I don't suppose you remember my post about the existential humor of the
kakipi four years ago? I thought the けなげ組
kenagegumi series of hardworking but underappreciated objects (kombu, straw wrappers, plastic leaves in bento lunches, bread crusts, unused belt holes and erasers, fish tails, kickstands, wine bottles, baseball mits, earlobes, etc.) had been discontinued; in fact I was quite crestfallen about it, as there's a tragicomic brilliance about it. Well, at the K convenience store near my friend's apartment here in Toyohashi, I've found more!
Not only did this give me a chance to find out what
kenagegumi means: the team of 健気, defined
here as
brave; gallant; courage; manly; heroic; praiseworthy; industrious; pure; lovable. I've found what might be the true closer of the series:
kenagegumi members ##1-2 as well as ##99-100. #1, it turns out, are the
kakipi themselves, detritus of the sloppiness of
senbei makers. And #100? Why it's you and me, keeping on keeping on, marching toward our dreams with a smile despite the sadness of the past and a difficult present. "That you is the #1
kenage"!
