VS Madam Butterfly

I will wirte again the things related to the exhibition of antique books on the last post in this blog.

Last weekend, I could have the chance to listen to a lecture in the exhibition. The lecture was for a famous opera and novel, "Madam Butterfly".
I am a book-sales man, so, of course, I knew the title. But, all I knew before the lecture was the title only. I hadn't read it, and even the author.
But, anyway, I had to go to the lecture. It was produced by my important cliant. I was inhibited to escape from it.

"Madam Butterfly" is the story of a Japanese woman in Meiji period after 1867. Japan changed the foreign policy then, and opened herself to other countries.
The story starts with the love romance between a Japanese lady and an American navy. They see each other in Japan and fall in love soon. And the Japanese lady becomes a pregnant. But, the navy have to go back to America. He promises to see her again in three years.
The lady waits for him, and lives by herself for three years. But, when he comes to Japan again, she realises that he got married with another American woman.
She becomes shocked, and commits suicide.

This story seems to be easy but modified many times by authors.("Autohrs" means six people have the relationship with the novel and opera.)
In a version of the story, she fails to commit suicide. I another version, she gets a lot of money from the man.
I heared from a professer of the lecture that the story "Madam Butterfly" influenced on the making of the images of Japan in Western countries very much.
Most interesting thing I know in the lecture is that five in the six authors hadn't come to Japan, even though the stage of the story was in Japan. It means they could know Japan very well by varietes of media at that time.

In this exhibition, the oldest and the most important books are a Hollander author, Montanus' ones. His book "Gedenkwaerdige gesantschappen der Ooost-Indische Maestschppy in 't Vereenigde Nederland, aen de Kaisaren van Japan" was published in 1669. It is the oldest book in the exhibition ,very rare and very important for Japan study. But, Montanus hadn't come to Japan. The fact is very interesting.
Everytime I see old books, I can get new information. Tomorrow, I will go to the exhibition again. I am looking forward to my new finding.

VS Antique Books

This week, I sometimes go to Shinjyuku.
My company has a big book-store there, and there is a small garally in it. I go there.
Because, an university library (it's my cliant.) exhibits many antique books they owns in my company's garally. So, I have to check it.
The library has a great collection of antique books. Especially, the books for Japanology are great. Japanology means the study for Japan.
From the ancient days, many foreigners came to Japan, and studied and researched it. Especially for western people, Japan was a country very diffrent from their countries, so they wrote a lot of books for Japan.
From the view of book-sales, such books are very rare and valuable, and needless to say, very interesting.
In the exhibition, we can "watch" such books. ( All books are in show-cases. So, we can read just two pages, if the books are open.)
The oldest book in the exhibition was written in 17 centuries. There are some illustrations in the book. Old Japanese people and their culture are illustrated there, but they are very surprising. They doesn't look Japanese at all.
The illustrations look Chinese to some extent, Indian to some extent, or Islamic to some extent.
For old western people, the image of Japan and Japanese was the mixture of some Asian countries.
Watching this kind of books is enough interesting.

VS Frozen Surfing

I bought a new wet suit for winter surfing in Japan. It can protect me against cold air and water. I can enjoy srufing in winter season too.
But, the wet suit is not an air conditioner. Its proteciton is unfortunately not perfect. In the sea, I can find my body temparature is going down soon. Winter surfing is a very taugh work.

However, even in winter, there are a lot of surfer on Enoshima beach. They get up in the early weekend morning, go to the beach and wait for good waves on the cold sea. If I don't surf, I can say they are crazy. Now, it's the time for skiing. They should go to mountains, not the sea.

I am not sure that it is related to my surfing, but I don't catch a cold in this winter. My body may become strong by surfing. Certainly, it is a good excersice to swim on the sea.

Not only in summer season but also in winter season, female surfers are more than male surfers on the sea. I don't know why? When I went to a surf shop near the beach, I watched a few girls rent surfboards. It was certain that they started to learn surfing recently, because they don't have their own surfboards. Do you want to learn surfing in winter? At least, I don't.

