Herman Aihara on macrobiotics and freedom

Macrobiotics and the secret of happiness

Happiness was the one thing that Herman Aihara sought when he started to study macrobiotics during the 1940s. He was, at the time, very unhappy. He grew up with adopted parents in an unhappy home, where there were frequent arguments.

He was adopted at nine, but didn’t know it until he was 17, when he was told that his real mother had just passed away. Later, he married. But his wife could not get along with her mother-in-law.

Aihara recalls: My adopted mother was always doing things in her way. Washing dishes, washing clothes, drying clothes… everything her way. My wife became very nervous. No freedom. But she was very nice. She never expressed to me what was her problem.

Finally she gave up. One day, she went to the mountain and took sleeping pills. And died. We found out only about four months later. We found her body. I was very unhappy. Depressed. I didn’t know what to do.

So I went to George Ohsawa’s school of macrobiotics and asked him to let me stay for a while. I had to think – what to do with my life, where is my happiness.

His school is very unique. Anybody can go there. But you have to do certain things, like cleaning the house, cooking or helping out. I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t do anything. My mind was not there. I was only thinking, “What I shall do?”

Aihara's secret of happiness

I stayed one month in Ohsawa’s school. Then I found out what I have to do. I have to get freedom. From now on, I will do what I want to do. Since then, I have been following the path: I do what I want to do. That’s all.

In order to do so, I decided to leave home. “Thank you mother and father for taking care of me until 32,” I told my parents.

As soon as I decided, I was so happy. I decided that I want to do what I want to do. Since then, I have been very, very happy. Nothing disturbs me anymore.

I took a cargo boat to America. I felt like a lying eagle in the sky.

Troubles for Aihara

When I arrived, every trouble happened. But I was happy. Because that’s what I wanted.

Before, trouble never happened, until my wife committed suicide. If I wanted books, my parents would give to me. If I wanted clothes, my parents would give me. Anything. I wanted a kite, I got a kite. I wanted to climb a mountain, my parents helped.

Aihara in America

Now, many problems started. First thing was immigration. After staying in America, one year later, they said, “No, you go home. Go back to Japan.”

I said, “No, I don’t want to go back. I’m determined to stay here.”

So trouble started. Every year, they called me. “You go back Japan.”

“No I don’t want to.”

“So I went to the Bahamas, and came back to Miami with a student visa. They said, “That’s strange. You are a Japanese student, how come you come from the Bahamas? Suppose to be from Tokyo.”

The next year, I went again to the Bahamas. This time, I came back to New York and they said okay. But one year later, again they said, “You have to go back to Japan.”

“This time, I went to Europe. I applied for an American visa in Brussels. One month, two months, three months... still no answer. In the meantime, I went by car – a very bad car, a used car – to go sightseeing in Europe.

When I returned, still no answer. So I went to Antwept. There was an American councellor there.

I said, “I want to go back to Japan, passing through the United States. Give me visa to the US.” Then I went back to New York again. Since then, I am still there.

Then war almost started. Khruschev, the Soviet president, wanted to buid a missile base in Cuba and we thought we were going to have a nuclear war.

So all macrobiotic people in New York decided to evacuate to California. I joined them.

Click here to read Part II of Aihara's reflection on macrobiotics and the secret of happiness.