An evening with Mrs Misho
01.01.1970
One evening I was eating dinner and watching the evening news with my Japanese host, Mrs Misho. The television showed a group of old lolas (comfort women) from the Philippines who were sexually abused by Japanese soldiers during World War II. They were demanding a public apology and some form of compensation from the Japanese government for the atrocities done to them.
Mrs Misho and I were silent; I was uncomfortable. I felt we were both on the spot. Deep inside I had a tremendous disgust for the Japanese and an overwhelming sympathy for the lolas. Mrs Misho uttered some words of embarrassment and discomfort.
Just as we were about to finish the meal, Mrs Misho looked at me and said, 'Jude, on behalf of the Japanese people, I am deeply sorry for the terrible things we did to your women.'
For a second, I wondered if I had heard her say these words. I was confused as to why she had said them. But when I looked into her eyes, I knew immediately that she meant them. I sat at the table speechless. I didn't know how to accept her apology in Japanese. But I did know that God had let that evening be special.
I felt a heavy burden being lifted from my shoulders. I felt a door opening inside me. Most of all, I felt my wounded history as a Filipino beginning to heal.
My journey to Japan began in September 1995, my first mission assignment outside the Philippines.
Essential to mission is knowing the language and culture of the people. Learning Japanese was painful. Something blocked me from taking this beautiful language to heart. Something within me was resisting. It was only when I moved in with Mrs Misho and her family that I discovered this.
For a long while I didn't realise that the painful stories I'd often heard from my grandparents and parents about World War II had placed a 'wound' within me. Reading history and seeing some of the sites relating to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, had deepened this.
Mrs Misho was a widowed mother of two. Her husband had been a painter and her elder son is a sculptor. She was over 70 years of age, a devout Catholic, as are the family of her son who live in the extended house, when I moved to her home. Her unexpected apology opened the possibility of my 'wound' being healed. It made me appreciate the Japanese people and their culture more. The pace of my learning the language advanced dramatically.
It gave me a new dimension to God's missionary call. I began to believe that God brought me to Japan not only to heal my 'wound' but also to become a 'wounded healer' to others. Even though my time with the Misho family was short, I was able to continue seeing them because I was given my pastoral assignment in their parish, St Mary's, Sekiguchi. I devoted my time to building relationships in and around the parish. The longer I stayed, the more I felt accepted.
My healing journey didn't end in Japan. On December 29, 1998, after my return to the Philippines, I was ordained to the priesthood. What was most amazing was that after my ordination I had visitors from Sekiguchi; two Japanese and a Columban priest. They came to share their joy at my ordination.
They visited my family : my parents, grandmother, siblings, nephews and nieces were all anxiously gathered in the living room when our visitors arrived. The house was filled with an indescribable tension. What followed next was something I found hard to imagine. After the formal introductions our grandma and the rest of my family reached for the hands of my visitors to welcome them. My grandma who had discouraged me from going to Japan and my parents, warmed to them.
Something was transformed in that meeting. 'Someone' had allowed that brief but extraordinary meeting to happen.
We proceeded to the Columban house where I celebrated the Eucharist in the small chapel. I felt the healing journey that had begun in Japan concluding on that special day. What a day to celebrate the joy of reconciliation! I believe that my family wasn't only reconciled with our wounds of the past but also with our God.
My visitors left the Philippines knowing that I wouldn't be going back to Japan but to South Korea. Though the possibility of being reunited was slim, we parted knowing that deep in our hearts there was a precious seed of friendship growing.
I share this small, but significant part of my life, because I believe it became a defining moment in my call to missionary priesthood
Fr Jude Genovia is presently Vocations Co-ordinator in the Philippines.
