Momoko Nakamura
Freelance writer / composition writer
Lives and works in Osaka
Graduated from Kansai University, Faculty of Sociology, Department of Mass CommunicationOG, director and actor of the student theater troupe "Gakuenza".Studied under comedy writer Shigeru Danjo
Graduated from "Osaka Scenario School," performance script department.
After working as an AD for a radio program and at a production company in Osaka, worked as a freelance writer
Attended strip theaters, traveling playhouses, and bars,
Working on two manuscripts for a book project.
He writes two kinds of articles on the web magazine "tabistory": stories about bars and stories about someone's home, and updates "Momohana Butai" (almost) a note a day and an essay a day.
Bookstore & Gallery at Yushima, Tokyo.
In May, he started a two-box "Bookstore & Gallery Momohana Butai" at "Bookstore & Gallery Departure Point" in Yushima, Tokyo.
I wanted to create a "place of connection" beyond social networking sites,
We have recommended books and free papers.
For a detailed profile including past work, please contact
https://momohanabutai1122.seesaa.net/article/202011article_1.html
2.8.2025
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and ing
It was spring.
It was a stormy spring night.
I was going to the theater,
I had a moment that I can't put into words,
I felt something on my skin,
It is often a personal experience,
But I also feel something in my skin, often personally. I feel it in my skin, often personally, but sometimes with a certain conviction,
I sometimes feel certain that “everyone in the room is feeling that way.
That was the case that night.
A lone dancer on stage.
Countless eyes staring at her.
So many eyes, so many bodies, her body, everyone's hearts, and the music,
Shin ...... was in sync, yet passionately,
But at the very end, the sound stopped, cut out, poof!
But even so, the air in the theater, united as one, did not stop and did not break.
She walked slowly back down the aisle amidst the silence and continued clapping.
There was applause. I felt a shudder.
I was so happy! It was so good! (Laughter). (laughter)
“NONO!!!! (laugh)”
The two letters and the smile he gave me back are still in my head and in my heart.
Of course there are many good nights and good stage moments.
It depends on how and when you feel good.
I am aware that I am just putting my own meaning on it.
But that night, well, maybe it was because it was a spring night.
I still remember it. It happened last April at a theater in Kyoto.
The next day, I lost my voice.
I had been coughing for several days due to an allergic reaction to hay fever.
But one night after the storm,
I wasn't shouting or talking too much, but I went crazy.
It wasn't corona or the flu, but the doctors were angry and laughed at me,
I had to stay home for a while until the holidays in May.
Maybe that's why I still remember it.
Summer, the topic of this night came up, coincidentally.
I was in the same place with a person whom I respect a little.
He said. We got excited.
You know, there was a god of the theater.
I don't believe in God or ghosts.
I don't like spirituality or religion.
I like temples and shrines. I go to temples and shrines because I like them.
But although I am interested in them, I do not have much faith in them.
I don't deny or make fun of those who believe in or support them.
I just feel that way.
But what is it, what is it, why is it?
I don't know if it's scientific or genshitsu,
I don't know if it's scientific, or if it's a gendatsu, or if it's just something that can't be described in such terms,
I can't describe it in such a way, but there are many things, times, and things in our daily life and in the world,
I don't know, maybe it's true, or maybe it's an assumption,
But I feel more and more each year that it's true, but it's not just that.
Have I become more rounded? Have I become weaker? No, I just got older? Maybe.
But I think it's more than just that.
Summer, or even before summer,
I have been running around with physical and mental health problems due to the age of some of my relatives.
Not in the past tense, but in the present tense.
But during that period, I really didn't know who I was.
I was wondering who I really was and who I was, and what I was supposed to do.
And for some reason, I often went to Bon Odori dancing, as I wrote in the previous issue,
After such a summer, I feel as if I have returned to this world with my feet firmly planted on the ground in autumn,
I was thinking and chewing on “day-to-day,” “body and soul,” “life,” and “real.
I often found myself saying.
“One day at a time.”
Neither the world nor people know what the world will be like one second from now.
These days are uncertain and chaotic.
The world is not only becoming clearer, but more and more complicated. The world is becoming more and more complicated, not clearer, and it is more and more turbulent.
But that is why I think it is important to do one thing at a time, one day at a time.
We have no choice but to do so.
I am grateful to be able to do so,
I think of the preciousness of those who are in front of me, those who are there, and those who continue to be there, for each day, each second, and each “now.
In winter, I got hooked on a certain TV drama.
TBS Sunday Theater's “Diamonds in the Sea”.
The story is set on Hashima Island, also known as “Gunkanjima” in Nagasaki.
The script by Akiko Nogi, who is also known for “Unnatural” and “MIU404,” is emotional, gritty, and heartwarming,
The script by Akiko Nogi, who is also known for “Unnatural” and “MIU404,” is compassionate, bold, strong, and gentle.
It is a work that depicts and depicts time, human beings, life, and human living,
It's an amazing story, an amazing team, how can they make such a thing?
I watched it over and over again, crying, murmuring to myself every time.
I won't spoil the story.
I won't spoil the story for you, but I will tell you that it is a story of “then and now,” “you and me,” “we,” and “now.
I thought about the people in the story and the people in real life.
I thought about the people I have met and the people who are involved with me now.
People meet and cross paths.
People have more than one feeling. It cannot be said that they are one.
We cannot know the feelings of others. No, there is no way to fully understand them.
But even so, there is a “core” or “nucleus” in the human heart,
In other words, there is something that shines brightly in a person's heart,
That is, perhaps, “life” and “now.
We just go on living.
We can only accumulate reflections, regrets, and cold sweats.
There, our thoughts and lives intersect with those of others,
Or, our disparate lives overlap.
