Professor Matsuzaka has passed away.
He was one of my mentors and was widely known for having written many excellent introductory mathematics books. He had suffered from kidney disease for a long time, and although I kept thinking that I must visit him, I continued putting it off. On the evening of the 5th, while I was tweeting, his Introduction to Sets and Topology appeared in my timeline. When I replied that it was a very good book, I received the news of his death. I hurriedly sent an inquiry to the email address in our seminar roster and was told that they were just then notifying everyone. Apparently, on the 4th, after finishing replies to New Year’s cards received on New Year’s Day and taking a bath, he said that he felt unwell and passed away only about 20 minutes later.
It feels like only yesterday that our seminar group stayed at Hakone Matsuzakaya, which belonged to Professor Matsuzaka’s family. Yet when I think about it, nearly a quarter of a century has passed since then. How quickly time flows.
Today’s funeral was nonreligious. On the altar were a photograph of Professor Matsuzaka and undulating arrangements of white, pink, and yellow flowers, while Pavane for a Dead Princess played. Perhaps this was the deceased’s wish. After the eulogies, flowers were offered to the bright melody of Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.
After seeing the professor off, I spoke briefly with my classmates Endo, who had returned from distant Paris, and Hasegawa. Had it not been 20 years since I last saw them both? It was as though the professor had brought us together. Afterward, I had tea briefly with Professor Ohashi and Professor Hasegawa, then headed home.
The cold on the Seibu Line platform chilled me to the bone.
Pavane for a Dead Princess:
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
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