What a Pen Friend Relationship Across Borders Taught Me—And My Urgent Wish That I Must Share Today.

 Hello.

Today, I would like to talk about my dear penpal, "Z-san."

He is the second long-term penpal I’ve had since I started writing letters. Every single time I get a letter from him, he never fails to amaze me. At first, his letters started with just a simple "Konnichiwa" in Roman letters. Over time, he began adding "-san" to my name, and now, he even writes to me beautifully using Hiragana.

Letter from my pen friend.

For a while, we were communicating via email, but because the email system didn't support Japanese characters, it would always default to Roman letters. So, after a long time apart from paper, he recently took the time to write a handwritten letter and mail it to me. There is something so magical about handwritten words and sentences—they carry a person’s true energy. Just like how automatic writing begins for me when I channel, I can deeply feel a warm energy circulating between Z-san and me through his letters.

What makes me happiest of all is that he attends a Japanese class every Sunday to study the language. Just imagining that we might be able to speak to each other in Japanese by the time I go to visit him makes my heart flutter with excitement. Since I was born in Japan and moved to the United States as an adult, I learned the culture and language directly by living it. However, learning the language and culture of a country you have never even visited requires an immense amount of effort. I often wonder what kind of beautiful future he is visualizing as he memorizes these words. It truly brings me so much joy to know that he thinks so highly of Japan and is studying it so passionately.

I have learned countless things from this pen friend relationship. But at the same time, his letters have forced me to face a harsh reality that I cannot look away from.

A few months ago, he wrote a letter that completely broke my heart. "For days, I’ve been served pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." "The flush button on the toilet is broken, so there is no running water." It was a painful revelation of just how terrible the conditions are at the facility where he resides. Upon reading that letter, I couldn't just sit still. I vividly remember writing a letter to the Governor of California, asking, "How can a situation like this be allowed to happen?"

While I am channeling, I don’t always recall the finer details, but to me, his letters serve as crucial evidence and the ultimate driving force for my future activism.

An environment where you are only allowed out into a small exercise yard for just one hour out of 24 hours... If anyone were locked away in a place like that, it would drive them crazy. It only causes people's minds to become sicker, and absolutely no good comes from it. It’s a broken system where not a single person wins—not even the staff members working there.

It is no exaggeration to say that "our bodies are made from the food we eat." Proper meals and a hygienic living environment are the bare minimum, absolute necessities for any human being to survive. No matter what circumstances or environment a person finds themselves in, a human life is a human life. Every single life is precious and irreplaceable.

That is exactly why I am putting forward a specific proposal to improve their environment. When it comes to the mental health of those who are deeply hurting in these confined spaces, I firmly believe that "Wadaiko" (Japanese Taiko Drumming) would be the most effective remedy.

The Japanese character for "Taiko" (鼓) is deeply connected to the word for "heartbeat" (鼓動). Its soul-stirring resonance has the power to deeply heal both the listeners and the people playing the drums. Music, sound, and instruments are truly the ultimate tools for healing and grounding the human mind.

Before people completely lose their mental well-being to such a harsh environment, we must first secure the basics of life—such as proper food and hygiene—and then provide mental care through the power of music, like Wadaiko. I am absolutely certain that this is the approach we need right now.

With all my heart, I earnestly pray that a facility will be found very soon that will accept my proposal and allow them to live in a much better, more humane environment.

Why must someone who is looking toward the future, learning a language, and making such beautiful efforts be subjected to such inhumane conditions? I will continue my activism to change this reality. I truly hope that by shedding light on this situation, as many of you as possible will stand with me in support of this cause.

Thank you so much for reading until the very end. Please note that I write my blog posts in Japanese first and then use AI to translate them into English, so there may be times when the nuances or meanings differ slightly from what I originally intended to convey. Thank you for your understanding.

Love Kazumi