元旦、二日の休業、大歓迎 FIRST AND SECOND DAYS MUST BE HOLIDAYS

　

元旦、二日休業、大歓迎
 

百貨店最大手の三越伊勢丹ホールディングスは、伊勢丹新宿本店や銀座三越など首都圏の８店舗で、来年１月２日を休業日にする。従業員の負担軽減を狙い、元日に続いて連休とする。稼ぎ時の「初売り」を３日にずらすのは異例だ（朝日デジタル)

元日と２日に店を休みにするのに賛成だ。昔は、ほとんど全ての店は、この両日は休みで、３日も休みという店があった。当時、街路は静かで、車が走っておらず、空気は澄んでいた。みんな家族と家で正月遊びをしたりしてゆったり過ごした。しかし、今日は、スーパーやデパートが開店しており、皆がいらないものまで買うために店に群がり、大型店の前では車が列を作り、排気ガスを出して、環境汚染に貢献している。なぜ、今日の日本人はこんなに忙しくなったのか。仕掛け人は誰なのか。商業主義に踊らされず、自分を見つめる時間が必要ではないか。

JANUARY FIRST AND SECOND DAYS MUST BE HOLIDAYS

According to the Asahi Digital news, eight stores of the Isetan Mitsukoshi Department Store Group including the ones in Ginza and Shinjyuku are going to close on January 1 and 2, starting the New Year’s sale on January 3. It is unusual for a department store to close on the first two days of the New Year when they have a good chance to make a profit. The group reportedly aims to lighten the load for the employees

I agree with the idea that stores should close on the New Year’s days. Decades ago, almost all the stores were closed on January 1 and 2, and sometimes on 3. The streets were quiet with scarce traffic. The air was clean. People stayed at home and spend leisurely time with their family playing New Year’s games. Today, however, supermarkets and department stores are open; people rush to the stores to buy things they don’t actually need; automobiles make a long queue before big stores, emitting exhaust fumes, contributing to the deterioration of the environment. Why are the Japanese people so busy nowadays? Who has made them so? They should stop being manipulated by commercialism, but should have time for themselves.

古い杖道着よ、さようなら FAREWELL TO MY GOOD OLD MARATIAL ART UNIFORM

古い杖道着よ、さようなら

私は４８歳の時に神道夢想流杖道を習い始めた。今年私は７２歳だから、かれこれ２４年間杖道を稽古してきている。その２４年間稽古のたびに着ていた杖道着は擦り切れて（特にえりのところ）、白い斑点ができ、青白っぽくなってしまった。来年から新しい杖道着でやることにした。
古いのは捨ててしまうので、せめて写真に撮って記念としたい。
（新しい杖道着と色を比べてください）

FAREWELL TO MY GOOD OLD MARATIAL ART UNIFORM

I began to practice a Japanese martial art, shinto-musoryu-jyodo, at the age of 48. I am now 72 years old. So, I have practiced it for 23 years. My jodo uniform  has now worn out. It has a lot of white dots and its color has turned bluish white. Look at the collar part of the uniform. It has completely worn out.

(Please compare the colors of the new uniform and the old one.)

 

映画「杉原千畝」FILM, "CHIUNE SUGIHARA"

　映画「杉原千畝」

 

 

 



全然面白くなかった。感動というものがない。

１．千畝が如何にしてビザを発行する決心に至ったかが明確に伝わってこない。女友達の夫が必要だから、とかいう間接的な理由らしいが、きちんと描写していない。ドキュメンタリー番組で見たのだが、実際は、リトアニアを去る汽車が発車する寸前まで書き続け、手が痛くなっても書き続けていたのに、映画では昼中はビザを書いて、夜は教会へ行って女と会っている。そんな余裕はなかったはずだ。映画は千畝が必死でビザを書き続けた有様が描かれていない。救われた人の感動も伝わってこない。

２．映画では千畝の赴任先のエピソードが描かれている。満州からリトアニア、リトアニアからルーマニア、ルーマニアから東プロイセンと言うように。しかし千畝の赴任先のことを描くあまり、焦点がぼやけてしまっている。リトアニアでのビザ発行をもっと詳しくドラマチックに描き、満州やルーマニアのことは最小限にすべきだ。

３．脚本がいただけない。千畝は何度も「世界を変えていくつもりだ」と言うが大げさすぎないか。台詞が独り歩きしている。妻との会話も本当の会話になっていない。素人でも思いつくような当たり障りない、当たり前の台詞になっている。「元気？」だとか、場違いの「愛している」だとか、お茶を出して「冷めてしまうから、召し上がって」とか夫婦の会話が臭いのだ。その場その場で誰でも言いそうな台詞しか言わない。もっとそれを超えたいい台詞があるはずだ。名優唐沢さんにとっても、深みのない上辺だけの台詞を言わなくてはならなくて当惑したのではないかと思う。

４．子供をダシにして（難民の子に千畝の子がパンを与えるとか、ウラジオストックの船長が「これ以上乗船させることはできない」と言いながら、「私の娘と同じぐらいの子がいてかわいそう」だから乗船を許可するとか、出国を拒否された実業家が幼い息子の目の前で殺されたりする）、観衆の同情を引こうとする魂胆が見え見え。中途半端な女を出しているし、「立て！」「伏せろ！」の恐怖シーンが長すぎる。これもドイツ人の残虐さをみせんがためだが、うんざりした。

５．映写がまずい。人物の顔を巨大スクリーンいっぱいに映す。多分高さ５メートルぐらいの顔だ）なぜあんなに大きく映す必要があるのか。何度も何度も登場人物を大写しにする。気持ちが悪くなるぐらいでかい顔が映る。監督は悪趣味だ。

杉原千畝と言う名前につられて、また唐沢と小雪と言う俳優につられて映画を見に行った人は一杯食わされたと思うだろう。本当に食わせ物の映画だ。

FILM “CHIUNE SUGIHARA”

　　Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) is a Japanese diplomat who served as a consul in Lithuania just before World War II. In 1940, he wrote travel visas that facilitated the escape of more than 6,000 Jewish refugees to Japan, risking his career and his family's lives. In 1985, Israel added him to the Righteous Among the Nations for his actions.
I went to see the movie “Chiune Sugihara.” The following is my impression of the film:

　　I was disappointed at the film. It was not moving at all for the following reasons:

1. The film does not show why he decided to issue visas against the Japanese government’s order. At first he does not intend to write the visas, but his friend asks him to do so for her “husband.” After he issues a visa for him, he begins to issue them to other refugees, too. The film should show his struggle whether to issue visas or to obey the government’s order. I had watched a TV documentary about him in which he continuously wrote visas. He wrote so many visas that his fingers ached. When he had to leave Lithuania, he wrote visas till the last moment when the train began to start, leaving many Jewish people on the platform. In the film, however, he does not write visas continuously. He writes visas during the day and he goes to a church to see a woman in the evening. He seems to write visas as pastime. The film fails to depict his devotion.

2. The film shows his life as a diplomat in Manchuria, Lithuania, Romania, and East Prussia. The film spends too much time on his life in the countries other than Lithuania. It should focus on his life in Lithuania where he devoted his life to save the Jewish refugees.

3. The scenario was not good. Sugihara often says, “I want to change the world,” but the words are too vague and too beautiful that they do not convey anything to the audience. The dialogues between Sugihara and his wife sound unnatural in several situations. For example, she says to him during a ball, “Do you love me?” He responds, “Yes, I want to change the world.” It is an irrelevant response. The script must be well thought-out. I am sure Toshiaki Karasawa, who played the role of Sugihara, was also disappointed at the childish scenario.

4. The film tries to rouse the audience’s sympathy by using children. Sugihara’s daughter, for example, gives a piece of bread to a hungry Jewish girl through the fence of the consulate; the captain of the Japanese ship says, “I am afraid I can’t let the refugees embark the ship,” but later he changes his mind and says, “but I saw a poor girl as old as my daughter,” and allows them to get on board; and a businessman and his family including children are prevented from leaving Lithuania by the German soldiers. There should be other ways that naturally rouse the audience’s sympathy.

5. Screening is bad, too. The characters’ faces are often projected on the full screen. So the faces are as large as the screen. They are so large that they look weird. The director has poor taste

A much-ballyhooed movie is not necessarily good. And a movie starring famed actors are not always good. That is the lesson I have learned from the movie.

