Carefully pushing the limits

Sometimes when you meet a seemingly ordinary person, you sense they have a story to tell. Masanobu Abe is that kind of person. He is quiet, but deep. A student, but not young. He studies massage at night and works in a massage clinic during the day. He is obviously a very busy, motivated man.

There are from three to five people who work in the same clinic. Most are young and are students. Some have already graduated. Masanobu stands out because he is a good ten years older than the others. Here in Japan it is very unusual for someone his age, 37, especially a man, to be starting a new field. Although it is changing a bit, usually people here are locked into a particular job track long before their late thirties.

“I love adventure,” Masanobu told me. “In fact, adventure, pushing the limits, testing myself are what motivate me. Ever since I was a kid I’ve read adventure stories. They inspire me. They give me a dream.

“You see, I come from a conservative rural area. Even the outer views there are hemmed in and narrow. You look out and see the nearby surrounding mountains, the neighbors’ houses, and rice paddies. It was all so closed in. My heart always longed for more. I wanted to push beyond the limits imposed upon me by my place of birth and my culture.

“I was lucky,” he added. “In Japan the eldest son has most of the responsibilities towards the family. He carries the past and future of our inheritance. Also he must take care of his parents as they age. So, even though he will inherit most of what his birth family has, he is never really free at all.

“But for me, I am the second of three boys. So, I’m free. I’m able to make my own life. As I said, I have always loved adventure books. They give me dreams. And I have always wanted to make those dreams come true.

“When I finished high school, I had no money. So, I went to work in an office for about two years. It was in Tokyo. The job was boring and the air quality in the city was so bad that I became sick. So, I went back to my hometown in the country. There I got a job in a clothes store. I worked hard and I kept saving money.

“I worked for four years. I studied English at night for one. I kept holding onto this dream of a life of adventure, of infinite space, of stretching to my limits. But working towards a dream did not stop me from doing things I loved. When I was about twenty-two or three, I took ten days off from work. I walked from my hometown far up in northeastern Japan all the way to Tokyo. I had a backpack and my love of adventure. I slept in parks, bathed in hot springs, and walked all day. Most young people who tour Japan do so on a bicycle, but I walked. I loved it. For the first time, I truly felt one-to-one with my soul and my life.

“When I got back home, I realized I was ready for the next move. So, I got a year’s working holiday visa and headed off for Australia. I went on my own. I knew no one. I had no clear plan. It was purely me and the world in front of me. I was scared, but I knew I had to do it.

“I only understood about 30% of what was said, but I managed OK. I started out in a small hotel, but soon learned about backpackers’ places. They had notice boards, which is how I landed my first job.

“I picked apples and peaches for two and a half months. The work was familiar because I’d always helped on my relatives’ farms when I was a kid. I also liked using my body and being out of doors. The owner of the farm was a good man. We fruit pickers lived in a sort of dorm on his property. It was fun.

“As soon as I’d saved up enough money, I’d travel. Then I’d pick up more work. Then travel again. I worked and traveled my way around the entire country. I always did farm work. But that was fine. I was living an adventure and was happy.

“I had some experiences that were not farm or travel related. For example, on one farm where I worked I met an Australian elementary school teacher. Part of her program was to teach Japanese. She asked me to go to her school so the students could meet a real Japanese person. The school was really small. There were only about twenty kids in the entire place! I was amazed. But I had a great time there. We did things like origami, and of course, the kids were all interested in ninja, so we talked about that, too. I loved how bright the kids’ eyes were and how they were full of questions. Those few days of volunteering in the school were important eye-opening experiences for me. You can learn a lot about a country through its children.

“When my visa ran out, I had to return to Japan. I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do, but I needed work. I got a job in a factory and stayed there four years. During that time, I was keenly aware of the gap between what I was doing and my dream of a life of adventure and of challenge. But maybe those gaps are good. They keep us growing, don’t they?

“Finally at thirty I was ready to focus. In my family we used to give one another massages after a hard day of work. It was the most natural thing in the world. And it also strengthened our family bonds. So, it felt natural for me to move in the direction of becoming a massage therapist. Plus that type of work would allow me my own life. That has always been crucial for me.”

Massage is an integral part of Asian culture. And of course, there are many kinds of massages. Very basically, though, there are two sorts. One is for relaxation and is often called “relaxation body care”. The other is more medically focused. “Relaxation body care” can be found in train stations (a fifteen minute foot or shoulder massage, for example), airports, beauty parlors (an integral part of any hair cut), and the like. To give relaxation massages you do not need much training.

But massages for health are a different matter. The training is much more rigorous, and the government has standards for certification.

Masanobu started studying “relaxation body care” massages, but soon shifted over to the more challenging field of massages for health. The course he is currently on is for three years. The first half of that covers basics. The latter half involves specializing. Acupuncture lessons are part of the program.

“Where I work now we have a limited time with our clients. They are in and out in about forty minutes. That’s not enough. I want to do much more for the people who come to me for help. I want to include massage and acupuncture. I want to incorporate the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. That is crucial for healing.

“Each person’s body is so different. And each body constantly changes. It is so important to know clients well. Then you can really help them.”

I asked Masanobu about his own body’s energy fields and how they influenced his work.

“When I was younger, I relied on my physical energy. That was all I knew, really. But now that I am older, I realize my mental energy needs strengthening. That will be the source of my power in the years ahead.

“I run marathon. Of course, that is physical, but even more it is a mental discipline. I’ve run in Hawaii. And I want to run in other places, too. I guess you can see that my sense of adventure is still very much with me!

“But besides marathon, there are other ways I want to develop my inner power. Yoga, maybe. T’ai Chi, possibly. Since my studies are greatly influenced by Chinese thought, I tend towards T’ai Chi. But I am also Japanese, so Zazen is there for me, too. I just have to explore and discover which route is best for me.”

And of course, over time Masanobu’s route will evolve as he does. But isn’t that part of living a life of adventure? You never know what will emerge, but you stay open to possibilities and the unknown.

As Masanobu says, “I love living that way. I need it. And I suppose I always will.”

And just to let you know, Masanobu reads odemagazine.com to keep up his English and to stay in touch with the larger world. That, too, is an adventure of sorts. And he is grateful for it.