Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Imamiya Jinja Shrine

　　Hearing about "Tama no Koshi" as I wrote in the last entry, we visited that shrine, Imamiya Jinja Shrine. It was surrounded by forest even in a big city, Kyoto. The path from Souken-in Temple to the shrine was comfortable, covered by the mystic atmosphere.
　　Along the former approach to the shrine there lined up a few candy stores who only sold "Aburi-mochi" rice cakes. These rice cakes have a long history and the stores have been run by several generations. I was moved by the appearance of the stores which had been used since hundreds of years ago with some restorations. FYI, there are so many businesses in Japan handed down from generation to generation. An oldest construction company started their business in 578 i.e. 6th century! It's estimated that the number of more than 100 year-old companies in Japan surpasses 100,000. Visiting this shrine, I understood that I just only scratched the surface of Japan's history though I meant to have learned it thoroughly.
　　My friend saw me off at Kyoto Station. I got on a Shinkansen Bullet Train for the first time in ten years or so. The car was upgraded since my last ride. I wondered how far the train would develop. Kyoto is always new and old at the same time. I hope I'll visit again and again.

http://www.imamiyajinja.org/eng/imamiya_ENG/TOP.html

玉の輿の話を聞いてその神社へやって来た。この神社のことは全く知らなかった。大都市京都にありながら森に囲まれていて歴史を感じさせる。総見院からここまでの散歩も荘厳な雰囲気に包まれて心地よかった。旧参道には名物「あぶり餅」を売る店が並んでいて一服した。美味しかった。もう何代もに渡って営まれている古い店のたたずまいに感動。日本には代々継がれる企業・店舗が多い。六世紀から続く建築会社も・・・・・・ある。１００年以上続く企業は１０万社以上あると推定されている。自分なりに歴史を勉強してきたつもりだったが、この神社を見て、上っ面を少しかじった程度でしかないことを思い知った。京都駅まで送ってもらって新幹線を利用した。久しぶりの新幹線で、乗るたびにアップグレードしている。古くて新しい街、京都、また何度も訪れたい。

Cinderella Story

　　You surely know the Cinderella Story. Also in Japan that surely existed in reality.
　　A poor girl who was born in a vegetable shop in Kyoto in the early 17th century married into the Tokugawa clan. She finally became the real mother of the 4th Shogun of Edo Shogunate (1603-1867). She went into the castle on a beautiful palanquin, which is called "Tama no Koshi" in Japanese and this phrase is now often used to describe a girl who got a good fortune in marriage.
　　She is said to have often visited a shrine to pray for happiness for her family. The shrine is now selling several kinds of charms and one of them is "Tama no Koshi" charm for girls who wish for affluent and happy lives. My friend has two daughters and I have three. We visited the shrine to get the charms. (grin)

(Vocabulary)
palanquin 　輿

 

 

Souken-in Temple

　　I put up at my friend's house last night. Chatting with him and his family, time went by really fast to us. We knew each other at a crammer for a junior high school. We both passed the exam and spent six years in the same school. Then he proceeded to Kyoto University. We parted at that time, but have kept in touch since then. Our friendship would become more than 50 years.
　　I was taken to Souken-in Temple, which is open to the public for a limited term yearly. Do you know Hideyoshi or Nobunaga? They are prominent figures in Japan's history. This temple was built by Hideyoshi for Nobunaga, whose tomb was set in the grounds of this temple. A variety of things concerning Nobunaga were exhibited in the main building, but taking pictures was prohibited. Knowing that this temple was open to the public on this day, my friend apparently took me to this temple. I'm interested in the history and culture of Japan, and his selection was great.
　　I found an unusual tomb near Nobunaga's and took some pictures. It looked like a famous musician's, whom I didn't know. The tomb was equipped with a music machine and illuminations. I searched him on the internet later and knew that he was a pioneer of Japan's jazz scene.

(Vocabulary)
crammer a special school that prepares people quickly for examinations

昨夜は友人宅に泊めてもらい、楽しい夜だった。お互いの状況を話しながら時間の経つのを忘れた。地元の有名中学を受験するための予備校で知り合い、ともに合格し、彼は京都大学へ進学したので大学からは別だったが、連絡を絶やさず、もう５０年以上の付き合いになる。

今日はまず、総見院を見学することとした。信長の菩提寺が特別に公開されているという。撮影禁止のものが多くて紹介できないが、よくぞ保存してきたものだと驚く。茶室も見学して寺をあとにしたが、奇抜な墓を発見したので載せておく。信長の墓から３０メートルくらいの距離にあった。有名なジャズバンドの構成員らしい。機械は壊れていたが、ボタンを押すと音楽が流れるようにつくってあったのだろうと思われた。

One of the busiest tourist destinations

　　After the last part of the parade had passed by us, I walked toward Chion-in Temple and Kiyomizu-dera Temple, listening to my friend's explanation. I wondered about the huge number of tourists. Judging from their conversation or appearance, 80% of them were overseas visitors. Also there, Chinese people's naughty behaviour was eye-catching. They litter. Lots of souvenir shops used to offer something for test tasting or to try using on the shops' front, but food for test-tasting had disappeared. They seemed to grab and take them in bags to enjoy later. Needless to say, test-tasting should not be "grab", but "pick up with fingers". I recalled my next cruise trip to Taiwan and a headache started, being afraid about confinement among lots of Chinese people.

