Mourning for my friend Yuji KOHNO

(The purple jersey is Yuji Kohno with his former colleagues in Shinjuku on December 27, 2021. The second person from the right across the table is me.)

My friend Yuji Kohno has passed away. In fact, this WebGallery would not have been possible without Kohno's presence, so please forgive me for introducing him here, even though this is a somewhat personal topic.

I first met Kohno in 1985, at my first school, after I had changed from my previous position at a junior high school to a senior high school. It was a busy year for me, both publicly and privately, with the birth of my second son in April and the death of my father in September. It is true that each school has its own unique culture, so I felt the difference when I was transferred from junior high school to senior high school, but I was again surprised to find that the traditional culture at the senior high school was completely different from that of junior high school. In a word, the teachers were extremely unique, and Kohno, a social studies teacher, was one of them. Kohno was born a little later than me, but he was in the same grade as me, which made me feel at ease.

He had friends in many professions besides teaching. I often worked with him in many school works but what was especially unforgettable for me was that he strongly recommended me to live in Yokohama when I was hesitant about leaving Tokyo, even though he introduced me to a real estate agency and an accountant when I moved from Tokyo to Yokohama. Kohno was also the one who recommended that I transfer to a night school, as I had always been concerned about working at so-called high level schools. Now I am very glad that I had the opportunity to experience the night school. He also helped my uncle, an artist, with his last exhibition in his life, and later introduced me to a reliable company to create this website after I retired from teaching work. He was born in Oita, Kyushu and has many acquaintances there, which is why I asked a Kyushu-based company to create and manage this website for me.

He also worked for many years as a teachers’ union staff, and when the reorganization plan of Yokohama Municipal High Schools (its main aim is abolishing the night schools) was proposed, he was at the forefront of the opposition movement. Later, he was involved in a false accusation as a molester, in which he was convicted and given a disciplinary dismissal, but due to protests and petitions by colleagues and alumni, the Tokyo High Court could not overturn the conviction, but did issue a supplementary opinion that "the disciplinary dismissal was excessive," and as a result, the disciplinary dismissal was rescinded. He did not return to teaching, however, and shifted his activities to writing and film-making while working as a cab driver. He was making efforts to screen his first film "2887: Remembering Abe's Politics," but on twentieth of March this year, he died at a hotel in Miyazaki City during the promotion of his film in Kyushu. It is said that the accident occurred while he was taking a bath.

It is true that Kohno was a bit of a daredevil, and those who are left behind are certainly perplexed, but I cannot deny, for this reason, all of his thoughts and feelings. When he told me about his film project, I said to him, "Is it worth borrowing money to do this? Don’t involve others in your pleasure.” I made fun of him and offended him. Actually I still tried to help him with the screening activities as much as I could.

Kohno, you didn't want to have family relationships or involve family members. You preferred individual relationships with individuals. I was always half-hearted in everything you did. I wonder if I should have opposed your plans more strongly. And even if we had disagreed, I am sure you would not have refused to meet with me. When we met just the other day, I told you that I couldn't go to the snack bar to enjoy karaoke because of the Corona disaster, and you said, "I go to 'solo karaoke.’ It's fun. Let's go out together next time.” But that never happened. The next time I hold the karaoke microphone, I am sure I will feel you next to me. I would like to continue to ask for your opinion in my memory.

(Japanese original--31 March 2022, English translation—31 July 2022 )

Shinzo ABE, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot to death on eighth of July, in Nara City. The main theme of Kohno’s film is to check Abe’s politics and accuse him. Who knew that these two would pass away one after another in the same year !