麒麟が泣く 100 Times More Amusing

お粗末な「麒麟がくる」

　ＮＨＫの大河ドラマ「麒麟がくる」を第一回から第三回まで見たが、見るに堪えない。だいたい麒麟がくるとは何のことか。

　第一に演技がへた。第三回で女性が二人笑う場面があったが、作り笑いをしているようで、小学生の学芸会のような演技。出演者が本物の俳優ではなく、歌手とかテレビタレントとかで、演技の基本ができていない。視聴率を高めるためか人気タレントを起用しているから演技が軽い。。

　第二に台詞が素人でも書けそうな決まり文句の台詞で、もっとその場にふさわしい台詞にすべきで、脚本がまずい。

　第三に展開が面白くない。第三回までは、明智光秀の歴史的事実が分からないので、脚色家の想像力を発揮する絶好の機会であるのに、全然面白くない。光秀が堺に鉄砲と薬を取りに行くという設定はいいが、光秀は簡単に鉄砲を手に入れる。また、女性が美濃の歌を歌う場面があるが、歌の場面が長すぎる。あの場面では、自分は少女時代にこんな歌を聞いたことがあるということを視聴者に伝えればいいので、長々と歌う必要はない。

　第四に衣装がめちゃくちゃだ。明智光秀は毎回同じ派手な明るい緑色の衣装を着ている。だ。あの姿で畑仕事をしているが、あんな派手な衣装で畑仕事をするはずがない。

　第五に照明がまずい。廊下で二人の男が話す場面があるが、二人の間に夕陽が射しており、夕陽が画面いっぱいに光っていて、画面がまぶしくて見ておれない。私は目をつむって声を聞いていた。

　第六に画像全体の彩度が明るすぎる。草木や家屋や田畑など全体の画像が明るすぎて現実離れしている。もっと落ち着いた色合いが出せるのに、工夫をしていない。

　第七に音響効果が大げさだ。台詞や演技がまずいので音でごまかそうとしているようだ。

　私は見るに堪えかねて、第三回の途中でテレビを消した。あんなへたくそな、貧弱なドラマを見るのは時間の無駄である。

　その点、今見ている中国ドラマ「月に咲く花の如く」は毎回見ていて、主人公の女性に感情移入させられ、展開のうまさにうならせられる。役者の演技が絶品で、照明も抑えてあり、展開も毎回ハラハラドキドキで、音響効果もいい。展開も急と緩がうまく使われており素晴らしい。毎回次回が待ち遠しい。連続ドラマはこうでなくてはいけない。

　ＮＨＫの大河ドラマはは中国ドラマを見習うべきだ。中国ドラマの方が１０倍も１００倍も１０００倍もいい。

100 Times More Amusing

Unbearable “Kirin ga Kuru” (Kylin Comes)

　　I watched the first three episodes of the newly-started NHK drama series “Kirin ga Kuru” (kylin Comes). It was not worth watching. Here are some reasons:

1. Poor performance. While I was watching the third episode of “Kirin ga Kuru,” I saw two actresses laugh, but their laugh looked forced. Their performances were like elementary pupils’ in a school play. This is because some of the actors in the drama are not professional actors but popular singers or TV personalities. They haven’t studied the basics of acting. I blame  NHK because it uses such amateur actors for the sake of boosting the audience ratings.

2.  Poor development. Because nobody knows how the protagonist, Akechi Mitsuhide spent his boyhood, the scenario writer of the drama could have written the scenerio freely, but he failed. During one of the scenes in the third episode, Akechi goes to Sakai to purchase a gun and medicine, but he gets them without any difficulty. In another episode, a woman sings a song but she sung for too long a time. All she had to do was to show the viewers that she remembers some part of the lyric. Her song was boring.

3.  Poor choice of clothing. Akechi wears the same bright-colored green clothes every time he appears in the drama. He even wears them when he works in the wet farming lot. No samurai works in such a muddy place, clad in such gorgeous clothes.

4. Poor lighting. The setting sun in one of the scenes was so bright that I failed to see the faces of the two characters talking in the corridor. I had to close my eyes to avoid the brightness and listened to their conversation.

5.  Too bright color. The TV screen color of the drama is too vivid and brilliant. The grass, the houses, and the fields are so bright that they do not look real. The brightness of color should be toned down.

