Okinawa is a group of islands, a prefecture on its own in south Japan. This week it has been in the news a lot because it was 35 years ago that the US occupation ended, in May 1972 (27 years after the end of WW2).

By chance I found a Okinawan restaurant tonight in Nishi-Waseda, called Okishoku. The two old ladies were adorable and served simple Okinawan dishes, macrobiotic-style. They also had posters and books about Okinawan political issues, and the campaign to keep Article 9 of Japan’s constitution that renounces war.

By chance? This week I have been posting about the huge demonstration against Kadena, the US military base on Okinawa. 15,000 people surrounded the largest US air base in the Far East with a 17-kilometer human chain.

I posted photos and links to the peace groups here and here.

When I mentioned this to the ladies, they smiled and said, “Ichi-go, ichi-e”. It literally means “one time, one meeting” and is a Japanese term that describes a philosophy often linked with tea master Sen no Rikyu. The term is often translated as “for this time only,” or “one chance in a lifetime.” A meeting, that is a kind of lucky coincidence, in other words. Have you also noticed that if you are thinking of something or someone, then there might suddenly appear a situation like this, which must be a coincidence, yet… yet… yet…