On Saturday, I spent the day at Namayasai, the Japanese vegetable farm near Lewes. I loved it. Being out in the spring sunshine chatting with other volunteers from all over the world was a real joy.

There are usually Japanese people at the farm, and there are always plenty of Japanese crops to see.

The sounds of native Japanese speakers and the sight and smell of mizuna (potherb mustard) and shungiku (edible chrysanthemum) always make Japan feel a bit closer.

English vegetables such as parsnip and rainbow chard are also grown on the farm. On my visit, I planted rhubarb crowns - which looked like fossilised brains - while talking about Japanese Netflix.

As a reward for our labour, the volunteers were all given a bag full of vegetables to take home. The 1st prize in my bag goes to ほうれん草 HOURENSOU (Japanese spinach). The vitamin-packed leaves have livened up my lunches this week.

On Sunday, I watched a couple of NHK programs, the first one was on a man called Sano Toemon, known as the guardian of cherry blossoms. He is an eccentric 93 year old Kyoto gardener with a magic touch for treating cherry blossom trees.

In the program, Sano is sent to a temple on the windswept Izu peninsula to help raise a fallen cherry blossom.

He respects the 生命力　SEIMEIRYOKU (vitality) of the trees. But it how he interacted with other people that interested me most.

I particular enjoyed Sano’s conversations with resident temple gardener, He starts off politely, saying to him: お世話になります O-SEWA NI NARIMASU .

O-SEWA NI NARIMASU is translated in the program as ‘nice to meet you’. The literal meaning though is closer to ‘be looked after’, or ‘to receive favour’. In this case, Sano is receiving favour by standing on the gardener’s ground。

Later, the real Sano Toemon shows himself, a fiery character proud of his Kyoto roots.

He harangues the resident gardener for hammering nails into trees calling it a バカなこと BAKA NA KOTO (a stupid thing to do), and 一番してはいけないこと ICHIBAN SHITE WA IKENAI KOTO (the worst thing you could do).

He confesses Kyoto people can be coarse. His 93 years have given him almost no fear: 怖い物ない KOWAI MONO NAI (I am not scared of anything)　かあさんだけこわい KAASAN DAKE KOWAI (only my wife scares me).

His eccentric methods liven up the program. Who knew that keeping a cherry tree alive would need スルメ SURUME (dried squid), さけ SAKE and すみ SUMI (charcoal)?

I watched one other program on Sunday, an NHK documentary on the impact of the 2011 nuclear disaster Far From Futaba: 10 Years of Nuclear Exile.

March 11th was the 11th anniversary of the tsunami and earthquake that brought Japan to it’s knees. I was living in Tokyo at the time and my memories of the whole period remain strong.

At the time, I became very anti-nuclear. I even attended a couple of demos. The whole country seemed to be saying 原発はいらない　GENPATSU WA IRANAI (We don’t need nuclear power).

Getting rid of all nuclear power seemed the obvious thing to do then. 11 years later, it doesn’t feel quite as obvious.

Japan is an energy-poor country. It depends on oil and gas imports. Nuclear power reduces the degree of that dependence.

(Or does it just allow Japan to keep using more energy than it needs? )

Neither nuclear power or gas or oil seem desirable right now.

What is certain is the horrendous damage the nuclear explosions did to the area around the plant. For many people, life hasn’t gone back to normal and never will.

Since the 1960’s, nuclear subsidies provided work and investment to Futaba. The relationship between the town and plant became one of dependence.

At one point, the mayor says: 依存するしかない IZON SURU SHIKA NAI (The only thing we can do is depend on) [the plant].

The documentary tells the story of how the town became addicted to nuclear money. But it also tells the story of the individuals who lived in that town, many of whom had mixed feelings about the plant, and all of whom had their lives turned upside down by it.

PS 3 Day Monk Update (from last week): I managed to keep reading my YOKIJUKUGO (compound kanji character) book for more than 3 days.

My new favourite is 心機一転　SHINKI ITTEN (turn over a new leaf, a change in attitude. 心機 SHINKI means ‘mental state’, and 一転 ITTEN means to turn around.

The book’s author, Saito Takashi says 心は出会うものによって変わります　KOKORO WA DEAU MONO NI YOTTE KAWARIMASU (Our mental state changes according to our experiences). This makes sense.

My Namayasai visit caused a bit of a 心機一転　SHINKI ITTEN in me. It was a refreshing and inspiring experience. It certainly changed my attitude to rhubarb.

PPS JLPT applications open on March 17th. If you wish to take the exam, I would apply as soon as you can. Places will fill VERY quickly.