Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Empty-nest Syndrome

　　I have three daughters. The eldest lives in Tokyo, the second in Germany, and the youngest became big enough to leave home. She left home today to live near her university. It's only 20km away from home, but I felt that she had gone far away. I had my house built 7 years ago. It was big enough for my three daughters to come back with their husbands and kids. However, its size makes me feel more lonely. My wife often says, "What are they doing now?"

　　I heard about the empty-nest syndrome recently. They say that lots of parents whose kids left home  tend to suffer depression because of loneliness. However, the criteria for the syndrome diagnosis doesn't match our couple's current condition at all. We feel a little unhappy, but at the same time, we notice that we get more time for ourselves. We can dine out whenever we like, never minding kids' schedules. So, the title of this entry is a kind of joke.

　　By the way, the summer season is coming. I'm wondering where to go, or what to do this year. I have lots of choices. Some friends tell me to climb mountains. Others tell me to go for a motorcycle ride. My father and daughters want to visit Freiburg where my second daughter lives. I've actually no time to become depressed.

• (Vocabulary) 
• empty-nest syndrome  空の巣症候群
  
• criteria for autism diagnosis  自閉症の診断の基準
  
• couple  夫婦
  
• jokingly  ふざけて, 冗談で

Longitudinal Walk of Honshu

　　You know that Japan consists of four main islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. I live in Shikoku, but I started a longitudinal walk of Honshu, which is the biggest island of the four main islands. Naturally, it is a virtual walk. I'll show you some fantastic gear in this entry.

　　The picture is of my mobile phone, which is made in Taiwan. A variety of functions can be added  by downloading additional software from the internet. The other day, I added the function of pedometer to my cellular phone. The pedometer is sold by itself, but if it is set on this mobile phone, it is totally different from the original pedometer. It can not only count the steps, but also detect and record the current position. After the walk, it calculates the moving distance, average speed, burning of calories and, moreover, draws tracks on the Google Map. It's a wonderful function.

　　At the same time, the moving distances are totalled and put on the map of Honshu. The mobile phone shows where I would be if I had walked from the northernmost tip of Honshu. I had just walked 35km/1778km, but I'm going to walk across Honshu. This is a silly little idea, but it can be enough motive to continue walking for my health. It might be a bother for my dog, who has to walk with me. (grin)

(Vocabulary)

virtual

事実上の, 実質的な, …同然の

They drove home in virtual silence. 彼らはほとんど無言のまま車で帰宅した．

I didn't want to leave my children with a virtual stranger. 子供たちを他人同然の人と一緒に置いて行きたくなかった．

仮想の, インターネット［コンピュータ］上の

The website allows you to take a virtual tour of the campus. ウェブサイトではインターネット上でキャンパスを見学できます．

pedometer  歩数計

length of move / moving distance  移動距離

silly little たわいない, 取るに足りない

 

Opportunity to Speak German

　　I'm a member of the friendship association between Matsuyama and Freiburg in Germany. My second daughter lives in Freiburg now to learn German, and she will make a living with German skills in the future. Additionally, I'd like to enjoy trips in Europe and ski in the European Alps. That's why I'm continuing to learn German bit by bit. I record a German educational TV program and watch it repeatedly, but it is always passive. There's no chance to write and talk in German. If I had enough time regularly, I'd ask someone for lessons, but I can't now.

　　A few years ago, when I started learning Korean, I found a clever student from South Korea and asked her to chat with me once a month. It was really helpful for my learning Korean and it was a valuable opportunity. She was relatively free and I could sometimes ask her to see me even from the previous night.

　　By the way, a postcard came to me from the secretariat of the association today and it said that German conversation classes would be held for beginners once a week from June. The class fee is only 9 U.S. dollars per class including cakes and drinks. As you know from the cheapness of the class, it was one of the volunteer tasks of the exchange students from Germany. I applied instantly. The price is very reasonable and I can easily cancel the class because the pay system isn't monthly.

