[Takashi Yanase Exhibition] Learning from a 94-year life: "Why was I born? What should I do while I live?"

Takashi Yanase.
He is the creator of Anpanman,
a character who continues to captivate children in Japan.
The Anpanman March is a national song that I have loved
since I was a child and still love today.

I am sure many people like me have recalled this verse at various points in their lives,
"Why was I born?
What should I do while I live?"
and pondered these questions.

I went to the "Takashi Yanase Exhibition: Life is a Game of Making Others Happy"
currently being held at the Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art.

It was an exhibition aimed at adults.
I am sure it resonated with those who watched the morning drama "Anpan."
It is an exhibition that looks back on his life, featuring not only original drawings of the beloved Anpanman
and his friends, but also numerous projects, works, and original sketches that Yanase-san was involved in.

Yanase-san is strongly associated with Anpanman,
but he was actually 54 years old when he created Anpanman.
When the hit anime series started,
he was 69 years old.

Until then, he experienced the loss of his parents at a young age,
starvation during the war, and the death of his younger brother, among other hardships,
enduring suffering beyond the imagination of those of us living today,
and yet, while carrying that sadness and pain,
he spent his days working desperately for the sake of others.

His post-war work began with newspapers, internal newsletters for Mitsukoshi, and wrapping paper (logos),
and extended far beyond illustrations to include radio, stage design,
copywriting, songwriting, and more...
He was an incredibly versatile creator who did everything he was asked to do.
If you just lump him together as a "creator",
some might think that is just how it is,
but as someone who does similar work, even in the modern day,
the sheer volume and range of his work is unbelievable...
However, Yanase-san did not think of that situation as
"painful or difficult."
As long as he was needed,
he would respond earnestly and directly.
I believe he was that kind of person.

And the people he met and the work he did during that straightforward life
led to numerous masterpieces loved by people of all ages across generations,
such as the lyrics for "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni" (Put Your Hands to the Sun) and characters like Anpanman.
I have been feeling distressed by the eyes and words of others, and my own assumptions,

thinking things like "I'm this old and I still can't do this..."
or "I was supposed to be here by this age..."
but I was encouraged by the thought that, like Takashi Yanase,
[living in the present straightforwardly and devotedly]
might be the path that leads to the answer to the question
"Why was I born? What should I do while I live?"