![]() When I asked my dad to help with my expenses, he agreed to pay for everything. Back then, I gravitated toward the hippies and youth culture of the U.S., so I went there as my first stop on a tour of the world. During my second year at Waseda, the student protests became so intense the university had to shut down. ![]() I saw Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok. Along the way, I hopped on a boat and took seminars with the Waseda University Study Abroad at Sea Program. My first summer as a college student I spent travelling around South East Asia. ![]() I entered college in the late 1960s, you see. Yanai: It all goes back to travelling the world in my late teens. RF: And that standalone men’s clothing store eventually grew into an international brand. Shy as I was, I have my upbringing to thank for what became my forthright personality. I knew I was a kid, but I was raised in a way that didn’t leave much room for feeling like a child. The grown ups who worked there lived there too, and customers and my dad’s friends were always coming by. No escape! But I found the store fascinating. In your case, since the house was connected to the shop, I guess “thunder dad” was always nearby. “There’s something I’d like you to see.” So, I squinted, unsure what I was supposed to be looking at, and he pressed my face into a snowbank! Stop moaning about the game and cool your head off, he told me. Then my dad slowly pulled off the road into the snow. I was having a tantrum, crying, and moaning away. This story should give you an idea: my dad was driving us home along a snowy mountain road from a junior tournament I’d lost. To support me in my training, he spent extra time with me on the weekends, putting up with all kinds of nonsense. RF: It’s true, my father never got upset and yelled. I would imagine that the fact you were exhibiting your talents from an early age saved you from that kind of experience, Roger. Since our house and the shop were connected, I was scolded from dawn until dusk, no matter what I did or didn’t do. In Japan, we have a saying for fathers who are always screaming at their kids-“kaminari oyaji,” which means thunder dads. I had just entered elementary school and was extremely shy. This is a shot of the yard behind the store. Yanai: My father ran a men’s clothing shop. Seems like you were a pretty cool kid yourself. It reminds me of how you’ve said you grew up surrounded by clothing, Mr. I have my parents to thank for helping me get such an early start on the tennis court. My racket was made of wood, and the tennis ball isn’t yellow, it’s white. Roger Federer: That photo was taken in the mid-eighties. Tadashi Yanai: It looks like you were pretty cool from a young age.
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