Ge-ge-ge no nyobou 9/23
Oct. 9th, 2010 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkera.k.a. party time
Mitsuo tapped his pencil on the schedule. "What about July 12? It's a Saturday." Yuichi and Mitsuo sat on one side of the visitors' table, with Shigeru and Yoshiko on the other side. Shigeru and Yuichi nodded. "That sounds good." Fumie brought tea in, and set cups around the table.
Yuichi leaned back in the chair and said, "This is a great idea, having an anniversary party for Mizuki. Productions." Then he leaned forward and said, "We should list all the invitations." Mitsuo said, "I can make a pretty good list." Shigeru nodded. Then he looked at Yoshiko and said, "You can help by taking notes."
Mitsuo said, "What should we do about presents for the guests?" Shigeru said, "That's a good question." Fumie said, "What about tea mugs?" Shigeru said, "Oh, that's a good idea!" Yuichi said, "I can probably get a friend to make them."
Later, in the kitchen, Fumie frowned and said to herself, "A party in July? It will be hot. We could give folding fans, too." Shigeru came into the kitchen and said, "Um..." Fumie turned and looked at him. "Do you need more tea?" Shigeru shook his head. "No, the meeting is over. But I remembered something important." Fumie said, "What?" Shigeru said, "Well, could you make gyoza?" [dumplings, potstickers] Fumie said, "Gyoza?" Shigeru said, "Yes. Without your green gyoza, it isn't really a Mizuki Productions party." Fumie smiled. "I guess I could." Shigeru said, "There's going to be over 100 people coming, are you sure you can make enough?" Fumie thought for a moment, then said, "With the kids helping, yes." Shigeru nodded and said, "Please?"
Fumie turned back to the sink. Then she glanced back at Shigeru, who was still standing across the kitchen. "Something else?" Shigeru said, "Could you get a kimono?" Fumie said, "Oh..." Shigeru said, "For this, get a good one." Fumie stared at him, her mouth open. He snorted and said, "Why is your mouth open?" Fumie closed her mouth. Then she said, "It's the first time you've ever said anything like that." Shigeru shrugged. "We don't need to be cheap, go ahead and get a good one." Fumie said, "But I don't need a new one." Shigeru said, "Please don't hesitate." Fumie said, "it's not hesitation. I've got a good one." Shigeru said, "Oh." Fumie gave him a firm nod.
Sungai and Aikawa were picking up large cardboard boxes outside the house. Mitsuo came out of the door and said, "The van is right around the corner."
Upstairs, Aiko and Yoshiko walked around the corner. Aiko wore a white blouse, with a grey jacket and skirt. Yoshiko wore an off-white jacket and blouse. They stepped around the corner and chorused, "Oh, beautiful." Fumie sat in front of a mirror, wearing her pink kimono, with a light brown patterned obi. Her hair was up. She turned around and looked at them. "What do you think?" Yoshiko said, "It's a really good match."
Fumie opened a small wooden box. Inside was the hairpin that Toshi, her grandmother, had given her. The large red-pink ball on the end glowed, and the long wire legs glittered. Fumie took it out and tucked into her hair. Aiko said, "Wonderful. That's coral, isn't it?" Fumie said, "Yes. Toshi, your great-grandmother gave it to me. She said red coral brings good luck." Then she smiled at the girls. "When you are getting married, I'll give it to you." Aiko frowned. "But there is only one?" Yoshiko said, "The first one gets it?" Fumie said, "One of you gets the hairpin, the other gets... this kimono." Fumie held up the sleeve panel, showing off the pattern woven into it. Fumie said, "Miyako, your grandmother, sewed this by hand in the evenings. She gave it to me on my wedding day. It's got an ocean wave pattern in the cloth. She said it meant that your life would go on like gentle waves." Yoshiko smiled. "Gentle ocean waves? That's not really our life, is it?" They all chuckled.
Shigeru came around the corner and said, "We should get going." Fumie stood up. Shigeru looked at her and said, "Oh. Nice." He stood staring at her.
