友人の結婚式の為にシアトルに一週間ぐらい訪ねました。
里帰りは偶に必要だと、思いました。色んな意味で。
もちろん、親孝行や親戚サービスの面が大事。
自分の故郷やルーツの馴染みが薄くならない為にもなる。
そして、今回の里帰りで特に感じましたが、自分の人生の道の再確認にもなる。
これは特に観光と関係ない話だが、「たまに観光じゃなくて、若旦那の事について読みたい」と言う声もファンから頂きましたので、お言葉に甘えて…
「どうして旅館の後継になったか」とよく聞かれますが。普段は「後継ぎは他にいなかったので、亀清旅館が駐車場にならない様に戻った」と簡単にお答えします。
しかし、実際はそんなに簡単じゃない。
磨利ちゃんと結婚を決めた時、どの国に住むかはまず決める必要がある。
私はシアトルが大好き、貿易関係の仕事に興味があった、
磨利ちゃんは長野が特に大好きでもなかったし、旅館の仕事は嫌だった。
との事で、単純にシアトルを選んで、私が貿易の世界に飛び込みました。
生活の面で、二人で好きな家を買って、好きな仕事で頑張って、ハッピーハッピーでした。
ところが、私の仕事は最初にものすごく意味を感じた
（アメリカの田舎の保守的な農家と細かくて厳しい大阪の輸入者の間に立つのに、かなりの才能が必要）が、
段々と現実が見えた
（玉ねぎを一円でも安く買って、一円でも高く売って、その隙間で生活を作る事、そしてお正月など関係無く働いて、全てを会社の為に犠牲にする事）。
磨利ちゃんこそ、
シアトルは雨の多い町で、そのせいで段々とブルーになり、
そして息子達が生まれて、言葉のハンディーもあって子育てするのにやはり自分の国が良いと。
日本に戻るか？
戻るなら、私の仕事は？英会話はすみませんが、もう卒業。サラリーマンになったらまた会社の為にすべてが犠牲。
じゃ、私の憧れの亀清旅館は？
こう悩みながら、私が地元の教会では段々と活動するようになった。その活動が周りの人の幸せにつないでいて、私の本来の仕事にしたら…と思ってきました。ちょうどその時に当地の大司教管区がシアトル大学と連携をして、俗人を教会の仕事の為に育つコースを始めた。申し込んでみた。シアトル大に受けられたが教官区に「基礎が足りない」と断れた。（基礎を作る為のコースだったのではないかと疑問が残っているが…）
従って、亀清での若旦那という道を選びました。
振り返ってみれば、正解でした。この仕事で、お客様が温泉でリラックスし、板長のお料理で満腹になり、お帰りになったら「旅館に泊まったおかげで体の充電が出来た」と言う声が良く聞きます。人の幸せの為になっている天職です。
On this recent trip back home to Seattle, besides being able to spend time with my family and reconnecting with my home town, it was also a cause to stop and reflect upon my life, and the direction it is taking.
Many people here ask my how it is I became an innkeeper. My normal, quick answer is that there was no one to take on the business and we came back to keep Kamesei Ryokan from being turned into a parking lot.
Of course, the real answer is a bit more complicated than that. And it has nothing to do with tourism, which is the normal focus of this blog. However, at least one reader has requested less about tourism and more about me. So, here it is:
When Mari and I decided to get married, as an international couple we first had to decide which country in which to live.
I love Seattle, and was wanting to get into the import/export field. Mari on the other hand didn't particularly like Nagano, and didn't want anything to do with her family's ryokan. So we decided to live in Seattle, and I jumped into the import/export world.
At first, everything was great. We bought the house of our dreams, and I was thriving as an onion exporter. It takes a certain skill to be able to maneuver between the conservative onion growers and the strict Osaka importers.
But then reality gradually hit. It all boiled down to buying a bag of onions for 1 cent less, and selling it for 1 cent more, and eeking out a living from the difference. And forget about taking Christmas off. Too many sacrifices, and for what?
Mari, too, had second thoughts. Seattle's a rainy town, and that started to depress her. Then when our sons were born, she felt the language barrier even more and decided she preferred to raise our children in Japan.
Move to Japan? What would I do for work? I was done with the English Conversation Teaching gig. And becoming a 'salaryman' for a Japanese company would mean sacrificing everything again. What about the ryokan, then?
Meanwhile, I had been getting more and more active in our local church. It was so rewarding, helping to change people's hearts for the better. And at that time, our local Archdiocese started a new program for lay ministers with Seattle Univeresity. I applied!
S.U. accepted my, but eventually the Archdiocese declined me, saying I was not grounded enough. (It was to get grounded that I wanted to join the program!)
So, I took that as a sign, and Mari and I made the move to Nagano with our kids.
Looking back now, it was the right decision. Being an innkeeper means we get to provide a place for our guests to relax in the baths, enjoy our chef's meals, basically recharge their bodies' batteries. I feel this is my minstery.
Immaculate Conception Church, Seattle's 1st Catholic church. Where my buddy Matt got married. What it would've been like to work at a church like this?
