Jiro Ono, the brilliant sushi master of Japan, is a life-coach. For his two restaurateur sons; for his critics and customers; for any who would listen. I am listening. For a man to be making sushi and dispensing advice into his later eighties, he is well worth listening to.
Jiro had parents who kicked him to the pavement when he was about six years old--telling him, as he entered school, he now "had no home". He took this, literally, and proceeded to create a path of toughness and independence. Apprenticing at an early age, he began to understand the worth of single-minded effort. He states he "fell in love with sushi-making". Falling in love with what one seems born to do is wise.(Harder to FIND what one was born to do.) However, once one discovers this journey, one must keep to it, full force.
Jiro speaks of never complaining about one's job. Of always seeking to learn and to use that learning to excel. Never be satisfied with what one has done, today. Though extremely difficult, do better, tomorrow. Above all: keep working. I feel the resonance of these axioms.
Jiro Ono is humble in his excellence. However, he is a task master. His greatest gifts to his sons were demanding rigorousness from their early years--a rigorousness that pushed them to his own heights. He knows he was hard on them--as he has always been on himself--as maybe his parents, however inadvertently, were hard on him. However, this strict code of self-improvement has paid off in his existence.
Understanding that, without seafood, his art, his business, would be non-existent, Ono also speaks of the commercial world balancing profit with caretaking of the planet. His long view comes from witnessing the steady decline of species over eight decades--all from over-fishing. One cannot separate the consciousness of devouring perfect sushi from consciousness of the oceans where that sushi originated. This is part of his passion, too.
An artist like Ono speaks volumes to me. How could it not? My childhood was not easy. I always felt an outsider and either cursed, or kissed, with the drive to express what I saw around me--visually or through writing. I also had a sense that, on a fundamental level, I could never really "return". (At least not return as the naïve, innocent-minded and confused teen I left as...)
One difference between us, though, is WHAT we are selling. Sushi is up, and reading is down... A second difference is: Ono is a man. (Hard to admit, but, the males in my life, and my extended life, are still more financially successful by a wide margin, than the females--especially single males vs. single females.) It is still easier for males to find sponsorship, jobs--however odd or many it takes--acquire loans, gain admission to well-established professional cliques, apprenticeships, internships and ultimately, begin their professional careers with more sure back-ups.) If a woman HAS the backing of a male--either a wealthy father or husband or business partner, then, she, too, has a bigger chance at success. No whining here, only statistics and real-life observations.
This doesn't negate what I take from Ono's philosophy. It merely "tweaks" it a bit.
Gaining a wife can help, immensely. (Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, now, perhaps, this step is on a level playing field, for once...) Finding focus on one thing, to successfully master that one thing, is far easier when one has one's house being taken care of, one's washing being done, one's children protected and nurtured and one's physical, emotional and mental health being supported by another. While, "behind every successful man is a great woman", can be extended to "behind every successful man is SOMEONE who is supporting him", it still seems that the most outstanding people in our history tend to be those who have spousal support. In that arena, we remain different.
Yet, there is something about the maniacal drive to do the thing he loves--to just keep doing it--that reels me close. My heart recognizes this quest. It is the answer to so many questions my friends level at me. ("If you are not publishing for money, why write?" "Why don't you write something that SELLS--do a series of romance novels or pornography under a pen-name..." "Why spend your time banging on those keys, Minns? If you haven't broken through by now, chances are that you've missed the train..." "Get a real job, already! Write on the weekends!!")
Because Ono is financially successful, through sheer hard work (his sushi restaurant still only sits ten customers at a time!), people have stopped telling him to "only make sushi on the weekends"...They can taste what he creates. It can immediately have an effect on their well-being and appetites. They can use their five senses to interpret, turning off part of the analytical brain and just enjoy. For the more educated palates, then, it is savoring on another level: art. But the immediate audience is granted instant access.
As a writer, I will never enjoy that place of reverence. However, Jiro considers himself "a rebel" and someone still off the beaten track. I recognize still more pieces of myself in this tiny Japanese sushi master. He is proud of his roots and his toughness, even in his eighties. I can only take what can be applied to the path I walk. After that, simply appreciating the man for his work is perhaps, enough.
So, back to the keyboard and pad. Back to writing, every day; processing the world around me through words. Sharing what I see and what I question, to whomever is reading this (you!), hoping there is some instant of "umami" in what you "taste" through my efforts.