Next month, I will go to Australia. It's in summer there. I can escape from winter for a while. I think I will surf there. My target beach is Harbord beach. The beach is the memorial place, becuase it was used for surfing for the first time in Australia. Now, Gold Coast is more popular for surfing, but I think the memorial beach deserves my first surfing overseas.

VS Overseas Migration

Japanese Overseas Migration Museum is an unique museum. It is in Minato Mirai area in Yokohama and managed by JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency.
I have visited the museum for business before, but not watched their exhibition yet.
That's why I went to watch it recently. I could study the history of Japanese immigrants very well.

Japanese started to go overseas for working or studying at the end of Edo period, the middle of 19 centuries. Before then, Japan was almost closed to foreign countries, and most Japanese were inhibited to go abroad by Edo government.
After they were permitted to go overseas, first, they went to Hawaii for working.
Some went there to get much money. Some tried to study more progressive knowledge in America. At that time, Hawaii was a dream land for Japanese.
Japanese government didn't seem to encourage the people to go overseas at first, because they thought Japanese people were treated like a slave by American, but soon later it tried to help people go there. They realised the experience in the developed country was useful.

Japanese made their own community in Hawaii, and some of them went to other cities in North America soon.
As we can easily guess, the rapid increasing of Japanese immigrants caused strong reaction in America at that time.
They saw Jap a dangerous-being.
In an early last century, Anti Japanese Immigrant Law was adopted in United States. Therefore, Japanese stopped going there.
But soon, they changed their dream land. The new dream land was the south American countries.
Japanese government assisted people to go there very much, and the people made a new communities there.
Of course, the reaction to Japanese immigrant had happened there too, but it was weaker than the one in U.S.
That's why Japanese communities in South America are bigger than in North America.

Most Japanese don't know or forget the existence of Japanese immigrants living overseas. We lost the relationship with them. Why?
One of my customer (He is investigating the history of Japanese immigrant) explained me that Japanese family structure is the reason.
He says that the category of "family" is very small for Japanese. So, we seem to lose social relationship with our relatives easily.
Actually, my grand father's brother or sister is a special person for me. I wouldn't lend money to them.

To study the forgotten phase of Japanese history, I can recomend you to go to the museum, which is located near Sakuragi-cho station.
After I visited it, I found a Hawaiian bar near there.
To share the dream with the ancient Japanese, I drunk an Hawaiian beer "Tsunami" there. Mmm, delicious.

VS Prince Hotel

Last weekend, I had a party with my colleague in Prince Hotel in Yokohama city. The party was for my company's new vice president. It was a kind of celebration.
I didn't know why, but I happened to be an arranger for the party. My mission was to make the party looking gorgeous, within a strictly limited small budget.
I choose a bar restaurant in Price Hotel, Top of Yokohama which is located at 42 stories in the hotel. The bar restaurant is namely on the top of the hotel. The view from it was very beautiful. I thought the view was better for dateing than for a company party. Anyway, my colleague were very excited there.

My mission again. I had to arrange the party with a very tiny money. So, I ordered the lowest rank of food menu, and the middle rank of unlimited drink plan. My tactics was to make people drunk soon by the great view and alchool, before they would realise that the food quantity was small.

I succeeded.
Hungry people can be drunk easily. My colleague were incapable of finding my trick. And, the party finished successfully before they started to complain. Some people went to Ramen shop soon after the party, but I think they couldn't understand why they wanted to eat Ramen soon.
Drunk people eat Ramen in Japan whether they are hungry or not. But I know they were hungry at the time.

I note that a beautiful view is free. Maybe, party arrangement is good for my future job.

VS Iwo Jima

Today I watched the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" directed by Clint Eastwood. This movie is based on the battle between Japan and America on Iwo Jima island in World War II.
The island was located far from Japan, but important for both countries. Because, if American army got it, they could make a base from which they can attack cities in Japan easily. That's why Japanese army must have defended the island.
But it was an impossible mission. Before the battle on the island happened, Japanese navy to protect it got a deadly damage at other battles. So, the army on the island was isolated, and they could only wait for their enemy coming.

