[Raw Juice Diary] Responsibility is to this life and the world, not to the company: November 3, 2024 (Sun)
Clear weather. A beautiful autumn day.
Enjoyed whitebait and rice with egg again today. Had a second helping with spicy cod roe. Long live the ingredients from Seikatsu Club.
Listened to "Yura Yura Teikoku," which Tana-san, my partner, introduced in the 11th bowl of Tetsuwan. What is this? It's cool. I want to listen to it slowly.
I heard the bassist, Mr. Kamegawa, passed away this year. May he rest in peace. So many people are passing away. It makes me want to go to the Thai restaurant "Puan."
Received chestnut rice, vinegared chicken, and herring simmered with Japanese pepper from my parents' home. Grateful. Grateful. Thank you.
Went to the Suginami Junior High School Joint Cultural Festival at Cesion Suginami because my daughter's art class project was on display. I wonder how long it's been since I was in Higashi-Koenji. Cesion Suginami was a very impressive facility. There were some wonderful works even for junior high students, and it made me think that art is great.
Accompanied my family for shopping in Ogikubo and returned home in the evening.
In the evening, had dinner with the various things sent from my parents' home. It really helps.
Watched "Buratamori" with everyone again today. Following yesterday's Fushimi, today was Yodo. The history of the land is interesting.
Before going to bed, I finally read a book in peace. Finished reading "Philosophy of a Company Employee" by Shogo Kachiuchi. This was a book that really hit home.
It is often misunderstood, but a company is not society itself. In fact, it might not even be something that can participate in society. You should raise your voice against the injustices of society rather than the injustices of a company. Employees do not need to take on the company's responsibilities as individuals. Because you are not the company. The company should take responsibility for its own actions. You should take on and fulfill your own responsibilities as yourself. Do not be deceived by the rhetoric of "responsibility" within a company. The responsibilities you fulfill within a company are ultimately collected by the company and only contribute to the company's profits; they do not affect the fulfillment of your own life or the improvement of society itself. Responsibility is to this life and the world, not to the company. Let us save our physical and mental energy as much as possible at work, sometimes steal it back, and invest it in efforts toward a better world.
I read something similar in Kaho Miyake's "Why Can't I Read Books When I'm Working?" which I read the other day, but the "company" is not the only place for self-realization. Or rather, for many people, self-realization at a company is difficult. Nevertheless, the idea that one should achieve self-realization through a company (labor) is widely internalized by people.
And I, too, was thoroughly tormented by that "assumption." I couldn't find social value in my own work and was suffering.
After finishing this book, I felt as if part of that suffering and that prejudice had quietly passed away. I think it's still only a part, though. I'm sure something is still deeply and stubbornly nesting inside. But even so, I feel like a corner of my heart has become a little lighter.
"Responsibility is to this life and the world, not to the company."
In connection with this, I would like to read Michel de Certeau's "The Practice of Everyday Life" someday.
Tomorrow is also a holiday. Wonderful.
Come to think of it, the Troll Forest event is happening. I wonder if I can go.
Speaking of forests, there was an article on the front page of this morning's Tokyo Shimbun. It seems that the "canopy cover ratio" (the percentage of land area covered by tree branches and leaves) in Tokyo's 23 wards decreased from 9.2% in 2013 to 7.3% in 2022. That's an area equivalent to 256 Tokyo Domes in nine years. Among them, Suginami Ward saw the largest decrease, falling by 39.5%, which is attributed to the cutting down of residential forests for detached housing developments. I really liked that this area of Suginami had a lot of greenery, but urban sprawl still hasn't stopped and continues to exert its disorderly power. While global cities like New York and Barcelona are aiming for a canopy cover ratio of 30%, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government avoids setting numerical targets for this indicator. I think about green infrastructure again. It must take even longer to restore an environment that has been changed over 100 years. Yet, residential development is still proceeding with a Showa-era mindset. And the metropolitan government is indifferent to such things. That, in other words, is a reflection of us. I want to become able to raise questions, to ask things of politics.
Speaking of asking things of politics, there is the election. I will end this entry by quoting a post by Tatsuru Uchida from the same Tokyo Shimbun.
The United States today is in the midst of a serious national division, but that is because voters have come to prioritize the interests of the real domestic groups they belong to over the interests of the imaginary community called "America." In fact, when reading reports on the presidential election, voters in both camps clearly state that they will vote for the "candidate who maximizes their own self-interest." Even the candidates only refer to the "national interest of the United States" rhetorically and prophetically (if I win, the United States will prosper as a result). If American citizens do not feel ashamed of this current situation, I do not think there is a bright future for American democracy. Modern civil society was established on the rational judgment that it is better to give up some private rights and some private property and entrust them to the public than for members to cut each other's throats in pursuit of maximizing their own self-interest. Both Locke and Hobbes argue this. Even if the public interest and the citizen's self-interest conflict in the short term, they coincide in the long term. That is why it is a "good thing" that every party and every individual is equally dissatisfied with the election results. A "hung parliament" could be the first step toward the maturation of Japanese democracy. I hope that negotiations and dialogue between political parties will continue in as quiet a tone as possible.
Tatsuru Uchida, "Democracy of Dissatisfied Faces"