Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Kurashiki City

　　Kurashiki City is located at about 3 hours' drive from my city, and it's adjacent to Okayama City where I spent my university days. Kurashiki City is well-known as one of the tourist spots in Japan. Naturally, I have lots of memories concerning the city.
　　My wife graduated from a different faculty of the same university as me, so Kurashiki City is also familiar to her. Today, her classmate gathering was held in the city, and I worked as a chauffeur for her. She was able to use public transportation, but I wanted to see how the city had changed and took her to the city. From all appearances, some parts had changed and others hadn't. If you see the following pictures, you'll surely become eager to visit the city.

(Vocabulary)
from/to all appearances 見たところでは, 見る限りでは
From all appearances, they were a happily married couple.
見たところ，彼らは幸せな夫婦だった．

 

Dr. Yujiro Ozaki

　　Dr. Yujiro Ozaki, the specialist in urology, who had proposed a toast at our wedding party 30 years ago, invited us to lunch. We haven't seen him for 30 years, since our wedding. I've been thinking about visiting him at his house, but I knew how busy he was and therefore refrained from visiting. He graduated from the same junior high, high, and medical schools as me.
　　When my wife and I got married, my wife was working as a chief nurse at the central operation unit in Okayama University Hospital. His boss, Prof. Ohmori, was the head of the unit and he practically managed the unit. That's why he knew my wife.
　　Seeing him again for the first time in 30 years, our talk became animated and I didn't feel that 30 years had passed, setting our horizontal growth and facial wrinkles aside. He lives in Kobe now. I'd like to visit the big harbour city next time and enjoy dinner with him. I got permission to upload our picture to show our acquaintances.

(Vocabulary)
Weblioより：
英語国では「先輩」「後輩」の関係はあまり重要視されず, これらの語にぴったり相当する英語はない. 「あの人は僕の先輩です」を英語でいうには He entered the company [university] earlier than I did. とか He was at Hosei University (ten years) before me. などというのが一番自然であろう.

 

約３０年前に結婚したとき、その披露宴で乾杯の音頭を取って頂いた尾崎先生から一度食事でもしないかとメールが届いた。実はこの３０年、一度もお会いしたことがなく、挨拶に伺わなければと思いつつもお忙しいだろうからと遠慮していた。先生のご専門は泌尿器科で中学、高校、大学と先輩に当たる。

結婚当時、妻は岡山大学病院で手術室のナースのチーフとして活躍していた。尾崎先生の上司にあたる大森教授が手術部長を兼任されていた関係で、泌尿器科のNo.3だった先生は手術室を統括されており、妻とも親しく、乾杯の音頭をお願いすることになった次第だ。

３０年ぶりにお目にかかると、お互いの水平方向への成長や、顔のしわは隠せないものの、３０年前の思い出話に花が咲いた。神戸にお住まいなので次回は我々が神戸に赴き食事会をしたいと思っている。許可をいただいたので４人の集合写真をupする。

Uzurano Air Station

　　I found several air-raid shelters around the ruin and they indicated the harsh air strikes during the war. There was the underground command post whose door was closed, but when I was pacing to and fro, several people appeared and one of them apparently looked associated with the ruin. I asked him to allow me to enter the post in company with them. He kindly welcomed and guided me. I'll show you some pictures taken in the underground command post, which is partially open to the public as a small museum. I was lucky to be able to step into it. Then about 10 minutes' walk took me to the former runway. It seemed that the runway was used for radio-controlled planes for amusement. I walked from the end to the opposite end and found various war memorials along the runway. I'll show you some of them below. One of them was for the dedication of the Kamikaze pilots, who had left there and never came back. I hate wars, but admire them as the heroes who saved my country, Japan. A table was actually used for the maintenance of the fighters. An anti-aircraft gun was also preserved. Looking at those memorials, my abhorrence against mad men in Russia and the US who wanted the war flared up.

