Reminiscing about Zines from Back Then at a Nighttime Cafe Gallery

I met up with two friends I hadn't seen in a while—six years, to be exact.
We met at HAGISO, a renovated old folk house cafe located about halfway between Nippori and Sendagi stations, right after we finished our respective work days.
I had decided to exhibit my own ZINE, "Small Book," at the "Small Voices, Small Books" exhibition being held in the gallery here, and when I thought about who to tell, A-chan and Y, my classmates from art school, came to mind.

A-chan was a high school classmate I got along with very well, and we both loved Cyndi Lauper.
Even when we were all painting the same still life in art class, A-chan's painting was different from everyone else's and was always special.
The texture of the paint—or perhaps the skin of the painting—felt quiet and relaxed, which reminded me of A-chan herself.

I became friends with Y in the design department at university.
Although we didn't spend much time together, whenever we talked about things we wanted to do or places we wanted to go, plans would naturally emerge, and my first trip abroad was a two-person journey to London with Y.
The reason we traveled around the San'in region on a night train was because we connected Izumo Taisha, which Y insisted on visiting, with Hagi and Tsuwano, which I wanted to see.


Among my few friends, I had actually made Zines with these two in the past.
It was so long ago that I didn't even know the term "Zine," but in high school, I made black-and-white photocopied books with A-chan, using a character common to both our names as the title.
I drew the manga, and A-chan drew beautiful pen illustrations that looked like Mucha's.
We stacked the paper and stapled the edges with a large stapler. Not saddle-stitched, but just like school handouts or a literary magazine.
To hide the staples, we put black paper tape on the spine of the book.
I wonder if we only made two copies back then, just for ourselves.
It was so fun and happy; once the cool black book was finished, we would order a cake set at a coffee shop on the way home from school and toast to it.

Y seemed to be a regular at Comiket and made booklets, but the one we ended up making together was, once again, a black-and-white photocopied magazine.
We asked several people in the same design department for manuscripts, edited what we collected, photocopied it, and stapled it together as well.
I can only remember the summer issue, "Hangesho," but we definitely published four quarterly issues, using seasonal names as titles.
The body text was photocopied, but we designed the covers and handmade each one by cutting and pasting colored construction paper.
I think three or four of us would gather in Y's room, spread paper out on the low table, and enjoy the play of bookmaking and binding as if we were devouring it.

No matter how long it has been since we last met, when we reunite, the time that stretched out seems to shrink in an instant, and we set aside the details to say things like, "You haven't changed a bit!" as we pull those days back to us.

I learned for the first time during this meeting, our first in six years, that although A-chan and Y were in different departments, they had never actually met up to have a meal like this before, even though I had assumed they were friends since we were at the same university.

Even after we were allowed to stay at HAGISO until near closing time, we were reluctant to leave, and since we wanted coffee, the three of us walked to Nippori and stopped by the newly opened Starbucks.
When Y said that if she were smarter, she would have studied astronomy instead of art, A-chan asked, "Aren't black holes scary?"
I was surprised, asking, "Do you feel black holes in your daily life?" Then Y started talking about white holes.
Our conversation was endless like this, but we parted ways with a promise to go to a cafe in Kuramae or Kiyosumi-Shirakawa next time.

I am connected to the two of them through Zines (various elements like the books themselves, stories, text, paper, and design).
Another common thread is that they are both people I truly like.
The unique rhythm each person possesses, and the interests and inspirations that appear like waves, are what make them so charming.
Although they weren't that close, it seems Y and A-chan were both interested in each other.
It sounds a bit like a high school romance, but this is a story about adult friendship.
It makes me so happy when people I like become friends, and I hugged the memory, glad that I had gathered the courage to invite them.