Performance

Shima san and I arrive later in the evening at a cafe with an ocean view. He rode his bike, and I was on mine, with the trailer following us behind. We were going to meet the daughter of the dancer, but the dancer was not there yet.

We met her daughter on the first floor of the restaurant. I can see the beach of Fujisawa and the Enoshima lighthouse up in the hills. The light just turned on and is spinning.

Thirty minutes later, her mother, the dancer, arrives. It is tough not to be able to speak the Japanese language. In a flash, I thought I had moved to the United States from Argentina 17 years ago. Back then, all was more like a game, or it felt like it. I love it there, and I can’t speak one word of English, but somehow it doesn’t feel so hard. Moving from Portland to Seattle was a great adventure. Seattle was its first home in the United States. As we get old, our minds become stiff.

Back to the table. Here she is, a woman. She is a prominent and very successful entrepreneur. Her son runs the business now, but she had been the president and is now the chairperson of a big company and, with a kind smile on her, an artist. This is the first time I can see her face without makeup.

Over the next three nights, I will live in her house and, on the last night, I will interview her with the help of her daughter. Reiko Amakasu and Maki Amakasu are their names.