Written by Yuma Sumi
- Japanese
- currently living in Tbilisi, Georgia
Love, miss and trust your family. This is the only way you are brilliant.
About 300 years ago, during the Edo period in Japan, Jimbei Sumi was obliged to move his house in Gifu to Shiga, when his boss Tanechika Endo, one of Shogunʼs confidant, was ordered to govern Shiga called Mikami at his time. I visited this area a few years ago and was still able to see clearly, by tracing the old waterway, that there used to be the old house of Sumi family. At the time of my uncleʼs youth, this house was leveled.
All of this ― they were investigated by my grandfather. He left a ton of notes about his family before he died so that his children could easily know what kind of family they are from. And now, I know this Sumi family was originally Samurai and they have been really proud of being descendants of Kamatari Fujiwara, a famous politician in the 7th century.
Who knew that one of Kamatariʼs descendants became a ballet dancer working in Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region? One of the reasons I chose ballet as my profession was that I was not good at dancing among all others, which means I may have chosen something not fitting to those who have blood of Sumi family. Since my schooldays I have thought that whoever my parents are, I am who I am. Becoming a ballet dancer was to make a new step from the path this family has always followed.
I have, however, always missed my family – even if I was different from any of my family members. This sentimental feeling came into my mind, especially after I left Japan to Portugal when I was 18, and made me realize how important it is to spend time with a family. There is a word “saudade ” in Portuguese, meaning a feeling of missing, melancholy or nostalgia. I sometimes imagine that the first time in my life when I got this feeling may have been when I missed my family. Family is the place where we have grown our imagination, creativity and sensitivity.
I believe that those who died long time ago, are also part of my family; this is why I started this writing from talking about my ancestors. Generally speaking, it is really hard to assume someone with whom you are personally not acquainted, as a member of your family, but they are, possibly, some of your familyʼs family. Okay, they might be your familyʼs familyʼs familyʼs familyʼs family. Anyway, I am sure that they had a family and their family missed them. The fact that they also had a family makes me wish to remember who they were.
Japanese people sometimes try not to say what they think but to say something that sounds nice to hear in public. During the time of the WW2, people who were going to the battle field said that they were willing to die in honor of the Japanese emperor. And once they died, their family crying in grief, said “we are proud to hear that.” Such a story had been considered as sad and beautiful tragic by the time Japan lost its war. Even now, can Japanese really call the people who donʼt say what they want to say, idiots? I meant no offense against those who couldnʼt at the war time ― of course it is those who made such an awkward time of Japan who should be judged ― , but in any situation, we must not stop saying “I love you”, “I miss you” and “I trust you”. Those are the last words you need to keep in your mind. With these words, we can protect our family, the last and most valuable community in this world. With these phrases, we can keep our most important person with us.
There are more to note; honestly I donʼt think I can fairly take my dad and Kamatari as a same family member. I would never say something like “be fair enough to everyone” although I am trying to be. We have emotions and unfairness is everywhere, unfortunately. So what I would rather want to say is “do not forget that they are important to someone.” Have you met anyone who wasnʼt important? Definitely not. Whether we are important or not depends on the way of seeing the world. And the last person who thinks them important should be their family. In this sense, family is the last hope of our emotional world. Since we all have a family at some point, we are important even in the case that they are gone.
It is only you who may notice how important you are. To notice it, be brilliant. To be brilliant, love, miss, and trust your family. If you keep remembering that people have their own family, anyone will be important to your life.
（Yuma Sumi / 鷲見雄馬）
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