You Can Have Adventures Without Going Out! —The Joy of Old Magazines—
It was a hot afternoon.
I was organizing my bookshelf in an air-conditioned room.
Then, a copy of 'Pia MAP '89' turned up.
As I flipped through the pages out of nostalgia, for some reason, my hand stopped at the list of facilities at the back of the book.
It was a list of movie theaters.
Moreover, my eyes were drawn to the section for revival theaters.
Takadanobaba Pearl-za.
Nissho Chika.
Cinema Ceresa.
Yokohama Eiko Meigaza.
Kawasaki Kokusai.
It was an unremarkable page, just a list of addresses and phone numbers.
Even so, I kept staring at that page for a while.
I only remember Takadanobaba Pearl-za.
That is because I walked past it during my student days.
However, I have no memory of watching a movie there.
Still, for some reason, the name 'Takadanobaba Pearl-za' had remained in a corner of my mind.
When I looked it up, I found it was a double-feature revival theater in the basement of Seiyu that was popular with students and prep school students. It closed in 1989.
On the other hand, I could find almost no information about Nissho Chika.
However, that only stirs my imagination even more.
What kind of atmosphere did the stairs leading down to the basement have?
Where did people head after the screening ended?
I was also curious about Cinema Ceresa.
When I looked it up, I found that "Ceresa" means "cherry blossom" in Spanish.
It seems it was a movie theater that led to the current Cinema Rosa.
Yokohama Eiko Meigaza.
Kawasaki Kokusai.
Just by looking at the names, stories begin to unfold on their own.
A young person in Yokohama who loves movies.
A company employee having a drink on the way home from watching a movie in Kawasaki.
Lovers waiting to meet up.
Of course, it is all my imagination.
But, it is strangely fun.
Come to think of it, it is a strange thing.
I was not looking for movies.
I was not researching the history of movie theaters either.
I was just looking at the list at the end of the book.
Yet, scenes keep popping up in my head one after another.
When I looked into it a little, I found that there is a concept in psychology called "narrative transportation."
It says that when people become immersed in a story, they feel as if they have entered that world. Getting absorbed in movies or novels is one example of this.
However, I wasn't watching a movie this time.
I wasn't reading a novel either.
All I was looking at were the names and addresses of movie theaters.
And yet, a story had already begun in my head on its own.
And there is one more thing I realized.
Lately, I have been writing novels more often.
Perhaps that is why.
Before, I would have skipped over a page like this.
But now, it is different.
A list of movie theaters looks like the seeds of a story to me.
In fact, while looking at this page, one idea for a new novel came to mind.
Summers lately have been truly hot.
To be honest, there are days when I don't have the energy to walk around under the scorching sun.
But that doesn't mean that all pleasure is lost.
I take an old magazine off the bookshelf.
I drink some coffee.
I look at the names of movie theaters that no longer exist.
Just by doing that, I can travel freely in my mind.
I can go to Takadanobaba.
I can go to Ikebukuro.
You can even go to Yokohama.
And you can even travel to the world of a novel that hasn't been written yet.
It seems that imagination doesn't require travel expenses.
Today's takeaway
You can expand your world without traveling far away.
Expanding your imagination from a small spark might be one of the luxuries that doesn't cost money.
#LifeReignited
#Pia
#RevivalTheater
#MovieTheater
#Novel
#CreativeWriting
#Imagination
#LuxuryWithoutSpendingMoney
#SeniorLife
#ShowaEra
【Another challenge started in my 60s】
As part of reigniting my life, I am also working on writing novels.
Currently, I am publishing fairy tales on TALES.
If you are interested, please take a look.
▼ TALES work page
(Link)