Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir by Shoji Morimoto

Hardback: 'In one of Aesop's fables, a character longs to tell a secret and so tells it to the reeds. I'm just there, like those reeds.' - Shoji Morimoto

Foreword: Twitter @morimotoshoji  I'm starting a service called Do-nothing Rental. It's available for any situation in which all you want is a person to be there. Maybe there's a restaurant you want to go to, but you feel awkward going on your own. Maybe a game you want to play, but you're one person short. Or perhaps you'd like someone to keep a space in the park for your cherry blossom viewing party... I only charge transport (from Kokubunji Station) and cost of food/drink (if applicable). I can't do anything except give very simple responses.

With this tweet, I became 'Rental Person', a Rental Person Who Does Nothing. At the time, I had 300 followers. Ten months later, I had 100,000. The number of requests has grown too, and now I get a steady flow of about three a day.

I find it utterly amazing. Why on earth has it happened? When I started the service, I thought it might be interesting, but I never imagined it would result in a book, a manga or TV programmes. And when I try to hide my surprise, people started talking about my 'aura', as though I'm some kind of star.

Readers must find it bizarre. Nobody could have predicted this reaction. After all, I do nothing. I am the type that people get cross with - at home, at work, at a barbecue. Why should a person like that be in demand?

This book, Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir (2023) - is an attempt to answer that question. 

If it was written simply by me, I think it would be too subjective. I'm very confused about what's happened and on my own, I'd find it tough to come up with a convincing book. So we tried an experiment. A writer (S) and an editor (T) asked me questions and I gave them very simple responses, and through that process we tried to find an answer. S is not a particular fan of Rental Person. He has written objectively, and in a way that people who don't know anything about my activities can get a clear picture.

So with that as my excuse, I have, as usual, done nothing. I have simply watched, with interest and surprise, as this book has developed.

Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir (2023) was originally published in Japan as Rental Nanmo Shinai Hito in 2019 and translated into the English by Don Knotting in 2023.

About the author: Shoji Morimoto was born in 1983. He began working as a rental person who does nothing in 2018 and has since been hired more than 4,000 times. He has been profiled by many media outlets worldwide and has written several books including Rental Person Who Does Nothing, which inspired a Japanese TV series. Morimoto lives in Japan with his wife and son.