Daniel Couture visited Japan in May 2011.
After the earthquake on March 11, the French government recommended that French people living in Japan return to their home country to avoid radiation damage. I volunteered to be a counselor for a French high school girl who attended a Japanese high school for one year from August 2010 to August 2011, and looked after her. I went to the high school to discuss her admission, accompanied her to the opening ceremony, and helped her move whenever her host family changed. Around September 2010, she said that she was not suited to life at school and wanted to return to France, but by the end of the year, she had gotten used to the school and had completely grown to like Japan, and was planning to stay in Japan until the very end of August when her visa expired. On March 13, she called me and told me that the French side had told her to return to Japan. She did not want to leave Japan and was reluctant to return. In the end, she negotiated with the French side and returned to Japan temporarily on the condition that she could return to Japan again. On March 15th, I got up at 3am, picked her up from her host family's house at 5am, and after completing the procedures for re-entry at Narita Airport, sent her off on a flight around noon. Narita Airport was crowded with foreigners leaving the country. After about two months, she returned to Japan, and returned to Japan on August 3rd after completing her one-year student life.
Of the 15 high school students (not only from France, but from all over the world) who came to Japan to study abroad, only two, including her, returned to Japan after returning home temporarily. I was happy that the French high school students I counseled and became friends with became fans of Japan. I was especially happy because I love France.
Daniel Couture came to Japan in such a turbulent situation. Couture really loves Japan. He is taking Japanese lessons by himself, so he speaks Japanese words one after another. The plan had been in the works since the previous year, but both I and the people in charge at Mitsukoshi and Daimaru thought that it was inevitable that the event would be canceled. I spoke to Couture in early April when we were finalizing the proofreading of the direct mailings. Couture's reply was, "Since everyone is in trouble, I will go as planned." The Daniel Couture Japan Exhibition was held at Kobe Daimaru, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, and Karuizawa. While foreigners were fleeing Japan after the nuclear disaster, Couture arrived at Narita with a calm mind. As soon as I saw Couture's face, tears flowed. Sales were poor due to the earthquake, but Couture responded to customers calmly. Kobe Daimaru has been holding Couture exhibitions for many years, so he has many fans. A large oil painting was sold. Karuizawa was bustling during Golden Week that year. Due to the trauma of the earthquake, the number of people going to the beach on their days off dropped drastically, and all the tourist spots in Tohoku were destroyed, but Karuizawa, which was unrelated to radiation or the tsunami, was bustling. Thanks to that, sales from the couture exhibition during Golden Week were excellent.
Couture's wife has been suffering from illness for the past six years, and this time he left her in the care of a neighbor, who was always worried about her and called her in France every night.
That autumn, I visited Couture's home in Anglem near Bordeaux in the south of France. I wanted to thank him for coming to Japan, and especially his wife. I didn't know how to express my gratitude to her, as she sent her beloved Couture to Japan, which was hit by a radioactive disaster, while feeling lonely in her sickbed. I took her hand and thanked her over and over again. She pretended to be fine and had lunch with us. In Couture's car on the way back to the Anglem station, I asked her, "You seem to be doing pretty well," and she replied sadly, "Because Takeda-san came, I made an effort to have lunch with you."
I love Couture's paintings. They are bright, innocent, and the sun shines. When I said to Couture, "Your paintings make you seem like a person who has no troubles," Couture replied, "Life is full of hardships, and so am I. That's why I paint cheerful paintings, hoping that viewers will be healed from pain and sadness, even for a little while. Because I can overcome my own pain, I can paint paintings that bring joy to everyone. I want to convey the message that people can overcome those hardships through my paintings." I was reminded of how much Couture, who is always so carefree, has overcome to continue being a painter, and also how the profession of a painter is quite a difficult one.
As we were saying goodbye at the Angoulême station, Couture said, "Thank you. See you later" in Japanese.