I remember it was last autumn that Mr. K from Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings asked me, “How about writing a book for your 50th anniversary?”
I hadn’t published a book for a while, so I was grateful for the opportunity to write, and so I decided to go ahead.
So, what should I write about? My last book, published by Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings, was titled “The Violinist’s 20 Philosophies” with a subtitle that said “Just doing your best is too tepid.” This subtitle seems to have caused a bit of a stir, and I was frequently asked in interviews, “Is doing your best too tepid?”
I tried explaining carefully from various angles that what I meant was that “You can only see a view that you’ve never seen before, after another step of hard work.”
I meant in the first place that “hard work” is a self-judgment of each person, and I wanted to suggest that people should try to go beyond the point where they feel “I’ve reached my limit!”
So, in my second book from Yamaha, I wanted to make it a book based on the first book, and I decided to omit the content that overlapped, assuming that people have read the first.
(Therefore, if you haven’t read the first book, “The Violinist’s 20 Philosophies”, I hope you can read it beforehand.)
This time, I chose the theme “Don’t try too hard” which is the opposite of the theme of my first book. But it is not quite the opposite, and does not quite contradict. Some things should
be done in line with the time and age.
There are also things you don’t need to do.
I also decided to summarize the recommendations for different age groups, based on my personal experiences.
As I made up my mind, I decided to start writing my new book.
My 50 years of life on stage as a violinist. Mr. K. gave me a hint by asking me, “What is it that drives you, for example, to keep playing the violin for 50 years?”
Ah, for the last 50 years, I’ve been running and running without even realizing how long I’ve been doing it for. During my run, I fell and got badly injured, but I kept running again…
And here I am.
Actually, I cannot walk slowly even in my daily life. I don’t consider it good, but before I notice, I find myself jogging or sometimes even sprinting, and just running around.
Once, someone asked me, “Are you rushing to live your life?” At the time, I felt, “Oh no, does that mean I’m going to die early?” But now in my 60s, I’m still fit and feeling good.
I guess I have always lived my life thinking, “I don’t want to have any regrets at the end of my life,” so perhaps that is why I feel that walking is a waste of time.
In this way, I decided to write a book analyzing the driving force within me during my 50 years as a violinist.
And now I have completed “The Power to Continue.”
This book is not only for people who are striving to achieve in specialist fields, but also for those who feel like pondering about “living and the meaning of life” or those who have worries.
I hope you will join me for a conversation through the pages of my book.
I would be deeply blessed if many men and women of all ages, in your teens or your elderly years, would take the time to read this book.