My name is Hirari. Is it a nice and unusual name? Everyone says so. Why Hirari?
My mother chose it for me. My Japanese-Brazilian mother went to Japan to work right after graduating from high school. She really wanted to go to college, so she planned to work in Japan for about two years to earn money for college and then go to college in Brazil.
For Mom, who was born and raised in a rural town in Brazil, life in a city in Japan was full of joy, expectation, anxiety, and sometimes confusion, but she still says it was the happiest period of her life.
First of all, what Mama fell in love with in Japan was TV dramas. Although her work at the factory was tough, she looked forward to Saturday mornings. The first drama she watched was the NHK morning drama "Hilari." It was only a 15-minute broadcast, but it drew Mama into a dream world.
He decided at that moment, "If I ever get married and have a girl, I'll definitely name her Hirari!"
We arrived in Japan in 1993, and two and a half years had passed since we had planned to return, but life was so fulfilling that Mum wanted to learn more Japanese and started attending language school.
The Japanese language class was lively, with students from many different countries. The teacher taught her very carefully, so Mama studied harder and harder. One day, she was introduced to a man who taught English at the same school. When he found out that Mama was from Brazil, he said he wanted to be friends with her. He began asking Mama all kinds of questions about Brazil and Portuguese.
The man was Leo Tokunaga, who helped out with the family business while also working at a language school, hoping to make use of the English he learned while studying abroad in the U.S. He had been interested in Brazil because he had been crazy about soccer since he was a junior high school student.
Just as Mama was planning to return to Brazil, Leo proposed to her. Mama was so happy she couldn't put it into words, but she had made a promise to her family, so she returned to Brazil.
A few months later, Leo came to visit Mom, much to Mom's surprise and much to Grandma and Grandpa's delight!
Leo said he came to Brazil to visit, but two weeks later he proposed to my mom again. My mom accepted, and my grandparents were thrilled! My great-grandmother was also surprised, saying, "Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"
After their wedding in Brazil, Mom and Dad left for Japan shortly after, with everyone's blessings.
My dad built a house in Hamamatsu where he met my mom, and went to his parents' house in the neighboring town to help with the family business. My mom was living a very happy life. Then, five years after they got married, I was born. It was November 27, 2001.
There are so many photos and videos of me from my childhood at home. Whenever Mum looks at them, she gets teary-eyed and tells me about the joys and emotions of those days. "Six months old, the rose-colored dress Mum made for me," "My first birthday, a cake Mum made for me," "My first time at the zoo," "Hilari's Hinamatsuri," "Who is Santa? Daddy?", "Eating bread while watching my favorite 'The Crow's Bakery.'"
But my mom told me that it was only a short-lived dream. In October 2004, my dad was in a traffic accident and passed away shortly after. I was three years old, so I only have one memory. One cold day, my mom gently told me, "Okay, we're getting on the plane now. Hirari is going to a country called Brazil with Mom. Grandpa and Grandma are waiting for us!"
My mother returned to her parents' home and worked at a supermarket owned by an acquaintance while studying hard for her entrance exams and somehow managed to get into university. She now works as a pharmacist.
I am a first year high school student. My dream is to go to Japan someday. To achieve this, I have been attending a Japanese language school since I was six years old. Since I was six years old, I have been sending letters in Japanese to my grandparents in Japan twice a year. So, I have sent 22 letters so far, but I have never received a reply.
"Why haven't I received a reply?" I once asked my mother.
Then Mum said, "Hilari is a messenger from heaven. That's why only you can write beautiful things in beautiful words. Please write lots of them for Grandpa and Grandma, as if they were gifts from heaven."
Now, what should I write about the events at the end of the year? Just thinking about it makes me excited.
© 2016 Laura Honda-Hasegawa
