---

The Village, after seven years, had changed considerably. Many new boutiques and cafes had opened, and conversely, shops I used to love were gone. But that accessory shop remained, with exactly the same appearance as seven years ago. Entering through the small entrance, the dim, narrow interior still had accessories haphazardly arranged just like before. In the back of the shop, in the exact same spot as seven years ago, the prosthetic eye rings were still there. Back then, hide had stood in front of this display case, taking about 30 minutes to choose his rings.

As I recalled this, I peered into the display case and discovered a ring with a prosthetic eye set within a star—and felt an instant spark. It was the same feeling as when I'd bought the pendant head before: a sudden, inexplicable attraction.

I had grown very fond of that pendant head and wore it constantly after buying it. Noticing this, hide once remarked, "You wear that all the time—you must really like it." I replied, "Somehow, accessories I fall for at that shop feel like they bring good luck when I wear them." It wasn't a shop that traded in occult things (though the old, dusty shop itself certainly had an occult atmosphere), but I actually felt the same way, and I remember having a strange, inexplicable sensation.

Lost in these memories, I asked the shopkeeper to show me the ring. As he explained, "This is an exceptionally well-made ring, absolutely impossible to find anywhere else," his eyes suddenly stopped at my chest. At that moment, I was wearing the pendant head I'd bought seven years ago. When I told him, still gazing intently at it, "I bought this at this shop seven years ago," he nodded in understanding. "I thought so. I had a feeling," he said. Then he added, "But I probably wasn't the one who sold it. I remember every item I've ever sold," and pointed to a large photograph displayed in the center of the shop. "The seller must have been that person." It was a photo of an old man with a white beard. I noticed the photograph for the first time then, but I certainly recognized the face. It was the shopkeeper from that time, the one who had almost sold me a $100 item for a dollar. "Yes, I bought this from him," I said. The shopkeeper's expression turned slightly wistful. "My father. He died five years ago."

Oshima: "Hey, what do you think that 'Yubamangashira' is?"

Mayumayu: "Some kind of fish?"

hide: "Must be a whole fish, head and tail included."

Mayumayu: "Maybe it's a whole fish seasoned with yuba [tofu skin]?"

Oshima: "Okay, that explains the 'yuba' and the 'head' part, but what's the 'man' in the middle?"

hide: "Got it! It's a round fish, head and tail included, so it's 'man-gashira'!"

Mayumayu: "What's a round fish?"

hide: "You know, a fish shaped like a tray!"

And so the heated debate raged on.

We probably carried on about this topic for a good 20 minutes. Reading it back now, we just sound like a bunch of drunken idiots, but when you're drinking, the smallest things can seem absolutely hilarious. That's why we can go on and on about a single topic forever (fellow drinkers, you know this feeling, right? Right?).

After our "Yubamangashira" discussion continued for a while, hide finally called over a staff member:

"Excuse me, what's that 'Yubamangashira' written over there?"

The staff member tilted her head quizzically, looked at the menu on the wall, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Oh, yuba manjū! That's a steamed bun made with yuba. It's delicious!" she said.

In that instant, we all fell silent, staring at the floor. Then we erupted in hysterical laughter. Since I was the one who originally misread it, hide started whacking me on the head, yelling, "It's 'yuba manjū,' ba~ka! And you call yourself a writer?!"

But hey—we'd all been staring at those characters for "Yuba Manjū" on the wall the whole time, discussing it. Nobody noticed. I think we're all equally guilty...

And so, for the rest of that night, we kept drinking, using "Yubamangashira" as our running gag.

---

About a week after the "Yubamangashira Incident," Sugizo's birthday party was held in Roppongi. All the LUNA SEA members except Inoran, who had other commitments, showed up. The party was a cozy, lively affair.

hide-chan arrived at the after-party after finishing work. It was 2 AM. The party had started at 9 PM, so he was running about five hours behind everyone else. Naturally, even when the place closed at 4 AM, he was still bright-eyed, grinning, and saying, "Next round, let's go!"

However, the LUNA SEA crew, citing early work the next day, were radiating silent "want to go home" vibes. Even Sugizo, usually up for anything, said, "Can't do it today," and promptly took off.

So the rest of us shuffled over to that same 24-hour izakaya. Gathered around the same table as a week ago were hide, Tetsu-chan, Kaoru-chan, Oya-chan, myself, Utsumin... It was clear hide was bummed about not getting to hang out with LUNA SEA enough. Someone then whispered into HIDE's ear that LUNA SEA had a concert in Nagoya the following week.

Instantly, a sly grin spread across HIDE-chan's face. He immediately checked his schedule and proposed, "Alright, let's all go to Nagoya!" Now fully transformed into a "lump of pure momentum," everyone immediately agreed without hesitation.

hide: "Just going to see the concert is boring—let's pull some prank!"

Kaoru: "How about we pretend to be a cult Nagoya band that came to see LUNA SEA?"

hide: "I like that. We've been active in Nagoya for over a decade, and nobody in Nagoya dares mess with us..."

Tetsu: "And we're angry because LUNA SEA didn't come greet us!"

Kaoru: "What should we name the band?"

At that moment, hide, his face suddenly that of a mischievous child, shot up and shouted:

hide: "Alright, the band name shall be YUBAMANGASHIRA!"

For the next two hours, we meticulously plotted and refined the concept of the fictional band "Yubamangashira" coming to see LUNA SEA's live show.

We decided everything—not just Yubamangashira's musical style, but the band's history, song titles, even their costumes. Ah, some readers might think, "Look at these drunks, wasting their time on nonsense again…" But you never know—sometimes, utterly random moments like this are how world-famous bands are born! (Yeah, right.)" - Akemi Oshima, Yubamangashira column, Shoxx, Feb. 1993