梅原 裕一郎

1. Violin (December 2019 issue)

In making the violin this time, the most difficult part was stringing. I’ve always been bad at changing guitar strings, and one of the reasons for my frustration was that the strings of the first violin I bought broke while I was tuning them, and I had trouble putting the strings back on. I had been taking piano lessons since I was in kindergarten, so I had many opportunities to come into contact with classical music.

I was more interested in Jack. But when I played in a band at the school festival in my third year of high school, for some reason my enthusiasm for the band suddenly cooled down (laughs). From that time on, I remember suddenly becoming addicted to classical music. I often went to the library to study for entrance exams, so I borrowed a CD from the library as well, burned it to an MD, and listened to it all the time. Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata” is a very muddy and violent, and I like it.

Actually, I’ve tried the violin twice in the past, but it’s still difficult to learn the violin on my own. This is my third attempt, so next time I want to be able to play at least “Mary had a little lamb” (laughs). If I am ambitious, I hope to be able to play the opening part of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata “Spring.”

In the comments I made at the time, I said that I wanted to be able to play, but I haven’t played at all. After all, the sound is loud, so it’s hard to find time at home. At that time, a music student gave me a test to distinguish between the timbres of an expensive violin and an ordinary violin, and I was successful. All the ranking battles at the beginning of the year went in reverse (laughs). I don’t think I’ll ever become a top-notch artist.

• Fish handling (January/February 2020 issue)

I like YouTube videos of how to prepare fish, so I often watch them, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do so. Now that I’ve tried today, I thought it would be impossible for me to do it on my own. I’m more a fish person than a meat person. Ever since I moved to Tokyo, the fat in meat has gradually become unacceptable (laughs). I like sushi and sashimi, and the sea bream I cut today is one of my favourite fish. When I actually tried it, I realized that the sea bream that the teacher prepared was more delicious. I cut it too thinly, so I think I couldn’t bring out the unique crunchy texture of the sea bream. The way it is cut also change the taste.

2019 flew by. I was able to spend my time in good health, and while I was working, I was able to take some time off from my private life, so it was a peaceful year. A personal topic would be the growing passion for music. I went to Vienna, I went to the Blue Note (jazz club), and the radio director gave me the speakers. Come to think of it, the other day, before the tax increase, I bought another cheap guitar for practise (laughs).

I remember that the sea bream I cut at that time was very delicious. After this, I once handled the mame horse mackerel. I have to take out the internal organs to make fritters, so I’m not serious about it. (YouTuber) Kimagure Cook’s videos are still my favourite and I still watch them, but I don’t have any special equipment, so it’s quite difficult at home.

• Knife sharpening (March/April 2020 issue)

Just like the previous experience of cutting fish, I often watch videos on YouTube about sharpening knives. When I was little, I asked my mother to sharpen a knife for me, but it was a simple tool for home, and I always wanted to sharpen a kitchen knife seriously someday.

There were many knives for sale in the store, and the one that impressed me the most was the Damascus knife, which had a pattern on the surface. When I saw the real thing, I thought it was very stylish and cool with a mysterious atmosphere. It’s a daily item, but it’s no longer an art. I felt that it might be close to the product. It may seem like a simple task, but if the angle at which the knife hits the whetstone is different, it will not sharpen well. But as a I sharpened, I became more relaxed and gradually became more and more happy. When I cut tomatoes after actually sharpening them, they were extremely sharp. The whetstone I have was made by the same manufacturer as today’s whetstone, so it was a good reference for me to do it at home (laughs).

Just the other day, I used the whetstone they gave me to sharpen my kitchen knives. However, the knife seemed to be something that should not have been sharpened with a whetstone, so the blade became tattered and ruined (laughs). I think I’ll start by buying a proper knife that can be used with a whetstone.