I Have a Dream

By the way deaf people can’t hear their names with sound, so how do they call each other? It’s “sign name” with hands that identifies them. Normally you make the initial letter of your name with hand (ex. “D” for Daigo) in fingerspelling and touch some parts of body. To make “D”, first you stand your index finger upward like No. 1 and gather the tips of your tall finger, ring finger, little finger and thumb at one point. Now you touch shoulder and wrist with D for Daigo. Good. Thank you for calling me. I’m not very confident if you have correctly understood with my explanation, if not, sorry for that:((( Sign name is quite useful when you call someone from distance. My sign name is given by children when I was introduced in the morning assembly. This is one of my treasures in life.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

Last year, I made a video for JHS-3 and put the message: “Be proud of your name. Because it is only one name in the world!” In Japan, giving name is very meaningful. Parents consider it as the first gift and job to child from parents so they put their wish and hope into child’s name. And giving name is referred to “Mei mei (命名)”, which literally mean “Name of Life”. In short, “giving name” means “giving life” in Japan. And Bushido teaches that Name is the most important matter for Bushi– Samurai; they considered even more important than their lives (名こそ惜しけれ). Bushi walks, lives, and fights as people memorize his name in a good manner and if his name will be disgraced, he is willing to cut his belly (Seppuku:切腹 –Harakiri) to prove his innocence. And if his name remains in people’s heart, that’s the honorable life for Bushi. We should respect others’ name.

In Slavery, name was meaningless for slaves. They had their own name but slaveholders gave different names to their properties. The main character of “Roots” his own name “Kunta Kinte”, but he was given another name “Toby”. I don’t know if he was happy with it. Just imagine that I give you a name “Nomed” or “Natas” and you use it from today. Are you happy? Cynically speaking, thanks to the slaveholders who kept records of their properties, the author of Roots, Alex Haley could trace back to his ancestor in Gamiba. I would say that History never forgets, even if people forget, in other words you can’t hide bad deeds in history. And names of people who do wrong will be memorized by people living in future. It’s better for you to keep your name clean and live rightly.  

Several years ago, I read the book, “Physics of the Impossible” by Michio Kaku, in which the author insists that so many things thought “impossible” in 19^th century are possible in 20^th century. Today we live in 21^st century and know that innovations and progress change our lives and thoughts. When you read the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. above, you might feel a bit strange in his lines because today the world is becoming the place that Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed about. I’d never say no racism, no discrimination, no exploitation today, yet it is sure that things change and people change toward better future. We all live in the Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream today!