February 2007 I was informed that Mama Kurosaki, Sensei’s wife al of a sudden left this world. I was shocked for she was only 64 years of age when this happened. She was always in good spirits and happy always looking after the Uchi Deshi, s in the Kurosaki Honbu where their where many good kick boxers who several times won the K max.
 
It is a terrible blow to my old friend and teacher Kenji Kurosaki Sensei who was and still is always helping me especially since he was in Holland teaching at my dojo the whole year of 1966. I was also initiated into his famous family of which I still am very proud. Sensei himself had also a terrible setback in his health but is slowly getting out of the dark side and is expecting to wholly recover around may this year.
 
Of course since I am family and know mama for so many years not only had to go but wanted desperately to go for I did not know if she was already cremated which is only several days after passing away in Japan. My Secretary in Tokyo for Japan Kenji Fuliwara san mailed me that the Otsuya (ceremony of sayo nara) for everybody who know Mama) was the 17th of February and the cremation only for family and very close friends was the 18th. I called my travel bureau and ask if their was a flight and if their was still a place on the next flight. I was lucky for their was the very next day a place in order to be in time in Tokyo. Fujiwara san picked me up the 17th and we where off to Saitama.
 
When we came at the ceremony centre I was amazed at the unbelievable flower show and the big signs above it from who that particular flower arrangement was. Fujiwara San pointed out the sign with the name of the IBK on it and the Kaicho plus Kancho of the IBK. I was very beautiful. To my surprise their was no really formal music but all kind of pop and Elvis Presley music which Mama liked so much during her life.
In orderly fashion everybody was called out and one after the other they came forwards and played their respects in the old Japanese way. When it was my turn I saw two boxes and besides them the incent which you was supposed to take some with two fingers and put it on the burning fire in the box and put your hands together and bow tho the big picture of Mama in a setting of beautiful flowers. You do that twice.
 
I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I looked at that picture and all those years came back to me. After that their was talk and dinner and drinks. The next day was the cremation and when we entered the big room the casket was already taken out from all the flower arrangements and opened so that everybody invited could take one last look. Than everybody received some small bunch of flowers and put them on the body of Mama. The daughters got the last and put them on Mamas face and so she was completely covered in flowers when the casket was closed again and wheeled away to the crematorium with everybody following. The crematorium was a nice and a spotless clean small room with three small crematoriums in front. Mama was wheeled in the left one door closed and the picture in front of it.
 
Than all waited and when the fire did his work everybody put their hands to getter and said good by. After that we went for coffee and waited for a while when we where called out again and came together in a small room and what happened than was very emotional and a real eye opener for this Gaijin. The door opened and on a car was a bit sink plate and in the middle the urn of yellow colour. At the foot of the urn where a big heap of burned bones of all sorts. Above left was the skull, the face with the eye sockets, the mouth, the cheekbones and the top of the head under the jawbone. I was mesmerized it was so sad and also so beautiful a ceremony. Than every body got big shop sticks and with two at the same time picked up some big bones and put it in the Urn. After that was done by every body the man put a cloth over the bones and crushed them to the bottom. Than the skull was placed very carefully on top of the bones and not crushed.