The other night, I learned for the first time that Yuming was born and raised in a large kimono shop in Hachioji, that she had taken piano lessons from childhood, and that there was a magnificent grand piano in her home.
I also learned for the first time that she had a magnificent grand piano at home and her musical history as a schoolgirl.
I concluded that all of these things had given birth to the "Vapor Trail," which I would call the most significant incident in Japanese language and music history.
When I heard "Vapor Trail," I knew that a significant event had occurred in the Japanese music world.
I later learned that the late Ikuma Dan also received the same shock I did.
The music resonated, and she echoed the Japanese language.
It is no exaggeration to say that it was an unprecedented incident.
But I never heard her songs myself after that.
I had heard them from various sources, but I had never heard them myself.
One day, I think it was in the car, her song "Anniversary" came on the FM radio.
My favorite club in Kitashinchi had a piano.
There was a pianist who played at several clubs.
Both the first and second generations were beautiful-sounding players.
There was also a resident female singer.
An ordinary person can't sing in that club permanently with piano accompaniment.
My life path was initially supposed to be "carrying Kyoto University on my shoulders." Still, as I have already mentioned, I led a life that none of my classmates could have imagined.
My life has been the exact opposite of smooth sailing, except for two things, but I have no regrets or resentment toward life because it was inevitable.
The first of the two is an anger that I have recently recognized and remembered.
MacArthur's asshole.
When he occupied and ruled Japan, he made the schools north of Tokyo single-sex.
The motto of my alma mater was "Quality, honesty, and soundness," and "A strong and balanced education" was the school's motto.
After all, Kyuzo Mifune, the god of judo who invented the air throw, was a senior student at my alma mater.
That was fine, but as I have already mentioned, the fact that my alma mater had single-sex education had a fatal negative impact on my life, as I thought, or had to think, "I don't need a university."
It had a fatal negative impact on me.
When you are a married couple, there is no better way to be on the same intellectual level.
It is safe to say that there is only one advantage of being a college student.
The probability of meeting a life partner increases dramatically. There is no shortage of friends of the opposite sex.
It is no exaggeration to say that many college students do not meet the standard of "college is a place to pursue academic studies."
That is why there is no end to the number of people who commit crimes while attending university.
I have already mentioned the other issue several times.
If I had been born into a family of pianists, I would have been Japan's Bob Dylan or John Lennon, and I would have paralleled them in the Japanese music scene.
So, almost every day, I spent money that could have bought several mansions to sing with a pianist.
From here, I finally returned to "Anniversary."
Last night, I listened to Yuming's music on YouTube for the first time. It made me a little sleep-deprived.
One of them was a program that played many of the songs she mixed for 2022.
I had forgotten that this song was one of my favorites.
My friends and those who worked in my favorite club in Kitashinchi would remember me singing this song many times.
This song, as I recall, was composed by her when her husband was having an affair.
In the car, there was a lyric that stuck with me.
'The light this morning feels like it reaches infinity. Even if I know that I won't be able to see you someday..."
I started to sing this phrase.
The other night, I had a thought at the same time.
I was singing this song entirely as my song.
I am a great singer.
My singing was no less than Yuming's.
Since then, I have been listening to the songs she mixed for 2022 instead of the classical music I usually listen to between work.
Surprisingly, this show she mixed in 2022 is lovely to play while working.
In other words, it is no different from the classical music I usually play.
She had made Japanese into music, which is what the late Ikuma Dan and I felt when we heard it for the first time.
ANNIVERSARY (2022 mix)
