At a class reunion after we graduated, I
learned that she was working as a translator, and we wondered if I might ask
for her help someday.
The first time I did was when I asked her
to help revise the ISOWA Diary, which Hitomi and Hikaru had translated.
That was in 2010, when we were working on
the phrase:
“ISOWA keeps you going – always on the go.”
My first draft, by the way, was:
“We, ISOWA never stop you. Nor do we stop ourselves.”
I struggled with the wording for some time
and eventually asked her for advice. Then John joined the discussion. John was
a journalist and a former reporter for The Japan Times.
After exchanging ideas with the two of
them, we finally settled on:
“ISOWA keeps you going – always on the go.”
More recently, I asked for their help
again, this time in naming a new machine.
This kind of collaborative work is truly
enjoyable. Not only in this case, but in general, the process of repeatedly
exchanging ideas and refining concepts is extremely fun.
That’s how we came up with an absolutely
brilliant name. I’ll share the details once the machine is complete.