Things that cannot be explained by logic, reason, or a convenient narrative happen quite often in our daily lives.
I don't know why.
But when you take those things and happenings and make them into a larger meaning and a way of seeing them, you can see that they are all connected,
I think people have been saying “karma” for a long time.
I was thinking about it again,
I was thinking and thinking about it again, and then, at the beginning of the new year, I happened to see some words of Zen monks on social networking sites. I was thinking and thinking about it again.
In general, there is nothing much to be said for decisions that can be made at one's own risk.
That's right. The only things that can be solved in our minds are trivial.
When you have to make a definitive decision, a different force comes into play.
A force other than yourself. It is not that I do, but rather that I am forced to make a decision.”
What is a different force?
Fate ......?
I don't know. We call it fate.
（We don't need to force ourselves to have dreams and hopes, we don't need to be right.
A Zen monk from Mt. Osorezan talks about how to face the “burdens of life.”
Yahoo! News Original, August 17, 2024)
Gee!
There is no God. If there is, work harder. Get to work.
Where is paradise? Probably nowhere.
But, for example, in this uncertain world and times,
Even if you don't have the confidence to survive or the power to be wrong in a good way,
I am responsible and proud of what I have done (even though I have made mistakes)
I also have a kind of responsibility and pride in what I have done,
I am also responsible and proud of what I have done (even though I have made some mistakes), and I carry these things with me day after day,
I wonder if I will be able to move on to the next and the next and the next,
I guess I will move on to the next and the next and the next.
What I have done, good and bad,
I am what I am because I am what I am.
Maybe that's how we are attracted and connected. Maybe so. I wonder.
Everything is in progress(ing) day by day.
In the drama just mentioned,
The notebook (diary) in which the protagonist records his days
an important item that connects the present and the past.
I, too, pulled it out last year.
It is a record of the theater from about 20 years ago.
My impressions of the stage, stories from the Yose theater, and a list of dance tunes,
synopsis of a play, names of wrestling moves, and what we talked about that day,
I laughed, and sometimes I cried a little.
I and everyone around me have changed, but I haven't. I haven't changed, but I have changed.
I am just me, and you are just you.
But it is you and you who make me who I am.
The other day, I said this to a person who also appears in this notebook. I said.
I thought, “Getting older is not so bad, maybe it's not all bad, I think.
I'm constantly being shamed every day. I write. I lash out. The storm is me, me and you, you and everyone, everyone. Please, this year, too, I wish you all the best.
12.5.2024
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Ghost and Ice Pot Autumn Moon
Why do people go to the theater?
Why do people go on stage?
It is too big a question.
But if I were to put it into words, I would say that there is a kind of “sadness” in it.
I have been thinking this way for some time now.
It is difficult to put it into words.
But I think it is a kind of rustiness in the midst of living and being alive.
It was early autumn when we had a long, long exchange of e-mails.
He told me, “You talk too much, my father talks too little, and when you add the two together, it's just right.”
I have always been told that I am just right when you add the two of us together,” he said.
In the course of his work, he meets many people on a daily basis and is involved in the entertainment business,
I am sure that he is always involved in honest and sometimes heart-to-heart exchanges with his clients,
I consider him as one of my soul mates, and with good reason.
We occasionally have “very personal” exchanges.
He is someone who has influenced me, but that is in the past.
But that's why (still) I am me,
We also talk about the books and plays we have read together as “writers.
We always look back to the core of ourselves, and we also receive a sense of looking forward.
This is the first time in a while that we have exchanged views.
I was reading a book by an essayist, and it reminded me of you.
By coincidence, several exchanges ensued.
The death of a senior journalist, whom I mentioned in the previous issue, was also a major trigger.
There were times when the number of words exceeded 2,000, and it was great fun, thought-provoking, a little funny, and made me think, “I knew I was talking too much.
I think I talk too much.
We both really did.
Around this time, I was watching a documentary called.
Mr. McMahon, The Evil Owner.
It is an American professional wrestling organization,
WWE, the world's most powerful entertainment company,
It is a documentary program that looks into the inner workings of Vince McMahon, the former owner of WWE, an American professional wrestling organization that is considered the most powerful entertainment company in the world.
Wrestlers and other people involved in the WWE talk about “what kind of person he is.
Vince himself talks. Too much talk, too much talk, too much talk.
It was around the same time that the Netflix wrestling drama “Queen of Villainy” was also receiving high acclaim.
I had been looking forward to this one since before it was released.
On the day of distribution, I left a day open for this one and watched it all at once,
I watched it in one sitting, and I was thrilled, flabbergasted, and even cried a few tears.
I learned that many people were into it from many different perspectives,
I nodded my head at all the opinions and impressions, and I'm sure more and more people will get into it.
On the other hand, the evil owner, not so much.
There are too many things that can't be said that Vince himself is not good.
The program does not hide this point either. It is even mentioned in the ticker.
So, it was good. But good, huh?
I felt the power of the documentary, and it made me think about wrestling, entertainment, the times, or even people.
I felt the power of documentary, and it made me think about wrestling, entertainment, the times, or even people.
People made the film, people performed it, and people watched it.
Reality and fiction are blurred, or rather, mixed together.
It is in this muddled mixture that the true exists,
No, the mixture is all true and not a lie, not a lie but not true either?
The one who shows and the one who sees, the one who attacks and the one who receives. Myself and the other party.
Like layers of layers, like membranes,
There is something true and something like true, and it becomes true.
There is and there is, good and evil, sacred and profane, role and actor, role and actor.
What is man, what is man?
Why do we “go too far”?
We, people, tend to “go too far”.
From anxiety? From an unexplainable loneliness?
Because of our past experiences of not being “understood”?
Or from an excessive spirit of service?