 

「海難１８９０」SHIPWRECK/125 YEARS MEMORY

「海難１８９０」

 

 

 

七年ほど前、妻とトルコに旅行に行って驚きました。トルコ人が私たちにとてもフレンドリーだったからです。どこへ行っても笑顔で挨拶をしてくれたり、一緒に写真を撮って欲しいと頼まれたりしました。妻をハグした女の子もいました。トルコ人は日本人がとても好きなようです。
　日本に帰って分かったのですが、１８９０年にトルコの軍艦が嵐のため和歌山沖で難破し、近くの島の島民が５９人の水兵を救助しました。トルコの子供は学校でこの出来事を習うそうです。
　この救助劇は近々映画になります。上映されたら見に行きたいと思います。(１１月１４日記す）

***************************************

　今日（１２月１１日）、「海難１８９０」を見てきました。映画があまりにも感動的で何度も涙を流しました。特に、島民が嵐の夜に一生懸命トルコ水兵を救けている場面や、元気になった水兵が敬礼をしながら舟で島を離れていくとき、島民が「さよなら、さよなら」と言っている場面です。
　９５年後の１９８５年、イラクがイランの首都、テヘランを爆撃する危険と混乱のさなか、トルコ政府は約２００人の日本人をイスタンブールに輸送するためチャーター便を用意しました。テヘラン空港でトルコ人が、チャーター機に乗り込む日本人を拍手で送り出すシーンはまた涙を誘いました。（最近涙もろくなったのかも）
　武力は武力を、親切は親切を呼びます。

SHIPWRECK/125 YEARS MEMORY

 　　About seven years ago my wife and I went to Turkey and visited famous sight-seeing spots. What surprised me most there was the Turkish people’s friendliness towards us. They gave us warm greetings almost every place we visited. They even wanted to take their pictures with us. Some girls hugged my wife. They seemed to like Japan and Japanese people.
　　After returning to Japan, I learned that the people in an island in Wakayama Prefecture saved 59 Turkish sailors’ lives from a sinking Turkish warship in a stormy sea in 1890. The Turkish students study about this incident at school.
　　A movie that shows how the island people rescued the Turkish sailors is going to be screened soon. I’m looking forward to seeing it. (written on Novmeber 14)

********************************

　　Today (December 11) I saw the movie “Kainan 1890” (Shipwreck/125 Years Memory). I was so much moved during the film that I often shed tears, especially when the islanders were devoting themselves to rescuing the sailors in a stormy dark night and when the recovered Turkish sailors were leaving the island giving a salute to their rescuers who were saying good-bye.
　　I was also moved when the Turkish government prepared a chartered plane to fly some 200 Japanese to Istanbul in the midst of confusion and danger caused by the Iraqi attack against Teheran, the capital of Iran, in 1985. The applause the Turkish people gave to the Japanese in the Teheran International airport made me shed tears again. (Recently I think I am easily moved to tears.)　Force invites more force; kindness returns in the long run.

柿の影 PERSIMMON SILHOUETTE

柿の影　
 

 

 

今日の午後、東山植物園に行った。青空で風がなく、いい天気で、赤や黄色に染まった葉っぱが日の光を受けて常緑樹を背景にキラキラ光っていた。紅葉が燃えるように赤い。
　特に良かったのは柿の木の入り組んだ枝や柿の実のシルエットが家屋の白壁に映っていたことだ。いい天気だったので枝や柿の実のシルエットがくっきりと黒く濃かった。写真を一枚撮った。

PERSIMMON SILHOUETTE

　　I went to Higashiyama Botanical Garden this afternoon. It was a warm winter day with a blue sky and little breeze. Red and yellow leaves were shining brightly reflecting the sunshine with evergreen trees in the background. The red leaves were so bright that they looked as if they were a burning fire.
　　What attracted me most was the silhouette of a persimmon tree on a white wall of a Japanese style house. The intricate branches and round fruit of the tree cast their shadows on the wall. Since it was a clear day, the silhouette reflected the shapes of the branches and fruit faithfully.

「東京物語」 ”TOKYO MONOGATARI” (TOKYO STORY)

「東京物語」

 

 

 　銀幕の伝説女優、原節子が９５歳で亡くなった。先日、追悼記念ＴＶ番組「東京物語」（小津安二郎監督、１９５３年）を見た。映画は平山周吉（笠智衆）が妻のとみ（東山千栄子）を６８歳で亡くし、その葬儀に子供たち（うち一人が原節子扮する紀子）が集まる話である。
以前見たのは３０年ほど前で、私は４２歳ぐらいで父が存命中であった。その時は母親を亡くした子供の立場から見ていたが、今回は妻を亡くした夫の目線で映画を見た。正直言って、７２歳になった今、周吉の一語一語、顔つき、身振りが他人ごとではないように思った。私の妻がとみと同じぐらいの年齢であるため、妻を亡くしたら周吉のようになるのかと身につまされた。
同じ映画でも見方でこうも違うのかと思った。

TOKYO MONOGATARI (TOKYO STORY)

　　Legendary actress Setsuko Hara, who shined in films of the 1930s to 1960s, died at the age of 95. The other day, I watched “Tokyo Monogatari” (Tokyo Story) commemorating her on television. The film centers around the gathering of four children when their father, Shukichi Hirayama (starring Chishu Kasa) loses his wife Tomi (starring Chieko Higashiyama). One of the children is Noriko starring Setsuko Hara.
　　I saw the film once when I was about 42 years old. At that time my father was still alive and I saw the film from the viewpoint of a man who lost his mother. However, this time, I saw the same film through the point of view of Shukichi, an old man who lost his 68-year-old wife, Tomi. Frankly speaking, I identified myself with him, partly because I am 72 years old, probably as old as Shukichi, and partly because my wife is the same age with Tomi. I listened to every word Shukichi said, I watched his face, his movement after he lost his wife. He concealed loneliness in his flat tone of his voice. I thought I would feel like Shukichi when I lost my wife.
　　The same film gives completely different impression according to how you see it.

能はなぜ眠いか WHY NOH PLAY MAKES YOU SLEEPY

　

能はなぜ眠いか

　

 

１０月から１１月にかけて椙山女学園大学で開催された５回の「能楽鑑賞入門」講座を終了した。たった５回、時間にすると７時間半だけ能に接して、能のなんたるかを論ずるのはおこがましいけれど、講座を受けた感想を書いておきたい。　
　講座で扱かった能は、「船弁慶」「誓願寺」「葛城」「道成寺」「玉鬘」であった。講師は西村高夫観世流能楽師と飯塚恵理人教授であった。講座は西村能楽師が演ずる能のビデオを観ながら飯塚氏と西村氏が解説をしてくれた。
　今まで能を見たことは一回だけであったが、その時の印象はとても眠いということであった。今回、五つの能のビデオを観てなぜ眠くなるのかがわかった。うっとりするような美しい地謡もさることながら、舞台に登場するシテやワキの動きが極端に少ないのだ。おそらく１０分経っても同じ姿勢をしているかと思うぐらい動きが少ない。
　ここで思ったことは能楽師の舞台での舞いや動作は象徴であって、見せるものではない。能の面白さは舞台での役者の動きではなく（歌舞伎のように派手ではない）、バックグラウンドに流れる謡にある。その文章はよく練られていて、格調が高く、リズムがあり、古典を引用するなど奥が深い。能は見るものではなく、語りを聞くものだと思った。端的に言えば、能は浪花節や講談に紙芝居がついたものだ。しかしあの語りを理解するのは並大抵ではできない。十分な下調べが必要だと思った。さらに勉強していけば、能のなんたるかをもっと理解するだろうが、ひとまずこれにて終わりとしたい。
　能の専門家には、この解釈はお叱りを受けるかも知れない。

追記
最近イギリス人の大学の先生によるシェクスピアの戯曲に関する講義を聞いた。先生によると、当時の大衆は「シェクスピアの劇を観に行く」とは言わずに「シェクスピアの劇を聞きに行く」と言っていたそうだ。能と共通していると思った。能は「観るもの」でなく「聞くもの」かもしれない。

WHY NOH PLAY MAKES YOU SLEEPY

　　I attended a five-series class of Noh at Sugiyama Jogakuen University from October through November. Since it was only a 5-time class, a total of seven hours and a half, I don’t think I am qualified to comment on what Noh is, but I would like to write here what I thought about it.
　　The Noh plays which the lectures, Kanze-ryu Noh player, Takao Nishimura, and Professor Erito Iizuka, dealt with were: “Funabenkei,” “Seiganji,” “Katuragi,” “Dojoji,” and “Tamakazura.” They explained the Noh videos while the students watched them.
　　I had seen a Noh play only once, and to tell the truth, I had felt sleepy during the performance. This time, after attending the classes, I found out why Noh plays make the audience sleepy. The reasons are:
　　
　　1. The players rarely move on the stage during an-hour or two-hour performances. Even if you sleep for, say, ten minutes during the performance, you won't be able to detect the difference of the movements before you fall into sleep and after you wake up.
　　2. The traditional Japanese background Noh music is rhythmical, soothing, and relaxing. It hypnotizes the audience.

