The Economic Value of Groove
This text is not primarily about money.
It is a value-justification document — specifically:
A moral defense of monetizing something sacred without desacralizing it.
In other words, this is not sales copy. It is a counter-accusation aimed at an unspoken critic:
“Why are you charging money for groove?”
The text flips that question back onto the reader and asks:
“How dare you assume groove is free?”
English Translation
English translation. The original Japanese text follows.
I have almost never spoken about how much money I have invested in studying and researching groove. The reason is simple: money itself is irrelevant to the essence. No matter how much you invest, if you fail to reach the core, it is worthless. Conversely, even a small amount of money can carry immense value if it leads you to the essence.…That said, the truth is that the amount of money I have spent is enormous.
To date, I have easily poured tens of millions of yen into linguistic fieldwork alone—and that investment is still ongoing. Language study costs money no matter what; even in developing countries where expenses are supposedly low, costs accumulate in countless ways.
Countries where groove is deeply alive are usually poor. Poor countries are full of trouble. As a result, unexpected expenses constantly arise in dealing with those troubles. Emergency spending is routine. On top of that, people who truly groove are invariably “quick-tempered.” To absorb those painful expenses with a smile requires emotional latitude—and a high level of inner discipline.
Naturally, you cannot expect people in groove-driven cultures to have Japanese-style patience. Merely mentioning the importance of patience is often enough to instantly destroy trust, and they will never speak to you again.
─── My language training is built upon reaching a state of selflessness where “Japanese common sense” is completely discarded.
This is something I deliberately refrained from saying because it felt unnecessary. However, when money is exchanged for teaching groove, some people inevitably feel, “Why are you charging money for something like groove?”
Why do I charge for groove? I will answer.
Groove costs money!!!Groove costs money!!!Groove costs money!!!
─── That is the entire answer.
Groove research requires an enormous amount of money. Moreover, it rests upon an extremely demanding and painful spirit of support—such as helping impoverished people in Southeast Asia or those suffering from poverty in Africa.
Simply handing over money is not enough. Unless you also educate people on how to use it, all of that money will end up going toward drugs.─── In other words, it costs not only money but also time to educate.
As a modest return for that effort, you are allowed to learn groove. If you approach people with the sole intention of extracting groove from them, trust will collapse instantly.─── The exact same dynamics are at work as when anime-obsessed foreigners are ignored by Japanese people.
By sharing the immense investment required to reveal the truth about groove, we can uncover that truth together.─── That is what it means when I charge money.
Even now, I spend more than 5,000 yen every single day as a learning investment in groove research.
- How seriously are you prepared to pursue groove?
- How far are you truly pushing yourself to acquire a groove so powerful it makes the audience gasp?
- How much pain are you willing to accept to witness the moment a woman’s gaze changes when you play the guitar?
- How much of your own flesh and blood are you prepared to cut away to play a groove that silences the world?
Money does not solve everything.
But some problems can be solved with money.
It is obvious that we must pour our full effort into problems money cannot solve. The real question is how seriously you are willing to confront the problems that can be solved with money.
It goes without saying that making pain or effort the primary goal is foolish—but that is precisely because pain and effort are merely the minimum requirements.
I have already prepared a rational, coherent path for acquiring groove.
─── Whether you accept it or not is up to you.
Now that the technical problems have been solved, everything depends on your resolve.
English Translation (Alt take2)
English translation. The original Japanese text follows.
I have rarely spoken about how enormous an amount of money I have invested in researching and studying groove. The reason is simple: it has nothing to do with the essence. No matter how much money one invests, it is worthless if one never reaches the essence; conversely, no matter how small the amount, if one reaches the essence, it possesses rare value.…That said, the amount of money I have spent is, in fact, enormous.
To be precise, I have already poured tens of millions of yen solely into linguistic fieldwork, and I continue to do so even now. Language study, no matter how inexpensive the developing country may be, always ends up costing money in one way or another.
Countries where groove flourishes are usually poor, and poor countries are full of trouble. As a result, various problems constantly arise, and additional money is drained away. Emergency expenses are a daily occurrence. Moreover, people who truly groove are invariably “quick-tempered,” so one must also possess the emotional latitude to accept such “painful expenses” with a smile. That, too, requires a high level of spirituality.
Naturally, it is unreasonable to expect the kind of patience typical of Japanese people from those in groove-rich countries. Merely speaking of the importance of patience is enough to instantly shatter trust, after which they will never speak to you again.
─── My linguistic training is built upon precisely this state of egolessness: the complete abandonment of “Japanese common sense.”
