イチローの言葉 Ichiro's Words

イチローの言葉

 

12月２３日、愛知県豊川市において米大リーグ、マリナーズのイチロー選手が23日、故郷の愛知県豊山町で行われた「イチロー杯争奪学童軟式野球大会」の閉会式で次のように挨拶した。

「自分ができると思うことは必ずできるとは限らない。しかし、自分が出来ないと思ってしまったら、絶対できないということを覚えておいてほしい」

　この言葉を聞いて、１０年前（2008年１２月３０日）この「MATの目」で紹介した次のような詩を思い出した。以下に引用する。

Ichiro's Words

Seattle Mariners Major leaguer Ichiro Suzuki gave the following speech at the closing ceremony for the Ichiro Cup Children’s Softball Baseball Game Championship held in Toyoyama-choTown, Aichi Prefecture on December 23.
　　“You cannot necessarily accomplish what you think you can, but remember, you can never accomplish what you think you cannot.”
　　His words remind me of the poetry that I introduced ten years ago (December 30, 2008) here in the “MAT’S EYE.”
　　I quote it here:

 

IT’S ALL IN A STATE OF MIND

（Author Unknown）

If you think you are beaten, your are

If you think you dare not, you don't,

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It's almost a cinch you won't

If you think you'll lose, you're lost

For out in the world you find

Success begins with a fellow's will

It's all in a state of mind

For many a race is lost

Ere even a race is run,

And many a coward fails

Ere even his work is begun

Think big and your deeds will grow

Think small and you'll fall behind

Think that you can and you will

It's all in a state of mind

If you think you are outclassed, your are

You've got to think high to rise

You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize

Life’s battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the fellow who thinks he can

全てやる気しだい

（読み人知らず）

負けるかな思えば、君の負けだ
「よし、やろう」と決心しなきゃ、やるわけがない
勝ちたいんだが、勝てないなと思ったら、
勝ちっこないのは明々白々

負けるかなと思えば、もう負けてるんだ
成功へ道は
やる気が第一歩だ
全てやる気しだいだ

ヨーイ、ドン！が鳴る前から
もう負けてしまっている人がいる
事が始まる前から
もう負けてしまっている弱虫がいる

大きく考えよ。そうすれば、大きなことができる
小さく考えよ。そうすれば、落ちこぼれになる
「できる」と思え、そうすれば、やる気がでてくる
全てやる気しだい

抜かれているかなと思えば、もう抜かれてるんだ
世に立つために、望みを高く持て
目指すものを獲得する前に
自分自身に自信を持て

強い者や、速い者が
人生で勝つわけじゃない
なんてったって、勝つ人は
「勝てる」と思う人だ
(翻訳　松岡)

面白い影 A Unique Shadow Design

面白い影　A Unique Shadow Design

 

奇妙な形をした影ですが、何でしょうか。よく見ると左端上部に自転車が見えます。そうです、駐輪場に並んでいる自転車が朝日を浴びで影を投げかけているのです。それにしても、なかなか味のあるユニークな光景です。

A Unique Shadow Design
What do you think these shadows are? Look at the upper left corner of the picture and you will see a part of a bicycle. You are right. They are the shadows of bicycles parked at a parking lot. The morning sun is making an interesting shadow design, isn't it?
 

大工の心遣い Nature-friendly Carpenter

大工の心遣い　

大工さんの気配りが素晴らしい。木を切り倒すこともできたのに、階段の板に穴をあけて木を邪魔しないように階段を作った。奥入瀬渓流からレストランに登る階段。

 

Carpenter’s Nature-friendly Heart

I saw this tree surrounded by the steps that lead to a restaurant near the Oirase River in Aomori Prefecture. I was impressed at the warm-hearted carpenters who built the steps. They did not cut down the tree, but preserved it by cutting a hole in two pieces of wooden board. The tree, whose name is probably shirakaba, will grow as freely as before.

 

青森県へ旅する A Trip to Aomori Prefecture

青森県に旅する

１１月１１日から１７日まで、女房と青森県に旅行に行ってきた。名古屋とは温度が１０度低くて寒かった。主な観光地は：

I traveled to Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost part of Honshu archipelago with my wife from November 11 to 17. It was very cold. The temperature in Aomori was about 10 degrees lower than that in Nagoya. The main turinst spots we visited were:

①深浦の大銀杏 The Giant Gingko Tree in Fukaura

高さが３１メートル、幹の周りが２２メートル。日本一の銀杏の木だそうだ。木の下に入ると、まるで銀杏の森の中に入ったようだった。
 The tree was 31 meters high and 22 meters round. It is the biggest gingko tree in Japan. If you stand under the tree, you will feel you are in a huge gingko forest.

②太宰斜陽記念館  Dazai Shayo Memorial Hall.

斜陽館の土間

Osamu Dazai's home. He was a novelist (1909-1948).

太宰治の実家を見てきた。今までに見たこともないような大邸宅であった。部屋がたくさんあり、中には部屋中の襖が金箔であるとか、母親の部屋は、まるでベルサイユ宮殿の部屋の様であった。一番驚いたのは仏壇だ。仏壇の間口は２間もあった。そこら辺のお寺の仏壇と変わらない。

「人間失格」の原稿があったが、余り推敲はしてなかった。

 I went to Dazai's father's house. It was larger and more gorgeous than any other Japanese house I had ever seen. There were a lot of rooms. Some of them were stunning. The walls of one room were all gilt. Dazai's mother's room looked like a room in the Palace of Versailles. The most surprizing was the Buddhist alter. It was 3.6 meters wide. Usually average large Buddhist alter is 1.8 meters wide.
I saw the manuscript of "Ningen Shikkaku," which had few corrections by Dazai.


③立佞武多

高さ２３メートルの巨大な張子の山車が三基、立佞武多館に保管されていた。エレベーターで４階まで登り、そこかららせん状に坂を下りつつ、立佞武多を見ながら下りてくる。内側からの照明が、ねぶたを際立たせていた。これが８月初旬に街に繰り出すのだ。圧倒された。

Tachi-nebuta

The 31-meter-high giant floats made with water-proof paper and iron wires were kept in Tachi-nebuta Storage Hall. I went up to the 4^th floor in the elevator and walked down the spiral slope looking at the floats from all sides.

They come out of the hall and go along the streets pulled by festival people to show off the spectacular bodies. The lights inside the floats make the artistic spectacles brilliant. I was overwhelmed by them.

