I grew up in Japan. After the publication of my autobiography in July 2012, there haven’t been too many memories that I think about from when I was very young. One of the few exceptions is from when I was in kindergarten.
The memory of the red boots is probably from when I was five or six years old. After a parent-teacher conference, my mother said how proud she was of me. She was not one to praise me often, so her remark left quite an impression on me – so much so that I still remember it to this day.
I’m not sure how the Japanese culture may or may not have changed during the last several decades but, back then, when entering the kindergarten building, everyone was expected to take shoes off at the entrance, just as you would at home, and put them on the shoe rack.
One rainy day, the teacher was impressed by how I had placed my red boots neatly together on a shoe rack. As it turned out, none of the other children had bothered to be quite so neat about it, the way my mother had taught me.
I was so happy that I had made my mother proud – and I still remember it to this day as if it happened just a few years ago.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!
