Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Colorful Landscape

　　Even those who have never been to Japan would have heard of its colorful autumnal scenery. Tourist attractions associated with colorful leaves are scattered across the country. As the summer heat leaves, the mountains begin to turn red starting in the nothern part. There's a word, "red leaves front" in Japan. It is used to mean the red leaves front is coming down to Tokyo. As you know, Japan is a small archipelago country, but it stretches from the subtropical to the subpolar zone. The descent of the red leaves front is a seasonal feature of Japan as well as the ascent of the cherry blossom front in Spring.
　　The same can be said for a several-hundred meters high mountain. The red leaves front descends from its top to its base. The picture was shot in Shirataki that I wrote about in the last entry. If the weather was brighter and my camera was good, the picture would have been more beautiful.

(Vocabulary)
subpolar 亜寒帯
descent (フォーマル) (飛行機などの) 降下, (山などを) 下る［下りる］こと
ascent 《[C]通例単数形で》 上昇, 登ること

Mochi Pounding (Rice-cake Making)

　　I'll write about the village festival continued from the last entry.
　　Have you ever seen Japanese-style mochi pounding? I'll show you a Google Image site linking to lots of images of mochi pounding. When celebrating something in Japan, people like neighbors, relatives or companies often get together and cooperate on rice-cake making. I'm going to tell you how to make rice-cake, but it's not easy to translate items into English. I hope that the pictures from Google will help you understand what I want to say.
　　Now, at first, you steam the sticky rice and put it into a rice mortar, and pound it with one, sometimes several, big and heavy pestle. As I couldn't find suitable words, I expressed special items for mochi-pounding as "mortar and pestle". If you know more suitable words, tell me please. I think that you'd know what I was talking about.
　　Anyway, repeating the action of Lifting a pestle in the air and banging it down on the mortar requires physical power and is hard work. Women usually don't pound rice cakes with a big pestle, but I found a smart pounding machine that is shown in the picture. An aged woman was pounding a mass of sticky rice with a man supplying a small amount of water that prevented the rice from caking to the mortar and pestle. I was watching the movement for a while. She didn't need to aim at the mortar. The machine was set just in a good position. She was only stepping the bar down regularly. It was very simple and easy. I was impressed with the idea.

Google Images

(Vocabulary)
mochi pounding / rice-cake making 餅つき
mortar and pestle 臼と杵
glutinous [sweet] rice / sticky rice 餅米
steam（ご飯などを）蒸す
sweat（野菜などを）蒸す
bang down〔斧や棒など〕振り下ろす
cake [自] 固まる, こびりつく
be caked with/in sth  ＜…＞がこびりついている

Village Festival

　　I went out for a change on my scooter with my friends. The destination was a mountain area called Shirataki, one and a half hours from my house. The autumn in Shirataki was very colorful. It transpired that the village festival was held and we could enjoy something associated with the festival. At this village, the legend has it that a star-crossed princess, Rurihime, killed herself while diving into the waterfall. The parade in the picture was for mourning for her.

(Vocabulary)
for a change 気分転換に
transpire
[自](フォーマル) 起こる
it transpires that
(フォーマル) …ということが判明する［明らかになる］
It later transpired that the document had been forged.　文書が偽造されていたことが後に明らかになった．
star-crossed 《通例[名]の前で》(文) 星回りの悪い, 幸薄き
star-crossed lovers  (小説・劇などの) 幸薄き恋人たち (シェイクスピアの『ロミオとジュリエット』の冒頭のせりふから)
legend has it that  …と言い伝えられている

Ksitigarbha (Ojizousama)