The result of the battle was easily predicted by anyone. The military power of America was huge. On the other hand, the one of Japan was very small.
But Japanese army didn't give up. To be more correct, they were not allowed to give up. They have to fight to death.

In this movie, the letters between soliders and their family are sometimes referenced. In the crazy battle field, only the letters remind soliders of their daily normal life. But, once the battle starts, they become crazy again.

From the middle of the movie, I had the feeling of going out of a theater. One reason was because it was sad to watch a lot of crazy and miserable Japanese soliders. Another reason was because I was very hungry. This movie is long, 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I forgot to eat lunch before watching it.
I forgot that it's important to control our physical condition when watching movies.

Unfortunately this movie doesn't have English subtitles. I don't know why? I think not only Japanese but also foreigners living in Japan have the interest in the movie.
I add that a young acter Ninomiya is nice.

VS New Year

My first week of ths new year has passed very quickly. I had a lot of events just in a week; the spending all night in Shibuya on the last day of the last year, the finding out a great "standing" sushi restaurant there, the meeting many relatives in Kyoto (Last time I met them were over ten years ago.), the nice-seeing again old friends, the having many new year parties, the traveling for Hakone and so on.

I can't write everything in this blog. So, I'll write only a few things impressive for me.

On December 31th afternoon, I went to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, with Lance, Patrick, Akira, Koji and some new foreign friends.
As you know, it is common for Japanese to visit shrines on a new year day. Many people donate money and pray there. Of course, this event has a relogious meaning, but for most people, it's not serious. For most people, the main purpose is to spend a time there with friends. We can eat foods and drink sake there. In short, they come to shrines mostly for fun.

However, we can understand the religious regulation is still left. We usually think that we should visit there, after the new year starts. Maybe because we think it is meaningless to pray for the next year. As you know, Japanese values strict time-schedule in their life. And, it is the same in religious events. We think our hope have to be renewaled at the beginning of the year.

That's why, I had a strange feeling when I went to the shrine on 31th. If we obey Japanese religious culture, my visit at that time was meaningless.
Indeed, not so many Japanese were not there on the day. But, I thought many foreigners were there. I met a mexican family there, and they ask me about the meaning of fortune items which were sold in the shrine. I didn't know these items actually work, but I could explain the meaning, so I did. This item protect your health. That is for keeping your family peaceful.
"What's that pink one?" "It is for getting boyfriends." The mother and daughter in the mexican family looked happy to know it, but the father seemed to be comfused.

This year started with many funny events for me.
I hope I can enjoy my comical life more and more in this year.

VS Crab Party

Last weekend, I was on the sea.
As I wrote here before, I tried to surf on the Christmas day.
My wet suit was not thick enough to surf for winter season. But I didn't have it, so I tried surfing, and won against the cold water. But, I had better buy a thicker suit soon next year, or I will catch a cold before catch the wave.
The wave was a little high and strong then. I could enjoy very well. I have realised my surfing skill is getting better even though the tempo is gradual.
Every time I surf, I seem to find something out. Now I can't explain what the "something" is, but it's something deep.

After surfing, I joined a party produced by the surf shop in which I keep my surf board. It was my first and good chance to know very well the people in surfer's community.
The main dish in the party was Crab. The shop staffs bought a lot of crabs (25kg!) in Hokkaido on internet. We cooked and ate them a lot. Boiled crab, Baked crab and pasta with crab. Everything was great. One of the shop staffs worked for Italian restaurant before, so the dishes were very tasty.
It is generally said that Crab mekes us silent, but we spent a good chatting time with these foods.

I am still a green boy surfer. That's why, I always have to behave as a modest amateur on the wave. I don't surf in a good big wave area on the sea, which is for high level surfers. I have to obey and follow veterans.
However, in the party situation, compared with all surfers, I can say I am a real party veteran.
Once I drink, I can easily go into the deep inside of people, and can catch the wave of voltage in the party. Maybe, this skill is sophisticated in my English school, Aeon. I don't know how the school influences my English. But it actually influences my social communication skill better.
So, I could enjoy talking very much with other surfers I saw for the first time there.