④十和田湖と奥入瀬川
１０年ぐらい前に来ているから、二回目であった。期待していた奥入瀬川は、周りの樹木が枯れており、文字通り『枯れ木も山のにぎわい』であった。紅葉か新緑の頃に来た方がいい。

Lake Towada and Oirase River
I visited the lake about 10 years ago. So, this is the second time to visit it and walk along the river. I had expected the beautiful secery alongside the river, but alas in vain. All the trees around the river shed leaves and I saw only dry dead trees. "Dead trees are better than no trees," says the proverb. That was true, I thought.
But, you should come here in May or in October when the tree are beautiful.
 

辻彩奈コンサート Violinist Ayana Tsuji

辻彩奈コンサート

 

コンサートを終えて（２０１８・５撮影）

　先日（１１月１２日）、宗次ホールで開かれた辻彩奈バイオリンコンサートに行ってきた。彼女は大垣出身のバイオリニストで１９９７年生まれ。２０１６年、１８歳の時、モントリオール国際音楽コンクールで第一位。同時に五つの特別賞を受賞。また２０１８年、出光音楽賞を受賞している。
　彼女の演奏は１００面相の演奏だ。曲のムードにあった表情になる。激しい旋律の時には厳しい顔になり、ゆるやかなメロディーの時は夢を見ているような表情になる。バイオリンを弾くときは身体全体を使って弾く。特に超絶技巧の曲はバイオリンを弾きながら、背をそらしたり、腰をかがめたり、身体をねじったりという具合だ。
　今回で４回目だが、何回聞いても素晴らしい。人間業とは思えない。自由に、無茶苦茶、弾いているようだが、一音たりとも変な音を出さない。
是非、また聴きに行きたい。

Violinist Ayana Tsuji

 

  I went to Munetsugu Hall to listen to Ayana Tsuji’s violin concert with my wife on November 12. She was born in Gifu in 1997 and grew up in Ogaki (my home city). At the Montreal International Musical Competition 2016, she captured all of the “best performance” awards in addition to her first place finish at the age of 18.

  Her facial expression changes as she plays the violin, sometimes peaceful and calm, other times emotional and intense. She does not play the instrument with her arm only but with her whole body. She leans back high, crouches her back, turns her body right and left as she plays it, especially when she plays highly emotional parts of the music.

   I have listened to her violin four times. Her technique is miraculous. She seems to be playing the violin recklessly and violently, but not a single tone is out of harmony.

   I want to listen to her violin again.

映画「華氏１１９」 "Fahrenheit 119"

映画「華氏１１９」 マイケル・ムーア監督・脚本

印象に残ったところ

１．オバマ元大統領が食わせ物でということ。彼は鉛が溶けた水道を飲んでいる（飲まされている）フリント市に行って、コップの水を飲んで見せたが、実際は飲んでいなかった。単なるジェスチャーであった。ある住民曰く「空港に降り立った時は、我らがオバマと思っていたが、実はそうではなかった」

２　ＣＢＳなどのメディアが、トランプが大統領選に出馬したことを金儲けのために大々的に取り上げて、テレビで大量に流した。トランプ大統領が誕生したのはメディアのせいだ。嘘から出た誠とはこのことだ

３．ヒトラーとトランプと、やっていることは同じである。両者ともに国民を扇動する策士である。ヒトラーが演説する無声画像を流し、トランプの演説音声をアフレコさせた手法は素晴らしい。

4　ムーア氏が、フリント市の水を給水車に入れ、知事の家の入口からホースで放水した場面。彼は実行の男だ

Impressive Scenes of Fahrenheit 11.9

1. The movie revealed that the former U.S. President Barack Obama was an insincere person. He went to Flint City, where the drinking water was contaminated with lead. During his speech to them, he asked for a glass of water because he said his throat was dry. When the glass of water was brought to him, he put his lips to the glass and pretended to be drinking the water, but actually he did not drink it. The Moor’s film clearly showed how he avoided drinking it. One of the residents said, “When Obama arrived at our city, I thought he was our Obama, but he is not.”

 
2. The media such as CBS enthusiastically broadcast Trump’s running for the presidency because any news about him raised the viewer rating. The movie blamed the media for the irresponsible broadcasting. An unthinkable thing has become the fact.

3. Moor points out that what Hitler did and what Trump does are basically the same. Both of them are powerful agitators. It was surprisingly interesting to see Hitler making a propaganda speech which was dubbed with Trump’s voice.

4. Moor drove a water tank truck filled with the contaminated water to the Flint City mayor’s house and discharged the water over his garden. He is a man of action.

 

シャッターチャンス Photo Opportunity

シャッターチャンス

 

　昨日、山崎川にかかっている新瑞小橋の上から川を見ると、小魚が一杯泳いでいた。５00匹もいたろうか。群のあちこちで、きらきらひかっていた。小魚が横向きに泳ぐとき白い腹に日の光が当たり、反射しているのだ。写真を撮ろうとしてスマホを取り出して、小魚の群の動きを見ていると、どこからともなく鴨が三羽ほど飛んできて、群の上をかすめて、着水した。着水と同時に群は鴨からパッと遠ざかった。私がシャッターを押したのは、鴨が着水したときと同時であったらしい。取った写真を見ると、なんと鴨のくちばしが、小魚を捉えた瞬間であった。こんな写真はめったにとれるものではない。

Photo Opportunity

 

When I was crossing Aratama-kobashi Bridge over the Yamazaki River, I saw a lot of small fish swimming under the bridge. There were about ５00 of them. They looked like a school of sardines. Some of them glittered reflecting the sunshine. Then, hardly had a few ducks come flying from nowhere and splashed down on the river when the fish dispersed. At that instant, I pushed the smartphone camera shatter.
　　The photograph caught the very moment when one of the ducks caught a small fish with its beak. I did not intend to take such a rare-chance photograph, but the picture showed the very moment.

桔梗屋さん、ありがとう Kikyoya-san, Thanks a Lot

桔梗屋さん、ありがとう

 

　１０月１７日、女房と多度大社に行った。養老線多度で下車して、駅員に多度までの道と、歩いてかかる時間を聞くと、道順を教えてくれて、「まあ、１５分ぐらいです」と言った。１５分なら歩けないことはない。

川沿いに歩いて行くと４０人ぐらいの幼稚園児に会った。孫のように可愛いかった。
　道は緩やかな上り坂で、天気はかんかん照りで、歩くのがえらかったが、とにかく歩いた。２０分ぐらい歩いたが、神社の気配がない。疲れ切って、「桔梗屋」という和菓子店の女の人に女房が訊いた。
「神社まであとどれぐらいですか」
「ここは駅と神社の真ん中ですよ。あと今まで歩いた分歩かなきゃなりませんね」
「ええっ！　駅員が１５分ぐらいと言ったのに」
「駅員はいつもそう言うんですよ。神社まで歩く人が迷惑している」
「もう歩けません。この辺に休むところはないですか。喫茶店とか」
「ないですが……。じゃ、車で送ってあげますよ」
　ということで、店の奥さんらしき人が、車で神社まで送ってくれた。店から数分であった。天の助けとはこのことだ。へとへとで、もう一歩も歩けなかった。多度の神様のおかげかもしれない。
　ありがとうございました。桔梗屋さん