Or hunger? A hunger of the heart.
Or pride and a desire to “look good.
It may be small or large, too much or too little, but it's there in all of us.
It may be lacking, too much, or out of balance.
That's why we heap it up. Do we do it too much? Do we overdo it?
We are conscious of others, we are conscious of ourselves, we keep a lid on it, we leak it, we push it.
People, people, I, we, are all very complicated. We are troublesome. Human beings are scary.
When they become excessive or unbalanced, they are “ghosts.
Yes, we all have a ghost in our hearts.
Usually, we contain it.
But, when it happens, it may appear in a flash,
That may be what it means when something is “too much.
Self. Greed. Good and evil. Sacred and profane. Real and imaginary. Balance. Everyone is himself.
The ghost is karma? In other words, the self? Everyone is controlled by the ghost. We become ghosts.
I saw a terrific play at the end of summer.
It was a dance by an actor who is arguably the most stoic in the world of traveling theater.
“Not enough. Not enough, not enough. Not enough.
Never Enough” as sung in the film The Greatest Showman.
The hem of his fluffy costume fluttered and danced.
The downtown playhouse filled with his chi.
On the way home, I suddenly remembered the title of an old drama recorded at the theater.
You're not the only one who misses me.
It is difficult to tame a ghost and balance body and soul.
The good. The bad. The bad and the good.
Maybe it's the human beings that are not in balance. Maybe it's just a human being.
Deal with the ghost that is being manipulated,
And to be able to control the air and the feelings, to be “in good humor” with others, and to be satisfied with oneself.
It is difficult. But we have to do it.
There is a saying, “the aesthetics of a single piece of kimono.”
The stage, or traveling theater, is a way of life itself.
The stage is a place where actors of all ages and backgrounds come together to enchant the audience with their performances.
The stage in front of you, right now,” captivates the audience.
The attraction of this type of theater is its closeness to the audience compared to other forms of entertainment,
That is why, in addition to the stage performance, service, charm, and various feelings are often required of the performers,
The stage is a mixture of art and entertainment.
The stage is a mixture of art and manners and customs.
But I think the ultimate performance is just a single piece of kimono.
I want to be an actor who can compete with only one body, not with a lot of clothes.
I want to be an actor who can compete with that. The road to becoming a great showman.
In our earlier correspondence, I was told that “(you) are (want to be) dangerously vulnerable.
I don't know if that is a compliment or not. But thank you, I thought.
Later, I was made to reflect on this again in a completely different matter.
I am sure that this person, who is so kind and gentle, must be going through a lot of hardships every day.
That's why he is so kind to me, but it is because he is too kind that he gives me words.
To me and to many other people. Sometimes she is misunderstood, but she is always sincere.
Everyone is kind. They may not be strong, but they are strong and kind.
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Lots of ghosts. There are lots of demons.
They are in the world. They are also inside of us.
Let's live with ghosts. Be careful. Let's live together with everyone.
I think the world is a theater after all.
9.10.2024
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Festival Lights
Summer is the season of feeling alive.
The sun shining. The sweat that sticks to you. The water that slides down your throat.
But I think it is also the season to feel the opposite as strongly.
Thinking of those who are gone and those who can no longer be seen. With the lights of the festival.
When I was young, I once worked at a haunted house in the summer.
It was a Showa concept show restaurant where I worked part-time while writing and studying,
A small playhouse in a theatrical food theme park was turned into a haunted house for a limited time.
Although I was not in the same department, I was sent out to help with the reception desk and call-outs.
The person who planned and directed the show was a playwright who used to work at a seating area.
By chance, I learned that he was a graduate of the same university and the founder of a theater company that still exists on campus.
He was the founder of a theater troupe that had been a rival to my own for generations.
He told me, “Your troupe is a muddy one. There are no cute girls. It's been a tradition for generations.
My father's troupe is all about looks, and it's been that way for generations.”
I would go to see them while they were working at the haunted house, of course, but I would also go to see them on the stage at their hut and meet them during intermission.
I borrowed and read a play that had won a playwright's award, and I fell in love with it,
For some reason, I was always treated badly. I was often run away from.
But sometimes I would walk home with him to the station.
Now I think that the reason I missed him might be because he looked a little like the person I liked.
I was sometimes misunderstood because of that.
I'm not just a lonely old man! Respect me, don't tease me, work for me!
Hey, old man. Please write again!
No, I'm done, it's not my place. It's not my place.
I quit my part-time job at the theme park after a few years.
I quit my part-time job at the theme park after a few years because I had worked as an AD for a radio program and then decided to work for a production company.
My father was working as a pavilion operator and producer until the theme park closed.
Before or after the closing, I received an e-mail from him. It was the one and only time.
He said, “It's been a while. How are you? This will finally make things easier for me. I'm going to write again.
It was hard to go to see him, and sometimes I remembered him,
I had heard that he was teaching young comedians at a newly built small theater,
I learned of his death through a rumor on the wind. That was also in the summer.
I learned that he had collapsed from the heat and was found days later.
Later, I received a thank-you e-mail from someone named her daug.
'Come out of your haunts'
I received another obituary this summer.
He was a person whom I had cared for and respected.
To be honest, I didn't feel it and still don't now.
I had heard the news of fireworks festivals across the country and thought I would see him in the morning,
I started to see and hear news about fireworks festivals around the country, and one morning I thought to myself, “Oh my God, I can't stay.
“Oh, he's not here anymore.”
I felt as if I might get another phone call in a heartbeat.
I'm sure I'll get another phone call from him in a heartbeat.
If you let me hold your hand, I'll tell you the rest of the story.
I feel as if I might hear him say that line that was so funny I couldn't laugh, but I was laughing.
