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THE WORLD OF YABUUCHI SatoshiEsculptor
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| I wrote previously about my struggles with the computer, of my pathetic efforts on the keyboard, how, as a completely computer-illiterate, middle-aged man, I had to put my pride to one side and ask my young assistants for help. In the two years that have elapsed since then my attitude towards the computer has undergone a dramatic change. In the beginning, my main use of the computer was for word processing, but now I also rely on it for communications over the internet. I receive e-mail from people virtually everyday and the medium has replaced the fax machine as my main method of staying in touch with people. I found that once I became accustomed to it, e-mail was by far the most convenient way to communicate. Despite the huge technological advances of recent years, many middle-aged men still find it a source of constant dismay. Recently I corrected a manuscript and e-mailed it to the publisher only to be told that they were unable to open the file as the only person who understood the computer was absent and we ended up going through the text verbally over the telephone. Again, a friend of mine who works in the sales department of a large company was provided with a PDA to help him keep up with his e-mail but when he took it home, his primary-school daughter pounced on it and proceed to touch-type, the result being that he lost what little confidence he had in his ability. I find the current spread of mobile telephones is quite remarkable, but I wish that something could be done about the way in which people use them. Not only young people but even middle-aged men, who should know better, think nothing of breaking off a conversation in mid-sentence if their telephone rings. The phones are all provided with an answering service so they should utilize this and reply to the call when they are not involved with something else. I am also against the earphones that are produced to allow people to listen to the phone while they are driving. It is not uncommon to see people in meetings or walking down the street with the earphone screwed into their ear and I think that they are to be pitied as this pathological yearning for information is not natural. When I opened my first studio about ten years ago I received so few calls that I waited eagerly for the phone to ring, but as the number of calls increased, they gradually became a nuisance, I was loathe to stop work just to answer them and so I installed a fax machine. I remember a friend who worked for a university coming to see me and looking at my new fax/telephone with interest. "I wish I could use a fax," he said, "but none of the people I have to contact has one." I think that this is very similar to the situation with e-mail today. Only four or five years have passed since the people around me all bought fax machines and only about two years since they bought mobile phones. I cannot help but be amazed by the rapid changes taking place in the field of communications. In this day and age, with ever-growing telephone numbers and zip codes, the introduction of digital television, experiments with electronic money, and the construction of fiber-optic networks, both trading and communications are becoming increasingly concentrated on the internet. When I recently published the book, "For the Public - 1" I advertised it on my web site and was surprised to receive ten orders within a few days. Once again, a documentary about me entitled "The World of Children" was aired on Kansai Television at the beginning of December and a large number of viewers checked my web site immediately afterwards, sending e-mail with their opinions of the program. However, this is not to say that my opportunity to write in the normal way has been diminished in any way. Part of my job involves signing the wooden boxes in which my works are kept, which means that I have more chance than most to write using the traditional brush and ink. I also make an effort to write private letters and thank-you cards with a fountain pen, even though I know my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired. Recently, it has become fashionable to send people illustrated letters and I think that this is a good custom as it allows people to remain familiar with the art of letter writing and it certainly has a lot more cultural value than calling somebody on a mobile telephone. I find handwritten English extremely difficult to read and can understand why the typewriter was developed so early in the West. Some of the letters I receive resemble nothing more than a series of loops and swirls and I have to read them through five or six times before I can even grasp the gist of their contents. I must admit, however, they provide a challenge and sense of accomplishment similar to that of solving a crossword puzzle.When I have to write a complicated letter to send overseas, I write it first in Japanese and then have it translated by an English translator who once advised me that when I was writing to a close friend, I should do so by hand. This is a custom that appears to be true of every country in the world and it is something that I think very important. When I receive greetings cards at the end of the year from overseas friends who I have not seen for a long time, I enjoy trying to read what they have written while at the same time appreciating the thought and effort they have put into it. |
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YABUUCHI Satoshi's Public Relations Dept.
UWAMUKI PROJECT webmaster@uwamuki.com All the text and images used on this site is copyrighted and its unauthorized use is strictly forbidden. |
