Daily Reading 01 | On a Story in Progress, Not 'History'
For one year starting last February, when I was in my hometown, during the late hours of the night,
I never once went out alone for my own enjoyment.
In my daily life living with my one-year-old son, 6:00 PM is right in the middle of a non-stop routine.
Dinner preparation, bath time. After the bath, it's moisturizing and getting dressed.
The earliest we start eating, with the child's dinner and the adults' dinner laid out on the table, is 7:00 PM.
At the latest, the bedtime routine starts between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
With my child finally asleep, I spend my nights in the bedroom watching movies on my smartphone.
February 9, 2025, 6:00 PM. Stepping away from my routine, I was in the city of Ueda all by myself.
Even though I was in my hometown, the stage of my daily life, the unfamiliar scenery felt unsettling, as if I had wandered into a world of fiction.
My destination was the 'Ueda Eigeki,' a mini-theater founded in 1917.
I had come for a concert by the artist Saho Terao.
It was a collaborative live performance with Ohzora Kimijima.
I have played and listened to Saho Terao's songs while driving, during my pregnancy, the day after I gave birth, and even while putting my child to sleep.
'Kaze wa Byu-Byu' (The Wind is Howling)
'Kumo wa Natsu' (Clouds are Summer)
'Yama no You na' (Like a Mountain)
'Glory Hallelujah-Cover'
'Kanna'
They are, of course, perfect for the magnificent scenery of Nagano that spreads out before me while driving.
Terao's high-pitched voice allows the excitement I feel for the small miracles in everyday life to linger on and on.
She is one of my favorite artists, but I hadn't heard the album featured in this concert yet, so hearing it at the concert was a completely new experience.
I was captivated by the prayers and wishes she poured into the songs she spoke about.
'Shoe Shine'
Along with the album's title track, which features a war orphan who survived by shining shoes as the protagonist,
she also sang a song that kamikaze pilots sang before taking off.
She said she hadn't consciously sung 'Konbanwa Otsuki-san (Good Evening, Moon) - Cover' as a song about war, but someone who heard the lyrics told her that it brought back the thoughts of Japanese soldiers.
'Good evening, moon. That wasn't what I intended.'
'Good evening, moon. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.'
I feel that the stories of those involved still exist in the present tense, and even if they have passed away, they continue to influence us who are living in the modern day.
The documentary film that depicts Palestinian and Israeli children interacting,
'Promises'
'Why doesn't war disappear?'
When I first saw the film, I had a pure question as a middle school student.
Now, at 37, I have ended up witnessing even more tragedy in both countries. It is not just a story continuing from the past; the story continues to be born even now.
Seeing Saho Terao face and express war and peace,
it was a night that reminded me that there is no need for 'living' to be pushed aside by 'daily life'.
Saho Terao Official Website