How is it currently in New York?

The lockdown has ended in NY, but the number of people infected in the entire US is increasing, and an increasing number of states have gone back into lockdown. In NY, many people are the kind who won’t even use an umbrella when it rains, but even these people are all wearing masks, and they are taking it seriously. I think they are moved by a sense of community to wear masks not for themselves but for the sake of others. However, due to this pandemic, there are so many more homeless people and people begging on the streets; the city is hurting so much.

So, no parties or events to speak of?

None. There are probably some happening underground? I also have been invited but I declined to go, thinking that it’s still too soon. Everyone has been really holding back, and it feels like they are waiting for the time to come. The scale of infection in the USA is huge; my friend lost their mother, and I heard from a friend who caught COVID that it was incredibly rough, so I think that compared to Japan, threat of COVID hits very close to home here.

Do you ever feel homesick for Japan?

To be frank, not at all. (laughs). Sometimes I do think that I would like to eat my mother’s cooking, or that I would like to go to the best izakaya, or that I would like to see my friends… but I think the level of freedom is completely different. Close to ten years have already passed, but since coming to NY, it feels like I’ve been freed from the self that was trapped inside others, and this feeling has stayed. I only need to think of myself, I can challenge myself to make music, to cook, to do anything I want, and no one judges me for it. I think checking out Japan through Instagram is enough for me. Since there are many people from different backgrounds in NY, no one is held back, though it’s not unified. Despite being a huge metropolis, NY is surprisingly laid-back, and I feel that I can live a healthy life, mentally and through food. I respect the attention to detail that virtuous Japanese handicraftsmen take but judging people over fine details, paying attention to the differences of other people, and clinging to that… There are so many things that I’m fine with not remembering. Everyone has so much life, and I don’t pay attention to the little things, and this puts my body and soul at peace. (laughs).

Do you think that the transformation of the world during the current pandemic could be a turning point for further evolution of your creations?

Since life itself became so simple once the pandemic hit, I was able to reevaluate myself and the world, new experiments I wanted to try were born, patterns were made and destroyed, and I felt that I had been thrust into a new world within myself… It’s the shared experience that people worldwide felt these feelings at the same time— the globalization during the age of the pandemic…

Especially in regards to creativity, how do you think the world will change from here on?

I think it will become more and more creative.

What makes you think so?

Society isn’t really functioning so I think that people will feel that they can only do it by themselves, or that they want to try something new. Right now, everyone is at home and movement is limited, so you can only let loose through imagination. So many people around me started cooking, and I have friends who finally realized how interesting it can be; others started making beaded accessories or started knitting, and that seems really entertaining too. At any rate, I think it’s wonderful to embrace those creative feelings. During this time, I also took on new challenges that I hadn’t tried before, and I tried to make various things. It’s not just limited to myself; in this way, I think that everyone is going to become creative.

Could you send a positive message for the future in your own words directed to our readers?

Don’t harass yourself ❤
Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking