Dearest Shoon,
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I need to apologize for something. ._.
Of late I've been complaining and complaining about how I wish JE would give you more screen-time in Shounen Club, and more opportunities, and after reflecting on it, I think it's not quite right. I mean that pestering about the unfairness of the situation doesn't lead anywhere, especially when it's something that doesn't depend on us, does it? Also, you're doing your best and working hard, and even though of course I'll always want more for you, I treasure even the briefest glimpse of you in The Shounen Club and wait eagerly for Tuesdays to watch Hyakushiki.
What really matters for every thing you do in life, big or small, is to "wrap it up with love", as a song by Noa says. And that's the essence of the traditional Japanese way of life, isn't it? The tea ceremony, ikebana, calligraphy... Paying attention to the smallest details and doing things with love. If you enjoy what you do, Shoon, care about nothing else. Just enjoy the moment. When you do something and you enjoy doing it, it shows, and the people for whom you do it will enjoy it too. =)
This year we, your foreign fans, put our heart into a very special birthday present for you, a Dreambook. For the no-nonsense that would be a scrapbook; for the romantic like me, and in the words of my friend Hydee, it would be "tickets for a trip around the world" or "the door to another dimension" in which, "as you travel, your guide is your imagination". ;-)
I sent the Dreambook to another wonderful friend called Rachel who's currently living in Tokyo, and she took it to Johnny's Family Club. We were a bit worried that the JFC staff might reject it, but on December 16th I got a message from Rachel that said: "JFC has accepted it. :)", and in that moment I felt all our efforts had been worth.
I wish I could see your face when they give it to you, Shoon. We hope you will like it! ^3^
Happy birthday, Shoon! All the best.
Yours,
Irea
The fans present to Shoon
Dear readers,
Some of you are not members of the Shoon community, so I thought you'd like to see our present to Shoon if you haven't. There's pictures, and a video below. It's made up of messages of fans from different countries, pictures, and inspirational and witty quotations in Japanese. =) Some of the photographs were actually taken by the fans who sent the messages - we have talented photographers in the Shoon community as you can see. ;-)
(note: this video has no audio)
(different pages from the Dreambook)
Also, I included a little something else with the Dreambook, a self-addressed, stamped letter in case Shoon wants to send a message to his foreign fans and asked him ten questions. If you don't speak Japanese you might also be curious to know what kind of questions they were. Well, of course there were thousands of personal questions I would have loved to ask him, about university and stuff like that, but an idol has the right to keep his private life private, and I wanted it to be something original, so I chose ten questions from different memes in Japanese (what the Japanese call "baton"). =)
1. What would you like to be if you were reborn?
2. If you could only ask for one wish to be fulfilled, what wish would it be?
3. If you could meet some person who passed away already, who would it be?
4. Something you always do before going to bed.
5. What do you do to cope with stress?
6. Apart from your current job, what other kind of work would you like to do?
7. If you died, what would you ask God when you get to Heaven's doors?
8. Three things that scare you.
9. What's your best quality?
10. What's your worse defect?
The typed text in the first picture says: "Dear Shoon, this has been a hard year for you, so we, your fans, wanted to show you our support. This album is a "Dreambook". It contains messages and pictures from us. We hope you will like it. Whatever happens, we will still support you. Keep it up."
PS: The text on the header says: "Take a dandelion, make a wish and blow. If no seeds remain on the stem, your wish will come true".
PS2: I have classes this evening, but I'll try to reply comments tomorrow. m(_ _)m
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I need to apologize for something. ._.
Of late I've been complaining and complaining about how I wish JE would give you more screen-time in Shounen Club, and more opportunities, and after reflecting on it, I think it's not quite right. I mean that pestering about the unfairness of the situation doesn't lead anywhere, especially when it's something that doesn't depend on us, does it? Also, you're doing your best and working hard, and even though of course I'll always want more for you, I treasure even the briefest glimpse of you in The Shounen Club and wait eagerly for Tuesdays to watch Hyakushiki.What really matters for every thing you do in life, big or small, is to "wrap it up with love", as a song by Noa says. And that's the essence of the traditional Japanese way of life, isn't it? The tea ceremony, ikebana, calligraphy... Paying attention to the smallest details and doing things with love. If you enjoy what you do, Shoon, care about nothing else. Just enjoy the moment. When you do something and you enjoy doing it, it shows, and the people for whom you do it will enjoy it too. =)
This year we, your foreign fans, put our heart into a very special birthday present for you, a Dreambook. For the no-nonsense that would be a scrapbook; for the romantic like me, and in the words of my friend Hydee, it would be "tickets for a trip around the world" or "the door to another dimension" in which, "as you travel, your guide is your imagination". ;-)
I sent the Dreambook to another wonderful friend called Rachel who's currently living in Tokyo, and she took it to Johnny's Family Club. We were a bit worried that the JFC staff might reject it, but on December 16th I got a message from Rachel that said: "JFC has accepted it. :)", and in that moment I felt all our efforts had been worth.
I wish I could see your face when they give it to you, Shoon. We hope you will like it! ^3^
Happy birthday, Shoon! All the best.
Yours,
Irea
The fans present to Shoon
Dear readers,
Some of you are not members of the Shoon community, so I thought you'd like to see our present to Shoon if you haven't. There's pictures, and a video below. It's made up of messages of fans from different countries, pictures, and inspirational and witty quotations in Japanese. =) Some of the photographs were actually taken by the fans who sent the messages - we have talented photographers in the Shoon community as you can see. ;-)
(note: this video has no audio)
(different pages from the Dreambook)
Also, I included a little something else with the Dreambook, a self-addressed, stamped letter in case Shoon wants to send a message to his foreign fans and asked him ten questions. If you don't speak Japanese you might also be curious to know what kind of questions they were. Well, of course there were thousands of personal questions I would have loved to ask him, about university and stuff like that, but an idol has the right to keep his private life private, and I wanted it to be something original, so I chose ten questions from different memes in Japanese (what the Japanese call "baton"). =)
1. What would you like to be if you were reborn?
2. If you could only ask for one wish to be fulfilled, what wish would it be?
3. If you could meet some person who passed away already, who would it be?
4. Something you always do before going to bed.
5. What do you do to cope with stress?
6. Apart from your current job, what other kind of work would you like to do?
7. If you died, what would you ask God when you get to Heaven's doors?
8. Three things that scare you.
9. What's your best quality?
10. What's your worse defect?
The typed text in the first picture says: "Dear Shoon, this has been a hard year for you, so we, your fans, wanted to show you our support. This album is a "Dreambook". It contains messages and pictures from us. We hope you will like it. Whatever happens, we will still support you. Keep it up."
PS: The text on the header says: "Take a dandelion, make a wish and blow. If no seeds remain on the stem, your wish will come true".
PS2: I have classes this evening, but I'll try to reply comments tomorrow. m(_ _)m