The following is from Masayuki Takayama's column in the latter part of the Shukan Shincho, released today.
This article also proves that he is a unique journalist in the postwar world.
A long time ago, an elderly female professor of the Royal Ballet School of Monaco, highly respected by prima ballerinas worldwide, visited Japan.
At that time, she spoke about the significance of an artist's existence.
She said, "Artists are important because they are the only ones who can shed light on hidden and concealed truths and express them."
No one would dispute her words.
It is no exaggeration to say that Masayuki Takayama is not only the one and only journalist in the postwar world but also the one and only artist in the postwar world.
On the other hand, Oe, I don't want to speak ill of the deceased, but (to follow Masayuki Takayama's example below), Murakami and many others who call themselves writers or think of themselves as artists are not even worthy of the name of artists.
They have only expressed the lies the Asahi Shimbun, and others created rather than shedding light on hidden truths and telling them.
Their existence is not limited to Japan but is the same in other countries worldwide.
In other words, there are only a few true artists.
This paper is another excellent proof that I am right when I say that no one in the world today deserves the Nobel Prize in Literature more than Masayuki Takayama.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but for people worldwide.
The Wisdom of Our Ancestors
One day, the folklorist Yanagida Kunio was approached by Shinobu Orikuchi for advice.
Orikuchi was also an expert in waka poetry and had the title of Chōkū Shaku.
Orikuchi and Harumi Fujii, a disciple of Orikuchi's poetry, had been in love for some time and lived together.
However, after Harumi received a draft and joined the Kanazawa Regiment, he was sent to Iwo Jima the other day.
If Harumi dies in battle, Orikuchi is legally just a housemate.
In other words, if he can't pick up the remains, he can't put them in the grave.
"Is there something I can do about it?"
Yanagida replied, "Then you should adopt Harumi and make him your own.''
Indeed, his father can take over the remains if he is an adopted son.
If Harumi returns alive, they can live as father and son without fear of anyone, leaving Orikuchi's name and family property to him.
Orikuchi apologized to Yanagida and immediately submitted the adoption.
The notice was accepted on July 21, 1944, shortly after Harumi arrived on Iwo Jima.
Six months later, the U.S. forces began landing on Iwo Jima, and Mount Suribachi, where Harumi was assigned, was bombed so severely that its shape changed, and news reached Orikuchi that all the soldiers had been crushed.
There is no record of Harumi's final days, and his remains were never recovered. Still, his spirit rests with Shinobu Orikuchi in a cemetery in his hometown of Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture.
The tombstone reads, "Tomb of Army Lieutenant Harumi Orikuchi and his father Shinobu, who died painfully in the most painful battle.
Now, some wish to have same-sex marriages recognized by the law.
There are property and inheritance issues, but there are also those who, like Orikuchi, talk about their worries after death.
Kunio Yanagida solved such problems 80 years ago in a very legal way.
Legally, they are parents and children, but there is nothing wrong with telling neighbors they are husband and wife.
Unless your goal is to wave a straw mat in front of the Supreme Court and make a fuss about an unjust ruling, you should follow the wisdom of your ancestors.
In the words of the Koran, "Truly, the teachings of our forefathers in Japanese society are tremendous."
The same goes for the LGBT issue.
When the Christian world was burning homosexuals at stake, 57 Kagema teahouses were thriving in Edo, and Hiraga Gennai published the rank list of Okama.
Xavier and the Korean envoys were amazed at Japan's Shudō culture but were admonished: "Women are no better than male prostitutes."
It took them another 400 years to understand that, and now they are blessing LGB.
Is that aggravating?
Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, has accused us of "Japan has not yet pardoned T (transgender people)."
Has this man never been to Kansai?
Take a peek at the break time at an event hall in Osaka, for example.
While there is a long line in the women's restroom, the "large" men's restroom remains empty.
Soon, ladies enter the men's restroom, say, "I'm a man just now," and collapse into the large private room.
The men smile and accept the transgender women.
At the same time, however, there is an unwritten rule that this kind of perversion of sexuality is only allowed for women.
Moderation is typical of Japan, a sexually advanced country, but Emmanuelle does not understand it.
He says from the top, "Both men and women should be allowed" in toilets and bathrooms.
He is a shameless ambassador.
Incidentally, this Osaka-style transgenderism has also reached Nagoya.
In Nagoya, there is now a controversy over whether or not to install an elevator for people with disabilities in the reconstruction of Nagoya Castle.
The disabled people are demanding "an administration oriented toward the weak.
The disabled side is calling for "an administration that is more inclined toward the weak," while the general public is protesting that "they don't know the meaning of the restoration" and "they are confusing equality with selfishness.
There have long been appeals from people who say, "My legs and back are bad, but I want to go to high places.
Take, for example, the Konpira Shrine in Sanuki.
Even if you go to the trouble of paying a visit to the shrine, there are 365 stone steps to the main gate and twice as many to the main shrine.
In such a case, our predecessors devised the stone staircase Kago.
Nagoya Castle should follow suit when it is restored.
The beneficiaries should pay.
The Kago fee should be as high as possible.
