No.0138：The nation has fallen , but the jeans remain.

May 31,2025

 
Recently, I sorted through the clothes I owned. Why? Well, during my last health checkup, it was revealed that I had terminal lung cancer…So at the very end, I wanted to leave gracefully — like a bird that leaves no trace behind.  —Okay, not really. Nothing that dramatic. The truth is more mundane: I’ve gained over 10 kilograms since my younger days, my lifestyle has changed thanks to working from home, and I feel a growing resistance to keeping up with trends as I age. Just little things like that.
 
I really feel we live in convenient times. If I get tired of a piece of clothing, I sell it on Mercari. Then, with that money, I buy something I like now, also on Mercari. It’s a marketplace where wants and don’t-wants meet, and money and goods circulate efficiently—like some fated encounter between two heartbroken souls who end up healing each other.
 
Secondhand clothes traded on this kind of matching app can be surprisingly affordable, but sometimes, you stumble upon a treasure—a rare item you can’t find anywhere else. It might not be sold anymore, but you must have it. So, you pay more than you probably should. Like buying a ticket from a scalper outside the stadium gate—reluctantly, but inevitably.
 
On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Uniqlo. They sell decent stuff at unbelievably low prices. I deeply respect their founder Mr.Yanai’s intense commitment to management—his book “One Win, Nine Losses” really struck a chord with me. That said, the trad-style clothing sold in their stores—solid, safe, and never straying too far—sometimes feels a bit lacking. Like a manager wishing that the overly-consistent, by-the-book young employee would show just a little creativity.
 
“This will do” vs. “This is it.”

People express themselves through what they wear, the cars they drive, the music they listen to, the restaurants they frequent, the movies they watch, the books they read… These choices declare the groups we want to belong to—and more fiercely, the ones we absolutely don’t want to be mistaken for. In that way, we assert who we want to be—our identity, values, and personal story.
 

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve gained a fair bit of weight. That reality doesn’t align with the self-image I want to maintain. So in my quest to slim down, I now drink Naishitoru every day—a supplement made by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which, unfortunately, is facing a business crisis. Still, we can’t stay young forever. At some point, we need to accept aging to a degree. Even James Dean, the symbol of rebellion and the legend of jeans, if he had lived longer, probably would’ve moved his belt buckle a few notches outward, don’t you think?
 
The nation is ruined, but the mountains and rivers remain. — Du Fu