Memories of the Morning Coat in the Style of On Watanabe

This February, about three days before the anniversary of On Watanabe's death, I found this morning coat on an online flea market. It is a morning coat with a design that looks exactly like the one On Watanabe is wearing in his portrait photograph.

According to the description, it is believed to be from 1910s America, and the price was 16,000 yen.
Looking at the size, it was almost a perfect fit for me. It is rare for there to be a morning coat that fits a small person like me. After agonizing over it for about two hours, I bought it. And so, I was able to visit Watanabe's grave on the anniversary of his death wearing this morning coat.

Watanabe's morning coat. The trim on the collar was stylish, and it was a design I hadn't seen much. I believe it was written in Keisuke-san's book that he had it made by a skilled tailor in Chinatown.

For a garment estimated to be about 110 years old, it was in very good condition; there were no holes, the trim was beautiful, and I felt that the previous owner must have hardly worn it.
Because it was in such good condition, I thought for a moment that the assessment of it being from the 1910s might be wrong, but the quality of the fabric is good, and even if it wasn't from the 1910s, it remains a very fine item, so I reached the conclusion that it didn't really matter in the end.
In the first place, I had been thinking that one day I would save up money and have a morning coat made to order in the same design as On Watanabe's. I wonder if it would cost 300,000 yen to have it custom-made...? I don't understand the market price, but at the very least, it couldn't be made for 16,000 yen.
I don't know exactly what kind of item it is, but there was no doubt that this was the best morning coat for me.

By the way, last July, I transcribed and uploaded a creative work titled "Captain Sinbad" that Shuji Hasegawa had published in Shinseinen.

It is not necessarily a particularly skillful novel, but I love this person's sense, the speed of the tempo, and the parts that show his modern boy-like quality at the time. As he was a close friend of On Watanabe, I am also happy that it hints at the atmosphere of when he hung out with Watanabe.

Since Shuji Hasegawa is so buried in obscurity, I would like to bring his work to light and compile it little by little, and as the first installment, I uploaded this text to coincide with his birthday.

A few days after that, while I was idling in the bath, Shuji Hasegawa appeared to me like a daydream. (Or so I feel.)

Please excuse me, as this is where the story suddenly becomes fantastical.

According to him, he said, "That old thing (referring to his own writing), that's enough now, isn't it? But I was a little happy." And then, he said, "I'll give you some hat or clothes as a thank you." I was excited, thinking that if I could receive something chosen by that stylish Shuji Hasegawa, who was in charge of the 'Vogan Vogu' column in Shinseinen, that would be the best! But at the same time, I realized that since he was a person who lived until the 1960s, his latest sense might not match my tastes.
So I asked, "Since my sense is stuck in the 1920s, please make it clothes from that time. Also, I don't want a fedora." Then—as if to say he understood, he went off somewhere. That is how I felt.

About half a year later, this morning coat came to me.
After the visit to Watanabe's grave was over, around April, I suddenly remembered this conversation with Shuji Hasegawa.
"Could this, by any chance, be the morning coat that Narahara (Shuji Hasegawa's real name) brought for me?" I suddenly had that flash of inspiration and cried out, "Ah!" It felt as if some foreshadowing had connected.

This morning coat, with its condition, size, and a price that was just barely within what I could afford, was truly a miraculous encounter. Moreover, it was a miraculous morning coat, including the fact that it arrived just in time for Watanabe's death anniversary.
Why did such a perfect item come to me? I wondered as I looked at it, trembling with joy, but perhaps it was a reward for typing up and uploading Shuji Hasegawa's writing, and he brought it to me.

Thinking of that, I feel like I have to do something for Shuji Hasegawa again this year. Since he was so happy about it.
I would like to compile and preserve this person's work as well. As much as possible.

The end.