I'm always looking at the spine of the book that made me
"Well, as you can see, it's a bookshelf that lacks any intelligence. There's nothing literary about it at all (laughs)."
Hitoshi Ohne's room is located in the north corner of the first floor of the office he works at. It is about 8 tatami mats in size. About 10 years ago, he was given the room because his desk was overflowing with books, CDs, and DVDs and it was getting out of hand.
"Until then, we had been using it as a storeroom for our office, but several of our staff members had seen ghosts in this room. They all said there was a boy in white clothes (laughs). But I've never seen anything, and I have zero psychic ability. So, if we could have the space, I thought this would be fine."
The bookshelf, which looks like a combination of boxes of different widths and heights, was made by a friend of mine, a jack-of-all-trades named "Kin-chan."
"I had shelves made for each size of book, magazine, paperback, manga, record, DVD, and CD, and arranged them randomly. It would be weird if they were neatly arranged by genre, right? I prefer a messy look, and I think this bookshelf really reflects my diverse personality."
In his workroom in the office. The bookshelves along the entire wall are filled with his favorite things, and everyone who visits is envious. 
Recently, he often listens to music on cassette tapes. "Their unique, soft sound is soothing."
Each shelf has depth, so you can stack books in two or three layers.
"The books on the front are the ones whose spines I always want to look at. After all, they are what made me who I am, so looking at them makes me feel calm. The books on the top shelf, which are harder to reach, are the ones that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They are all books by Fujiko Fujio A and Chiba Tetsuya, and I remember them without having to reread them. They are books of gods to me, so they are practically like a household altar (laughs)."
The middle shelves are lined with books, collections of works, and screenplays by film and TV creators such as Itami Juzo, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Yamada Taichi, and David Fincher.
"Due to the nature of my job, I often pick up books like this. Screenplay books are especially interesting because when I read them, I can visualize them in my mind, which helps me practice my work. One outstanding book that came out recently was a collection of unpublished scenarios by Yamada Taichi, which includes the scenario for the elusive drama, "Fuzouryou no Ringotachi V." I was thrilled."
"Uneven Apples" is an ensemble drama about young people, starring Kiichi Nakai, Tokito Saburo, Yanagisawa Shingo, Tezuka Satomi, Ishihara Mariko, Nakajima Shoko, and Takahashi Hitomi. Parts 1 and 2 were broadcast in the 1980s, and parts 3 and 4 were broadcast in the 1990s, depicting the "apples" changing with the times and age.
"Yamada-sensei was writing the final chapter, Part 5, which depicts Ringo and the others in their 40s in the early 2000s. The script was completed, and it was decided that it would be produced as a two-hour drama in two halves. However, for various reasons, the project was shelved. Therefore, only those involved knew what the story was about. Now, it has finally been made public.
Moreover, Yamada-sensei's scripts are so well-structured that images pop into your mind as you read, and Southern All Stars' music plays in the background. Even if you can't see the movie, you can still see it in your mind. And because Yamada-sensei has his own unique nihilism and cynicism, it's great that you can actually laugh. In this episode, Nakategawa (Kiichi Nakai) is in hell (laughs)."
Incidentally, the first screenplay that Daikon read was So Kuramoto's "From the North Country." The book he bought at the time is still on the shelf.
"It was 1981, so I was in the first year of junior high school. I was watching the drama religiously, and while it was still on the air, the script had already been released in two parts. It even explained how it would end. That was the first time I'd heard of a script, so I read it while standing there and was shocked to find that it was written exactly like the drama. I spent my meager pocket money to buy it."
"Uneven Apples V / Men's Journeys (Motorcycle): A Collection of Unpublished Screenplays by Yamada Taichi" by Yamada Taichi, edited by Touki Hiroki
This book includes the elusive "Part 5" of "Uneven Apples," an unpublished episode of "Otokotachi no Tabiji" (a drama broadcast on NHK from 1976 to 1982) newly discovered in the archives, and a script for an unproduced two-hour suspense drama. Kokusho Kankokai / 2,970 yen.
"David Fincher: Mind Games" by Adam Neyman, translated by Keiichiro Ihara
This is a book that explains the works of David Fincher, whom Daikon admires. "I'm nearsighted, so I bought the Kindle version to read the text, but I also wanted to have it as a physical object. I tend to buy both types of books when I like them." The preface is by Bong Joon-ho. DU BOOKS / 4,950 yen.
"CHIRASHI" – Tokyo Punk & New Wave '78-80s, edited by Toshio Iijima and Hirokazu Furukawa
This visual book is a collection of flyers and leaflets that contain information on live shows and releases by punk and new wave bands active in the Japanese underground scene from the late 1970s to the 1980s. SLOGAN / 4,290 yen.
"Denki Groove's Melon Farm - The Bride is Death 7" by Denki Groove
A collection of hilarious conversations between Ishino Takkyu, whom Daikon considers "the most terrifying senior in the world," and Pierre Taki. "I read it as a rakugo story. There's no other book with so little substance." This is the latest in a series of interviews that has been running for over 25 years. Rockin' On / 1,870 yen.
Listening to hardcore punk and watching Yokoyama SAKEVI's madness
By the way, Daikon says that his bookshelf is only in this room and not at home.
"I don't have anything at home. It's simply a matter of space, and I have a family, so I don't have my own room other than the bedroom. So I don't do anything at home. I don't even have a computer. When I get home, I just watch recorded TV shows.
It's here that I write scripts and edit videos, and it's also here that I spend completely unproductive time, flipping through collections of punk and new wave flyers from the 80s while listening to Jagatara or Stalin and reminiscing, thinking, "Ah, this is it, I went to see this when I was in high school," or listening to GISM at full volume while looking at a collection of Yokoyama SAKEVI's insane artwork."
Is it because the space feels like a vacuum-packed version of your adolescent study room?
"That's why I can read a book about Denki Groove and laugh out loud without any worries (laughs). This place and the books here are like a coordinate axis. What's more, I think it's important that it's located within the company. If I wanted my own space, I could just rent a room outside. But I don't want to do that. It's precisely because it's located within a public space. In the end, it's like being at home and worrying about your parents' eyes, I'm sure (laughs)."
Even so, I've been in this room for about an hour, but there's no sign of the boy in white clothes.
"After I came along, no one looked at it anymore. Maybe he passed away after reading the books on the shelves (laughs). Or rather, what if I passed away? I have 10 years left to prepare for the end of my life. What to do with the things on the shelves is a theme for subculture guys."
