A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On December 13, Ms. Naoko Sakurabayashi, the representative of Sakuabout Inc. and a person of chatting, will appear on the show. We asked her about the secret story behind the publication of “Sekai wa Yumegumi to Kanaegumi de Dekiteiru” and about her chatting service, “Saku-chan kiite” .
INDEX
What I found when I wrote about myself
Celeina (MC): Naoko Sakurabayashi opened her cookie shop “SAC about cookies” in 2011. In addition to running her own store, she also works as an advisor for stores and companies, and writes columns and essays, including “Sekai wa Yume-gumi to Kanae-gumi de Dekiteiru”.She also hosts the one-on-one chat project “Saku-chan kiite”, and is currently distributing the podcast “Tonari no Zatsudan” with Jane Sue.
Ms. Sakurabayashi, your note article titled “Yume-gumi to Kanae-gumi” attracted a lot of attention, and you have since published a book.What made you start writing?
Sakurabayashi: About five years after I started the cookie shop, I had some free time in the evening, so I decided to write down my feelings and started “note”. I thought, “Well, well, no one can see me here”.
Celeina: So you started “note” as a place for your own personal enjoyment.
Sakurabayashi: It was also to organize myself. When you work independently, there are many situations where you have to express “I am this kind of person,” and I am not good at that. So I wanted to get to know myself by writing down what I have been doing and organizing it.
Celeina：Do you mean self-analysis?
Sakurabayashi:I wouldn’t go as far as analysis. I feel like I want to write it down and see it with my eyes.
Takano (MC): The topic of the notebook was “Yumegumi to Kanaegumi”.
Celeina: Could you tell us about “Yume-gumi to Kanae-gumi” and what kind of story it is?
Sakurabayashi: I named the people who work hard toward their dreams and goals as “Yume-gumi,” and the people who support them and give them ideas as I do as “Kanae-gumi.
Since I was a child, when I was asked about my dreams for the future, I really didn’t know what they were. On the other hand, there are children who can say what their dreams are, and there are those who actually aim for them and keep working hard. I started writing down what the difference is between me and those who can talk about their dreams, and that was the beginning of “Yumegumi to Kanaegumi”.
Takano: The concept of “Kanae-gumi” was a real eye-opener for me.
Sakurabayashi: In the past, it was a matter of whether I had a dream or not, and if I was on the side that didn’t have a dream, there was a part of me that put myself down.
Celeina：You are right, there are times when you get a negative impression.
Sakurabayashi: That’s why we named the group “Kanae-gumi.
Takano: That’s wonderful. Did you ever imagine that it would be published as a book?
Sakurabayashi: I did not. I didn’t write it after it was decided to be published as a book, but rather, I wrote it in a notebook and had it compiled into one book.
Celeina: It must have been great to have it reborn in the form of a book that can be touched by hand.
Sakurabayashi: I was very happy. Also, when I thought about what I was writing it for again at the stage of book publication, I felt like I wanted to teach it to my eighth-grade self.
Celeina：I really wanted to tell someone about it.
Takano: I want to teach my friends and stuff.
Sakurabayashi: That’s right. I was happy when I imagined that if it became a book, people would be able to pick it up at libraries and other places even if they don’t have the Internet.
