COMMUNICATIONS

There was a philosopher called Tsurumi Shunsuke. He is no longer of this world. He died in 2015. Let me record here one memory of the man.

Tsurumi san did not keep a phone at home. The only means of contacting him was by mail. There were occasions when something urgent cropped up, and I had no choice but to go to his house. I would be prepared to leave disappointed should he not be at home.

For my part, to this day I possess neither a computer nor a smart phone. I decided I would not own one of the old-style mobile phones either. I am sure this is an inconvenience for those around me.

I do have a landline phone at home, however, which makes me a little more sociable than Tsurumi san. Such was the thought that prompted my writing this short piece.

I have turned my back on digital technology, and in so doing I feel like a disciple of Tsurumi san. I am ashamed to think that this is the only sense in which I might be called his disciple.