　　The topic, Ksitigarbha is from Buddhism. It is called "ojizousama" in Japanese and is supposed to look after children, travellers and the underworld. I found an ojizousama at the roadside and I'm going to write about it. To tell the truth, I had noticed it for several months, but I thought that the topic about Buddhism was too weighty for me to write about here, however I changed my mind having found its apron and cap changed and washed. I'll try to describe Ksitigarbha, though this entry might be hard to understand.
　　You might have seen the statue of Buddha in Buddhist temples. I think that you could pick up the fact that two Buddhist images accompanied Buddha. The Buddhist image on the right side viewed from Buddha is Samantabhadra (Fugen Bosatsu in Japanese) and another is Manjusri Bodhisattva (Monju Bosatsu likewise). Samantabhadra is supposed to be associated with mercy and Manjusri Bodhisattva with wisdom. Thus "Fugen" and "Monju" are frequently used in Japan. As one good example, do you remember the fast breeder reactor Monju? If you have an interest, check this URL: http://www.jaea.go.jp/04/monju/EnglishSite/index.html
　　Being back on track, what is ojizousama for? The three symbols of Buddhism are believed to be in the sky far away from us, whereas ojizousama stays by our side and is always with us. The Bible says, "When two or more get together under the name of Christ, Christ is sure to be with them too." If you are praying alone, Christ might hear you, but he is away from you. On the other hand, in Buddhism, ojizousama is always with ordinary people. It is the most conspicuous feature of ojizousama. It is usually set at the roadside and you often see it.
　　Ojizousama is also said to be a guardian of children as I mentioned above. When a child passes away or is born dead, its parents often build the statue of ojizousama mourning for their child and wishing for the help of ojizousama for their child. If you find a ojizousama along the roadside, there might be the scene of a serious traffic accident where a child had been killed. If the ojizousama wears an apron and cap (usually red), it was surely built for a little kid. Some religious people wash the apron and cap and keep it clean.
　　The picture was shot near my house. The ojizousama was makeshift with only two stones piled up. It was set beside a vegetable field, but its apron and cap were always clean, though it was natural to be muddy. Though I have no evidence, an elderly woman might be taking care of it, recalling her child who had passed away years ago.

(Vocabulary)
Ksitigarbha  地蔵菩薩
the underworld  下層社会, 冥土, 冥途
weighty〈問題などが〉 重大な, 深刻な；weighty matters 重大な問題
pick up a fact  気づく
Buddhist image  仏
image  (絵・彫刻の) 像, 肖像, 彫像　carved wooden images 木彫りの像
Samantabhadra  普賢菩薩　慈悲と理知を司る　Buddhaからみて右側
Manjusri (bodhisattva) 文殊菩薩 知恵を司る仏様 Buddhaからみて左側
conspicuous  目立つ, 人目をひく;《[名]の前でのみ》 際立った, 顕著な
guardian angel（人と土地を守ってくれると信じられている）守り神
mention 言及する
be born dead / die at birth 死産する
mourn for sb  ＜人＞の死を嘆き悲しむ
but for the grace of God  神のご加護がなければ
by the help of God  神のご加護によって

 

Eriocheir japonica

　　The title is the name of a crab which is frequently seen in Japanese small rivers. I am showing you the picture of it. One of my friends shared them with me today. His wife's original house is located in a rural area and her father caught them near his house.
　　This blog is read all over the world and some readers sent me e-mails. I was often surprised to read them, because their ways of thinking about Japan were sometimes far from the truth. Lots of people seem to think that Japan is too developed to keep its environment normal and natural across the country. I'd like to put emphasis on Japanese efforts to keep the earth as it was meant to be.

(Vocabulary)
share some of ~ with ～のお裾分けをする
place/put emphasis on sth  ＜…＞を強調する
as it was meant to be

Volunteer for Blood Donation

　　Japan is short of blood for transfusions now. Years ago, Japan abandoned the blood-selling system, and now is collecting blood from goodwill people. Japan adopted the blood donation system for collecting blood and set up some facilities for blood donation in the heart of middle-sized and  bigger cities. Beside the fixed spots, lots of blood donation buses collect blood by traveling all over the country.
　　As I wrote before, I belong to a Lions Club and as a part of its activities, I voluntarily joined the campaign for blood donation which was held on the campus of Ehime University, where the University festival was performed. The picture shows the bus designated for collecting blood. My job was calling for students and visitors to give blood for patients.
　　One more thing. The scene of the festival reminded me of my good old days. A stage was set up next to our site, and I could enjoy lots of performances. Though I was there as a staff member of the Japanese Red Cross, I didn't feel obligated and spent a really relaxing time.

(Vocabulary)
obliged;
be obliged to do sth  ＜…＞せざるをえない, ＜…＞しなければならない
You're not obliged to tell her anything.  彼女には何も言わなくて結構です．
obligated;
obligated to do sth  ＜…＞する義務がある, ＜…＞しなければならない
feel obligated (to do sth)  （＜…＞する）義務があると感じる

Antifilarial Agent

　　It's getting cold day by day. I gave my dog, Mocha, this year's last antifilarial agent this chilly morning. As you know, filaria is transmitted by mosquitos which usually are active in summer. You might not think that such an agent is necessary in November, but mosquitos are frequently found around my house even in early winter.
　　Japan is surrounded by warm currents which are rather warmer compared with countries of the same latitude. I sometimes realize that Japan is sited in an unbelievably blessed natural environment. Anyway, that's why mosquitos are active in November.
　　It's very easy to make him take a tablet. I have only to put it on the top of his meal. His ordinary meal is from Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. He has been fed it for more than 5 years of his whole life. He has never eaten any other meal. His meal, I think, is perfect. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink alcohol, he takes shots of vaccines every spring and he takes walks regularly. His lifestyle is completely healthy, I believe.

