Aoi Hitorigoto n.57 - Last one - TRANSLATION-
AOI HITORIGOTO #57
- 藍天群青 LOVE -
By Kato Shigeaki
藍天群青・・・ (Indigo ultramarine)
As the color of a sunny day (藍天) and the dark blue of a night sky (群青), an example of counterfeit.
From Kato Shigeaki's dictionary *
This may be sudden but there will be only other 4 numbers of this essay series "Aoi Hitorigoto", in other words it has been decided that it will come to an end with the 60th number.
When I think that almost 5 years passed since the beginning of this series I can't believe how fast time goes. I never felt the necessity to count the days, this series offered me every month full time and space. I'm really grateful to Myojo. Then, to all the readers. Thank you for always reading my works.
For the last one of these essays that I always wrote binding character after character they asked me to compose my own 4 characters word.
From the "Ai 藍 (Indigo)" of my word "藍天群青" to the "Ai 愛 (Love)" . *
I want to love. Among other things. I want to be loved. Among other things. Like in that song or that drama or that movie.*
"Love, isn't it everywhere?" - We come to think like this. If it is so, why, for example, the near country is throwing bombs? Just saying.
Honestly, I don't understand love. I know that it's a parallel world from things like attraction or affection.*
Nobody knows what real love is. We don't know that so we try to search it, we want that so much and we try so hard, while we don't understand we pretend we do and we talk like we know everything well. Even though we don't. I want to love and I want to try to love. I want to be loved and I want to try to be loved. I mixed them up somehow, exactly like 藍天群青. They are absolutely two different things though.*
But still I'm searching for that too. I found a couple of things that look like love but they were just distorted, torn, they were like a simple curry rice (If you understand this you're real NEWS fans). I thought they were the real thing but once I took them in my hands they broke. I still don't think it's nowhere to be found though. I'm sure that love can't be seen by eyes.* I'll go on searching it the same.
But you know, I think this is a good thing. The most important one. The fact that we believe in it. That love exists. The one we must believe in is only real love. Don't be satisfied with imitations. Don't be deceived. To be dyed in pure love we must believe in innocent love. Let's dye ourself with love not colored of indigo.
If we lose the meaning of love we should read the 13th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament. It is often read during marriages, the ones that says something like: "Love is patient and is kind...".* I'm not Christian but that is not necessarily wrong. This is what I want to think. This is how I want to persuade myself.
Talking about this, there's a story about the shape of hearts. A couple of lovers wanted to create a shape to make love visible to eyes, the man did the right half, the woman did the left one. Once completed it was a tender, fluffy sphere. It shined of a beautiful light and it was deep red. But the villain who had the biggest build in the village decided that he had to break it in two. One night, while the couple was sleeping, he aimed at the sphere and swung a huge axe over it. He was to the verge of breaking the love but somehow he was stopped and the villain and his axe were rebounded by a strong impact. Love is patient. Love is sturdy. The couple proved that. But love wasn't a sphere anymore, it became a shape like this: ♥. That's all. No matter what shape it takes, there's no doubts it's still love.
Right, we call this love's shape "heart". This love's shape that cannot lose against any "hurt".*
Notes:
*The first composite of characters doesn't exist. As explained in the text he put together the kanji for indigo, sky and ultramarine blue. A counterfeit because it may seem real but doesn't exist in reality.
Later, he'll say that they are two completely different things, if you think about it, there's no way a very light blue and a dark one can be mixed together without change. I guess his point is mixing up two different colors in only one.
*Different kanji, different meaning, same reading. Ai of indigo -> Ai of love.
*"Aisareru yori mo aishitai" by Kinki Kids
"Aisuru Tame ni Aisaretai" drama of 2003 (For example, I'm not sure he's talking about this drama ^^)
*Here the difference is between 愛 (Love in every meaning) 恋 (Passionate love, romance) 好き (Affection)
*Pun. AI (Love) can't be seen by EYE.
*First Epistle to the Cotinthians, New Testament, Holy Bible:
"Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. But now faith, hope, and love remain these three. The greatest of these is love"
* Heart and Hurt in katakana are the same ハート
I didn't want this to happen, this is the last essay that Shige will write for Myojo. They'll arrive to the 60th but publishing the 3 old essays most voted by fans, I'm so sad, this series was important to Shige's fans to understand him more and be in touch with his mind. I'm really bitter that this has to end. I hope you enjoyed his work as much as I did.