The Results That Process Brings

I have been out gathering pampas grass (susuki) to use in a piece for a New Year’s event. At first I figured around 20,000 stalks would do… but once I actually laid out the susuki I had gathered, I found I would need more than 50,000. Judging the timing, I have kept up days of frequent gathering trips—to Nagano, Chiba, Machida, and elsewhere—thanks to the goodwill and cooperation of local people.

One adult, in a single day, selecting and cutting only the usable susuki, gets maybe 2,000 stalks at best—a number that sets one on edge. Then one day, on my way back from the flower market, a fine stand of high-quality susuki leaped into my view. I couldn’t help crying out in my heart, “This is the place!” Hurrying over, I found several prefab huts—where day laborers working at the Port of Tokyo gathered—standing surrounded by susuki. Thinking it wouldn’t do to show up empty-handed, I bought some manju (steamed buns) nearby, bowed my head to the man who seemed to be the boss, and asked, “Excuse me, might I be allowed to cut the susuki here?” He replied, “I can’t take that. This isn’t our land, you know. But nobody’s growing it, so cut as much as you like. How many do you need?” Timidly I said, “About 20,000, I suppose…,” at which the men’s eyes went round: “That’s a big job! Hey, everyone, give him a hand!!” That day’s gathering came to an unexpected number of stalks.

By taking on a large-scale susuki work, I am filled with the joy of having met warmhearted people I never expected. I am brimming with the feeling that, to repay everyone who helped me, I must pour gratitude into each and every stalk of susuki and create a moving piece worthy of the dawn of 2009.