"You're a Star Too" — Words That Reached a Heart on the Edge of Losing Confidence
Yesterday, out of nowhere, I thought, "let's go."
I headed to an art museum in Koumi Town.
Not so much "just because" as a certainty with no clear reason, that "I should be there, right now."
At times like this, I move before I think it through. Because there are things you can't understand until you actually go.
What I found there was an exhibition by a certain painter.
The moment I stood in front of the work, I felt something like a breeze pass quietly through my chest.
"I really love this painting."
Feeling that, and gazing at it for a while,
I realized it was a world I'd seen somewhere before.
But in that moment,
even wondering, "what does it mean that I've encountered this painting, here, now,"
I couldn't find any answer at all.
This painter was Naohisa Inoue. The illustrator behind Whisper of the Heart.
Inoue, who has been based in the Kansai region while once also working as an art teacher,
is said to have, when he was young and about to hold his very first solo exhibition in Tokyo,
sent an invitation to Studio Ghibli, with whom he had no connection at all.
That invitation struck a chord with Hayao Miyazaki, who happened to be searching for a new kind of world at the time.
And Miyazaki actually visited the venue, and fell in love with Inoue's paintings.
That's how Whisper of the Heart came to be.
This is a piece that shows just how desperately Miyazaki worked to make sure Inoue wouldn't turn him down.
This painting is said to be a piece Miyazaki added to, almost like a love letter, wishing "I want to build a story from Inoue's world."
The top half is Inoue's world.
The bottom half was added by Miyazaki's own hand.
Standing before this single piece, where the two of them's expression quietly overlaps, I could only hold my breath.
A feeling of "I love this" turning into action, and surviving as a work of art.
Realizing that this had truly happened, I felt chills run down my spine.
To think that what seemed like Inoue's sudden, out-of-nowhere invitation
led to a future like this.
Now, as FUUKA moves into its next phase, I found myself wondering if I'd come here today just to hear this story.
Also, a short animated film screening in the same building,
"COSMOS — A Promise With the Light—", stayed with me unexpectedly deeply too.
The children in it
had lost confidence because of something someone said,
or believed they had no worth,
each carrying that kind of darkness in their heart.
What stood out to me in the film was
the setting where the train's destination changes depending on the heart of the person riding it.
It felt like it was speaking to our own future.
A passing comment can sometimes make you lose faith in yourself.
There are days you stop in your tracks, thinking you're not perfect, that you're still not good enough.
But it's exactly on days like that—
shifting the direction of your heart, even just slightly, changes where you end up.
That, I felt, is what "the future" really is.
A line from the choral piece "COSMOS," played at the end of the film.
"You're a star too, everyone, everyone."
Those words
reached quietly into my heart today.
A star, born from the darkness of the universe.
Every day, I deliver the scent that is FUUKA to someone.
It's not just "a nice smell" —
I believe it's a scent for quietly remembering the strength to believe in yourself.
Caught up in comparing yourself to others,
swayed by how other people judge you,
you can sometimes lose sight of who you really are.
It's exactly at times like that when scent helps you remember.
"I'm okay."
"I'm glad to be me."
FUUKA's scent stays close, for that one step toward feeling that way.
In Closing
If you can't find confidence in yourself right now,
maybe it's just that the light has become hard to see.
"You're a star too, everyone, everyone."
I want these words to reach you too.
May scent become a trigger for remembering the light that's already within you.
🔗 Related Links
- ▸ The full list of FUUKA scents → https://whatisfuuka.jp/en/collections/all
- ▸ Recommended for difficult moments → https://whatisfuuka.jp/en/collections/hsp-series
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