(Vocabulary)

secretariat  (官庁・国際機関などの) 事務局, 秘書課

Distortion by Russia

　　A big event to mark the 65th anniversary of the victory against Germany in World War Two, was held on May 9th in Russia. The huge military parade was conducted by more than 10,000 soldiers in Red Square in Moscow. It sounded like it was on the biggest scale since the collapse of the USSR. Not only Russian troops but former CIS troops joined the ceremony. Additionally, it was highly important that the U.S., the U.K. and French troops attended the ceremony for the first time as the used-to-be friendly forces against Nazi Germany. Moreover, to my surprise, Polish troops joined the parade, who shared the historical issue known as the Katyn Forest massacre with Russia for the first time in 65 years.
　　Not only military personnel, but 25 countries' heads of state also attended the event, including the loser, German Prime Minister Merkel, and the heads of the Baltic states and Poland, which also had lots of historical issues against Russia.
　　This event was taking advantage of the fact that Russia had contributed to beat Nazi Germany, but first of all, Russia intended to encircle the movement of the review of the war proposed by the Baltic States and Poland.
　　The Baltic States and Poland look upon Russia the same as Nazi Germany. You might think their idea strange, but the acknowledgement of the achievement of Russia in beating Nazi Germany doesn't contradict looking upon Russia as the partner of Nazi Germany.
　　The war against Nazi Germany is called the Great Patriotic War in the USSR and Russia, which started in June 1941, when Nazi Germany began to attack Russia. On the other hand, World War Two broke out in September 1939, triggered by the German invasion of Poland. So, what was Russia doing from September 1939 to June 1941?
　　I'll tell you the truth. Russia was invading Poland from the east while Nazi Germany was doing the same thing from west. At that time, they perpetrated the Katyn Forest massacre. They also invaded the Baltic States, Finland and Romania. It meant the denial of the Versailles Treaty and what Russia had done was just the same thing as Nazi Germany had done.
　　That is to say, there are chapters one and two for World War Two in connection with Russia (USSR), both of which are totally different from each other. Russia emphasizes only the second chapter and covers up the first. Such a fundamental fact is easily found if you look at the chronological table. It's beyond doubt that Russia intends to distort the historical fact.

(Vocabulary)
Red Square  赤の広場
military parade  軍事パレード
USSR  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
CIS  (the Commonwealth of Independent States)
独立国家共同体 (旧ソビエト連邦の12か国から成る国家共同体)
highly important  特筆すべき
Katyn Forest massacre カチンの森事件
Nazi Germany  ナチスドイツ
head of state（王・大統領などの）国家元首
Baltic state バルト海沿岸の国（北から、Estonia、Latvia、Lithuaniaの三国）
take advantage of ～をうまく［巧みに］利用する、～を生かす、～を活用［駆使］する、～の特典を生かす; ～を悪用する、～に乗じる、～に便乗する
look on/upon sb/sth as sth  ＜…＞を＜…＞であると考える, ＜…＞を＜…＞と見なす
Great Patriotic War  大祖国戦争
invasion of sth
an invasion of privacy  プライバシーの侵害
Versailles Treaty  ベルサイユ条約
in connection with ～に関連して
chronological table 年表
chronological  年代順の, 年代順に配列した
in chronological order   年代順に
beyond (a) reasonable doubt  (法)  合理的な疑いの余地なく

 

ロシアの捏造

　５月９日、対独戦争勝利を記念するイベントがロシアで開催された。一万人以上が参加する大軍事パレードだ。これはソ連崩壊後最大規模だという。ロシア軍だけでなく、旧CIS諸国の軍隊やアメリカ、イギリス、フランスまでもが参加している。さらに驚いたことに、ポーランド軍までが参加しているのだ。６５年の戦後史の中で初めてのことだ。また、パレードには軍関係者だけでなく、２５カ国の首脳も参加している。ドイツのメルケル首相もだ。さらにバルト三国、ポーランドの首脳まで。
　このイベントはナチス殲滅にソ連軍が多大なる貢献をしたという事実を最大限利用するものであるが、なかでも最近バルト三国やポーランドから出てきている歴史見直しの動きを封じることにその目的があると思う。
　バルト三国やポーランドはロシアとナチスドイツを同一視している。おかしな考えだと思われるかもしれないが、ナチスドイツ打倒におけるロシアの功績を認めることと、ロシアをナチスドイツと同一視することは矛盾しないのだ。
　ナチスドイツ相手の戦争はロシアでは大祖国戦争と呼ばれ、ドイツが侵攻してきた１９４１年６月に始まった。しかし、第２次世界大戦は１９３９年９月、ドイツのポーランド侵攻によって始まっているのだ。ではこの間、ロシアはいったい何をしていたのだろうか。
　真実を伝えよう。ロシアはナチスドイツと一緒になって東側からポーランドに攻め込んでいたのだ。このときにカチンの森事件は発生した。さらにバルト三国、フィンランド、ルーマニアにも侵攻した。これはベルサイユ体制の否定であり、ナチスドイツのやったことと寸分違わない。
　つまり、ロシアの第２次世界大戦には全く異なる第１部と第２部があり、ロシアは第２部だけを強調しているのだ。そして第１部を隠蔽している。こんなことは年表を見れば一目瞭然だ。ロシアが改めて歴史の捏造を図っていることは疑いようがない。

