August 19, 2010. An essay questioning what kind of hands you have: not the hands of laborers who till the soil or run machines, but pale, wrinkle-free hands—like vampires. A metaphorical critique of Japanese society.
From the perspective of August 19, 2010, the author critically examines and satirizes those who are detached from true labor, describing them as “vampires.” The piece contrasts the dignity of a true laborer’s hands and the effects of working under the sun with the reality of those in the upper echelons of society.

Your Hands
August 19, 2010

What kind of hands do you have?
Are there sunburned wrinkles etched into your necks?

I hope your hands are not the true hands of laborers—hands that plowed the earth, caught fish, felled trees, or kept factory machines running.

I hope they are pale hands, like those of vampires.
I hope they are necks with no wrinkles at all.