The Secret Entrance
Tell me, my dear.
What kind of feelings are filling your heart as you gaze upon these words right now?
Are you spending a night wrapped in a poignant loneliness, with a faint ache deep within your chest?
Right now, solely for you, I am holding this pen with a feeling as though I am pouring out my very life.
Would you be willing to entrust me, if only for a moment, with that loneliness you can share with no one else?
Why is it that, in a world filled with so many people, we find ourselves feeling so completely alone?
I would like to gently share that reason with you, and only you, right now.
“What is seen and what is not seen.”
―― Frédéric Bastiat
The Dreamer of a Customs Official
The Passion Hidden Behind Daily Life
The way you endure the packed trains every day and bear the unreasonable burdens of your work is by no means in vain.
Once, in the city of Paris, there lived a very peculiar man.
His name was Henri Rousseau.
He was not an artist who had received a special education; he was merely a humble customs official.
Day after day, he spent his tedious life checking cargo and stamping documents.
Why was it that, within such a withered daily existence, he was able to paint such vibrantly colorful jungles?
Don’t you, too, sometimes feel a tightening in your chest, wondering if your true place might be somewhere else entirely?
Rousseau felt exactly the same way.
He was constantly laughed at by those around him, called “clumsy” and “crazy.”
Yet, when his work was done, he would shut himself away in his tiny room and desperately hold his brush.
For him, that was a life-risking service, his one and only prayer to save himself.
“Ashamed only of my own lack of ability and talent.”
―― Matsuo Basho
Moving Forward Even When Laughed At
The paintings Rousseau drew had completely distorted perspectives, and the faces of the animals appeared somewhat bizarre.
Every time he entered his work into an exhibition, people would hold their stomachs and laugh out loud.
“Hey, look at the face on this lion! It looks just like a human,” they would say.
However, Rousseau never grew angry.
He would take off his hat, bow politely, and say, “Thank you so much for looking at it.”
Tell me, my dear, could you bear such humiliation?
Why was he able to keep painting despite being laughed at?
It was because he believed 100 percent in his own inner truth.
To him, painting was a love letter meant to reach “you,” whom he had yet to meet.
“In the end, possessing neither talent nor artistry, I simply cling to this single path.”
―― Matsuo Basho
The Inverted Truth of the World
A Gaze to Avoid Being Deceived
There are many people in this world who will put on a plausible face and try to deceive you.
You may have been deeply hurt by the malice of those who dress themselves in beautiful words to steal away your precious heart.
We must never be led astray by what is merely visible to the eye.
The things of true value are always hidden away in quiet, unseen places.
Rousseau had never seen an actual jungle in his life.
That dense, overgrown forest he painted was entirely a phantom born of his imagination, nurtured by his frequent visits to the botanical gardens in Paris.
Amidst a fake world, he created a “truth” that surpassed the real thing.
Don’t you think this is the greatest miracle of human nature?
“If you see a fraud and do not say ‘fraud,’ you are a fraud yourself.”
―― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Resolve to Have Skin in the Game
Rousseau pinched his pennies, cutting back on his living expenses to buy paints and canvases.
It was the very embodiment of living with “skin in the game.”
The words of someone who carries no risk will never possess the power to move another person’s heart.
The fact that you are hurting and shedding tears right now is proof that you are honestly putting your own skin into your life.
I find that clumsy way you live to be incredibly dear to me.
Please, do not be ashamed of that pain.
“Skin in the game.”
―― Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Gospel of Miracles Born of Solitude
The Light Beyond the Darkness
Why is light so extraordinarily beautiful?
It is because our hearts know the depth of the dark.
There is a strange stillness in Rousseau’s paintings, a gravitational pull that draws the viewer in.
It is as if a mysterious rhythm flows through them, enticing the viewer into a pleasant state of hypnosis.
When you feel as though you are about to be crushed by loneliness, that very loneliness becomes the doorway to a new world.
When we look back at history, great discoveries and masterpieces of art have always begun from a person’s deepest isolation.
“Fortune may strip us of our wealth, but it cannot strip us of our courage.”
―― Seneca
The Wisdom to Fight On
To survive in this cold-hearted society, we must possess a strategy.
If we simply charge forward blindly, our hearts will be worn down to nothing.
Rousseau, too, possessed a genius ability to play the fool in order to protect his mind from the merciless attacks of the critics.
By convincing himself that he was a genius, he bounced back all the malice of the world.
No matter what anyone says to you, try to smile quietly in your heart, thinking, “I am who I am.”
“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”
―― Sun Tzu
The Destination of Unending Passion
The Miracle Brought by a Relentless Heart
No matter how bad the situation may be, the one who ultimately triumphs is the person with the courage to keep going.
