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# 07 WAVE #
Myojo 2007.01



In Mid-September, I went to Hawaii together with Koyama and Tegoshi, just the three of us. It was the first time that I went to Hawaii privately, though I had been there before around five times related to my job. But no matter how often I go there, this refreshing feeling when you step out of the airport is always new.

At first we wanted to stay for three nights, five days, but there was an emergency with our plane back which didn't arrive from Japan, so in the end we had to stay for four nights, six days. With happenings like that it was quite a chaotic vacation. But it was also a fulfilling vacation I wouldn't want to miss. In Hawaii, wherever you go you see Japanese people, and in most places they understand Japanese, so it half feels as if you were in Japan. But it has its own unique culture, and I realized once more what a wonderful place it is.

On the third day after we had arrived in Hawaii, the three of us finally came to experience scuba diving. Because of a meteorological low the sea was muddy and you couldn't look very far. But despite that, there was no measure for our excitement when we met a large swarm of fish deep in the sea, and all of us promised ourselves we would take our licences next time we came to Hawaii. 70% of the earth is water, and no matter how much we research, we will never know about all of it. It may be because of this that people feel entranced by the sea's mysteries.

Our instructor at that time, Kôji-san (we had met him there), looked as if he was in his twenties, but in reality he was 38! And it wasn't just his outward appearance which made him seem so young, it was in his mannerisms too. He talked about lots of different things with us. Kôji-san also loved surfing, so when he learned that we had no experience in that area, he talked passionately about surfing.

"You know, in Hawaii there is a rule that you must enter a single wave alone. Well, but in Waikiki it's different. So when a person meets a wave, he must give thanks for this encounter and feel duty-bound to ride this wave until the moment it disappears. He has to treasure it. Because Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing."

As he said this, Kôji-san's face was bathed in the light of the sun and it truly sparkled. And when he had ended his speech, you could almost feel this emotion in his expression, that said "This is why I love Hawaii."

There will never be the same wave twice. The now that comes along together with the wave, these moments will never come again. Be it for better or for worse, we can only follow them in our memories. That is why I want to live in the now in a way that I won't regret things. In other words, as if everything was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. These words belong to my favourite saying, but for me they also express Hawaii perfectly. This time, it was a coincidence that we visited Hawaii, and it was coincidence which led us to Kôji-san. And it was this Kôji-san which gave us such a good advice, to "live your life to the fullest", something that I always feel in my heart too. I couldn't help but feel that this encounter with Kôji-san was an inevitable coincidence, something that was born as a chance of a lifetime.

It's up to each person how to take things in life. But if you just live each day without thinking anything, there is no sense in having been born as a human! That is what I think. It's not much if you dispose of it with "But hey, it's just a wave.", but Kôji-san and the surfers of Hawaii who attach so much thought to a single wave looked very cool to me. Like the surfers who don't waste a single moment and ride the wave until its very end, I want to live in bright and shining days.


[Small text under the essay]

"Lately, I'm meeting Koyama at least once in two days. The day before yesterday, we went to eat Miyazaki specialities...." Ringringringringring. At that time, Katô-sensei's phone started ringing. "Hello, Koyama? Yeah, I'm finished with the photo shoot, we can go!" (Call over.) "Truth is, I'm meeting Koyama today too♪" Ever since coming back from Hawaii, Katô-sensei's bond with Koyama has become even deeper.

Translated by riccichan

* Do not repost/retranslate w/o permission *

Labels: Kato Shigeaki, ROCK STAR