No.0148：Perfect Days - Is That Really What You Want?
March 31,2026
Income, status, and possessions do give people a sense of security. But aren’t many of them less about feeling fulfilled and more about proving that we are not losing? I am not free from that competition myself, and there are times when I get stubborn about it. That is precisely why the quiet daily life portrayed in the film Perfect Days struck me so deeply. It made me feel that what we truly want may lie somewhere else entirely.
 
Fulfilled days repeat themselves quietly
The title refers to a film about a middle-aged man whose job is cleaning toilets. It is not a glamorous profession, but he does it with pride. His entire day is also rigorously structured around a routine. He wakes up on time in a shabby apartment, gets ready efficiently, opens the door, looks up at the sky, and smiles as if to say that today, too, will be a good day. On the drive to work, he listens on cassette tape to music centered on rock from the 1960s and 70s - probably the kind he was crazy about when he was young, back when young people were still fighting the adult world. He takes his work seriously, scrubbing toilets with care using cleaning tools he made himself. After work, he goes to a public bath, then stops by his regular place for a single shochu highball. Back home, he reads Faulkner and falls asleep. That is Perfect Days.
 
Is a life meant for display really enough?
It really makes you think. A life like this has its own kind of cool. Do income, the things we wear, and the companies we work for really fulfill us? I cannot say that I have completely freed myself from those yardsticks, and sometimes I get caught up in them. Of course, if someone genuinely finds value in such things, then there is nothing more to say. For example, if without money they could not devote themselves to the one thing that gives their life joy. But if it is only for the sake of showing it to others, I cannot help wondering whether it is really worth trying that hard for.
 
I believe that kind of satisfaction makes up only a very small part of life as a whole. Why? Because compared with my childhood, when I was not especially well-off, I am in some ways far more fulfilled now - and yet, in the end, I still feel hardly fulfilled at all. Isn’t it possible that much of our real satisfaction comes from things that are gentler, always close by, so ordinary we take them for granted, and yet when they are gone, leave behind an unbearable emptiness?
  
This is the kind of thing I want
A sandwich bought at the supermarket at half price somehow tastes incredibly good. A mother fussing over her child more than necessary can be annoyingly endearing. The beauty of a coastline you happen to pass by catches you off guard. Someone suddenly asks you to fix an app, you handle it smoothly, and they say, “Thank you.” These small, unremarkable moments of ordinary life feel deeply comforting. It is like the “looking for the good” mindset in the anime The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love that I watched as a child.
 
When good pay becomes a trap
I remember joining a certain project. App development is my strength. And yet, tempted by the attractive pay, I joined a communications systems development project - something completely outside my field. I did feel some anxiety about my lack of knowledge, but at the same time I was a little proud of myself, thinking that I had finally reached the point where I could earn an income I could truly be proud of.
 
But once I opened the box, the reality was harsh. Even though I was supposed to manage a team of about three people, I could not understand the technical terms they were using. I could not keep up with the conversation. Before long, the team members started looking down on me, and I found myself speaking less and less in meetings. As a result, I began sleeping less. My appetite faded. I lost weight. It was nowhere near Perfect Days.
 
Fifty years old: the end of the uphill climb, and what comes after
Once you pass fifty, the end of life starts to come into view - especially as a working professional. The time for saying, “One day I’ll become a pro baseball player,” or “I just haven’t really given it my all yet,” is long gone. If anything, this is the moment when the road starts sloping downward rather than upward. Promotion, raises, moments of triumph - for many people, those may already feel like fireworks from a distant past. There is nothing wrong with getting into camping, hand-drip coffee, or smoking food. Rather than something shiny to show off, I want to cherish the small moments of peace that quietly emerge from everyday life.
 
Otherwise, when the downhill stretch that comes for everyone eventually arrives, we may find ourselves driven by feelings of powerlessness, jealousy, and distrust. I want my life to remain Perfect Days all the way to the very end.
 
Have no unnecessary desires.Do not get angry without cause.Always wear a calm smile.Eat simply.Do not think only of yourself in anything.Look well, listen well, understand properly, and keep it engraved in your heart.