The Precious Things you can’t Count.

This is the English translation of my Japanese article to appear in Nikkan San on Sep 18, 2022, as a part of my bi-weekly column, “The Way of the Pianist. 

I just came back from a four-day trip to Wakayama city in Japan.

The trip was full of precious, beautiful meetings, brainstorming sessions, frank exchange over gorgeous feasts, hugs… I had left Los Angeles during the height of its heatwave, the temperature far exceeding a 100. When I returned, the cool breeze was that of autumn leaving me feeling like I just came back from a time travel.

Some say music is the art of time. Maybe that’s why I often think it futile to try to measure time. Playing the last chord of a two-minute piece sometimes feels like a return home from an epic journey. An intense two-hour rehearsal can feel like a matter of moments. In today’s world, when often we are chased after by clocks, bells and alarms, the unquantifiable experience of time may be one of the most luxurious things.

With its dramatically weak yen at 144 yen to a dollar for the first time since 1998, this trip also made me think about the value of things. With the decades of deflation behind the weak currency, a bowl of the famous Wakayama ramen was 700 yen (about $4.86). The price of admission to a magnificent Wakayama Prefectural Museum that traced its history all the way from prehistory to the 21st century was 280 yen ($1.94). As a performing artist, I am fully aware that a price tag often has nothing to do with the true value of things. But still, when the real authentic ramen noodle with special local flavor costs way less than a half of what you would pay for a similar bowl in Los Angeles, I am worried about my home country’s economy.

I’ve always wanted to be the one to laugh, pointing to the King and tell everyone that he is naked. That was one of the reasons that I chose this path as an “artist,” and so I shall continue to assess the true value of things for myself, without being manipulated by the numbers and data.