　　I thought the movement of a Noh player is a symbol, not a thing you appreciate by watching it. What attracts the audience is not the performance of Noh players but the musical narration by the storytellers. The narrations are well written, elegant, sonorous, and sophisticated with quotations from classical Japanese literature. I thought Noh was not a thing to watch but a thing to listen to. In essence, Noh is similar to the narrative performances like Naniwabushi and Kodan with static pictures in kamishibai (picture story show).
　　However, it is almost impossible to understand the meaning of the narration, because it is written in old Japanese. You need to prepare fully before you watch (listen to) Noh performances. The more you study various Noh narrations, the more you understand Noh plays.
　　Experts in Noh may be resentful about my opinion, but this is my candid impression.

(P.S. Recently I attended a lecture on Shakespeare by an English literature professor. He said “The people in those days went to ‘hear’ his plays, not to ‘see’ them.”)

 

プリウスが消えた MY PRIUS HAS DISAPPEARED

いやなニュース

一週間前、マンションの駐車場に置いておいた車が盗まれました。黒のプリウスです。初め信じられなかったのですが、今盗まれたことを現実として受け取るようになりました。世の中、いろいろな事が起きるけれども、車を丸ごと盗まれるなんて、考えられない。
警察官二人と刑事一人が家に来ていろいろ事情聴取していきました。二時間ぐらいかかりました。警察によると、黒のプリウスが一番盗まれやすいそうです。黒いし、音が静かだからです。夜、黒装束の三人組が来て、一人は見張りで、六、七分で盗んでいってしまうそうです。盗んだあと、その車を使って、次の犯罪を犯し、見つかりにくいところに放置しておくそうです。
女房も私も免許を車の中に置いておいたので再交付してもらわなければなりません。再交付代3,500円、写真代600円がかかります。本当に悪い奴らがいるのです。
三日前だったか、中日新聞に「プリウス窃盗団逮捕」という記事がありました。４人組で、この６ヶ月間に２０～５０台盗んだ模様と書いてありました。私の車も中に入っているかもしれません。なんという奴らだ。警察で徹底的に取り調べてもらいたいものです。
今日（２７日）保険会社の調査員が来て2時間も事細かく事情聴取していきました。最近体調がおかしくなってしまいましたが、こういう痛みは、犯人は全然感じていないのです。これが怒らずにいられますか。
9年間も乗ってきた愛車だったのに。事故やら怪我でなかったから、まだましと思うしかないのでしょうか。

My Prius Has Disappeared

     My car was stolen from my condominium parking lot about 20 days ago. It was a pretty black Prius. I bought it nine years ago and had driven it only about 25,000 kilometers. At first I couldn’t believe that it had been stolen, but gradually I came to realize that it had been. I know there are many bad people in the world, but I had thought bad things would happen only to others and not to me. How can you believe that your car suddenly disappears like smoke?
     Two policemen and a detective came to my house and asked many questions. Where did you last drive it? Did you have anything valuable like cash cards? Have you noticed any suspicious people around you recently? Was the parking lot equipped with security cameras? After asking their questions, they went to the parking lot and looked for any clues.
     According to them, black used Priuses are the easiest cars to steal because the thieves know everything about them: how to unlock them; how to replace the computer code. The thieves clad in black come to a parking lot in the dead of night and steal a car within five minutes. One of them is a lookout. After stealing the car, they use it during another crime and leave it in an out-of-the-way place like the beach or the forest. The police’s questions lasted more than two hours, which completely exhausted me.
     My wife and I had put our driver’s licenses in our car. We had to go to the Hirabari Automobile School and renew them. It cost 4,100 yen including the photograph fee each. This was an additional expense.
     About three days after the incident, the Chunichi Newspaper reported that the Aichi Prefectural Police had arrested an automobile theft ring consisting of four people including a woman. They were trying to steal a Prius. They had stolen 20 to 50 cars during the past six months. My Prius might be one of  them. I hope the police will investigate the theft through and through.
     A week later an insurance investigator visited us and asked a great deal of detailed questions. Where did you last fill the gas? Which gas station did you usually use? Do you have some documents that prove that you filled gas in the gas station? Which automobile dealer do you use? When did you last renew the automobile insurance? Do you have the insurance documents? How much did you pay for the car originally? How much insurance money will you be refunded? Who drives  the car most often, you or your wife? After a tremendous number of questions, he and I went to my vacant parking stall and took pictures. His investigation lasted more than two hours. It was really exhausting. My wife and I became sick. The thieves do not feel any of the pain that we feel. How unfair and how irritating!
     One of my friends said to cheer me up, “It could have been worse. If you had been in a car accident, you might  have been injured or killed. It was lucky you didn’t get in one.”
     Was I lucky?

(Just two days ago, the same newspaper reported that the number of automobiles stolen in Aichi Prefecture from January to October this year is 1,704, the largest number in all the prefectures in Japan.)

 

 

うれしいニュース GOOD NEWS

先週、大垣市文化事業団事務局から電話があり、「大垣市文芸祭・小説部門」で私が書いた小説「燃える般若心経」がトップの文芸祭賞に選ばれたと報告があった。授与式は大垣で１１月１４日に行われる。うれしいことだ。

***************************

　１１月１４日、大垣に行き、文芸祭賞を受賞してきた。

 

**********************

受賞感想

この度、大垣市文芸祭賞を受賞してうれしく思いました。先生はじめ皆様のおかげです。思えば二十年ほど前、全日空の国際便に乗ったとき、英文機内誌を読んでいて「英文短編コンテスト」のことを知りました。最優秀賞は世界中どこにでも好きなところに飛んでいける航空券でした。これはすごいと思って、それ以来、日本語と英語の短編を読んだり書いたりしてきましたが、何をどう書いていいやら悪戦苦闘でした。今回、なんとか芽がでたようです。現在、このコンテストは廃止されましたが、今後は邪心を捨てて、いい作品が書けるよう努力していきたいと思っています。（同人誌「R&W」に寄せた言葉）

 

Last week the Ogaki City Cultural Program Center office informed me of my winning of the first prize in the novel section of the Ogaki City Creating Writing Festival. I wrote a novel under the title of “Burning Hanya Shinkyo Sutra.” The award ceremony is to be held in Ogaki on November 14. I am very happy.

I went to Ogaki on November 14 and won the prize.

拍手は控えよう DO NOT CLAP HANDS

拍手は控えよう

 

　

９月２６日、愛知芸術劇場でアイリッシュダンスを見た。これで２回目。ダンサーの揃ったステップは驚くばかりで、ただ感嘆するのみだった。
しかし、不快に思ったことがある。ダンス曲の演奏者（バグパイプ、ヴァイオリン、アコーディオン、ピアノ、ギター）の一人が、観衆に向かって音楽に合わせて手拍子を取るように促したので、皆が手をたたきだしたからだ。いつまでも、いつまでも続く手拍子の音（雑音！）のため、ダンスがエンジョイできなかった。手拍子の音で、あの見事なダンサーのステップの音（２０本の足が同時に床をタップする、ザッ、ザッ、ザッという音）がかき消されてしまったからだ。観衆は次々に変わるダンスの度に（馬鹿みたいに）手拍子をする。いかにダンスの醍醐味を台無しにしているかがわからないのだ。イライラして、まったくもって落胆した。手拍子を促す方もどうかしている。
歌舞伎鑑賞の時も同じ事が起こる。長唄などで三味線の演奏者がバチを離れ業のように速く動かして演奏が最高潮に達すると、必ずと言っていいほど、拍手をしなければならないと思ってか、観衆はワーと拍手をする。一番曲の聞かせどころというのに。素晴らしい演奏に拍手をするのは気持ちはわかるが、おっと、待ってくれないか。全部演奏が終わってから大いに拍手をすればいいのだから。

