Drinking Diary/Afterparty (Extract)
Ongaku to Hito
September 1995
Text = Ichikawa Tetsushi
Ichikawa Tetsushi’s Drinking Diary – #61
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Monday, 26 June. Naha / Ryūkyūan* restaurant → The usual Soul Bar (first “endless drinking” in a long time).
I flew to Okinawa with ISSAY to wait for B-T. The way Sakurai broke into a wide grin as soon as he sees ISSAY’s face said, “Ahh, it’s a good thing I forced myself to move this tired body and come ♡” …… Ooooor maybe I’m just imagining things. At around 5 a.m., I and ISSAY made our escape first, and because ISSAY is around, I was able to leave by force and Imai, who couldn’t stop me from doing so, glared with hatred in his eyes. Ohh, this time, I have a good weapon with me!
Tuesday, 27 June. Naha / Sushi restaurant → Cabaret club that’s actually a lingerie pub** → Soul bar (“endless drinking” 2).
I drank a lot of Sake with Anii at a sushi restaurant and then got abducted by the local event organiser to a lingerie pub. Refer to the “Afterparty” for details of this “Lingerie Pub Tragedy”.
Wednesday, 28 June. Naha / Steak restaurant → The same club → The same soul bar (“endless drinking” 3).
When we went to our second destination, the club, the ladies who I met 2 years ago at another club were there. That frightening coincidence killed me. Also, Sakurai was being teased and called a Shisa***. We drank until 5:30 a.m. again today, and just as I thought of seizing the opportunity to flee now that Imai was turning into a Jizo statue, Imai surprised me by waking up all of a sudden as if by some animalistic instinct. This guy… I wonder if he will keep drinking even if his head gets cut off?
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This Month’s Afterparty
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Tuesday, 27 June
1 p.m., Sakurai Atsushi + ISSAY’s “Decadent Conversation in Midsummer” at the far-flung Okinawa. They were to have their photoshoot at Kudaka Island, one of the Islands of God which was a 30-minute ferry ride from the main Okinawa Island, but as usual, Sakurai hasn’t appeared. Ichikawa goaded Imai Hisashi at last night’s drinking session.
“Tomorrow, we’ll be going to the island in the afternoon for a photoshoot but don’t you think it’s the absolute best to spend the middle of summer drinking co~ld beer? Imai, come join us at 1 p.m. tomorrow, come, come!”
“Uh…… I’ll go if I can wake up.”
“Ah, you don’t have to force yourself.”
“I’ll go!”
No one trusted him to, but Imai arrived at the lobby at 12:30 p.m. wearing a jersey and he asked the staff, “Am I still in time?”
“We’re gathering at 1.”
“Thank goodnessー.”
Imai, who hastily got changed, has arrived earlier than Sakurai!
“It was late when I woke up and I thought, ‘Oh shit,’ and panicked.”
Even Imai will turn^.
Without being beaten by the absurd amount of bobbing on the boat, we landed on the 34°C island at 2:30 p.m. Our return ferry would leave at 4 p.m. and that was the only one, so the photoshoot went at high speed. The two men posed on the rocky coral embankment heavily decked out in their European flair ―― while perspiration trickled down. Also, in the meantime, the group got scared by long-legged starfish coming out of holes, gigantic woodlice running around on the rocks, and moray eels swimming in the shallows. Ah, Imai turned pale. He~y, drink your beer ―― But as depicted, Imai made a full recovery.
It bears noting that in the picture on page 126 (the last picture featured here), the scoundrel looking upon the happy couple of “balmy Showa seas decadence” from the shadows of the rocks, ready to tear their relationship apart is, of course, Imai.
And next, what the weary Ichikawa troupe had been waiting for; the lingerie pub, “Dorikamu” which was also touched upon in the Drinking Diary! In this establishment, it’s to be expected that the lingerie-clad ladies will sit next to patrons, and every 30 minutes, Dorikamu’s famous Talk Time will take place, where the ladies will sit on a patron’s lap to talk to him and at the end, she will dance with her crotch gyrating 5cm away from the patron’s face. To add to this, of all men, the one who got picked was he who was the most indifferent to such behaviour; ISSAY. ISSAY’s eyes were wide open and his body absolutely rigid ―― Yuta, who was seated far away, ran up to him, “ISSAY-san, are you okay?”. Now that it had ended, ISSAY reasoned, “I thought I might die but I’m alright. Since I’ve been holding Atsushi’s hand throughout.”
Uh… huh.
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Notes:
* Cuisine native to Okinawa.
** Basically a bar where all the hostesses wear lingerie.
*** A Shisa is an Okinawan lion dog statue usually placed on rooftops to protect against evil spirits. Also known as an Okinawan guardian lion.
^ The phrase used here was based on a Japanese saying (一寸の虫にも五分の魂) but here, the 虫 (bug) has been switched to 今井 instead. The English equivalent of this saying is, “Even a worm will turn”, meaning that even the meekest or most docile of creatures will retaliate or seek revenge if pushed too far.
Translation: Yoshiyuki
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