I realized something recently.
"Why do people get emotional?"
No, it's not "people" but "I." I realized the mechanism behind what happens when I am moved.
According to the Obunsha Japanese dictionary I have on hand, "emotion" means "to be deeply moved by something."
I discovered that by adding certain words, I could explain the mechanism behind the phenomenon of emotion.
It is when you have the awareness that you are a party to that event.
I realized that when you, as a party involved, feel that you are caught up in what is happening right in front of your eyes, it can have a strong emotional impact.
For example, when a parent sees their child working hard at group gymnastics at a sports day, they may be moved to tears because they are the one who has raised that child since birth.
The reason we are moved by movies is because we can see the characters as people who share our own sensibilities and become virtually involved in the story.
Unless you are involved, most of the events that happen around you are someone else's problem.
But when you feel that you are involved, it suddenly becomes your own problem. And you feel moved.
I had an experience this week that led me to this conclusion.
The venue is Zepp Nagoya, a live music venue.
I used to be a radio program director.
I was 29 years old when I was doing a live broadcast. My boss at the time happened to give me a CD of a certain band, so I played it in the studio.
"Wait a minute, this is too much."
From the next day onwards, I played that band's CD on the show every day. And then, I wrote a proposal saying that I really wanted to do a show with that band. They were 19 years old at the time.
By chance, things went well for us, and we ended up doing a late-night show together for six months before and after our major debut.
We did location shooting on the Ferris wheel in Sakae, and street interviews by the members themselves under the TV tower. As a punishment for the project, we made them drink a lot of Senburi tea and Noni juice. We also went bowling a lot.
I've seen a lot of their live shows. Every year the venues got bigger, from ell.FITS ALL to Zepp, and before I knew it it was Nippon Gaishi Hall.
I started the store, quit my job as a director, and am no longer in the industry. But they and the staff are still kind to me. I'm grateful.
And this year, they're going on a world tour.
Following the North American tour, they went on a European tour. I was surprised to see the live reports posted on social media. Local fans flocked to the venue and were singing along. A local staff member said that this phenomenon only happens with BTS and them.
Now I've come back to Japan from Europe and am currently on a live house tour.
Having already performed in gigantic halls and domes, they are now back to the live house. The first day of the tour was in Nagoya.
And then, it's ``emotional.''
I was so moved that I trembled. My body stiffened and I was shaking. It might have been the first time in my life that I had ever felt that way.
What unfolded before my eyes was a performance of songs from 18 years ago, when the bands were performing together in a small venue with an audience of around 10 people.
After driving local fans wild on their world tour, they returned to Japan in triumph. They performed those songs from when they were still completely unknown, in a venue that was too small for them now, and looked like they had a blast.
The dots of then and now. Two far-flung dots connected right before my eyes, sparks flying.
Before I knew it, tears were flowing.
Even after the concert ended and I left the venue, my body was still stiff.
I came back to the store, had a glass of wine and finally unraveled a bit.
And then I thought.
"Thank you for allowing me to feel like I'm a party involved."
I was only involved briefly at the beginning, and am just one of the staff members from the past. I'm basically just a fan. It would be presumptuous to call myself a party involved.
However, I happened to get the chance to see them take flight from quite a close distance. For me, they are a big part of my life.
That large presence brings the events of that day and the events of today together before my eyes.
I think that's what I felt, and my mind and body trembled.
I feel like this isn't really put together very well, but today I wanted to write down the emotions I was feeling, and that's what I came up with.
The band's name is RADWIMPS.
The name of our shop, Bokumo, comes from a part of their lyrics, "What do you think of in the dreamy moon?"
I hope you are enjoying the New Zealand wine I brought with you.