Regardless of the outcome, however delayed, there isn't much I can do about it. Like Jiro Ono, I was born to this task. I will be true to it, until the body stops; the mind's screen fades to black.
Jiro had parents who kicked him to the pavement when he was about six years old--telling him, as he entered school, he now "had no home". He took this, literally, and proceeded to create a path of toughness and independence. Apprenticing at an early age, he began to understand the worth of single-minded effort. He states he "fell in love with sushi-making". Falling in love with what one seems born to do is wise.(Harder to FIND what one was born to do.) However, once one discovers this journey, one must keep to it, full force.
Jiro speaks of never complaining about one's job. Of always seeking to learn and to use that learning to excel. Never be satisfied with what one has done, today. Though extremely difficult, do better, tomorrow. Above all: keep working. I feel the resonance of these axioms.
Jiro Ono is humble in his excellence. However, he is a task master. His greatest gifts to his sons were demanding rigorousness from their early years--a rigorousness that pushed them to his own heights. He knows he was hard on them--as he has always been on himself--as maybe his parents, however inadvertently, were hard on him. However, this strict code of self-improvement has paid off in his existence.
Understanding that, without seafood, his art, his business, would be non-existent, Ono also speaks of the commercial world balancing profit with caretaking of the planet. His long view comes from witnessing the steady decline of species over eight decades--all from over-fishing. One cannot separate the consciousness of devouring perfect sushi from consciousness of the oceans where that sushi originated. This is part of his passion, too.
An artist like Ono speaks volumes to me. How could it not? My childhood was not easy. I always felt an outsider and either cursed, or kissed, with the drive to express what I saw around me--visually or through writing. I also had a sense that, on a fundamental level, I could never really "return". (At least not return as the naïve, innocent-minded and confused teen I left as...)
One difference between us, though, is WHAT we are selling. Sushi is up, and reading is down... A second difference is: Ono is a man. (Hard to admit, but, the males in my life, and my extended life, are still more financially successful by a wide margin, than the females--especially single males vs. single females.) It is still easier for males to find sponsorship, jobs--however odd or many it takes--acquire loans, gain admission to well-established professional cliques, apprenticeships, internships and ultimately, begin their professional careers with more sure back-ups.) If a woman HAS the backing of a male--either a wealthy father or husband or business partner, then, she, too, has a bigger chance at success. No whining here, only statistics and real-life observations.
This doesn't negate what I take from Ono's philosophy. It merely "tweaks" it a bit.
Gaining a wife can help, immensely. (Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, now, perhaps, this step is on a level playing field, for once...) Finding focus on one thing, to successfully master that one thing, is far easier when one has one's house being taken care of, one's washing being done, one's children protected and nurtured and one's physical, emotional and mental health being supported by another. While, "behind every successful man is a great woman", can be extended to "behind every successful man is SOMEONE who is supporting him", it still seems that the most outstanding people in our history tend to be those who have spousal support. In that arena, we remain different.
Yet, there is something about the maniacal drive to do the thing he loves--to just keep doing it--that reels me close. My heart recognizes this quest. It is the answer to so many questions my friends level at me. ("If you are not publishing for money, why write?" "Why don't you write something that SELLS--do a series of romance novels or pornography under a pen-name..." "Why spend your time banging on those keys, Minns? If you haven't broken through by now, chances are that you've missed the train..." "Get a real job, already! Write on the weekends!!")
Because Ono is financially successful, through sheer hard work (his sushi restaurant still only sits ten customers at a time!), people have stopped telling him to "only make sushi on the weekends"...They can taste what he creates. It can immediately have an effect on their well-being and appetites. They can use their five senses to interpret, turning off part of the analytical brain and just enjoy. For the more educated palates, then, it is savoring on another level: art. But the immediate audience is granted instant access.
As a writer, I will never enjoy that place of reverence. However, Jiro considers himself "a rebel" and someone still off the beaten track. I recognize still more pieces of myself in this tiny Japanese sushi master. He is proud of his roots and his toughness, even in his eighties. I can only take what can be applied to the path I walk. After that, simply appreciating the man for his work is perhaps, enough.
So, back to the keyboard and pad. Back to writing, every day; processing the world around me through words. Sharing what I see and what I question, to whomever is reading this (you!), hoping there is some instant of "umami" in what you "taste" through my efforts.
Regardless of the outcome, however delayed, there isn't much I can do about it. Like Jiro Ono, I was born to this task. I will be true to it, until the body stops; the mind's screen fades to black.
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