Stay Book Club discussion

As we start learning about the original store owner, Yuji Namiya, and his life’s purpose, how do his motivations and methods of giving advice contrast with the delinquents’ approach?
Do you think his “miracles” were truly supernatural, or simply human acts of empathy?

To me, they both felt the same.
It seemed incredibly simple: I couldn't ignore someone in trouble, that's all.
However, I think the process leading to that simple feeling differs between the shopkeeper and the delinquent. Yet there's a commonality here too: neither was ever forced by anyone, nor did they seek to be seen as good people by society. It was their own world, unknown to anyone else.

The shopkeeper's “miracle” is an act that humans have increasingly forgotten throughout history, as human activities began to impact Earth's living creatures. Therefore, this isn't supernatural, nor is it merely an emotional act of human empathy. I believe it's more like an instinct or ecological function that humans forgot during the process of progress, shaped by other humans. It resembles how Homo sapiens acquired necessary traits and discarded unnecessary ones during our evolution. So while it feels like a “miracle” or “empathy” to us living in the modern age, for the shopkeeper who possesses this instinct, writing a reply is a voice he simply cannot ignore.

I believe Mr. Namiya was deeply empathetic, caring, and definitely saw this as his life’s purpose.
His approach was definitely in contrast with the boys. Where he labored and stressed about how to respond, the boys showed their immaturity in allowing their thoughts and feelings to be unfiltered.