GIFU/ Doctor records remarks to pep up elderly

The Yomiuri Shimbun

"Grandma's hands are magic, aren't they?," "I'm glad I'm your daughter," "You're very knowledgeable."

These and other remarks are included in a book, "Rojin o Shiawase ni Suru 28 no Kotoba" (28 Remarks That Make Elderly People Feel Happy), written by Motoyuki Ishiguro, a medical doctor.

Ishiguro published his book at the end of September, collecting remarks that reportedly brought a smile to the faces of those getting on in years.

"Elderly people appreciate a few well-chosen words. In effect, they're a free form of welfare," Ishiguro said.

Ishiguro's clinic in Gifu is sometimes referred to as an "outpatient clinic for chatting." As well as consulting the doctor about their physical ailments, patients also talk among themselves about their grandchildren and hobbies while waiting to be seen.

He refuses to use a personal computer to keep his medical records. "If doctors are concentrating on a computer screen, they can't pick up on their patients' expressions nor listen to them with due attention."

Last year, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his clinic, Ishiguro invited his patients to share remarks that had made them feel happy. Of the 45 responses he received, he chose the best 28 and compiled them into an essay-style book after speaking with the patients in question.

The 70-year-old woman who offered the "grandma's magic hands" phrase told Ishiguro that her grandchildren aged 3 and 5 always pointed out how their grandma's hands were wrinkled. One day, she made an origami crane and a "yakko-san," a samurai servant doll. On witnessing her deft movements, one of the children uttered the phrase about her seemingly magic abilities. Ishiguro said the woman now treasures the words and has been brushing up her origami skills after buying an origami book.

Ishiguro, who worked at the Gifu Prefectural General Medical Center after graduating from Jichi Medical University, expresses concern about the way in which many elderly people die in hospital.

"I've been hospitalized once and I know that baths and meals at home are far more pleasant," he said. "I think people would prefer to stay at home with their families and receive visits from a doctor."

More than 10,000 people aged 60 and above commit suicide each year in Japan.

"I think a country in which people are unhappy at the end of their life is a third-class nation," Ishiguro said.

An employee of the book's publisher, Kadokawa Gakugei Shuppan Publishing Co., said: "I sympathize with the thoughts of Dr. Ishiguro, who believes a country where the elderly can live happily is a really affluent country. I think the book's message about how some remarks make people happy is well conveyed."

In the book, Ishiguro addresses people who regularly come into contact elderly people at shop counters or on the telephone: "Why not sprinkle your conversation with a few words to make them feel happy, as opposed to speaking as though you're reciting from a manual," he writes. "Everybody gets old."