Interview with Hiromi And Daiki Sasaki / 佐々木博美さん 大喜さん インタビュー

Amazing. Doing it like this gives me the whole picture. A-ha-ha. I see. I figure out what you are going to do. I thought drawing in a wider space would be better, but doing it like this makes a bigger picture. That's right. I see what you meant. This makes it a masterpiece. A-ha, I see an age of black and an age of blue. We would like to film this interview on what you're thinking and feeling in the hope that it might be of help for the future. I see. There is not much I can say. But I'm working. Your work? Yes. In what way? I want to do something interesting. Things like that. -Your work is going to complete? -Yes. What is the most interesting thing for you recently? A-ha. Nothing really. -Nothing in particular? -Yes, nothing in particular. How do you spend your days? -I'm drawing. -Drawing? Yes. Do you draw pictures in a notebook? Not pictures, but I'm drawing something. I see. I heard that you've been writing letters lately. Aha, yes. What do you write in your letters? -Ha-ha. Well, portraits. -Portraits? Yes, things like that. I also draw pictures. Well, do you spend more time at home more than at work? -I don't go to my workplace often. -Not often? Right. Oh, I see. Hiromi Sasaki I talked with Hideki-san. Could you share with us what life was like, Including for yourself... ...in the aftermath of the quake on March 11 from your viewpoint? -After the quake? -Yes. Well, what should I say? I realize my son felt scared. He can't go upstairs to his room. He hasn't been there and still can't go upstairs. We sleep side by side at night. He seems to be quite anxious at night. I strongly feel that. What can I say? We had no direct damage. We weren't assaulted by the tsunami and our house wasn't destroyed. But he might have been overwhelmed by enormous fear. Well, it is difficult say, but I can't say "You're alright" now because this "alright" is groundless. I sometimes wonder what I can do for him. I heard you have recently noticed a slight change in him. It is September 13 today, about half a year has passed since the quake. Yes, I see. The day after the quake, we went to my husband's apartment in Sanuma. He lives alone away from our home. And we found the lifelines in Sanuma were fine. In the end, we stayed there for two weeks. Life there was fine although it was inconvenient. He was with his mother and father, which made him secure. Me too, because our family was together. Then we came back to Sendai, his workplace reopened. I realize ordinary daily life is so important. I mean normal life. We have a place to go, work to do. When we go there, we can meet our friends. I appreciate this kind of normalcy. Because I found his face turned bright. We spent an inconvenient two weeks. Although I thought he was alright because our family was together, I found he gradually became listless, and moved around less. Because the environment changed, it was unusual for him. After we returned to Sendai, his workplace reopened, he met his friends there. I found that when he regained his normal life pattern and restarted his job, he became lively. After all, normal things, things that he used to do, made a difference and were very important. I realized that. But he seems to be fearful at night, so he and I sleep in the same room. But in fact, I feel anxious, too. I find having someone next to me makes me feel safe. He was good from April to July. But in August, he became gloomy. I tried to find the cause and I found one thing. He had done his best during April to July. We frequently had aftershocks and tremors. He had done his best. After the quake, media including TV mainly focussed on the quake. He rejected it saying, "I don't want to either watch or listen to this". In hindsight, he strived to maintain normal daily life in spite of such a situation. It doesn't mean something 's wrong with him. He pushed himself for five months. In August, it was very hot. We also tried hard in our life since we were encouraged to save energy. I might unconsciously demand him to try hard. I regret this. I think I did my best, too. But striving for something makes people tired. For that reason, he is tired now. It proves that staying at home makes him feel more comfortable. Even though we regained normal life, we have tried hard to maintain our daily life in the aftermath of the quake. Have you written a letter recently? Letter? Yes. I write a letter once a month. -Do you? -Yes. I sometimes write and sometimes don't. -When I want to write a letter, I do. -I see. -What do you write in these letters? -Pardon? What do you write in your letters? Do you draw pictures? A-ha. It's a secret? Is it a secret? Yes. Ha-ha-ha. -I saw you write a letter and pass it to your mother yesterday. -That is a letter that I intend to hand to Yagi-san. -I see. Do you write every day? -Not every day. Once, when I took time off, Yagi-san wrote me a letter. It is hard to grasp his feelings. For that reason, I have to sense even the slightest sign that he sends. I sometimes think that. But it 's easier said than done. -Fortunately, he 's written me letters again lately. -Oh, I see. I am grateful. He wrote me a letter saying "This is the most troublesome thing for me." I was grateful. Writing letters to me was the biggest change for him this year. When did he start writing letters to you? We started it more than a year ago, perhaps last year. He would write things he wanted me to do, like "Please fill the bath." He stopped writing letters to me after the quake. Listen, this happened the other day. After the quake on March 11, in March and April... ...we didn't know how to help our friends who were affected, even though we wanted to extend our help to them. It is true that I had my hands full dealing with our life. But on May 3, oh, I remember that. A program called "to make a step forward" had just started at an open square on the first floor of mediatheque. And there was a space for picture books. A talk-show was held there every day, inviting guests such as the architect of this building. There was a talk-show every morning. Since I was involved in activities for reading books, I was invited to see the talk-show. I had spare time since it fell on my day off, so I came. It was the starting point in regaining my normal life. Reading picture books and having a chat got my life going again. It brought me to visit affected nursing schools or participating in talk-shows. I had just focused on my family in March and April. When my attention turned to other things, he wrote me a letter saying "Please take care of me, too." Ha-ha-ha. He wrote such a thing. His words helped me notice. What should I say? I thought I would try hard in several activities. But he is the person who needs my help most. I diverted my attention elsewhere, not focusing on him. So he sent a message to me. I was convinced it's true. This happened to me. You draw a lot of pictures all day long, don't you? How do you feel when you draw these pictures? Nothing special. I draw only what I like. It's amazing. Let's have some distance to see the whole thing. It's awesome. What do you think? You are great. Sorry, I was wrong. OK. He has been drawing every day for 18 years. Interviewer : Osamu Jareno -18 years? -Yes. 18 years.