Seiko&Mike LLC
I Played the Game of My Life, and I Won!
Home of "Seiko's Way" (Book, A Work in Progress)
"The Answer is Within Me!"
"I Am Causing My life Right Now!"
"The Meaning of My Life is What I am Doing Right Now!"
"I Am Creating My Life as a Work of Art, One Moment at a Time."
__Seiko, 1944 - 2019
(This telephoto picture of me was taken when I was 37, on my daily run . . . still six-pack abs after two sons, and 16 years after the Yokohama Incident.)
Preface
The nation was crushed; millions starved; many more died from rampantly spreading diseases. Within days the victors arrived, first a few thousand, then hundreds of thousands. The victors imprisoned the men who had begun the war, canceled the nation’s constitution, wrote a new one, and stayed. Year after year, they stayed, hanging over the nation like a noisy thundercloud, continuing their, often fumbling, attempts to convert the nation to a “democracy of free and equal” people.
Survivors of “the war” were bewildered by the victor’s attempts to remake their nation. The victors insisted they were not “imperialists” and that the conquered nation was not a “colony.” Yet they stayed, and stayed, confiscating ancient family farms for their military bases, which became instrumental in the victors’ “Cold War” to stem the spread of communism.
Soon, “right-wing,” pro-America, conservatives, supported by ultra-nationalists, gained control of government and industry. And traditional links of the “right-wing” yakuza crime organization, penetrating almost every level of the nations’ social structure, further complicated efforts to move the nation from a rigid class-based society to an American style democracy.
But, on the other side, the “left-wing:” university professors, students, writers, artists, and performers agitated for “reform,” espousing communism or socialism, and occasionally, even women’s rights. The often recorded “left-wing” demonstrations and violent riots were televised internationally.
Those on both sides were continually perplexed by their new constitution, written by the victors, which did not allow the nation to defend itself. Moreover, they were even forced by the victors to agree to a treaty that allowed the victors to stay, using the nation’s land and facilities for their military bases.
. . . Meanwhile, on a remote hill-country estate, a little girl was born and protectively, lovingly, raised to be a descendant of her nation’s ancient ways. Her upbringing had been meticulously planned before her birth to ensure she would thrive in whatever emerged to replace her country’s obliterated social structure.
Before she was five years old, she left the seclusion of the hill country to live in a suburb of the capital of the “new” nation. With the resources available in her new home, her training accelerated to a phenomenal pace.
One month before she turned seven, she “woke up” and saw her new reality; a society pursuing and holding “things” so different from her deeply-held values and traditional virtues. For the next two decades, instilled with the ancient code of honor, trained as an onna-musha, a female skilled in the deadliest of the pre-war martial arts (declared “illegal” by the victors), she faced the turmoil of her “new” nation, and she thrived.
“Seiko’s Way” is a true story of a unique period in Japan from 1944 to 1968, as told in the voice of a real woman, Seiko, 1944–2019; intelligent; a traditional upbringing; and the winner of her “game of life.”
Over many years, Seiko described situations brought on by her quests, conflicts, and confrontations. Her descriptions were typically a brief account of a situation, her response, and the result. Then, knowing who Seiko was, her abilities, and her skills, we added details to enhance the descriptions, in her voice, of what she did, what she was thinking, and what she was feeling, and “Seiko’s Way” was created.
Seiko encountered the consequences of the unwinnable war her nation had begun: children orphaned by napalm firebombings of their homes; nuclear obliteration of major manufacturing centers, Hiroshima and Nagasaki; a six-year occupation, which stretched on and on, by hundreds of thousands of victors; the victor’s “cold war” against communist expansion; the Korean war; the Vietnam War; nuclear weapons testing on the nation’s ancient fishing grounds; and demonstrations of nuclear capability by the Soviet Union and China, the victors arch enemies.
And all the while, she faced and consistently overcame the false male superiority ingrained in her nation’s people, even embedded in its language.
“Seiko’s Way:” The Book
The “Prologue” summarizes my background, ancestors, and parents. I describe the environment, the political turmoil into which I was born (or “thrown into” as my sisters said), the source of my samurai-based upbringing, handed down over 40 generations and continually refined by lessons learned in the evolving environment of each generation.
