Recommended book 📚 "Light a White Fire"

I'd like to recommend one book from the selection available at Jiyucho/Futo ✍️

Starting this month, our staff will be introducing a recommended book each month, so please look forward to it! 🤭

So, the first book I'd like to introduce is Katsuhiko Nishio's poetry collection, "Light a White Fire."

I actually encountered this work several years ago.

While browsing the shelves in a bookstore, I found a small white booklet tucked between other books. Its pure white cover contained only the title and author's name—a remarkably simple booklet.

I was somehow drawn to the title, and after reading a few pages, I thought, "Ah, I've found it," and headed straight to the cashier to buy the book. It was a privately published edition of "Light a White Fire."

The book was originally sold in limited quantities and is now out of print, so I was overjoyed when I learned that it would be reissued this January. I had previously purchased a copy, and immediately after starting to read it, I gave it to the first person who came to mind as someone I wanted to share it with...

"Light a White Fire" is a collection of essay poems based on what Nishio said in a creative writing workshop for young people.

When I heard the term "creative activity," I used to think it was something limited to artists, but after reading this collection of poems, I've come to think that "living earnestly and honestly" is also a form of creative activity, and that people who live that way could also be called artists.

The beauty that emerges from a sincere effort to protect what one cherishes, even while grappling with doubts and fears, and sometimes getting hurt along the way—perhaps that, too, is a form of art.

There are things I won't compromise on and things I want to protect, but sometimes I get lost and anxious.

This book gently ignites a spark in the heart of an artist who, despite appearing sharp on the surface, is actually quite fragile.

The words are gentle and have a laid-back feel, yet as I read them, I felt like I was being gently encouraged, and a warm feeling slowly seeped into the depths of my being. 🕯️

This turned out to be longer than I expected (lol), but thank you for reading all the way to the end.

Incidentally, Koyama, the owner of Jiyucho/Futo and a poet, has also written the following book review ✍️

–

I want the artists around you to read this in order to make a living.

I want you to read this so that the artist within you can be reborn.

I hope you will read this so that the artist within you can continue to walk a healthy path forward.

I hope the warmth of this white fire reaches the delicate, gentle, and easily broken, sensitive skin of those with a rich aptitude, and the artistic heart of those with a sensitive skin.

Shohei Koyama

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"Shiroi Hi, Tomoshibite" (Light a White Fire) is available for purchase at Jiyucho Futou stores or through the Jiyucho online store. 🛒

If you're interested, please check it out.

May you encounter wonderful words ✨