—

Listening to your stories has made me extremely curious about your wife.

Sasao

I don’t want to boast, but she’s a really interesting person.

—

I’d love to meet her.

Sasao

I really think you should talk to her next time. When she gets going, things really start running off the rails. She’s 74, and this is the kind of work she does.

—

Oh, your wife is an artist, too?

Sasao

That’s why she kept egging me on to quit my job and paint. She actually has a gallery show next November (2018).

—

You two seem to get along so well.

Sasao

Nah, she just makes fun of me all the time. It makes me wonder whether there’s any other grown man who gets yelled at this much.

—

Where did you meet?

Sasao

I was one year out of college — I was 23, and she was 21. We got married right away. She’s always saying that my good luck was her great misfortune.

—

We heard you’ve sent your wife a huge number of postcards.

Sasao

It must be about 3000 by now.

—

3000… that’s insane.

Sasao

When I’m traveling, or just anywhere, really, drawing little pictures helps me wind down. Drawing pictures and sending them to her is like writing in a diary. Just like how people text each other nowadays.

—

You must love her very much.

Sasao

She says she doesn’t need them, of course. She says, “I’d rather have a single postcard from a lover I’ve never met than a thousand from you.” (Laughs)

—

I’ve heard that your father was also a painter.

Sasao

That’s right. He worked in advertising for the Matsuzakaya Department Store — doing art direction, writing copy, even illustrating posters. He worked there into his 50s. He also coordinated and marketed art shows for Kiyoshi Yamashita.

—

So he retired in his 50s and became a painter?

Sasao

Yeah.

—

The same path you took.

Sasao

Yeah, we ended up doing the same thing.

I didn’t like him much, and I rebelled against him, but here I am doing exactly what he did. Scary, huh? (Laughs)

—

How long did he paint?

Sasao

Until he was 90.

—

That’s wonderful. So if you paint until you’re 90, you have more than 10 years left to work.

Sasao

Based on my actual age, a lot of people would be retired right now. But as an artist, I feel more like a 40-year-old.

—

I’m 40 this year, and I feel like I’m only beginning to understand things. At the same time, I’m also able to see all the things I can’t do. Is that where you’re at right now?

Sasao

Yes, that’s exactly it.

—

That must be why you seem so young. You have a lot of experience, but in a way, you treat me as an equal.

Sasao

Art is just so much fun for me, and there are so many ways I can challenge myself. There’s a lot I want to do. So I have to paint every single day. I’m enjoying it a lot.

—

I can definitely tell.

Sasao

That’s why I don’t feel older, mentally, than anyone else. I don’t believe that thinking of yourself as young keeps you from growing old, or anything like that. I just think everyone’s about the same.

—

I get the same feeling. (Laughs)

Sasao

If you create something together with someone else, you’re both present in the work. That’s how I want to connect with other people.

—

You have a naturally inclusive outlook. It’s really wonderful.

Sasao

You can’t succeed as a team unless every member gives their full effort.

—

That’s true.

Sasao

So I think, what can I do? And I see that all I can do is always give my full effort and do the best I’m capable of doing.

—

I see.

Sasao

All the people who come to my art shows, and all the people who view my paintings, and all the people who buy the calendar and techo with my art on it — I want to make them happy.

—

Yes.

Sasao

So that’s why, as long as I’m still able to paint, I want to do it every day, like a dedicated craftsman.

＜End＞