(Vocabulary)
antifilarial agent  抗フィラリア薬
give medicine to / give someone medicine
make someone take a medicine （人）に薬を飲ませる
dog [canine] heartworm/ filaria フィラリア
filariform larva フィラリア型幼虫
wholesome 〈食品などが〉 健康によい, 健康的な
I like plain wholesome food. 何も加えられていない健康的な食べ物が好きだ．

Hyousetsu no Mon

　　I watched a movie, Hyousetsu no Mon, with my wife today. Though the film was shot in 1974, USSR (Russia) pressed the Japanese government not to show it to Japanese people at that time, and we couldn't have watched it for a long time. The story dealt with an incident that had actually happend in Karafuto (Sakhalin in Russian) in 1945, just after the surrender of Japan. The film had been put on hold until now. I'm writing about the rough plot of the film.
　　A few days after World War 2, the USSR abruptly invaded the southern half of Karafuto which was  apparently Japanese territory. It was obviously a violation of international law. The defenceless inhabitans were slaughtered. A small Japanese army was there, but they didn't repel them in a positive manner due to strict orders from the government. They were told to obey the law. The war had ended. If they fought back, the number of victims would be increased. It was an order from Tokyo.
　　The evacuation of people started immediately, but nine operators, who were all women, stayed at their office to maintain communication between Karafuto and Hokkaido until the last minute. They were going to get on the last evacuation ship, but couldn't. Russian troops suddenly came up to their town by warship and the young operators couldn't get away. They chose death fearing sexual assault from the soldiers.
　　Japan gave up the southern half of Karafuto and all the Kuril Islands in the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the ownership of them is still up in the air now. There's no rational evidence that Russia rules this area. The USSR didn't even sign the treaty.

(Vocabulary)
be put on hold  お蔵入りにされる
in a positive manner　積極的に  
belongingness  所属性、帰属（意識）
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karafuto_1945_Summer_Hyosetsu_no_Mon

Hyakudo-ishi

　　Today, I'm writing about "Hyakudo-ishi", which I happened to find in the precincts of a Shinto shrine while walking my dog. The picture shows it. It seemed to have been set several decades ago.
　　If someone has a strong but almost hopeless desire, he or she might make a wish to the god in a shrine. How sincere the wish is, is said to be evaluated by God by the number of his or her visits to the shrine. "Hyakudo" means a hundred times. That is to say, people believed that the wish would come true if the number of their visits reached 100.
　　People pray for something moving back and forth between this Hyakudo-ishi post and the altar of the shrine. People start moving from this "hyakudo-ishi" post to the altar, pray and come back to the post after the prayer. They repeat this procedure 100 times. You see two layers of plates in the post. These plates are used to record the number of the visits. Every time they start visiting, they move the plate and count the number of visits. One of the two layers would be a tenths place and another is a single unit digit.
　　This custom is sometimes seen in period films and I supposed that it had disappeared a long time ago, but it survives even in this developed era. It was simply a surprise. This shrine is sited in the forest and couldn't be reached by car. I didn't notice the shrine until today. I have my mind set on walking everywhere within five kilometers in radius around my house.

(Vocabulary)
the precincts of a shrine  神社の境内
precinct [C](米) 行政区/[C](米) (特定地域の主要な) 警察署/precincts 《複数扱い》 (大学・大聖堂などの) 構内, 敷地
votive 　願掛けの　奉納された
a votive offering　 奉納物
make a wish to a god  願掛けをする
stand before the altar 神社の拝殿の前に立つ
a single unit digit　一の位
a tenths place [digit] 十の位
costume drama/piece/play 〔【注意】日本語の「コスプレ」の意味はない。〕//historical play//pageant（大仕掛けな）〔地域の歴史や伝統を題材にしたもので演劇や山車を連ねたパレードの形を取ることが多い。〕//period film/play //samurai dramas   時代劇
survive [自] 〈物体・建物・慣習・考えなどが〉 残っている, 残存する
A few pages of the original manuscript still survive. 原稿の数ページが今なお残っている．
have one's mind set on doing ぜひ～しようと思う
within a __-mile radius 半径＿マイル以内で