Kikyoya-san in Tado, Thanks a Lot

　　I went to Tado Shrine with my wife on October 17. We got off the train on the Yoro Line at Tado Station. As we did not know how to go to the shrine, I asked one of the station employees. He kindly told me the way.
　　“How long does it take to walk there?” I said.
　　“Oh, about 15 minutes,” he said.
　　A 15 minute walk is not a long walk, so we decide to walk to the shrine although a tax was standing in front of the station.
It was a sunny bright day. As we walked along a river, we met a group of kindergarten children—about 40 of them. They were very cute.
　　Because the road to the shrine was a gradual ascending slope, it was hard to walk, but we walked and walked. Even though we walked for about 20 minutes, we did not see any bit of a shrine. We were so tired that we stopped in front of a Japanese-style confection store named Kikyo-ya. My wife asked a middled age woman in the shop:
　　“How long does it take to Tado Shrine?”
　　“This is only a halfway point between the station and the shrine. 　　　
　　You have to walk the same distance you have covered so far,” she said.
　　“A halfway! What shall I do? I can’t walk. The station man said it would take only 15 minutes,” my wife said.
　　“He always says so. Many tourists have suffered from his fake information,” she said.
　　“Are there any place to rest? A coffee shop or something like that?” my wife said totally exhausted.
　　“OK, I will give you a ride,” the woman said.
　　And luckily, she gave us a lift to the shrine. It took only a few minutes.
　　Tado Shrine God must have bestowed us a blessing.
　　Kikyo-ya san, thank you very much.

法事でいとこ集合

法事でいとこ集合

昨日、叔母の三回忌が催され、母方の従兄弟が６人集まった。最高年齢は８１歳。最少年齢は５５歳。
私の祖母は６人の子供がいた。四人の姉妹と二人の兄弟だ。三回忌は三人目の娘で９３歳まで生きた。
６人の子供のそれそれに子供がいて合計１６人であった。祖母から見れば孫が１６人ということだ。夏休みになると岐阜県海津郡南濃町にある祖母の家に遊びに行った。家は養老山脈の麓にある。遊びに行っている期間が１週間以上あり、従兄弟たちは一緒に遊んだ。それが、今日の法事の従兄弟会となった。
出る話は、祖母の家で遊んだこと、山で松茸狩りをしたこと。川に泳ぎに行ったこと。祖母が孫の世話をし、柿やミカンを届けてくれたことなどだ。最近では、実家の栗林に鹿が出るとか。鹿の他にアライグマ、雉、猿、猪が出るそうだ。山から下りて来て、農家の旨いものを物色するそうだ。
２時間ほど話の花を咲かせてお開きとなった。
叔母さん、従兄弟たちは元気にやってます。安らかにお眠りください。

Cousins’ Gathering

Yesterday, six members of my cousins gathered at the 3^rd Buddhist Ceremony for my late Aunt M. The oldest cousin was 81 years old and the youngest 55.

My grandmother had six children (four daughters and two sons). Aunt M was the third daughter. She lived to be 93 years old.

My late grandmother had 16 grandchildren. They used to visit her house in Nanno-cho, Kaizu-gun, Gifu Prefecture during the summer vacation. It stands at the foot of the Yoro Mountain Range. While they stayed there for a week or so, they played together, walked in the mountain together, and swam in the river together. Six of them (Each was the representative of her six children) got together yesterday.

We enjoyed talking for two hours about the days we spent at her house. We talked about matsutake mushroom collecting, swimming, and how she carried persimmons and tangerines to her children’s houses. According to her grandson, deer appear in the chestnut field. Besides deer, monkeys, raccoons, pheasants, and boars appear, too. They come down the mountains looking for food. They seem to be accustomed to eating delicious food human being eat.

Aunt M, the cousins are doing well. Please rest in peace.

 

恐竜コーシエン、絶滅の危機 Unfair Kosihien Baseball Tournament

 

 

恐竜コーシエン、絶滅の危機

 甲子園高校野球は県を代表しているか

 

Out-of-prefecture Scouting Should be Limited

for High School Baseball Teams

　　What if I told you Koshien High School Baseball Tournament would face extinction like dinosaurs within ten years? We all know that dinosaurs are dead. Likewise, Koshien Dinosaur is on the verge of extinction. The dinosaur fans are no more enthusiastic but losing interest in the hulking fake animal.
　　Koshien Baseball Tournament is no more battle between prefectures, but the battle of wallet. Out-of-prefecture scouting is undermining the fair play spirit. The players no more represent the prefectures they claim.
　　First, fat-wallet schools, especially private high schools, spend plenty of money to scout talented baseball players from other prefectures, make spacious baseball playgrounds, build gorgeous baseball training camps, and afford to employ famed coaches. On the other hand, public high schools whose budgets for baseball teams are limited cannot vie with them. Budget-restricted high schools train their students who are not from other prefectures but from the ones they are located in.
　　Secondly, the above phenomenon is against the fair play spirit. Take a boxing match for example. Suppose boxer A, a small thin sickly man, is going to fight against boxer B, a huge, muscular, well-fed man. Boxer B will surely knock out Boxer B in the first round. This is not fair. Similar things are practiced in Koshien baseball games. A rich high school has a good hand over a poor one. Can this be called fair play?
　　Thirdly, what would you say if a team that represented X Prefecture had more than five players from other prefectures? Does it represent X Prefecture? No, it doesn’t. It represents no particular prefecture, but mixed prefectures. This is not INTER-prefecture, but mingle-mangle baseball games.
　　Wallets should not influence the result of the games. High school baseball players in Koshien Stadium are 100 percent amateur and not professional. If high school baseball teams involve money, the fair play spirit will be ruined. Without fair play spirit, no sports would be interesting, nor attract baseball fans, and eventually lose them. Koshien Dinosaur is a mixed animal consisting of alien bloods. Its extinction has already begun.

