The comeback of Murakami Asahi-Do

Author: Haruki Murakami
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Starting with the problems of freelancing
Freelancing, in big cities, always seems like a rather trendy profession. Wealthy and flashy men can stroll around during broad daylight without drawing much attention, but for someone like me—a city marginal person, or rather, someone who drifts between small and medium-sized towns outside the city due to the high rent—freelancing is quite a troublesome and exhausting job.
First, the concept of "freelancing" is hard to understand. What's particularly troublesome is the bank during bonus time. There's nothing more annoying than that. While sitting in a chair waiting for the procedure, a bank clerk inevitably comes over and asks, "Where are you depositing your bonus? Have you decided yet?" I can't decide, so I say, "Not yet."
"Then how about opening a fixed-term account here for now?" "Ah, I don't have a bonus." I say this, and the clerk inevitably looks at me with an incomprehensible, vacant stare. If I had to compare it, it's like watching a dilapidated, abandoned house swaying in the wind by the roadside. Some just say, "Excuse me," and turn away, which isn't too bad. But half of them refuse to leave. I usually go to the bank around nine or ten in the morning when it's less crowded, and the clerk is also idle.
"Um—excuse me for being bold, what do you do for a living?" This is how they usually ask. "Freelancing." I answer. The bank staff still look confused, and some even ask if I'm a carpenter. Naturally, I feel a bit awkward wearing shorts for a stroll, rubber sandals, and sunglasses when going to the bank, but there's no need to go overboard by equating freelancing with carpentry! After all, does carpentry even fall under freelancing? So I can only say, "Well, I'm in the writing industry."
"Oh, really? So you're a land division writer." Someone says this. This is also strange. While it's logical for a bank clerk to make such a connection, the problem is that there's no such thing as a "land division industry" in the world. I checked the job category phone book, and there's no such thing. No "secretion industry," no "counter-smelling industry." To pronounce it, it has to be "writing industry." Explaining it is troublesome, so I switch to saying, "writing profession."
This way, most people suddenly understand. "Ah, if you win something like the Naoki Prize, please deposit the entire amount with our bank, haha." Someone says this and leaves. What kind of mindset do these people have? Perhaps they mean to be friendly and encouraging, but I think, even if I had money, I wouldn't deposit it here!
But that's still relatively okay. What's worse is that sometimes even saying "writing profession" doesn't elicit understanding. "Oh, writing profession." I think they've understood, but then they immediately say, "Then when you graduate and get your bonus, please definitely deposit it with our bank." Hearing this, I can't help but get angry: talking to a thirty-six-year-old man about graduation or no graduation! But then I think, banks must have their own unique values and ways of looking at the world, something I can't understand.
Anyway, I decided to stay as far away from banks as possible. I've never had any good luck with them.