DO NOT CLAP HANDS

 

I saw the Irish Dance Ragus at Aichi Geijyutu Theater on Saturday.　It was the second time that I saw the dance. The dancers’ quick movements of their legs in unison were exciting, amusing, and fantastic.
　　Unfortunately, however, I was irritated. One of the Irish musicians (the bag piper, violin, accordion, piano, and guitar) on the stage invited the audience to clap their hands in accordance with the music rhythm. The audience clapped their hands as the dancers danced. The long and loud clapping noise ruined the dance, because it drowned the wonderful sound of quick, continuous, tap dance-like sound the dancers made on the floor. I was disappointed. The audience clapped their hands during every performance.
　　The same thing happens when I see kabuki. The audience begins to clap their hands when the shamisen string player plays the shamisen quickly and skillfully. The noise of the audience’s clapping drowns out the superb shamisen sound. I know they want to express their admiration by clapping their hands while the shamisen player is playing the instrument, but don’t ruin the most exciting part. They should wait until the whole thing finishes. After the performance, they can clap their hands to their heart’s content.
 

懐かしの南山男子部校舎 MY BELOVED NANZAN BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS

懐かしの南山男子部校舎

 

 

 

 

 

 

　２００７年（平成１９年）の秋、ちょうど私が南山男子部を退職する４カ月ほと前に撮った写真とビデオが出てきた。４３年間英語教師として南山で教鞭をとった思い出に撮影したものだ。幸か不幸か、男子部校舎は中高ともに壊されて、２年後に新しい校舎ができるそうだ。わが愛する校舎がネット上で永遠に生きているようにアップロードすることにした。生徒諸君、教職員の皆さま、覚えていますか、この風景を。]

MY BELOVED NANZAN BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS

　　I have found some pictures and videos that I took in the autumn of 2007 (Heisei 19) about four months before I retired from Nanzan Boys’ High School. (I worked for Nanzan as an English teacher for 43 years.) I took them to remember how Nanzan looked like. Luckily or unluckily, Nanzan High School buildings, both the junior and senior high school buildings are now being demolished and new school buildings will be built in two years. I decided to upload them so that my beloved school buildings will remain intact on the Internet. Nanzan graduates and teachers and office staff members, do you remember the scenery?

ミッション：インポシブル MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

ミッション：インポシブル

ＴＳＵＴＡＹＡでDVDを借りて家で再生した。
「おはよう、博君。　今回の君の任務は、引き受けてくれるなら、『ミッション：インポシブル・ローグ・ネイション』を誰からも、また何物にも邪魔されずに、初めから最後まで全部見ることである。例によって、万が一、君が捕まえられたり殺されたりしても、当局は君の行動については一切 関知しないからそのつもりで。尚このメッセージは５秒後に消滅する」
DVDはすぐに白い煙を上げて消滅した。
任務を知って、「何たる簡単な任務だ。映画を見るぐらいなら、「ミッション・インポシブル」さながらの、ピストルの撃ち合いとか、カーチェイスとか、ダイナマイトの爆発とかなどの危険はないから朝飯前の任務だと思った。でも、念のため、映画を調べてみた。パンフによると長さは１３２分で、内容はトム・クルーズがシンジケート組織をやっつける話だ。長さも内容も映画を見る妨害にはならない。
じゃあ、何が妨害だろう。テロか？　テロリストが劇場を爆破するのだろうか。かもしれないが、私の任務は１３２分の映画を全部見ることだ。敵がテロリストなら、私の任務はテロ組織の抹殺であり、単に映画を全部見るということではないはずだ。予期しないことが映画を見ているときに起こるのだろう。何が起こるか。
翌日、目に見えない敵と戦いながら劇場に行って切符を買った。上映時間まで２０分あったので、コーヒーを買って飲みながら時間をつぶした。
映画が始まった。クライマックスシーンまで何も起こらなかったが、大詰めとなり、レベッカ（女性の登場人物）がナイフを持って敵と戦うシーンとなった。突然私は私の敵を認識した。目に見えない敵が次第に勢力を増してくる。敵は暗闇の中で私を痛めつけだした。私は敵に立ち向かい、汗ばみながら、必死に戦った。あと５分も経てば映画は終了して、私の任務を完遂できる。映画の中でレベッカが必死に敵と戦っている。エンディングはもうすぐだ。そんな中、私は敵と戦った。誰も私の苦痛が分からない。敵は容赦なく私を責め立てる。
ついに、私は立ち上がった。「すみません」と隣に座っている人に順々に言って、私は急いでトイレに走った。
と言うわけで、任務は果たせなかった。残念無念！

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

　　I borrowed a DVD at a Tsutaya Video Shop, returned home, and played it.
“Good morning, Hiroshi. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go to a theater and watch Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation from the very start to the end without being interrupted by anything or anyone. As always, should you be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.”
　　And the DVD emitted white smoke and disappeared instantly.
　　When I heard my mission, I thought, “It’s a piece of cake. It is, after all, just watching a film. Watching a film doesn’t involve any gun fighting, car chasing, or dynamite explosions as in the Mission film series. However, as a precautionary measure I checked the film. The pamphlet read it lasted for 132 minutes. The plot：Tom Cruise’s mission is to eradicate the Syndicate. The duration and the content of the film wouldn’t be any hindrance.
Then what will interrupt me? A terrorist attack? Are they going to explode the whole theater? They might, but my mission is to watch the 132–minute film. If my enemy is terrorists, why isn’t my mission to destroy them, and not watch the film through? Probably something unexpected will happen while I am watching the film. What is it?
　　The next day, fighting with the unseen enemy, I went to the theater and bought a ticket. I had 20 minutes before the film started. I bought a cup of coffee and sipped it waiting for the start of the film.
　　The film started. Nothing happened till the climax scene. When Rebecca (a main character) was fighting against her enemy with a knife in her hand, I suddenly recognized what my enemy was. It was invisible and rapidly empowering. It began to torture me in the dark. I faced my enemy. I desperately fought against it. I was all sweating. The film would soon end. If I continue to see the film for another five minutes or so, my mission will be accomplished. I desperately fought against my foe. Rebacca was fighting against hers with all her might. The ending was just around the corner. Nobody notices my torment. The enemy was attacking me relentlessly.
　　I stood up. I said, “Excuse me” to my neighbors and rushed to the rest room.
　　I am sorry I was not able to accomplish my mission.

 

「火花」英訳 ENGLISH TRANSLATION "HANABI"

「火花」試訳
 

姉は、家にピアノやエレクトーンがある友達に遅れを取らないように必死だった。しかし、ある日、「頑張ってるお姉ちゃん、見に行こう」と、僕を保育所まで迎えにきた母に連れられ、姉の通うヤマハの教室を覗きに行くと、他の生徒達は演奏しているのに、姉だけエレクトーンの前の椅子に座った状態で、落ち着かなく周りをうかがい、エレクトーンの裏を手で触ったりしていた。なぜ弾かないのだろう？　母も不安そうに姉を見ていた。ようやく異変に気づいた先生が姉の側に寄って行くと、姉は「音が出ない」と言った。すると先生が当たり前のように、エレクトーンの電源を入れて、姉も途中から演奏に加わった。姉は緊張で身体が強張り、異常に両肩が上がっていて無様だった。いつもは優しくて頼りがいのある姉のこんな姿を見ていると、なぜか僕は胸が苦しくなり、眼から涙が溢れた。「なんで、あんたが泣いてるの？　お姉ちゃん頑張ってるで」と言った母の眼も赤かった。その夜、家に帰ってからも姉は無言で紙のピアノを懸命に弾き続けていた。僕は姉の隣に座り、全力で姉が演奏する曲を唄った。酒に酔った父が「やかましいんじゃ」と怒声を上げても僕達はやめなかった。
又吉直樹（２０１５）『火花』文藝春秋、pp. 21-22
  

 

 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION "HIBANA"

 

　　The following is a translation of a passage in “Hibana” written by Naoki Matakichi, an Akutagawa Award winner:

　　My sister was trying desperately to catch up to her friends who had a piano or an electronic organ at home.
　　“Let’s go and see your sister. She’s so desperate,” my mother said one day when she came to the nursery center to get me. She took me to the Yamaha Electone school to see how she was practicing the electone. When I saw her, she looked nervous sitting in front of the instrument. She was stealthily peeping at the neighboring girls and feeling for something on the back of the organ. Why wasn’t she playing the electone? My mother was also looking at her uneasily. Finally, noticing her unusual behavior, her teacher came to her.
　　“It’s not working,” my sister said to her.
　　The instructor switched on the electone as if nothing had happened, and she began to join the other girls. She was tense and stiff. Her shoulders were raised high. She looked awkward. Looking at her, my kind and dependable sister, I felt depressed and my eyes were, for some reason, filled with tears.
“Why are you crying? She is doing her best,” my mother said with tears in her eyes, too.
　　That night at home, my sister was practicing hard on a paper keyboard. I sat beside her and sang the song she was playing at the top my voice.
　　“Quiet!” my father shouted angrily in a drunken voice, but we did not stop.

