Went to Michiko's funeral in Sapporo.

  I went to Sapporo to attend Michiko Takahashi's ( her maiden name : Mokudai ) funeral. Ayako, who was also going to Sapporo to see our brother-in-law, Shimizu, drove our car and dropped me at the station on her way, and then she took a bus for Sapporo,while I took a train. I transferred to a subway train at Shin-Sapporo as far as Kikusui station, then, took a taxi to the funeral hall named "Tokurei Hall".  It was a very small hall in a residential area, so it was not easy for the taxi drive to find it. There were some pld friends of mine waiting for me. I got off the taxi, went into the hall, and met Michiko's mother.   I offered my condolences to Michiko's mother who was shedding tears. I saw Michiko's husband who was in slough of despond. Then a Buddhist monk appeared and began to chant a sutra. There was a little girl with Michiko's mother, who was Michiko's one-and- a half- year- old daughter. While the monk chanting the sutra and all the attendances were praying, the girl was shouting something not knowing the meaning of what the adults were doing. I felt so sad to see her, who was left with only her young father and her grandmother.