Swan

2023/02/20

Kei Tsuchiya

CEO and Managing Director, blkswn publishers Inc. / 1994 Faculty of Economics, 1996 Graduate School of Business Administration Research Student

blkswn publishers is the name of our company.

When people hear "Black Swan," many might think of the book by Taleb, a researcher of risk and uncertainty. It is a term that refers to events that completely overturn what was thought to be common sense. Since our company's founding in 2018, I have often been asked if the inspiration came from Taleb.

However, the name actually originates from the debut album "blkswn" (2017) by Smino, a rapper born in St. Louis, USA. It was the idea of our content director, Wakabayashi, who originally preferred expressions without vowels.

Of course, in today's highly uncertain society—often called VUCA—our mission is to doubt the current status quo and "Re-Imagine" how everything could be different. We also hope that through various content, we can present perspectives and viewpoints that allow people to foresee "black swans" to some extent. Though I say so myself, I think it's not a bad name for a publishing company.

Hiroshi Matsuda

Professor, Faculty of Letters, Ferris University / 1995 Faculty of Economics, 1999 Master's in Letters

The "Teio Hennenki," a historical record completed in the 14th century, contains a quoted legend from the Nara period about swans set at Lake Yogo, near the northern tip of Lake Biwa.

Eight celestial maidens transformed into swans and flew down from the heavens to bathe in the lake. A man watching them stole and hid the celestial feather robe (hagoromo) of the youngest sister. The older sisters put on their robes and returned to the heavens, but the maiden without her robe could not fly and was left behind on earth alone, eventually becoming the man's wife.

This is a story that falls under the so-called "Hagoromo Legend," but the feather robe is not merely a tool for flight. While they fly in as swans, they become celestial maidens while their robes are off, and fly away again once they put them back on. The feather robe was the garment for the celestial maiden to transform into a swan.

There are also examples where a soul becomes a swan. It is said that the hero Yamato Takeru, who appears in the "Kojiki," turned into a white swan after his death, stayed in Kawachi Province for a while, and then flew away to the heavens.

Swans fly in from far away, stay on earth temporarily, and eventually fly back to the heavens. In the appearance of such swans, ancient people saw the figures of gods and souls traveling back and forth between the celestial and earthly realms.

Kazuhisa Hiyama

Principal, Tani Momoko Ballet Company / 2010 Faculty of Letters

I think "Swan Lake" is something people associate with "swans." It is a famous masterpiece of classical ballet and an unforgettable work in my ballet life. In this production, I played the lead role for the first time since joining the company and was promoted to principal after the performance. There are multiple scenarios for "Swan Lake." There are tragic endings where both the swan and the prince die, and happy endings where they defeat the devil and are united. The emotion of that moment, surrounded by applause from the audience and company members—my "Swan Lake" had the happiest possible ending.

However, in reality, I had a high fever at the time due to poor health and nerves. I danced through it with painkillers and overflowing adrenaline. Dancers are creatures that start dancing as soon as the music starts and the lights come on. Even if they look elegant at first glance, they are swans constantly moving their legs beneath the water's surface. Sometimes I look back and wonder what it would have been like if I had been in perfect health. But at the same time, the hauntingly intense exhilaration of "finishing this stage no matter what" remains unforgettably in my heart.

Nobuya Takahashi

Professor, Faculty of Letters, Keio University

Saint-Saëns' masterpiece "The Swan," where the cello sings gracefully, invited me into the world of classical music. This waterfowl has brought forth melodies of extreme beauty. Its figure gliding elegantly across the water looks like a crystallization of some idealized beauty and thought. Perhaps because of that, a certain fleetingness and melancholy always accompany it. This is true of Wagner's "Lohengrin," where the swan appears as a mystical being, Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," and Sibelius's "The Swan of Tuonela."

The legend that it sings most beautifully at the moment of death gave birth to the ballet "The Dying Swan." The legendary ballerina Pavlova, inspired by the poem of the same name by the 19th-century British poet Tennyson, gave the idea to choreographer Fokine, who chose that piece by Saint-Saëns. The original poem is a work from when Tennyson was still young, but the elegy cried by the weakened swan eventually gains strength, and "the voice of joy, a music strangely high" fills the surroundings. The "rapture that was hidden under sorrow" overflows. Do people hear the most blissful tones in the final song of one facing death?