Recital in Kyoto - near my grandma's home

31 Aug - 08 Sep 2025 

My grandmother used to send me socks when I was living in Sweden, or give them to me when I visited home in Japan. But they were not just normal socks, nor normal amounts. They were very unique and there were loads of them; with crazy flower patterns, socks with dog ear ornaments on the sides (do you know what I mean?), and some super thick and colorful ones that I could not really wear with shoes. She thought Sweden was really cold, and yes it was, but I loved her exaggerations. I'm certain that I wouldn't have needed to do laundry for a month and still been fine, because there were literally so many.

Now she lives in Kyoto, in a home for the elderly, specifically for people with Alzheimer's. I visit her home every time I go back. Her memory lasts about 5 minutes, or something like that, depending on the day. She sometimes recognizes me and sometimes not. After talking for a while she will come and say, “......by the way…ummm….. who are you? :D” but in a really hilarious way that makes us just laugh. I say, “Who do you think I am?” and she looks at me and goes, “Are you Yuko? Really? You grew so much!” ;D. I think in her memory I am still 4 years old.

I went home for 8 days at the beginning of September and had the chance to give a recital near my grandma's home in Kyoto with Maki Sensei. We played Beethoven's Sonata for Piano and Violin Op.12 No.1, Clara Schumann's Romances, G. Kurtág's Op.14e, and J. Brahms' Violin Sonata No.2 in A. 

My grandma listened to the whole concert quietly and concentrated, and gave comments after every movement loudly: “Wow, beautiful!”, or “This one was good!” She even said “Bravi!!!” (in Italian ;D) and surprisingly (or not?) she also enjoyed listening to G. Kurtág (according to my mom).

Maki Sensei was my music theory teacher when I was a child. I used to go all the way to Nara to have lessons from Minoh City in Osaka. It was a big journey. I was always stressed about not doing my homework, trying to figure out on the long way there how to survive the lesson that day. I have known her since I was 8 years old, through my former violin mentor, Yuko Mori, who recently passed away. I have so many layered experiences and feelings towards Mori Sensei that there is no way to describe how I feel about this loss. But what I can say is that she meant a great deal in my life.

Back to my grandma; she was educated as an opera singer and became a chanson singer, performing in concerts mostly in Kyoto. She has an incredible ear and a musicality I adore and admire. It has already been more than 10 years since her memory started to fade. But she gives me a moment to think about life because of that; about living not for the future or in the past.

People often ask me, don't you miss your home? Yes, I do - but not with sorrow. I carry my home with me everywhere, and it lights up my new home. So everywhere I go, my life is not lived in the shadow of that absence. The love for my family is not a missing piece, but a foundation I carry with me, making every new city feel complete.

Yet, waves of sadness wash over me when I'm suddenly hit by a sensation of time—as if I've boarded a time machine. It hits me when I lose someone important. It hits me when I see my neighborhood rendered unrecognizable… It wrenches my heart.

As we all learn, time moves forward chronologically. But that doesn't mean our lives must do the same. Instead of living with a goal-oriented mindset, or merely bathing in gathered memories, how about we try to live as if we are gathering random pieces of a patchwork? Nothing chronological. Just gathering randomly. Then, perhaps, we will find there is nothing to fear and nothing to lose.

I sincerely want to thank Maki Sensei for playing these beautiful works with me, and thank the people who took the time to come all the way to listen to our concert. Last but not least, I want to thank my incredible parents for their endless support of my decisions and my passion. I am deeply grateful.

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I want to share some pictures I took in Tokyo, when I visited my cousin Fumika. She recently gave birth to Kaya Chan. She was so warm and little :).

Warm (the weather is cold ;D) greetings from Piteå, Sweden,

Yuko