 

英国総督最後の家 Viceroy’s House

　「英国総督最後の家」　
 

 

英国総督最後の家を見た。インド独立に際して、ヒンズー教徒とムスリム教徒の激しい対立、暴行、はては虐殺のために、インドを二つの国、インドとパキスタンに分けるまでの経緯が描かれている。どこに国境を引くのか、分離した場合に各国民はどちらの国を選ぶのか、総督の館の家財（書籍からフォークに至るまで）どう分けるのか。総督の館の下僕の間でいがみ合いが生ずる等、次々と問題が起こる。
　特に注目すべきはこの映画の中に「ロミオとジュリエット」が組み込まれていることだ。ヒンズー教徒の青年とムスリム教徒の娘の恋が引き裂かれ、（ネタバレ）最後に結ばれるというドラマが独立の情勢を背景に描かれている。
　あれ程激しい宗教紛争があったとは知らなかった。大移動で国境を越えた者の総数は、１２００万。死者数は１００万人もあったという。
　お勧めの映画だ。

Viceroy’s House

 

二つの同窓会 TWO ALUMNI MEETINGS

二つの同窓会

 今月は同窓会が二回あった。一つは教え子の同窓会で、もう一つは私の高校時代の同窓会だ。

 教え子の同窓会は南山男子部の教え子達で、１０人集まった。４４歳か４５歳の連中で、独身もいれば、まだ一ヶ月前に赤ちゃんが生まれた（それも双子）という者もいる。Ｋ君は九州から来てくれた。もっとも盆休みで名古屋の実家に来ていたのだが。今年はＳ先生の身体の調子が悪くて欠席されたが、色紙に寄せ書きをして幹事のＡ君がＳ先生に渡してくれる。同僚のＭ先生とは「文禄・慶長の役」の話をしたが、スペインに対抗するため秀吉が朝鮮出兵したのではないらしいことが分かった。

 大垣北高の同窓会は約７０人が集まった。皆７５歳か７６歳で、後期高齢者ばかり、男性は白髪か禿げ頭ばかりであった。Ｗ君と久しぶりに長く話した。彼の娘さんがエコノミー症候群で五年前に亡くなった事情を話してくれた。ご冥福を祈るばかりだ。今年も４人の同窓生（親友のＨ君を含めて）が亡くなっていた。３００人いた同窓生が、もうかれこれ４０人か５０人ぐらいは亡くなっているはずだ。恩師のＳ先生も奥さんの世話でご欠席であった。来年の喜寿７７歳で北高同窓会は終りになる予定だ。

　わたしもこの先、長年にわたり教え子に囲まれることができるよう、身体を大事にしなければならない。

 

TWO ALUMNI MEETINGS

　　Recently I attended two alumni meetings: my Nanzan High School ex-students’ and my high school days’ meetings.
　　Ten ex-students attended the Nanzan alumni meeting. They are around 44 years old. Some are bachelors, and others married. One of them had a twin babies about a week ago. K-kun came to the meeting all the way from Kyushu. (His home is in Nagoya, though.) Mr. S, my ex-colleague teacher was absent because of his disease. The students and I wrote letters in a shikishi paper, which A-kun took it to Mr. S.
　　Sixty-seven people attended Ogaki Kita Senior High School alumni meeting. They are either 75 or 76 years old. All of them are so called “Koki Korei sha” (elderly over 75). Men were either bald or had gray or white hair. I talked with my close friend, W-kun after a long absence. He said his daughter had died of economy-class syndrome five years ago after she flew back from London and arrived home. I offer my sincerer prayer for her.
　　Four alumni members had died during the past year, including H-kun, my close friend. There were 300 fellow alumni, but about 50 of them had died. My home room teacher, Mr. S did not attend the meeting; he had to take care of his wife. The alumni meeting will end next year, our Kiju (77-year-old year).
　　I hope I can attend my ex-students’ alumni meeting as many years as possible.

歴史文芸賞応募 Submission to Historical Novel Contest

歴史文芸賞応募

文芸社主催「歴史文芸賞」に本日応募した。運慶とと快慶の話を書いた。原稿用紙換算１５５枚である。このような大作？を書いたことがないので、この一ヶ月半、執筆にかかりっきりであった。特にこの１０日ぐらいは、コンピューターとにらめっこで、目を酷使した。
プロの作家が、２００枚も、３００枚も書くけれど、その苦労が分かった。見直すだけでも時間がかかるのに、体力、気力、眼力が必須だと分かった。
発表は９月下旬だが、さてどうなるやら。
あれ以上の話は書けない。

　Submission to Historical Novel Contest

　　I submitted my work to Historical Literature Contest held by Bungeisha today. It is the story about two Buddhist statue sculptors: Unkei and Kaikei. It consists of 155 pages of manuscript paper. I have never written such a long story. I have spent most of my time during the past month and a half. I devoted myself to it, especially during the past 10 days, facing my computer from morning to night, even if I had pain in my eyes.
　　How could professional writers write as many as 300 or 400 pages, I wonder. Now I understand their invincible power. Just checking the wrong spellings takes a lot of time. Writing a novel needs energy, spirit, and strong eye sight.
　　The names of the prize winners will be announced in September. I hope my name is included.

能狂言講座 Noh and Kyogen Class

能狂言講座

 

 

　７月２１日、豊田市にある能楽堂で「能狂言講座」に出席した。名古屋の能楽堂は行ったことがあるが、豊田の能楽堂は初めてである。

　講座は三部から成っていた。

１．柳生新陰流２２代宗家柳生耕一厳信（としのぶ）と天道流薙刀術１７代宗家木村恭子との対談。聞き手は味方玄（みかたしずか）観世流シテ方能楽師。

２．柳生新陰流と薙刀術の演武

３．「橋弁慶」のさわりの実演

　一番良かったのは「橋弁慶」の実演であった。味方能楽師の力強い謡と弁慶役の演技が素晴らしく、今度は装束を着けた「橋弁慶」を見たいと思った。

Noh and Kyogen Class

　　I went to Toyota Nohgaku-do in Toyota City to attend a Noh and Kyogen Class on July 21.　I visited the Nohgaku-do for the first time in my life, though I had visited the Nohgaku-do in Nagoya.

　　The class consisted of three parts:
1. Interviews with Koichi Tosihnobu Yagyu, the 22nd Soke for the traditional sword martial arts called Yagyu-shinkage-ryu, and with Yasuko Kimura, the 17th Soke for the traditional Naginata sword martial arts called Tendo-ryu Naginata-jyutsu.　The interviewer was Noh performer Shizuka Mikata.
2. Demonstrations of the above mentioned traditional martial arts.
3. The Noh performance of "Hashi-benkei" by Mikata Shizuka, Noh-performer.

　　 I enjoyed the Noh performance the best. Mikata's performance was very impressive. His chanting of "Hashi-benkei" and his movement as Benkei on the stage was so moving that I felt like going to see his performance in full costume some day in the near future.

折句 アクロスティック ポエム Acrostic Poem

Acrostic Poem

 

SUMMER VACATION

 

Shortly after lunch, I go swimming.

Up above, white clouds smiling.

Mother’s voice: “Be careful!”

“Mom, don’t worry,” I say, pedaling to the river.

