ニモマケズ

風ニモマケズ

雪ニモ夏ノ暑サニモマケヌ

丈夫ナカラダヲモチ

慾ハナク

決シテ瞋ラズ

イツモシヅカニワラッテヰル

一日ニ玄米四合ト

味噌ト少シノ野菜ヲタベ

アラユルコトヲ

ジブンヲカンジョウニ入レズニ

ヨクミキキシワカリ

ソシテワスレズ

野原ノ松ノ林ノ 蔭ノ

小サナ萓ブキノ小屋ニヰテ

東ニ病気ノコドモアレバ

行ッテ看病シテヤリ

西ニツカレタ母アレバ

行ッテソノ稲ノ朿ヲ負ヒ

南ニ死ニサウナ人アレバ

行ッテコハガラナクテモイヽトイヒ

北ニケンクヮヤソショウガアレバ

ツマラナイカラヤメロトイヒ

ヒドリノトキハナミダヲナガシ

サムサノナツハオロオロアルキ

ミンナニデクノボートヨバレ

ホメラレモセズ

クニモサレズ

サウイフモノニ

ワタシハナリタイ

The Nanny Diaries

I enjoyed a film preview of "The Nanny Diaries". According to the film promotion Web, ( http://www.thenannydiariesmovie.com/ ), the contents are introduced as follows;

“The Nanny Diaries” tells the story of the emotional and often humorous journey of Annie Braddock (Johansson), a young woman from a working-class neighborhood in New Jersey, struggling to understand her place in the world. Fresh out of college, she gets tremendous pressure from her nurse mother to find a respectable position in the business world although Annie would prefer to trade in her blackberry for an anthropologist's field diary. Through a serendipitous meeting, Annie ends up in the elite and ritualistic culture of Manhattan's Upper East Side -- as remote from Annie's suburban New Jersey upbringing as life in an Amazon tribal village. Choosing to duck out of real life, Annie accepts the position as a nanny for a wealthy family, referred to as simply "the X's." She quickly learns that life is not very rosy on the other side of the tax bracket, as she must cater to the every whim of Mrs. X (Linney) and her precocious son Grayer, while attempting to avoid the formidable Mr. X (Giamatti). Life becomes even more complicated when Annie falls for a gorgeous neighbor of the X’s (Evans) who she nicknames Harvard Hottie, and is forced to explore what she wants to do with her life.

At first I feel the overwhelming wealth of Manhattan's Upper East Side Life. Thinking of nannies in Japan reminds me of a nanny in the lyrics of "Takeda no Komoriuta (Takeda's Lullaby) ".

There are so much differences between current NY nanny and old Kyoto rural komori, not only in terms of riches, but also moral structure.

Takeda no Komoriuta (Takeda's Lullaby)

守り（もり）もいやがる　盆から先にゃ雪もちらつくし　子も泣くし

( Nanny hates season after Bon, as snow falling, child crying )

盆が来たとて　何うれしかろかたびらはなし　帯（おび）はなし

( When Bon comes, no fun as no Yukata nor belt )

この子よう泣く　守りをばいじる守りも一日　やせるやら

( The child crying so much, troubling nanny running out )

はよも行きたや　この在所（ざいしょ）こえて向こうに見えるは　親の家（うち）

( Hope going back to the home as soon as possible over this tough place )

Five Reflections

Hast thou not gone against sincerity？
Hast thou not felt ashamed of thy words and deeds？
Hast thou not lacked vigour？
Hast thou exerted all possible efforts？
Hast thou not become slothful？

五省
一、　至誠に悖(もと)るなかりしか　　
（真心に反することは、なかったか）
一、　言行に恥(は)ずるなかりしか　
（言行不一致なことは、なかったか）
一、　気力に缺(か)くるなかりしか　　
（気力は十分であったか）
一、　努力に憾(うら)みなかりしか　　
（十分に努力をしたか）
一、　不精に亘(わた)るなかりしか　　
（不精になってはいなかったか）

Five Reflections are shown in the auditorium at Annapolis, U.S. Naval Academy. They were originally devised by Vice Admiral Hajime Matsushita (Chief of Imperial Japanese Navy, Naval Academy), translated into English by Yasunori Matsui and adopted to use it in U.S. Naval Academy by Williams T. Mac, the principal of Annapolis, celebrating 200th anniversary of US independence.
I learned above from my ex-boss during stay in Jakarta. I will soon have a chance to meet him again. When it comes, I always remember "Five Reflections" and think back on my behavior.
Have I been sincere? Have I been fair in my words and behavior? Have I been enthusiastic? Have I been energetic? Have I been industrious?

9.11

On that day, September 11th, 2001, I was studying examination preparation for USCPA. When I returned home after night school, I saw airplanes flied into World Trade Center Buildings in TV live broadcasting. I was so shocked with those violence.
After that Hollywood created Counter Terrorist Unit under Central Intelligence Agency, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is fighting with terrorists in the drama 24. Now season 5 is on the air in midnight in Japan. Season 6 will soon come.
In that drama, David Palmer and Wain Palmer, who are African-American, are casted as Presidents of USA. I pay attention to the presidential election, whether Barack Obama will beat John McCain or not.

