“Well, I can’t die yet—not with these kids around, you know,” says a man in his mid-70s, smiling happily as tanned face crinkles up.
The complex looked almost deserted, with
residents growing old and few people walking around the neighborhood. But this
gentleman was always doing something in the yard in front of his home—I couldn’t
stop thinking about him.
Since no other residents filled up the
space in front of their homes, his place really stood out.
This mystery was solved in May, during a group activity for senior women in the complex.
When I casually brought up the topic, the
members chimed in one after another: “Oh, that’s the killifish school principal.”
According to these ladies, the man had been raising killifish for a few years since the retirement. The fish kept growing in number and that’s why he had so many tanks. He was taking care of 200 killifish by himself, and also growing Japanese basil beside the tanks and would give them away to his friends, etc.
Though looking a bit grumpy from a distance,
he turned out to be quite charming and chatty.
As I told him, “Neighbors call you the killifish school principal, named after the popular children’s song,” he shyly looked up to the sky. How charming!
He even grew daphnia to feed and breed different kinds of killifish, so I asked him whether he had been a long-time killifish lover. But his answer was No.
Apparently, he had nothing to do and
happened to start raising the fish. Before he knew it, they kept growing in
number. Since he had no one to give them away, he would bring them to a
killifish shop.
What caught my attention in the conversation was one of his comments: “It would be great if I could give them to kids or whoever wants them.”
I couldn’t help jumping in and giving a
suggestion: “Nursery schools around here would love it if you give the fish and
teach kids how to raise them,” but it was a bit too much.
He just enjoys the daily routine of
nurturing the killifish and occasionally chatting with people about the fish.
Getting praise and becoming a local celebrity are not what he wants.
“Wow, they are so cute!” “We used to have the fish, my child wanted to. They bring back memories”
The people chatting in front of the tanks looked
peaceful and gentle, which also warmed my heart.
Officially, we were not supposed to occupy the front yard of the apartment complex, and we didn’t say whose fish they were because the principal wanted to keep it a secret. But many people must have figured out where they had come from.
When returning the fish after the event, I
told him that everyone loved them. He looked quite delighted.
These killifish, which had become
celebrities in the apartment complex, ended up in my house, according to my
child’s request, together with the special red liquid made by the principal
himself to keep the water clean.
For the principal, this seems to be the right kind and size of being productive.
Sharing what you love with others—that’s
what I learned this summer from the principal and the killifish students. ^_^
Shino Sawaoka
Associate Professor,
Dept. of Health Management,
Tokai University
jzt1864@tokai.ac.jp
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