There is a song by Joni Mitchell called Circle Game. Once used as a theme song of the movie Strawberry Statement, I believe many must have heard of it:

And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time.
We can't return, we can only look
Behind from where we came.
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game

With his shuddering voice and accompanied by the coarse notes of the electric guitar, Joni Mitchell's repeating words of "and go around and round and round..." did conjure up some sad feelings. New Days of Cohabitation is all about men and women after they got onto the merry-go-round. Once aboard the wooden horses of being in love, neither hard work, rationality nor regret will be remembered. Just like being led by an inexplicable force that one cannot overcome. I guess being in love is similar to that.

I originally intended this to be one short story, yet eventually it turned out to be a series. There are also those whose reaction is like "how can it be considered as a series if there are only two stories a year?" However, after two and a half years of work, I have finally made them into a series.

The original editor in charge of this series, Mr.X, is now 31. He was once a star university student of Shouminami University who used to play in the waves. At that time he must be the only editor in this profession who likes playing with the waves.

He used to provide material for this series from stories he heard in the past of his own friends, (and this also includes borrowing friends' names for telling his own sad love stories.) Thus this is a collection of Mr. X's stories, processed by myself. Because of this, the manuscript should be the joint work of the both of us, or at least so I believe.

"So the boy who dreamed tomorrow now is 20,"
Joni Mitchell used to sing.
"Yesterday, the boy who used to ride the waves is now 30."

Dedicated to the men who do not realise they have turned 30, and to the ladies who are devoted to them.
- Fumi Saimon, November 19, 1989.

See afterword on Part II of New Days of Cohabitation.

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