山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
Today I’m releasing a third bird, a bird called Taiyô. [If you're wondering what I mean by that because this is your first visit or one of your first visits, please check this other post] When I tell you what bird Taiyô is for me perhaps you'll think it's a strange choice of a bird because it's a small bird and Taiyô is... well, so tall. ^^
Actually, the first bird that comes to mind when you think of Taiyô is the ostrich because he is tall, rather clumsy at times, and also gets scared easily in certain situations. And ostrichs can be pretty stubborn too, like Taiyô is according to his friends. XD I guess I would choose the ostrich if I was going for a comical portrait of Taiyô, but I think Taiyô deserves to be seen under a serious light every once in a while too.
We all love the childish Taiyô who did unexpected things and gave the most bizarre answers, the character JE exaggerated so many times, but there's a lot more to Taiyô than that.
Going back to the ostrich for a moment, though, it's not because of his looks that I've chosen a small bird for Taiyô, so it doesn't really matter how tall he is. =] Secondly, Taiyô's clumsiness came mostly from having grown that tall so fast. The latest livestages and SC performances showed he was overcoming it. And finally, yes, Taiyô was given the title of "bibiri king" (something like the biggest crybaby) in that old Ya-Ya-yah show [2004.06.13] in which they were put to the test to know who got scared more easily, but I don't think Taiyô is the type who would bury his head in the sand, like ostrichs do.
No, Taiyô seems the type of person that looks at problems straight in the eye and faces reality, much though reality may hurt sometimes. I'm sure he considered his options carefully and realistically before making the decision of quitting, and as I once said, perhaps it even took more courage of him to quit than of Shoon to stay. So no, I don't think Taiyô is the type that would ever bury his head in the sand.
In fact, speaking of courage, the last SC in which Taiyô appeared (2007 September) made me think that he had a bit of a sparrow in him as well, which surprised me quite a bit. That's one of the things that have always fascinated me from sparrows: how brave they are when they are so small. I swear I have seen them standing up to magpies, which are much bigger, and rather vicious. XD That time Taiyô almost pushed Yabu to be the one to say the title of a TOKIO song in a game of the Junior League segment. He looked so determined, like he was thinking: "I know this one, and nobody is going to stop me from saying it". Yabu was quite shocked at Taiyô's reaction too. XD I totally loved seeing Taiyô so smug for once. =] (the clip below is a actually a mishmash of clips from that SC; the junior league bit comes after the White Goat-Black Goat bit at the beginning)
But no, Taiyô is not a sparrow either. Sparrows are very noisy and restless, and rather feisty as well. Taiyô is a chaffinch, that pretty bird on the left. Chaffinches are the sweetest tempered birds, especially when you compare them to sparrows, which are, on the contrary, rather quick-tempered if annoyed.
Chaffinches are very calm, very docile, and are quite content to live in captivity, again unlike sparrows. Just with some food and water you'll see a chaffinch singing gratefully in its cage. They don't complain at all and give no trouble.
You might think that’s awful, and I’d rather see any animal free than in a cage, but what I mean is that —now leaving birds aside— some people are content with pretty little and that’s not a bad thing. Actually it’s a very good thing, and it’s the basis of Buddhism. [We suffer because we crave for things like money, a bigger house, attention from others..., and we can stop suffering if we control our cravings.] However that’s kind of hard to achieve when you haven’t been born with that kind of acceptance as a trait of your character. XD In short it’s being happy with the cards life has dealt you. It doesn’t imply you shouldn’t try to improve your situation, just that you don’t fret constantly about it, and that you’re glad for what you have.
I think that pretty much describes Taiyô. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t ask for much, who does what he has to do and does his best, and doesn’t complain. I’m sure that in all his years in JE he must have had moments of disappointment and perhaps even anger, but he has such a sweet disposition that he always took gracefully the teasing, the jokes, his having to act as the baka in the group..., and he never showed in any way he was bothered by the uneven treatment he got from JE. His smile never faltered nor did his good humour.
Again, all that doesn’t mean that I think he was unaffected by the way JE “rewarded” him for his years of hard work and loyalty. I imagine he was probably hurt, and perhaps he still is. He may be sweet-tempered and understanding, but he’s a human and he has feelings, just like the rest of us. At least that’s the way I would feel if I were him.
However, just like Shoon has to fight the fear I’m sure he has of losing his job, most likely Taiyô is now fighting against the hurt and the longing, and trying to regain the balance in his life. I’m sure he will, just with a little time, and it’s a good start that, as my friend Tina said he’s not moping at home but hanging out with his friends.
