Being Connected with HOKARI MINORU

Happy Birthday, my dear brother!

This summer is extremely hot. It was 41C two days ago. Kyle plays soccer in this heat all the time, so he became very tolerant of heat. Nicole is running around in our backyard with the sprinkler system on, wearing a bathing suit. We are consumed with FIFA World Cup Soccer these days and I have no idea how many different country uniforms that John purchased in the last several weeks.

By the way, what are you doing to me lately? You have been so quiet for the last few years and, all of the sudden, I have to handle too many things for you! Starting with the Exhibition, a request to hold another exhibition in Sapporo and Tokyo came to “Connection”, which is a newly formed organization that handles all the Minoru Hokari related events and plans. Yeah, it’s like a fan club. :-) As its name “Connection” implies, this is a necessary organization for us to be connected with you. Friends of mine and yours as well as people who only have met you through your book, offer me help for all the events.

3,509 people in total visited the exhibition. From Niigata, our parents, their friends and my friend who knew you from our childhood, and from Tokyo, Prof. Tetsuro Kato and his wife, your editor, Iku Hashimoto and Naoko Terada, a travel journalist, who always wishes to have met you in person, your old friend, Mihoko visited there. The fact that 16 copies of your books and 7 copies of “Kaze no Tabibito,”a magazine that published an excerpt of your book along with the photographs by Seiichi Motohashi were sold, seemed to startle the museum employees.

Irumi Sasakura will soon start the process of publishing an exhibition catalogue, for the future exhibitions including in Tokyo and Sapporo, a major city in Hokkaido. When I implied some monetary compensation for her, she politely declined by saying “I am well compensated with the fact that I am involved with Hokari Minoru.” What fortunate people are we!

For the last few months, I was too busy with the things that you brought to my attention, and did not have time to go to Yoga. While I was swamped, many thoughts came to me. You requested permission to 10 indigenous communities for your fieldwork. 7 ignored your request, 2 declined and only one community accepted you, which was the Gurindji. Before submitting your PhD thesis, you went back to Daguragu and asked for an approval, Old Jimmy said, “This book make me happy.”Also, you clearly stated ".....I also made an agreement with the Daguragu Community Government Council to share the copyright of the primary information – fieldnotes, tapes and photos – of my research. Helen Morris, one of the council members, complained that many researchers came there to study, but all the products had gone to Canberra. Accordingly, I added one more clause in our agreement saying I would submit my published works to the community." As I think of your sincere attitude towards the Gurindji people, anything that will be done under the name of “Connection” and “Minoru Hokari” has to honor your agreement with the Gurindji. I swear not to ruin your name.

As Old Jimmy said “Country called you,” I feel whatever relating to you happens when and how it should happen, just like you give me a “Go ahead” sign. I don’t need to force it to happen, people as well as things start moving when it should. I promise that I would never do anything that I am ashamed to report to you. I would never do anything that I cannot face to you in the sky, for you, the Gurindji people and for myself.

Unfortunately it has not been confirmed as of your 39th birthday, but I will have more great news for you real soon. Wait for it.

Yuki