The taste of a small bowl of food handmade by the mama of the karaoke snack bar he frequented.
Naomi Chiaki and Hideo Murata singing with a thin glass of water in one hand.
But, after all, I have many memories of the festival.
The happy faces dancing, the very serious talks under the turret,
Waving to the handsome ondekiri, who became our mutual acquaintance, from under the tower.
The news came from the person I am a bit distant from now.
He seemed to have the same sense of distance from me.
So I thanked him. I thanked him from the bottom of my heart.
But I did not go to say goodbye. I couldn't and wouldn't go.
I offered a cup of sake alone and went to the festival.
Since before the summer, I have not been able to spend much time on my own affairs.
Even so, I went to many festivals in a town I didn't know.
I was drawn to them by the whirlwind of people dancing under the lights.
I have no memories of festivals from my childhood.
I never danced.
I don't feel like I have a hometown to begin with,
I don't know why I don't have a home that feels like a home,
I don't know why, but I don't have many places or things where I can immerse myself in such things or feel such a sense.
I don't think it's true that there is no such thing as a family with big smiles on their faces like in TV commercials, or that there is no such thing anywhere or anyone.
I sometimes think that there is no such thing anywhere or for anyone.
It's not about whether it's good or bad. It's not that I don't like it or feel sad about it.
But maybe that's why.
I am drawn to that light and heat.
The smiles and enthusiasm of everyone in the theater sometimes brings tears to my eyes.
Maybe I am happy at the moment when all kinds of people are becoming together in body and soul, even if I don't understand why.
In the heat of the hot weather, we ride the sound and speak out,
It is amazing to be a part of a festival where the self and others become blurred, and festivals are scary.
The heat and the groove of the festival gives you a sense of power to resist the various calamities of the world.
At the same time, I also feel its power to erase or destroy someone or something.
It is a tremendous power, the power of human beings.
I may be being sentimental and imagining things.
Maybe it is the beer in my hand.
The golden color of the stalls in the squares, temples and funeral halls, under the lanterns, which are neither clean nor beautiful.
It has been a long time since the theme parks, the playhouses inside, and the haunted houses disappeared.
One theater closed its doors this summer as well. I thought about many things.
I was reminded once again that “again” and “someday” are miracles for everything.
I often talked about the arts, the stage, and plays over drinks with those who have passed away.
We talked about the beauty and power that are inextricably linked to them.
He said, “The indescribable, muddy side of human beings is something that seeps through.
I only want to see the beautiful things (laughs).”
I also remembered a karaoke number that he always sang with great feeling.
The first line of the song was, “Life is a play anyway.
The line “Come out of your hiding place” is from the play “Pandora's Bell” by Hideki Noda, a playwright.
This play, too, is a story of ancient times, the present, and the future in a hot, hot time.
The bell is a symbol of 8.9 79 years ago, and “Punk Kimigayo” by Kiyoshiro is played at the beginning of the play.
I did not see the Olympics at all. All I watched were bon dance videos such as “Kook Robin Ondo.
Which way will the ancient hearts bet? I bet on the delivery.” This is also the last line of the bell.
What remains. What remains. The sun. Sweat. Water. The lights of the festival that has continued from long ago continue to reach us.
That person, this person, me, and you will all gather under the turret and return.
Hot and noisy beer drinking.
7.1.2024
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Mirrors and Days
I was reminded of "Somebody To Love" (QUEEN) because
Perhaps it was because I was watching a DVD of a past performance of my favorite theater company.
From mid-April until before a major holiday weekend, I had been sick by chance.
After a long period of mental and physical decline, I managed to recover.
But then, more and more people around me are complaining of mental and physical problems. Are you all OK?
I've been a bit more than usual. I've been a little bit pushed around by my relatives and friends.
If I am, then everyone around me is getting older. It's a natural process.
But, I also have a lot of "ah-ha" moments.
However, it is also a matter of course that neither work nor personal matters can wait for you.
The fact that I managed to do both may have been thanks in part to the DVDs.
Moreover. After I finished watching the ones I had, an acquaintance lent me the ones I didn't have.
Gekidan Shinkansen 20th Century BOX.
As the name "20th Century Compilation" suggests, it contains performances from 1995 to 2001.
Digests of performances, live performances, and events since 1989,
There are also interviews with writers and directors, roundtable discussions with company members, and much more.
It is a collection of plays and stories from the period that I have seen many times at the theater and on TV broadcasts.
I didn't just go to the theater.
I also went to a singing school where a member of the troupe was teaching part-time.
The teacher was "Japanese Freddie Mercury," who is still the musical director of the company.
He was also the vocalist of "Queen Mania," a band of musical actors.
He still translates chansons into Japanese and performs live at the same time as working with the theater company. He never wavers.
The day after the concert, he translated "Keep Yourself Alive" into "Keep Yourself Alive" and shouted it out,
He has been a member of the "Freddie-style" sparkling leotard costume since the time he laughed and said, "I have to wash this by hand.
'Somebody To Love' was sung during the performance. dressed as a turtle.
The play was a parody of the famous manga "The Glass Mask".
She played the role of a person with purple roses (dressed as a turtle) who appears in a scene where a Maya Kitajima-like theater genius girl is depressed.
It seems that in every person's heart there is a fragile and fragile glass turtle.
Watching your (the protagonist's) play, you will be empowered. The number of such people will increase, and that will be a great power.
Your turtle is the best in the world! What nonsense!
But this parody of "Somebody To Love" is really stylish, isn't it?
It's like a message to "guessers.
My 93 year old grandmother has a good guess.
Due to her age, her body does not move as much as she would like, but her head is still in good shape.
She lives alone now for some reason, so my family members take turns going to see her,
This person is a snob among my family members, good, bad, and good.
