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1st. Saturday. 晴暖. 85°F. (癸未 三月 二十七日)
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1:30 p.m. went to the 男子師節 第二國民學校 to attend the annual meeting of the Parents' Association of which I am still its nominal president. This Normal School for men has been made a Normal College. Mr. Takahashi(高矯濱□) who had acted a pro tem. President of the C.C.C. after my resignation was appointed the first President of the Normal College. He is certainly the right man for the right place.
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After the meeting was over the members of, rather the officers of the Association had a supper to welcome the new President from 5:30 to 8.
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Whenever I visit the Normal School the spacious athletic ground awakens in my mind the sweet memories of the years when for nearly ten successive springs wife and I enjoyed to see our boys and girls participating in the various games on field-days.
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The 德壽 Palace where wife and I used to go to see the peonies in springs and chrysanthemum in autumns; the Citizens' Hall whether wife and I used to go to enjoy with pride and love the triumphs of our 埼善; the Normal Primary School for girls and for boys where wife and I used to go every year to see our precious girls and boys study and play―all these places are double sacred to me because she is gone and I am alone. I loved her in spite of her faults when she lived but now that she is gone to sleep in that lonely place I love her without her faults I just love her for her sake―her beauty, her passionate love for flowers, her love for me in her way.
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2nd. Sunday. 陰冷. (癸未 三月 二十八日)
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Seoul home. 翠雲亭 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Farmers are scared by the drought and unseasonable coolness.
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3rd. Monday. 陰雨. (癸未 三月 二十九日)
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Seoul home. Spent part morning from 7:30 to 11 at 翠雲亭 home. Welcome rain from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m. Entirely too little.
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4th. Tuesday. 陰冷. (癸未 四月 一日)
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Seoul home. 翠雲亭 from 7:30 to 10 a.m.
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5th. Wednesday. 陰冷. (癸未 四月 二日)
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Seoul home. 翠雲亭 from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
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6th. Thursday. 晴明. 朝冷. (癸未 四月 三日)
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Seoul home. To 中樞院 from 11:30 to 1 p.m.
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翠雲亭 from 2 to 5 p.m. Supper at 恩姬’s home.
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7th. Friday. 晴暖. (癸未 四月 四日)
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Today our 璋善 moved into our new home Chui Woon Jung. This house was built and furnished for wife. Maria in my belief that she would survive me for at least 20 years. But man proposes and God disposes. However her spirit would be pleased that her dear boys are using the house.
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8th. Saturday. 晴明. 朝冷. (癸未 四月 五日)
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Wife Maria and I urged 璋善 to marry 世順. Wife's disappointment in her first daughter-in-law made her last days bitter with regrets.
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Our 璋善’s wife 世順 on whom wife Maria built a beautiful air castles whom she herself selected to be a joy to her and to her beloved son―her own fist-born son―this girl has so far disappointed us most dreadfully. Sei-Sooni(世順) seems to have a most obstinate head, inordinate passion for show and luxury and absolutely no desire or inclination to please or serve anybody. She is given to furious temper and the most unlady-like bellicosity. She quarrels with her own servants, with her husband and with everybody who comes within her reach. Her boast is that when she was in school she fought with every girl in the school. She shuns society.
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Her only friend is the stepdaughter of Dr. Hong Suk Hoo. I am so sorry for 璋善. Sei Sooni did nothing but weeping and complaining and scolding as soon as he came to the new house. I hear complaint is that she is not allowed to use the whole house!
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10th. Monday. 晴暖. (癸未 四月 七日)
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Seoul home. 7 p.m. went to 府民館 where the Society for Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge held a lecture meeting.
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Full 30 days since our Maria left us. At 3:15-20 p.m. we had a simple family memorial service before her photo. Dr. Ryang kindly conducted the service with hymns and prayer.
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Today our 永善 and his wife came to our Jun Dong home with their furniture and baggages to take charge of our house and house-keeping. Sorry they had to leave Song Do home but as I am old and alone they have to take over the cares and responsibilities of our Seoul home.
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No rain. When farmers and gardeners want plenty water just now. This drought is causing a great deal of uneasiness among all classes of people.
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11th. Tuesday. 晴暖. (癸未 四月 八日)
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翠雲亭 in the morning as usual. 7 p.m. went to our Jung Hie 貞姬’s new home. She is well married. Had a good supper.
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12th. Wednesday. 陰薰. (癸未 四月 九日)
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Seoul home. From morning cloudy and a little stuffy. Rain from 8:30 p.m.
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It must make the Hitlerians rejoice with joy unspeakable to see how bare and dried up the whole city becomes under their system of monopolies, so called control or 統制 and all together insufficient and inefficient rationing or distribution from rice to vegetables. The thousands or rather tens of thousands of little stores from which people used to get pittance of livelihood are all closed. Nothing to make, nothing to sell, nothing to buy. They―the merciless Hitlerians―do all this for the happiness of the people and the glory of the country.
