Otosan's Speech.

The speech of the father of the Bride:

I am Makoto Ichitani, the bride’s father.

First of all, please excuse me for reading a manuscript. I had to prepare this manuscript in advance, as I do not speak English and had to ask for a translator’s assistance.
It gives me a strange feeling that we, all the bride’s family members including her, are here in Manchester, in a place far from Japan. At the same time it gives me a deep emotion to see that so many people are here to celebrate the start of Mark and Tomoko’s new life together.　

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mark’s family, Tomoko’s host mother Peggy, and Mr Brian and Mrs Jean Vaughan, Mr Robert and Mrs Pauline Keen from the Rotary Foundation, and Mark and Tomoko’s friends, for having offered the bride their kind support throughout her 6 years of stay in England.

Our daughter Tomoko was born in Kyoto, in 1974, as our first child. When this began in Japan is above my humble knowledge, but for a long time it has been our custom to refer to the twelve signs, calling each of twelve succeeding years the year of ‘mouse’, ‘ox’, ‘tiger’, ‘rabbit’, ‘dragon’, ‘snake’, ‘horse’, ‘sheep’, ‘monkey’, ‘rooster’, ‘dog’, and ‘pig’. The thirteenth year is counted as the first year to restart this cycle.

Tomoko was born in the year of tiger. It is said that people who were born in this year have a strong willpower. As a child she was a little shy, but once she decided to do something, she would do it. To take an instance, she would sometimes escape from the kindergarten. Then there would be a phone call from her teacher, who would say, ‘Tomoko is not here. Isn’t she at home?’ Her mother would be surprised and run to the entrance of the house, to find Tomoko standing alone there. Being asked, ‘Why did you come back?’, she would answer: ‘Because there was nothing for me to do there… ’. Perhaps because she would feel a little too shy to play with other children in the kindergarten, she would decide to come home.

She has always been curious about things since she was a child. I’d say that the combination of her original curiosity and the strong willpower peculiar to a child of the tiger year sent her to Australia, where she camped for her research on Aboriginal studies as a graduate student of Tsukuba University. Although she had told me that she would be with a guide who was introduced by the Australian embassy, I was concerned about her security and would convince her to reconsider the trip. And when I tried to phone her to ask when she was planning to leave for the trip, she had already left. Things were the same when she decided to come to England. Tomoko has always been such a character. I would heartily appreciate your generous understanding of and kind guidance for her.
　
We reside in a town called Azuchi, in the prefecture of Shiga, which is located in the heart of the main island. Shiga Prefecture has Lake Biwa, which is the largest lake of all in Japan, and Azuchi is situated on its eastern side. It takes about one hour to get to this town from the world-famous city Kyoto by train.
In this town, Oda Nobunaga, a regional lord, built Azuchi Castle about 430 years ago, in the era of constant political conflicts, aiming to unite the whole country. The Castle was burnt down only two years after it was built, and nowadays you can only see its remains. It is said that it was a spectacular castle. For a long time it has been Azuchi townsfolk’s dream to restore the castle as it was in the past, but it hasn’t been realized yet, as there has remained no precise plan of the castle.

Oda Nobunaga sent four boys to Italy for diplomacy. The boys had a folding screen with a picture on it as a gift, and this picture is said to have had a precise depiction of Azuchi Castle. Last November our mayor had the honour to see Benedict the Sixteenth in the Vatican Palace. Then he requested the folding screen to be searched. It hasn’t been found yet, but they found a portrait of one of the boys.

Azuchi is a small but very historic town. We would welcome every one of you to visit us in Azuchi.

Now I would like to say a few words to Mark and Tomoko:
First, to Mark: You visited us in Japan with Tomoko in March and April this year. Tomoko had told us about you, but we had been wondering what kind of person you were till we finally met you. It turned out to be very nice to have you in our house, even for several days. While you were with us, you had to have Japanese food for each meal, which you kindly appreciated, saying, “it’s delicious, it’s delicious”, in Japanese. We were glad to know that you are a friendly and warm person. We are happy to have you as a member of our family.

There is this Japanese proverb: [...], the English equivalent of which will be ‘A mud-wall deadens a cannon-bullet’. I understand that the meaning of this proverb is that the soft will dominate the hard. While you were with us in Japan, I felt that this proverb could well describe you two as a couple.
Mark, as Tomoko’s father I humbly ask you always to love your wife, my daughter from the year of tiger, with your warm heart.

And to Tomoko:
You’re a grown-up woman, but you have always been and will always be a child to me. As your father I will always be caring about you. At times I may seem to you only to be excessively worried, but I’d like you always to remember that this is my parental privilege. I’d also like you to remember to be considerate and compassionate towards other people, and to be thankful for the experiences and the relationships with people which have been given to you. Wherever you may decide to settle down, please remember that I will always be caring about you, and you’re missed dearly when you are away. As your father, Tomoko, I wish you all the happiness.
Lastly, I would like humbly to ask you all for your kind guidance for the two to build a happy life together. Thank you very much