Transcending Limits　

加福　博

I was born in Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, in the summer of 1967, when Japan's high economic growth era was ending and Group Sounds was booming. Kakkun is my nickname. My paternal ancestors have been government officials who worked as interpreters and translators of Dutch from the early Edo period in Nagasaki. On the other hand, my maternal lineage comes from samurai.

My father worked at the Osaka City Hall, and my mother taught piano at a music school. By the way, the 9th Japan Record Awards that year were won by Jackie Yoshikawa and the Blue Comets (Shooting Star of Any Star) with their song "Blue Chateau."

I had a problem. There is no intervertebral disc between my spine and sacrum; it is fused. There's no inflammation, but when I sit down, my posture is hunched forward, causing discomfort in the stomach area. When I maintain the correct posture, my tailbone hurts from contact with the chair. It's like torture.

Now, I'm lying face down on my bed, writing on my laptop. This posture is the most comfortable for me. Also, as I'll mention later, I developed bipolar disorder with extreme mood swings at the age of 30, and I've had whiplash from two car accidents, affecting my cervical and lumbar spine.

When I turned three, my family moved to Senri New Town, a green-rich housing complex in Osaka Prefecture. In 1970, Japan held the Expo '70 in Osaka, and the town is famous for the Tower of the Sun created by artist Taro Okamoto.

Senri New Town was planned based on British New Towns' urban planning. Seeing the modern facade of Hankyu Department Store at Senri Chuo Station, with its green glass and white iron structure adorned with geometric patterns, I now feel like I was living in London.

I finally recall a conversation with my mother when I was three years old, the day before kindergarten started. I asked, "Mom, am I going to kindergarten tomorrow?" She replied, "Yes, you're going to kindergarten tomorrow."

Our family lived in the suburbs, and we had a comfortable life. However, around this time, the air in downtown Osaka was polluted with car exhaust, and there were noise issues from airplanes at Itami International Airport.

Furthermore, student movements were on the rise, and the Zenkyoto and New Left, organizations formed within universities transcending sects, occupied the Yasuda Hall at the University of Tokyo. Additionally, the renowned author Yukio Mishima urged for a coup to establish our country's independence at a Self-Defense Forces base, and after advocating for our nation's independence, he committed seppuku.

In the midst of such a social circumstance, I would soon find myself grappling with my own struggles and suffering.