He was not a samba singer, but he had Ken Matsudaira's autograph from his Kamisama days.
I fell in love with enka singer Kohei Fukuda through his fanzine.
And now, he has a new favorite, sumo wrestler Oh-no-sato.
He is very popular at the day care center, and I want to help him win.
When I saw him win at the Summer Tournament, I was heartbroken.
I felt as if I had seen the feelings of many people who had passed my grandmother by.
I even cried a little when I saw the joy of his father and the local people.
My grandfather who died also loved sumo wrestling.
He loved sumo, boxing, wrestling, singing, and documentaries,
He was a hard worker and a hard worker because of the times and the area where he lived.
In his later years, he went to the local elementary school to talk about his war experiences and the local community, and was also a community association president.
In the evenings, he would pour sake from a paper carton into a large teacup and drink it while running, saying, "You lost again. Pull yourself together. His voice became louder when he got drunk.
Because of this place and time, my mother hated singing, dancing, and sports and devoted herself only to her studies.
But her grandchildren definitely inherited her vulgarity.
A hero. A star. An idol.
In the course of our own days, we may have a wish or a prayer for someone in the distant world or someone close to us,
There are probably many people who hold a wish or a prayer for someone in the distant world or someone close to them, and who use them as their "support".
The word "guess" has been created, spread, and used by fans to express their feelings.
We spend our days. We age.
Our bodies, which are our containers, have problems and breakdowns, we grow old, and our minds are disturbed.
In the midst of all this, a "guess" can be a source of strength in our day-to-day activities.
In the sense of escaping from reality, it may be in a bad way. But surely in a good way, too.
Could it be idolatry? Let's do that. Yes, it is. But...Because we don't know what they are, our brains idealize them to a large extent. That's right.
The person you think you are may not really be the person you think you are. I suppose that's true.
But what is a lie? What is the truth? I also wonder.
Because "I" am here because you are here, and because everyone is here.
Someone's life is connected to someone else's days.
It must be a two-way street.
Even if we never see each other or get close to each other.
Even if you haven't seen each other for a while or maybe never will.
Even if they don't have any special talent.
Even if they are not doing something amazing.
It doesn't matter if they are working extremely hard or are amazing. Even if he/she is a human being. Even if you are a human being.
Someone, no, that person exists because of you, and you exist because of that person.
No, absolutely. No, absolutely.
They're there, they're just there, they're there. Doing the day-to-day.
It may be an exaggeration to say that this thing itself leads to someone's daily feelings like "I hate it," or "I wonder what's wrong with me," or "Well, let's try to do something about it," or even, "Well, let's try to do something about it. I'm sure it will happen. Maybe. Definitely.
Lies and truth. A true lie. There is a body and there are feelings.
A lie is also true. True and false may be mixed together.
There is a layer of paper or skin, and something leaks out of the paper or skin.
The ooze, the leak, the smell, the blood, and the feeling,
These things beyond good and bad may be the "true" truth.
This is my way of looking at things and my way of thinking,
It is sometimes a mirror, sometimes a kaleidoscope. My life, my guess is me.
But in the midst of a world and human beings that are not pretty at all, we must believe in each other and in all of us, in order to move forward.
My current guess is a stage person dancing in the air.
As I have said several times in this column,
In this difficult world and times, the theater reminds us of the human heart and life through the stage.
My eternal favorite (inducted into the Hall of Fame) is a former stage performer who is now a truck driver.
He was like a sword without blade in his younger days, but now he is just an ordinary man,
Eternal superstar and the love of my heart...that's a bit much.
If you don't mind, I'd like to hear your story too.
I really like to hear about someone's "favorite things".
It's who they are, it's their days, it's the very thing that makes them alive.
They are always so annoying and sparkling.
And you, who tell me various stories every time I see you,
I always receive strength from you. Your heat, your feelings, your words, and your sparkle.
So let's meet again. Even you, whom I have not met, whom I have not met.
Because "trust the glass turtle inside you" and "all roads lead to the stage.
4.15.2024
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Egg and Rube Goldberg machine
In early spring, February and March, I felt like I was drunk all the time.
I took the last train in the opposite direction,
I talked a lot with street musicians,
I walked two kilometers along an unknown road to see flowers.
I laughed at my theater friends, saying "Sho (laugh)" and "Gross (laugh)" a lot,
I also drank highballs instead of coffee at a café that I use as a hideout.
To tell someone how you feel,
I began to think about words and how to use them more than ever before.
For example, I use the word "beautiful" with much consideration. I mean it.
When I say it, I use it as a compliment more than anything else. That's my intention.
But what does beautiful mean? What does beautiful mean?
Not just beautiful. It can also mean "kind," "strong," "unwavering," "good-looking," and so on.
Oh no, if I start thinking like this, it becomes too difficult to open my mouth.
How difficult it is to communicate our feelings to others.
We usually use words without thinking.
It's too amazing. It's natural, but it's not.
I often find myself at a loss for words when it is important or when I am happy.
No, I do. I talk a lot of nonsense.
But the more I put it into words, the more I can't help but feel like it's a lie.
I can't stop reflecting on my own regrets and self-loathing.
Recently, I've become a "thank goodness bot" & "thank you bot" more and more at important times.
If you are a bot, you should be quiet as a bot.
However, I'm still a bot, but I'm still a bot,
I can't put it into words, so my hands and body move forward, and I can't fix my suspicious behavior.
I am frustrated and itchy, so I become blunt, dressed up, and mute.
However, I also realized that "words are not the only way to communicate.
Words are not necessarily important because they are words.
Being overly concerned with words is not necessarily the right thing to do.
Silence is sometimes better than a hundred words,
There are so many things that can be conveyed not by words, but by actions, attitude, face, back, and way of life.
