Sunny
The days are short and the nights are early.
I spend the day in a slothful manner. Looking at the dreary autumn dusk alone, I wish I had a hobby to devote myself to.
However, when I am in such a mood, I reread “Recollections of Osamu Dazai” by Michiko Tsushima (wife of Osamu Dazai).
I especially like the chapter titled “The Study.”
In it, she writes
Dazai was really a man of no taste. He seemed to think that hobbies were just for fun, an escape. He disliked having things around him that he did or did not need, and wanted to live a simple life with only the necessities, items chosen for their function rather than their taste. He wanted to live a simple life with only the essentials, items chosen for their function rather than their taste, without being bothered by anything else.
Kodansha Bungei Bunko
When I was young and first read this, I thought, “I definitely need a hobby that I can devote myself to off the clock. It’s not good for work either.” Recently, however, I have come to think that people still end up like this when they seriously try to live each and every second of their lives.
In some interview article, Eiichiro Oda, the author of “One Piece” also said
The way to relieve stress is to write good manga. Furthermore, picture book author Ryouhiro Nishino also said that he lives a life without on and off, or in other words, he is on all the time.
He means that to live a full life, one does not need distractions or hobbies. It can only be found in work. Ryu Murakami also wrote about this in his book “Mushoku-no Hobby no Susume” (Gentosha Bunko) (sorry if I am wrong).
However, if you assume that work = hobby or think in terms of “zero one,” you will suffer, so for myself, I think I will go with the strategy of Zenji Hanyu, who said “chess is my hobby.
Dusk, no autumn light, bittersweet