Jidaisai, Traditional Costume Festival

　　The purpose of this trip was to view "Jidaisai", the traditional Costume Festival. I had planned this trip half a year ago. I'd also like to see my longtime friend at that time. This festival has been held on Oct. 22nd every year, but the day of this year was assigned to the 126th Ten'noh's enthronement ceremony and this festival was to be held on Saturday this weekend. If the weather was not ideal for the festival, the festival was supposed to be postponed to the next day, Sunday, so I understood that I would view the parade of lots of performers wrapped up with traditional clothes even if Saturday was rainy.
　　The parade of Jidaisai started at Kyoto Imperial Palace and continued more than two hours. We set two folding chairs on the roadside and got on standby. The 50th Ten'noh, Kanmu (781- 806 on the throne) started to live in Kyoto in 794 and Kyoto became the principal place in Japan at that time. 1200 years have already passed since then, and the banner which 8th century's ladies had was the slogan to get together to preserve ancient traditions and to develop at the same time toward the 1300th years.
　　Tastelessly, the top runner of the parade was a police car, but the next were mounted policemen specially outfitted with 8th century noble people's costume who were usually positioned in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. I didn't understand the role of the following man in the first picture, but I got it after a while. Several staff members were collecting the feces of horses and cows. Thank you for cleaning!
　　Starting with the Meiji Period (1868 to 1911), the periods were getting old. Ordinary people, adults and kids, nobles, samurai-warriors, famous historical figures, and so on. I enjoyed it very much.

http://www.heianjingu.or.jp/festival/jidaisai.html

京都へ来た理由は時代祭を見るため。半年前から予定していた。長く会っていなかった友人にも会いたかったし。毎年１０月２２日に開催されてきたが、今年は新天皇の即位の礼のため、２６日土曜日に変更された。万一雨の場合翌日に延期なので、雨でも翌日に見ることができる。時代祭は御所を出発し２時間以上のパレード。京都に天皇が住むようになったのは７９４年。その後、１２００年が過ぎ、パレードの先頭には遷都１３００年に向けて頑張っていこうという横断幕。パレードの先頭は、パトカーだった。風情の無いことだと思っていたら次に来たのは、御所を護る警察騎馬隊。後ろを歩く人の役割が不明だったが、ずっと後に続くパレードを見ていてわかった。馬の糞を回収する警察官の人だった。ご苦労様。明治時代の衣装に始まり、だんだんと古くなる。庶民、貴族、その時代の衣装に身を包んだ人たち、歴史上の有名人などの列が２時間も続いた。楽しめた。

In the Grounds

　　While wandering in the grounds of Nanzen-ji Temple, I came across a well-remembered scene. You see the bridge-like building in the following pictures, which was a part of Biwako Sosui that I wrote about in the previous entries. This place has often been utilized in various TV dramas as murder scenes, like this situation; someone finds a body while jogging in the early morning. I uttered "Those films were taken here!" Climbing up the nearby slope, more than 100 year-old waterway worked even today. I felt that all the people concerned in this big project were great to leave a benefit to posterity. Then we entered the main building of Nanzen-ji Temple. Its national treasure-class properties and garden were really wonderful and I was thankful for the efforts of preservation by those who have gone before us.

(Vocabulary)
posterity 子孫, 後世の人々

Nanzen-ji Zen Temple

　　After I saw and admired the achievement of a century ago, I took a walk and found myself in front of "Sanmon Gate" in the premise of Nanzen-ji Zen Temple. I didn't know about "Sanmon Gate", one of the iconic buildings in this temple and my friend explained its history. The most notorious thief in Japan's history, Ishikawa Goemon, utters a cry twice on this gate, "What beautiful scenery", in the also famous Kabuki program. I heard that and climbed up to the lookout floor. The scenery from there was really beautiful!

http://www.nanzen.net/english/

１００年あまり前の偉大な業績を見た後、南禅寺へ。この寺の名前だけは知っていたが、散歩をするうちに気がついたら三門の前に立っていた。名前を知るだけで詳しいことは知らなかったが、友人が説明してくれた。歌舞伎の中で日本の歴史に残る大泥棒がこの三門の上で発する台詞は、歌舞伎を知らない日本人の間でも知られている。『絶景かな、絶景かな』　我々もこの上に上ってみたが、確かに良い景色だった。

Biwako Sosui

　　We climbed up the dead track and reached the end of a small canal, which connects Biwako Lake and Kyoto. The dead track seemed to have been utilized to lift boats to the surface of the canal. This canal was built as the solution of water shortage in Kyoto, and it was apparently also used as the route of transportation of commodities. The former logistics or distribution route is now open to visitors. You can travel on the canal in a boat. When I reached the canal end, a small sightseeing boat was about to start. I wanted to get on the boat someday. The last picture shows a small scale hydroelectric power station. This facility is also run by the water from Biwako Lake.

