It brightens your mood. But it also makes you tear up. Because it's bright, the lights go out, and there's death and separation. But they overcome it with ease. In fact, there may be times when it's not that easy, but they remain calm and kind. In other words, it's human kindness. Even if you cry, in the end, a gentle breeze will blow. This book is filled with such people and events, and is an essay by actress Tamae Ando, and reading it will make you feel very good.
I've known Ando for a long time, and we've even had parties at his family's tonkatsu restaurant. When I had business nearby and had a craving for some excellent tonkatsu, I'd go there alone for lunch. So I've met his father and mother, who appear in the book, and it brought tears to my eyes. When I picture the Ogu shopping arcade, the setting of the story, I recall many things. Though the location is different, I remember being the grandson of a greengrocer in a Tokyo shopping arcade, and the old man in the shoe store in front of the store would do funny dances and perform magic tricks and be really entertaining, or the old man at the tempura restaurant was a jerk and the old man was always fighting. I remembered all sorts of things about the shopping arcade.
Even so, I feel like there aren't many books this light-hearted these days. But it's not just light, it's filled with human warmth. Ando's descriptions of the scenes are also excellent. The sense of the scent emanating from them is irresistible. If you read it, you too will feel as if you've stepped into a human warmth store and felt a warmth in your heart. After all, humanity is made up of kindness, and while I resented the current state of the world where kindness is lacking, I was immersed in the kindness emanating from this small shopping street.
