I posted on my new YouTube on Japanese numbers yesterday. In that video, I explained the Japanese money by showing all types of bills and coins. ￥5 (go en) has the same sound with another Japanese word meaning happy chance. I have often used this coin as a lucky coin and gave it to my non-Japanese visitors.
Before making my video public, I thought I would make some sample with ¥5 coin. I came up with the idea of connecting a lucky coin and an origami-paper crane, but It looked too simple. I thought I should devise a little more. All of a sudden, I remembered one day’s event involving my mother. My mother spent her last five years in my house. When she moved in, she could not take care of herself. Her dementia gradually worsened. She was a master of Japanese flower arrangement. She arranged plants so beautifully. In my childhood, she always told me to walk a lot and observe the nature closely. Although she lost her interest in arranging flowers at that time, she liked watching beautiful flowers. It was my daily routine to take her for a walk in a wheelchair. I always looked for blooming flowers in my neighborhood. It was our mutual happy time and her happy smile made me so happy.It was a warm late autumn day. I thought we would collect beautifully colored leaves. I brought a big plastic bag and I gathered lots of leaves my mother pointed at. Returning home, she put a lot of leaves in a shallow circular container. It made a beautiful color combination. I got impressed to learn fallen leaves made a wonderful art.Yesterday morning, I went to the nearby park and collected fallen leaves. Although it was late to find beautiful leaves, I could manage it. As soon as I got home, I made a wall decoration with leaves while talking to my mother in my mind.