A Dead Track

　　As soon as my ferry arrived at the Osaka port early in the morning, I headed for Otsu City where my lifelong friend lived. Otsu City is 20km away from Kyoto and is located by Biwako Lake, which is the largest lake in Japan. I left my baggage in his home and went out to Kyoto with him.
　　We changed trains at Yamashina and got off at Keage station. This area was new to me and a dead track in front of the station caught my eye. My friend told me that this area was one of the popular tourist destinations in Kyoto (http://en.biwako-sosui.jp/). He guided me around.

Orange Ferry

　　Japan consists of four main islands which are connected by various transportation. One of them is the ferry boat. A ferry company newly installed two ferry boats between Shikoku, my home, and Osaka last year. I've been eager to get on and I made it eventually. My purpose was fantastic and I'm going to write about it in the next entry. When I arrived at the port, it was dark, so I wasn't able to take pictures of the overall appearance of the ferry. I'll show you inside below. As soon as I entered my room, I opened my bag, grabbed stuff for the bath, and made a beeline to the public bath. It was clean, large, and relaxing. Needless to say, beer after the bath was superfine!

Orange Ferry
https://www.orange-ferry.co.jp/pdf/en_shikoku.pdf

Halloween

　　I hear that the Halloween festival is derived from the Celtic culture, so it ought to be unconnected to Japanese, but I often hear about the festival in Japan these days. Some people go on a spree to cause trouble to others, which I regard with contempt.
　　In general, Japanese people are tolerant toward religion. There's no conflict between religion domestically. Toward the end of the year, Japanese celebrate Christmas, then listen to Joya no Kane, bells ringing out the old year, and visit shrines in the new year. They perform the acts of Christians, Buddhists, and Shintoists one after another for only a week.
　　I had often read articles accusing Japanese of their having no principles in my younger days, and I felt sorry every time, but now, I'm proud of the tolerance seeing the ferocious clashes between different religions in the world. The concept of the foundation of Japan is to lead peaceful lives under the same roof regardless of the skin colors, nationalities, or religion since 2000 years ago.
　　The picture shows me in the regular meeting of my Lions Club. The mc of the meeting had me wear a horn which seemed to be the Celtic traditional costume. As I'm shy and embarrassed to masquerade as something, I was lucky to wear such a small ornament.

World's Only Emperor's Enthronement in the World's Oldest Country

　　The 126th Ten'noh, who has been frequently translated into "Emperor", proclaimed his enthronement globally today. Lots of people were invited to the ceremony. Precisely saying, 1999 people were in attendance including overseas dignitaries from 191 countries and organizations. Counting only kings, there were nine kings from Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Tonga. Keenly being interested worldwide, CNN broadcast the ceremony live and several international news agencies reported promptly. There would be no other domestic occasions that collect such dignitaries and celebrities, and attracts interest from all over the world.
　　It would be due to the positioning of Ten'noh which is listed as the emperor class, i.e. higher than that of kings in addition to the efforts of the Japanese Royal Household to build friendly relationships with lots of counties in the world. It was the enthronement of the single emperor of the world that we watched today.
　　However, FYI, "Emperor" means having absolute power, just like the emperors of the Roman Empire and Chinese Dynasties, whose nature is completely and totally different from that of Ten'noh. I'm thankful that Ten'noh is highly and globally evaluated, but we Japanese should spread the essential qualities of Ten'noh, saying "Ten'noh" is "Ten'noh", not "Emperor". I raised national flags at the entrance and the living room in my house.

