Illustration by Max Currie
I am the earth, the sea, the sky—I am the universe. On the train to see Renzo, Kent recited the mantra that had helped him survive being big in Japan, being the hot, number-one RI-CHU-MAN-SAN! on the top-rated primetime game show The Strange Bonanza. Shaggy brown hair with blond highlights. Gucci shoes and Omega watch. Cristall Vodka and Filipino hash. Bali tan and Hong Kong massage. The candid nightspot photo in Tokyo Journal, a mention in The Daily Yomiuru, and a stock headshot on TV Tokyo. The paying but quietly welcomed VIP at The Plum Room, one of the many but finer hostess clubs in Ginza where he was not quite among politicians and yakuza chieftains but more likely a local construction boss and a writer popular with young people. The face of Lark cigarettes, PECKUP! Energy Drink, and Sankyou Instant Ramen. Some-time husband to part-time magazine model and full-time tweeker Kumiko Sato. The glimmering gaijin with a fluency in Japanese and the face of a young John Lennon. Before Monique, before Ozman.
christopher bundy 