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The rulers tell us not buy or sell anything in "yami" or illicit bargaining. For instance the nailed down price of rice is about ￥2.00 or a little over per mal. Your family can't live on 2合 3勺 rationed rice per person a day. You can't get any rice from anybody. You see your family nearly starve. Here comes a country fellow with a few mal of rice and offer to sell it for ￥13.00 or ￥15.00 per mal. What can you do? The rulers who want to make Righteous Korea(道義朝鮮) say you must rather starve than to resort to illicit bargaining. Can you or will you tell the country fellow "Go! This is Righteous Korea. I would rather see my children starve on two hop and three jak(二合三勺) rice per day than be a Unrighteous Korean."
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13th. Thursday. 陰冷. (癸未 四月 十日)
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Seoul home. 翠雲亭 from 8 a.m. to 10:30.
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Some rain last night just enough to lay the dust. Too cool for rain this morning.
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14th. Friday. 朝陰冷.(癸未 四月 十一日)
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Seoul home. Cloudy and cool a.m. Sunshine p.m. To Chosun Shrine to attend the Thank-offering service held to celebrate the promulgation of the decree to allow Koreans volunteer for sailorship in the Imperial Navy. From 3 p.m. a mass meeting to express the popular gratitude for the navy volunteer decree.
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15th. Saturday. 牛前 晴. 牛後 陰雨. (癸未 四月 十二日)
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Seoul home. Cloudy and cool a.m.
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To Ewha College to hold an extra session of the Board of Managers to make certain changes in the Parents Association Constitution.
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The streets of Seoul are turned into "garbage bins or garbage streets. All the refuses from every house are dumped on the sides of streets―to stay there for weeks on end. Yet our rulers tell us we must keep flies out of our kitchens and homes.
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16th. Sunday. 陰雨. (癸未 四月 十三日)
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Seoul home. Very unsatisfactory rain just enough to lay the dust.
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On the 11th the Tokyo Cabinet decided to let Koreans volunteer to become sailors in the Imperial Navy. A momentous decree for the Koreans. We must thank the Imperial Government for admitting the Korean youth into the proud ranks of the glorious Japanese Navy. I hope the Korean sailors will prove worthy of the great honor.
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17th. Monday. 陰冷. 正牛 F. 68°. (癸未 四月 十四日)
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Seoul home. 9 a.m. went to 傅岩亭 with 埼善. Returned to city about 5 p.m.
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People―Koreans I mean―in whispers give five reasons for their fear that we may have another famine year.
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1. The farmers―the Korean farmers I mean―have no chemical manure.
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2. No straw to make the heap-manure 堆肥―because every wisp of straw must go to making "kamani" for the Army.
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3. The shortage of farm labor as a great number of young country fellows are drafted from villages to supply the demands of labor in mines, farms and factories in Japan Proper and elsewhere. Women and old people can't hope to do all the field work.
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4. The lack of rice and other cereals keep the farmers under nurished to the extent that they can't to full-men's work.
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5. The heartless way the petty officers extort rice from farmers make people lose heart and hope saying what is use sweating to raise rice which we are allowed to eat? Many farmers quit farms and go to cities as day laborers.
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The sixth reason is the dreadful drought we are having now when we need water so much.
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Seoul home. 9 a.m. a farewell meeting for the volunteers who are to join the regular colors end of this month.
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4 p.m. a Board Meeting of Central Y.
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Seoul home. Spent morning in 翠雲亭 reading Japanese history.
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21st. Friday. 晴暖. (癸未 四月 十八日)
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One of the causes of the irreparable loss of Admiral Yamamoto must have been the reckless courage of a Samurai. A law should be passed to forbid such men to expose themselves to needless sacrifices.
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Went to 校洞 Primary School to cast my vote for the election of the Municipal Councillors. I voted for Mr. 曺秉相.
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It is announced that Admiral Yamamoto Iso-rok(山本五十六) was killed end of April in a fierce engagement somewhere in or near the Solomon Archipelago. Entirely too bad. Japan, indeed no nation, can afford to lose such a hero. Why should an admiral or a general of such national importance expose himself to fatal dangers?
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22nd. Saturday. 晴暖. (癸未 四月 十五日)
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6 p.m. went to 白雲莊 where Vice Governor-General Tanaka gave a supper party in honor of 丸山鶴吉 who is visiting Seoul on his way to Tokyo from Manchuria.
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23rd. Sunday. 陰曇. (癸未 四月 二十日)
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Seoul home. Spent most of the day at 翠雲亭. Had supper at 璋善’s home.
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Little rain 8:30-10 p.m. Cloudy.
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Hearing that our 明姬 gave birth to a girl, I went to see her 10 a.m. The baby came about 2 yesterday morning without any hitch. Both mother and baby are doing well. Her husband and I agreed to name the new comer 明淑. About 3 years ago the morning 明姬’s second baby 英淑 had been born I saw Maria coming out of the room with her face lit with beautiful smile. I can't keep that lovely picture from haunting me night and day.
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24th. Monday. 陰冷. (癸未 四月 二十四日)
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Seoul home. Last night's scanty rain is tantalizing.
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Today being the first birthday of our 珽善 after the departure of his mother we―especially he and I feel most acutely the absence of her loving hands. God bless our boy in body and mind. Grant he will grow into a strong and good and wise man who shall be honor to his mother and to me and to our family.
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