Written on December 21, 1989 [Permalink]

December 19

An odds-and-ends day: typed an announcement for newspapers about the coming 'exhibition' (English and Japanese), ordered some photos to accompany it, picked up envelopes etc. for the New Year card, did the banking, re-stocked my shipping supplies, wrapped another copy of Komachi for the bakery (for an O-seibo gift), and worked on the hanshita for Sarumaru Dayu [1-9].

Sometime in the late afternoon, there was a knock at the door - accompanied by a telephone call. Michiyo got the phone, while I saw to the door: the mailman with a cash delivery envelope, the first one I've ever received. It was from Matsuzaki-san: an 'O-seibo' gift of 20,000 yen! This is backwards! We should be giving him something! If he hadn't helped me out last spring, I'd still be turning out truly amateurish prints, and would have no chance of making a living at it. What do we do now? Of course, we phoned and said the necessary thank yous, but what can I do to restore some kind of natural 'balance' ...?

Meanwhile, back at the telephone with Michiyo ... it turned out to be a Mr. Tanaka from NHK. They are still 'considering' a spot on my work on their 'Evening Wide' program, and wanted a few more details (how did I make a living, etc.). As before, they left us with a 'we might be calling again later ...'). Obviously my project is on their list, and I think it's now just a matter of time before they decide to hit us. I only hope that when they do, it will turn out to be something that will help us get some clients.

December 20

Wednesday, so switch off the hanga project for a couple of days. At least, that's what is supposed to happen on Wednesdays ... Stopped off at Ozaku station news kiosk on the way home from dropping the kids off at the daycare, to pick up the Sankei newspaper. Yep, we're in there; a little feature article on the Tama page. It's the usual description of the project, accompanied by the now-standard grimace (why does my face do that whenever somebody points a camera at me?) Unfortunately, there's no address or telephone number ...

Just got started on the English preparation when Seki-san rang up. "Can you come over to my place, to discuss the Mitsukoshi project ...?" Gulp. We explained that it would be next to impossible on Wednesday, so he simply said, "OK then, I'll come over there. See you soon." This started a frantic scramble to get the preparation for the afternoon classes done before he got here. I got something scribbled down, and zipped over to the station to meet him. We had an enjoyable time with him, hearing about his American trip, and his plans for selling prints. He has got this chance to do a demo and sale at the store sometime in February, and has asked Okamoto-san and myself to 'supply' him with stuff for sale. Of course, he will be selling his own stock as well. The store will apparently take 20%, with another 5% going to the metropolitan government, who is sponsoring the event. Seki-san would get another 20-25%, leaving me with half of the gross, of 5,000 yen per print. It's not the way I want to sell these things, but I think the advantage of getting some exposure, and perhaps collecting some more subscribers, outweighs the financial disadvantage. There would be no cuts taken by any of them on any subscription contacts made at the event, simply on sales made on the spot. Seki-san thinks I should shoot for single sheet sales, but I demurred, explaining that I didn't want to have to become a full-time salesman, but would rather take a bit longer if necessary, and build up a subscriber list. In any case, I'll go along with his event. It sounds like fun, I think it will help the project, and besides, how could I turn him down? Let's go! Michiyo saw him back to the station, while I greeted the students, and tried to get my mind back on teaching ...

December 21

Well, the big news today is that Mr. Tanaka from NHK did phone back. We're on! The crew is coming over tomorrow in the early afternoon, with the intention of shooting both printmaking and an English class. They are apparently planning a 2~3 minute spot on the 6:00 pm 'Evening Network' show. It's going to be great exposure, and obviously millions (gulp!) of people will see my work, but will it actually lead to any business? Who knows! Anyway, it should be fun!