On February 21, 2003, my sister passed away after suffering from cancer of the pancreas. She was born in 1933, so she breathed her last at the age of 70.
That means she died very young. Nowadays the average life span of Japanese women is said to be approximately 85. She ought to have lived longer. However, she had been in delicate health throughout her life.
My sister was very much loved by my parents and was brought up elegantly.
She was very good at flower arrangement, tea ceremony and making 31-syllable Japanese poems. Her poetry was so sophisticated that I found her collection of 500 graceful and beautiful poems beyond my poor linguistic ability to translate into English.
She remained single all her life, mainly because the population of marriageable men was low in her twenties. The second world war had deprived a large number of young men of their lives.
My parents used to have a clothing store, and my sister worked with them until the shop went broke in early nineties(1992). After that she made some earnings from eight studio apartments that were her parents' property.
She was very good at separating everyday business life from her graceful poetic life. That was the reason why she was greatly loved by those who knew her.
She did not look like a shop assistant at all. Even when engaged in shop business, she behaved very humanely and elegantly towards her customers.
I will write about her in detail in the near future. I have many memories of my sister as a woman of sincerity and elegance.
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