Although about 25 people joined the party, we couldn't eat all crabs. The quantity was certainly too much. For a while, I will not eat crabs.

VS Adoption

In the last English class, we discussed adoption, based on the article for Madonna's adoption of an African boy in TIME.
Her adoption of the boy seems to be controvercial now in America. Some people think the boy is her accessory. They say that her aim would be to sell her name by the adoption. Madonna herself doesn't care for such an opinion, though.

In the class, everybody, including me, support adoption in general. However, we were not sure Madonna will be a good mama for the boy. Perhaps, she won't. She is very busy as a singer, so she couldn't stay in the house to bring up her new son.
But, I think we should support Madonna's case if it true.
We have to accept for the fact that kids can't choose their parents. In addition, also for new or alternative parents, I think it is true. That's why even if the parents can't spend their time with the kids, we shouldn't deny the adoption.

In Japan, adoption is not popular. Especially it is very rare for us to adopt non-Japanese. We have very limited choices to make a parents-children matching.
In the case that a Japanese couple can't have their kids for some physical reasons, adoption must be a good solution for them. But, Japanese doesn't look to prefer to it. We tend to value blood legitimacy. That's why Madonna's case looks very surprising for us.

I think we had better think things more logically.
Blood relation is not as important as we think.
Actually, a child relates to a mother in her body by blood before his/her being born. But the relation is a short period, just ten months. For a father, he can't have any blood relationship with the child. He can only find out a micro DNA level relationship in his son or daughter's blood.
For kids, the life after being born is more important than blood.
For example, if we find that we were thrown away when we were babies, and the persons we think parents found us one day, brought us to their house and had brought us up by now, and if now suddenly other persons came up to us, and told us that they were real parents, what will we think?
We can take a blood test soon. And, we realise the fact that they are auctually my real parents.
However, can we value the "my real parents"?
The answer must be "No". For us, the experience with the persons to bring me up until now must be more important.

I hope Japanese Madonna will emerge in the future even if Madonna couldn't be a good mama.
I think adopion will make Japanese society more flex.

VS Announcement

I remember a funny announcement in an airplane on my recent Nagasaki trip.

"Attention. Attention please. Thank you for using this plane for your trip. We are going to support your comfortable trip, and promise safety flight.
In this plane, two flight attendants who like to chat will help you.
Ms. Nakatani, standing on the front side in this plane, is from Nagasaki prefecture. Plesase talk to her in Nagasaki local language, if you are the local. She was a manager of a foot ball team when she was an unversity student. So, she is familier with treating sweaty guys. Please take it easy to talk with her even if you have sweaty smell.
Ms. Kumamoto, standing on the center, will also help you. Recently she broke up with her boy friend dating for a long time. That's why, now she worry about this X'mas plan. Who will she spand the time with? Please talk to her. Thank you."

I laughed very much.

VS Artist

I had the chance to drink with a film directer recently. Invited from my customer, I watched a movie, and after that, I could talk about the movie with the directer in a drinking place.
The movie was a bibliography for a Japanese artist, Isson Tanaka. He was a genious drawer after the world war II, but now he has been forgotten for a long time in Japan. Because, he didn't sell his pictures to others at all, except for only one.
If an artist wouldn't sell his works, nobody can know his existence in this modern capitalism society. That's why the existence of Isson Tanaka was forgotten in Japan. The film directer knew the artist by chance, and made the film.

Isson Tanaka was known as a talented artist when he was a student in an art school. However, he couldn't get along well with the authorities in the artists' society. He was honest to his own sense of beauty. So, he could criticise his teacher's work.
That's why, many people hated him, alas, in any competitions, he couldn't get a prize.