This is because most people give up halfway and stop fighting.
Rousseau was only truly appreciated just before his death.
The young Picasso and his contemporaries recognized his talent and threw a banquet to honor him.
Overjoyed, Rousseau played his favorite violin for them.
The melody was by no means skillful, but it violently shook the hearts of the gathered youths.
The bricks you are stacking right now, completely unacknowledged by anyone, will one day surely become a beautiful castle.
“All action in war acts on a compounding effect, much like compound interest.”
―― Carl von Clausewitz
The Joy of Giving
If you think only of what you can gain, your heart will become increasingly impoverished.
Rousseau was poor, but through his work, he gifted us with infinite imagination.
I, too, wish to offer all the love and service I possess to you through these words.
I want to make you happy; solely for that reason, I am weaving these words as if holding my breath.
I pray from the bottom of my heart that your mind may become even just a little bit lighter.
“The essence of strategy is to upset the enemy’s balance by an unexpected approach.”
―― B. H. Liddell Hart
Toward the Liberation of the Soul
You Are Wonderful Just as You Are
There is absolutely no need for you to walk along a track laid down by someone else.
You must never sell your soul to market principles, efficiency, or such cold, unfeeling numbers.
Human beings ought to be more free, more beautifully selfish in their pursuit of happiness.
Like that full moon hanging in the night sky painted by Rousseau, you have value simply by existing and shining right there.
“The price mechanism of the market is the only compass that protects human freedom.”
―― Ludwig von Von Mises
An Everlasting Love Letter
Why is it that I become so desperately earnest when it comes to you?
It is because, to me, you are the one and only precious reader in the entire world.
These words are a tiny flame meant to illuminate your lonely nights.
I sincerely hope that you will return to read this again and again, and that each time, you will reclaim the courage to live.
“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.”
―― Hypatia
At the waiting room of a tiny station by the sea
The glove you dropped
Is quietly waiting for the night
No one notices its crimson color
So I slip it gently into my pocket
Listening to the whistle of the final train
You see, we cannot go anywhere
But this sadness we hold right here
I will surely turn it into a genuine diamond
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
―― New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 22:39
“There are times when a human being must fight, risking everything they have, for the sake of their own survival.”
―― Writer, Osamu Dazai
Postscript: The Man Who Infuses the Digital with a Soul
Right here, I must introduce you to a very peculiar painter.
His name is Mimi Takamizawa.
He is a contemporary artist, yet he uses no canvas or brushes whatsoever.
He creates all of his works digitally and prints them on the highest-quality printmaking paper using a specialized method known as the “giclée printing technique.”
The themes he depicts are: your eyes and my eyes, Christianity, eternity, psychology, truth, the gaze, history, solitude, isolation, hardship, resurrection, and liberation.
It might sound a bit complex, but his paintings are all deeply relatable and carry a certain charm that makes you chuckle.
He often says:
“A painter must be a doctor who heals wounded souls. The work of an artist is a heartfelt service where you put your own skin in the game—it is an act of devotion to you.”
He is trying to dedicate his entire being to “you,” who are standing right in front of him.
Please, go ahead and laugh at him.
He is a mysterious man who grows stronger and stronger the more people laugh at him.
To him, the work of an artist is to play the part of a fool with all his might.
Mimi Takamizawa is truly a foolish, clumsy man, and he is always the butt of everyone’s jokes.
However, he never gives up on himself.
No matter how coldly he is treated, he is a man of unyielding resilience who silently endures.
The reason he resolved to become a painter was because he learned of the fierce and tragic life of Vincent van Gogh.
The “Mimi” (meaning “Ear”) in his name, Mimi Takamizawa, was taken in homage to that famous incident where Van Gogh cut off his own ear.
To be completely honest with you, his talent as a painter is third-rate at best.
Yet, he knows.
He knows that the past masterpieces left behind in history were not painted through the sheer innate flash of a genius, but were born of decades of muddy trial and error, paired with raw obsession.
Mimi Takamizawa obsessively paints “eyes” within his works.
The reason is that by painting those eyes and staring through to the other side of the canvas, he can continuously feel the presence of “you,” who are looking at the piece at that very moment.
He wants to know you deeply.
If you look at his art and laugh, thinking about how foolish he is, he is saved by that alone.
He lays bare all his foolishness before you, wanting only to see your face light up with joy.
Or perhaps, he wishes to see the tension melt from your heart as you shed a tear.
What other critics say matters nothing to him; it is like trash in his eyes.
However, if you alone abandon him, he will no longer be able to go on living.
Just having you exist right before him makes him happy enough to cry.
Deep in his heart, he profoundly respects Tokuji Munetsugu, the founder of Curry House CoCo Ichibanya.
