1518 S Washington St
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 325-8811
“Dear Taijo-san, thank you for the birthday gift to my daughter…..”. At the end of last year, I got a letter written in Japanese by a man in prison. His name is Sean. We have known each other for two years. I teach him colloquial Japanese and a little bit of Buddhism on the telephone every Monday. Our lessons are quite casual. So, in the last session, I asked him, “What is your peanut butter brand?” in Japanese knowing that he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich nearly every lunch. Feeling sympathetic, I couldn’t help chuckling when I listened to his answer, “Watashi no peanut butter no brand wa Lucky desu. (My peanut butter brand is Lucky.)”. Then, realizing the irony, he also started chuckling.
When he was 24, he started going to culinary school aiming to be a cook. Then, his wife got pregnant unexpectedly. In the meantime, he lost his day job and could not pay the bills, tuition, and the cost of having a baby. Desperately, he robbed four branches of McDonald’s consecutively and was arrested after the fourth. Thankfully, no one was killed and no one was injured. Yet, they were armed robberies. He was sentenced for 20 years. At the jail, he got the news that a healthy baby girl was born. On that day, he cried with gratitude and regret, realizing it was the biggest gift and punishment in his life. The day was also his birthday.
A few weeks before, Sean asked me to buy plushies of the characters from his daughter’s favorite anime “Demon Slayer.” Those gifts needed to be bought with his own money. After a complicated process, he somehow sent me $50 saved from his $1 per hour prison work. After I submitted his order, I decided to send a gift from me, too. Consulting with Sean, I placed an order for a Japanese anime stuffed toy from her second favorite anime, “My Hero Academia.” The latter part of his letter showed his concern that his daughter did not receive one of his gifts even ten days after her birthday. I knew the problem was solved by our next call. Her grandparents, who have been raising their granddaughter since her birth, forgot they hid the missing gift under their bed because it was delivered a week before her birthday. (Sean’s ex-wife had left the baby after her birth.)
His daughter turned 12 years old. This means Sean has been in prison for 12 years with eight more years to go. He is seriously dreaming of being a professional manga artist in Japan. That is why he is diligently studying Japanese in prison. I could not imagine the sentiment of a daughter toward a father who has been in prison for her entire life. But Sean confessed in our recent conversation that his daughter told him that he should not leave her when he moves to Japan. I totally agree, he should not.
When she will turns 20 years old, the situation surrounding her may be drastically different from now. Getting a Japanese work visa may not be easy for a foreigner immediately after discharge from prison. I can not help daydreaming about the day this unique father and daughter start a humble but hopeful life together in an obscure corner of Tokyo, the capital of manga.
I pray for all of you, my fellow imperfect-bodhisattvas-to-be. May the year of 2026 be a beautiful year for you!
Ven. Taijo Imanaka
Seattle Koyasan Buddhist Temple
