Suddenly, the word “Hanka-gai” in Japanese caught my attention.
While shampooing my hair.
“Hanka-gai” means “downtown,” “city centre,” or “High Street” in English.
In Kanji,
“Han” means to be luxurious in this context,
“Ka” means gorgeous, and
“Gai” means tow or neighborhood.
On their own, these characters are associated with bustle and fun.
So the downtown area should undoubtedly be a lively and fun place.
But when I hear the word “Hanka-gai,” for some reason, I feel a sense of loneliness.
I don’t know why.
The dictionary definition of “Hanka-gai” is as follows: “a place lined with stores and commercial facilities and crowded with people.”
A place where people come out.
If it is a place where people come out, it is on the wandering line of flow.
It could be said that the area is wavering.
Thus, “Hanka-gai” has the comfort of fluctuation and the instability of wavering.
A person has a place to return to, and when she’s done, she leaves.
Leaving behind loneliness like that after a festival.
A person has nowhere to go, so he stays there for a while.
Bringing the loneliness with him.
It seems that I am more conscious of that loneliness than gorgeousness.
And now, in this day and age of pandemic,
the area with the sign of “luxurious and gorgeous” is still up and just stay there.
It is waiting for people who come someday from somewhere.
There are only stores and commercial facilities but no crowds like in the old days.
The current loneliness is not the same as Hanka-gai’s originally has, human life’s fragility.
But it is unfathomable loneliness.
A sense of fear of something beyond human life.
I guess
Some people are praying,
Some people are fighting, and
Some people are waiting for the day when the Hanka-gai or the downtown area gets back the essential loneliness.
It was just a night to wonder about such things.