Over the past 2 weeks or so, there have been several incidents in which I looked so much younger than I am that the other person was astonished.
The first involved the president of a certain T Hotel in Hibiya, whom I met at a memorial gathering for a relative. As we talked, the conversation somehow did not add up. “By the way, how many years have you been working?” “This is my 17th year.” “What! I thought it was your 5th or 6th year.”
Next came the woman working at the kiosk in Kunitachi Station. On the day of Hitotsubashi University’s entrance examination, I was shopping at the kiosk and watching students who were shouting, “Do your best!” I said to the woman, “Oh, so today was the entrance exam.” She replied, “You took it yourself a few years ago, didn’t you?” “A few years ago…? It was more than 20 years ago…” “Whaaaat!”
Then yesterday, a koto teacher who lives near Fujisawa asked my 11-year-old daughter, “Um, this is a little awkward to ask, but how old is Sara’s dad?” “He is 39.” “Whaaaat! I thought he was in his twenties.” I bet the koto teachers had been gossiping among themselves, wondering just how old I was. If I were in my twenties, did I have Sara when I was 18? That would mean she was conceived when I was 17? Come on! :hammer:
Come to think of it, something similar happened a few months ago.
I was talking with someone from a certain company J, where we hold a regular meeting, about how the others had not arrived. He said, “We young people…” “Well, I am not so young anymore.” “Oh, Mr. Sakimura, how old are you?” “I am 39.” “Whaaaat! I-I’m sorry. I thought we were the same age, so I was speaking casually to you.” “How old are you?” “I am 29.”
Oh, now I am remembering all sorts of examples.
About a month ago, when I went to Nissan to buy a car, the salesman glanced at me and then asked my wife, “Is the car for your son?” Come on. You are not supposed to say that. My wife was extremely annoyed. 😀
And a long time ago, when I was playing with my daughter in a park, I was introduced to the mother of one of her friends: “Whaaaat!” she cried, practically flying backward about 3 meters. “I thought you were an older cousin.”
It is not as if I am deliberately trying to look young, so why does this happen? It is a disadvantage in my work.
Thinking at length about the possible reasons:
(1) I am slim.
People seem to gain weight after getting married, but my build
has hardly changed since high school.
(Only recently has my waist finally begun to…)
(2) Are my eyes actually positioned relatively low on my face?
I noticed this while making a caricature just now:
my eyes are positioned at about half the height of my head.
Could this mean I have a cartoon face?
(3) I like healthy food.
My favorite foods include tofu, konnyaku, yuba, etc.
Extremely healthy food, like oil-free Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.
And virtually zero calories. Since that seems excessive,
at family restaurants and the like, I choose items starting with those
that display the highest calorie counts, but even then it probably does not amount to much.
Also, since last year I have been taking a balanced supplement,
and my digestion has become extremely good. Could that contribute too?
It is not as if I exercise or restrict my diet. I do not get plenty of sleep for my skin, either, and I live with tremendous stress from work. If I knew the reason, perhaps I could write a book and it would sell, but I do not. Too bad!