Rental Person Who Does Nothing

November 13, 2023
This meditative debut from Morimoto reflects on what he’s learned about work and life from his “rental person” service. In 2018, he tweeted that he was starting a project in which he would show up for clients at designated times and places but would do virtually nothing once there “except give very simple responses,” charging only for travel and the “cost of food/drink (if applicable).” Requests began pouring in; Morimoto describes accompanying to dinner a woman who was tired of having men pay for her meals, listening to another woman who hadn’t come out to her friends talk about her girlfriend, and greeting at the airport a student hoping that a friendly face would mitigate the grief she anticipated upon returning to Japan for the first time since her grandmother died. Lamenting work’s outsize role in people’s lives, Morimoto reveals that his sister killed herself after “she didn’t get the job she wanted.” In serving as a rental person, Morimoto intended to push back against the notion that an individual’s value is tied to their productivity: “people have a value even if they do nothing.” The client anecdotes amuse and provide unexpectedly perceptive insights into the nature of work and individuals’ self-worth under capitalism. This is worth seeking out. Photos.