6.  Poor sound effect. The sound of the background music was so large and so unpleasant that it drowned the characters' conversation. The sound effect was poor, too. The producer of the drama should use the sound apporopriate to each scene.

　Thus, because the drama was unbearable to watch, I switched off the television. It was a waste of time to watch it.

　　Compared to this bad Japanese drama, the Chinese serial, “Tsuki ni Saku Hana no Gotoku” (Like the Flower That Blooms in the Moon月に咲く花の如く) is much better. I have seen all the episodes so far and never have I been disappointed at them. The main actress is so attractive and performs so perfectly that I empathize fully with her. The development of the drama is excellent. It enchants the viewers by an appropriate pace. It sometimes moves quickly and other times develops slowly. Every episode is full of nail-biting intensity. Moreover, the performance of each character is superb. The background music and sound effect are both wonderful. The set buildings look real. After watching each episode, I can’t wait till the next one.

Each episode is full of hints of how to make good dramas. NHK should learn from the Chinese drama. It is 100 times more amusing than the NHK’s.　

希望の力 Power of Hope

希望の力

　

　最近ある人の紹介で、衝撃的な本を読んだ。「夜と霧」ヴィクトール・Ｅ・フランクル著、池田香代子訳（みずず書房）だ。

　これはナチスドイツの強制収容所に入れられた心理学者が、収容所で何を考え、どう行動したかを著した本である。人間が極限状態に追い込まれたとき、すなわち、食事は一日パン一切れと水のようなスープ一杯だけ。氷点下の厳寒の中で一日中強制労働をさせられ、いつガス室に送られるかもしれないという恐怖にさいなまれ、狭いベッドに数人がひしめきあって毛布二枚で寝るという状態が毎日毎日繰り返されるのだ。

　以下に特に感銘した箇所を要約する。（本文126-127ページより）

　希望を失うことがいかに致命的であるかを示す事件が起こった。1945年5月の初め、Ｆという男が私（著者）のところに来て言った。
　「先生、三カ月ほど前におかしな夢を見ましてね。声がして、こう言うんですよ。『知りたいことがあれば、なんでも答える』って。わたしが『私にとって、戦いはいつ終わり、いつ収容所から解放されるのか、いつこの苦しみは終わるのか』と尋ねると、その声は『5月30日』と答えたのです」
　Ｆは、夢の話をしたとき、まだ十分に希望を持ち、夢が正夢だと信じていた。ところが、夢のお告げの日が近づいても収容所に入ってくる軍事情報によると、戦況が5月中に私たちを解放する見込みはほとんど薄れていった。すると、５月２９日、Ｆは突然高熱を発して倒れた。そして、Ｆにとって戦いと苦しみが終わるであろう５月３０日に、Ｆは意識不明状態になり、翌日死んだ。死因は発疹チフスであった。
　Ｆは待ちに待った解放の時が訪れなかったことにひどく落胆し、すでに潜伏していた発疹チフスに対する抵抗力が急速に低下したあげくに命を落としたのだ。皮肉にも夢のお告げは現実となった。

Power of Hope

Recently a friend of mine introduced me a very impressive book, “Man's Search for Meaning” written by a psychologist, Viktor E. Frankl. He described what he thought and how he behaved in the most extreme circumstances in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The prisoners were given only a piece of bread and a cup of water-like soup a day, were forced to work in the freezing cold weather day after day, and had to sleep on a narrow bed with other inmates with two thin blankets. They were always tormented by the fear of being sent to the gas chambers at any time.

   The following passage is the excerpts that impressed me most:

One day an incident occurred that demonstrated how the loss of hope is closely linked with a fatal effect. A man (let me call him F) came to me and said early May, in 1945.

“Doctor, I dreamed a strange dream about three months ago. A voice in my dream told me that it would answer anything I wanted to know. So, I said, ‘I would like to know when the war would be over for me; when our camp would be liberated and our sufferings come to an end.’” It answered, “May 30.” 

When F told me about his dream, he was still full of hope and convinced that the voice of his dream would come true. But as the promised day drew nearer, the war news that reached our camp made it appear very unlikely that we would be free on the promised day. Then on May 29, F suddenly became ill and ran a high temperature and fell. And on May 30, that is the day his prophecy had told him that the war and suffering would be over for him, he became delirious and lost consciousness and he was dead on the next day. He died of typhus.