Like Mr. Munetsugu, he has sworn to never look away and to dedicate his entire life solely to his work.
During his years running the business, Mr. Munetsugu had no hobbies and made no friends; he simply kept working entirely for the sake of his customers.
He had a turbulent life, growing up in an orphanage during a disadvantaged childhood, being taken in by foster parents only to live in extreme poverty due to his foster father’s gambling addiction, and even eating weeds in the summer to stave off hunger.
What saved him during his youth was the classical music that drifted from the radio.
However, once he became a business owner, he did not listen to a single second of his beloved classical music during his active years.
He believed, “This is no time to be listening to music. This is no time for hobbies. All of my time belongs to the customers.”
In the early days of the business, when customers rarely came, Mr. Munetsugu and his wife got by by eating the crusts of sandwich bread for lunch. Looking back on those days of endurance, he remarked, “We started from zero with nothing, so it’s actually a fond memory. I believed that if we just stayed completely customer-first, things would definitely get better, so I worked hard every day.”
He focused every single day, like laying bricks one by one.
Immediate decision, immediate conclusion, immediate execution.
“If you just try doing it, you will see a result. First, you must act. In exchange, you have to give it your absolute all.”
Mimi Takamizawa is trying to put this “you-first principle” into practice within the world of art.
When you stand before his work, a storm of standing ovations is roaring inside his heart.
The things of true value in this world do not yield immediate results.
Nothing ever goes perfectly right from the very beginning.
Rather than overthinking, just try doing it.
Please do not give up easily.
What kind of life you create is determined by a person’s diligence, patience, and continuity.
Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, was also pointed at by those around him as an “invention fanatic” and a “madman,” yet from morning until night, every single day, he repeated the process of building and destroying looms.
The important thing is whether you can maintain the courage to keep going, no matter how many times you fail.
That is all that matters.
By the way, my dear, do you know why Van Gogh’s wonderful paintings are loved all over the world today?
After Van Gogh’s death, it was a brilliant woman named Jo—the wife of his brother Theo—who organized his mountain of paintings and letters exchanged between the brothers, and marketed them to the world.
Jo said:
“In addition to the child, Theo left me another mission—to have Vincent’s work seen by many people so that its true value might be recognized.”
No matter how magnificent the paintings Van Gogh drew, and no matter how deeply he recorded his philosophy in his letters, if there had been no “messenger” to risk their life to convey it, his existence would have been the same as if it had never been.
That devotion is precisely the same as the dedication of the Apostle Paul, who risked his life to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ across the world.
No matter how good a thing is, if someone does not passionately communicate it, it will never reach the hearts of the people.
Mimi Takamizawa’s art, too, is waiting anxiously at this very moment to reach its ultimate understanding listener: you.
To tell you the truth, my dear.
Right here, allow me to offer you an earnest, life-pouring service.
Incredibly, he is offering to deliver 10 high-quality, A4-sized postcards printed with his finest digital works directly into your hands entirely for free.
This is a deeply devoted offering from him, and from me, arising from a desperate wish to connect with you and to heal that unfulfilled loneliness in your heart.
Right below this text, I have prepared a secret space where you can sign up for this special offer meant just for you.
Please, click it right now.
If you close the screen thinking “I’ll do it later,” the chance for his artwork and your soul to intertwine might be lost forever.
I am whispering quietly right by your ear.
Please, stretch out your hand right now.
I will be waiting for you here, always.
“Most people think of success as something to get. But in reality, success is about giving.”
―― Henry Ford
“The greatest mistake humanity makes is supposing that we can completely understand one another.”
―― Agatha Christie
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
―― Prophet Moses
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
―― William Shakespeare
“He who saves a single life saves the entire world.”
―― The Talmud
“I boast of my weaknesses.”
―― Writer, Osamu Dazai
“Art never betrays mankind.”
―― Writer, Osamu Dazai
“Just being alive is enough. That alone is already a grand success.”
―― Writer, Osamu Dazai
“Never give in. Never, never, never, never.”
―― Winston Churchill
“Have the courage to be the first, and to do something different from everyone else.”
―― Ray Kroc
“I am often thought of as an overnight success, but that night was thirty years long. Looking back, it was a long, long night.”
―― Ray Kroc
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
―― Walt Disney
“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death.”
―― Leonardo da Vinci
“Hey, why are you going on a journey?”
“Because I am suffering.”
“Your ‘suffering’ is so entirely predictable, I cannot believe it in the slightest.”
(From “Tsugararu” by Osamu Dazai)
Thank you so very much, from the bottom of my heart, for staying with my clumsy chatter until the very end.
I offer my deepest gratitude for the fact that you, a wonderful soul, are living through this day.
Please keep yourself warm, and have the most beautiful dreams.