Every time I swim, I can’t help

Remembering how I almost drowned.

Vicious water pulling me down,

Almost being choked,

Could this be death?

Air and fight leaving my body,

Tension rising to the extreme,

I desperately shout, “Help!” thrashing my arms and legs.

Oh, God . . . . Am I floating? I AM floating!

Now a bitter but sweet memory.

 

なんとか間に合った Make Haste Slowly

　なんとか間に合った

 

６月２０日に「オール読物新人賞」に原稿用紙９７枚の作品「暴れ川」を応募してから、今日、６月３０日までぶっつずけに別の作品「北辰の如く」原稿１００枚を書き上げて、やっと本日締め切りに間に合って投函できた。
　昼ごろに瑞穂郵便局に電話した。
「今日は何時までやってますか」
「７時までです」
　以前は真夜中まで夜間受付をやっていたのに、最近は早々に７時に切り上げてしまう。あと５６時間かと思い、焦りながら１００枚の原稿目指して頑張った。とにかく１０日で１００枚はえらかった。
　６時ごろ、瑞穂郵便局に地下鉄で急いだ。郵便局に着いてびっくりした。ドアが閉じられている。案内板に「土曜は休業」と書いてある。
　電話で７時までやっていると言ったではないか！
　今日は朝から晩まで一寸の時を惜しんで原稿を書いて来たのになんということだ。この１０日間の努力が無駄になったのか……。
　目の前のポストを見ると、「郵便物集配時間」が書いてある。土曜日の最終は午後７時だ。しかし、封筒があっても切手が貼ってない。辺りを歩くとコンビニセブンイレブンがあった。
「切って売ってますか」
「はい。いくらですか」
「それが分からないのです。重量別の値段分かりませんか」
「ここは、切手を売るだけです」
「スマホ使って調べてもらえませんか」
天の助け、店長がそこに来て、スマホできっての料金表を教えてくれた。しかし、重量が分からない。
「５００グラム以内の料金でいいです」
「じゃ、３８０円です」
　わたしは３８０円切手を貼って、ポストに投函した。６時４０分ごろだ。
間に合った。
　家に帰って、同じ枚数の用紙と封筒を測ったら、２５０グラム以下であった。料金は２５０円であった。
　ま、いいや、ちゃんと間に合って応募できたんやから。

Making It in Time 

Immediately after I submitted my 97-page manuscript “Abare Gawa” for the Ohru Yomimono Shinjin-sho (All Yomiuri Novel New Face Award), I posted another manuscript of mine “Hokushin no Gotoku” a 100-page story today, the deadline.

I had telephoned Mizuho Post Office to confirm its closing time around two o’clock.

 “Seven o’clock in the evening,” an office employee said.

   A few years ago the office was open until midnight, but recently it closed early.

I had about five hours before the closing time. Since I had written 80 pages or so, I need to write 20 more pages to fulfil the submission guidelines that mentioned: the manuscript must be more than 100 pages. I desperately continued to write my manuscript.

    At last I finished writing it, rushed to the post office by subway. I was shocked, however, to see that the post office was closed with the sign that read “Saturday, Closed.”

   I got angry. She said they were open till seven!

   I had been writing the manuscript from morning till six o’clock. I had been spending most of my time in writing for the past ten days, but it turned out to be no use.

   I happened to see a mailbox in front of the post office. The sign on it read, “Mail Collection Times: Saturday, 19:00.” Good! But, I hadn’t put my envelope stamps. I needed stamps. I walked around the vicinity and found a Seven-Eleven.

   “Do you sell stamps?” I said.

   “Yes, we do.” a girl clerk said.

   How lucky!

   “How much stamps do you need?”

   “I don’t know. Isn’t there the list of stamp prices?”

   The price of the necessary stamps varies according to the weight of your parcel.

   “Could you check the price with a smartphone?” I said.

   She hesitated.

   Right at that time, the owner of the store saw us, took out his smartphone, and checked the prices.

   “380 yen for a parcel less than 500 grams.”

   “OK, then. I’ll buy 380 yen stamps.”

   I put the stamps on my envelope and posted it at 6:40.

   After returning home, I weighed the envelope with the same number of manuscript papers. It weighed less than 250 grams. It cost 250 yen.

   That’s all right. I managed to make it in time.

くしゃみでぶちこわし 'Achooo!’ Ruined the Concert

　本日（６月１４日）、宗次ホールでランチタイムコンサート「６月の風」を聴いてきた。４人の女性のフルート演奏で、モーツアルト、ヨハンシュトラウス、メンデルスゾーンなどの曲が演奏された。
　フルート演奏は柔らかい音色で、なんだか眠くなるような気分になる。ところが、演奏が約一時間ぐらい経つと、ホールが冷えてきて、演奏中に遠慮がちにに咳をする人が、ちらほら出てきた。私も、冷えて来た。最後の曲、組曲「あめ」を演奏しているとき、静かなうっとりする曲が流れているとき、突然「はっくしょおおおおおん！」と会場の真ん中あたりで、大爆音が聞こえた。
　冷房しすぎや。

'Achooo!’ Ruined the Concert

I went to Munetsugu Hall to listen to the Lunchtime Concert on June 14. Four women played the flute. Their music included the pieces composed by Mozert, Johann Strauss II, and Mendelssohn.

   Flute music was so soft and fluent that I felt comfortable and sleepy. However, after an hour or so, the hall became cool and even cold. Some people in the audience began to cough trying to suppress the physiological noise.

   While they were playing the last number, a suite, Ame, I felt peaceful, but suddenly a big ACHOOO burst, resonating throughout the hall. Everyone must have woken up then

    Too much air-conditioning is bad for the peace of mind.

Haibun Todayに入選 Selected by Haibun Today

Haibun Todayに入選
私の書いた俳文がHaibun Todayに選ばれました。
以下はその俳文です。

A Quarterly Journal
Jeffrey Woodward, Founder & Owner
Ray Rasmussen, General Editor
Volume 12, Number 2, June 2018

Hiroshi Matsuoka Nagoya, Aichi, Japan Alone in a Train Car It is a cold winter evening. I am on board a train on my way back home from the hospital where my mother is hospitalized with leukemia. I am the only passenger in my car. Soon the train stops at a station, but no passenger gets on my car. At the next station, again, no one gets on it. Thus, nobody gets on it for almost an hour. I feel lonelier and lonelier as the train runs through the dark country. I feel as if I were the only person in the entire train, in the entire world. I want to see someone desperately, when an old man walks into my car from the adjacent one and sits on the seat opposite from me. His being relieves me from loneliness. He might have been feeling just the same way as I.   hot noodles in winter my mother’s smile ウェブサイトは http://www.haibuntoday.com/ht122/H_Matsuoka_Alone.html

