NABC Store Manager's Diary — Tuesday, October 20, 2026

It's very quiet in the shop today, unlike last week when Beniko's photo exhibition was held. On a normal day the register is used for only about three customers. We've returned to that everyday rhythm. Now that Beniko's photo exhibition has ended, I purchased a few copies each of the photobook "Beniko's Color-Town Travelogue, Vol. 3" and the series "Beniko's Color-Town Travelogue" that had been on display and for sale. Beniko kindly gave an autograph in one of the photobooks. Today I leisurely registered the purchases and put them into plastic sleeves. Customers trickled in. A couple from Berlin, Germany visiting Nagoya stopped by asking for English books, but unfortunately we don't carry any. Maybe I'll go to the International Center and pick up any multilingual Nagoya guide pamphlets they might have. Just after three, a former colleague from the library where I used to work came by. It's been a while—she looks more energetic than when we last met. We chatted a lot over tea at Cafe River. While we were talking she rummaged through her bag and took out a small folded booklet to show me. To my surprise, it was a folded booklet with many tanka printed in tiny type on copy paper. She had composed more than sixty tanka. I was amazed she had written so many. She also joined a nighttime uta-kai. I told her I'd buy the booklet and sell it in the shop, but she refused, saying she was embarrassed. I hope she'll let me sell it someday. In the evening we had the "Ekinishi Small Tanka Gathering" led by our regular customer and poet Chiharu. It was a modest meeting, but we were able to take time for careful critiques of tanka, which was both educational and very enjoyable. At the end, Chiharu passionately told everyone, "Buying and reading tanka collections carefully is a good way to study tanka." Indeed. Everyone, buy tanka collections and read them!