　　The ultimate cause of F’s death was that the expected liberation did not come and he was severely disappointed. This suddenly lowered his body’s resistance against the latent typhus infection and his body fell victim to illness—and ironically the voice of his dream was right

２０２０年 年賀状 2020 New Year's Card

２０２０年　年賀状

2020 New Year's Card

２０２０２２０
What do the above numbers mean? They are the combination of numbers of  this year ( 2020) and my birthday (February 20). I will be 77 years old this February. I am as fine as an average 76-year-old man. I am reading and writing English and Japanese short stories. This is the 29^th year since I began practicing Japanese martial arts of Jodo (a stick as a weapon). I make it a rule to walk more than 5,000 steps. I cannot walk 10,000 steps. I have my own blog called “MAT’s EYE.” Please google it.

Wishing you health and happiness!

mail address: mhiroshi62@yahoo.co.jp

電車に手を振る坊や A Little Boy Waving His Arms at a Train

電車に手を振る坊や

テレビの「クールジャパン」という番組で、ほろっとさせられる動画を見た。５歳ぐらいの少年が線路わきに立って、近づいてくる電車に両手を大きく振っていると、電車が少年のそばを通過する瞬間に警笛とか、電車によってはミュージックホーンを鳴らしていく。少年は「やったぁ！」と喜ぶ動画だ。少年は遥か遠くから近づいてくる小さな小さな電車に大きく両手を振っている。
番組によると、少年は三歳のときから同じ線路わきに立って手を振っていた(写真参照）。その坊やを父親が撮影したものだ。また、運転手さんたちは少年に気がついており、職場でも運転手仲間が少年のことを話題にしているとか。彼らは少年から力をもらっているとのこと。坊やが一生懸命に両手を振っている熱意に運転手さんも警笛で応えたのだ。
いい話ではないか。

A Little Boy Waving His Arms at a Train

I watched a heart-warming video during a TV program “Cool Japan” the other day. About a five-year-old boy standing near a railway track is waving his arms hard at an approaching train. The moment the train passes by him, it sounds a horn or music melody (depending on the train type) for him. Hearing the sound, he shouts with delight, “Hooray!” The boy starts waving his arms enthusiastically when he sees a  tiny tiny train far in the distance.

   According to the program, the boy began to wave at the trains three years ago when he was three years old (see photo). His father videotaped him. The train drivers are aware of him and sometimes talk about him when they get together in the station they work for. They say he gives source of energy to them. They respond to the boy’s enthusiastic waving by sounding horns.

What a nice episode!

歩くゴミ箱 A Walking Garbage Box

歩くゴミ箱

ある新聞の投書欄に次のような投書が載った。（要旨のみ）

私は８０歳の老人であるが、近所の遊歩道や公園をウオーキングするときにトングをもって空き缶や弁当の空箱を拾っている。この９年間やっている。ところが、通りすがりの人やベンチに座っている人が、私を歩くゴミ箱扱いして、「おじさん、ほら、そこにゴミ」とか「お父さん、そこにもあるわよ」と指図がましいことを言う。彼らはなぜ自分でゴミを拾ってゴミ箱に捨てずに、人に指図するのか。私は自主的にゴミを拾っているのに、「ゴミを拾うのはあんたの役目でしょ」と言わんばかりだ。私は「自分でやったらどうや。失礼と思わんか」と言ってやる。最近はこういう得手勝手な人が多い。腹が立つ。

　私もこの投書を読んで腹が立った。最近の若者は老人に席を譲らない。韓国に行ったとき、私と女房がバスに乗ると、座っていた二人の若者が即座に起立し、席を譲ってくれた。そういえば、つい先日も私が地下鉄の老人席に座っていると（私は白髪の後期高齢者）、杖を突いた老女が乗ってきて私の前に立った。電車が動くと、よろけないように杖で体を支えている。老人席に座っていた若者（複数）が誰も席を譲ろうとしない。私は老女を見上げて、（この席に座りませんか）とジェスチャで老女にサインを送った。老女は首を縦に振り、私は老女に席を譲った。

　老人席に座っていた若者たちはスマホを相変わらずいじっていた。腹が立った。日本の将来は暗い。

A Walking Garbage Box

A letter to the Letters to the Editor Column in the newspaper I subscribe said: (the following is the summary.) 