I wish you the very best, Taiyô, or rather, I wish you will get whatever it is you wish for and whatever will make you happy, because that’s what really counts. Some of us spend our lives running after “the big happiness”, and miss all the small happy moments of the day-to-day. I myself have a lot to learn from you in that respect. Fly away, dear Taiyô, and be happy and take care. =]
PS: A couple of scans as a belated Taiyô-birthday present for you Taiyô fans. ^3^ Please credit if you repost them; no credit needed for translations, icons, or graphics. The first one is from the 2004.01 issue of Potato, and the second one from 2005.03 of Potato too. =]
Today I’m releasing a third bird, a bird called Taiyô. [If you're wondering what I mean by that because this is your first visit or one of your first visits, please check this other post] When I tell you what bird Taiyô is for me perhaps you'll think it's a strange choice of a bird because it's a small bird and Taiyô is... well, so tall. ^^Actually, the first bird that comes to mind when you think of Taiyô is the ostrich because he is tall, rather clumsy at times, and also gets scared easily in certain situations. And ostrichs can be pretty stubborn too, like Taiyô is according to his friends. XD I guess I would choose the ostrich if I was going for a comical portrait of Taiyô, but I think Taiyô deserves to be seen under a serious light every once in a while too.
We all love the childish Taiyô who did unexpected things and gave the most bizarre answers, the character JE exaggerated so many times, but there's a lot more to Taiyô than that.Going back to the ostrich for a moment, though, it's not because of his looks that I've chosen a small bird for Taiyô, so it doesn't really matter how tall he is. =] Secondly, Taiyô's clumsiness came mostly from having grown that tall so fast. The latest livestages and SC performances showed he was overcoming it. And finally, yes, Taiyô was given the title of "bibiri king" (something like the biggest crybaby) in that old Ya-Ya-yah show [2004.06.13] in which they were put to the test to know who got scared more easily, but I don't think Taiyô is the type who would bury his head in the sand, like ostrichs do.
No, Taiyô seems the type of person that looks at problems straight in the eye and faces reality, much though reality may hurt sometimes. I'm sure he considered his options carefully and realistically before making the decision of quitting, and as I once said, perhaps it even took more courage of him to quit than of Shoon to stay. So no, I don't think Taiyô is the type that would ever bury his head in the sand.
In fact, speaking of courage, the last SC in which Taiyô appeared (2007 September) made me think that he had a bit of a sparrow in him as well, which surprised me quite a bit. That's one of the things that have always fascinated me from sparrows: how brave they are when they are so small. I swear I have seen them standing up to magpies, which are much bigger, and rather vicious. XD That time Taiyô almost pushed Yabu to be the one to say the title of a TOKIO song in a game of the Junior League segment. He looked so determined, like he was thinking: "I know this one, and nobody is going to stop me from saying it". Yabu was quite shocked at Taiyô's reaction too. XD I totally loved seeing Taiyô so smug for once. =] (the clip below is a actually a mishmash of clips from that SC; the junior league bit comes after the White Goat-Black Goat bit at the beginning)But no, Taiyô is not a sparrow either. Sparrows are very noisy and restless, and rather feisty as well. Taiyô is a chaffinch, that pretty bird on the left. Chaffinches are the sweetest tempered birds, especially when you compare them to sparrows, which are, on the contrary, rather quick-tempered if annoyed.
Chaffinches are very calm, very docile, and are quite content to live in captivity, again unlike sparrows. Just with some food and water you'll see a chaffinch singing gratefully in its cage. They don't complain at all and give no trouble.You might think that’s awful, and I’d rather see any animal free than in a cage, but what I mean is that —now leaving birds aside— some people are content with pretty little and that’s not a bad thing. Actually it’s a very good thing, and it’s the basis of Buddhism. [We suffer because we crave for things like money, a bigger house, attention from others..., and we can stop suffering if we control our cravings.] However that’s kind of hard to achieve when you haven’t been born with that kind of acceptance as a trait of your character. XD In short it’s being happy with the cards life has dealt you. It doesn’t imply you shouldn’t try to improve your situation, just that you don’t fret constantly about it, and that you’re glad for what you have.
I think that pretty much describes Taiyô. He’s the kind of person that doesn’t ask for much, who does what he has to do and does his best, and doesn’t complain. I’m sure that in all his years in JE he must have had moments of disappointment and perhaps even anger, but he has such a sweet disposition that he always took gracefully the teasing, the jokes, his having to act as the baka in the group..., and he never showed in any way he was bothered by the uneven treatment he got from JE. His smile never faltered nor did his good humour.
Again, all that doesn’t mean that I think he was unaffected by the way JE “rewarded” him for his years of hard work and loyalty. I imagine he was probably hurt, and perhaps he still is. He may be sweet-tempered and understanding, but he’s a human and he has feelings, just like the rest of us. At least that’s the way I would feel if I were him.
However, just like Shoon has to fight the fear I’m sure he has of losing his job, most likely Taiyô is now fighting against the hurt and the longing, and trying to regain the balance in his life. I’m sure he will, just with a little time, and it’s a good start that, as my friend Tina said he’s not moping at home but hanging out with his friends. I wish you the very best, Taiyô, or rather, I wish you will get whatever it is you wish for and whatever will make you happy, because that’s what really counts. Some of us spend our lives running after “the big happiness”, and miss all the small happy moments of the day-to-day. I myself have a lot to learn from you in that respect. Fly away, dear Taiyô, and be happy and take care. =]
PS: A couple of scans as a belated Taiyô-birthday present for you Taiyô fans. ^3^ Please credit if you repost them; no credit needed for translations, icons, or graphics. The first one is from the 2004.01 issue of Potato, and the second one from 2005.03 of Potato too. =]
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