The Excerpt from "Today’s Art"
November 15, 1973 – A Genius Who Accurately Foretold and Judged Modern Japanese Society: Tarō Okamoto, 52 Years Ago
A genius who boldly critiqued the Japanese people as unthinking, mentally weak, poorly informed, and intellectually shallow, all amidst a society dominated by rampant commercialism.
In a society saturated with commercialism, there are only two types of people:
① Those who create the mechanisms, and
② Those who are manipulated and exploited by them.
Excerpt from the book "Today’s Art"
For instance, let’s say you go to a professional baseball game. It can be quite enjoyable. A home run in a critical moment, a spectacular defensive play—everyone rejoices. It’s exhilarating.
But is that truly your purpose in life?
It has nothing to do with your essence. You didn’t lift a finger to make that home run happen. Even though you felt excitement in the stands, you were merely a spectator. Watching it on TV is even more detached.
You didn’t participate in what someone else achieved with your whole being. In the end, you are absent from the moment. Even if you don’t realize it, a sense of emptiness will accumulate in your heart like residue.
You think you’re having fun, but while enjoying yourself, you are actually being harmed—harmed by an indescribable void.
No matter how much you entertain yourself, even if it feels enjoyable at the time, there’s a certain hollowness. Unless you experience joy that naturally overflows from the essence of your own life, you can’t feel true satisfaction. Whether you realize it or not, your heart inherently demands this. If you can grasp that sense of fulfillment, the wholesome joy of living will naturally well up within you.
Every day, every fleeting moment, you surrender yourself to meaninglessness, absurdity, and triviality. The more society develops, the more hopelessly this wound of contradiction deepens.
I’ll say it again—most people resign themselves and go through the motions. Everyone, as a child, believes that life is something wonderful. They dream of what they’ll become when they grow up. Yet, day by day, they feel their way of living isn’t genuine. They feel restless, thinking, “This can’t be all there is.”
However, those who sense such contradictions are highly sensitive and conscientious people. Most can’t even question it—that’s how dire the situation is. And without realizing it, they continue to deceive themselves.
Unless you truly confront this and resolve it yourself, humanity will only become more spoiled and fragmented. You won’t be able to trust yourself. How, then, can you trust others?
People grow listless and lethargic, yet their nerves remain strangely irritable.
The Above Excerpt from "Today’s Art"
Tarō Okamoto, the genius who foresaw and accurately judged these truths 52 years ago, said the same things I occasionally share with you.
Today’s Japanese society is full of greedy individuals who only take, take, take, take..., endlessly consuming. There is no concept of “give and take”; even the fundamental notion of “take and give” is beyond reach.
Modern Japanese people, shockingly indifferent, commit horrifying acts with ease—like exploiting vast sums of wealth built up by the current working generation, siphoning it from future children (babies and grandchildren) through astronomical debts passed on.
It’s only natural, by fundamental principles, that Japanese people, devoid of even a fragment of genuine love, are increasingly disliked by the world and perpetuate cycles of great decline. Sigh.
Principle: The ties of greed are always severed by greed itself—without exception.
Reference Book: Keiichi Kayo’s "The Underlying Malice of the Japanese People: The True Cause of Economic Stagnation"
“How Long Will This Malicious Japan Continue?”
Japan remains the only country in the world experiencing successive declines. It’s a nation excessively stressed and irritable, yet the most isolated and lonely society globally. This has given rise to phenomena like “ending grave responsibilities,” “posthumous divorce,” and even the business of “family-ending services,” reflecting a society rife with resentment and sorrow.
Japanese people ignore truths and realities, seeing only what they wish to see, endlessly repeating a sorrowful history devoid of self-reflection or comprehensive reckoning.
The correct answer for living as a human being is already clear, yet they continue to disregard it. Former Uruguayan President José Mujica once said:
"People are not born to drive economic development. They are born to weave moments of happiness and live fulfilling lives."
The fundamental starting point for achieving this is simple: maintaining good human relationships through the basic principle of “give and take.” Without mastering this fundamental principle, what does the future hold for Japanese people?
What do you think will become of us?