/lit/ - Literature

Hey guys. Let's have a little talk.

I have a strange habit regarding left and right. I always put on socks starting from the left, but when it comes to shoes, I start from the right. I put my right leg into pants first. I don't know why, it's just always been like that.

When sleeping with a woman, it doesn't matter whether it's on the right or left side of the bed. Some people seem to need a specific side to feel comfortable, but not me.

I read in a book that Hideki Tojo, who was Japan's leader at the start of World War II, attempted suicide with a pistol when the war ended. He meticulously marked the exact location of his heart with ink, prepared himself, and pulled the trigger with determination. But he was left-handed. So presumably, he held the gun in his left hand and shot himself in the left side of his chest.

It's not as easy as it sounds. The angle becomes awkward, and it's hard to apply enough force with your finger. Anyway, Tojo failed at suicide, was arrested by the occupying forces, received a blood transfusion from American soldiers, survived, and was later tried and sentenced to death by hanging.

Living as a left-handed person seems quite tough. Hang in there.

Hey guys. Let's have a little talk.

Are you the type to get angry easily? When I was young, I used to have a pretty hot-headed personality. But I realized that often I was jumping to conclusions or misunderstanding things, which led to me getting angry unnecessarily. So, I thought, "I need to be more careful about when I get angry." Even if something really annoyed me, instead of reacting right away, I would take a moment to calm down, assess the situation, and only get angry if I felt justified after considering everything. That's what they call "anger management."

When you actually try it, you'll find that no matter how angry you are, after a little time passes, your raw emotions tend to calm down. You often end up feeling more "sad" or "disappointed" than angry. Then you think, "Well, what can you do?" Sometimes you even realize, "Well, maybe I was a bit at fault too." Thanks to that, I've had a lot fewer troubles in life. I hardly ever get into fights anymore. Instead, for the few cases where I'm certain I have a right to be angry, I can approach them calmly.

Once upon a time, there was a movie director in America who wanted to make a movie based on Raymond Carver's novel, but couldn't gather funds in his home country. So, he reached out to Japan to find investors and asked if I could help as a translator. I wasn't familiar with that side of things, and it didn't concern me at all, but Carver had passed away not long before, so I thought if there was anything I could do, I'd try to help by spreading the word. Then, a high-ranking person from a certain company showed interest in the project and wanted to hear more about it. It was a company known for operating large-scale retail stores and was also known for its involvement in cultural activities.

We arranged to meet and they specified the meeting place: a certain high-class traditional Japanese restaurant. As I went, wondering why we couldn't just meet in the company's conference room, the vice president and what seemed to be his secretary appeared. They lectured me arrogantly from their high seats about how "You probably don't know much, Murakami-san, but let me tell you about film production," and then they ate and drank heartily before leaving. After that, there was not a word. All I received was an astonishingly expensive bill from the restaurant. The matter of the movie disappeared just like that. If it's not possible, it's not possible. I resigned myself to the money issue. But wouldn't it have been nice if they had at least told me what the outcome was? Hey.

At first, I was just confused and amazed, but after a while, I thought, "Isn't this just a smooth dine-and-dash?" And then, anger welled up inside me. I felt like they were trampling on the feelings towards the deceased, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Since then, I haven't set foot in any of that company's stores.

So, for about twenty years, I've continued to be angry without any resolution. Isn't that stubborn of me?