Latest news with #Matsuyama
Asahi Shimbun
02-06-2025
- Health
- Asahi Shimbun
INTERVIEW/ Shoki Matsuyama: On sleepless nights, embrace the feeling of being alive
Various theories exist about why counting sheep helps people fall asleep, including one that 'sheep' and 'sleep' sound similar. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) HIMEJI, Hyogo Prefecture—People who have trouble sleeping at night because of their many worries should take a different approach to problems in life, Shoki Matsuyama, a resident nun at Futetsuji temple here, said. First of all, Matsuyama told The Asahi Shimbun, people in general should not pressure themselves into thinking they must sleep. And they should also ponder whether the problems that are keeping them up at night are really of 'their' concern, the nun said. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1962, Matsuyama was a college student when she got married and gave birth. She then got a divorce and became a single mother. After working as a nurse and caregiver, she became a nun at age 48. Matsuyama has served as the resident nun at Futetsuji temple, which dates back to the Edo Period (1603-1867), since 2016. She offers advice to followers and aims to make the temple a 'shelter for all women.' Excerpts of the interview follow: * * * Question: What are some of your own experiences with sleeping difficulties? Matsuyama: When I was working as an assistant nurse, I was taking care of my grandmother, who used to wander alone at 2 or 3 a.m. She went out no matter how hard I tried to stop her, so I followed her and let her walk for several hundred meters. I had to take the first train to go to work every day after dawn. Q: The older we get, the more worries and sleepless nights we seem to have, right? A: I think it is OK to feel content about remaining awake rather than focusing on being unable to sleep. You can feel you're awake, and that is proof you're alive. Of course, a lack of sleep due to overwork and other factors is another matter. When you are satisfied with one thing, you will want something else. I hope people make concessions in a positive sense instead of falling into this cycle. It is as if to say, 'I sleep less, but 'oh well.'' Q: Family members may find it difficult to watch their loved ones experience sleepless nights. What can they do? A: No matter how much you like someone, you can't sleep for them. But I don't want people to feel overly responsible or guilty about something they cannot help with. Why can't people help but criticize themselves? In many cases, people who seek my counseling are troubled about things connected to their early relationships with their parents. I think many people can't forgive themselves because they weren't approved of when they were children and failed to fulfill their need for recognition. Q: Even if you can approve of yourself, will there always be sources of concern? A: I tell people to prepare slightly large sheets of note paper and write down one of their problems on each sheet. After they finish, I ask them whether those are 'their' problems. For example, if it is about their grandchild who skips school, it's not their problem. Then I ask them to rip the paper with a loud noise and throw it away. As you abandon things that can only be solved by someone else or time, there should not be many things left for you to solve on your own. It is also good to change the way you breathe. In 'zazen' meditation, the emphasis is placed on breathing, but there is something you can do while you lie down. When you count sheep, saying, 'One sheep, two sheep,' you can breathe deeper by breathing out slowly and uttering the words much slower. It is said that deep breathing prompts the secretion of serotonin, which is referred to as a 'happiness hormone.' A: Still, are we increasingly worrying about the future of ourselves and our families at night? Q: After the deaths of my grandfather and my father whom I loved dearly, I developed an interest in death. And I also saw an elder pass away at a nursing home where I was working. When old people are about to leave their bodies, every single one of them returns to an innocent state of being as if they were just born. I think the moment you are born into the world and start breathing with your whole body and the moment you die are the same thing. That was clear to me when I learned about the teaching of 'Fushozen' preached by Bankei, a Buddhist priest from the Edo Period. There is a famous anecdote. A man said he had a short temper since birth, so a priest told him: 'That's interesting. Bring it out right here and I'll cure it.' When the man said he couldn't bring it out at the moment, the priest said: 'If you can't bring it out now, you don't have it in the first place.' This means everyone is born only with a merciful heart. There are no such things as temperaments and values with which you are born. Of course, we all have different views of life and death, but I think there should be more opportunities for 'death education' where we prepare and learn about death. At any rate, there is no one else like you. Although there is no end to worries, people should first embrace the fact that they are alive now, enjoy their incompleteness and use themselves up completely.