Yoshiko said, "Look at that. Father's staring!" Shigeru glanced at her and said, "Fool. All right, hurry up, let's go." He turned and walked away. Aiko said, "Now he's embarrassed."
The girls turned and left the room. As Fumie followed them, Toshi's picture said, "The hairpin and the kimono really suit you. Enjoy the party."
At the hotel, there was a reception desk for the guests to sign in. It was busy. The other side of the hallway was lined with flower displays sent by companies and guests. And there were people everywhere.
Inside the hotel party room, the decorations were from Mizuki Productions. A large banner over the small stage proclaimed 20 years history for Mizuki Productions. Boards around the room were covered with character sketches and pictures of the house, workroom, parties and other scenes from Mizuki Productions. One board had a sketch of a kappa, the eyeball father, Kitaro himself, and the cat girl. Tables also were covered with food. And there were platter after platter of gyoza.
In the middle of the bustle, Shigeru in a tuxedo with a bow tie and top hat stood with Fumie in her pink kimono beside him. He looked at the people, and said, "Inui!" Inui, Japan's smallest publisher and one of Shigeru's early fans, and Sanae, his wife, stepped up. Inui grinned, and said, "Thank you for inviting us. And congratulations on 20 years!" He bowed deeply.
Sanae smiled at Fumie and said, "Fumie, congratulations."
Inui stuck his hand out, and Shigeru and he shook hands. Shigeru said, "We've been friends now for more like 25 years." Inui shook his head. "25 years? A quarter century."
Sanae winked at Fumie and said, "For a quarter century, we've been putting up with guys who are crazy about manga."
Shigeru nodded. Then he waved at the crowd and said, "Please, get a drink and food. We'll talk later."
As they watched Inui and Sanae walk into the crowd, a voice said, "Hey, Gege!" Shigeru winced. Fumie shook her head. They turned as Uraki strode up. He was still wearing a mustache, but had a nice suit on. He paused and looked Fumie up and down.Uraki said, "My, my, you're all dressed up today." Shigeru said, "What are you doing here..." Uraki raised his hand and said, "Wait, don't ask." He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. He waved it. "Look, I have a real invitation. I thought maybe you finally recognized how much I can do to help you."
Shigeru nodded. "I understand. It's like manga. If it's all good people, it's really boring. So we need people like you." He reached out and patted Uraki's shoulder. Uraki smiled, and said, "That's right... wait... was that sarcastic?"
Just then, Kinuyo said loudly from behind him, "Uraki!" She thumped over with her cane, and grabbed his arm. She was wearing a pale green kimono. "Hey, today, you can eat all you want." She tugged on his arm and pointed across the room with her cane. "Come on. Let's go!"
As Kinuyo led Uraki off, Fumie said, "I think we can let her take care of him. Don't worry."
Akiko, Fumie's older sister who lived in Tokyo, came up with her husband. Fumie said, "Akiko! Older sister, it's good to see you." Akiko said, "Fumie, congratulations." The husband said, "I'm sorry, I don't really know much about manga, but I came for Akiko." Shigeru said, "That's okay." Aiko and Yoshiko appeared out of the crowd, and said, "Oh, Aunt Akiko, it's good to see you. Here, we can show you where everything is." They walked away.
Yuichi came up, with Sachiko. Yuichi said, "Shigeru, you should give a toast pretty soon to start things off." Shigeru nodded.
Kurata, the assistant from Osaka whose eyes lit up, turned from the reception desk and walked into the party room. He walked up behind a figure looking at some of the decorations. Kurata said, "Excuse me." The figure turned. It was Komine, the itinerant artist. He looked at Kurata and said, "Oh, Kurata! Good to see you." Kurata said, "It is you. It has been a long time."
Sugai walked up and said, "Kurata, Komine, good to see you." Kurata said, "Sugai? You haven't changed." Sugai looked at him and said, "Well, you've gotten pretty prosperous." Sugai waved at Kurata's suit. Then Sugai looked at Komine and said, "Komine, what are you doing now?" Komine shrugged. "Oh, drawing pictures, here and there." Sugai shook his head. "Still just as mysterious as always." The three men were standing in front of a large drawing of a graveyard in manga style.
