🍷 [Manga Sommelier Hitsujigaoka] "What Did You Eat Yesterday?", "The Chronicles of the Clueless Age", "Dr. Kumahige". An appraisal for An-sama, who is re-editing her life at the age of nearly 60 in a 'place' called note.

As the curtain of night falls, everyone is looking for a story to read next in their heart.

Tonight, the person knocking on the door of this appraisal room is An-sama, who has spent many years as a professional in customer service and is now writing the second chapter of her life in a new 'playground' called note,An-sama herself.

Sushi restaurant, inn, beauty industry, tour conductor.
A long career of facing people's hearts, staying close to their time, and accepting their joys and fatigue.

At the end of those days, what An-sama has found now is
'reading'
'writing'
and the joy of quietly watching the lives beyond someone's words from a little distance.

You don't have to force yourself to be useful.
You don't have to be a distinguished creator.
Just by reading, a place for you is born there.

From the three titles chosen by An-sama, Hitsujigaoka will appraise the next story that will gently snuggle up to your heart right now.

*This article contains Amazon Associate links.

🍷 Tonight's customer's 'preferences'

Hitsujigaoka:
Good evening, An-sama.

After days spent seeing off family and dedicating yourself to work, you are now gradually reclaiming 'reading', 'writing', and 'playing' in a place called note.
From your demeanor, I feel a beauty that does not rush, does not compete, but quietly tries to move forward.

Today, could you tell me about the three books that have kept your heart warm for a long time?

An-sama:
Thank you.
I don't have much consistency, but these are still precious works that I have kept at hand.

The first one is 'What Did You Eat Yesterday?', which depicts the preciousness of food and daily life.
I feel like Shiro-san and Kenji are like relatives.

The second one is 'The Chronicles of the Clueless Age', where I feel the connection and warmth with my ancestors.
I love the protagonist, Ichiro.

The third one is 'Dr. Kumahige'.
He is a bit of a peculiar type, but I am drawn to people who have this kind of strength.

All of them are works that teach me the 'warm things' and 'ideal strength' in my heart.

Hitsujigaoka:
...What a profound selection.

What these three books have in common is not a flashy success story.
What is there is the daily dining table, the distance between people, invisible bonds, and the warmth of an adult who does not abandon someone who is hurt.

'What Did You Eat Yesterday?' has the love that protects daily life.
'The Chronicles of the Clueless Age' has the peace of mind of being protected by things that cannot be seen.
'Dr. Kumahige' has the strength of a human being who, while rough and clumsy, never runs away when it counts.

What An-sama is drawn to is not just 'heartwarming', but the warmth that remains after knowing the bitterness of life.

So, for this evening, I present three books that will gently accompany you through the time ahead, An-sama.

🍷 First Glass: "Kashimashi Meshi"

Author: Mari Okazaki

Tagline:
A steaming dining table that unravels the hearts of lost adults.

Hitsujigaoka's Perspective

"Kashimashi Meshi" is a story about three former classmates who gather around a single dining table while carrying their own respective wounds and setbacks.

They are not lovers.
They are not family.
Yet, on nights that feel a little too heavy to bear alone, they have a relationship where they can ask each other, 'Shall we eat?'
That sense of distance is truly wonderful.

If "What Did You Eat Yesterday?" is a work that depicts the 'preciousness of continuing to live' through the daily dining table of Shiro-san and Kenji, then "Kashimashi Meshi" is a dining table for adults who are a little more wounded.

Life does not always go as planned.
Work, love, family, and even one's own heart cannot be tidied up neatly.
Even so, by sitting at the same table as someone else and eating something warm, people can catch their breath once again.

An-sama, you mentioned that you have 'lived looking only forward' until now.
But now, you have encountered 'reading' on note, paused at someone else's writing, and are beginning to put your own past into words little by little.

For you, An-sama, as you are now, the dining table in this work will surely become a place that makes you feel that 'it is okay to stop and pause,' rather than just being a source of comfort.

There are no grand promises.
But there is a warmth you can always return to.
"Kashimashi Meshi" might become a book that serves as a 'reading dining table' for you, An-sama.

🍷 Second Glass: "Mikazuki to Neko"

Author: Ami Uozumi

Tagline:
Cats and moonlight gently connect adults who are lost souls.

Hitsujigaoka's Perspective

"Mikazuki to Neko" is a story about adults of different ages and professions who begin living in the same house, sparked by a cat.

They are not blood relatives.
It is not just a romance.
Yet, there is a light in the same room, there is a cat, and there is the presence of someone else.
It makes one feel how much a person can be saved by just that.

What struck me in your profile, An-sama, was the statement that your 'daily life involves almost no interaction with anyone other than family.'
But at the same time, you also mentioned that you enjoy watching from a distance as others interact on note.

You don't have to be in the center of the circle to feel the warmth.
Just watching others interact and thinking, 'That's nice,' can soften your heart a little.
The atmosphere flowing through 'Mikazuki to Neko' (Crescent Moon and Cats) is exactly that temperature.

If you, An-sama, like the 'sense of security of being protected by something invisible' found in 'Hanada Shonen-shi', you will surely feel the same kind of gentleness in the presence of the cats, the footsteps of housemates, and the lights in the room at night in this work.

What is needed in the second half of life is not just big dreams or new titles.
It is having a place to return to today.
It is having the presence of someone else.
It is being able to think that you don't have to blame yourself for your loneliness.

'Mikazuki to Neko' is a book where you can experience in manga form the 'gentle place to belong' that you, An-sama, are cultivating on note.

