SANKAI JUKU story in 1980

17th.May. 2008　　Y.Yoshikawa

*The second day.* “I’ll look for a telephone.” Takada said, and began to walk to Boulevard Saint-Germain. It was the main street that extended east and west along the left side of the Seine, the area called the Quartier Latin. The Sorbonne was here, and there were also many high schools. You could find a lot of book stores which sold antique books or academic books. Some specialized in medical science and sold manikins. Takada found a telephone booth and tried to make a call with 1/2 FF. “It’s broken.” Talking of public telephones in Paris, they were sometimes broken by thieves trying to steal the coins. In fact, about half of them were broken at that time. Fortunately, this problem has almost been solved thanks to telephone cards. He could finally make a call with the 4th telephone he used. He called Ms. Sayo Hirota, who we were supposed to visit. “Takada-san, what kind of person is she?” “I don’t know either.” “How come we are visiting her?” “Well, she’s been in Paris for a long time and knows many things. It would be useful for us to visit her, anyway.” It was really a wishy-washy excuse. We walked to the Odeon metro station. There was supposed to be a black statue of Danton, and we were supposed to wait for her there. There were plenty of movie theaters and cafes at Odeon. Street musicians were playing ‘Autumn Leaves’ at a cafe facing Odeon Square. An extremely compact portable upright piano had only about 60 keys. It was light as the exterior had been removed (as if it was a set of exposed organs.) It could amplify sound with a small amplifier with a battery. That piano had a partner……a soprano saxophone. The saxophonist played snappy mode-style jazz like Coltrane. “Bravo! Bravo!” People gave him a big hand after every solo. It was a Monday (April 28th, 1980). Everybody was in a café cheerfully drinking wine and beer. “Konnichiwa (Hello)“ A lady with waist-length hair breezed into the room. She looked a little younger than 40 years old. She was wearing a black dress patterned with small flowers. She was doe-eyed and lovable. Frankly speaking, she reminded me of a manga character called Osomatsu-kun. Her face was like a combination of two characters, Iyami and Chibita, from this manga. I imagined she would have been more standoffish the more she had got used to France. But she was not. She was so friendly and approachable. The lane from Odeon Square to École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) was called Rue Mazarine. We walked along Rue Mazarine towards the Seine. After two minutes’ walk, we arrived at her apartment. Small cafes, boutiques and wine merchants standing side by side lined the street. There was a PIN push button made of duralumin. The door opened to the sound of a weak and dull buzzer. Going through a narrow darkish tunnel, we reached an open sunny garden. Her room was on the third floor. “Won’t you have some okonomi-yaki?” Sayo-san asked us just after we entered the room. “Well……yes, please.” We answered in a hesitant way. She went to the kitchen and came back with some savory okonomi-yaki on a big white plate. “Wow, smells delicious! Thank you.” I tried to say calmly as my chopsticks moved quickly towards the food. “Ah... Sayo-san, are you from Kansai?” “Yes, I am from Kochi. And you, Yoshikawa-san?” “Me, I am from Kagawa.” “Oh, we are both from the same area – Shikoku!” This seemed to make her feel happy. It amazed even me. We had been away from Japan for only two days. Even so, meals with bread made me miss Japanese food. “Is BUTOH interesting?” “I guess it‘s good.” Takada answered importantly and proudly. “Uh-huh, it’s good, but not great.” “Well, extremely interesting. I guess it’s great.” Takada revised his previous answer. “Really?” “Sure. We will perform at Les-Halles very soon, so we hope you are coming to see us.” “Good.” Sayo-san said lapping up her tea. Sayo-san did not have usual Japanese manners, such as expressing modesty and compliments. I supposed it was because of her living in Paris for about 20 years. We finished eating okonomi-yaki. Then we learned a lot about life in Paris – how to buy tickets for the metro, the average price for an apartment, how to ask for the bill at cafes, etc.