The man I started calling “big brother”
On a walking trip funded by street comedy, Tashiro 32 met a stranger in Kyoto whose kindness made a lasting impression.
Before the story
The comedian known as Tashiro 32 (田代３２) recalls a man he met while traveling on foot from Tokyo to Kagoshima.
A friendly face in Kyoto
I once walked from Tokyo to Kagoshima, getting by only on the money people gave me for performing comedy.
I was doing a bit outside a station in Kyoto when I noticed a guy watching. Slicked-back blond hair, sunglasses, a sharp navy suit. He held a small bag with his hand through its loop. I found him pretty intimidating.
“Hey, you’re traveling? That’s impressive. Come with me.”
He treated me to a meal and put me up at an inn. “I’ll pay,” he said.
He was such a good guy that, after a while, I started calling him “Aniki”—big brother.
When he said he was heading back to Hamamatsu, I walked him to the station.
“By the way, Tashiro, how old are you?”
“How old do I look?”
“About my age, I’d say.”
“How old are you, Aniki?”
“Twenty-four.”
“…Then I’m a year younger. Twenty-three.”
I lied.
If I’d said, “I’m thirty-five,” the bond I’d built by calling him “Aniki, Aniki” would have fallen apart.
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