Swan

Kei Tsuchiya

Representative Director, CEO / Managing Director, blkswn publishers Inc. ・ 1994 Econ, 96 Grad 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 referring to events that suddenly overturn what was thought to be common sense. Since our company's founding in 2018, I have often been asked if the name was inspired by Taleb.

However, the name actually comes from the debut album "blkswn" (2017) by the St. Louis-born American rapper Smino. It was originally the idea of our content director, Wakabayashi, who prefers expressions that omit 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 else could be. 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 Econ, 1999 MA Letters

The "Teio Hennenki," a historical record completed in the 14th century, contains a quoted Nara-period legend 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 version of the so-called "Hagoromo Legend," but the feather robe is not merely a tool for flight. While wearing it, they fly as swans; while it is removed, they are celestial maidens; and they fly away again once they put it back on. The feather robe was a garment for the celestial maiden to transform into a swan.

There are also examples of souls becoming swans. 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 from far away, stay on earth temporarily, and eventually fly back to the heavens. Ancient people saw in the form of these swans the figures of gods and souls traveling back and forth between the celestial and earthly realms.

Kazuhisa Hiyama

Principal, Tani Momoko Ballet ・ 2010 Letters

I think "Swan Lake" is the first thing many associate with "swans." It is a world-famous masterpiece of classical ballet and an unforgettable work in my own ballet life. In this production, I played the lead role for the first time since joining the company, and I was promoted to principal after the final performance. "Swan Lake" has multiple scenarios. 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 of endings.

In truth, however, I had a high fever at the time due to poor health and nerves. I danced through it with painkillers and a surge of adrenaline. Dancers are creatures that start dancing the moment the music starts and the lights go up. Even if they look elegant on the surface, they are like swans constantly moving their feet beneath the water. Sometimes I look back and wonder what it would have been like if I had been in perfect health. But at the same time, that hauntingly intense exhilaration of "finishing this performance 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, is what invited me into the world of classical music. This waterfowl has brought us melodies of extreme beauty. Its figure gliding elegantly across the water looks like a crystallization of idealized beauty and thought. Perhaps because of this, it is always accompanied by a sense of transience and melancholy. This is true of Wagner's "Lohengrin," where the swan appears as a mystical being, as well as Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and Sibelius's "The Swan of Tuonela."

The legend that they sing most beautifully when they are dying 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 the choreographer Fokine, who chose that piece by Saint-Saëns. The original poem is a work from Tennyson's youth, but the elegy cried by the weakened swan eventually gains strength, and "the voice of jubilee... with strange and manifold delicious sounds" fills the surroundings. The "joy hidden behind sorrow" overflows. Do people hear the most blissful tones in the final song of one facing death?