MEDITATION TIP —
Presentation of the Lord,
February 2, 2025

“Now, Lord, you may let this servant go in peace, according to your word” (Luke 2:29).

　The elderly Simeon held the infant Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying that now that he had seen the Savior, he could leave this world in peace. However, at the same time, Simeon prophesied to Mary, saying, “This child is destined to be a sign that will be opposed. And you yourself will be pierced with a sword.” This prophecy became a reality 33 years later when Jesus was crucified.

　There was once a death-row inmate named Satoru Nakamura. He grew up in a poor family and was a sickly child, suffering from tuberculosis and caries. His grades were always at the bottom of the class, and he was despised by those around him as a feeble-minded child. After graduating from middle school, he repeatedly engaged in delinquency and spent time in a reformatory. Even after leaving the reformatory, he continued to commit crimes. At the age of 24, driven by hunger, he broke into a farmhouse, stole 2,000 yen, and ended up killing the housewife. He was sentenced to death and ended his life in 1967 at the age of 33.

　In 1974, a collection of poems titled “Iai-shū” (Posthumous Love), by a poet named Akito Shima was published. Experts praised its profound sensibility, and it was highly regarded by the general public. However, the poet himself never got to hear those voices. In fact, Akito Shima was the pen name of the death-row inmate Satoru Nakamura. The catalyst for his development as an outstanding poet was the encouraging letters of his former teacher and his wife from his junior high school days. Initially, he wanted to return to his childhood innocence by drawing pictures in prison, so he wrote a letter to his middle school homeroom teacher, Mr. Yoshida, who was also his art teacher. The reason for writing the letter was because, during his school days when he was despised as a “feeble-minded child,” Mr. Yoshida had praised him by saying, “You are not good at drawing, but your composition itself is good”. Though surprised by Nakamura’s letter, Mr. Yoshida responded kindly. Enclosed with his reply were three tanka poems written by his wife. Nakamura was deeply moved by these poems and continued correspondence with the teacher while studying tanka poetry in his solitary confinement, eventually winning a number of prizes in newspapers and magazines.

　Though “Iai-shū” was published after his death, at his own request, in the “Afterword,” he expresses his remorse for his crimes and his gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida, who had embraced him with warm human love, and to his own life, even though he had once been despised as a feeble-minded child. On the eve of his execution, he quietly accepts his death composing the following poem, “I came here without knowing my heart could be so clear—on this warm night, so close to the dawn of my execution.” This thought echoes Simeon’s words, “Now, Lord, you may let this servant go in peace, according to your word.” While in prison, he was adopted by a woman named Chiba, who was moved by his tanka poems, and through her he believed in Christ, was baptized, and became a Christian.

　In this “Afterword,” Nakamura also mentioned his love for flowers, particularly the “nanohana” (rapeseed blossoms). There is a saying in Europe, “A person who loves flowers cannot be a bad person.” Shima Akito too was an essentially pure boy at heart. 　　

 　　　　　(Contribution by Father Yutaka Akabae)