Coroner's Inquest

　　I often see the scene of the coroner's inquests in American movies. The heros like Columbo or Dirty Harry have talks with the coroner and get some clues at his office. I compared both inquests between an American movie and in real Japan. I guess that American coroners have medical licenses and, if they want, they could become clinicians, but they chose to become coroners by their own choice. It's my understanding. At this point, a question came up. Though the number of coroners isn't enough in Japan, how about in the U.S.? The population of my hometown is 500,000, but the number of coroners is one-digit at most.
　　If the body that is suspected to have been possibly killed by a certain third person is found in my hometown, plural policemen and a clinician get together and have a conference to investigate the cause of the death. Not a coroner but a clinician gets involved in such cases. I'm sometimes called to this meeting because of the lack of coroners. I'm not a professional in this field and always feel concerned about the decision.
　　The area where Columbo or Dirty Harry works is a huge city such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. What's the condition of small cities of 500,000 population in the U.S.? Are there enough coroners in rural cities? Does the government control the number of coroners?

(Vocabulary)
coroner  検死官
the coroner's office 検死局
coroner's inquest 検死審問
medical licence  医師免許
clinician  臨床医
by one's own choice  自分自身の選択によって
at most  多くても
third person  第三者

Folk Medicine

　　One of my patients has frequent attacks of the hiccups, and the attacks usually continue for more than a week. During the attacks, he can't eat enough and I have to give him continuous drip infusions. I'd been looking for some remedies and found a strange medicine. It's the stalk end of the Japanese persimmon. You put them into water and boil them. The extracted liquid is given to the patients. When the state-of-the-art medicine reaches an impasse, a folk medicine, existing for more than 1000 years, is available. Don't you think it is funny and an awesome feeling about our ancestors' wisdom?

(Vocabulary)

folk medicine  民間療法

stalk end  へた

Japanese persimmon  《植物》柿

extracted liquid  抽出液

impasse  行き詰まり, 袋小路

reach an impasse  行き詰まる, 暗礁に乗り上げる

be at an impasse   行き詰まっている, 暗礁に乗り上げている

 

Japanese Herbal Medicine

　　I attended a lecture about Japanese herbal medicine. When I finished at my university,  herbal medicine was not popular. Most students didn't give it the time of day. Herbal medicine used to be disregarded as folk quackery. So, I don't have enough knowledge about it and have to learn it now. In the lecture, two volunteers were kind enough to be the patients for participants' learning. I learned how to pick out the physical findings from them under the instruction of a practitioner of traditional herbal medicine.

　　I think that it is the same in a variety of other fields, and I realize that I have to learn all the time as long as I work as a surgeon.

(Vocabulary)

not give someone the time of day  見向きもしない

【語源】Good afternoon.やGood morning.などの「１日のうちの時(the time of day )」を示す挨拶を人にしないという意味

disregard  …を無視する, 軽視する

quackery  いんちき療法

medicine には the は付かない

Bistro Baden

　　It's a curious naming of a small wine bar. "Bistro" is a French word and "Baden" is the name of the provinces of southwestern Germany. Freiburg City, where I had stayed for a week last month and now where my daughter is living, is located in the midst of the Baden area. I heard that Badish(adj. of Baden) wines were served at the bar. I took my friends out for dinner. The bar had a nice atomosphere and a large stock of German wines. I will be an eager repeater.