 

 

マレーシャ舞踊 MALAYSIAN DANCE

 

昨日イオン熱田店でマレーシャ舞踊を見た。それはそれは美しい女性がとても品がよく踊った。プロの踊り手だと思われ、踊りの振りがぴったり合っていた。女性独特の指先をそろえ、親指を曲げた踊り方はタイやカンボジアの女性舞踊と同じだと思った。マレーシア舞踊に限らず、日本舞踊、韓国舞踊、中国舞踊などアジアの女性の舞踊はおしとやかで品がある。これに比べて、アメリカや西洋の踊りは舞台狭しと飛び跳ねたり走ったりする。バレーにせよカンカン踊りにせよ。長い太ももをあらわに見せる。
どうしてアジアと西洋の舞踊はこうも違うのか。

MALAYAN DANCE

　　I saw Ｍalayan dance at Atsuta Aeon Shopping Mall. Two attractive women clad in traditional Malayan clothes danced gracefully. They seemed to be professional dancers. Their movements were in unison. Their fingers stretched out and their thumbs were bent inward while they were dancing just like Thai or Cambodian women traditional dancers.
Not only Malayan dance but also Japanese, Chinese, or Korean dances and other Asian dances put stress on the elegant movement of arms and hands, while the Western dances place value on the movement of legs and feet. Ballerinas even run on the stage. Irish Dance dancers move their legs rapidly. French cancan dancers expose their legs.
Why are there so much difference between Asian and Western dances?

 

買ってはいけないお菓子 CAKES YOU SHOULDN’T BUY

買ってはいけないお菓子　

　最近の我が家の話題は毒入り食物だ。『買ってはいけないお菓子・買ってもいいお菓子』（渡辺雄二、大和書房）とか『食べてはいけない添加物・食べてもいい添加物』（同）によると、ほとんどの食品や菓子類に毒が入っているそうだ。
　そういえば近頃のジャガイモは何日放置しておいても芽が出ない、化学的に処置しているからだ。ざるそばも白っぽいのがある。なぜ白っぽくするのかわからないが、その方が上品に見えるとメーカーは考えているらしい。これは漂白剤が入っているのだ。遺伝子組み換え食品も有毒だそうだ。遺伝子組み換え食品とは何のことかわからなかったが、除草剤などを浴びても影響を受けないよう化学的処置をした野菜のことらしい。
　今日販売されている食品のほとんどに保存剤、着色剤、甘味料、香辛料、酸味料、酸化防止剤、増粘剤をはじめいろいろな添加物が入っている。それらが人体には毒だそうだ。厚生省の審査を通っているからと言って安心できない。
　もっとも、私自身は心室頻拍で薬を毎朝二種類服用しているが、薬の説明書を読むと猛毒と書いてある。副作用でかえって肺臓や甲状腺がやられるとか。今のところ症状は出ていないが、医者は「薬を飲まないのは論外です」と言う。飲みたくないけど飲まなくてはいけない。
　先日友達が言っていたが、その人の父親（８５歳）は毎朝５種類の薬を服用、昼はまた違う薬を４種類。夜は夜でまた薬づけ。体重がどんどん減っていって、３７キロになった。別の医者に診せたら「この薬は飲まなくていい、これも、これも」と言って最後は１種類になったそうな。それからしばらくして、体重は４６キロになったとか。
　恐ろしい世の中だ。

CAKES YOU SHOULDN’T BUY

A recent topic of conversation in my family (my wife and me) has been poisonous food. According to Kattewa ikenai okashi, Kattemoii okashi (Candies You Shouldn’t Buy; Candies You May Buy) written by Yuji Watanabe and published by Yamato Shobo, most of the candies and food sold in Japanese supermarkets contain poison.

I wondered a few months ago why potatoes did not sprout. They used to put out buds if they were left untouched for several days. Those buds were cut out before they were cooked for they were said to be poisonous. Recent potatoes are chemically treated so that they do not sprout. Some zaru-soba or buckwheat noodle today is not gray, but white gray. I don’t know why the color has changed, but probably the producers think white soba looks more elegant than gray soba. White gray soba, however, contains bleach, which is poisonous. Genetically modified vegetables are also poisonous. To tell you the truth, I did not know the meaning of “genetically modified,” but recently I have learned that they are chemically treated so that they are resistant to herbicide. That means they are heavily treated with chemical substances.

Almost all the food sold today in supermarkets contain chemical substances such as preserving agents, coloring agents, edulcorant, spice, acidulant, antioxidant, and thickening agents. They are poisonous. You can’t say you are safe as long as you eat the food that has gone through the screening by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

I myself take two tablets for abnormal cardiac rhythm every morning. The leaflet says the medicine is poisonous and could cause maladies of lungs and thyroid gland. I don’t want to take them, but the doctor strongly recommends me to do so.

The other day a friend of mine said that his father aged 85 had been taking several different kinds of medicine a day. He became feeble and his weight was reduced to 37 kilograms. So, he took his father to another doctor. Examining his father’s medicine, the new doctor eliminated all of them except one kind. Then his father became healthier and now weighs 46 kilograms.

We are poisoned by an overdose of chemicals.



言葉は命を救う WORDS SAVE LIFE

言葉は命を救う

　ＮＨＫテレビ番組「ファミリーヒストリー」を見た。今回は「花火」で芥川賞をとった又吉直樹のファミリーであった。
　直樹の祖父、宝善は１６歳の時ハワイに渡り、さとうきびプランテーションで１７年間働いた。１９４１年真珠湾攻撃の半年前、３３歳の宝善は沖縄に帰った。２年後結婚したが、１９４５年３月に召集され、沖縄の伊江島の防衛隊に配置された。
　アメリカ兵が沖縄に上陸したとき、宝善は仲間１５人と地下壕に潜んでいた。投降するか自決するかの瀬戸際の時、米兵が地下壕の前で話しているのが聞こえた。宝善は米兵が「投降せよ」と英語で言っているのが分かった。宝善は投降勧告を受け入れて自決せずに済んだ。
　英語が分からなければ仲間と自決していたかもしれない。言葉が命を救ったのだ。

　WORDS SAVE LIVES

　I watched a TV program “Family History,” which featured the family history of Naoki Matakichi, an Akutagawa Award winner for his Hanabi (Fireworks).
　　His grandfather named Hozen went over to Hawaii at the age of 16 and worked at a sugar cane plantation for 17 years. He returned to Japan at the age of 33, half a year before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. He married twice. He was drafted in March, 1945 and was deployed in Iejima, Okinawa.
　　When the US soldiers landed on the island, he was hiding in a dugout with his 15 comrades. When the soldiers approached the dugout, they argued seriously whether they should surrender or commit suicide. At the last moment, Hozen heard a soldier saying, “If you wave the white flag, we won’t kill you.” He understood his English. He and his comrades turned themselves in and thus they survived.
　　They may have committed suicide if he had not understood English. Words saved their lives.