The Moon

I started watching stars around 10 years old. Among celestial objects, the moon is the most familiar satellite. The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the lunar calendar, corresponding to around mid-September in the Gregorian calendar. September 14th is the day this year, though the moon becomes full on September 15th actually.
We have Taketori Monogatari, 竹取物語, Tale of Princess Kaguya, which is a 10th century Japanese folktale, considered the oldest Japanese narrative. It starts with that a mysterious girl called Kaguya-hime is discovered inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. She is said to be from Tsuki-no-Miyako (月の都 "The Capital of the Moon") and she finally has to go back to there. I like this fantastic, dreamy story.
I am looking forward to the 14.3 days old moon rising at 17:06 on Sep. 14 (Sun).
Unohanaya Tsukiha Higashini Hiha Nishini ; Andy

Double Nine

According to the I Ching, nine is the yang number; the ninth day of the ninth lunar month has too much yang and is thus a potentially dangerous date. Hence, the day is also called "Double Yang Festival" (重陽節). To protect against the danger, it is customary to climb a high mountain and drink chrysanthemum wine in China.
Even numbers belong to Yin. Its qualities are characterized as soft, slow, substantial, wet, cold, conserving, tranquil, gentle, and corresponding to the night.
Odd numbers belong to Yang. Its qualities are characterized as hard, fast, insubstantial, dry, hot, excited, aggressive, and corresponding to the day.
There are nine double yang days in a year. January 1st is New Year Festival. March 3rd is Spring Purification Festival. May 5th is Children's Day. July 7th is Star Festival. Today September 9th is Double Yang Festival. It is not so popular in Japan, but it is believed most dangerous day in China. I am afraid disasters like earthquake, thunder will not come. Namaste or gassho.

Piano

I enjoyed TV program of NHK, J-Melo vol.3 showed on Aug.31 midnight. The program hostess is "Melody" and the guests are Mr. Makoto Ozone and Mr. Satoru Shionoya, who are jazz pianists highly evaluated in the world. This program is on the air in English aimed for introducing Japanese music to the world through NHK's international broadcasting.
I like piano. I started learning piano in my younger days, but I gave it up when the text score became Czerny after Bayer. I met with Keith Jarrett Koln Concert in high school days. After that, great pianists like Maurizio Pollini, Arturo Benedetti Michlangeli, Martha Argerich,Glen Gould, Yundi Li, etc. have attracted me into classic piano world. My favorite piano composers are Bach, Scarlatti, Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Satie, etc..
When I come into pension life to have so much time, I will study piano again. ♪♪

Sake

A friend of mine kindly sent me an e-mail of comment for this blog. He enjoyed reading my blog of Aug. 21 " A Bar in Ginza". He loves sake, too.
Sake reminds me of Li Bai ( Rihaku ), who is the most famous poet loving sake. One of Li Bai's most famous poems is Drinking Alone by Moonlight (月下獨酌, pinyin: Yuè Xià Dú Zhuó).
Arthur Waley's version reads:
花間一壺酒。 A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
獨酌無相親。 I drink alone, for no friend is near.
舉杯邀明月。 Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
對影成三人。 For her, with my shadow, will make three men.
月既不解飲。 The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
影徒隨我身。 Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
暫伴月將影。 Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
行樂須及春。 I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
我歌月徘徊。 To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
我舞影零亂。 In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
醒時同交歡。 While we were sober, three shared the fun;
醉後各分散。 Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
永結無情遊。 May we long share our eternal friendship,
相期邈雲漢。 And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.
I prefer drinking sake with friends to drinking alone. I will ask him for drinking at the bar in Ginza soon. Looking forward to it.

Nowaki

"Nowaki" is the title of chapter 28 in the tales of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu. When Yugiri visited Rokujoin (Genji's house) after typhoon, she was so shocked with the beauty of Murasakinoue. "Nowaki" means typhoon.
Among 20 - 30 typhoons occur in a year, a few strike Japan every year. But no one hit Japan this year, while 12 typhoon were born. Typhoon is named with number in Japan, like typhoon No. 10. Hurricane is named with nick name, like Gustav in alphabetical order.
Monstrous cyclone in Myanmar, huge hurricanes in USA, so many thunder storms in Japan, etc. Our mother planet might scream for environmental pollution. Save the planet.

Cricket

I could not hear cicadas' singing this week. Instead crickets start singing. While cicada makes sound by shaking stomach, cricket bears sound by scrubbing wings. It is still hot, but I feel from sky that autumn has come. It is said that hotness or coldness continues until equinox day.
A man of Heian era composed a tanka in Kokinwakashu, " Akiwa kinu Ima yamagakino Kirigirisu Yonayona nakam Kazeno samusani ( Autumn has come. Crickets in garden start crying every night singing coldness of the wind ) ".
Sei Shonagon wrote in the pillow book chapter 40 "Insects" that bag warms are so sorrow as they cry "chichiyo chichiyo ( daddy, daddy) " hearing wind sound in August. Did she image that they were calling their parents name ? Japanese think insects are close fellows which let us realize seasons.

Kafka on the Shore

Kafka on the Shore (Umibe no Kafuka) is a novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami (2002). The music of Beethoven, specifically the Archduke Trio is also used as a metaphor. Among other prominent themes are: the virtues of self-sufficiency and efficiency, the relation of dreams and reality, the specter of the heritage of World War II, the threat of fate, the uncertain grip of prophecy, and the power of nature. After a series of adventures, Kafka finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu.
My ancestors sleep in the cemetery near Mt. Shiun, Ritsurin Park in Takamatsu. My mentor, Kukai (Kobo-Daishi) was born in this area, Sanuki. I have special emotion for there. That is why I like this novel so much. Haruki Murakami might be one of the candidates of Novel prize in literature. I am looking forward to his next work.