Working for two years...I get it now.
I was thinking about this the other day...
Ohno Satoshi (the blonde) doesn't seem to be very good at expressing himself. Ironic, considering his career choice. But it makes sense because he seems to be the kind of person who just gets pulled along and is able to succeed, even when he's thinking, "what the hell am I doing?" He doesn't speak that often, or waste his words, so when he does choose to say something, it takes me awhile some times to get what he means.
I was watching an interview segment with Arashi on some news show that went behind the scenes of Shiyagare (one of their regular shows on which this man was a guest). Really it was just a short interview in which he asked Ohno to rate everyone according to how cheap they are. After that, he mentions that when he asked everyone, "what does Arashi mean to you" they gave answers like "family" or "friends" but Ohno didn't.
Everyone was confused by this and kept asking him to clarify ("Don't say such sad things on tv!!"). He's like, "They aren't my family. They aren't friends. They aren't co-workers. They are a whole different category with only these five people." He says it in that wonderful, firm Ohno-way, where he talks with his hands and he's totally convinced he makes sense even if everyone in the room is baffled.
I remember being kinda weirded out by the implication that he doesn't see them as family. I want to believe that they really are as close as they seem to be. It's all part of what makes me love them so. The thing is, now that I have a full-time job, one that involves exhaustive labour and endless customer service, and an awesome team that I am really comfortable with...I get it. I think I know exactly what he meant.
I will give you an example using my best friend C. C is the one who trained me. We've worked together about two years now and he has since become the team member I can rely on the most. C is not exactly like any of those things you'd probably say: he's not a father, he's not a brother, but he's not JUST a co-worker and he's not JUST a pal. I'd describe him as my best friend in a heartbeat, but at the same time, a best friend usually knows you outside of one context, knows your family, your history. I only ever see him when we are at work. He shares certain aspects of his life with me and I share certain things with him, but the fact remains: we only know each other when we are in uniform. He's very protective and he lectures me a lot in a very fatherly way. At the same time, he's a fantastic partner in crime. We're sarcastic, silly. We laugh too often and we rant like it's going out of style. I've learned a lot from him and I've taught him a lot. There is nothing romantic there at all, but I feel very close to him, a loyalty I don't feel that often or that strongly. It's hard to narrow it all down without explaining too much. At the end of the day, you'd have to create a new category to sum up how I feel towards him. Saying just, "I love him dearly" or "he's my precious colleague" doesn't quite give you the whole picture...
And you know what? I may not feel quite as close to everyone on the team, but I'd throw myself under the bus for them too, protect them as much as I'm able. They are good, hard-working people and they have done a lot for me. Most of all they get it. They are the only people in the world who know exactly what I go through. Even when we aren't happy with each other we can always end the day laughing.
Maybe Ohno was right. Arashi is five people who have grown up together and done this same job for almost thirteen years now. They're close, but at the same time they always say they know nothing about each other's lives once they leave work. That sounds cold, but it's not really. It makes a strange kind of sense. Because of that distance, they can be close and be there for each other without the same pressures and the same baggage that comes with labels. And no one can really break into that bond, because too much would have to be explained. And some times there are no words.
Ohno: profound when he wants to be.
The best part: he probably has no idea when he is.
~Isilie