Japanese with anime voice: episode29
Hello, I’m Sachi.
In 1889, in the 22nd year of Meiji, the JR Chuo Line was opened to service 135 years ago today on this date. In honor of this event, April 11 is designated as the anniversary of the opening of the Chuo Line. Today, the JR Chuo Line is the JR Chuo Line, but at that time, the line was opened by a railroad called the Kobu Railway.
Speaking of trains, when I was in high school, I commuted to high school by train and bicycle. To be more precise, I went to high school by car, train, and bicycle. The station nearest my parents’ house was not within walking distance, so I had to ask my parents to drive me to the station. So, to be precise, I commuted to high school by car, train, and bicycle.
When most people think of trains in Japan, they think of trains in Tokyo or Osaka, but trains in the countryside do not offer the same convenience. There are only a few train cars, and they are very local, with only one train line. Basically, the only people who use the trains are students. All adults have a driver’s license and drive to work. So the local morning trains were full of students from various high schools. As students started commuting by train and it became the norm, the people who boarded the morning train gradually became familiar to each other. We don’t know each other at all because we go to different schools, but we know who is getting on the train and where.
So, when I was on that commute to school, there was someone I fell in love with. At first, I think it probably started with the fact that I thought the guy who always gets on the train from that station was cool. And as I saw him every day, I started to like him. Even though I didn’t know the person. Of course, I didn’t even know his name. But, you know, girls talk about who they like among their friends, don’t they? And since I don’t know the name of the person I like, I wondered what I should say. I felt that it would be a little awkward to say “the guy on the morning train” every time, so I named him 電車の君 (densha no kimi).
This “～ no kimi” is an old saying. Of course, it was old-fashioned even back then. I don’t really know what it means. I don’t know the meaning very well, but it is a way of addressing one’s lord with respect, but it also means to call someone with affection. At the time, however, I didn’t know what it meant, and just used it by mood. It was an old-fashioned way of putting it, but it was funny, and it became popular among friends that the name “電車の君 (densha no kimi)” referred to someone Sachi liked.
So, last month or the month before last, I reconnected with a childhood friend for the first time in a very long time. I went out to eat with her and we had a good time reminiscing. However, my childhood friend had such amnesia that she could hardly remember anything from high school. She asked me what she was doing in high school, and I explained to her what had happened to her. I was talking about how you liked this person, or about the boyfriend of a girl in our class. Then the friend said, “Oh, by the way, there was someone I called 電車の君 (densha no kimi).” It was as if it was something that had happened to her. I thought, “I’ve heard that phrase somewhere before,” and then my own memories of high school flashed through my mind, and I realized, “No, that’s my memory!” Then my friend realized that it was not an event in her past either. LOL
I had explained so much about the high school years for my childhood friend, as messed up as I could remember, but I had completely forgotten about the person until my friend mentioned the word 電車の君 (densha no kimi). I didn’t even remember him while I was explaining it. I didn’t expect that my friend would remember him as her own memory. Isn’t it amazing to think of someone else’s memories as your own?
And, you know, my relationship with 電車の君 (densha no kimi) never developed. We just saw each other every morning on the train. I don’t remember why, but I found out through someone what grade he was in high school. He was one year older than us. When we were in our third year, he graduated and we didn’t see him on the train anymore. So, really, it was just that there was this guy, 電車の君 (densha no kimi), and there was nothing memorable that happened between us. And yet she remembered that phrase. And it’s as if she liked someone else’s favourite person. It’s too funny.
Well, that just goes to show that people’s memories are ambiguous and unpredictable. That means that there is a possibility that, without knowing it, I too could be assuming that someone else’s memory is my own. That’s scary! Still, I miss it. I used to use this local train a lot when I was in high school. After graduating from high school, I thought I would never use it again in my life, but now I’ve actually started using it again at a pace of once a month before I go back to my hometown from where I live now. Moreover, we are even talking about making a promotional video with someone I met through my childhood friend to boost the local train line. You never know what will happen in life.