------------------------------

　 I am an 80-year-old man. I make it a rule to take a walk along the walkway or in the park near my house with tongs in my hand. While I am walking, I pick up garbage like empty cans and discarded lunch boxes. I have been doing this for the past nine years. To my irritation, however, the people passing by or sitting on the bench regard me as a walking garbage box and give me directions:

     “Hey, old man, some garbage over there,” or “Look, more garbage here.”

Why don’t they pick up the garbage and throw it into the garbage box? I am voluntarily picking up garbage, but they sound like saying, “It’s your duty to pick up garbage.” I want to say to them, “Why don’t you do it yourselves. You are very rude.” I deplore that there are too many selfish people today.

------------------------------

I became angry to read his letter. Recently many young people do not give up their seats to aged people. When my wife and I went to Korea a few years ago, two young people gave up their seats immediately after we got on a bus. The other day, when I was sitting in a priority seat in a subway train (I am 76 years old and deserve a priority seat), an old woman with a stick got on the subway train and stood in front of me. When the train started, she tried to stand firmly with the support of her stick, but she was staggering. None of the young people sitting in the propriety seats gave up their seats. Therefore, I looked up at her eyes and said to her by means of gestures, “Do you want to sit here?” She nodded an affirmative. I gave up my seat to her.

The young people were operating their smartphones. I got angry. The future of Japan is doomed.

辻井さんのピアノ妨害 Noise during Tsujii's Piano Performance

辻井さんのピアノ妨害雑音

昨日、女房と豊田市コンサートホールで世界的に有名なピアニスト、辻井伸行さんのピアノを聴いてきた。彼のピアノは二回目で、一回目は2年ほど前に岐阜のサラマンカホールで聴いている。今回も期待にたがわず、素晴らしい演奏であったが、一つ怒れてきたことがあった。

コンサートホールの照明が暗くなると、辻井さんが拍手喝采を浴びて登場し、ピアノの前に着席した。ドビュッシーのアラベスクの曲が流れ始めた。うっとりとして聞いていると、鈍い雑音が近くから聞こえてきた。見ると、私の席のすぐ左斜め前の通路で録画技術者と思われる人が三脚足の大型録画機で辻井さんのピアノを録画している。録画の電源のモーターの音がするのである。ピアノが静かな旋律になるたびに、ジーという鈍い音が聞こえてくるのだ。次のベルガマスク組曲の「前奏曲」「メヌエット」「月の光」「パスピエ」も、それに続くすべての曲の演奏中に、録画中の雑音が聞こえてくる。また、会場の薄暗がりのなかで録画中の赤い豆ランプがピカピカ光っており、ピアノを楽しむどころではなかった。8500円も払って、わざわざ名古屋から来ているのにコンサート中いらいらしていた。やっと第一部が終わり、休憩時間になった。

   私は怒れてきて、会場案内の女性に文句を言い、カメラマンに「録画の音がやかましい」と抗議した。カメラマンは「ええっ、気がつきませんでした」という。私は、「カメラの位置を二階にあげるか、一番後ろに移動してほしい。コンサートが台無しだ」と強く抗議した。女房も加わり、会場係も来て、ようやくカメラを撤去することになった。第二部が始まる前に、会場責任者が来て謝ったが、全く無神経であきれた。スマホをマナーモードではなく電源を切れと言っておいて、主催者はコンサート中、雑音を流していた。

第二部が始まっても初めのうちは怒りがおさまらず、やっとアンコールに入るころに辻井さんのピアノを聞くことができた。

疲れた。

Noise during Tsujii's Piano Performance

I went to Toyota City Concert Hall with my wife to listen to a world-famous pianist, Nobuyuki Tsujii’s performance. That was the second time for me to listen to his piano, since I had been to his concert held in the Salamanca Hall in Gifu City about two years ago. This time I hardly enjoyed his piano,because I  was irritated all during the first half of his performance.

When the lights of the concert hall became dim, Tsujii appeared on the stage in the midst of loud applause, sat in front of the piano, and began to play Arabesque No.1 composed by Debussy. I was instantly charmed by the sound of his piano and was listening to the music enchantedly, when I heard a faint noise coming from somewhere nearby. I looked around in the dark and saw a cameraman recording the piano performance with a huge camera on the tripod in the aisle diagonally forward left from my seat. The recording machine was making a low continuous noise. The noise sounded louder especially when the pianist was playing a soft and quiet piece of melody.

