This time, I'd like to share an anecdote about a painting located in the salon.



During his time as an editor at Weekly Playboy, Mr. Shimaji was in charge of the serialized manga "Urotsuki Yota," a collaboration between author Renzo Shibata and artist Tadanori Yokoo.
Apparently, after the series ended, artist Yokoo gave the artist a piece saying, "This is a token of my gratitude. I'll give you one of my favorite paintings."

"When I was told that this painting would be given to Mr. Yokoo, I chose it without hesitation. It was the one that both Mr. Yokoo and I liked the most. To start the serialization, I had both of them stay holed up in a hotel for a year. This painting is modeled after the hotel's pond, but the artist insisted on adding a snake. So I went to his room with an animal encyclopedia, but he said he couldn't paint it unless it was a real snake. It was a cold winter night. I immediately left the room, bowed my head to a snake restaurant somewhere around Akihabara, and somehow managed to get a striped snake to let me have. When I returned with it, the artist was surprised and moved, and that's how this painting came to be."

I can't believe that happened... The other customers who were there seemed quite surprised.

"There's more. One day someone came up and offered to buy this painting for 10 million yen. I adamantly refused to sell it. It's something precious to me. When I told the artist this, he said, 'What a waste! I should have painted another one just like it and sold it, splitting the money 5 million each!' We both had a good laugh. Looking at this painting reminds me of the time I was in charge of it, and it motivates me. Thanks to this painting, this salon looks like an art museum."


This week's quote
The mere presence of original artwork by artist Tadanori Yokoo makes this place truly a museum.


Now that you mention it, I'm curious about each and every one of the framed pictures... I'll ask Mr. Shimaji about it directly next time.


This week's featured whisky is Balvenie 12 Year Old. Among Speyside malts, it is characterized by its aristocratic, alluring, and honey-like flavor.

Profile - Katsuhiko Shimaji


Producer of Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building . Born in 1941. After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University, he joined Shueisha. He was assigned to "Weekly Playboy" and became its editor-in-chief in 1983, where he created a sensation with the "Life Advice" column featuring Renzo Shibata, Toko Kon, and Ken Kaiko as respondents, growing the magazine into a million-copy publication. He later served as editor-in-chief of "PLAYBOY Japan" and "BART." After serving as representative director of Shueisha International, he retired in 2008. He is currently working as a writer and essayist.

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