Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Yellow Sand and China

　　The cherry blossom front reached my hometown and they are just about to bloom. People are prepared to go out for boisterous parties under the cherry trees, whereas some yellow sand is coming to Japan from China. The mountains in the distance look blurred. Some people with respiratory problems have to wear a facemask and glasses. Those people had better avoid parties outside exposed to the yellow sand. Almost all of the things coming from China are a nuisance.
　　China has been prohibiting the import of marine products from Japan on the grounds of the high tritium of the treated water from Fukushima, but according to the data issued the other day, the amount of tritium from normally operating atomic power plants in China far outstrips that of the after-disaster Fukushima plant. China's nothing but a nuisance.

 

Portuguese Old Streetcar

　　I am often asked for a regular medical checkup in various workplaces from medical checkup outfits. Under the strict regulation of the government, workers are supposed to get their medical checkup once a year. Today, I was asked to join the medical checkup team and visited a CocaCola bottling factory. The regular physician seemed to have been called out due to a family emergency, and there was no substitute.
　　During the lunch break, I took a short walk in the grounds of the factory. The weather was clear without clouds and it was a very comfortable walk. I came across an exhibit of an old streetcar at the corner of the grounds. The street car was vividly painted with the logo of the CocaCola, but its inside was dilapidated showing years of neglect.
　　According to the description of the exhibit, this streetcar was produced in 1928 in Portugal and used to run on the street in Lisbon. The Tosa Railroad Company in the neighboring Kochi prefecture bought it in 1990 to run a variety of streetcars from the world as the memorial event of the company's 80th year. The logo of the CocaCola is apparently the same as its original in Lisbon. At the end of its useful life in Kochi, the streetcar was placed in the grounds of the CocaCola Company. I've been to Malacca where there were lots of ruins connected to Portugal, but I've never been to Portugal. I felt like visiting Lisbon seeing the streetcar.

Formal Visit to the U.K. by Japanese Ten-noh

　　The Japanese Government announced that their majesties the emperor and empress were supposed to make a formal visit to the U.K. in June. The visit was once planned three years ago on the invitation of Queen Elizabeth, but was suspended pending the COVID-19 pandemic. The queen passed away during the suspension and the Imperial couple would apparently visit her tomb in tribute to her. The couple graduated from Oxford University and they are supposed to drop in at Oxford city on the last day of the visit. However, it's not decided yet when they'll visit the U.K. in June. Early or middle or late June? To tell the truth, my wife and I are planning to visit the U.K. in June, too. Should we visit at the same time as the Imperial couple, or not? We are examining the pros and cons of the visit in the same period with them. We are focusing on the southwest area of the U.K. this time, centering on Bath, Cardiff the capital of Wales and Stonehenge along with a few places in the city of London.
　　Bath is literally the town of bath. Ancient Romans reached the U.K. and built public bath facilities in Bath. I'm not sure, but the word "bath" may be derived from this city. My hometown has the Dogo Onsen Spa which is known as the oldest hot spa in Japan and the Roman-style bath would be the oldest bath in the U.K. Given this situation, the next trip to the U.K. may be a lot of fun.

(Vocabulary)
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress 天皇皇后両陛下
on the invitation of ～の招きで
Given this situation このようなことから

My Father's Ashes Placed Eternally

　　I'm going to write about a Buddhist practice today, though it's hard for me to express Buddhist terms in English. More than a year has passed since my father passed away. His ashes have been placed in the family altar since. Ashes, in general, are placed in the tomb within a few weeks after the cremation. My parents built the family tomb around 20 years ago on a hillside from which you can command a panoramic view of the hometown. They must have wanted their ashes to be placed in this tomb, but the tomb is rustic and looks desolate and I placed his ashes in my house. He had been hospitalized for his last three years and strictly limited to receive visitations by his friends and even family members due to the abhorrent COVID-19 pandemic. He would have been lonely and I felt sorry for him and placed his ashes in my busy house.
　　Now, the equinoctial week is coming just around the corner. This week carries significance in Buddhism. Lots of families pay a visit to their ancestral grave during this week and put up a "Sotouba" wooden tablet, which came from stupa in Sanskrit, and give more than a passing thought to ancestors.
　　On Sunday last week, I visited my father's original house, a historic old temple, with his ashes and walked around the grounds in which my father would have spent his childhood, and offered a prayer to the ancestors' graves on a hill behind the temple. Once his ashes were placed in his tomb, he couldn't be moved.
　　Then, today, I had a Buddhist priest, who is a nephew of my father, down and a Buddhist memorial service of putting the ashes into the tomb. The door of the tomb was closed and my father's life was also closed today.

(Vocabulary)
ashes (pl.)遺骨
place sb's ashes in a tomb 納骨する
family altar, Buddhist household shrine 祭壇
cremation 火葬
halfway down the hill 丘の中ほどで
halfway up a hill; on a hillside 丘の中腹に
hillside 丘の斜面[中腹]
command a panoramic view of ～を一望できる
rustic 飾り気のない　素朴な
desolate 〈場所などが〉人気 (ひとけ) のない ; 荒れ果てた; 活気のない
〈人が〉孤独な , 寂しい, わびしい, 心細い; 惨めな; 〈事が〉陰鬱な, 寂しい
equinoctial week 彼岸
stupa 卒塔婆 wooden grave tablet
give more than a passing thought to ～に思いを馳せる［致す］
a passing thought 一時的な考え
have ~ down（客を）招く