What are the roots?

(Posted on) May 18, 2006, 6:28 PM
Last weekend, I went to Kokunohama in Mie Prefecture to help out at a client's surfing competition. The waves were waist- to chest-high, and beautiful offshore, but the number of tetrapods had increased since my last visit, and the locals said the waves had gotten worse. Unfortunately, seeing so many surfers having fun in the ocean on the weekend made me want to surf, so I went and enjoyed a good wave. The AVISO 5'5" round nose board was perfect for the wave quality and worked great. Another thing that really surprised me was that there are a lot of people with the name Nishii in Ise! Driving from Matsusaka, a town famous for Matsusaka beef, through Ise Shrine and on to Kokunohama, I was surprised to see so many signs for Nishii Hospital, Nishii Construction, Nishii Restaurant and so on. As I passed by, I asked the locals, "Are there a lot of people with the name Nishii around here?" and they said, "Yes, there are a lot of them." And when I asked them, "Do you have any classmates with the name Nishii?" they replied, "Yes, there are a lot of them!" I've been wondering lately whether my roots could be in Ise.