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.