But, Isson was not interested in comercial success, so he threw away the connection with the community of artists, and went to Amami islamd, which was the farest western place before Okinawa came back to Japan.
On the island, he lived in an old, thrown house, and had worked as a painter in a factory for three years. After the three years, he quited the job, and started to draw pictures.
For the cost of living in the island was low, he could concentrate on his artist's work for two years.
After the two years, he restarted to work, and after next three years, his artist's work restarted. His life was like that.

Altough he was a strange man, the people in the island loved him. But, nobody watched his works. Because, he didn't show his works to others.
His aim was to have the exhibition of his works in Tokyo someday. It might have been his revenge against the authorities in artist's community. So, until the day, he would not like to show them to anyone.

For Isson, No.1 artist was Picasso. And, No.2 was himself.
I couldn't judge whether it's true or not, but the film directer told me that his works were certainly great.
However, in the end, he couldn't have his exhibition in his life. Because he was poor. It's too costly for him to have an exhibition in Tokyo.

Isson was supported by many people in the island, especially by a family managing a small souvenier shop. The shop had sold cheap plates.
One day, some tourists came to the shop, to find something interesting in the island. But they were not interseted in the plates.
When they went out from the shop, they broke a plate by their carelessness. They asked Isson (He was there by chance.) how much it was.
He told them very expensive price.
The tourists were surprised, and became angry soon.
But, Isson was more angry with them. For him, any art work is "only one". He couldn't excuse their fault.

This episode impressed the shop owner, who had thought his works were not special. He respected Isson's thought of art, and asked him to buy his work. Isson told him that the work cost a million yen. The price was very high for the shop owner. However, by using his saving, by selling his house and by borrowing money, he bought one of Isson's works.
The work bacame the only one exception to be sold in a lot of Isson's unsold works.

Isson died unknown in Amai island.
I think "only one" is his discipline of art. He valued the first meeting of art works, so didn't show his works to others. For us, his thinking might be too strict, but it could be an important idea in this eara that we can't be surprised at anything when watching it, because everything looks unspecial.

VS Nagasaki China town

I stayed in a hotel near Nagasaki China town.
In Japan, there are three China town. One is in Yokohama. It is the biggest one. Another is in Kobe. And, the last is in Nagasaki.
Nagasaki China town is small. It has just two streets. (They are crossed.) We can walk around the town within ten minutes. After the ten minutes, we would lose the things we can do.
Why did I stay near the small town? What could I do there?
My aim was the only one thing. It was to eat an unique noodle food there. The food name is Chanpon.

Chanpon. The meaning is "Mix at random."
When we drink wine, beer, wokka and any other alchool at a single night, we call it Chanpon in Japan. The noodle food is like that.
A lot of sea foods, meats and vegetables are used in the dish. So, the looking is very gorgeous, and the taste is complex and heavy.
I went to Kouzanrou, the chinese restaurant famous for Chanpon, with my friends. Before going to the restaurant, we had a research in Nagasaki. We asked some people, taxi drivers and hotel staffs, where we should go to eat Chanpon.
Some people recommend us to go to Kouzanrou.
Autually, the recommendation was good. We enjoyed great Chanpon there.
To be honest, I didn't like Chanpon before because the taste was not organized or sophisticated for me. But this time, I changed my opinion to Chanpon. It's a great food.

Walking around Nagasaki city, I found another unique food.
The name is "Turkish Rice".
Turkish Rice?
It is the dish of a humberg, a spaghetti and a curry rice on a same plate. It's Chanpon of the dishes Japanese kids love.
I don't know why the dish name is Turkish Rice. But, anyway, I understood the eating desire of Nagasaki people is tremendously strong.

VS Two Cultures

Kyusyu seems to become my hometown-like area in Japan. Last weekend, I went there again to celebrate my friend Kousei's wedding. On the day before his wedding party, I had a drink with my friends, Unchained Dogs Four, in Fukuoka. And, the next day, I went to Nagasaki, the city for the wedding party, with a dull headache.

I heard from an old song that Nagasaki is rainy everyday, but it was fine on the wedding day. I think I had visited Nagasaki in my childhood. But now I don't have any memory of the visit, so when I reached there this time, it was the same as the first visit.

