＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
＜Tomihiro Hoshino passed away on April 28 at the age of 78 due to respiratory failure.
Tomihiro Hoshino, who was handicapped and created poems and paintings with a brush in his mouth, passed away at 6:32 p.m. on April 28 at a hospital in Midori City, Gunma Prefecture due to respiratory failure. We pray for his soul rest in peace.
Mr. Hirotada Ototake (1976- ), who became famous for his book “Gotai Fumanzoku” was born with a physical disability, but graduated from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University and is now active and cheerful as a writer and TV personality.
In this issue, we would like to introduce Tomihiro Hoshino, a man who, despite having lost the use of his limbs in an accident, rose from the depths of despair and began to paint pictures with a paintbrush in his mouth.
There was a time when I was interested in “colored pencil drawings,” “botanical art,” and “letters with pictures,” and it was around that time that I learned about Tomihiro Hoshino.
１．About Mr. Tomihiro Hoshino
Tomihiro Hoshino (1946 – 2024) graduated from Gunma University and was a physical education teacher at a junior high school. In 1970, while coaching a club activity, he fell and injured his cervical vertebrae, losing the use of his arms and leg.
Immediately after the accident, he became despairing and desperate at times, but in 1972, while hospitalized at Gunma University Hospital, he began writing and drawing with a paintbrush in his mouth.
２．A Collection of Poems and Drawings of Flowers
When I first saw his “Flower Poetry and Drawing Book,” I had no idea that these were poems and drawings by a handicapped person, and they were so brilliant that I did not feel that way at all.
However, my view changed when I learned that he had damaged his cervical vertebrae in an accident, that he had lost the use of his limbs, and that after much hardship he was painting sentences and pictures with a paintbrush in his mouth.
At first, there must have been various anguish such as despair, frustration, frustration, regret, and anger. However, as a result of finding his purpose in life through expressing himself by “drawing pictures and adding text to them,” I believe that his mind was sublimated and he was able to find peace of mind.
He must have overcome a struggle beyond description, accepted a harsh fate, and reached a state of finding joy in life out of resignation.
His works are full of “warmth” and “gentleness,” and the flowers he depicts give us a sense of “joy” and “perseverance” in living life to the fullest.
３．Words by Tomihiro Hoshino
It seems that the human mind has tricks up its sleeve so that past suffering can be remembered with pleasure later.
The autumn leaves across the river were beautiful, so I crossed the bridge and looked back and saw that the place I had just been was more beautiful.
There is a character for辛（painful）” It is a character that almost makes me “幸(happy)”.
This road is a path of thorns, but even among the thorns, faintly fragrant flowers bloom.I like that flower, so let’s go this way.
What I can do is small, but if I can do it with gratitude, it will be a big thing.
There is winter and summer, day and night, sunny days and rainy days, and just as a flower blooms, there is sorrow and suffering, and I become who I am.
My mother is now 96 years old and is “wheelchair-bound” due to a limp. She has a good head and good eyesight, and she reads the newspaper carefully every day. However, she is frustrated because she cannot move around as much as she would like and it takes her a long time to get dressed and undressed, so she has to get help from others.
My mother is much less inconvenienced than Mr. Tomihiro Hoshino. However, even though she knows this in her head, she seems unable to reach the state of enlightenment.