　　I'll show you the night view from the bar, and if you want to see the menu and other pictures, go to the following url that was edited by my friend.

http://zebo.la.coocan.jp/etc/2010/2010-05-15/main.html

(Vocabulary)

the provinces 《複数扱い》地方, 田舎

take sb ↔ out for sth　＜人＞を＜食事など＞に連れて行く

 

 

Unveiling of National Soccer Team

　　The member list of the Japanese national soccer team that will join the 2010 World Cup was unveiled today. My most favorite player wasn't selected, but it's ok. I just hope that they will play fair. I don't want to see the ugly plays like those of the South Korean team in 2002. As one enthusiastic supporter of soccer, I hope that the World Cup will finish without any trouble like terrorism. I heard that the security of South Africa was extremely bad. I'm really afraid of that.

Palliative Care Workshop

　　I'll write about my job, the medical service in Japan, this time. As most of you know, it is almost totally under the control of the government. The uniform services are available for everyone, no matter how high-profile or poor he or she is. As far as I know, this system is one of the best kinds of medicine in the world.

　　When the government wants to put an emphasis on a special issue, they have only to raise the National Health Insurance (NHI) point of the issue. For example, the number of obstetricians diminished in recent years and the government advanced an NHI point of obstetrical procedures at that time. Consequently the number is now recovering.

　　Today's topic, "Palliative Care", is quite simply the issue that the government intends to concentrate on these days. It's the notion that medical staff remove the agony from terminal patients suffering from incurable cancers and lead them to a peaceful end of their lives.

　　The Japanese Government increased the NHI point of this field last year and it had a condition. That is, it must be under a specialist's direction, having the license of a medical doctor and having attended and got through the palliative care workshop.

　　I joined this workshop today and successfully finished. It was really useful and I acquired lots of knowledge and procedures. I will take advantage of these acquired skills from now on.

(Vocabulary)

palliative care  緩和ケア

palliative

〈治療法・効果などが〉 (根治するのではなく) （症状［苦痛］）緩和の, 姑息(こそく)な

〈対策などが〉一時しのぎの

orientation  [C,U] (政治的・宗教的な) 方向性, 信条

sb's political/religious orientation  ＜人＞の政治的［宗教的］信条［方向性］

uniform 〈外見・性質などが〉 同一の, 均一［均質］の

The country needs a uniform legal system. 国家には一貫した法制度が必要である．

National Health Insurance  国民健康保険          NHI point  保険点数

obstetrician  産科医                                        gynecologist  婦人科医

quite simply  まさに                                        direction  [U] 管理, 指揮, 監督

under sb's direction  ＜人＞の指揮のもとに

     

Dazaifu Tenman-gu

　　Dazaifu Tenman-gu is a Shinto shrine located in Dazaifu city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As it is very famous, you can read the details of this shrine on other websites. If you are interested in the history or origin of this shrine, google it please. I'll write about one feature here.
　　The shrine was built in 919 on the tomb of Sugawara no Michizane, who had died in despair and hopelessness. He was acknowledged as an unmatched scholar after his death and now, he is supposed to be the God of learning. Therefore, lots of people who want to pass various kinds of examinations visit there to pray to him for their success. Just before the university entrance examination of my second daughter, I visited there and prayed for her success. As for my youngest daughter, I asked the shrine for a lucky charm. I don't know if the God helped them or not, but both were respectively successful.
　　My wife and I decided to visit the shrine again to thank him. We got a flat tire on the way, but this drive was really relaxing. The sky was fine. The view through the window was brilliant. The to and from ferry boats were comfortable. Lots of motorcycle freaks looked happy.

　　See also http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/01/dazaifu-tenmang.html

(Vocabulary)
die in despair and hopelessness  絶望と失意のうちに死ぬ
unmatched  無比の, 匹敵するものがない
pray to sb/sth (for sth) （＜…＞を求めて）＜…＞に祈る
charm [C] (腕輪などにつける) 飾り, お守り
a lucky charm  幸運のお守り