Nagasaki has the sea. The view of the sea is very beautiful.
On the other hand, the view "from" sea is nice too.
The land of Nagasaki is almost a mountain. On the mountain, a lot of houses and buildings are built. So, at night time, the night view from the sea-side to the mountain-side is very beautiful.

The wedding party was a kind of mixture of two cultures.
The groom is from Aomori prefecture. It is located in the north-east of Japan. It's cold in winter. By the effect of the climate character, the people is silent and patient. The groom is not actually silent, though.
The bride is from Nagasaki prefecture in Kyusyu, which is located in the south-west. It's a warm area. The people is basically aggressive. In addition, Nagasaki has a historical character. It was only one place where Japanese people can contact with foreigners during Edo period, 150-400 years ago. So, the life style of Nagasaki people is multi-cultural.

The groom and bride came into the party room with the music of Tsugaru-Shamisen, which is an old musical equipment in the north-west. The music was uncommen in a wedding party, but it was fitted to them at the time.
Wedding party always starts with a short( sometimes unfortunately long) speech by a guest, and a call of "Cheers!" by another guest.
However, this time, we started with "soup drinking".
It is Nagasaki culture to celebrate people.
Although Japan is small, I have a lot of cultures I don't know. I could enjoy new things in the party.

Once the party started, all I should do is to drink, drink, drink, sometimes pour beer for others, drink again, drink, drink and drink.
The quantity of my drink is proportional to the extent of the happiness I shared with the groom and bride.
That's why, I was heavily drunk at the night. I can't remember when I went back to my hotel?

VS Animal Rights

Even though the word still sounds too radical, the word "Animal Rights" becomes popular recently.
Literally the word means that animals has rights.
If you think so, you couldn't eat any animals. Even if you like sushi, you could be inhibited to eat it. The rights can throw us into a food crisis.
That's why, if you say "Protect animal rights!" in Japan, people might think you are strange or dangerous. But now, we can't ignore the idea at all.

Animal Rights. This idea was claimed by philosophical thinkers or social activists at first. Politicians, lawers, government officials or the people living in the realer society have no interest in it. For them, it's a crazy idea. To be honest, me too. I can't agree with it, without any conditions. But I can agree taht this idea actually gives us a new perspective to our world.

A few years ago, the court of Amami black rabbits was held in Japan.
A local government planed to make a new golf course in Amami isiland, which is located near Okinawa.
On the land, a lot of rare animals lived at that time. Amami black rabbits were one of them.
Some NGO tirying to protect nature refused the golf course making plan. But, they were not the residents on the island, so under Japanese law, they didin't have the right to rufuse the plan.
But NGO got a miracle idea soon.
They became a representive of rare animals living in the island like Amami black cat, and fought against the local government.

The representive of rare animals. It was a crazy idea at that time. So, everybody thought NGO would lose in court. And, actually, they lost. the Court refused their claim soon.
However, in the judgement, the Court accepted the significance of the right of rare animals a little, and added an opinion to the judgement.
"Law can't protect the animal's right. But, we shouldn't ignore it at all."
The court itself was unique at that time, and in addition, the opinion of the Court was unique too.
So, the court was broadcasted very much, and people started to be interested in the plan, and criticize it.
Therefore, the making of the golf course was stopped, and the nature has been kept until now. The NGO substantially won. It's an interesting example to show that a new idea, or a new word, can change the world a little.

VS Winter Surfing

If you hear that somebody says winter is a good season to surf, you must think the person is crazy. Yes. You are right on a global standard.
But, not in Japan. Real surfer should surf here in the winter sea.
The cold wind from the north is actually cold, but it becomes an off-shore wind on the beach of the Pacific Ocean side. The wind make the shape of wave better, because the wave coming from the Ocean (from the south) hit the wind from the north, and at the point, the wave grew bigger rapidly. It bocomes surfer's preference.