The noise lasted all the while when Tsujii was playing “Prelude” “Menuet” “Clair De Lune” and  “Passepied” in his Suite Bergamasque and the following pieces of music. Moreover, I noticed a tiny red lamp blinking constantly at the bottom of the camera tripod in the dark. What with the noise and what with the red flashing lamp, I was so irritated that I failed to enjoy his piano. I came all the way from Nagoya to Toyota paying as much as 8,500 yen for the concert; the noise and red light damaged the concert. After an hour’s performance the first part at last ended and the intermission began.

Immediately I went to the nearest usher to complain about the noise. I also told the cameraman that he had been making a terrible noise all during the first half of the performance. He said, “Oh, I wasn’t aware of the noise.” Furious, I protested against him saying, “I insist you move the camera to the second floor or to the rear of the concert hall. Otherwise, the concert would be disastrous.” My wife also joined me. Soon the woman in charge of the concert hall came and in the end, she said she would remove the camera. She  apologized to me before the second part started. I told her that she was irresponsible because the audience were requested to switch off the smartphones so that they would not make any noise while the cameraman was making an irritating noise all during the concert.

My anger did not abate for 30 minutes or so even when the second part had started. The piano performance I really enjoyed at all was the encore.

I was exhausted.

Noise during Tsujii's Piano Performance

人、人、人の香嵐渓 Packed like Sardines

人、人、人の香嵐渓

２４日（日）、女房と香嵐渓に団体バスで行きましたが、驚きました。モミジの木は大きくなり、葉っぱは真っ赤に染まり綺麗でしたが、驚いたのは人の多さです。ひところは香嵐渓は地方の紅葉狩りの場所でしたのに、いつの間にやら全国区になり、駐車場からナントカ川に出るまでの通路には露店がひしめき、人混みで大混雑。やっと川に出て、ナントカ橋までも人、人、人で橋にたどり着けない。橋の上は帰ってくる人、これから行く人で大渋滞。身動きが取れない状態で、高度成長期の東京のプラットホームに「押し屋」がいましたが、あのようなpacked like sardinesで鰯のようにぎゅうぎゅう詰めの状態で、一インチずつ橋を、前進しました。疲れた。モミジを人混みの中で見て、駐車場に帰ったら、練馬ナンバーの西武バスや奈良交通のバスが停まっていました。奈良からワザワザ！　２０年か３０年前の香嵐渓は風流だったのに。今は中国語が飛び交い、露店がひしめき、恐ろしいところになり果てました。（写真の橋の上の人混みを見てください）

Packed like Sardines

My wife and I went on a group tour to Korankei to view the colorful red leaves by bus on Sunday, 24 in November. The maple trees were larger and the red leaves were more beautiful than I had expected. To my surprise, I saw an enormous number of tourists. Decades ago, Korankei used to be a local maple-viewing spot, but today it has become one of the most famous such spots in Japan.

There were too many stalls alongside too narrow a road from the parking lot to the river (I don’t know its name). The road was too crowded to walk smoothly. I pushed and elbowed my way to the river but again I had a hard time to reach the red bridge (I don’t know its name) because the road along the river was too congested. After struggle, I reached the bridge, but it was the most crowded. Those who were coming back from the other side of the river crashed with those who were going there. The maple-viewers were packed like sardines. That reminded me of the crowd in a Tokyo station platform amid the high-growth period of the Japanese economy (from the mid-fifties through the sixties) where the station employees used to push the passengers into the crowded train so that they could get on it.

I advanced inch by inch on the bridge. I did not have time to enjoy the red-leaf scenery from the bridge. I was exhausted. After seeing the red leaves among the sardines, I returned to the parking lot.

I was surprised again to see a Seibu Bus from Tokyo with Nerima number and a Nara Tourist Bus in the parking lot. Why did it come all the way from Nara?

About 20 or 30 years ago, Korankei was a place to enjoy the quiet and

aesthetic nature, but nowadays it is an unpleasant place full of people, stalls, and Chinese people.
    (Look at the people on the bridge in the photograph.)