辻彩奈バイオリン演奏 Ayana Tsuji Violin Concert

　辻彩奈バイオリン演奏

 

 　しらかわホールでディ・ムジカンテン室内管弦楽団の演奏会を女房と聞きに行った。バイオリニストの辻彩奈が管弦楽団と共にバイオリン演奏をした。彩奈さんの演奏はこれで三回目になる。

　いつ聞いても超絶技巧で、バイオリンが壊れるのではないかと思うぐらい激しく演奏すると思えば、一方では、バイオリンが悲しく震えているような静かな演奏をした。

　モーツアルト歌劇「イドメネオ」とサン・サーンスのロンド・カプリチオーソが素晴らしかった。身体全身を使い、ある時は屈み、ある時はのけぞるようにして演奏した。小手先の演奏ではなく、いつ聞いても素晴らしい。

　ちなみに彩奈は１９９７年岐阜県大垣の生まれ（２１歳）、私と同郷である。彼女は２０１６年モントリオール国際音楽コンクールで１８歳にして優勝している。

Ayana Tsuji Violin Concert

I went to Shirakawa Hall to listen to the Die Musikanten Chamber Orchestra. Ayana Tsuji played the violin with the orchestra. I have listened to her performance three times before.  

Her performance is superb. Sometimes she plays it so hard that I am afraid she may break the instrument, and other times she plays the violin so softly that I hear the violin weeping. Mozart Idomeneo Overture and Saint-Saens Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso were especially moving. She plays the violin not with her fingers or arms but with her whole body: she bends backward and forward, stretches and huddles herself according to the content of the music.

   She was born in Ogaki City, my home town, in Gifu Prefecture in 1997. She won the first prize in the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2016.

 

 

古武道大会 Traditional Martial Art Performance

古武道大会

 

 

５月５日、名古屋城において第４９回古武道大会が開催され、私は神道夢想流杖道の演武を披露した。披露した技は表技５本、中段技４本、短杖技４本であった。
杖道の他には、弓道、居合道、空手道、抜刀道、少林寺拳法等併せて２３の武道の演武がなされた。
５月６日に名古屋城の天守閣が閉鎖され、新たに木造の天守閣が立てられるので、名残を惜しむ見物客が朝から大勢詰めかけ、入場チ
ケットを買う列が２００メートルぐらい続いていた。天守閣に入るのには２時間待ちだったそうだ。
五月晴れで太陽が照りつけ、演武場に敷かれた赤い敷物がまぶしかった。
演武の見物客は例年になく多かった。

Traditional Martial Art Performance

The 49^th traditional martial art performance was held in Nagoya Castle on May 5. Twenty-three traditional martial arts were performed, including archery, Iaido, Karate, Batto, Shorinji-kenpo. I performed the stick art of Shinto-musoryu Jyo-jyutsu. I demonstrated five Omote arts, 4 Chudan arts, and 4 Tanjyo arts. It was such a fine May day that the red carpet on which we performed was too bright.

   Because the castle donjon will be demolished in two days (May 7) and a new wooden one will be built in some years later, many people who wanted to say farewell to the present donjon visited the castle. They made about a 200-meter long line to buy the entrance ticket.

   The number of the spectators of the martial art performances this year was three times larger than usual.

 

御園座の高いチケット Expensive Misonoza Tickets

　先日、御園座柿葺落四月大歌舞伎（夜の部）を観てきたが客の入りが少ないのに驚いた。三等席はほぼ満員であったが、二等席の三列か四列が、列ごとずらりと空席であった。旧御園座を解体してから五年間経って、やっと名古屋地域の歌舞伎フアン待望の新御園座がで落成したというのに、この入りである。それも二代目松本白鸚と十代目松本幸四郎の襲名披露公演であるのにである。友達に訊いたら初日からすでに空席が目立っていたという。
これは御園座のチケットが高すぎるからではないかと思う。七月公演の大阪松竹座の同襲名披露は一等席2万円、二等席一万円、三等席六千円であるのに対して、御園座はＳ席二万四千円、Ａ席二万円、Ｂ席一万２千円、Ｃ席八千円である。
空席が目立つまま公演するくらいなら、もっと安くするとか、約千三百円で鑑賞できる幕見席を設けるとかしなければ、この地方の歌舞伎フアンを増やすどころか、この先またもや経営が困難になるのではないかと危惧する。

Expensive Misonoza Tickets

　　I was surprised at the small crowd when I went to see a Kabuki (an evening performance) in Misonoza Theater in April, which newly opened after a long absence. The third-class seats were nearly full, but several rows of the second-class seats were empty.
　　The old Misonoza was demolished five years ago, and the new one was completed to the delight of kabuki fans in the Chubu area. Moreover, the performances commemorated the succession to the second Matsumoto Hakuho and the 10th Matumoto Koshiro. My friend, a kabuki gidayu chanter, said that he was sad to see so many empty seats even on the first day of the performances.
　　In my opinion, one of the main reasons of the scarce audience is the expensive tickets. The same performance with the celebration of the new Matsumoto actors to be due in July in Osaka Shochikuza Theater cost 20,000 yen for the first-class, 10,000 yen for the second-class seat, and 6,000 yen for the third-class seat, while Misonoza cost 24,000 yen for the special seat, 20,000 yen for the A-class seat, 12,000 yen for the B-class seat, and 8,000 yen for the C-class seat.
　　A theater with a third of its seats empty cannot earn enough money. They should reduce the price, or install a system for makumi seats (standing room). Otherwise, the new theater will lose kabuki fans in the area and face the financial difficulties again.

俳文入選 My Haibun to be Published

俳文入選

嬉しいことに、私の書いた俳文「孤独な電車の中」がハイブン・トデイの６月版で電子出版されることになった。ハイブン・トデイ編集長のメディッサ・アレンさんから通知があった。

My Haibun to Be Published

I am glad that my haibun "Alone in a Train Car" will be pulished on the June issue of Haibun Today's website. Mellissa Allen, the editor of Haibun Today infomed me of the good news on April 15.