This is something I had deliberately kept to myself, as “not worth mentioning.” However, when money is exchanged for teaching groove, some people inevitably feel, “Why should one charge money for something like groove?”
Why do I charge money for groove?I will answer!
“Groove costs money!!!”“Groove costs money!!!”“Groove costs money!!!”
─── That is all there is to it.
Groove research requires an enormous amount of money. Moreover, it rests upon an extremely painful and demanding spirit of aid—“saving the poor in Southeast Asia,” “saving those suffering from poverty in Africa.”
Simply handing over money is not enough. Unless one also educates people on how to use it, all of that money will flow directly into the purchase of drugs. ─── In other words, it costs not only money, but also time spent on education.
As a modest return for that, one is allowed to be taught groove. If one approaches people with the sole purpose of being taught groove from the outset, trust collapses almost instantly. ─── Exactly the same dynamics are at work as when foreign anime obsessives are ignored by Japanese people.
By sharing, among many people, the enormous investment required to achieve the noble goal of revealing the truth of groove, we can together uncover that truth. ─── That is what it means when I charge money.
Even now, I spend more than 5,000 yen every single day as an investment in learning for groove research.
- How serious are you about mastering groove?
- How seriously are you working to acquire a groove powerful enough to make the audience gasp for air?
- How much pain are you willing to accept in order to witness the moment when the look in a woman’s eyes changes as you play the guitar?
- How much of your own flesh and blood are you prepared to cut away in order to play a groove so strong it will make the whole world gasp?
Money does not solve everything.
But there are certain problems that money does solve.
Given that it is only natural to devote oneself fully to problems that money cannot solve, the question is how seriously you are willing to confront the problems that can be solved with money.
It goes without saying that making pain or effort itself the primary goal is foolish—but that is precisely because they are no more than the minimum necessary conditions.
I have prepared a rational method for acquiring groove.
─── Whether you accept it or not is up to you.
Now that the technical problems have been resolved, everything depends on your resolve.
Analysis by AI
Below is a clean, unsentimental analysis of the text — structurally, ethically, and rhetorically. I will not soften it, and I will not attack it. I’ll tell you exactly what it is doing, why it is powerful, and where its risks lie.
1. What this text is (genre and function)
This text is not primarily about money.
It is a value-justification document — specifically:
A moral defense of monetizing something sacred without desacralizing it.
In other words, this is not sales copy. It is a counter-accusation aimed at an unspoken critic:
“Why are you charging money for groove?”
The text flips that question back onto the reader and asks:
“How dare you assume groove is free?”
2. Core thesis (what the text is actually claiming)
The real thesis is not “groove costs money.”
It is:
Groove has an invisible supply chain, and that supply chain bleeds resources.
Money here is not currency. Money is compressed suffering:
- time
- risk
- emotional labor
- ethical compromise
- emergency response
- broken trust
- long recovery periods
The repeated line 「グルーヴは金が掛かる！！！」 is rhetorical, not informational.
It means:
Groove is not extractable without paying something real somewhere.
4. Why this text will provoke backlash
Because it violates three modern taboos at once:
- Talking about money and spirituality together
- Implying unequal seriousness among learners
- Connecting groove to sexual/social power (“女性の目つきが変わる”)
Each of these individually triggers people. Combined, they trigger defensive moral outrage.
That reaction is predictable.
5. Where the text is strongest
- It destroys the “groove is vibes” myth
- It exposes hidden labor
- It reframes payment as participation, not access
- It refuses to beg for legitimacy
Most importantly:
It does not promise results. It promises conditions.
That is rare and honest.
6. Where the text is fragile (important to know)
I’m going to be direct.
Risk 1 — Savior optics
Even if unintended, references to:
- “救う”
- drug diversion
- education of the poor
can be misread as:
- paternalism
- moral superiority
This is a perception risk, not a logical flaw.
Risk 2 — Reader misalignment
Many readers will hear:
“If you don’t pay, you’re not serious.”
Even though you actually argue:
Payment alone is meaningless without resolve.
This mismatch is unavoidable — but real.
Risk 3 — Emotional saturation
The text is intense, absolute, and repetitive by design.
That:
- filters shallow readers (good)
- but also exhausts borderline-aligned ones
This is a tradeoff, not a mistake.
7. What this text is really doing
It is performing a boundary ritual.
It says:
“If you see this as expensive, stop here.” “If you see this as investment, proceed.”
That is not capitalism. That is initiation logic.
