austra L asia 1170
Bushi No Ichi Gon: a Samurai salute to two of
Salesian Japan's finest
TOKYO: 17th June 2005 -- Fr Johan Dalkman passed on
to The Father's House on May 10th; Sr Monica Hirate Hana on June
14th. In the space of a month, two nonagenarian
pioneers of the Salesian Family, the one a missionary, the other native
of Japan, have bid their farewells and deserved the Samurai salute in
return: bushi no ichi gon, implying their coherent lifestyle
and their absolutel fidelity to their given word.
Fr Dalkman, German-born, came to Japan in 1935, made
his perpetual profession there in 1937, and was ordained there in
1942. A measure of the esteem in which he was held can be deduced
from his 10 years as novice master and 12 consecutive years as
Provincial, during which there was a significant increase in Japanese
vocations to Salesian life. We recall also that during this period,
from 1955-1965, Mons. Cimatti was at Chofu (died 1965). But this
was also the period when the first missionary community was established
in the difficult post-1954 period in Korea. He accompanied the
first missionary group there and later supported the Korean communities
in every way he could.
The latter part of his time as provincial was
especially difficult - post-Vatican II by this stage, with the
inevitable loss of vocations and occasional discontent that affected
many parts of the world, Japan included. This was something that Fr
Fujikawa, himself an ex-provincial, recalled during the funeral Mass,
expressing appreciation of Fr Dalkman's firmness and his quality as a
spiritual man.
Sr Monica Hirate Hana's story is equally as
fascinating. She was one of the first three Japanese Sisters to
make their profession amongst the Salesian Sisters in Japan - and the
other two wer her blood sisters! She learned Italian under Mons.
Cimatti and acted as an interpreter amongst the early Italian FMA
missionaries in the country. No surprise that in due course she
became the first Japanese Provincial. Her two sisters,
incidentally, were present for her Requiem and obsequies.
At 93 and 94 apiece, there are nigh on 200 years of
history represented in these two sterling Salesians! Sayonara.
VOCABULARY
nonagenarian: in their nineties. One
was 93, the other 94.
obsequies: funeral rites
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