“Honjama-ka” Hidehiko Ishizuka: What He Learned After Turning 60—”Gratitude for the Everyday”

I can’t thank the hospital staff enough

Hello, everyone. I’m Hidehiko Ishizuka—the kind of person who, for some reason, feels my spirits lift whenever I see a car with a license plate featuring repeating numbers.

Today, I’d like to write about “gratitude.” I’m currently 64 years old. At this stage in life, it’s not uncommon for family members and friends to start showing signs of physical and mental decline, is it?

My mother passed away eight years ago, two of my high school judo club classmates have also passed away, and my father is currently hospitalized. As I visit him at the hospital more often, I’m reminded anew of how grateful I am for the things I take for granted in daily life.

My father has been hospitalized for over five months due to worsening bed sores. He ignores the TV that was kindly set up for him and just stares at the ceiling all the time; because of the risk of aspiration, he drinks thickened tea little by little with a spoon—he’s been living like this for over five months.

My father is 95 years old and has limited mobility throughout his body, so he relies on the nurses to help him get by. They assist with meals, change his diapers, and help him bathe. They also reposition him in bed and suction his phlegm during their rounds—I truly have nothing but gratitude for the hospital staff.

The other day, when I went to visit as usual, two hospital staff members were standing by my father’s bed and said, “Dad, it’s time for a walk in the wheelchair.” Since I hadn’t seen my father doing anything but lying in bed for the past five months, I felt both surprised and delighted.

It took two people to help my father transfer to the wheelchair and raise the backrest—all while regularly checking his blood pressure and monitoring his condition. It had been a long time since I’d seen him sitting up. As we stepped out into the hallway, I wondered how the view—other than the ceiling of his hospital room—appeared to my father’s eyes.

Afterward, he did some arm and leg exercises in the rehabilitation room, and before returning to his room, we went out to the courtyard for a change of scenery. How did my father feel the outdoor breeze for the first time in five months? I am so grateful to all the hospital staff.

Living an ordinary life is actually quite remarkable.

My father isn’t the only one who relies on the support of so many people to get by. I’ve heard that many people have recently lost their homes due to natural disasters.

Being able to live in a home that shelters me from rain and wind, having a meal every day, having somewhere to go when I need to, having people to laugh with, and having people who rely on me—to be honest, until I turned 60, I hadn’t really given much thought to “gratitude.” I’m truly ashamed of that.

Up until now, I’d only felt gratitude in special situations—like when I won a prize with a Gari-Gari-Kun ice pop, when an empty taxi happened to pass by on a rainy day, when there was just enough toilet paper left in a department store restroom, or when I managed to snag one of the last 10 servings of a limited-time menu item at a restaurant.

But now I realize that what’s truly important isn’t gratitude for special events, but gratitude for being able to live an ordinary life. It’s not about living a wealthy life, but about being grateful for the very fact that I can live at all. Of course, I’m grateful when I get to enjoy a delicious meal, but I’m also grateful simply for the fact that I can eat. To live in good health and be able to eat whatever I want—this is actually something truly amazing.

Ever since a family member was hospitalized, whenever I see an ambulance on the street, I find myself praying, “Please, let them make it.” I hope you, too, will be grateful for the fact that you’re alive right now. And let’s help one another so that not just ourselves, but everyone can feel that “it’s good to be alive.” Who am I?

From the October 16, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*