Ich bin ein japanischer Schriftsteller

Two moon faces smiled broadly at me from the back of the room. Same black suit, same haircut, same smile. Who was Mr Mishima? Who was Mr Tanizaki? I decided not to make a distinction. They stood up at the same time. "I am Mr Mishima, Vice Consul of Japan. Officially, I'm the cultural attaché, but my area is not clearly defined. Everyone in the consulate is involved. It makes me uncomfortable to receive you so humbly." "And I am his assistant, Mr Tanizaki." "Please sit down," Mr Mishima said to me. It might have been Mr Tanizaki too, but I paid no attention to who was who. I sat down. I wouldn't have waited for their permission anyway. Mr Tanizaki (or Mr Mishima) cared so much about how I sat that he was obsessed with any detail that might disturb my well-being. Like an entomologist who wants to put a black insect in a pretty lacquer box. Obviously, black was the colour of the house: tables, chairs, plates and tablecloths were black, while forks and knives were red. Mr Mishima suddenly asked for another table. But since all the tables were taken, he wanted to change places with me. He made me swear that I liked where I was sitting. He was still not satisfied. He looked at Mr Tanizaki, who immediately jumped up to give me his seat overlooking the street. All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right. I knew it was the polite Asian way of welcoming me, but it didn't suit me at all. In the end, they expected me to make efforts I didn't know I was making. No, they were the millennial, refined culture, I was the young and wild America. I pulled in my stomach, pressed my knees together, hunched my shoulders to make use of the little space I was allowed. A compact pleasure. A quick glance around the room showed me that this restaurant was adapted to a certain height, as if to discourage other, taller formats, such as black American basketball players.