Shiranai – 知らない – Unknown
Hito – ひと – Person
Shiranaihito – 知らない人 – Unknown Person
I could be anyone, and there is a simplicity and beauty in that statement.
As you sit on the train, or bus, or quietly sipping coffee you see a stranger, tap tap tapping away. That could be me.
At this point, you know nothing about me – and I know nothing about you. We know that I can speak English, and we can assume you can read it. Otherwise, what other assumptions can we draw about one another? I could be a man or a woman, rich or poor, white, black, or a rainbow inbetween. Am I left leaning or radical right? Are you?
Am I even alive? Am I just the construction of an A.I. in the hands of a bored English Lit. professor?
I cannot suffer bias when I think of you, nor you of me. There exists no stereotype for the unknown. There exists no fear of judgement, no fear of rejection. And so, unknown we shall remain. Shiranaihito.
And, as the days pass, and the cold rain finds a home once more in the mountains, I will record my thoughts. It is my hope that you will find them of interest – and perhaps, in those waning hours when solitude wraps you in its cold embrace, comfort.
We may well be unknown, but we are not alone.
Unknown 