Scenes of Parting Part 2: Yasuhiro Abe's "MANHATTAN"
The man sat down on a bench and gazed blankly at Manhattan Island on the other side of the East River.
How many hours had passed...
Before he knew it, the sun had dipped low, and the afternoon light was streaming in through the gaps between the skyscrapers. The man squinted, dazzled, and looked at the silhouette of Manhattan Island.
Looking at it this way, Manhattan Island began to look like a giant passenger ship. The silhouettes of the skyscrapers seemed to trace the bridge and cabins of the ship.
Aiming for this giant passenger ship, many people from all over the world board it, each with their own dreams.
The man thought of the woman who had boarded this giant ship and become one of its passengers...
"You really came."
"It's been two months since then, and I've thought about a lot of things. Even the parts where I was wrong..."
"It's not that you were wrong. I just chose my own dream."
The man looked at the woman again. Dressed in a crisp blue shirt and a tight skirt, she looked every bit the "capable" woman.
"How is it here? Are you fulfilled?"
"Yes, it rewards me for the effort I put in. Though I'm always chased by time. They call Japanese people 'worker ants,' but I feel like saying, 'look who's talking.'"
"You really sound like a New Yorker... How about we grab a meal tonight?"
"Hmm..."
The woman frowned as if troubled.
"I'm in the final stages of an acquisition case for a Japanese company right now. I'm sorry, I don't think I can spare the time. I even had to force myself to take a lunch break just to slip out here."
"I see... Sorry for coming so suddenly."
"No, don't apologize. Apologizing right away is a bad habit of yours."
The woman took the man's right hand.
"I have to go now. I was happy you came."
With that, the woman left the cafe restaurant. Her figure was soon lost in the crowd and disappeared.
The man could only watch her retreating figure in a daze.
The result of the two months he had spent worrying about her didn't even last the time it took to finish a cup of coffee. The many words he had prepared were in vain.
She was definitely more beautiful and attractive than when she left Japan this past March. However, the woman the man had envisioned was no longer there. The man had simply been made to realize that fact.
...The woman I knew is gone... I have lost the place I should return to... Where is this giant passenger ship called Manhattan Island heading? Where will I drift to, having failed to board that ship and watching from the park on the opposite shore?
The man just stared at his right hand, where the sensation of the woman's touch remained, remembering yesterday.
And so, in this way, I interpreted Yasuhiro Abe's "MANHATTAN" as a sequel to his "Topaz-colored Moon."
The release of "MANHATTAN" was actually earlier, in March 1983, one year before "Topaz-colored Moon." However, when listening to these two songs, a composition emerges of a woman who left Japan for New York in March ("Topaz-colored Moon") and a man who chased after her to the U.S. around the May holidays ("MANHATTAN").
What they both have in common is the depiction of a "lingering, pathetic man," but somehow it's cool, isn't it? It should be miserable under normal circumstances... The man in "Topaz-colored Moon" is passive to the end and shows a certain craftiness by leaving the decision to her, and the man in "MANHATTAN" is especially beaten and tattered to the point where thoughts of ending his life crossed his mind.
I looked to see who wrote the lyrics, and both were by the poet laureate Takashi Matsumoto. When Takashi Matsumoto's poetry is combined with Yasuhiro Abe's music, it suddenly takes on a sophisticated atmosphere. Wow, as expected.