桜名所めぐり CHERRY BLOSSOM VIEWING TOUR

　桜名所めぐり

大野寺しだれ桜

醍醐寺しだれ桜（満開時）

 

４月６日と７日、女房と「京都・奈良大和路の桜名所めぐり」というテーマの一泊二日の旅行をしてきた。新幹線とバスの団体旅行で参加者は１９人（うち男性３人）。
今年は、例年になく桜の開花が早く、京都の桜はほとんどが葉桜で、奈良の方は訪れた寺が山間部にあり、しだれ桜などが丁度見頃であった。
訪れた寺は、京都の勧修寺、醍醐寺。奈良は談山神社、室生寺、大野寺、長谷寺であった。
印象に残ったのは、醍醐寺の巨大なしだれ桜であった。秀吉が花見をしたと言われる桜で、枝張りは２０メートルぐらいはあった。次に見とれたのは大野寺の巨大なしだれ桜で、桜が滝の白糸のように白く、滝の如く美しく咲いていた。三つ目は長谷寺の国宝本尊十一面観音像で、高さが１０メートルある金メッキの木彫り立像であった。
一日目はあいにくの雨であったが、二日目は曇りで、長谷寺の本堂まで階段が３９９段あったが、なんとか無事に登れた。

CHERRY BLOSSOM VIEWING TOUR
 

My wife and I joined a group tour to see cherry blossoms in Kyoto and Nara on April 6 and 7. 19 people, including 3 men, joined it. We used the Shinkansen and a bus to get there.
　　Cherry blossoms throughout Japan opened a few weeks earlier than usual. Therefore, cherry blossoms in Kyoto had already fallen, but the ones in Nara were in full bloom because the temples we visited were in the mountains. Especially, shidare-sakura or weeping cherry blossoms were very beautiful.
　　The temples we visited were Kajyu-ji and Daigo-ji in Kyoto, and Tanzan Shrine, Ohono-ji, and Hase-dera in Nara.
　　What impressed me most during the tour were, first, the giant shidare-sakura in Daigo-ji, which Toyotomi Hideyoshi is said to have admired. The branches were about 20 meters wide. The next impressive view was the giant white shidare-sakura, whose cherry blossoms were pure white and the blossoms clusters looked like they were waterfalls. The third was a national treasure, the image of the 11-faced Kannon, which is a 10 meter-tall gilt wooden statue of the Buddha. It was overwhelming.
　　It was rainy on the first day, but cloudy on the second. I am glad that I climbed 399 steps that led to the main hall of Hase-dera.

桜三題 THREE CHERRY BLOSSOM SCENES

桜三題

 

3月26日、女房と名古屋城の桜を見てきた。お堀の土手沿いの桜が満開で、とてもきれいだった。

27日、鶴舞公園の桜を見に行った。屋台と人が一杯で、桜は満開だった。

29日、山崎川の新瑞橋付近の新瑞小橋から見た花筏は素晴らしかた。川面をほとんど覆っていた。

Blossoming Cherry Trees

I went to Nagoya Castle to see the cherry blossoms with my wife on March 26. The cherry trees on the bank of the moat were in full bloom and very beautiful.

The next day (March 27), I went to Tsurumai Park. There were a lot of cherry-blossom viewers and food stalls. The trees were in full bloom.

On March 29, I saw from Aratama-kobashi the tremendous number of fallen cherry blossom petals on Yamazaki River. The floating petals covered almost all the river surface.

運転免許証返納 Returning the Driver's License

運転免許証返納　

　先日、熱田警察署に行って、運転免許証を返納してきた。７５歳になり、視力が衰え、反応が鈍くなった今、返してきた。３５歳ごろに免許を取ってから今まで、運転中に交通事故で怪我したことも、させたこともない。ましてや人を殺めたこともない。もう一生人を殺めることもないと思うと、安堵する。４月８日に「運転経歴証明書」が交付される。

Returning the Driver's License

 

　　I went to Atsuta Police Station to return (invalidate) my driver's license. I am 75 years old. My eye sight has become weak and I have slow reflexes. Since I got the license at the age of 35, I have not met any traffic accident nor have I killed anyone. I feel relieved to think that I will never kill anyone hereafter.

　　The certificate of Driving History will be issue on Apri 8.

狂言鑑賞 ENJOYING KYOGEN

　狂言鑑賞

能楽堂で狂言を観てきた。演目は「佐渡狐（さどぎつね）」「寝音曲（ねおんぎょく）」「千切木（ちぎりき）」。「千切木」では、人間国宝の山本東次郎がシテを演じた。
「佐渡狐」は佐渡に狐がいるかの問に対して、いると答えた百姓の話。「寝音曲」は酒を呑んで膝枕で謡を謡う話。「千切木」は連歌の会で仲間外れになった男の話。
いずれの狂言もユーモラスで落語に似ており、くすくす笑った。（皆、真面目に聞いているので、落語みたに大笑いするところも、笑いを皆さん御していた）
以前、能を観に行ったことがあったけれど、テンポがゆっくりで、間延びして、話の中身が分からず、眠りはしなかったが、エンジョイできなかった。今日は分かりやすく面白かった。
また、狂言あれば行きたい。

Kyogen Performance

 

I went to Nohgaku-do to see three kyogen plays (traditional short comedic drama): Sado-gitsune, Neongyoku, and Chigiriki.
　　Sado-gitsune is a drama where a farmer asks a Sado-Islander if there is a fox in the island, to which the islander tells a lie, saying that there is; Neongyoku is about a man who sings an ancient song with his head on the listener’s lap; and Chigiriki is about an old man who is ostracized by the group of haiku lovers which he wants to belong to.
　　Each kyogen was humorous and similar to rakugo (funny story telling). I couldn’t help chuckling, but most of the kyogen viewers were too serious to laugh.
　　A few years ago I went to see Noh plays (traditional masked dance-dramas), but the Noh actors’ movements were so slow and the background music so soft that I felt sleepy. However, I enjoyed the kyogen very much. I would like to see kyogen again.

空海 KU-KAI 美しき王妃の謎 Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo

全然面白くなかった。宣伝につられて期待して見に行ったが、期待外れもいいとこであった。

問題点

１．空海が主役だが、密教や恵果和尚や仏教修行の話は一切出てこない。こんなことなら、別に空海でなくても誰でもいい。

２．阿倍仲麻呂

仲麻呂が登場するが特にこれと言った役割もない。

３．化け猫の怨念というが、楊貴妃を生きたまま殺しにした怨念が末代の天子を殺すと言う動機としては納得いかない

４．化け猫はなぜ目だけを食べるのか解説しない。

５．空海が謎を解くといううたい文句だが、解いていく過程が分かりづらい。猫が話すからそこからヒントを得ているようだが、腑に落ちない。

６．派手で物々しく、仰々しい映画だが、内容がそれに見合っていない。

７．最初に猫が夾竹桃の下を掘れば、銭が出てくると言ったが、これとなぞとどういう関係があるのか、分からない。

８．最初、どういうミステリーなのかがきちんと伝わらない。テンポが速すぎる。

 Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo

I was disappointed at the film “Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo” (the Mystery of the Beautiful Queen) It fell far short of expectations. I was lured to the movie theater because of the exaggerated advertisement.

