Photo/Illutration The April Dream ad project runs at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station through April 10. (The Asahi Shimbun)

In his book “Rokku de Dokuritsu Suru Hoho” (How to go on one’s own as a rock artist), rock musician Kiyoshiro Imawano (1951-2009) explained a method he employed to “give shape” to his dream.

That was when he was in high school, way before he even began thinking about how to realize that dream.

He drew cartoons of himself as the person he wanted to become.

In what were more like doodles, he and his mates were members of a hugely successful band. It had become so popular, he sometimes didn’t know how to handle the accompanying fame.

Like the Beatles, the band established their own record company to make music as they pleased.

Imawano noted in the book that he had sent the drawings to a midnight radio talk show station, perhaps to prove he meant business.

The anecdote illustrates his resolute personality. The method Imawano used was akin to imagery rehearsal performed by athletes.

While adjectives such as “fleeting” and “impossible” tend to go with the noun dream, rendering the dream into a drawing may make it feel closer to reality.

Spring, I think, is a season that goes well with dreams, hopes and yearnings. That’s perhaps because we shed heavy coats and feel less bulky or because many people begin their studies or jobs in new locations with the start of the new fiscal year.

This column celebrated April Fools’ Day yesterday, but a billboard in Tokyo is calling for transforming April 1 into “April Dream Day. ”

I went to take a look at the ad at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station after reading about it in The Asahi Shimbun’s Tokyo evening edition yesterday.

It consists of numerous photos of people’s faces, with a short message attached to each.

“I’m going to become Asia’s greatest horror movie director,” one person wrote.

Another message went, “I want to become a bookstore clerk who stands by people who are troubled or in pain by introducing manga to them.”

If the dream in your first drawing is broken or ceases to matter, just take another sheet of paper and draw your next dream, and repeat as many times as necessary.

Who knows, your dream could become a “better fit” with each attempt through that process.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 2

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News