The above photo is my room in the Meguro home. I wake up facing this window every morning, which is on floor level. It is a very Ozu-like aesthetic with the importance of the tatami mat room and where you sit on the mat. It’s hard for me to leave my bedding because the morning is peaceful, but it’s hard to remove myself from the floor due to my aging legs. Traditional Japanese settings do not always allow the older gentleman to be entirely comfortable. Still, I look for a challenge, and I feel that in a short time in the future, I will not be able to lay on the floor like this without assistance from a beautiful nurse.
One of the great things to do in Japan, especially in towns or large cities, is to admire the signage on buildings. Especially if it is from the Showa era, where here and there, these signs do exist. If I’m reading the name correctly, Ozawa is a watch and glasses store and repair shop. It is very close to my home here in Tokyo, and I just discovered this signage after passing this store a million times over the years. I love the ability to learn something new, especially if it is something that I’m familiar with, like a street often traveled by me. I’m training myself to notice everything at once and take note of changes or even a new object in front of me. If you look at something that you know is there and are right in front of it, try to notice something new about it or be aware of something you may have passed up on. I’m shocked that I never took notice of the signage from Ozawa.
Another reason why I love going to vinyl record stores in Japan is to seek out beautifully designed record covers on their walls. Disk Union in Shinjuku has an excellent display, and the photo above is 45 rpm singles with sleeves displayed on its wall. As you know, I’m going through a mental concern, and hopefully not a physical one. I write about it because it makes me feel better. And the more I think about it, it’s a natural acceptance of the world around you. We live in dangerous and depressing times, and not to acknowledge that is not healthy. So, I think my depression is a reaction to what is being done to this sorry and sad planet. There are good days, such as coming upon a beautiful 1950s signage or a display of records on a wall.
It’s extraordinary to write about myself here because I’m truthful, but I realize that I’m writing in character. I’m aware that you are reading this essay/story, and I will never forget that a relationship is being placed between my thoughts and the image of me doing the writing. And it is the ‘character’ that is doing a podcast interview for Cinema Radio 28.
Doing this podcast with Mariko Tsujimoto on her show was a great experience. She is a cinema fan, and her questions were fascinating. She asked me what my first experiences were like going to a movie theater, and I told her about my dad taking me to see the James Bond movies at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Also, the very first time I saw a movie on a big screen was Roger Vadim’s And God Created Woman in Larkspur, California, at the Lark Movie Theater. I wrote about these movie experiences in my memoir TOSH: Growing Up in Wallace Berman’s World. It has been on my mind lately because Nick and I wrote a significant scene regarding Bardot in her and Vadim’s film classic, and Tosh watched the movie on a giant screen in our script based on my memoir. To have such a personal event and write it for another medium, such as cinema, is exciting but also scary.
Starting Sunday (October 15), the Les Sewing Sisters tour will start, and we will see what will happen.
“…Try to notice something new…”. I really like this Tosh, and will try my best to incorporate this into my daily routine.
Thanks Tosh. I’ve never been to Japan and it’s wonderful to get personal view with you.