The Sound of Quarantine

Birds, Online Schooling, and Jazz

Hello everyone, I hope you are staying safe wherever you are.
I was going to talk about the natural world of the valley I live in this week, but I changed my mind.

It has been about two months since the prime minister of Japan, Abe, declared a state of emergency, but my quarantine started much earlier, around the end of February when Mr. Abe requested all schools to be closed. So, it has been about 3 months for me and my family.

In these months, I have watched as Kamakura became quiet with fewer and fewer tourists. Almost no souvenir shops are open on the main street, where mostly locals walk, going about their essential errands. It’s like a surreal version of the Kamakura I know. Or maybe, it’s close to what Kamakura was like a long time ago. But though the people are gone, Kamakura is still filled with sound.

Early Birds
When I wake up too early, the human world hasn’t gotten started yet, and it’s a world of animals. Squirrels squeaking, birds chirping (I still can only recognize one of them by sound: the Uguisu, or Japanese bush warbler), all discussing something really serious.

I wish I was energetic like them, before my usual cup of coffee. I wonder if these birds have days when they have no motivation to chirp? Dr. Dolittle would know. When I hear the leaf blowers from our neighboring temple of Hokokuji, I know it is 8 AM.

At 8:55, my teenagers’ alarms go off. They get up with just enough time to sit in front of their computers for an online roll call from their class tutors. They only have to change their shirt. The bottom can still be PJs. They’re lucky that, in this state of emergency, they no longer have to commute to school! The bad news is that they can’t blame train delays for their tardiness either.

I enjoy overhearing how the teachers teach, and how the kids interact with the teachers and each other. When I ask “how was school?” they still say, “fine”, or “it sucks,” like they always used to, but now I know a little bit more of their school life. Thank you, self-quarantine time.

Speaking of rattling windows, I think I hear fewer planes going over our valley — fewer commercial flights for sure, and maybe fewer flights from the nearby US Naval base in Yokosuka, too.

Daily Walk
My daily socially-distanced walk is with my husband (we ask the kids to join, but usually fail), in this valley where the background music is the sound of the stream and chirping birds. I enjoy my new routine. I love witnessing the subtle changing of the season, humidity, temperature, and the smell of the air. I am grateful for the quarantine for letting me have this time.

On my route, I always pass an old man who likes to stand across the street from his house, looking up at the mountain and listening to the sound of the stream. We bow and say, “hello” and he turns around, and hellos back to us politely, and says “great job” to us. It often makes me feel uncomfortable since I feel like I have not done much lately, and I’m not sure I am doing such a great job, but I kindly accept his greeting, smile, and bow back anyways. I like this daily ritual.

We will go up the valley to the highland park above it, throw a frisbee, and admire Mt. Fuji if she is not too shy. This is our routine during quarantine time.

Around 5 PM, the Kamakura city street broadcast system plays music to let kids who are out playing after school know that it’s time to go home, but now under the state of emergency, it just means, “I have to start cooking dinner” and most importantly, it’s time for my beer.

Hooting
Some nights, we hear an owl hooting on the hill across the street with a low, almost goofy hoot-hoot. It is very soothing and calms me down. He cries once, pauses for about half a minute, and then hoots again, quite different from the constant “wake up!” twittering of the morning birds. I fall asleep waiting for the next hoot. Every night, I wait for the owl to come back.
I appreciate that nature has arranged for owls to hoot at night, and the chatty warblers and friends to chirp in the morning, and not the other way around.

Live Jazz
In the evenings, I enjoy a little me-time listening to a nightly online concert by Makoto Ozone, a world-famous jazz pianist who lives in my town, Kamakura. Under this state of emergency, he is generous enough to (virtually) invite more than 5000 people every night to his living room. His wife, the actress Misuzu, MCs. It is almost like attending a music festival. I can not express enough how much I appreciate their effort and kindness to open their living room for us — 6000 people, every night, at home.

As much as I enjoy his chat between pieces, I am stunned by the magic he weaves on each piece. He plays standard jazz numbers, Japanese pop songs, movie themes, and classical. Whatever he plays becomes his, a spell cast by the wizard of Ozone.

Your Spirit is Free!
Of course, there are times (many times) that my mind is not so upbeat.
When Mr. Ozone introduced his song, “No Strings Attached,” he said “you may be staying home and you may be feeling that you are locked inside, but remember, your spirit is always free.” It’s so true. I don’t have to self-quarantine how I feel.

In this state of emergency, I hear all these sounds which I couldn’t hear, or pay attention to before the pandemic. I am lucky to be in Kamakura, surrounded by the sounds of nature, my family, and music. I appreciate this precious time at home.
Last but not least, I can not thank enough for all the medical workers and all the people who keep our lifelines going.

These are the sounds of my quarantine from Takuma Valley.
What are the sounds of your quarantine?

Love from Kamakura.

Kamakura Mind Blog
photo credit: Alexander O. Smith