Kurata said, "Say, Sugai, I saw your manga in Shinjin magazine. It was really good." Sugai said, "Really?" Komine said, "It's prize-winning. Congratulations." Komine reached over and clapped some guy on the shoulder.
Sugai remembered the three of them, pulling out pens around the table in Shigeru's kitchen long ago. And working together in the new workroom. And laughing at the party when Kurata left to run his own company.
Kurata smiled and said, "Sugai, you've been there for Sensei all along." Komine said, "20 years. That's dedication." Sugai shrugged, then pointed at the food and drink. "Come on, let's go."
Shigeru stood on the small stage in his tuxedo and top hat. The background panels were gold, with the banner overhead celebrating 20 years. He held a glass of juice in his hand. He stepped up to the microphone and looked around at everyone. Then he said, "I want to thank you all for coming to Mizuki Production's 20 year anniversary party."
Aiko, Yoshiko, Kinuyo, and Fumie stood in a line, watching. Sachiko stood behind them. Yoshiko leaned over to Kinuyo and said, "Father's going to give the opening toast with juice?" Kinuyo nodded. "That's right. Today he can't get drunk. We don't want to make a mess of the party." Fumie nodded. "Yes."
Shigeru glanced around and said, "I think that's about all that I'm going to say formally. Please eat a lot, drink a lot, laugh a lot, and enjoy yourselves." Then he took a deep breath. "So... kanpai!" He lifted his glass. Everyone in the crowd lifted a glass. The crowd said, "Kanpai!" And they all took a drink from their glasses. [Kanpai is the Japanese toasting word -- like cheers. It literally means dry cups, and is a call to drink up.]
Fumie was standing by a table. Kurata, Komine, and Sugai walked up. Fumie said, "Oh, Kurata, Komine, thank you for coming." Kurata waved at a platter of gyoza and said, "Those gyoza? They're yours, aren't they?" Fumie chuckled. "Do you remember them?" Komine said, "Remember them? They gave us the stamina to keep working." Kurata said, "I can't forget. The gyoza, vegetables, even the miso soup, full of vegetables to keep us healthy." A small group of men stepped up, and one man said, "Kurata-sensei? I promised to introduce this man." The other man stepped up, and said, "I am your biggest fan."
Fumie was watching the crowd. There was a loud laugh, and she turned to look at a group near Shigeru. It was Funayama, the TV producer, in a bold white checked suit, taking off his sunglasses. On the other side of Shigeru, Toyokawa, the editor from Shonen Land and Kitamura, his assistant and now lead editor, also laughed. Toyokawa looked around and said, "This reminds me of that first party, in your living room with just the assistants and a few of us."
Then Fumie noticed Kanou, the professional woman, in a purple dress, standing with the men. Kanou nodded to Fumie, and came around the tables to talk with her.
Fumie said, "There are so many people." Kanou nodded, "Yes, but they're all related to Mizuki Productions." Then she shook her head. "It's really too bad that Fukuzawa couldn't come. But he's not healthy now." Fumie said, "I thought maybe after you left, things might be difficult between you?" Kanou shook her head again. "No, he's always very positive. And he's still my best coach!"
Later, Toyokawa and Funayama walked up to Fumie, with a group of others trailing. Toyokawa said, "I think these 20 years have been hard for you, too." Fumie shook her head. "Not really. Because of everybody helping, it's been fun." Toyokawa said, "Well, congratulations for 20 years." He bowed to Fumie. Then Kurata, Komine, and Sugai stepped up behind him, and said, "That's right. Congratulations, Fumie." They bowed.
Kinuyo watched, fondly. Shigeru also looked at Fumie. Aiko and Yoshiko smiled at her. Akiko and her husband looked. Mitsuo, Yuichi, and Sachiko nodded. Shigeru was still staring at her.
