I must confess that I was not the best student in the university. I majored Theatre Arts, but as I studied more about theatre, I found myself losing passion in it. In the early 2000s in Tokyo, I couldn’t find any show which captured my interest. Throughout four years, I have seen nearly 100 stages …
It's hard to describe how much I love my sister. She is my best friend, comrade and handler. But we weren't too close when we were young. I think we have become really good friends after one big fight. When I was 21, she came to Tokyo and stayed at my place for a month. …
When I was a kid, I always struggled to answer this question: "What is your dream?" As I grew up, the question changed slightly: “What do you want to do in your life?” And later, the question became more frequent and daunting: “So, what do you do?” I’ve never been able to answer those questions. …
I remember a girl I really liked. One time I visited her in Europe. We travelled a beautiful island in Northern Germany. It was so memorable, but I was also feeling a bit sad because I knew we wouldn't be able to see each other too often as I was going to be living 8 …
Recently, while I was looking for some documents, I happened to discover my late grandfather's memoir about World War II written in 1983. He served as an aviation engineer for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the war. Below is an English translation of his handwritten notes. I changed the original Japanese calendar (Showa Era) dates …
I remember my teacher in high school. He was a dean of the drama course I attended. He was a notable playwright and a director in his mid-60s. He was always calm, yet he was very strict about theatre education. Sometimes his directions and interpretations of the drama seemed too pedantic or too metaphorical for …
“Go by yourself”, mom said to me. “Nooo!” I resisted. “I want to go swimming, but not by myself!” It was a beautiful hot summer day in 1993. It seemed to be the best day to be in the water. It was right in the middle of summer vacation, and there were still a couple …
I remember a subtle smile I exchanged with a stranger a few years ago. I was waiting for an elevator at the hospital. I had been diagnosed with herpetic blepharitis a few moments earlier. It caused a severe outbreak of cold sores on all over my face, especially around my eyes. A lot of ugly …
The garden was alive with butterflies, ants, ladybugs and pill bugs. Spiders made huge webs sparkled with dewdrops. Occasionally, praying mantes and cicadas visited the garden as well. After the rain, I often found frogs and slugs, sometimes snails. Warblers and sparrows would sing on the branches of the pine tree. Next to the pine …
"The place I like best in this world is the kitchen." Banana Yoshimoto wrote in her novel Kitchen. In my case, the place I feel most attached to is the garden of my old house. The house which I used to live when I was a kid stood in the middle of a foothill. The …
A Thousand Years 