Rachel's Writing

 I watched the documentary series The Food that built America via Amazon Prime Video, which was broadcast on the History Channel in the US. I picked the topic about cereal makers from this series before, and I’d like to mention chocolate companies as well. Milton Hershey apprenticed a confectioner instead of studying at a school because he was from a poor family. He learned the craft of creating confections, and started a caramel company that had grown so big that he sold it for $1 million. Hershey spent all of his money to establish the chocolate company and the town in Pennsylvania, where his workers live. He had would like to provide milk chocolate to all people in the country even though it cost too much to manufacture it in this era. He succeeded in developing the special process to sell “Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar” for a reasonable price in 1900. Hershey’s provided milk chocolate to other confectionery companies including Mars, Incorporated, which produces “Milky Way”. Will...

 I watched the documentary series The Food that built America via Amazon Prime Video, which was broadcast on the history channel in the US. I was surprised and impressed there were many dramas of founders who had started up their food companies and brands like Heinz, Coca Cola, Hershey, etc. They have been changing American society since the end of the 19th century and converted the world industry.  I picked the topic about cereal makers from this series. John Harvey Kellogg was a famous medical doctor, who ran a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. His sanitarium was so popular that people gathered from around the world to practice the unique health methods of Dr. Kellogg. One of his methods was eating cereal that was baked thinly with a dough mixture of wheat, oats and corn for breakfast. His brother, Will Keith Kellogg managed the kitchen and the cereal recipes. Will proposed that Dr. Kellogg commercialize the cereal, but his brother didn’t allow it. However, a patient of...

 The famous scenario writer Hashida Sugako, who had written so many Japanese TV dramas over 50 years, died at 95 last month.  One of her representative works is “ Oshin ”, which was broadcast on NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation from 1984 to 85. Oshin, the main character of this drama was born in Yamagata, the northern part of Japan, in 1901.  As her family consisted of poor tenant farmers with many children, Oshin began to work as a babysitter when she was 7. Firstly she had suffered abuse from the supervisor in the house of her employer.  She escaped after a long enduring. Secondly she worked for the family of a rice trader. Her employer favored Oshin because of her persistence, humbleness and cleverness. She was educated by the proprietress, and grew up as a clever young woman. Oshin left Yamagata for Tokyo at age 16 to become a Japanese traditional hairdresser. That's because it was said this profession allowed women in this era to gain economical independence....

 Do you know about Reiki? The Oxford English Dictionary says Reiki is “a method of making sick people well again based on the idea that energy can be directed into a person’s body by touch”. It is one of the methods of Alternative medicine, which is generally from traditional medical practice, has been kept in each region or ethnic group, for example, Herbal Therapy or Acupuncture technique in China, Ayurveda in India.   Their theories are based on their religions or philosophies, and they aren’t tested scientifically or biologically. That’s why they have been said to be pseudoscientific by modern societies. However traditional medicine is reevaluated because there are many cases in which they work well even though they don’t have scientific evidence. It has been called Alternative medicine or holistic medicine, which means it can be used in conjunction with modern medicine to complement human wellbeing. There isn’t any evidence for why Reiki works as well, but there are over ...

  I have been learning Spanish since last November from teachers in Venezuela. As there is a serious economic and social crisis, a friend of mine who worked there has planned a project to provide jobs to his friends in Venezuela. His plan is to introduce Venezuelans who can teach Spanish to Japanese. The advantages for both Venezuelans and Japanese are that they can earn foreign money by teaching Spanish, and we can learn it at a bargain. How did the crisis in Venezuela happen? Venezuela gained independence in 1811, but the political situation hasn’t been stable until now. Conflicts and coups have been instigated again and again, and the gap between the rich and poor is huge even though Venezuela produces petroleum. Hugo Chávez, who was popular among the poor, became the president of Venezuela in 1999.  He was influenced by socialism, and provided free medical service, free housing and free education. He also appealed to Anti-Americanism and Anti-Neoliberalism. It caused the r...

 I watched the movie The Danish Girl , which is based on the biography of the first person who had undergone sex reassignment surgery in the world.  At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a couple of painters, Mr and Mrs Wegener in Copenhagen, Denmark. Einar Wegener was good at landscapes, and gaining fame as one of most talented artists in Denmark, but his wife, Gerda, didn’t achieve success behind Einar. One day, Gerda asked Einar to be the foot model in place of the female model because she didn’t come on time. When Einar wore lady’s stockings and shoes, and put the dress on his chest, he felt someone awaken inside himself. Gerda also proposed him to pretend to be a woman and join a party together. Einar wore a dress, wig, and makeup, and finally he became a beautiful woman. He was named Lili, and she got attention from guys there. Einar believed he is a woman inside, and began to change from a man to a woman since then. Gerda was confused by her husband’s change, ...

 It is continued from this column. What has happened in Myanmar? After the armed forces of Myanmar instigated a coup on February 1st, the situation is getting worse day by day. The military has killed over 600 people by the end of March at least. People really hate the military because they suffered for over 50 years. The military has been the privileged class in Myanmar, especially in the military junta. They monopolize the power not only politically but also economically. People couldn’t hold gatherings freely or criticize the government, and have endured poverty. That’s why people have been expecting NLD (The National League for Democracy) and Aung San Suu Kyi to democratize Myanmar.   However, the military had modified the constitution to keep their power in the Diet, and they continued to have a strong influence after NLD won the election in 2015. The military runs the national companies as well. NLD won again in 2020, but the military denied the result and instigated a c...