This is something that is too obvious. I was also shown it.
I used to drink a lot.
When I had a bad time, when I had a hard time?
Not at such times. When I was happy, when I was happy.
Drinking makes me think clearly.
What was he writing that was not healthy or humane?
It was my favorite journalist and essayist.
When I drink, or even if I don't drink, I also become clear-headed. I feel like it.
I find myself saying the words I am accustomed to saying in front of people while laughing.
I say things like, "That's shitty (laugh)," "Gross (laugh)," "You're trash (laugh)," and "You're trash (laugh)."
What a mouthful. But these are not necessarily (only) bad words or slurs.
Sometimes they may be mirrors. They may be things that we should face but are running away from, or things that we think we are different from,
or that we try to avoid or exclude them because we think they are "different from us".
It may be directly related to what we should face but are running away from. Good or bad, it is about the human being, the person, and himself/herself,
In other words, it is about human beings themselves.
It is a "shitty" or "trashy" thing to do, but it is also a "thing to try to understand each other even though we can't understand each other".
I think of the tremendous difficulty, but also of the importance and love.
Everyone has to live in the present. Everyone is living in the present.
The life of a flower is not only short, it is no future. Now is now, but it is only now.
Now and reality, although there are pleasant things in this world,
but it is also full of unreasonable things, hardships, and anger.
More often than not, there is no such thing as a peaceful and lovely story.
We all live with suffering and loneliness, even though we laugh.
We accumulate our days, and the accumulation of our days can change us.
Because we are people, our minds and bodies change and are changed by our surroundings and by ourselves.
There are many things that must change, and many things that change naturally.
Among them, there are things and places that "change but do not change," not because they are good or bad, but because they may be the very "you (the person) yourself.
I sometimes smile slightly.
Don't get drunk on memories.
No, it's okay to be drunk. But it's probably not worth it to stay there forever.
It's pretty gross to connect the dots, make up a nice story that suits you, and stay intoxicated. Sometimes it is necessary. It can support your feelings to move on. It feels good.
But a hangover is gross and dirty. It's not pretty at all.
Rube Goldberg machine bumps, rolls, interacts, and flows onward "just like that.
Balls collide, threads tangle but are untangled,
People meet, part, come back, but are still connected,
Everyone goes through those days and those times, and so the days continue onward.
What lies ahead may be old age and death, both for oneself and others.
But death is actually right in front of us now, and it is not necessarily far away. So, but it is now.
To be beautiful, to live, to stay beautiful, to continue living. What is beautiful?
The older I get, the more difficult it becomes, to the point where it is nearly impossible to achieve both.
But I think everyone is beautiful. Including the not-so-beautiful ones.
For some reason, it also reminded me of the "wall and egg" analogy.
If there is a big, hard wall here, and an egg that breaks when it hits it, I will always stand on the side of the egg,
If there is a big hard wall here and an egg that breaks when it hits it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.
This was the commemorative speech given by Haruki Murakami when he received the Jerusalem Prize 15 years ago.
No matter how right the wall is and how wrong the egg is, I will still stand by the egg.
It was a moving speech. But I also think it's a bit "unbecoming.
I mean, to be frank, I don't understand it.
Walls, walls, with their hardness, may be hurting someone's body and soul.
There may be a wall pretending to be an egg, or an egg pretending to be a wall.
I say this after saying it a lot. I want to be "that kind of person," too.
However, I want to be "that kind of person," but I want to do so while repeating "Everyday Always," asking myself questions, feeling nauseous, and saying, "Wow!
While vomiting, while drinking, while talking badly.
I may be wrong, or I may be wrong, but I want to think about it.
For example, I want to deny assumptions and impositions, and I want to deny the denial of the denial.
I want to affirm the egg, the ball, the string, the thing that breaks, rolls, or gets tangled, and the person in front of me.
I want to communicate or not communicate in that way. Not just for myself.
I want to say, "That's shitty. It's gross. But let's do it together. I'll think of a way to do it, though it may be impossible.
During this period of time, which felt like I was drunk all the time, I had the opportunity to meet people I haven't seen in a long time.
Since I met him about 20 years ago, I've had the opportunity to meet him as a writer, or rather, as a person,
I think it's an exaggeration to say that ...... has influenced my values in life.
I have been a writer since the very beginning.
They still laugh at me when I write and live.
He was as clumsy and dexterous as ever as he grew older. I thought it was cool.
In the past and in the present, all I have ever said to him is "I love you" and "I love you," but I still couldn't find the words.
But I still couldn't find the words and could only say, "I love you (laughs). Gross.
So I bought a new T-shirt of my favorite pro wrestler.
It is a different version of the T-shirt that he wears as the icon of this column.
I want to show everyone the logo printed on the back.
STAY ALIVE TODAY!
2.10.2024
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
I'm home, Welcome home, Have a nice trip.
What is a trip? I think, "What is a trip?
It is "to be away from one's place of residence, to be in residence or on the move".
If you assume that, it is difficult to continue traveling.
Any place, even if it is a cramped seat on an airplane,
If you spend a lot of time there, it will eventually become your place.
I don't think it takes much willpower to keep stubbornly saying, "This is not where I belong," to the environment that surrounds you.
So, more often than not, the journey ends somewhere along the way."
The Unwanted Macbeth, by Koh Hayase (Hayakawa Bunko, 2017).
I'm always looking at reality, so let me dream (laughs)."
At a theater in a hot spring resort I visited at the beginning of last December,
One of the audience members, who seemed to be having a great time at the theater in the hot spring resort I visited at the beginning of December last year, said to his companion, "It's been more than 10 years since I've seen you.
