Dreams and Visions Still Go On! - A Life Nurtured by Dreams and Fantasies Is Always Fascinating!

When I was a teenager, I had a dream. I was competing in Japanese junior tennis tournaments and even went to the States alone to pursue tennis training. People say it’s important not to give up, but I was stunned by the difference in levels and soon abandoned my dream of becoming a professional tennis player. This was less than two years after I started training in the States. Despite this, I continued to dream of running a cool tennis club, but eventually, that dream shifted to music.

In the 1970s, during the peak of folk songs and group sounds in Japan, everyone was playing guitar if they were a student. Influenced by this trend, I bought a Morris acoustic guitar and practiced with friends. Although I was deeply involved in tennis at the time, I played guitar whenever I had a chance. I wasn’t studying much during junior high, but I didn’t mind, possibly due to the backlash from studying too hard in elementary school.

After abandoning my tennis dreams, my dreams eventually shifted to music. The 1970s were the height of classic rock. There were many students who played guitar in American high schools, and at every school event, students formed bands and performed hits like David Bowie’s. Influenced by this, I also formed a band for the school festival and played Deep Purple’s “Burn” as a guitarist. We had a great keyboardist in the band, so the quality of our performance was great enough for high school students. I remember it was a lot of fun, even though the audience was mostly parents.

Captivated by rock music, I continued to play guitar passionately even after entering university. I enrolled in the business program of the University of Southern California (USC). While my major was business management, I was taking numerous music classes because American universities allow for minors or secondary majors. About one-third of my classes were music-related, and USC even had a studio guitar department. I enjoyed taking guitar lessons in college immensely. My professor at the time was Duke Miller, the mentor of a well-known guitarist, Lee Ritenour. It was a great joy to take guitar lessons under such a famous professor while earning university credits. My dream then shifted to becoming a famous rock guitarist.

However, not everything went smoothly. After all, success as a rock guitarist is rare. I knew that only one in thousands could form a successful rock band. Despite this, I couldn’t give up. One day, I encountered a mesmerizing performance by Van Halen before they became famous. It was a revelation. Eddie Van Halen’s performance at a Hollywood nightclub was truly artistic. The song arrangements were superb, and Eddie’s guitar sound was explosive. His unique guitar solos, picking, tapping techniques, and distinctive melodies were indescribable, and his flawless performance without mistakes was remarkable. Following Eddie Van Halen, I spent a year living in Hollywood after graduating from university, immersed in playing the guitar, but this didn’t last long. I eventually accepted that I wasn’t destined to be a rock star and decided to return to my studies by entering graduate school.

Gradually, my dreams from my twenties faded away. Looking back, I feel that after losing my dreams of being a tennis player and a guitarist, I had no dreams at all. As time passed, I grew older. It has been half a century since I aspired to be a tennis player, but now, I have discovered new dreams. Over the past few years, as I have repeatedly spoken about and envisioned them, I realized, “Ah, these are my dreams!” Moreover, I have multiple dreams. Perhaps this is a sign of aging. Here are two of them.

Firstly, I dream of creating Wadajima Town. For some reason, I am fixated on Wadajima in Tokushima Prefecture. With Sound House’s Western Japan Logistics Center located there and having acquired land in the middle of the town’s intersection, I envision developing the area. It is a region suffering from depopulation and might have zero population in 50 years. I want to create a new town for young people there. To achieve this through the power of music, I plan to build a live music club and restaurant, leading to further growth of Sound House. This would result in many young people working in Wadajima and settling there. Consequently, Wadajima Town would begin to form, with an athletic field and baseball stadium available for everyone. It would provide an excellent living environment. This is my dream for creating a new town called Wadajima Town.

Another dream is to create a top-notch facility that can accommodate children without homes or those who are unwanted. Nowadays, child abuse is often covered by the media. If children are mistreated because they are considered a burden, I want to create a facility where they can be cared for. In this facility, children will not only live comfortably but also receive proper education and grow. Of course, there will be no costs for them; the facility will cover all expenses. Additionally, I want to provide housing for specified expectant mothers, offering a safe environment for young women to give birth. Ultimately, my dream is to protect children’s lives. I will work hard and invest the income I earn into protecting the lives of children. This is the core of my dream.

Some dreams can be fleeting. However, some dreams may become reality. Only God knows which way it will go. If I am fortunate enough to receive God’s blessings, my dreams might come true. That’s why I am determined to keep striving to live.