(Vocabulary)
command post　指令所
pace around (sth)
(何かが気掛かりで) （＜場所＞を）うろうろ歩き回る
The prisoner was pacing around the cell.
囚人は監房の中をうろうろ歩き回っていた．
pace up and down (sth)
（＜場所＞を）行ったり来たりする
pace back and forth 行ったり来たりする
anti-aircraft gun 高射砲

鶉野飛行場跡地訪問

飛行場周辺には多数の防空壕跡があり、空襲に対する警戒振りが見て取れた。地下指令所の入り口があり、ウロウロしていると関係者らしき一団が現れ、頼んでみると中へ入れてくれて説明までしてくれた。下の写真の最初の４枚は地下指令所の外観と内部である。さらに歩くと滑走路に出た。さすがに広い。滑走路の脇には特攻攻撃をした若者たちを悼む慰霊碑や紫電改を整備した台が置かれていた。滑走路の端まで歩くと高射砲が保存されていた。戦争の怖さ、悲惨さを感じると共に、大東亜戦争を欲したロシアやアメリカのキチガイどもに対する憎しみが増した。慰霊碑に対して手を合わさずにはおれなかった。

Uzurano Air Station and Hokkeguchi Station

　　Uzurano Air Station Ruin, which had long been under the Defense Ministry's control, was handed to Kasai city this year. I hadn't known even its name until recently. It used to be the property of the Himeji factory of Kawanishi Aircraft Company, the predecessor of the current ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd., but it was used as a navy air station during the Great East Asian War. While zero-fighters were showing their overwhelming power in every air-battle in the early stage of the war, its next generation of "Shidenkai" was being produced at this factory.
　　The role of this air station was to test the newly-built Shidenkais and to educate newly-recruited pilots. Shidenkais were transported to the front lines from here and the pilots who had finished their beginners' course were sent to Kyushu and brushed up their skills there and finally crashed into enemies. I dropped in at the station, from which the young pilots started.
　　As you see, it was located in an isolated place. If you didn't know its history, you'd not understand why this station was bulit there. While I was looking around vaguely, a specially decorated train came in. Shortly before, several people started to gather around the station. Their aim must have been this train. By the way, I decided to walk to the former airport for about two kilometers.

(Vocabulary)
ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd.　新明和工業株式会社
Kawanishi Aircraft Company　川西航空機

法華口駅

最近まで名前さえ知らなかった鶉野飛行場跡地。２０１６年まで防衛省が管理していたが、今は加西市に払い下げられている。元は川西航空機姫路工場の専用飛行場だったが大東亜戦争中は海軍航空隊が駐留していた。ゼロ戦の活躍する中、ここではその後継機、紫電改という戦闘機を開発していた。

この飛行場では出来上がったばかりの紫電改をテストし、また新兵の教育飛行も行われていた。ここで基礎を学んだ新米飛行士たちは近くの法華口駅から九州は宇佐飛行場へ向かい、ここよりあるいは別の基地より特攻攻撃に臨んだ。その兵士たちの出発地となった駅に立ち寄った。

見ての通り、開けた土地の中にぽつんとある駅で、歴史を知らねばここに駅が存在する理由がわからないだろう。ぼんやり駅を眺めていたらなにやら特別列車が入ってきた。先ほどから駅に集まってきている人の目的はこれだったらしい。さてここから、飛行場までは２キロメートルほど。散策してみることとしよう。

Ako City

　　I got two day-offs after a long interval and decided to visit a place which I had longed to visit since long ago. Before the visit, I dropped in at Ako City on the way. The name of this city reminds ordinary Japanese people of a historical incident, in which the lord of this region in the early 18th century was excused by his opponent, and his men retaliated by killing him two years later. It's a long story and has tugged at Japanese peoples' hearts. You'll easily get hold of the information on the net. There remains only the stone wall of the castle at present, but several things from those days talked much. Visitors to the city will be exposed to a different side of Japanese culture. I went to Ako Cape next, which I had often visited by my motorcycle in my student days. My lodging was two hours from Ako city. Anyway, several hotels were closed and the prosperity of the cape's tourism had disappeared, and I was really sorry to feel that a certain time had already passed.

(Vocabulary)
tug at sb's heart/heartstrings ＜人＞の心をとらえる, 心の琴線に触れる

赤穂城趾と赤穂御崎

久しぶりに丸２日の休みが取れた。前々から行ってみたかった飛行場跡を訪問することにした。今日はまずは赤穂市へ。日本人の多くが知っている有名な歴史的事件の舞台となった街。これを読む外国の方々も知っておくと良いかも知れない。この城の殿様が江戸に於いて処刑され、その原因となった人物に家来たちが数年掛けて復習するという物語だが、家来たちの行動は当時も今も日本人の心をわしづかみにする。詳しくは書ききれないので興味があれば調べてみてください。
そして夕刻、赤穂御崎にも寄ってみた。学生時代にここまでオートバイで来たことがあるが、その寂れように驚いた。