Message in a bottle (For Taro Yoshikawa's 22nd Birthday)
Happy 22nd birthday, Taro Yoshikawa.
This is very personal, but it's been almost two years since I became a fan of yours, Taro, and I'm surprised at how fast time flies.
But looking back, it hasn't been short at all; it's been such an incredibly dense period of time, a memory box so packed with memories that it's screaming from the size of it, the kind of thing that once you open the lid, it's not easy to close again.
Just in this past year since you turned 21, I've been able to see you at so many concerts and stage performances, including the Osaka Castle Dream Festival, Daimyo Procession, 18th Festival, Fresh Live, Unbelievable, Spring Paradise, Moshimo Juku, Wasshoi Camp, and One Another.
(Not only that, but I was also really, really happy to be able to watch your acting on TV in 'Nagatan to Aoto'.)
At every concert or stage performance, even if there were 200 performers scattered across a huge dome stage, to my eyes, you were the one shining the brightest, looking cooler and more wonderful than anyone else.
It is, of course, a fundamental premise of this world and common knowledge that your face is the coolest in the world, but beyond that, I am constantly captivated by things like your singing voice, which feels soft with a touch of fragility and exquisite humidity; your dancing, where your core is so steady it looks like a pillar extending from the heavens; and that intense, sharp gaze you show only when dancing to dance numbers—a gaze that is different from your usual self, as if you are challenging something—and the breathtaking coolness when you smile with your mouth while keeping that intense look in your eyes.
In 'Masterpiece' during One Another, the way you looked up at the second-floor seats before dancing the final chorus, with a challenging look in your eyes as if to say 'just watch me' while smiling with your mouth—that intensity sparked like fireworks and is burned into my memory forever.
And, beyond your performance as an idol, you continued to study English every day even during the summer Shochiku-za performances, and declared that your goal is to get a perfect score on the TOEIC. English is just one example, but the way you spare no effort for what you decide to do, and the way you declare your goals and properly plan and execute them, is truly cool, reliable, and I respect you very much.
You are the coolest person in the world, Taro.
Of course, I don't think what I see from here is everything. Since you're human, there might be days when things don't go well, days when you might slack off, days when you feel like today is tough, or days when you think, 'I've had enough.'
But even so, I think you are the coolest person in the world because you shine on stage and continue to show growth and results.
I love your intelligence, your honesty, your straightforward, bright, and positive nature, your strong core, and your calm emotional temperament, while also being mischievous and wanting to play the fool.
When I watch you, I can deeply feel that you are always thinking very carefully, choosing your words with extreme caution, and behaving while watching your surroundings so as not to hurt anyone present, and I really love that about you.
When I think that you are working hard, I feel like I have to work hard too, and it gives me energy. When I remember the times you've given me happiness, it gives me the will to live even on nights when I want to cry. The power of 'liking' someone is truly great.
I've resumed studying English, which I had been slacking on for a while, I've been able to keep up with my muscle training, and I also tried making miso because I thought it looked fun. lol
I am truly happy that I was able to come to like you, Taro.
As long as you live as a person, it's natural that not everything goes well, and there are good times and bad times, but even so, I want to keep praying that your life, which has given me so much happiness, will be filled with nothing but happiness.
And, I don't know what will happen in the future, but no matter what happens, no one can ever take away your intelligence, your honesty, your hard work, your efforts so far, all those beautiful things, and everything that shapes your radiance. Absolutely.
Once again, happy 22nd birthday, Taro Yoshikawa.
With blessings and love.
October 9, 2023
Konotta
P.S.
I'm going to put this letter in a bottle and cast it into the sea of the internet with a little bit of hope.
May your coming year be a wonderful one.
If it provides even the slightest bit of support to know that there is a fan who is quietly, but with all their might, cheering for you from a place far away from Shiga, where you were born, and Osaka, the home base of the Kansai Jr., then there is nothing that would make me happier.