MRS. THLANG RIN　(MRS. RATH NARIN is her original name before getting married.)
BORN IN 1947 IN KANDAL, LIVES IN KANAGAWA

Narin has had this therapy coin since she was 12 or 13 years old, during the Sangkum Reasniyum era. She kept the coin with her at all times because she got coined often whenever she was unwell. She would not feel better if she did not get coined. She used to have two coins but had to give one away when she was escaping through Chamka Kor camp. When Khmer Rouge soldiers saw her coins wrapped at the edge of her krama, they thought it was gold. They asked: “What is it?” Narin answered: “Scrubbing coin.” They did not believe her, asking: “Why does it have a dark copper colour then?” Narin said: “If you don’t believe me, take one but please keep one for me so I can use it for coining.” The soldier took one and left one for Narin. First, she kept the coin in a cloth pouch. She transferred it into an analgesic balm box when she arrived at Khao-I-Dang camp. During the Khmer Rouge regime, she had this coin to treat herself whenever she was unwell. At the time, there was no analgesic balm. She coined herself with water. In Japan, Narin continues to coin herself whenever she’s sick despite taking medicine.