Released: 2015/12/24
※This essay was also published in the book compilation of Saito Soma no Kenkou de Bunkateki na Saitei Gendo no Seikatsu.
“When you can’t sleep at night, it’s because you forgot to prick yourself with the sleepiness needle1.” I’m not sure whether I was told that by someone, I read it somewhere, or I thought of it myself.
Even after emptying the whiskey glass, it doesn’t feel like the day is going to end. With nothing else to do tonight, here I am, starting to write this essay. It’s often said that you should never publicize anything you wrote late at night, but I think it might be okay every once in a while. However, if it’s a love letter, you should definitely sleep on it first. Promise me you will, everyone.
Now then, that’s what I’ll be talking about tonight.
There’s a wonderful theory that “makura” (the Japanese word for “pillow”) comes from “tama no kura” (storehouse of the soul). I first learned of it in the winter of my first year of middle school. It was after leisurely biking down a footpath between rice fields to go to the bookstore, where I bought Urushibara Yuki-san’s Mushishi. As a new middle schooler, I was having sleepless nights because I wasn’t adjusting well to the change in my environment, so that theory became a part of me as if it had seeped into my mind. But in the end, I continued to have trouble sleeping, and I became the kind of sad adult who would write “Nobita-san2” in the “person I admire” column of my profile sheet.
So, this time, I decided to search for an item that would be crucial in obtaining the perfect sleep: the “storehouse of the soul”; that is, a pillow. My destination was the Lofty Pillow Factory in Bakuro-Yokoyama.
As far as I can remember, that was the first time I’d ever gotten off at Bakuro-Yokoyama Station. It was a lovely side street full of wholesalers—it looked like a neighbourhood out of a manga by Tsuge Yoshiharu-san or panpanya-san. (Speaking of which, panpanya-san wrote a short story called Makura Uo, which was also about searching for a pillow.) I walked through the neighbourhood, feeling a bit like a tourist.
When I arrived, I was surprised by how stylish Lofty’s storefront was. Peeking in from outside, the first thing I noticed was the fancy stairs leading to the underground level. There were also some mysterious cocoon-shaped objects. Oh? Did I come here to be put into cold sleep? It looked like something out of science fiction, even though it wasn’t the season for The Door into Summer anymore.
I timidly approached the front desk. A gentle-mannered employee gave me a detailed explanation of their products, and at last, it was time to try out the pillows.
Apparently, the key to choosing a pillow is to measure the depth of your neck to prevent your shoulders from sinking when you lie down. While trying out different materials such as beads, rice husks, and whatnot, the employee said to me that my shoulders were relatively broad. Don’t tell anyone that I was surprised to hear that.
By the way, according to the employee, “Most people who come to buy a pillow have some kind of sleep-related problem. But changing one’s pillow isn’t enough to solve the root of the problem—one must also review their lifestyle or seek guidance from a doctor.” Well, yes, that’s true.
The store also sold body pillows in a variety of shapes, like frogs and some strange lamprey-type thing. I passed on these. The thought of cuddling a finless porpoise while I slept was mildly terrifying.
After deciding on a pillow, it was time to pay. Next to the cash register, I found pajamas that looked very “galaxy.” They felt very soft and comfortable to the touch, so I decided to buy them as well. However, I was shocked when I heard the price. The pajamas were more expensive than the pillow by a long shot. Still, I had decided not to compromise on my health, so for the sake of good sleep, I paid up and left the store feeling refreshed.
And so, I bought a pillow, but to be honest, there are still many nights when I can’t fall asleep. I’m bad at “not thinking,” so I wind up going through an endless stream of unnecessary thoughts. What I probably need are relaxation techniques. It’s important to “relax your shoulders,” both physically and mentally.
It seems that in order to become healthy, one must not only solve the physical problems with their body, but also internal ones. I have a long way to go, but, well, I’ll get there one step at a time.
Oh, one more thing. On sleepless nights, something always happens. For example, it could be a message from a friend I haven’t talked to in a while or an encounter with a wonderful creation. For some reason, I believe in that kind of fate and serendipity.
Oh? Look, just as I was writing that, someone rang my doorbell. I’m surely going to enjoy staying up tonight. Well then, good night everyone, and sweet dreams.
0The title is a reference to the novel In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust.
1Saito Soma later wrote a short song called “Sleepiness Needle” (Suima no Hari) for the UtaTsunagi trend on Twitter:
2Referencing Nobita Nobi from Doraemon, who is very lazy and sleeps a lot.