Chapter One begins with my birth and describes, in considerable detail, my upbringing for the first few years, so critical to creating a successful female samurai-trained warrior, an onna-musha. My upbringing accelerated the development of my abilities, starting with hand-eye coordination; yoga at six weeks; an absolute internal locus of control, language, physical development, mathematics, music, and situation awareness.
Chapter Two describes situations during those first years as I understand and use my most critical life skill: my internal locus of control. I choose, and I alone am responsible for my world. Situation awareness “drills” become more intense, culminating at the end of Chapter 3, when I demonstrate the ability to see a 100-meter “route” at-a-glance, then run it, blindfolded, at full speed.
Chapters 3 to 24 describe my life, one year per chapter. The episodes in each chapter describe events, experiences, and adventures as I reconcile my samurai-based, tradition-bound upbringing to the “new” Japan. I use my brains and, if needed, my skills in the ancient, deadly, pre-war combat-based martial arts: aiki-jujutsu, jujutsu, kenjutsu, and Iaijutsu.
My carefully planned upbringing, raised and trained in the samurai tradition, produced me: an adventure-seeking independent spirit with an aggressively positive, can-do attitude driven to follow the honor of the “old ways.” In those “old days,” my role in life would be defined by my birth, in my case, my abilities as a samurai-trained female, an onna-musha.
But, at seven, I “woke up” and encountered the “freedom” of our new American-style constitution. My choices over the next eighteen years, as I navigated the new Japan with my foundation of Japanese tradition and samurai combat skills, put me into many powerful, often life-threatening situations.
Situations headlined around the world tested my skills, my positive attitude, and my courage: protests against nuclear weapons; Anpo-treaty riots; the assassination of a political leader; anti-Vietnam War protests; a mudslide that destroyed the house where I slept; a volcanic eruption, adjacent to the mountain I was climbing; a major train crash killing over a hundred people; and several deadly (for them) confrontations with international human traffickers, culminating in the Yokohama Incident (Chapter 22).
I interacted with celebrities, artists, activist leaders, criminals, communists, socialists, ultra-nationalists, and feminists. I had several “personal” relationships: other warrior-class girls, dancers, the son of a yakuza “boss,” a U.S. “special agent,” and a man tortured for eight years in a Siberian POW camp. From 13 to 23, yakuza protected me, except when riding or “racing” my 1957 YA-1 Yamaha motorcycle. Through those years, my approach was to smile and say, “Hi, I’m Seiko. What’s your name?”
Finally, at 22 years old, the day after meeting with a “special agent” from the U.S. Embassy, I reflected on my life and discovered the true meaning of “autonomy.” With that understanding, I learned how to “unlock” a fulfilling life of love, beauty, and constant adventure in any reality!
Understanding
the Real Meaning of Autonomy
is the Heart of “Seiko’s Way.”
Additional Sections
Several sections provide supplemental information,
Epilogue
The Epilogue follows Seiko after she leaves Japan. The few episodes focus on displays of her “original personality” through the years.
People in “Seiko’s Way”
This section lists, in alphabetical order, the people in “Seiko’s Way.” There are few references to specific episodes because many people appear in several episodes.
Glossary
The glossary provides information, in alphabetical order, on terms used in “Seiko’s Way.” The first use of a term includes a brief explanation. Most of the terms are Japanese.
Appendix A, TimeLine
The timeline provides a chart that traces the events in “Seiko’s Way” against the date of occurrence. The two-column chart provides the environmental events, e.g., government mandates, on the left, while the right side follows Seiko’s experiences.
Appendix B, Index of “Imaginary Conversations.”
Seiko has several “imaginary Conversations” with gurus from the past. In these conversations, she asks the guru a specific question, and the guru guides Seiko toward an answer that relates to her reality.
Appendix B provides general information and then refers the reader to the specific episode where the conversation occurred for the detailed guidance of the guru.
Appendix B also addresses a few real conversations with people living that guided Seiko toward a realization. Possibly the best example of a living conversation with a guru is her meeting with Ohno Kazuo, one of the creators of the Butō dance style in Episode 18.4.