The Painting in the Corridor and the Morning I Thought of Monet's Water Lilies— Between Strength and Gentleness —2026/6/1 (Mon) R8

After the morning radio exercises, I walked through the corridor connecting Building 3 and Building 2, as I do every day.

A painting hangs there.

I have passed by it many times, but this morning I found myself stopping to look at it more carefully.

As I stood there, I suddenly thought of Monet's Water Lilies.

I am not an art expert.

When I was younger, I often did not understand the appeal of Impressionist paintings.

They did not look realistic like photographs, and their outlines seemed unclear.

I sometimes wondered why such paintings were so highly valued.

Yet this morning, while looking at the painting in the corridor, I felt something different.

It seemed that the artist was not simply painting a scene, but trying to capture the light, the atmosphere, and even the emotions of the people who viewed it.

For the first time, I felt that I understood a little of what Impressionist painters were trying to express.

In that moment, the painting by Toyo Matsumura and Monet's Water Lilies became connected in my mind.

Of course, they belong to different times and different styles.

But both seemed to contain a quiet strength and a gentle kindness.

Not a strength that demands attention, but one that simply exists.

A strength that quietly stays beside the viewer.

That is what I felt.

It has been one month since I moved to Matsuyama.

Most days have been filled with the practical work of adjusting to a new life.

This morning, however, I had a moment to pause.

And in that moment, two things that had always been separate in my mind suddenly became one.

Perhaps growing older is not about collecting more knowledge.

Perhaps it is about seeing things that we could not see when we were younger.

That was what I found myself thinking as I stood in front of the painting in the corridor.

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