Kyodo News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Golf: Hideki Matsuyama misses PGA Championship cut for 1st time in career
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 20:41 | Sports, All Japan's Hideki Matsuyama missed the cut for the first time at the PGA Championship on Friday, his 13th participation, while compatriot Ryo Hisatsune was five shots off the pace at the second major of the year. Matsuyama shot a 2-over 73 for a two-round total of 145 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, failing to make the third round at a major for the first time since the 2019 British Open. The missed cut ended his tour-best major streak at 19 tournaments, according to the official PGA Tour website. "Everything was bad," said Matsuyama, who birdied the 10th, his opening hole, but bogeyed 14 and 18 as he struggled with wayward approach play. The 33-year-old strung together eight pars on the front nine before dropping a shot on his final hole, finishing in a share of 84th place and missing the cut by two shots. "There was this mood of nothing going well, whatever I tried," Matsuyama said. "I'll prepare well for the next major." Overnight leader Jhonattan Vegas shot a 70 and remained on top by two shots at 8-under. Hisatsune, who began the day four shots off the Venezuelan, shot a 71, carding three birdies and three bogeys. Related coverage: Golf: Japan's Mao Saigo wins 1st LPGA major of year in 5-way playoff Golf: Japan's Iwai runner-up to Sweden's Lindblad at LPGA event in LA
Kyodo News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Golf: Hideki Matsuyama misses PGA Championship cut for 1st time in career
KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 20:41 | Sports, All Japan's Hideki Matsuyama missed the cut for the first time at the PGA Championship on Friday, his 13th participation, while compatriot Ryo Hisatsune was five shots off the pace at the second major of the year. Matsuyama shot a 2-over 73 for a two-round total of 145 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, failing to make the third round at a major for the first time since the 2019 British Open. The missed cut ended his tour-best major streak at 19 tournaments, according to the official PGA Tour website. "Everything was bad," said Matsuyama, who birdied the 10th, his opening hole, but bogeyed 14 and 18 as he struggled with wayward approach play. The 33-year-old strung together eight pars on the front nine before dropping a shot on his final hole, finishing in a share of 84th place and missing the cut by two shots. "There was this mood of nothing going well, whatever I tried," Matsuyama said. "I'll prepare well for the next major." Overnight leader Jhonattan Vegas shot a 70 and remained on top by two shots at 8-under. Hisatsune, who began the day four shots off the Venezuelan, shot a 71, carding three birdies and three bogeys. Related coverage: Golf: Japan's Mao Saigo wins 1st LPGA major of year in 5-way playoff Golf: Japan's Iwai runner-up to Sweden's Lindblad at LPGA event in LA
The Mainichi
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Golf: Matsuyama misses PGA Championship cut for 1st time in career
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Kyodo) -- Japan's Hideki Matsuyama missed the cut for the first time at the PGA Championship on Friday, his 13th participation, while compatriot Ryo Hisatsune was five shots off the pace at the second major of the year. Matsuyama shot a 2-over 73 for a two-round total of 145 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, failing to make the third round at a major for the first time since the 2019 British Open. The missed cut ended his tour-best major streak at 19 tournaments, according to the official PGA Tour website. "Everything was bad," said Matsuyama, who birdied the 10th, his opening hole, but bogeyed 14 and 18 as he struggled with wayward approach play. The 33-year-old strung together eight pars on the front nine before dropping a shot on his final hole, finishing in a share of 84th place and missing the cut by two shots. "There was this mood of nothing going well, whatever I tried," Matsuyama said. "I'll prepare well for the next major." Overnight leader Jhonattan Vegas shot a 70 and remained on top by two shots at 8-under. Hisatsune, who began the day four shots off the Venezuelan, shot a 71, carding three birdies and three bogeys.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
PGA Championship missed cuts: Hideki Matsuyama snaps streak; a Brooks Koepka first
Hideki Matsuyama's PGA Championship was surely over, but Matsuyama wasn't done. After shooting 2-over 73 on Friday at Quail Hollow Club, the encore to a similarly unimpressive first-round 72, Matsuyama grabbed his clubs and headed to the driving range, where he plopped a launch monitor down, took off his driver headcover and started whaling away. The mighty lashes nearly knocked Matsuyama off balance, and he smiled and laughed as frustration turned into twisted amusement with every ball launched off into the thick air. Advertisement Matsuyama entered this PGA with the world's longest active cuts-made streak in majors, at 19 in a row. No more. But Matsuyama wasn't the only surprising early exit. The -3-over group that included Matsuyama also claimed Justin Thomas, the winner the last time the PGA came to Quail, in 2017; Ludvig Åberg, who has now missed the cut in half of his first six career major starts; and Keith Mitchell, a popular sleeper pick this week on a long, wet golf course that was supposed to reward everything Mitchell had been doing well. Åberg's MC was especially brutal, as he entered the Green Mile at 2 under before going bogey-double-double. There was some hope that the cut would fall at 2 over. Unfortunately for Jordan Spieth, Shane Lowry, last week's winner Sepp Straka and a few others, it did not. Instead, 1 over was the minimum required for weekend play. Fireballs teammates Sergio Garcia and David Puig each birdied Nos. 7 and 8 (their 16th and 17th holes) to make the cut on the number. Advertisement Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay, both tied with Scottie Scheffler and Paul Casey at 11 straight major cuts made entering the week, snapped their streaks. Reed shot 4 over, Cantlay 6 over. Xander Schauffele now has the longest active streak with 13 straight cuts made at a major, followed by Scheffler at 12. Schauffele parred No. 18 to finish at 1 over after rounds of 72-71. Rory McIlroy, in Schauffele's group, bogeyed each of his last two holes to also barely make the cut at 1 over. This week marked a first for three-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka, who shot 75-76 to miss back-to-back major cuts for the first time in his career. For a moment, it appeared as if Phil Mickelson was making a run at the weekend following an opening 79. He carded nine birdies in his first 11 holes to climb back to 5 over. But then Mickelson left three shots in a greenside bunker left of the 12th green and carded a quadruple-bogey 8. He made just five pars all day and shot 72, finishing his week at 9 over. Advertisement Justin Rose, coming off his playoff loss at the Masters, also missed at 9 over. Russell Henley, at 10 over, has now missed cuts in each of the first two majors. Michael Block couldn't repeat his Oak Hill magic from two years ago, shooting 75-82 and finishing middle of the pack among club pros, none of whom came close to making the weekend.