*Available to read for free until 7/10

🍷 Third Cup: 'Dr. Coto's Clinic'

Author: Takatoshi Yamada

Catchphrase:
The kindness of an adult who doesn't run away, shining in a clinic by the sea breeze.

Hitsujigaoka's Perspective

'Dr. Coto's Clinic' is a human drama about Kensuke Goto, a doctor who comes to a depopulated remote island and gradually builds trust while facing the lives of the islanders.

When I think about the reason why you, An-sama, are drawn to 'Dr. Kumahige', I don't think it's just an interest in medical manga.
What you are drawn to is surely 'an adult who doesn't run away when the time comes'.

Tetsuro Kokubu from 'Dr. Kumahige' is rough, clumsy, and by no means a refined person.
However, when the person in front of him is truly in trouble, he acts beyond profit and loss.
That human strength is his charm.

If Kumahige is a doctor standing in the back alleys of Kabukicho, Dr. Coto is a doctor standing in a clinic on a remote island.
The smell of mud and night changes to the sea breeze and the light of the island.
However, the stance of trying to treat not just the illness, but the person's life as well, is the same.

You, An-sama, have always worked in jobs that involve interacting with people, such as at sushi restaurants, inns, beauty salons, and as a tour conductor.
Reading the anxiety, fatigue, and expectations hidden behind the requests presented on the surface.
Setting the stage and supporting people.
With that field experience, you, An-sama, should be able to deeply empathize with Dr. Coto as he faces the islanders.

Also, for you, An-sama, who has seen family members through to the end, I think the feeling that 'life and living cannot be separated' that flows through this work will reach you with more weight than just a medical drama.

'Dr. Coto's Clinic' is a book for you, An-sama, where you can once again savor the dignity of a job that supports people and the quiet strength of facing life.

🧭 The path to your 'book of destiny'

Hitsujigaoka: Now, An-sama.

Will it be 'Kashimashi Meshi' which heals lost adults?
Will it be 'Mikazuki to Neko' which depicts life with cats healing each other's loneliness?
Or will it be the human drama on a remote island facing life, 'Dr. Coto's Clinic'?

For An-sama, who has run desperately through life until now and has just begun editing the 'magazine: An Gahou' on note, which story is the most fitting for you right now?

An-sama:
All three books are great, I'm having trouble deciding.

I haven't read any of the three, nor have I seen the adaptations.

I can't choose just one, but if I had to choose...
Dr. Coto's Clinicit is.

It said, 'Not just the illness, but the person's life as a whole.'

When I dealt with customers in beauty, I was indeed not just looking at a part, but
comprehensively seeing, listening to, and dealing with the whole person.

I felt like I was remembering that and projecting it onto this.

Hitsujigaoka:
...I am humbled.

I am deeply convinced by the reason An-sama chose 'Dr. Coto's Clinic'.

It wasn't because you were drawn to it as a medical manga.
It wasn't because your heart was moved because it's a story about a remote island.

What An-sama reacted to was the single point of
'seeing the person's life as a whole'.

I feel that the attitude you have cherished throughout your long career in customer service is clearly reflected there.

Beauty work is not just about looking at hair or skin.
What kind of days is the customer in front of you spending?
What are they tired of?
What do they wish for?
And, are they carrying something they cannot put into words?

You have received such things through conversation, facial expressions, and the atmosphere, and have seen, listened to, and dealt with the whole person.
That is surely why Dr. Coto's way of 'not just treating the illness' resonated with your own work memories.

Dr. Goto from 'Dr. Coto's Clinic' is not just an excellent doctor.
He is a person who, while treating the lives of the islanders, also tries to see their lives, families, land, pride, and even their anxieties.is.

That connects to the way An-sama has faced people until now.

At the sushi restaurant, at the inn, in the beauty salon, and as a tour conductor.
I am sure that An-sama has always tried to see not just 'a part of the person', but their entire background.

And now, that gaze has shifted to note.

Reading someone's article.
Touching upon that person's life and thoughts.
Writing about your own past little by little.
Lining up things about travel, family, end-of-life care, and beauty on a single shelf.

I believe that is truly the time you are spending editing your own magazine,
'An Gahou'.

It is okay to lack consistency.
It is okay to take detours.
Travel photos, work memories, daily realizations, and the emotions stirred by reading someone else's article—all of these shape a single pictorial record.

See life as a whole.
See people as a whole.
And,re-examine your own past and present as a whole.

As a book that quietly illuminates that feeling from a clinic on a remote island—
tonight's fateful glass shall be"Dr. Coto's Clinic".

An-sama, thank you very much for this appraisal.

May the time you have spent facing people until now rise up as gentle words within your "An Gahou" from here on out.

🌙 At the end of a quiet night

Well then, I shall bring tonight's appraisal to a close here.

An-sama, thank you for today.

The "Dr. Coto's Clinic" you chose is not just another new book.

What was reflected there was
the gaze of An-sama yourself, who has looked at customers as a whole in the field of beauty.

Looking not just at hair and skin, but at their lives.
Listening not just to words, but to the feelings behind them.
Trying to accept the person in front of you, not just in part, but in their entirety.

That stance flows quietly into your current "An Gahou" as well.

Reading.
Writing.
Traveling.
Remembering.
And, little by little, re-editing your life so far in your own words.

I believe your note is not a completed information magazine, but a pictorial record of a life whose pages are still increasing.

That is precisely why your writing has warmth,
and why it gently lights a lamp in the hearts of those who happen to stop by.

The next person to sit at this counter might be you...

or perhaps someone else who is still in the process of creating their own "pictorial record".

📚 Three books from the customer

*Available to read for free until 7/5

This time's customer

Next time's customer

Thank you for reading until the end.
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