Realizing My Potential through Magic

I saw a magic trick in person for the first time when I was in the fifth grade. At a trial class for Jiyunomori Gakuen Junior High School, a math teacher showed us a magic trick that was performed with playing cards. It was a very simple trick, but it captivated me, and I decided to go to the school. After I entered the school, I joined the magic club where this teacher was the advisor, and learned magic tricks from him until graduating high school six years later. The teacher was also a professional magician who performed at world tournaments.

I thought of it as just a hobby back then, but after I won the Grand Prix in a contest (the 5th Tenyo Junior Magicians Video Contest) during the summer of my third year of high school, I decided to seriously commit myself to magic.

Magic is the most powerful communication tool out there. You can use it, for example, to entertain and connect with people even when you don't speak the same language. The appeal of magic allows you to directly feel that there is more pleasure in giving than in receiving. Once you get a taste of that, you can't stop.

In junior high and high school, I hated having to study anything that was compulsory. I hated English classes and used to study Chinese, a language I was interested in, on my own. Because of that, I didn't learn any English and thought I might as well go to China, so I flew over to China immediately after graduating high school.

I entered the College of Chinese Studies at the Beijing Language and Culture University and was preparing to go on to Peking University, but then I won first prize in a magic contest I entered right after submitting my college application. I started getting many offers to appear on television and improved my skills to the point where I was able to represent Japan at a world tournament held in Beijing in July 2009. With that, I decided to put my studies in China on hold and reassess how I could work on my studies and magic skills at the same time.

I decided to leave China and move immediately to Montreal, Canada to study English. I had only junior-high-level English skills, so I studied English intensively for a year and two months. I got to interact with students from different backgrounds while in China, which inspired me in completely new ways. I became especially aware of the fact that people had a lot of questions about Japanese society and Japanese people, and that I was unable to answer these questions in a precise manner. With this realization came the thought that, as a Japanese person, I should know Japan well before venturing out into the world. Thus, I started thinking about continuing my studies in Japan. After talking with a younger classmate from high school, I thought that the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University might appreciate my background, and eventually decided to enter the college.

I am majoring in sociology with a minor in political science. I mainly focus on subjects like modern Japanese society, homosexuality in Japanese society, and international studies. In addition, I am currently enrolled in the University of Macau through Sophia's exchange program. I am learning about China with a primary focus on Chinese society and Chinese foreign policy, and I am making use of my Chinese language skills to discuss topics like current China-Japan relations with Chinese students.

The most important thing I have gained through magic is the discovery, or realization, of my own potential?the potential to show magic tricks to many people in many different lands and move them, as well as the potential to bring happiness to more people. I hope I have left an impression on the people, especially the children, who have seen my magic tricks and that I have given them the same kind of experience I had.

Magic tricks start by shaping people's imagination. If there are no limits to human imagination, then there are no limits to the potential of magic. I believe the ways we can make an impression on people are also without limit.