　１０月２２日、即位礼正殿の儀が開かれ、参列者は1999人、海外からも１９１カ国・機関の元首・首脳級が参加した。国王だけでも、オランダ・ウィレム・アレクサンダー国王夫妻、ベルギー・フィリップ国王夫妻、スウェーデン・カール１６世グスタフ国王、スペイン・フェリペ６世国王夫妻、ブータン・ワンチュク国王夫妻、ブルネイ・ボルキア国王、カンボジア・ノロドム・シハモニ国王、マレーシア・アブドラ第１６代国王夫妻、トンガ・ツポウ６世国王夫妻が参列。
　国際的な関心も高く、アメリカのＣＮＮは儀式の模様を中継し、海外の通信社も次々と速報を発した。およそ、一国内の儀式でこれほど多くの元首・首脳級が集まり、国際的にも関心を集めるものはないのではないか。
　これも戦後日本が世界各国と友好関係を築いてきた事に加えて、日本の天皇が国際社会で唯一のエンペラー(皇帝)級、すなわちキング(国王)よりも格式が高いと位置づけられている事も一因だろう。我々が目の当たりにしたのは、世界一古い国の、世界で唯一のエンペラーの即位式なのであろう。
　もっとも、エンペラーとはローマ帝国や中華帝国の皇帝という「権力者」であり、その本質は天皇とはまるで違う。国際社会が高く評価してくれるのは良いが、天皇の本質の理解をもっと広める必要がある。そのためにも、まずは国民の間での理解を深めることが必要だろう。

Kinuyama District

　　One of the high-ranked preparatory schools in western Japan was transferred from the city center of Matsuyama to the outskirts 47 years ago. At the same time, the railroad station was built nearby for students and an increasing number of folk houses were built around the station. This district was originally the place where many poor populations resided and there was an elementary and junior high combined school for North Korean kids which had been built by North Korea or the municipal nursing facility for government welfare-payment recipients. The area was very inconvenient for living, so the price of land was cheap. Though the area was such a place, the housing land development started taking this opportunity. When the school was transferred, I carried something with my teachers and friends. I remember it just like it only happened yesterday. One of my daughters and I graduated from this school. I recall the rural and deserted scenery of half a century ago. When I think of those days, I feel I'm living in a completely different age.
　　However, there is something which didn't change for half a century one way or the other. I dropped in at one of them, the ruins of Kinuyama executing grounds, which is currently maintained by Matsuyama prison. I'd like to write about this site.

４７年前、西日本有数の進学校が松山市中央部から郊外に移転した。それと同時に生徒の便を考え電車の駅が作られ、周辺には住宅が建ち並ぶようになった。 僕の母校であり、長女も通った学校だ。４７年前、移転時に荷物を運んだ覚えがある。また、発展する前のこの地域の様子もはっきりと覚えている。朝鮮学校、生活保護受給者のための介護施設などの施設があった貧しい地区で、元々人の住むような場所では無かったのだが、学校の移転により地域の開発が本格化したのだ。 隔世の感がする。
しかし、この半世紀に変わらなかったものもある。その一つ、衣山刑場跡地にジョギングの途中寄ってみた。なんら変わっていなかった。この場所のことは、いずれ書きたいと思っている。

Typhoon Hagibis Leaves More Than 70 Dead In Japan

　　The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 74 with 10 people missing and at least 200 injured. The search and rescue efforts are continuing in flood and landslide-hit areas now. As far as I remember, Hagibis was the worst typhoon. The 24 hour rainfall in Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, had set a highest amount record in recorded history in Japan. The area around my house was windy, but no rain. Some people raise money for devastated areas. I will donate some money to them. It will take a considerable period of time to fully restore things, but I believe that they shall get through.

(Vocabulary)
get through ＜つらい経験・時期など＞を乗り切る
It's going to be hard to get through the next couple of days. この数日間は試練となるだろう．

Ryoma-Dappan marathon (10km)

　　I ran the Ryoma-Dappan marathon (10km category) which might have been canceled due to the rain from the typhoon. Luckily for us however, the typhoon had sheered away eastbound, though it ended up in devastating some areas in eastern Japan a few days later. Anyway, this marathon was held in a mountainous region of Shikoku - one of four big islands of Japan - and its route ran through deep in the forest. As you imagine, its route had a few steep slopes. As I was climbing up a slope, I found a former Defense Minister walking up the slope. I wanted to speak to him, but he was puffing and panting like me. We were mutually not in the condition to talk to each other. I just bowed slightly and passed him. One thing, I admired him for challenging this 10km roadrace for his age. My friends and I were welcomed by local people and we were thankful for their kindness. If I could have time next year, I'll join this marathon.

Typhoon No.19, Hagibis

　　Typhoons are numbered in the occurrence order every year in Japan, so the current typhoon on the northern Pacific Ocean is called No. 19th Typhoon, but I'll call it Hagibis following the international manners in this entry. Hagibis was born near the equator last weekend. Its size and power rapidly got bigger and bigger in a few days, and it ended up reaching the strongest rank.
　　The weather forecast says Hagibis would land between Tokyo and Nagoya on the 12th. If the forecast proves right, it would veer off my house, but I'm afraid that Hagibis would devastate a considerable range of Japan. As personal countermeasures, I'll prepare drinking water and easy-to-ready food for two days, radio and batteries. On top of that, I have to move bicycles, flowerpots and other stuff on the garden into the house. I was to join the Ryoma-Dappan marathon on 13th in Kochi Prefecture, but it would be cancelled.