（長い結婚生活に終止符をうったことを祝って詠んだ
こんなに素晴らしい日が訪れるとは思いもしなかった。まるで
豊旗雲に入り日が射し空が一面金色に耀き、空のはて高く虹が
昇ったようであった）

＊ひさし：長い間 ＊：つがひし：一緒に生活した （番ひし）
＊おもひきや：思いもしなかった
＊豊旗雲：美しく大きく耀いている雲（とよはたぐも）

When I divorced my wife who was born and raised in New York,
many of my friends surmised that the cause of the divorce must
have been due to the cultural gap between Japan and USA. But I do not
agree with that view. Excessive pessimism and attachment to reality is
not necessarily an American attitude and excessive love for art
and a lack of a  sense of reality is not necessarily a Japanese trait
either. Love (or indifference) for tidiness or cleanliness is a matter
of individual preference. Love (or indifference) for good poetry, good
painting, good music, good food is also a personal matter. The fact
that she was one of the typical products of the militalistic feminism
rampant in the East Coast of America at that time who regarded other sex
as a target to attack and not as an object to love-was not a big deal to me.
I was not bothered by that much because I believed to an extent men and
women were equal. (Only I didn't agree that men should do absolutely
anything for women just to compensate for the past crimes committed
against women by our forefathers for the past many centuries.)

In marriage, I do not think differing nationalities are a problem.
What really matters are personal characteristics, tastes and sensitivities
that in my opinion are greatly influenced by one's upbringing.

Notice:
This photo is not mine. It was shot by my long-time friend
Mr. Shigemi Takamatsu, Movie Photographer.