Fumie looked at everyone, and said, "Arigato gozaimasu." (Polite Thank you very much)
<to be continued>
Mitsuo tapped his pencil on the schedule. "What about July 12? It's a Saturday." Yuichi and Mitsuo sat on one side of the visitors' table, with Shigeru and Yoshiko on the other side. Shigeru and Yuichi nodded. "That sounds good." Fumie brought tea in, and set cups around the table.
Yuichi leaned back in the chair and said, "This is a great idea, having an anniversary party for Mizuki. Productions." Then he leaned forward and said, "We should list all the invitations." Mitsuo said, "I can make a pretty good list." Shigeru nodded. Then he looked at Yoshiko and said, "You can help by taking notes."
Mitsuo said, "What should we do about presents for the guests?" Shigeru said, "That's a good question." Fumie said, "What about tea mugs?" Shigeru said, "Oh, that's a good idea!" Yuichi said, "I can probably get a friend to make them."
Later, in the kitchen, Fumie frowned and said to herself, "A party in July? It will be hot. We could give folding fans, too." Shigeru came into the kitchen and said, "Um..." Fumie turned and looked at him. "Do you need more tea?" Shigeru shook his head. "No, the meeting is over. But I remembered something important." Fumie said, "What?" Shigeru said, "Well, could you make gyoza?" [dumplings, potstickers] Fumie said, "Gyoza?" Shigeru said, "Yes. Without your green gyoza, it isn't really a Mizuki Productions party." Fumie smiled. "I guess I could." Shigeru said, "There's going to be over 100 people coming, are you sure you can make enough?" Fumie thought for a moment, then said, "With the kids helping, yes." Shigeru nodded and said, "Please?"
Fumie turned back to the sink. Then she glanced back at Shigeru, who was still standing across the kitchen. "Something else?" Shigeru said, "Could you get a kimono?" Fumie said, "Oh..." Shigeru said, "For this, get a good one." Fumie stared at him, her mouth open. He snorted and said, "Why is your mouth open?" Fumie closed her mouth. Then she said, "It's the first time you've ever said anything like that." Shigeru shrugged. "We don't need to be cheap, go ahead and get a good one." Fumie said, "But I don't need a new one." Shigeru said, "Please don't hesitate." Fumie said, "it's not hesitation. I've got a good one." Shigeru said, "Oh." Fumie gave him a firm nod.
Sungai and Aikawa were picking up large cardboard boxes outside the house. Mitsuo came out of the door and said, "The van is right around the corner."
Upstairs, Aiko and Yoshiko walked around the corner. Aiko wore a white blouse, with a grey jacket and skirt. Yoshiko wore an off-white jacket and blouse. They stepped around the corner and chorused, "Oh, beautiful." Fumie sat in front of a mirror, wearing her pink kimono, with a light brown patterned obi. Her hair was up. She turned around and looked at them. "What do you think?" Yoshiko said, "It's a really good match."
Fumie opened a small wooden box. Inside was the hairpin that Toshi, her grandmother, had given her. The large red-pink ball on the end glowed, and the long wire legs glittered. Fumie took it out and tucked into her hair. Aiko said, "Wonderful. That's coral, isn't it?" Fumie said, "Yes. Toshi, your great-grandmother gave it to me. She said red coral brings good luck." Then she smiled at the girls. "When you are getting married, I'll give it to you." Aiko frowned. "But there is only one?" Yoshiko said, "The first one gets it?" Fumie said, "One of you gets the hairpin, the other gets... this kimono." Fumie held up the sleeve panel, showing off the pattern woven into it. Fumie said, "Miyako, your grandmother, sewed this by hand in the evenings. She gave it to me on my wedding day. It's got an ocean wave pattern in the cloth. She said it meant that your life would go on like gentle waves." Yoshiko smiled. "Gentle ocean waves? That's not really our life, is it?" They all chuckled.
Shigeru came around the corner and said, "We should get going." Fumie stood up. Shigeru looked at her and said, "Oh. Nice." He stood staring at her.