Some problems about the film:
1. Although Kukai is one of the most famous Buddhist priests in Japan, the movie does not deal with Buddhism, nor show Keika, Kukai’s teacher in China.
2. Abeno Nakamaro, an influential politician in ancient Japan, appears in the film, but he has no important role.
3. The cat’s revenge triggered by the murder of Yang Kuei Fei is not persuasive.
4. Why does the strange cat only eats human eyes.
5. Kukai does not seem to solve the problem. The process to reach the conclusion is difficult to understand.

辻井伸行ピアノ演奏会 Nobuyuki Tsujii's Piano Concert

辻井伸行ピアノ演奏会

 

岐阜サマランカホールで開かれた辻井伸行さんのピアノコンサートに女房と行ってきた。ショパン、ドビッシー、ラヴェル、リスト、ガーシュイン、サティ、カプースチンが演奏された。

辻井さんのピアノ演奏は今まで私が聞いたピアノ演奏とは、まるで違っていた。ピアノの音とは思えない。個々のキーの音が繋がっており、まるで弦楽器の演奏を聴いているようであった。激しい強音と優しい弱音がはっきりしており、特に最弱音は繊細であった。よく超絶技巧演奏とかいうけれど、辻井さんの演奏は超絶を乗り越えている。ピアノを自由自在に操る。

 アンコールに応えての演奏はフォスターの「金髪のジェニーへのオマージュ」で、彼が作曲し、カーネギーホールで演奏したものだと紹介された。懐かしさと美しい演奏に目が潤んだ。

Nobuyuki Tsujii's Piano Concert

 

　　I went to the Nobuyuki Tsujii’s piano concert with my wife at Salamanca Hall in Gifu. He played the music composed by Chopin, Ravel, Gershwin, Liszt, etc.

   When I heard his piano for the first time in my life, I was astonished. His performance was quite different from other pianists’. The quality of his piano sound was very different. The individual key sound he made was so closely connected with each other that the sound of his piano sounded like that of a string instrument.   

His fortissimo is dynamic and strong while his pianissimo is extremely week and subtle. I often hear such-and-such man’s piano technique is excellent. However, Tsujii’s piano is beyond technique. He freely plays the piano. To illustrate this, let me give you an example. When a native speaker of English says to you, “Your English is excellent,” this means your English does not sound natural, meaning you have a long way to brush upon your English.

   In an encore, he played The Homage to Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, which he composed and played in the Carnegie Hall. It was so moving that tears filled my eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

梅を見に行く Plum Blossom Viewing

梅を見に行く

 

 

昨日（３日）大高緑地公園の梅林に女房と梅を見に行った。暖かな日で、紅白の梅がいっぱい咲いており、きれいだった。４割ぐらいが満開で、後は７８分咲きであった。露店も出ており、甘酒を飲んだ。女房は鉢植えの木を買った。大道芸人がいたり、子供が池の鯉に餌をやっていたりして、面白かった。

Plum Blossom Viewing

I went to Ohdaka Ryokuchi Park with my wife to see plum blossoms on April 3. It was a warm day and we saw a lot of plum blossoms, some red and others white. The blossoms are about 40 percent in full bloom. There were a dozen of stands selling food and drinks. We drank Amazake (sweet mild sake) and saw a street entertainer’s performance. Children were having fun. My wife bought a nursery tree.

ペースメーカー A Pacemaker

A Pacemaker

“Stop using the smartphone. I’m scared,” the man next to me said.

He and I were sitting on a subway priority seat for the aged, pregnant, or disabled people. He was around 40 years old, and was a large stout-looking man.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him.

When I had sat on it a moment before, I had noticed that he was placing his right palm on his chest. I wondered if he had a weak heart, but apparently he had a pace-maker implanted.

When the subway stopped at the next station, a woman stood in front of him, using a smartphone. My neighbor immediately told her not to use it. She bowed to him apologetically and stopped using it. Whenever the train stopped and one or two passengers stood near him using smartphones, he said to them, “Don’t use that around me.” Once when he asked a young man to stop using the gadget, he ignored his request and continued using it. So my neighbor stood up and told him to stop doing so again. The young man turned around. He was listening to the i-phone music with earphones. He took off one of them from his ear, comprehended his request and stopped using the phone.

I sympathized with him, because I myself have irregular heartbeat and take a pill every morning.

Worrying about the malfunction of his pacemaker whenever he takes trains or buses may be bad for his heart, I am afraid.

I have resolved that I would not use my smartphone near priority seats.

シェイプオブウオーター The Shape of Water

シェイプオブウオーター　

この映画は「美女と野獣」と同じテーマを扱っている。外見は醜いが、中身は優しい心を持っている魚人と美人ではないが魚人を愛する女イライザの物語である。アンタゴニストは魚人の番人ストイックランド。

コンフリクトは魚人を助けてアマゾンに帰そうとするイライザ対魚人を殺そうとするストイックランドとの闘いである。この設定で、ハラハラドキドキする。

ネタバレ：最後に運河に魚人が飛び込めば、これで愛は結ばれないが魚人はアマゾンに帰ることができる。このようには話は終わらない。ひねりもひねりがあるエンディングだ。イライザと魚人が落命したかと思いきや、魚人のパワーで、二人は生き返る。あとは観る人の想像に任せられる。ストイックランドもエンディングではまだ息がある。ある意味ハッピーエンディングだ。

仕掛け

１. 単純な話に、ソ連対米国の魚人をめぐるスパイ戦がある。

２．水中でのセックス

３．最後に魚人とアマゾンに行くかと思われるエンディングは「未知との遭遇」のエンディングに似ている。最後に電気技師ロイはUFOに乗り込む。あちらの世界に行くことを思わせる。

４．水中接吻をするため、魚人の口は人間の口と全く同じにしてある。

５．水槽をイライザが叩いたところ、びっくりするような反応があった。ここが引っかけになっている。

(３月１日記述）

 

The Shape of Water

　　The theme of The Shape of Water is the same with that of Beauty and the Beast. A plain-looking cleaning-woman Elisa falls in love with a captured ugly humanoid amphibian. Her antagonist is Strickland, who is in charge of the weird creature.

The movie develops around the conflict between Elisa, who wants to free the creature into the sea, to the Amazon River, and Strickland, who wants to kill it. The battle between the two keeps the audience in suspense.

The ending scene reminded me of The Close Encounter of the Third Kind, in which an engineer, Roy, enters the UFO mothership, suggesting that he fly to an alien star.

Near the end of the movie, Elisa takes the creature to a pier where she intends to free it. However, before she releases it to the sea, Strickland shoots Elisa and her beloved creature. Strangely, thanks to the creature’s supernatural power, both recover from the wounds. In the ending scene, Elisa’s body held by the creature’s arms gradually sinks deep in the sea. This is, in a sense, a happy ending.