What Is Your Special Treasure? / Monthly JIYUCHO Letter vol.58
Once a month, JIYUCHO sends out the Monthly JIYUCHO Letter. This issue asks a simple question: what is your special treasure?
Greetings from the manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO
Good evening. This is Yamamoto, manager of JIYUCHO and FUTO. Thank you as always for reading the Monthly JIYUCHO Letter.
As the year moves toward its end, we may find ourselves looking back on the days we have lived. Among ordinary days, there are things that only we can call special: a view we saw once, a word someone gave us, a memory that still makes us smile, or an object that seems to hold a whole time inside it.
This month, I would like to spend time with the question of what feels truly special to each of us.
Podcast JIYUCHO FM: What does it mean to be yourself?
In this episode of JIYUCHO FM, the owner and manager talked about what it means to be yourself.
The phrase sounds familiar, but when we try to answer it seriously, it becomes surprisingly difficult. Is the self something we choose, something that has remained with us since long ago, or something that appears in the way we respond to everyday life?
The conversation does not try to force a single answer. Instead, it stays with the question, moving through memories, work, relationships, and the small signs by which we recognize ourselves.
Opening schedule from November through the New Year holidays
As the year-end season approaches, JIYUCHO and FUTO will continue to open while adjusting some dates around the holidays.
JIYUCHO is usually open on weekdays from 13:00 to 18:00 and on weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, except when they fall on holidays. FUTO is usually open on weekdays from 13:00 to 18:00 and on weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00. It is closed on Tuesdays, except when they fall on holidays.
Please check the latest reservation pages before visiting during the year-end and New Year period.
SEASONAL TOMOSHIBI LETTER autumn edition begins in a limited run of 100
The autumn edition of SEASONAL TOMOSHIBI LETTER has begun as a limited run of 100.
Autumn is a season that seems to make memories easier to hear. The air cools, the light changes, and we may suddenly remember a feeling we had almost forgotten. Writing a letter to your future self in such a season can become a way of gently gathering what this year has given you.
We hope this autumn TOMOSHIBI LETTER becomes a quiet time for you to face your own words.
Koyama's poetry collection is now available at Nagi no Niwa by the coast in Imabari, Ehime
The poetry collection Boku to Anata de Youyaku Sekai by our owner and poet Koyama is now available at Nagi no Niwa, a place created by architect Kazushi Yano, who also helped us when making FUTO.
Nagi no Niwa stands by Kamoike Beach in Imabari, Ehime. The photo with the coastline behind it was taken by Yano-san, and it is beautiful.
The place was apparently renovated by Yano-san from what had once been his family home. It is described as a regional archive place. Because it was made by someone who values connections between people and the flow of time, we are honored and very happy that Koyama's poems can be picked up there.
Nagi no Niwa also appears at events in Ehime and around Tokyo, so please check their Instagram if you are nearby.
A recommended poem in place of closing words
Thank you for reading this month's Monthly JIYUCHO Letter to the end.
The poem we introduce this time is called Totteoki. It speaks of the special view only you have seen while living your own road, and of memories that can make you smile whenever you return to them.
Special treasures are not special because they are famous or because someone else says they are good. They are special because they belong to your life. And sometimes, something you found while simply living for yourself can become warmth and strength for someone important to you.
Reading the poem, I felt that the things we have cherished privately may one day become something precious for another person too. That possibility feels quietly wonderful.
Bonus words of the month: From the world to the backstreet, right?
One day, in the back room at FUTO, manager Yamamoto and owner Koyama were talking about another company.
Yamamoto said that the company seemed impressive, and that it had apparently begun in a small abandoned building in a backstreet. From there, it had grown into a business facing the world. It felt like going from a backstreet to the world.
Koyama replied, That is like us.
Yamamoto laughed and said, Maybe so.
Then Koyama said, But if anything, for us it is from the world to the backstreet, right?
Everyone paused, then laughed.
JIYUCHO and FUTO are indeed small places in the backstreets of Kuramae. But people come carrying worlds of their own: memories, futures, letters, work, journeys, and feelings. Perhaps this place is where those worlds quietly arrive in a backstreet.
Thank you for reading. If you would like to receive future newsletters, you can subscribe from the bottom of the JIYUCHO homepage.