As usual weekends, I went to Enoshima to surf yesterday.
These days, it becomes cold gradually in Japan. So, before going to Enoshima, I didn't want to surf. I wanted to stay in my bed. But, once I reached the sea, my surfer-spirit suddenly and naturally emerged.
I rushed to go to the beach.

The water temparature was.....higher! Higher than I imaged before going into the sea. And, my full-body wet suit could protect me against the cold wind. I felt very comfortable in the sea. Great.
As winter coming closer, the air seems to be clear.
On my surf board, I could clearly see the outline of Mt.Fuji existing far away. It was very beautiful.
The water of the sea is also more beautiful now than in summer time.

Although the water temparature is still okey for me to surf now, it is also true that the chilliness make me more tired than before. That's why I should buy a thicker wet suit soon, for the coming real winter.
The staff in the surfshop I always go to said, "During winter season, the day after rain or snow is good for surfing. The wave is very good."
Surfing after snow.
For me, it still sounds like a suicide. But I have watched the picture that Santa Claus surfs. I think the picture was about the Chirsitmas day in Austlaria.
He made it. So, I should challange it.
I will spend this Christmas day on the sea.

VS Coup d'etat

Two months ago, a coup d'etat happened in Thailand. The country's army made it to beat the government. The president escaped to a foreign country. Now, a new government is established, and most of Thai people seem to support it.
But, because the government change was certainly undemocratic, other countries blamed for the coup d'etat soon. Even if the previous president was a bad person, a coup d'etat can't be agreed with from the view point of democracy.
I can understand the idea to some extent. Basically, politics shouldn't be infulenced or changed by army. It's right.

Recently, by chance, I had the oppotunity to talk with a co-worker working in Thailand now. I asked him about the social situation in Thailand.
I had thought it was very dangerous especially during the days of the coup d'eter. But he said very honestly, maybe too honestly, that the social situation was good at that time because Thai people can't concentrate on serious things for a long time, even if it's a coup d'eter and revolution.
Mmmmm, really?
If it was truely so, it's surprising and disapointing.
For me, social change is like a festival. So, it have to be dynamic and energetic. As I wrote above, I can understand an undemocratic social change is not good. However, to be honest, I can sympathize with it easily. Because I know festival is important for our life.

Anyway, I knew form him that the coup d'etat in Thailand was very peaceful. He said," Thai people are Buddists, so they wouldn't kill people."
I think his understanding of Thai people and Buddist is too extreme, but he would get a point.

VS Dubai

Latest newspapers say that my company will open a new bookstore in Dubai next year. Of course, I knew it before the news.
But, I didn't know the scale.
The bookstore will have 500 thousands of books on the floor.
Although maybe most people can't image the amount, I know it's a crazy amount of books.
And I knew from the newspapers that the bookstore in Dubai may be the biggest one in the world.
Oil money will change into a huge number of books? If so, it's good, at least for book-salesmen.

Why does my company make a new store there?
I don't know the detail of the reason, but I heared that the government officials came to the head office of my company a few years ago and asked for a new store in Dubai.
Not only for my company but also for Japanese publishing business, it must be a challanging job. My company decided to make a now store there. Now my company is searching for new staffs to work there.
Unfortunately I am not in the branch for the new job now. So, I think I don't have a chance to go there for business. However, someday in the future, I want to try to live in Arabic countries. It must be fun.

In democratic countries, publishing business can make a success. So, in Dubai, my company can succeed.
But in some other countries, still now, it's difficult to do a publishing business and book-sales. Because some people see free publishing dangerous. They regulate the business a lot. So we have to avoid the business in undemocratic countries.
But, on the other hand, I think it is also true that publishing make the country more democratic. That's why, in a difficult business situation in such a country, doing a publishing business must be challanging and fun.
Ok, next target should be North Korea. I think it's the most challanging.

VS Mental Illness

Now I am reading a science book, "Warped Passages" written by Lisa Randall, a physicist studying extra dimensions. In this book, we can know the possibility of the existence of another world. We can recognize only this three-dimension world, but she says we can expect that there are other dimensions we can't see if we think of this world more logically. It means there is another world.