Yoshiko said, "Look at that. Father's staring!" Shigeru glanced at her and said, "Fool. All right, hurry up, let's go." He turned and walked away. Aiko said, "Now he's embarrassed."
The girls turned and left the room. As Fumie followed them, Toshi's picture said, "The hairpin and the kimono really suit you. Enjoy the party."
At the hotel, there was a reception desk for the guests to sign in. It was busy. The other side of the hallway was lined with flower displays sent by companies and guests. And there were people everywhere.
Inside the hotel party room, the decorations were from Mizuki Productions. A large banner over the small stage proclaimed 20 years history for Mizuki Productions. Boards around the room were covered with character sketches and pictures of the house, workroom, parties and other scenes from Mizuki Productions. One board had a sketch of a kappa, the eyeball father, Kitaro himself, and the cat girl. Tables also were covered with food. And there were platter after platter of gyoza.
In the middle of the bustle, Shigeru in a tuxedo with a bow tie and top hat stood with Fumie in her pink kimono beside him. He looked at the people, and said, "Inui!" Inui, Japan's smallest publisher and one of Shigeru's early fans, and Sanae, his wife, stepped up. Inui grinned, and said, "Thank you for inviting us. And congratulations on 20 years!" He bowed deeply.
Sanae smiled at Fumie and said, "Fumie, congratulations."
Inui stuck his hand out, and Shigeru and he shook hands. Shigeru said, "We've been friends now for more like 25 years." Inui shook his head. "25 years? A quarter century."
Sanae winked at Fumie and said, "For a quarter century, we've been putting up with guys who are crazy about manga."
Shigeru nodded. Then he waved at the crowd and said, "Please, get a drink and food. We'll talk later."
As they watched Inui and Sanae walk into the crowd, a voice said, "Hey, Gege!" Shigeru winced. Fumie shook her head. They turned as Uraki strode up. He was still wearing a mustache, but had a nice suit on. He paused and looked Fumie up and down.Uraki said, "My, my, you're all dressed up today." Shigeru said, "What are you doing here..." Uraki raised his hand and said, "Wait, don't ask." He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. He waved it. "Look, I have a real invitation. I thought maybe you finally recognized how much I can do to help you."
Shigeru nodded. "I understand. It's like manga. If it's all good people, it's really boring. So we need people like you." He reached out and patted Uraki's shoulder. Uraki smiled, and said, "That's right... wait... was that sarcastic?"
Just then, Kinuyo said loudly from behind him, "Uraki!" She thumped over with her cane, and grabbed his arm. She was wearing a pale green kimono. "Hey, today, you can eat all you want." She tugged on his arm and pointed across the room with her cane. "Come on. Let's go!"
As Kinuyo led Uraki off, Fumie said, "I think we can let her take care of him. Don't worry."
Akiko, Fumie's older sister who lived in Tokyo, came up with her husband. Fumie said, "Akiko! Older sister, it's good to see you." Akiko said, "Fumie, congratulations." The husband said, "I'm sorry, I don't really know much about manga, but I came for Akiko." Shigeru said, "That's okay." Aiko and Yoshiko appeared out of the crowd, and said, "Oh, Aunt Akiko, it's good to see you. Here, we can show you where everything is." They walked away.
Yuichi came up, with Sachiko. Yuichi said, "Shigeru, you should give a toast pretty soon to start things off." Shigeru nodded.
Kurata, the assistant from Osaka whose eyes lit up, turned from the reception desk and walked into the party room. He walked up behind a figure looking at some of the decorations. Kurata said, "Excuse me." The figure turned. It was Komine, the itinerant artist. He looked at Kurata and said, "Oh, Kurata! Good to see you." Kurata said, "It is you. It has been a long time."
Sugai walked up and said, "Kurata, Komine, good to see you." Kurata said, "Sugai? You haven't changed." Sugai looked at him and said, "Well, you've gotten pretty prosperous." Sugai waved at Kurata's suit. Then Sugai looked at Komine and said, "Komine, what are you doing now?" Komine shrugged. "Oh, drawing pictures, here and there." Sugai shook his head. "Still just as mysterious as always." The three men were standing in front of a large drawing of a graveyard in manga style.