 

新御園座 NEW MISONOZA THEATER

新御園座　

　今、名古屋で歌舞伎をみるなら御園座ではなく、愛知芸術劇場か日本特殊陶業市民会館に行かなければならない。御園座が２０１３年３月に壊されて、新御園座を建てているからだ。先日、市民会館で「河内山）」「藤娘」「芝翫奴」を見て来たが、全然歌舞伎の雰囲気がなかった。

まず、花道がいただけない。花道は座席を３列ぐらい取り外して作ってあった。まあ、臨時にしてはよくできた花道であったが、間に合わせは間に合わせでしかない（「すっぽん」はどうするんだろう）。
次に、回り舞台がない。例えば「河内山」。第２幕（屋敷の中）が終わって第３幕（玄関先）に変わるとき、御園座では第２幕の場面がそのまま舞台で回転して舞台の裏に隠れていくと、第３幕の場面が裏から表に回転してきて正面に出てくる。観客が見ている目の前で舞台が変わるのだ。しかし、市民会館はそうはいかない。第２幕が終わると、いったん緞帳が下りる。観客席は薄明かりがつき、緞帳の奥でカンカンカンと大道具を設置している金槌の音や大道具係の話し声が聞こえる。待つこと５分ぐらい。やっと、三味線や拍子木が鳴って緞帳があがる。回り舞台の醍醐味が味わえないのは残念なことだ（「どんでんがえし」はどうするのだろう）。
さらに、緞帳がいけない。市民会館の緞帳は大きな鶴をあしらった明るいデザインだが、何ともいただけない。やはり。歌舞伎特有の茶、緑、黒の縦縞模様の幕でないと歌舞伎を見ている気にならない。
早く御園座ができて、本格的な歌舞伎を名古屋でも見たいものだ。新御園座が完成するのは２０１８年春という。建築に５年もかかる。あの新歌舞伎座が４年で（２０１０年４月～２０１３年３月）できたというのに御園座は歌舞伎座より一年も長く時間がかかる。時間がかかりすぎではないか。　

NEW MISONOZA THEATER

 

 

　　If you want to see kabuki in Nagoya, you have to go to Aichi Art Theater or Nihon Tokushutogyo Civic Hall, because Misonoza, a theater for kabuki performance, closed in March, 2013 and the new Mizonoza is now under construction.
　　I went to the civic hall to see kabuki plays on July 24. They were Kochiyama, Fujimusume, and Shikan-yakko. To my regret, I did not enjoy them fully because the civic hall stage was not meant for performing kabuki.
　　First, hanamichi (a raised passage through the audience to the stage) was a makeshift. Usually an ordinary theater like the civic hall does not have hanamichi. So, they made a temporary hanamichi in order to show kabuki. They removed three rows of seats and replaced them with hanamichi. It was well made, but a fake is a fake. (There was no suppon or square hole in the fake hanamichi.)
　　Next, there was no mawari-butai (a revolving stage). Take Kochiyama for example. When the second act that takes place in a guest room ends, the turntable stage turns clockwise, disappearing to the back. Then, the third act stage, which is the front gate scene, appears from behind as the turntable stage revolves. Mawari-butai enables quick change of scenes.
　　However, since the civic hall did not have mawari-butai, the curtain dropped when the first act ended. Then, the audience seats became bright, and I heard the noise of hammers and talking of the stage carpenters from behind the curtain. They were working hard to change the stage scenes as soon as possble. After about a five-minute waiting, I heard the sound of the shamisen string and the striking of clappers, the signal sound of the opening of the next act. Then, the curtain was raised revealing the new scene. Waiting for the new scene for five minutes ruins the flow of the kabuki drama. (How do they perform dondengaeshi or changing stage scenes by turning them over backward to introduce another?)
Thirdly, the design of the curtain was not suitable for kabuki plays. The curtain had a design of a large silver-colored crane against light blue. It was beautiful, but it did not use the typical kabuki curtain design, which consists of vertical-striped colors of brown, green, and black. This three-colored curtain is the symbol of kabuki. You can’t do without it.
　　I am looking forward to the completion of the new Misonoza-theater. The construction finishes in the spring of 2018. It takes five long years. It took four years to build the new Kabuki-za theater (April, 2014 to March, 2013). The new Mizonoza will take one more year than the new Kabuki-za. It takes too long a time.


 

乗っ取り HIJACK

　　乗っ取り
 

　東京に女房と一泊旅行に行って来た。（一日目、柴又と浅草とスカイツリー、二日目、歌舞伎鑑賞）
歌舞伎やスカイツリーは期待通り良かったが、驚いたのは浅草である。何だ、あの混みようは。気違い沙汰だ。芋を洗うようとはこのことだ。ちょうどホウズキ市をやっていて、滅茶苦茶人が多い。本堂には人が満ち溢れ、群がり、とても近づけない。１０年か２０年前に一度来たことがあったが、こんなに混んでいなくて、ゆっくり参拝できたのに。
　ホウズキ売りの人に聞くと、最近は中国人がいっぱい来ているという。そういえば、２０人ぐらいの中国人の団体が、幾組も旗を持ったガイドに連れられ、境内に怒涛のごとく押し寄せ、我が物顔で闊歩し、中国語を飛び交わす。「日本人、そこのけ、そこのけシナ人通る」　なぜ浅草があんなに中国人に人気があるのか理解できない。ネットで情報を手に入れたのだろうか。ネット恐るべし。
　それにしても、あちこちで中国人をよく見かける。羽田空港だったか、瀑買いをした中国人が、手荷物を５つも６つも機内に持ち込もうとして、係員に注意され、荷物預かりに回すための手続きが煩雑になり、予定通り飛行機が離陸できない、とテレビで報道していた。 聞くところによると、京都も、高山も中国人であふれているそうだ。
　そのうちに、日本の観光地は、いや日本の国土そのものが中国人に乗っ取られかねない。


HIJACKHIJACK

　　I went on an overnight trip to Tokyo with my wife. We visited Shibamata, Asakusa, and the Tokyo Skytree on the first day, and saw Kabuki on the second.
　　Both the Skytree and Kabuki were amazing as I had expected, but what surprised and at the same time disappointed me was Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. Since that day fell on the hozuki plant market day, the temple was extraordinarily crowded. The visitors were jam-packed like sardines. I couldn’t walk smoothly. It was impossible to climb the stone steps that lead to the offering box in front of the main temple, because the steps were full of people. I had visited the temple some dozen years ago, but it was not so crowded. I took my time praying without being pushed from behind my back.
　　According to a man selling hozuki plants, the number of Chinese tourists has  recently increased tremendously. I saw several groups of Chinese walking in the temple grounds. Each group consisting of about 20 to 30 people was led by a tourist guide who held a blue flag in her hand. They seemed to be walking as if the grounds were their properties. They were speaking Chinese in a high-pitched voice, that sounded like “Hey, Japanese / Clear the way / For us Chinese.” I don’t know why Sensoji Temple is so popular among Chinese. They must have got the information about it on the Internet. A horrible net!
　　These days I see a lot of Chinese people in cities and tourist spots. The other day I watched a TV program, which dealt with a bunch of troublesome Chinese tourists in the Handeda Airport. They had bought a lot of Japanese goods and intended to carry them onto the airplane, which was against the rule. Because of the cumbersome procedure to get all their parcels onto the place, the departure had to be delayed.
　　One of my acquaintances told me that Kyoto and even Takayama were full of Chinese people. I am afraid that sooner or later Japanese sightseeing areas or the whole Japanese archipelagos will be occupied by Chinese.

お頭つき刺身 SASHIMI WITH THE HEAD

お頭つき刺身

 

先日、次男の家族（嫁と孫二人）と星崎にある「ざうお」という魚料理屋に行きました。大きな建物の中に二艘の木造船(長さ20メートル、幅８メートルほど)が作られており、その船と船の間に幅3メートルぐらいの水流が流れており、水流には沢山の鯉や鰤が泳いでいました。お客は船から水流に向かって釣り竿にエサ（小エビ）をつけて投げ込むと、鯉がぱくつき、すぐ鯉が釣れます。釣り上げると空中で飛び跳ね、釣針から落ちて水流に戻ってしまいます。そうならないように、釣ったらすぐ、備付けのタモですくうのです。釣った鯉は店の人がすぐ刺身にしてテーブルに持ってきます。
私は大きな皿にお頭付きで出てきた刺身を見て残酷に思いました。胴体の部分は全部刺身になっているのですが、お頭から尾ひれまでの骨全体がぴくぴく動いているのです。魚は何にも言わないけれど、何という残酷なことをするのだと思いました。日本ではお頭つきの魚料理は高級料理なのですが、これはいただけません。お頭や尾ひれをテーブルに持ってこないで、刺身だけを持ってきてほしいものです。女房はうまいうまいと言って食べていましたが、私はそうでもありませんでした。大体が、私は岐阜県の出身で、子供のころから刺身など食べたことがありません。ところが女房は三重県出身で、子供のころから新鮮な刺身を食べていました。
アメリカ映画を見ると、豚の丸焼きなどがテーブルにでーんと出ている風景がありますが、アメリカ人は豚の頭が目の前にあるのに、何とも思わないで、肉を大きな包丁で切って、うまいうまいと言って食べるのです。これも残酷ではありませんか。せめて、スーパーで売っているような、豚や牛の原形をとどめていない形（パックとか）で出してほしいものです。
鯉の刺身を食べてから、しばらくは刺身を食べるのは御免こうむりたいと思います。

