Christmas

                                         12/9/2014

　I was born the eldest son of Kumao and Tatsuko Ikeda the first of four brothers, in Shinoharanakamachi, Nada-ku, Kobe in 1940, the 15^th year of Showa. It was one year before World War 2 began and soon after my birth, we moved to Dalian, China for the new post of my father’s job. However, the war soon began and we had to go back to Japan out of necessity and withdrew to Naruo in Nishinomiya, Hyogo. There my brother Masanori was born in 1943. The war became more and more intense, so we evacuated to my father's hometown of Saga Prefecture, Kyushu. There we greeted the end of the war, and on March 2, 1946, my younger brother Keiichi was born there when there were no goods after the war. Then came the time to attend elementary school at age 6, and we moved from our country town in Saga to the urban city Fukuoka. I went to elementary school in Fukuoka and I grew up there until high school. Also,  my youngest brother, Koji ( the 4th brother ) was born here in Fukuoka on August 22, 1949. At this post-war time, we four brothers were brought up well by our parents while working together in competition, but our family was poor indeed. When I was an elementary schoolboy, our family began to go to church nearby. As my family has been Christian from my mother’s parents, we boys went to  Sunday school there and my mother continued in the Christian faith all of her life. When I became a high school student, we moved to the Kansai area because of my brother’s education. It was my 3rd time moving to Kobe and I was baptized in Kobe Eiko Church with my brother Masanori when I was 17, in second grade of high school.

　Although our family was poor, it was a cheerful home full of love and Christianity, and we had a lot of fun at Christmas time, celebrating every year with family: candy put in socks put in stockings by the pillow, a twinkling Christmas tree, roast chicken and meatloaf, ice cream and butter cream Christmas cake, etc. This and that of mother's homemade Christmas dishes, various presents and gratitude for every day are also remembered clearly now. Now Christmas is coming ! Merry Christmas !Have a nice time!