2020/01/03
Chihiro Minato Large cities in Europe, the United States and Asia have squares in the center. The morning market, where the local economy runs, suddenly becomes a space where the citizens judge and demand one day.The photographer, who is a writer as well, says that this power of the place depends on its capacity. With no hierarchy, no fixed seats, and no walls inside and outside the group, the circle of opinion is spreading with increasing strength. Is it the origin of democracy? From "On...
2019/12/30
La Rochefoucauld Inferences and judgments made by people are biased unconsciously by feelings such as expectation, fear, self-love, hatred, and go in a different direction. Hopeful observation is a case in point. Intelligence is easy to bend. Probably, this is why it has imposed clear grounds and rigorous methods on it. You must infer and judge not hastily but carefully and attentively. From the 17th-century French duke's "Maxims (translated by Arou Naito)." "December 27 2019 from “Oriori no...
2019/12/30
Yuko Ishihara Reward points and bonus points. People say, "lucky," making a V-sign. There is a feeling of luck but not a feeling of blessing. Knowing the secret intention, they only find that they are mean. By the way, "happy" has the same etymology as "happen." There is an implication of happening to receive happiness. Unlike "lucky," "happy" reveals a touch of gratitude. From the post to the Asahi Kadan (December 15, morning edition). "December 29 2019 from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu...
2019/12/30
Masayo Koike The back is something that only the person can't see. It is exposed to the gaze of others unprotected. So, she says, "When I touch it, I feel like I saw something I shouldn't see, and I feel like guilty." The invisible back is like your death that you can never experience. The existence of "I" has already been surrendered to the world of enlightenment in that sense. From her collection of essays "Warm An Egg Under The Black Cloud." "December 28 2019 from “Oriori no Kotoba” by...
2019/12/30
Thomas Paine In 1776, during the war of independence, one of the opponents said, "I want a peaceful world as long as I live anyway." The thinker who agreed with the independence movement in the United States said that it was a mistake, and he should say like this if he thought of children. From "American Crisis" ("Common Sense And Other Three Sections" translated by Haruo Komatsu), which the thinker wrote to boost the morale of his troops that had no choice but to retreat. "December 27 2019...
2019/12/29
Akira Koba The law scholar says that the law is often considered to be a rule that binds the people, but in the first place, it is to protect the foundations of the individual's free existence. He continues that it first blocks anyone forming a cabal and invading it by force and, after preserving the concerned individual, discusses which has to stand reason in public. From "For Whom The Law Was Born." "December 26 2019 from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun"
2019/12/26
Kyoko Nakajima A novel "Dreaming Imperial Library" revolves around the mysterious past of a slightly punk old woman. She was only shrunk not only in her childhood but also in the marriage. She started living alone and going to the library, which makes her grandchild say, "I guess she raised herself again." Words are like fibers that weave the soul. She spun it from scratch as if she had returned to a girl. "December 25 2019 from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun"
2019/12/26
Eiko Kadono One day, the writer saw a worn man drinking alcohol in a park in the daytime. However, in the tree beside, his suit jacket was hanging neatly on a hanger. She wondered if he had learned to do so from his mother. The jacket was not wild though it was dirty. He had something alive in him. The sight looked a gift to her. From “Memories That Writer And Witch Met." "December 24 2019 from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun"
2019/12/25
Hideki Noda "Otherwise, you will have to use a word of "pre-war" or "wartime." follows it. From a letter addressed to Sayuri Yoshinaga by the playwright and director in the performance brochure for his recent work "Q: A Night At The Kabuki." Noda writes his thoughts to Yoshinaga, who also continues to stick to the war seen from the postwar period. He wants to depict the post-war period nonchalantly, lightly, and piercingly even if people keep away from him. "December 23 2019 from “Oriori no...
2019/12/24
Mrs. A (a woman who is turning 100 years old soon) Mrs. A, a welfare sociologist Kisuyo Kasuga interviewed, spends the daily routine, waking up at the same time every day, changing the water of the Buddhist altar, preparing meals for his son-in-law, and doing some knitting. She does housekeeping for each season following the calendar. She says that she does everything as duty and returns to their nephews, grandchildren, and daughters who died earlier. Is it the source of her energy to expand...