SASHIMI WITH THE HEAD

 

I went to a fish restaurant, Zauo in Hoshizaki, Minami Ward with my son’s family (his wife and two sons). The building was as large as an aircraft hangar in which two wooden boats were built side by side. Each boat was about 20 meters long and 8 meters wide. Between the two boats there was an artificial water stream about three meters wide. There was a lot of fish (mostly red sea bream and yellow tail) in the water.
　　My grandson dropped a fishing line with shrimp on the hook. Soon a sea bream swallowed the bait and the next moment he raised the line, but it jumped up and down in the air and dropped in the water. The next time he tried, his father used a landing net and they successfully caught a sea bream.
　　The fish was immediately made into sashimi. It was served on a large dish together with its head, bone, and tail. They were still twitching. The fish did not say anything but its glittering eyes were looking at me. I felt sick. In Japan, a fish dish with the head is considered to be a high-class dish, but I don’t feel like tasting it. It is too cruel. My wife ate the raw fish saying, “Delicious!” She is from Mie Prefecture, which borders the sea. On the other hand, I was born in Gifu Prefecture, which is an inland prefecture. I rarely had a chance to eat raw fish in my childhood.
　　When I see Western movies, I sometimes see a giant roast pig served on a table at parties. The people dressed elegantly slice the pig body and eat it in front of the its head. Don’t they feel sick eating the pig, being looked at by the weeping pig eyes? How cruel this is again! I prefer raw fish and pig/cow meat packed in a plate like they are sold in a supermarket. They do not at least remind me of the figures of fish/pigs/cows.
　　After I ate the sea bream, I don’t feel like eating raw fish again within a week or two.




 

今を楽しまなきゃ ENJOY WHILE YOU CAN

 

楽しめるうちに楽しまなきゃ

先日私の友人が人生最大の苦難に見舞われていることを知った。二人目のお孫さんが１６時間に及ぶ手術をしたのだ。お孫さんは生まれてから４か月間ずっと入院しており、何度も危篤状態になった。幸い最近退院できたが、近いうちにまた手術をしなければならないそうだ。
私は友人に同情する。彼女は病気のお孫さんと嫁の世話をしている他に、一番目のお孫さんの世話もしなければならないのだ。
考えてみれば、私の五人の孫は全員健康で私はラッキーだ。でも、私もつらい目にはあっている。２０年ほど前、私は父と義理の母と妹の三人の見舞いを同時にしなければならなかった。三人とも入院していたからだ。それも名古屋でなくて大垣で。おかげで円形脱毛症になってしまった。
「人生何が起こるかわかりませんね」と友人が言った。その通り。一寸先も予測できないから恐ろしい。
楽しめるうちに楽しまなきゃと思う。

ENJOY WHILE YOU CAN

 

　　The other day I learned that a friend of mine was going through one of the most difficult times in her life. Her second grandchild has recently undergone a 16-hour cardiac surgery. She has been in the hospital for four months since she was born, and has fallen critically ill several times. Luckily, she has recently left the hospital, but has to undergo another surgery sometime in the near future.

　　I sympathize with my friend. Besides taking care of her grandchild and daughter-in-law, she has to look after her first grandchild.

　　Given her situation, I think I am lucky, because my five grandchildren are all healthy. Actually speaking, I also had hard time about 20 years ago when I had to look after my father, sister, and mother-in-law, simultaneously, because they were all hospitalized, not in Nagoya but in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture. Because of the stress, I suffered from alopecia areata.

“You can’t tell what will happen in your life,” my friend said. True, life is full of risks; I can’t predict anything at all, even an incident that will take place only a minute later.

　　I should enjoy my life while I can.

ジャヤワルデネ前大統領の演説 R. Jayawardena's Speech

ジャヤワルダナの演説

 

 　先日テレビを見ていて、戦後日本が分割されそうになっていたということを知った。分割案は①北海道と東北地方　②中部地方　③中国地方と九州　④四国で、それぞれ①ソ連、②米国、③イギリス、④中国が統治するというものであった。この案はソ連が１９５１年９月、サンフランシスコで開催された対日平和条約締結会議で提案されたものであったが、この提案に対して、セイロン（現スリランカ）政府代表団団長で初代スリランカ大統領のJ.R. ジャヤワルダナ氏は反論した。彼は日本の自由を擁護し、日本経済に打撃を与える損害賠償を求めないと演説した。
　歴史が証明しているように、ドイツ、ベトナム、韓国朝鮮のように国家を分断された国民は言うに言われぬ苦難を経験している。日本が分断されるなどということは考えるだけでもぞっとする。もしこの案が実施されていたなら、日本はどうなっていただろう。北日本の人達は南日本の人達と戦っているかもしれないのだ。ジャヤワルダナ氏に感謝しても感謝しすぎることはない。
　私は７２年間生きてきているのに、この事を知る機会がなく、不明を恥じている。おそらく同氏のことを知っている日本人はごく少数ではないのか。日本の子供たちは学校で同氏のことを習うのだろうか。もし習っていないのなら、残念なことだ。

　以下はジャヤワルダナ氏の演説の抜粋。

「幸い、我国セイロンは侵略されませんでしたが、空襲による損害、東南アジア司令部軍駐屯による損害、また我国が連合国に供出する自然ゴムの唯一の生産国であるため、我国の主要産物であるゴムの樹液が枯渇的に採取されたことによる損害を考慮すれば、我国は損害賠償を要求する充分な資格を持っています。しかし、我国はそうしようとは思いません。なぜなら我々は大師（仏陀）の言葉を信じていますから。大師は『憎悪は憎悪によって止むことはなく、慈愛によって止む』と言っています。この言葉のおかげで、数え切れないほどのアジア人は気高い生涯を送れるようになったのです。（略）この条約は敗戦敵国に寛大なものであります。我国は日本に友情と信頼の手を差し伸べます。（略）日本国民と我が国民は平和と繁栄の中で人間の尊厳を享受しつつ共に前進するものであります。」（松岡訳）

 

Jayawardena's Speech

　　The other day I learned from a television program that Japan might have been divided into four parts after WWII: Hokkaido and northern Japan, central Japan, western Japan and Kyushu, and Shikoku, each part governed by USSR, USA, Britain, and China respectively. The division plan was proposed by the Soviet Union at the conference for the conclusion and signature of the treaty of peace with Japan held in San Francisco, USA in 1951. However, J.R. Jayewardene, leader of the delegation of the government of Ceylon (Sri Lank), who later became the president of the country, opposed the plan in his speech. He spoke in defense for a free Japan and informed the conference of Ceylon’s refusal to accept the payment of reparations that would harm Japan’s economy.
　　As history proves, the misery the citizens have and had to face when their countries were divided. Germany, Vietnam, and Korea are such examples. I tremble to imagine what would have become of Japan if the plan had been carried out. The people in the northern part of Japan might be fighting with those in the southern part. Japanese people cannot thank Jayewardene enough.
　　I haven't had chance to learn about the incident in my 72 years of life. I am ashamed of my ignorance. I am afraid how many Japanese people know about him. Do Japanese children learn about him at school? If not, it’s a pity.

　　The following is the excerpts from his speech:

　　“We in Ceylon were fortunate that we were not invaded, but the damage caused by air raids, by the stationing of enormous armies under the South-East Asia Command, and by the slaughter-tapping of one of our main commodities, rubber, when we were the only producer of natural rubber for the Allies, entitles us to ask that the damage so caused should be repaired. We do not intend to do so for we believe in the words of the Great Teacher [Buddha] whose message has ennobled the lives of countless millions in Asia that ‘hatred ceases not by hatred but by love’. . . . This treaty is as magnanimous as it is just to a defeated foe. We extend to Japan the hand of friendship and trust . . . her people and ours may march together to enjoy the full dignity of human life in peace and prosperity.”
 

