BSJ Event I

Hi Hi sisters ...... I hope you are enjoying a nice relaxing weekend. I am happy to settle myself in front of the computer to write about the event I attended last Sunday. Yes, it’s the BSJ Closing Event that our princess blogged about. BSJ stands for BYJ Supporters in Japan (or Blue Sky Jooney :) and is headed by one of the most prominent fan figure in the BYJ family - Satovic. BSJ is the 4th largest BYJ fan circle in Japan on the Brokore network (after BYJ World -19741 members, Winter Sonata Club – 16188, Hotelier Fan – 15322). It is created by Satovic san in Aug 2004 and has over 6000 registered members. In October 2006, Satovic announced that BSJ site would go in a 'hibernation' period and opened up for weekend postings only.

Because of her continuing busy commitments, Satovic san has decided to close the BSJ site for good. On 1 February 2009, they held their last fan gathering to an audience of 800. I have read many stories about Satovic, her innovative ideas, flamboyance and popularity. Her events, even without Yong Joon’s attendance, were still among the hottest tickets sought after in the Japanese circles. You know, coming from a western society of 'individualism’ which we pride ourselves in ‘non-conformity’, the idea of a fan circle is very remote and foreign to me. Thanks to flowerbossa’s brilliant translation of Satovic’s book - Yonsama Gekijo (theater), a journal documenting the background, the path, her thoughts and ideals in creating a fan circle spreading the love of Yonsama. There are numerous familiar stories about Satovic among the BYJ family, like the time she met Yong Joon on the airplane and he asked for her autograph, or when she posed the witty question to him about hugging from front or back in the NHK press conference, those were of course very impressive experience ...... but what stay in my memory are the 2 stories that she wrote in her book : 'A Tale of a Pair of Very Long Chopsticks' and 'The Straw Millionaire' .......


* A Tale of a Pair of Very Long Chopsticks

This story tells us that people tend to think that "life is hard" or "it is difficult to get by in this world", but this is a misunderstanding. Rather, it is like sitting around a grand feast and trying to eat with long chopsticks. Because the chopsticks longer than the length of one’s elbow get stuck every where, it takes a lot of effort just to have a bite to eat, and the volume one can eat is small, too. Thus, people get impatient and greedy, leading them to think life is hard, or it is difficult to get by.

However, god has actually provided ample food in front of us to enjoy life. What is a good way to eat it? How can everyone at the table have their stomachs full even with long chopsticks?

The answer is easy! I can pick up the food with my chopsticks and feed it to the person across the table, and someone at the other side can feed me in return. The long chopsticks are not meant for oneself, but by feeding each other with them, life provides a rich feast enough to satisfy everyone.


* The Straw Millionaire

Long, long ago there was an honest but unlucky man living in a village. He worked and worked from morning till night but he was always poor and unlucky. Thinking of it as his last chance, he one day prayed to KANNON (the Goddess of Mercy) for his happy future, neither eating nor drinking all day. When it became dark in the evening, the Goddess of Mercy appeared in front of him and said to him,

"You will fall down and catch something when you leave this temple. You should go west with it."

On leaving the temple, he fell down and caught something. It was a straw. Though he thought it was useless, he walked towards the west with the straw. A horsefly flew to him. He caught and tied it on the top of the straw and walked again.

When he arrived in a town, a crying baby stopped crying at the sight of the horsefly on the top of the straw. Seeing the joyful baby, he gave it to the baby. Instead he was given three oranges by his mother.

He walked heading west again with three oranges. He saw a young lady suffering by the roadside. As she wanted water, he gave her the oranges. Soon she recovered. He was given a beautiful silk cloth in exchange.

He walked towards west again with the beautiful silk cloth. He met a SAMURAI, or Japanese soldier and his weak horse. On seeing the beautiful cloth, the Samurai demanded that he exchange it with his horse and headed east with the cloth. The man looked after the weak horse all night. The horse got well the next morning.
He walked towards the west again with the horse. When he arrived in a castle town, a CHOJA, or a millionaire saw the horse and liked it very much. The man was invited to the Choja's house, where his daughter brought two cups of tea to them. To his surprise, it was the young lady he had given the oranges to. The Choja was so moved by this amazing coincidence and the man’s kind heart, so he decided to have his daughter marry the young man.

The young man had become a millionaire from a straw as he was told by the Goddess of Mercy. He never failed to take care of even a singe straw for the rest of life. This is how he came to be called the “Warashibe Choja” (“A Straw Millionaire”) by the villagers.

Satovic wrote that the first straw was given to her by Yong Joon, by watching him living with a sincere attitude and always seeks to share joy with others, we fans are motivated to model after him. In return we are blessed with many delightful acquaintances and happiness. She hoped to have people realize that this “Yonsama” phenomenon is not just a trend with women going ga-ga over a star, but that he is someone who is giving us joy and hope by lighting up our “passion to live”.


Sorry I am being longwinded again. I don’t know Satovic san myself, our flowerbossa and princess have a more personal friendship with her. These infamous BSJ (aka Satovic) events would soon be a thing of the past, I for sure would regret it if I didn’t even experience it first hand while I am right here in Tokyo. Thanks to the graciousness and generosity of satovic san, flowerbossa and cloudnine, they accommodated my request immediately even though I don’t really fit into any fan category?! I figure if I keep reporting on these events, I might as well dub myself as the overseas correspondent of BNN English Channel :) So on Feb 1, I was armed with my pen, notebook, camera, my 4-eyes and 2 ears ........ to be continued

* A Tale of a Pair of Very Long Chopsticks and The Straw Millionaire are flowerbossa's translation from Quilt, thanks thanks :)