I was told by a fellow dancer that he was going to see his favorite dancer, who was going to perform for the first time in 10 years. He was at a theater in a hot spring resort where he had gone to see his favorite dancer who was going to perform for the first time in more than 10 years.
For some reason, the words of the unknown visitor, whom I may never see in my life, left a deep impression on me.
Who would have thought that a month later, on the first day of the new year, the whole area, including the area where this theater is located, would be in such a state?
Many things happened at the beginning of the year, on New Year's Day, and many things came to light after the new year.
Many things continued to happen even after the new year, and new facts emerged one after another.
I want to cover my eyes, but I can no longer meditate or pretend to meditate.
Natural disasters and man-made disasters.
They have been right in front of us, but we may have overlooked them or pretended not to see them,
The beginning of 2024 is before us, and many things that we may have overlooked or pretended not to see are now before us.
I am more at a loss for words than ever before.
I am sure there are many people, including myself, who are saying, "What can we do?
What can we do? There are probably many people who are frustrated by their lack of power and inadequacy. There are too many frustrating and frustrating things.
Even this feeling may be arrogant.
But in order to think more, to move more, and to do so, we must first know more.
First of all, we must know more and try to know more.
Every time I remember that night at the spa resort, I feel a sense of wonder.
This is not the first time I have been there. People took me there many years ago,
I am familiar with the hot springs and their centers as venues for travel plays and popular theater performances.
Many of them have already closed, but I have been to many of them.
There were many things that made me laugh, and many things that I had to laugh at.
But, what the heck, I wonder.I went to a theater in a local hot spring resort, chasing after people who I thought "really liked" the play.
Even if I went, saw the show, and left in a blur, it would be an overnight trip.
An unfamiliar place. A local railroad. A town of hot spring baths.
Footbaths. A food stall village (though I couldn't go in alone). A big, old, lonely ryokan.
Feeling nervous, fidgety, tense, and excited is surely the best part of traveling, no matter how many times or where you go.
Heat and drunkenness, with or without alcohol, fluff and fluff.
Wai-wai, gai-wai, shin .......
The crowd is made up of a variety of people, including chasers, first-time visitors, and locals,
It was a mysterious night, with a different atmosphere from that of the city (which is a strange way of putting it), where people from all walks of life gathered together.
There was a warmth and a strange sense of nostalgia, and I really felt like I was in a dream.
It wasn't a dream.It was a dream, but it wasn't a dream.
A famous line from "My Neighbor Totoro" directed by Hayao Miyazaki."A dream in the night is a true thing."This phrase is said to have been written by Edogawa Rampo on a piece of colored paper.The exact phrase is "Utsushisei wa yume, yoru no yume koto wa makoto. The original is "A Dream Within A Dream" by Poe.What you wish was a dream is not a dream. What seems like a dream is also reality.I wonder if it is traveling that blurs the line between the two.
What is a journey?
A journey is a trip, but it may also be the very thing that we live day by day.It may be life.
What is that?
At the beginning of the year, my relatives passed away one after another.Both of them were elderly people whose names were unknown to me and of whom I had no recollections,One of them had to go to a distant island to say goodbye, and the other was in Osaka, his hometown.When things like this happen, I can't help but think about days and life.Every day is a journey. It's like a journey, isn't it?Maybe I am sentimental because it is winter, when I am flying low day by day.
And so, the quote at the beginning of this article jumped out at me.
At the end of last year, I stopped by a bookstore in Shin-Osaka Station before boarding the Shinkansen bullet train, and my eyes were glued to a POP sign.
≪Please read at least the first page of the book.
You said that, right? Didn't I say that much? I decided to read the book, accepting anyone's challenge at any time.
I read one page and bought it.
It was like a big comic book.
Hard-boiled, economics, love (first love and whatnot), crime, action, travel.
The main character and the people around him were all kind of pretentious, or at least aesthetically pleasing,
What is this, a stylish Kosaku Shima? The style of writing is more like Haruki's or Chandler's?
In other words, it's kind of tacky.
But, for some reason, I couldn't get this phrase out of my head. As expected of POP. The beginning of the book.
What is a trip?
I'm home, Welcome home, Have a nice trip.
Many of you may know that the chime of the Tokaido Shinkansen has been changed since July 21 last year.For some reason, it became UA's song from "AMBITIOUS JAPAN!The first time I heard it was on my way to the theater last year, and I was like, "Wow," but I'm used to it now.But there is one more "wow" when I go on a trip.Is this a replacement for the in-train vending service that ended on October 31?
I noticed this at the beginning of the year. I noticed this at the beginning of the year.
The name "SHINKANSEN COFFEE" is exactly the same as the name of the machine. What's more, this guy is a peculiar thing.It takes a minute and a half from the time you press the purchase button to the time the beans are ground, brewed, and you get your cup.I have seen several people come up to the platform just before the departure time and press the purchase button, but leave the machine without it.I have also seen a sign posted on the platform saying, "Please be careful, it will take one and a half minutes.Moreover, during the one and a half minutes, a new chime song is played at a booming volume."I'm coming to see you!"What kind of a punishment game is this?It was not uncommon for me to see the first time customers with awkward or serious faces at the vending machine next to me.The taste served after all that process is neither good nor bad.In my foggy head, bitterness and deliciousness, dreams and reality, with explosions.Laughing with strangers.
Where are you going? Spring is just around the corner. Have a nice trip.
12.10.2023
DAYS / Momoko Nakamura Column
Fly Me to the Moon
Moon and Socks
It was the day after the full moon.
November is an important month for me.
There is an important performance at my favorite theater.
It is the eighth year that a dancer whom I love and respect very much has performed there.
This performance, called "Gold, Silver, and Bronze Cups," is a commemorative show for the opening of the theater in Kyoto,
It is said to have been going on since the 1960s.
