Looking Back - Endless Story
It was probably on one of those days when I was at the OptiCafe, the Internet cafe in the Yodobashi Camera building in Umeda, that I heard it for the first time. Probably in the late fall of 2005, and it was playing on the muzak system. I thought nothing of it at the time, and it somehow found its way into my subconsciousness. And there it lay dormant until another day when I was strolling through the computer department of Yodobashi Camera. There, on the computer monitor, was the music video.
It was my introduction to Endless Story, performed for the live-action movie version of the manga comic Nana, by Yuna Ito.
I had heard much of J-Pop, the genre of Japanese popular music, but never thought that I would be interested. After all, it was in an entirely different language, and I wouldn't know one artist from the other or what song they were famous for. But that all changed when I saw the video for Endless Story.
As I said, the song had laid somewhere in my mind, and when I saw the video that day at Yodobashi, I recognized it immediately, and took note of the title and artist. The video was on a programming loop as a demo for the computer's sound and graphic abilities, so as soon as it ended, it started again. I watched the video one time around, and was captivated by the song's melody, the beautiful voice of the singer, and could sense the emotion that was conveyed by the music alone. Oh, and one more thing...part of the song was in English. You can see the video at www.youtube.com when you type the title and artist in the search engine.
In the spring, I bought the Endless Story single CD at the Tsutaya media store in Dotonbori - my first J-Pop CD. In many ways, it became a symbol of those final months living in Osaka. Upon reading the lyrics and hearing the sadness in the music, the theme of loss and wanting more while keeping a brave face seemed to suit my mood as I finished up my working tenure in Japan. I had lived in Osaka for ten months, and I felt somewhat settled there. I had gotten used to the routine there. I was happy. And I felt guilty for leaving. The friends that I had made, I felt that I had barely gotten to know. There was so much of this country that I had not seen, but I enjoyed every little bit that I had.
And I would miss it all.
On Monday June 5, 2006, as I said goodbye to Osaka, I kept a stiff upper lip and refused to look behind me as the train headed to the airport. My heart felt empty, but I also felt an incredible resolve to not let this be the last time I was here. No, there was too much here for me to simply forget. The people and the country that I had grown to love were too important, and I vowed to make my relationship with Japan just like the song - an endless story.
