I found the immigration lawyer--a savvy and nice guy. He told us to file, not another appeal, but a completely new application for a visa for Taiji. Instead of asking for student status, we asked for Taiji to get permanent resident status. The point was subtle. Since Taiji's father was already a permanent resident, Taiji could apply for that status. All the earlier denials and appeals were based on an application for student status. In the legalist way, the earlier filing for a student status established that the new application was a completely separate issue.

In February of 1981 this new application was approved. Taiji was given permanent resident status in the United States. I went with him and Patty and his father to the immigration office in Baltimore to complete the paperwork. At one point Taiji and I went around the block to get the photographs taken, and my souvenir is one of the spares. I signed an "Affidavit of Support" for Taiji. It told the Immigration and Naturalization Service that, if needed, I would see that Taiji's living expenses were met. The clerk checked to see if the photocopy of the family register that we submitted matched the officially sealed version that Sensei brought with his photograph. It was official.

Taiji could stay.

In the summer of 1980, Sensei asked me if I would share a house with him, Patty and with Taiji. On one level, this was a perfectly ordinary and logical suggestion. My apartment was being converted into a condominium. Sensei and Patty were finding that their place was too small with Taiji. We were both looking for space at the same time. It is fair to say that by then we had developed at least a mutual respect. I had a genuine affection for Taiji and was enjoying the role of tutor and part-time uncle. Sensei was still poor (he will always be poor...) so it could save us both some money.

I've never found out whether Sensei asked Patty what she thought about living with me before he asked me. When I talked to Patty about it, her comment to me was a reflective: "Yes, I think I can live with you." Knowing Patty, I took this as a genuine compliment--and an endorsement far more secure than her enthusiasm.

But there was another level to this request.

There is a custom in Japan that the particular students of a teacher will live for a time in his household. Such students are uchi-deshi; literally: house disciples," but probably better translated as "apprentices." The custom include potters, painter, students of go, and most particularly students of the martial arts. The Japanese feeling is that there is a part of the spirit of any skill that passes from teacher to student only in close personal contact. Sensei lived in the household of his sensei for some years. It is a privilege, and an honor of sorts. In return, the student takes responsibility for the everyday care of his teacher, usually cooking, cleaning and doing other chores that vary depending on the presence of a wife, family and other students. Most fearsome of all, the student also takes on the obligation to study and to learn what the teacher offers.

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