Hello everyone,

Yesterday Sr. Morita talked to us about a new Tōrō, or lantern, that has been placed outside of the principal’s office. In fact, while it is new to our school, it is very old. It dates back to the Edo-era in Japan. At that time, Christianity was illegal in Japan, so Christians had to pray privately. They could not be seen with christian symbols, so they had to make other ones. It is said that the image of Mary can be seen in this lantern, and that Christians in Wakayama prayed to it. The person who kept this lantern is a Shin-ai graduate, and she is moving to a new place. She asked that it be kept at Shin-ai as a memory of that history. I think it is wonderful to be the keeper of that kind of history.

We are lucky today to live in a society that embraces many different religions. Religious freedom is an important right, but unfortunately not everyone in the world has it. Let’s be thankful for our freedoms, and help others achieve theirs.

The countdown to tests has begun, I hope you are all preparing well. Good luck!