「「MAT 短編集１」 MAT SHORT STORIES 1

「MAT 短編集１」出版

　アマゾン・キンドル電子ブック出版からこのたび「MAT短編集１」を出版しました。日本語版と英語版の両方です。短編が３編入っています。タイトルは「経文禍」「人面おでき」「シャッターは６時に閉まる」です。内容の紹介文を書きましたので、よろしかったら読んでください。「MAT短編集１」をグーグルで検索するか、以下のサイトにアクセスしてください。

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00XAFJBGG?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

「経文禍」

　７７９年、留学僧道勤は遣唐使として唐に渡り、玄奘が天竺から持ち帰った密教経典を、不空和尚の指導の下、読経しながら木簡約五千本に書き写し、奥義を修得しようとした。三年後、遣唐使船にて博多に向かうのだが、嵐のため日本海を北へ北へと流され、出雲の国に漂着する。出雲の高円寺に暫く逗留して身体が回復すると、出雲街道を歩き姫路を目指した。ところが山道で猛吹雪に見舞われ身体が氷のように冷たくなった。

「人面おでき」

　伸太が夜中に目を覚ますと腕に大きなおできができていた。よく見ると、目や鼻のような窪みがあり、人間の顔をしている。その晩、ビールを飲んでいると、おできが「俺にも飲ませろ」と口をきいた。伸太はびっくり仰天。人面おできはビールをたらふく飲んで寝てしまった。
翌朝、皮膚科で診てもらったが、医者は「こんなおできは初めてで治せません」と言った。

「シャッターは六時に閉まる」

　フランク・ハワードは国際貨物航空会社、ユナイテッド・パーセル・サービスのトラック運転手である。その日の積荷は百二十箱の抗マラリア薬品であった。ローリー・ダーラム国際空港の貨物搬入口のシャッターは午後六時きっかりに閉まるから、間に合うように運搬しなくてはならない。
途中、大雨になり、フランクの前を走っていたバンがスリップして、堤防をずるずると滑り落ち、川に突っ込んで、沈みそうになった。

　MAT SHORT STORIES 1

　　I have published an e-book (both in Japanese and in English), MAT Short Stories 1 through Kindle Direct Publishing. The book contains three short stories: Shackled Sutras, The Shutter Closes at Six, and A Human-faced Boil Will Grow on You. Here are the introductory passages for them. If you are interested in reading them, please google “MAT Short Stories 1” or go to:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X2IFLGA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

 

Shackled by Sutras

　　In 779, a Japanese priest, Dogon went over to Changan, the capital of the Tang dynasty in China to study Buddhism. Dogon worked hard to attain the esoteric points by reciting the sutras repeatedly and copying them on wood strips character by character. The number of the strips amounted to more than 5,000. Three years later, after finishing the study, he got on board the ship to Japan. However, it was caught in a storm and drifted down to Izumo, a northen part of Japan. Luckily fishermen found him lying on the shore and brought him to a temple. About ten days later, he recovered and started to walk to Kyoto, the capital of Japan, but on his way he was again caught in a snowstorm and was almost frozen to death.

The Shutter Closes at Six
 

Frank Howard is a truck driver for the United Parcel Service. That day he was driving a truck loaded with 120 boxes of antimalarial drugs to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Because the shutter of the cargo building of the airport closes at six, he had to be in time. While he was driving, it rained hard. A van ahead of him suddenly slipped from the highway into a river and began to sink.

A Human-faced Boil Will Grow on You　

　　When Nobita, a young Japanese man, woke in the morning, he discovered a boil as large as a golf ball on his arm. It looked like a human face. That night when he was drinking, it spoke. It said, “Nobita, let me drink sake, too.” The next morning, he went to the dermatologist to get rid of the boil, but the doctor said, “I am sorry I don’t know how to treat it.”

目からうろこ AWAKENING

目からうろこ

　先日、若い知人二人と話をしていた時、私は愚痴をこぼした。「年取ると、残された時間が限られてきてね。それに引き換え、君たちはいいねえ、いっぱい時間があって、やりたいことはいくらでもできる。本読んだり、旅行に行ったり、新しいことに挑戦したり」
　ところが、若者の言葉を聞いて目からうろこが落ちた。「そんなことないすよ、朝から晩まで働かされて、仕事を終わって家に帰ると、疲れて読書どころじゃないす。やりたいことなんて、なかなかできるもんじゃないす。それに比べて、松岡さんはいいですよ。自由人で、一日２４時間どう使ってもいいんだし、うらやましいのはこっちです」
　若いからと言って、前途に時間が有り余っているわけではないのだ。若者の時間だって枠がはめられているのだ。その通りだ。年を取って余生の時間がないなんて、こんな愚痴はよさなければ……。やりたいことが自由にできるんだから。

AWAKENING

 

The other day, I complained to two young acquaintances of mine that my time to live was limited while they had abundance of time to live; they could do as many things as they wanted, reading, traveling, or learning new things.
　　However, I found I was wrong. They refuted that they had to work from morning till night; that they were too exhausted after the day’s work to read a book or do what they wanted to do. One of them said, “I am envious of you. You have no work to do. All 24 hours a day is at your disposal. You can spend your time freely.”
　　Because they are young, they look as if they had plenty of time ahead, but their free time is actually limited. They are right. I shouldn’t complain about my old age. I can do anything I want to do.

懐かしきバグパイプ BAGPIPE MUSIC

懐かしきバグパイプ

今日、女房と宗次ホールへバグパイプコンサートを聞きに行った。バグパイパーは五社義明さん。彼の父親は日本におけるバグパイプの先駆者であり、五味さんは11歳の時にバグパイプを練習し始めた。

演奏曲目は「アメージング・グレース」「スモールパイプの歌」「蛍の光」などのスコットランド民謡であった。五社さんは演奏の合間にスコットランドのグラスゴーで開かれる世界バグパイプ選手権大会のことについて語った。

五味さんの話を聞いて1984年の夏、20日間にわたりグラスゴーの近くのスターリング大学で英語教授法を受講したことを思い出した（当時41歳）。一日の授業が終わり、夕方になるとほとんど毎日バグパイプの音があちこちから聞こえてきた。後から分かったのだが、バグパイプ大会の練習をしていたのだ。

週末にグラスゴーに行き、大会を見る（聞く）ことができた。何十というバンドが選手権を競っていた。各バンドは約30人で構成され、各メンバーはタータンチェックのスカートをはき、バグパイプを抱えていた。バンドが次から次へとあらわれて、パイプを演奏しながら競技場広場を行進していった。大会は一時間半ほど続いた。大学の寄宿舎に帰った後でもバグパイプの音が耳に響いていた。

30年もたった今でも、あの懐かしきバグパイプの音が聞こえる。

（写真は、広場でパイプを演奏するバンド。バグパイパーの帽子をかぶった私。スコットランド青年の民族舞踊） 

 

 

GOOD OLD BAGPIPE MUSIC

　　I went to a bagpipe concert with my wife to Munetsugu Hall today. The bagpiper was Yoshiaki Gosha, who began to practice playing the instrument under his father, a Japanese pioneering bagpiper, when he was eleven years old.

　　He performed such Scotland songs like: Amazing Grace, Scotland the Brave, Song for Small Pipes, and Auld Lang Syne. During his performance, he talked about the World Pipe Band Championships held in the summer in Glasgow, Scotland

 　　 His words reminded me of the 20 days I spent in the University of Stirling near Glasgow in the summer of 1984 (I was 41 years old). I studied English Language Teaching methodology there. After the day’s lesson, I would often hear bagpipe music almost every evening. Later I learned that some contestants were practicing bagpipe for the contest.

　　On the weekend I visited Glasgow to see (hear) the bagpipe contest. Dozens of groups competed with each other. Each group consisted of about 30 people in tartan skirts with bagpipes in their arms. Each marched playing the bagpipe one after another in the field. The contest lasted about an hour. Long after I returned to the university dormitory, the bagpipe sound resonated in my ears. 
 
　　Today even after 30 years later, I still hear the good old bagpipe music.

   (The first two pictures show bagpipers in the field. The third one shows me with a bagpiper’s cap on my head. The fourth shows Scottish young boys and girls dancing.)