“Shogun” was a 1100-page book when it came out in the 1970s, but it was so interesting that I couldn’t put it down. James Clavell, the writer, got his story from Japanese history, but he didn’t want to write a pure history book. He wanted to write fiction, so he changed the name of the shogun from Tokugawa to Toranaga. Even though 70% of “Shogun” is in Japanese with English subtitles, people in the U.S. love it. “Shogun” won 18 awards at the Emmys last Sunday. Sanada Hiroyuki won the award for best actor as Lord Toranaga, and Sawai Anna won the award for best actress. It’s a 10-episode series. I’ve seen the first six episodes, and I am really looking forward to the last four episodes.  (127 words)

Do you know what the public holiday was yesterday? It was Respect for the Aged Day. It celebrates the senior citizens of Japan. Are there any people in your family that are 65 years old or older? If you have grandparents, you should talk to them. You can ask them about their life and learn something new and interesting. What was their childhood like? What club did they belong to in high school? How did your grandfather and grandmother meet? At the same time, older people can learn things from younger people. The front page of the Chunichi Shimbun had a great picture of a senior citizen. He is a 75-year-old breakdancer! He started breakdancing when he was 60. I have a lot of respect for anyone who does breakdancing at that age! (133 words)

In Japan, children get a special prize when they don’t miss a day of school. In the professional sports world, athletes who keep on playing don’t get a prize, but the fans admire them. Look at Miura Kazuyoshi in soccer and Kinugasa Sachio in baseball. On Tuesday, September 10, a sumo wrestler named Tamawashi broke the record for the most bouts in a row. He fought in his 1631st bout. When he won it, his fans gave him a big cheer. He has been competing in every sumo tournament since 2004. Sumo is a hard sport, so how does he do it? He is strong mentally as well as physically. He never gives up.  (114 words)

My wife got some fresh beets from a farmer who lives in the countryside outside Nagoya. Beets are root vegetables like turnips and Japanese radishes. They are a common food in Europe and in the U.S., but I have never seen them in Japan. I used to eat pickled beets when I was a boy. They were sweet and a little sour because they were pickled in vinegar. The beets I ate as a boy came in cans, so I never learned how to cook them. My wife has never cooked them either, but she heard that you could make a Japanese pickle called “senmaizuke” with them. She made it last night, and I tried it. The thinly sliced pickle was a deep reddish purple and tasted like the beets I remember. 　　　(132 words)

The Paris Paralympics are over, and the athletes are returning to their countries. Japan did well this year, winning 41 medals. The oldest Japanese winner was Ito Tomoya. He is 61, but he won the bronze medal in the 400-meter wheelchair race! He has an interesting story. When he bought a wheelchair for the first time, he ordered a racing wheelchair by mistake. Instead of returning it, however, he started racing! Another Japanese in the news is Oda Tokito. He is only 18, but he won the gold medal in the men’s singles in wheelchair tennis. He is the youngest player ever to win the gold in this sport. Oda was playing Alfie Hewett of the U.K., the world’s number 1 player, in the finals. I’m sure that Kunieda Shingo, the wheelchair tennis gold medalist of the Tokyo Paralympics, is proud of him.    (143 words)