Indian Summer

　　It was warm today, and I took my digital camera when walking my dog. We call such a warm day in late autumn "Koharu-biyori", which means spring-like weather. I searched the same climate or weather in the northern hemisphere on the net and found the word, "Indian Summer" in North America. It's just the same as the Japanese "Koharu-biyori". The small path in the first picture is only 10 minutes away from my house. I often see people walking their dog there, and sometimes have a chat with them. The hill in the center of the city in the next picture is called "Shiroyama", on top of which Matsuyama Castle is sited. This picture was also taken during the walk. My house is located in a packed residence district, but it's only 10 minutes to drive downtown. Likewise, 10 minutes to the airport and it's one and a half hours to Tokyo from the airport. There's lots of petrochemical facilities along the coast, but you can enjoy fishing there, just in front of the plants. At about two kilometers off the shore, there's a peaceful island, "Gogoshima," and other small islands are scattered in the Seto Inland Sea. I realize that my hometown is great, every time I take a walk around my house.

(Vocabulary)
Indian summer　小春日和
the northern hemisphere  北半球
be sited in/on/at sth 〈物・建物などが〉 ＜場所など＞にある
The factory was sited on the edge of the town.  工場は町はずれにあった．
petrochemical facility / plant  石油化学工場
be scattered about 点在する
a scattering of small islands  点在する小さな島々

 
 

Brûlée vive (Souad)

　　I read an unbelievably shocking story in the book of the title, which was originally written in French and translated into Japanese in 2004. It appeared to be translated into several languages and I'd like you, my subscribers, to read it. The name of the author was Souad, a very simple name. It's written under an assumed name, because she could be killed by her relatives if they knew her address and present name.
　　I'm going to write about the content from now. The content was so cruel that I almost closed the book before reading it through. The saving grace was that the story ended happily at the end.
　　Souad was born about 40 years ago in the West Bank of the River Jordan. In Islamic countries, women are cruelly ill-treated. This book is an accusation of the abuse of women in her original country. Have you ever heard of the murder called "honorable murder", which means illegal executions conducted by victim's relatives like her father or brothers. Souad got pregnant unwillingly before marriage, and it was a big shame for her family. That was why they decided to kill Souad and her brother-in-law actually set fire to her hair with some oil. She was critically injured and had been on the brink of death for a few weeks, but a French woman, who was a staff member of an NPO, found her and managed to take Souad out of Jordan to Switzerland to undergo suitable medical treatment. She had already turned 17 at that time, but wasn't given any education. She had to undergo more than 20 operations of skin transplants in the strange country. She appeared to have so much hardship to accustom herself to the ordinary European life style. After more than 20 years of hardships, she was asked to write her biography for women still living under cruel conditions in Islamic countries. The person who asked her to tell the whole world of the abuse of women in Islamic countries was the woman who had actually rescued her from the foul hospital, where Souad was being accommodated. It's an honorable task to reach out selflessly at a time of another's greatest need under the threat of being targetted by her relatives, who have been wanting honor that would be given after her successful murder.
　　I admire her courage from the bottom of my heart, and will talk about this fact everywhere in Japan. I'd be happy if my action is helpful for her and her supporting NPO even if only slightly.

(Vocabulary)
assumed name  偽名
the West Bank of the River Jordan ヨルダン川西岸地区（シスヨルダン）
set fire to 火を付ける
accustom yourself to (doing) sth  ＜…＞（すること）に適応する
treatment [U]
conditions 《複数扱い》 (暮らし・仕事などの) 環境
Conditions in the prison were appalling. 刑務所内の環境はおぞましかった．
tell sb of sth  (フォーマル/文) ＜人＞に＜…＞について話す［言う］
foul　汚く、悪臭のある、不衛生な、、、（といったイメージ)
reach out to sb  ＜人＞と心を通わせる, に援助の手を差し伸べる; ＜人＞に助けを求める
selfless 無私［無欲］の, 私心のない
sb's murder (the murder of sb とも)  ＜人＞が殺害されること; '＜人＞が'殺すことではない
selfless devotion to others 私心のない献身
even if only slightly / if only a little  少しでも