You don't have to keep being who you are now—A story about the "flower of the moment" for my daughter at the end of summer vacation
Summer vacation is slowly coming to an end.
The summer vacation that felt so long before it started suddenly feels short once you reach the second half.
When you think about it, you only get one summer vacation at your current grade and age.
By next summer, the things you like, your relationships with friends, and what you think about might have changed a little.
At the end of such a summer vacation, there is something I want to leave for you.
The inspiration for this was an anime.
"World is Dancing," which depicts the young days of Zeami
This season, an anime called "World is Dancing" is being broadcast.
The protagonist is Oniyasha, a boy who lived over 600 years ago.
He is the person who would later be called "Zeami" and would go on to perfect Noh theater alongside his father, Kan'ami.
However, this work is not a biography that reproduces Zeami's life exactly as it happened in history. Officially, it is depicted as a story that "might have happened" when Zeami was still called Oniyasha.
And Zeami's father is Kan'ami.
Actually, this Kan'ami is a historical figure who is somewhat familiar to me as your father.
This is because he is a figure with deep ties to my hometown, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture.
According to Nabari City, it is said that Kan'ami built his first Sarugaku troupe in what is now Kobata, Nabari City. That is why, for me, Kan'ami is not just a distant historical figure, but also one of the "famous people from my hometown."
His son, Zeami, who inherited the art and teachings from Kan'ami, further built upon them with his own experiences and reflections.
One of the treatises on Noh that he wrote as a result is "Fushikaden."
I previously covered "Fushikaden" on Stand.fm as well. At that time, I talked about the famous concept of "shoshin" (beginner's mind) for people starting a new life.
This time, inspired by the anime featuring the young Zeami as the protagonist, I wanted to think about this book once more.
Even though it is a treatise on performing arts written over 600 years ago, it contains many ideas that still resonate with us living today.
One of them is the "flower".
The "flower of the moment" that only blooms now
Zeami often used the word "flower" to describe the charm of performance.
He believed that young actors possess a charm that attracts people through the appearance, voice, and freshness unique to that age.
This is what is known as the "flower of the moment."
However, it is not the same as the "true flower," which is the genuine skill acquired through training.
You must not mistake the charm that appears naturally due to youth for your own true ability.
Zeami warns against this.
Reading this, I suddenly thought about your summer vacation.
The things you were absorbed in this summer.
The silly things you laughed at.
The times you got angry because things didn't go your way.
The times you played with your friends.
The times you laughed endlessly at things that I, your father, couldn't understand why were so funny.
Perhaps all of those things are also the "flower of the moment" that only you have right now.
When we become adults, we tend to look at a child's "future."
Will this be useful in the future?
What did you learn from this experience?
Wouldn't it be better to do it this way?
But there is no need to turn everything into preparation for the future.
Things that only exist now have value in the present moment itself.
I will never be able to meet the version of you that exists this summer again once next year arrives.
When I think about that, it makes me feel a little lonely.
But that flower is not meant to bloom forever.
This is where Zeami's ideas become interesting to me as a father.
"When you are young, there is a flower that only exists in your youth. So, cherish it."
It doesn't end there.
The flower of the moment is, after all, a flower for "that time."
It will eventually change.
That is precisely why you must not think of it as your final form.
As a father, I interpret this concept of the "flower of the moment" in a way that applies to our modern lives, reading it like this:
Cherish who you are right now.
But do not cling to who you are right now.
These are not the exact words Zeami wrote.
They are what I took away from reading "Fushikaden" in my own way.
You, too, will continue to change as you grow.
You might stop liking the things you love now someday.
You might walk a different path from the friends you are close to now someday.
There may be times when what you were good at no longer works, or things you cannot do at all right now might become your strengths in a few years.
At that time,
I think you don't have to be bound by your past self, thinking, "I used to be like this."
It's not that you've lost something, but rather that you can think of it as your "moment" having changed.
It's not that you've lost something, but rather that you can think of it as your "moment" having changed as well.
You don't have to be bound by "being yourself"
Adults often tell children, "I want you to live as yourself."
I, your father, think so too.
But recently, I've come to think that we need to be a little careful with these words.
If "being yourself" turns into...
"You must keep being who you are right now"
...then that's a little different.
It's okay for people to change.
It's okay for your interests to change.
It's okay for your way of thinking to change.
It's even okay for your dreams to change.
It's okay to become someone different from who you were yesterday.
Meeting various people and experiencing different things, and changing yourself as a result—
I believe that is also a part of living.
That is why I want you to...
cherish who you are right now.
But you don't have to keep being who you are right now.
That is what I want to tell you.
And one more thing.
There may come a time when you feel like you have no flowers of your own.
Even then, you don't have to be in such a hurry to decide your own worth.
Just because you can't see a flower doesn't mean nothing is changing.
You might just be in the middle of something moving toward the next version of yourself.
Your dad is still in the middle of it, too.
Even your dad, who is writing this, is not a finished human being.
There are things I could do in the past that I can no longer do now.
Conversely, there are things I only understood for the first time after becoming an adult.
I don't even know what kind of flowers will bloom for me from here on out.
So this is not a letter saying, 'You should become this kind of person.'
More than 600 years ago, art and teachings were passed down from a father named Kan'ami to his son, Zeami.
Zeami did not just receive them as they were; he thought for himself and left them to future generations as his own words.
That Kan'ami happened to leave his footprints in my hometown as well.
And now, more than 600 years later, I am rereading the words of his son, Zeami, thinking about them in my own way, and passing them on to my daughter, just a little bit.
When I think about it that way, it feels somewhat mysterious.
Summer vacation this year will be over soon.
I will never be able to meet the 'you' of this summer again next year.
That makes me a little sad.
But Dad is also looking forward a little to seeing what kind of person you will be next summer, what you will like, what you will laugh about, and what you will be worrying about.
Cherish this year's flower.
But also look forward to the next flower that will bloom.
At the end of summer vacation, from Dad.
References and Sources
In writing this article, I referred to the following websites, videos, and past broadcasts.
TV Anime 'World is Dancing' Official Website
This tells the story of Zeami (Oniyasha) in his youth, revolving around Kan'ami and the Kanze-za troupe.
'Discussing this season's recommended anime, including "The Shadow of the Shogun" and "World is Dancing"'
Kenji Tsukagoshi's Just a Little Talk, Episode 53
A video introducing and analyzing this season's anime, including 'World is Dancing'.
Past Stand.fm broadcast
'To You Who Will Make Flowers Bloom: Fushikaden for a New Life,' Episode 1
Broadcast in April 2025, themed around the 'beginner's mind' of 'Fushikaden' for those starting a new life. This article reconsiders the philosophy of Zeami discussed at that time, specifically from the perspectives of 'the flower of the moment' and 'changing'.
Zeami, 'Fushikaden,' Iwanami Bunko (Iwanami Shoten)
The fundamental text for considering Zeami's theories on art, 'flowers,' and the nature of performance according to age, as discussed in this article.
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