pp58-59 (This passage is translated from a Japanese book. Corrections are welcomed!) Disappeared Red Thread Me and her, we were tied up to each other with a red thread. But she killed herself. For what? Why? I hate her. But I still love her. Where has our red thread gone? Disappeared? Cut off? When I read this poem, I was aghast and about to choke. I took it all literally, but after I listened to his story more carefully, I felt, "Oh? Does it contain some fantasy?" Something in his mind inevitably made him express in this way, I guess. Behind that, there was his complicated and harsh family environment. When I think of its extreme weight, I sigh. I cannot but wish his future happiness.

pp54-55 (This passage is translated from a Japanese book. Corrections welcomed!) Hot This summer, especially hot. Why so hot? TVs and newspapers talk about 'global warming.' The the cause of it is each one of us all, isn't it? Nara Juvenile Prison is a brick building completed in 1908. It is one of the 'Five Largest Prisons of Meiji Era', which is a magnificent building under the control and authority of the government. Out of the Five Largest Prisons, it is the only one on active services, which is very valuable. All the bricks are handmade by prisoners at the time. Although those bricks are unique, elegant and really beautiful, in summer, they are heated and emit infrared light even at night, like an oven. And in winter, they make us chilled to the bone. There is no air-conditioner in the dormitory. Living in the prison is not easy. In such environment, the boy J's imagination extended so far as global warming. Even though separated from the world, J is interested in world affairs and perceives them as his own affairs.

pp52-53 (This passage is translated from a Japanese book. Corrections welcomed!) Time Looking at clocks, I often think, Time passes too slowly... But when I am concentrated, time flies. On the contrary, when my concentration is poor, time passes slowly. Whenever I had better not panic, I cannot but look at the clock and I panic because I feel as if I were pressed by something. If I use time cleverly, Time will be on my side. As for prisoners, time has a special meaning. Everyone is waiting impatiently for the day he is released from prison. But those who have come to prison have got a chance of reeducation. Time they have before release is not just waiting time. It is important time for introspection and reeducation for rehabilitation.

pp50-51 (This passage is translated from a Japanese book. Corrections welcomed!) Words Words connect people with people. One word makes them happy. One word makes them sad. Words are magic. If we use them rightly, We can make each other happy and comfortable. But if we use them wrongly, We hurt each other and make each other sad. Words are difficult. But we use them everyday. I want to use them carefully. I hope to be closer friends with words. Since he talked in front of his friends about his loneliness as a motherless child, he has changed. If you can be close friends with words, you can release yourselves, and can be close friends with people, too. You can surely get along with the world. Your feelings are conveyed properly by words.