Without any scientifical background, I can believe in the idea. Because I myself live in another world everyday.
In the world, I am a super hero, a successful man, very intellectual, strong and rich. I am very confident there.
This another world seems to have the connection with our real world. Sometimes, I in the another world infulence on me in this real world. So, I can be sometimes confident here, even though I am an ordinary man.

The another world the book treat is the challenging topic of pure science. My another world is, maybe, my goal or ideal.
They are very positive.
However, the another world one of my friends will live in is different from them at all.
Now, the person X is going to another world. It looks to give bad influence on X.
I realised X is getting mental illness.

X can read my blog, but I write this article.
One day, suddenly, X called me. I think X's last call was over one year ago. The call was very sudden.
X told me that X found out a fact.
X found the fact that there is a relationship between sexual desire and pimple.
Without any context, even without saying hello, he told taht to me. And, X said to me, "Everybody knew the fact long time ago. But although I am an adult, I know it now. So I am fool."
X regreted it, then X apologized me.( I don't know why?)
It was certain that X's talking was the crazy person's.
I think X is on the first stage to become mentally sick.

I talked about this episode to my friend. He told me that anybody including us have the possibility to have mental illness. We have to know that some percentages of people in our society have it. So, we have to get along well with the people.
I can understand it in general.
But, I think illnees has its reason. If we can identify and want to remove the reason, first of all, we should do it.

I think X is a typical Japanese, who is inconfident, tends to compare itself with others, follows others easily and/but has pride very much. And lonely.
I thought X cared for others too much. That's why X is very negative to speak frankly with others.
X looks always protecting Xself.

My advice in the call was "Don't compare you with others."
I am not sure whether X understood my advice at that time.

When I was a child, I requested my mother to give me a gift on Christmas day. Because my friends got it from their parents.
But my mother said with or without a smile, "They are they. You are you."
From then, I have finished comparing me with others.
It's silly.

VS Wedding Party

I am writing this article in Fukuoka now. I came here to join my best friend Nomura's wedding ceremony.
The ceremony and party had continued almost for 14 hours, and finished successfully this early morning. I enojoyed very much, so I was not tired at all last night.
Even now after a short sleep, I am still excited.

Everytime I join my friend's wedding party, I think about the friend's life until now. Looking at the participant surrounding the bride and groom, we can know the life of them. Parents, Friends, Colleagues, Teachers etc. Great people are surrounding them.
In a wedding party, I look like a part of their life. I am proud of it. And, I can know other parts there. And, all parts are combined completely there. I can understand my friend more deeply.
For Nomura's party, he has a lot of parts in the life. And, his wife Maki has them too. Actually the party was very big. Over one hundred people joined it.

After the long party night, I walked around in Fukuoka city with another Nomura's friend. I saw him the night for the first time. I asked him to go to eat Ramen. He took me a Ramen shop. After that, we went to a business hotel by taxi, and stayed there for a short time. He paied everything for me.
I said "I can pay! You don't have to pay for me!"
But, he refused me to pay.
Because, he said "You are Nomura's friend. So, in Fukuoka, I can't allow you to pay money."

Friend. It's great.

VS Promotion

I got promotion suddenly this week. I was surprised very much, because I didn't expect for it at all.

I belong to Unchained Dogs Four in my company. It is composed of four members, including me. We work very hard for theirselves and for their customers, but/and are very critical to their bosses. That's why their relationship with the bosses are totally and utterly bad.

When I started to work in my company around ten years ago, I realised soon my boss at that time shouldn't manage my branch for the lack of his management skill. And soon, I asked a head office to change my boss.
This request from a new comer seemed to be shocking for my company. Needless to say, the relationship between me and the boss became very very bad later.

So, I had not expected for promotion, and I had thought it had no meaning in my life.
However, suddenly, all the members of UDF were ordered to promote by the head office. What's happened with my company?
I asked my present boss why I would promote, but he didn't know the reason, and even my promotion! Gash.