Double Planet Episode 5

Double Planet
Episode 5: "Assuming Miracles Begin Today"
Satoru Aono (Furuta Jun & Kanda Yota / Radio Shonan personalities)

Online classes have finally started at my high school.

You can take classes if you have a smartphone or a computer.
It seems the teachers are still figuring things out, so for now they're only streaming two 45-minute lessons per day.
Yesterday's classes were English and Japanese.
It's a rather strange feeling to have all 300 or so second-year students watching the same lesson all at the same time.
I'm sure there were some people who weren't listening seriously, but I was listening seriously.
If I write it like that, people might mistakenly think I'm a serious student, so I'll be honest.

Satoru Aono is definitely starting to change.

It might sound like an exaggeration, but even though every day is like this,
Since I started making music, life has become "a little" more enjoyable.
With the world in such a state, we realize just how important these "little things" are.
I feel it deeply, in my own way.

Next year, I'll be a student preparing for entrance exams.

I may need to study for entrance exams, but more than that (I'm nowhere near the level to say this, but oh well, I'll just say it), I feel like I'm starting to understand the meaning of studying as a musician.

First, let's look at English.

Up until now, I'd just listened to Western music without much thought. Even though I liked it, I was a melody-first kind of person.
I've always loved Western music with cool melodies, but lately I've become interested in the lyrics as well.
This was largely because I wanted to try writing lyrics myself.
When I tried looking up my favorite Western songs online, I found all sorts of translations. Some people translated them with their own interpretations. There were subtle differences in nuance, so it was hard to tell them apart. Right, it's their own interpretation. With that thought in mind, I started translating my favorite Western songs with my own interpretations. Western song lyrics are often in very simple English, so even someone like me can manage if I understand grammar and vocabulary. Right now, I'm tackling "Don't Look Back into the Sun" by my favorite band, The Libertines.

And this is where the fateful encounter with Japanese language came about.

That day, the person standing at the podium in my phone's image was a male teacher in his 50s named Sawamura, who had just been assigned to our high school this semester. He was rather plump, and despite it being springtime, sweat was pouring from his forehead like a waterfall. And the class hadn't even started yet.

Naturally, the class group chat on LINE was filled with people making fun of it.

"What's wrong with that guy?! (lol)"
"It's the middle of summer!!"
"That's gross lol"

He's not exactly what you'd call dapper. To put it bluntly, Mr. Sawamura is a rather unremarkable-looking man.

"Hello everyone, my name is Sawamura."
Originally, I was supposed to be teaching in the same classroom, in front of all of you.
However, given the current circumstances, I'm speaking now via live stream through a camera.
I teach a class on modern Japanese literature, and today I'd like to share one of my favorite quotes."

With that, Mr. Sawamura picked up a white piece of chalk and began writing something in large letters, filling the entire blackboard with his concentration.

With things turning out like this, the group chat won't stay silent.

"I've seen something like this in old dramas."
"Kin八?!"
"What's that?"
"I don't know."
"The sweat on my back is like the American continent lol"
"No, that's the African continent lol"

I got tired of reading LINE messages and started looking at the handwriting of Professor Sawamura.

"Walk alone, like a rhinoceros horn. With dignity!"

A 19-character sentence that fills the entire length of the blackboard.
After finishing writing, I wiped the sweat from my brow with a hand towel and began to speak.

"Walk alone, like a rhinoceros's horn."
These are the words of the Buddha, found in the scripture called the Sutta Nipata.
The metaphor of a rhinoceros's (single) horn symbolizes "loneliness."
In short, it means don't be afraid of loneliness.
Nowadays, you can easily connect with others through LINE and various other methods.
If things don't go well, you might feel lonely.
But I think it's okay to even embrace that kind of loneliness.
This might just be me defending myself as someone who's still single.
Hahaha"

I suppose the idea was to get laughs from that.
In the classroom, where only Mr. Sawamura was present, a hollow, self-inflicted laugh echoed.

"And also the phrase, 'Be confident!'"
Does anyone know about this?
Actually, there's a legendary professional baseball player named Eiji Sawamura who shares the same last name as you, teacher.
It's his catchphrase. He always adds "With confidence!" to the end of his sentences.
This phrase has a certain nobility to it, and it's also uplifting.
I've grown quite fond of it, and even the teacher wears it often.
You may all be spending a lot of time alone these days.
Try to embrace even that kind of loneliness with confidence."

I was moved all by myself.
Those words were incredibly comforting, especially for someone like me who's trying to make music all by myself.
As soon as class ended, I would open my lyric notebook and start writing whatever came to mind.
There is no single right answer.
Kanda-san from "Love & Music" said that it's okay to start writing lyrics from something like a diary. Maybe I just wanted to write down the feelings that welled up inside me, like in a diary. After I finished writing it all in one go, I decided on the title.

"Words of Miracles"

Gathering up scattered dreams and arranging them
If you take some shape and re-examine the current situation
The miraculous words we encountered

If you're chanting Buddhist prayers to me and a horse,
Sometimes things can really move your heart.
Encounters are always sudden, and I'm grateful for this opportunity.

"Never give up! You have to win no matter what! Be proud!!"
"Not just win, but win in style! And with dignity!!"
Let the miraculous words bloom in full glory

Let's pass it on to future generations, let's leave it behind.
As Sawamura said, I too have my own way of doing things.
Let's raise our voices to get started! It's in full bloom now.

"Never give up! You have to win no matter what! Be proud of it!!"
"Not just win, but win in style! And with dignity!!"
Let the miraculous words bloom in full glory

I'm the hero, I'm good at it.
If you think that way, you'll find courage.

"Never give up! You have to win no matter what! Be proud of it!!"
"Not just win, but win in style! And with dignity!!"
"Never give up! You have to win no matter what! Be proud of it!!"
Let the miraculous words bloom in full glory

"to be continued"

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