In the shade

How are you, everybody? I'm fine.
I feel ashamed for being unable to remember "seven autumn flowers." Although I try to remember them, autumn comes every year before I can remember all of them. They are: bush clover, pampas grass, kudzu, fringed pink, patrinia, boneset, and bellflower. Before autumn, I think optimistically I only have to remember seven names, but I've never been able to remember them all.

Today, I'd like to begin with how I encountered Artbility. In those days, I felt odd about art by disabled people, because it seemed that instead of evaluating their works, people regarded merely the fact that disabled people were painting pictures as something fantastic. Around that time, my art teacher whom I used to visit once a week when I was in an elementary school recommended that I apply for Artbility, because she saw some companies using pictures of Artbility. According to her, with Artbility she didn't know whether pictures were painted by disabled people or not.

My art teacher showed me a newspaper that introduced Artbility and told me where to get in touch. I asked the office of Artbility to send me a brochure. Though it was still difficult for me to get rid of my preconceptions, I boldly sent my pictures to the office. I was turning twenty-one then. Once I made up my mind to send my pictures, I was motivated. At that time, I was prepared to be an unsuccessful applicant as many as five times, and determined to work harder, but I was surprised to make the grade. I have worked for Artbility ever since.

As a little girl, I was very fond of painting as well as looking at pictures, and I wanted to be a painter. In those days, I didn't know where I could send my works, but then I encountered Artbility. Since then, I've met a lot of people and I treasure them. Now I'm unable to paint pictures, but thanks to Artbility my pictures can go on traveling. I am grateful that there are people who like pictures of Artbility and are concerned about disabled people.

"From the radio"

It's raining outside.
News comes from the radio at my side,
I find my heart aching.
I eat heartily and I'm full,
My heart leaps to beautiful music,
I read books and I'm curious about the unknown world.

However, there are bullied children who are crying,
Children who are shouting from the heart while bullying others,
Children who are suffering from starvation,
Children who want to study but can't,
Children who are fighting with guns
Children who are beaten by parents but remain silent.

Children can't run away from adults,
Children know that they have to eat to live,
And so must obey adults.

When every child in the world is able to spend every day with a smile,
Only then will I be truly happy.

Hide-and-Seek

How are you, everybody? I'm afraid I'm a little down, probably because the seasons are changing. We feel a change in temperature differently depending on whether it is from winter to spring or from autumn to winter, even though the thermometer shows a similar temperature.
The scenery at the turn of the seasons as the cold sets in is attractive, but I usually feel unsettled. Generally speaking, it is the season for enjoying sports, reading books as well as a good appetite. I am very curious about reading and eating in particular no matter what the season is. Unfortunately I have to impose some restrictions on both of them. One reason is that I am different from a person without disability, and can't move about freely. Nevertheless, I enjoy eating my favorite foods every day.
The other reason is that my doctor warns me not to read books too much. He also likes reading, and we often swap books.
Once I tried to read fewer books as I was told for a while. I slept lightly and dreamed a lot, but I woke up feeling good. I preferred to read books than spend time with a tapir (which is said to eat dreams in Japan), so I started reading more books again.
Reading books provides me with an opportunity to travel into an unknown world in my mind. I feel like a person without any disability, able to move about freely and travel in an unknown world. Anyhow, I would like to encounter a tapir in my deep sleep without becoming aware of it.
Strangely, I begin to cheer up while writing to you about nothing important like this.

"Sprain"

My foot hurts,
I accidentally twisted my foot joint,
It's a minor sprain.
I can't walk with my disabled legs,
I usually don't pay attention to them.
My foot hurts whenever I try to move,
A body is fixed together with joints.
I was spending each day so-so,
Now my foot is sore,
And my whole body becomes heavy.
As my foot becomes depressed,
My whole body becomes downhearted.
I try to strain my nerves, but feel dejected,
I want to return to the days when I felt so-so.
Pain, pain, will you please go away!

Everyone's Winter

How are you? I am fine.

That is, in spite of feeling sad at the thought that this is the 12th and last time for this Canon website. I have a confession to make here; I used to have a great phobia about using the Internet. That is why I feel very fortunate to have been given this kind of opportunity, which has enabled me to successfully complete writing for a website 12 times, with the aid of a helper doing the typing for me.

This year the cold of winter has visited us suddenly since the beginning of December. While the leaves of some trees just brown and fall away, the cold and sun change others to brilliant red and gold. I hope that my modest life will take on the colors of autumn before scattering. It is for this reason that I give deep thought to what it is that I can do now and spend my days reading books. It would be more accurate to say that my days are spent listening to audio books. Every book has its logic and a reason for being. However, I love to read books that weather the test of time. I believe that that is the wish of many works of art. My daily life is enveloped by the glow of that wish fulfilled. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people who have read my awkward writings over these 12 times.

<Postscript>
By chance, I happened to write about "artbility" in September, and was given the Artbility Grand Prize for it. I was surprised as this was truly a coincidence. Starting with the Asahi Beer Award of Encouragement, the Hitachi Capital Special Award and then the Artbility Grand Prize, I think I have been climbing up a step on each occasion. This has been possible thanks to the people who have continued to maintain an interest in artbility and my paintings. I thank you very much once again. And ask for your continued kindness hereafter as well.

"Me, My Chair and the Sky"

When I was 17, I had a wheelchair custom-made to match my body
It was the red color I love
Since I had already walked as much as it is possible to walk, I did not miss walking
I felt my heart dance because my sphere of activity broadened
People around me turned to look because a wheelchair was something they did not often see
Because I too rarely saw people in wheelchairs, I was delighted, feeling that I had met companions
Since I began using a wheelchair, I feel that even the sky has become broader

"Me, My Wheelchair and Awakenings"

This is something I have noticed since I began going out using my wheelchair
Since I too had not often seen wheelchairs
At finding a wheelchair unusual, there being people who would turn and look and
Children who would talk to me seemed only natural
Children who were interested in my wheelchair and asked questions about things that were different from themselves
For some reason made me want to explain things to them
But their parents would grab their little hands
And with no regard for their twisting bodies
Whisper that they shouldn't look and pull them away
Without realizing that they had plucked out the eye of curiosity that had awakened in the child
I lamented the nipped bud, because it was connected to my future

"Me, My Wheelchair and Friends"

Whether disabled or not, I want to become friends
I want to go out to town or
Visit each other's home
I want to eat and talk and go to the bathroom with ease
I want to be able to do these things
But people and homes and towns don't want this
They measure disabled people with ratios or percentages and
Are satisfied with the illusion that doing so is modern
Whether disabled or not, truly
I want the day to come when we can say it doesn't matter