#145 Flow into time ~To the Lighthouse of Time~ [Trailer]

I started this note at the end of June last year, and the one-year mark is fast approaching. I love writing essays and have been doing so for a while, but it feels boring to keep doing the same thing as a year ago, so I want to start something different. Since moving from Germany to the Netherlands, my workload has increased, and honestly, I would like to try to streamline my output activities while continuing them.
(Header photo: Sundial at the Wedding Tower in Darmstadt, Germany)

Is writing a novel easier?!

My friend Karina and I were talking about how we wanted to submit something to the 'Creative Awards 2024' and wondering what we should submit. I have already 'tentatively submitted' several articles I thought were well-written to the essay category, so it's not like I'm writing a new entry from scratch.
Karina is someone who writes scripts and novels, and her focus is not on the exquisite style of describing a character's emotional changes, but rather on the 'story' of 'who did what, and what happened as a result.' She has also told me several times the interesting idea that 'stories save people.' I thought that the world created by a story must be able to help those who find it difficult to live in reality alone... I knew I had to give it a try.

I wrote a little bit of fiction when I was in high school, so if I was 17 then, this would be my return to fiction after 33 years. When I think about it, unlike essays, once you set up the scenes and characters, I'm sure the characters will just start talking, moving, and changing the world on their own, driving the story forward. This is something the author I deeply respect, Teru Miyamoto, once said.
So, with the very contrarian idea of 'Wouldn't writing a novel be easier than writing essays?!', I decided to challenge myself in the 'Romance Novel Category' of the 'Creative Awards 2024.' It is strictly to make things easier for myself (laughs).

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What humans are most bound by

I think what humans are most bound by is not land, culture, or language, but time. Of course, even if you can 'buy' some freedom of time with money to a certain extent, everyone is physically given 24 hours a day, and no one can replay and re-experience time that has passed, except in the world of memory.

I have been very interested in such 'time' for a long time. Around the time my favorite musician, Miki Imai, released her album 'flow into space,' I thought about this and used a phrase that changed one word of the album title, which means 'flowing into space,' as my own catchphrase for a while:'flow into time'.

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I will start on 'Time Memorial Day'

Next Monday, June 10th, is 'Time Memorial Day.' It originates from the fact that on June 10, 671 (in the new calendar), time was measured and announced to the people in Japan for the first time using a water clock. Surprisingly, it is one of the oldest existing memorial days, with commemorative events having been held since 1920 (Taisho 9).

I am from Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and my parents' home was extremely close to the neighboring city of Akashi. Since the 'Japan Standard Time Meridian' (135 degrees east longitude) passes through Akashi, the 'Akashi Municipal Planetarium' is located on that line. It opened on June 10, 1960, which was also Time Memorial Day. Since ancient times, the movement of celestial bodies, including the phases of the moon, has been closely related to time.

And one of the characters who appears in the novel is a real person (don't worry, I've changed their name and other details), and their birthday is also June 10th. On that auspicious coming Monday, I will begin the serialization of 'Flow into time ~To the Lighthouse of Time~,' my first novel in 33 years, which I have labeled as a romance novel. Please support me and give it a like.

To all the characters, I want to 'take it easy' by just writing down what you say and do, so please feel free to act as you wish. Aki-chan, the first character to appear, do you have anything to say?

That's what she says. Actually, ready-to-assemble furniture plays an important part in the beginning of the story, so please pay attention to it. Well then everyone, see you next Monday✨

(June 3, 2024)