The dancers are both talented and popular,
Fans from all over the country come to enjoy the performance.
I began following the dancer after seeing her at this performance.
I began to think more about the stage, the theater, human beings and their dignity, and human life,
human beings, I began to dislike them more, but I began to like and love them more.
I was able to talk about this in the previous issue of PEOPLE, vol. 33.
There are many things that happen while having a good day or week.
Work and personal matters are a daily grind. You can't push if you don't work.
There are also a lot of things to do with parents and whatnot. It is a common occurrence for those who are no longer young.
No one can escape from all the things of the world.
My mind is always occupied with the plays I have seen or will see. But I also have a lot of things to do every day.
On the last day of the performance, when the favorite dancers and co-starring dancers finished their performances, everyone applauded, cheered, and said, "Good job! "Good job!
I was relieved to see their smiling faces as they left for their respective theaters or returned home.
I also take care of the work that has piled up and personal matters that have become a bit of a distraction,
But then, I had to go to the theater where my favorite actress was going to perform the next week, and I had to think about what to do next.
I spent my days like that, and also went to the East for business and other business matters.
On the last day of the exhibition, I rushed to see a painting I had wanted to see.
I also handed over a set of five commemorative papers commemorating the Hanshin Tigers' victory, which was requested by an acquaintance in Higashi.
While handing it over, I also had a drink with him.
On the way home, I looked up with a tipsy head and saw a large moon rising round and round.
Beaver Moon.
Over the past few years, I have begun to see the moon.
I received this information from a chic who loves jazz and haiku.
I learned that each full moon has a name, and it became interesting.
There are many theories about November's "beaver," including that it is the month of hunting,
I couldn't help but laugh as I pictured their fierce, yet smiling faces, as rodents.
I don't like it because it's not spiritual or religious.
But looking up at the moon with a slightly drunken mind, it was strangely large,
I felt a sense of awesomeness, and I was moved to tears even as I laughed.
It was the next day that I received an invitation to participate in "DAYS.
I contributed to the previous issue of "PEOPLE," which I mentioned earlier, through a strange and happy connection.
I wrote a piece about one of my favorite pictures, the stage and theater, and people and people, in other words, a self-introductory sentence,
I was very happy to see the picture, the atmosphere and the lingering design that reminded me of the theater, and I thought about how interesting, irreplaceable, and gratifying fate and human beings are.
The irregular column "DAYS" in this web magazine is a record of the thoughts and feelings of wonderful people living in various countries and regions. What's wrong with that? An anarchic writer from Osaka is participating in this column?
I'm happy though. I'm so, so happy.
It was just two days after I saw the picture.
The painting was much smaller than I had imagined.
On the last day of the exhibition, the museum was swarming with people, and I couldn't wait to peek at it from behind their heads.
Because it was so tiny, I was horrified. The shadows. It's like a cartoon." A compliment.
I thought about it on the way home. "I wonder what she was thinking when she drew this picture."
Maybe she wasn't thinking, "I'm going to draw a great picture.
For her, light and shadow were something she saw naturally, and she asked, "What? Why don't people paint? Maybe it was "Why doesn't everyone paint?
I thought about the people who gathered to see her painting, the strange, mundane, too-human scene that synchronized with the scene in the painting, and the laughter and criticism of myself for being there.
There is no time machine. I would never see her.
Even if I could meet her, I would not know what was in her heart. But then I thought.
It's like when you look at the moon.
Everyone sees it. It is there when you look up.
It can be seen and hidden, but it is always there naturally,
It changes its shape from day to day.
It is not always bright and cheerful like the sun.
It can be vague or assertive, hidden by clouds or appearing again.
It can be round or diminishing. It can be bright or dark. It can be mysterious or gentle.
That is why it has captured the imagination of people since ancient times.
Everyone has seen it with their days and thoughts on it.
It is natural, but mysterious, and strange, but natural, "what is there.
Light and shade are two sides of the same coin, both are the same, both are the same.
In this way, a day begins, ends, and continues.
I like beautiful things.
I admire and am attracted to the "ultimate," the "perfect," and things that are (or seem to be) close to it.
However, I am equally attracted to things that are "irrepressible" and "mundane.
I am attracted to things that are "tricky," "stupid," "what the hell," and "oh, my God, what is it?
It is a thing or a figure that is imperfect but tries to be perfect, that tries to do something even if it is impossible to understand each other, even if it is impossible to do it.
It is not perfect, but because it is not perfect, it is also a thing of beauty to try to achieve perfection.
For example, the struggling, the struggling, the worries, the suffering, the roundness, the lack, the shadow, and the foolishness, I am sure that they are also beauty and human beings.
Last time it was "flower" and this time it is "moon". In Osaka dialect, it's "ikki-teki"!
But when I thought about what to write about, this is what came to mind,
It was just, beautiful, the moon.
Do you know the word "kagetsu"?
It is also used in the name of Namba Grand Kagetsu, a theater of Yoshimoto Kogyo in Osaka.
An old writer and founder of Yoshimoto Shinki Gekijo, who studied under him as a young man, told me the origin of the word.
Life is a game of flowers and blooms or moon and shadows, a game of one or the other.
I, who have a lot of blood in my veins, still think of this from time to time. But I also want to rearrange it a little.
"Shall I bloom with the flowers or see the moon together?
It's not an arrangement. It's not stylish. But I feel like "Let's".
In various places, in each of the places where we are now. We feel the same, we feel different.
Isn't such a loosely connected "Let's" kind of nice?
The last full moon of the year in December is the "cold moon" on the 27th.
Please warm up and "Let's"!
Don't let your body get cold. Socks are important. Wear warm socks, or double socks.
This is also beauty. It's not beauty, but it is beauty.
