(23) Structure of the Japanese language. First sermon. Preparation for the Religious Organizations Act

Miyazaki, May 30, 1926
To Father Rinaldi Filippo

Dear my good daddy,

Please let me always call you by this name, because I feel like I am a better Salesian. Today, May 30th, we are finishing up the month of Our Lady, and doing this month's "Good Death Practice" [retreat]. Here it is 6:30 in the morning, and you are around 9-10 in the evening. I can see the priest sitting at the table, perhaps thinking about us, writing, praying. I have already celebrated Mass and finished 30 minutes of meditation, and would like to send you the monthly report and information on our members.

I thank God that everything is going well, my sleep and appetite are good. I mean, the weeds... He [God] made it this way...Thank God! I want to set a good example in this regard as well.

I am now putting all my effort into studying Japanese. I am a little stubborn, but I am not disappointed. It will take time to digest and memorize the words, but as I will tell you later, I performed a miracle to honor Mary! Japanese is easy on the surface, but do not take it lightly. The vocabulary is rich, the sentences are twisted, and the sentence structure is unusual. No, it is too logical. The Japanese way of thinking is unique and seems strange to us. But... I will do my best! If necessary, God will perform a miracle. In any case, it is a duty, so I would like to put in more effort. Mary will help me. As I continue to try, or rather, as I increase my efforts, I find comfort in the fact that St. Francis Xavier could not speak as well as we do. A recent biography says that he could not speak Japanese. But still, because he was a saint, he achieved so much. The children of the General President in Japan also want to become saints. Of course!

As for other work, I am now planning to start translating "Don Bosco's Preventive Education Method" (so that I can promote it when I start my activities).（…）

If we could adapt to Japan in every way, the cost of living would be cheaper, but this is very difficult because Japanese food is unique.（…）

I will add some general news in the appendix. What should I write for the Salesian magazine, Bollettino Salesiano? About Japan? About the work I have done for the faithful? We have done some work, but I think it is best not to say anything until I am entrusted with responsibility. (...) Anyway, you can decide for yourself whether what I send you is useful or not. The important thing is to write good things about Japan, as I believe its people deserve it.

Finally, my good Daddy, please remember, I want all of us, all of us, all of us to remember, that we are your youngest children.

Your naughty Salesian Father Cimatti.

P.S. - Here is the general news we send out every month.

I've heard that a very important law on religious organizations is now in preparation and will be announced soon. Eight Buddhist monks, one Protestant pastor and one Catholic priest are involved in the drafting of the law. I'm surprised that there are two Christians. (...) Hopefully, by God's Providence, this law will help bring about the victory of Jesus in this excellent nation that is becoming more and more aware of religious issues (all the newspapers are talking about this). Japan is now beginning to know Christianity, or at least to talk about it. I hope that this new law will not be an obstacle for the Catholic Church. I don't think there will be much to worry about. Catholicism is well-respected in Tokyo, the chamberlain to the Crown Prince, Rev. Yamamoto Shinjiro, is Catholic, and there is a Japanese Catholic priest on the preparatory committee. Japanese priests speak freely when they speak. If we, foreigners, use words a little too strongly in a discussion... it will be a big problem (in that sense, foreigners are looked at differently!). I wonder what harsh words Japanese priests use against their own people... In any case, let us pray with hope.

I am making steady progress in learning the language, one step at a time. Apart from the pronunciation (which helps a lot!), the sentence structure is completely different. Please let people who will be coming to Japan in the future know about this.

Listen to what a difficult thing we did the other day! ...For practice and to blow away our fears (and because we couldn't do anything else), we gave short talks to the faithful during the nine days of prayer to honor the Virgin Mary and ask for her help on the occasion of the month and feast of Mary. We asked a Japanese person to correct what we had written, memorized it, and spoke it, and everyone understood. Thank God! There is no other cathedral in the world that has such a great number of preachers. (...) On this occasion, we composed and sang the prayer "Virgin Mary, Queen of Japan, Queen of Martyrs, Help of Christians, Pray for us." The ceremony was held twice a day, morning and evening, and there were many participants.

Of course, this does not mean I am a good speaker. In the church I am eloquent, but outside I am as silent as a fish. May Mary help me.（…）

Japanese people have a strong desire to read, so libraries are necessary. This will also help attract the general public. It is also necessary to create playgrounds, circles, and clubs, and to solidify and develop these.

Japan is becoming more Westernized in terms of clothing. Civil servants, schools, banks, etc. are all like that. Wood and timber are used everywhere in construction, and mechanization is valued. (…) The best architecture in Japan is the school. It is surrounded by greenery, has large playgrounds for exercise, and exercise is very important. (…)

Patient people are needed here. If you lose your temper, it will be a defeat that is hard to heal. For the Japanese, getting angry and losing patience is their greatest weakness, the cause of losing trust. Some Congregations have had to transfer people because of this. It is very difficult to read the minds of people here. Children are different, our faithful are different... but they are also... They look at you without changing their expression, they laugh when you laugh, but they observe and evaluate you. How are we evaluated! Well, we will find out soon.

Father Cimatti