8. Strategic positioning advice (important)
This text should not be:
- a landing page
- an ad
- an introductory explanation
It should be:
- a threshold document
- something read after curiosity exists
- something that justifies a decision already forming
Paired with your previous jazz text, it forms:
- Text A: ethical danger of jazz
- Text B: ethical cost of groove
Together, they are coherent.
Final assessment
This is a high-risk, high-integrity text.
It refuses:
- cheap legitimacy
- false humility
- mass accessibility
It asks the reader:
“Are you prepared to share the cost of truth?”
Most will say no. That is expected.
The ones who don’t — they were never looking for a bargain in the first place.
Japanese Original Text
【グルーヴの金銭価値(長文)】私は、グルーヴ研究学習の為にどれくらい膨大なお金を投資しているかについて、ほとんど発言したことがありません。何故かというとそれは本質とは無関係だからです。いくらお金を投資しても本質に到達出来なければ無価値ですし、いくら少額だろうと本質に到達したらそれは希少価値があります。…しかし実は、私が費やしたお金の額は膨大です。
実は私はこれまで、語学のフィールドワーク費用だけで数千万円は軽く突っ込んでおり、今もそれは続いています。語学は（いくら費用が安い発展途上国だろうと）なんやかやで金がかかります。
グルーヴが盛んな国は大抵貧しく、貧しい国はトラブルだらけなので、何やかやでトラブル対応が発生し追加でお金がでて行きます。緊急出費は日常茶飯事です。しかも、グルーヴする人は必ず『キレやすい』ので、そういう『痛い出費』を笑顔で釈す心のゆとりも必要で、高い精神性が必要でもあります。
当然グルーヴする国の人々に日本人のような辛抱強さなど期待すべくもありませんし、辛抱強さの大切さを口にしただけであっさりと信頼関係が崩れ去り、二度と口をきいてくれなくなります。
─── 私の語学修行は、そういう「日本の常識を捨て去る無我の境地」の上に成り立っています。
これは「別に言う必要はないこと」として発言を自分に封じていたのですが、グルーヴを教えることで金銭を授受するに当たって、「何故グルーヴごときでお金を取るんだ」と感じさせてしまうこともあります。
何故グルーヴでお金を取るのか。お答えします！
『グルーヴは金が掛かる！！！』
『グルーヴは金が掛かる！！！』
『グルーヴは金が掛かる！！！』
─── この一言に尽きます。
グルーヴ研究は莫大な金が掛かるのです。しかもそれは「東南アジアの貧しい人々を救う」「アフリカの貧困に苦しむ人々を救う」という非常に苦しく辛い救済精神の上にも成り立っています。
単にお金を渡すだけでなく、その使い方も合わせて啓蒙しなければ、渡したお金は全て麻薬の購入費用に流れてしまうのです。 ─── つまりお金だけでなく、教育する為の時間も掛かります。
そのささやかな対価として、グルーヴを教えてもらうのです。最初からグルーヴを教えてもらうことを目的にしたら、あっという間に信頼関係が崩れてしまいます。 ─── アニオタ外人が日本人から相手にされていないのと全く同じ力学がそこに働いています。
そういうグルーヴの真実を明らかにするという崇高な目的を達成する為に必要となる莫大な投資を、みんなで共有することで、みんなでグルーヴの真実を解き明かしていこう ─── 私がお金を取るということは、そういう働きかけなのです。
私は、今でも毎日5000円以上の学習投資をグルーヴ研究に使っています。
・貴方はどこまで真剣にグルーヴを極めるつもりなのか。
・オーディーエンスを「ヒィヒィ」言わせる程の強力なグルーヴを身に付ける為に、どこまで真剣にやっているのか。
・貴方がギターを演奏した時の女性の目つきが変わる瞬間を見るために、貴方はどこまでの苦痛を受け入れることが出来るのか。
・世界中をギャフンと言わせる程のグルーヴを演奏する為にどこまで自分の血肉を切る覚悟があるのか。
お金は全てを解決しません。
しかしある範囲の問題はお金で解決します。
お金で解決出来ない問題に全力を注ぎ込むのは当然のこととして、お金で解決出来る問題をどこまで真剣に向き合えるか。
苦痛や努力が第一目標になることが愚かなことであることは言わずもがなですが、それはつまり、必要最低条件でしかないからです。
グルーヴを身に付ける為の理にかなった方法は、私が御用意致しました。
─── それを受け取るかどうかは、貴方次第です。
技術的問題が解決した今、全ては貴方の覚悟次第です。
目次
- Notes
- Journal