Kurata said, "Say, Sugai, I saw your manga in Shinjin magazine. It was really good." Sugai said, "Really?" Komine said, "It's prize-winning. Congratulations." Komine reached over and clapped some guy on the shoulder.
Sugai remembered the three of them, pulling out pens around the table in Shigeru's kitchen long ago. And working together in the new workroom. And laughing at the party when Kurata left to run his own company.
Kurata smiled and said, "Sugai, you've been there for Sensei all along." Komine said, "20 years. That's dedication." Sugai shrugged, then pointed at the food and drink. "Come on, let's go."
Shigeru stood on the small stage in his tuxedo and top hat. The background panels were gold, with the banner overhead celebrating 20 years. He held a glass of juice in his hand. He stepped up to the microphone and looked around at everyone. Then he said, "I want to thank you all for coming to Mizuki Production's 20 year anniversary party."
Aiko, Yoshiko, Kinuyo, and Fumie stood in a line, watching. Sachiko stood behind them. Yoshiko leaned over to Kinuyo and said, "Father's going to give the opening toast with juice?" Kinuyo nodded. "That's right. Today he can't get drunk. We don't want to make a mess of the party." Fumie nodded. "Yes."
Shigeru glanced around and said, "I think that's about all that I'm going to say formally. Please eat a lot, drink a lot, laugh a lot, and enjoy yourselves." Then he took a deep breath. "So... kanpai!" He lifted his glass. Everyone in the crowd lifted a glass. The crowd said, "Kanpai!" And they all took a drink from their glasses. [Kanpai is the Japanese toasting word -- like cheers. It literally means dry cups, and is a call to drink up.]
Fumie was standing by a table. Kurata, Komine, and Sugai walked up. Fumie said, "Oh, Kurata, Komine, thank you for coming." Kurata waved at a platter of gyoza and said, "Those gyoza? They're yours, aren't they?" Fumie chuckled. "Do you remember them?" Komine said, "Remember them? They gave us the stamina to keep working." Kurata said, "I can't forget. The gyoza, vegetables, even the miso soup, full of vegetables to keep us healthy." A small group of men stepped up, and one man said, "Kurata-sensei? I promised to introduce this man." The other man stepped up, and said, "I am your biggest fan."
Fumie was watching the crowd. There was a loud laugh, and she turned to look at a group near Shigeru. It was Funayama, the TV producer, in a bold white checked suit, taking off his sunglasses. On the other side of Shigeru, Toyokawa, the editor from Shonen Land and Kitamura, his assistant and now lead editor, also laughed. Toyokawa looked around and said, "This reminds me of that first party, in your living room with just the assistants and a few of us."
Then Fumie noticed Kanou, the professional woman, in a purple dress, standing with the men. Kanou nodded to Fumie, and came around the tables to talk with her.
Fumie said, "There are so many people." Kanou nodded, "Yes, but they're all related to Mizuki Productions." Then she shook her head. "It's really too bad that Fukuzawa couldn't come. But he's not healthy now." Fumie said, "I thought maybe after you left, things might be difficult between you?" Kanou shook her head again. "No, he's always very positive. And he's still my best coach!"
Later, Toyokawa and Funayama walked up to Fumie, with a group of others trailing. Toyokawa said, "I think these 20 years have been hard for you, too." Fumie shook her head. "Not really. Because of everybody helping, it's been fun." Toyokawa said, "Well, congratulations for 20 years." He bowed to Fumie. Then Kurata, Komine, and Sugai stepped up behind him, and said, "That's right. Congratulations, Fumie." They bowed.
Kinuyo watched, fondly. Shigeru also looked at Fumie. Aiko and Yoshiko smiled at her. Akiko and her husband looked. Mitsuo, Yuichi, and Sachiko nodded. Shigeru was still staring at her.
Fumie looked at everyone, and said, "Arigato gozaimasu." (Polite Thank you very much)
<to be continued>
