Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

A Sincere Gratitude

　　I'm writing about Mr.YL who has frequently given comments since several weeks ago. I know that he is from the U.S. judging from his IP address and imagine that he is learning Japanese.
　　Japanese and English are completely different languages from each other. I think that it is one of the reasons why most Japanese are misunderstood. Certain medias like the New York Times, frequently accuse Japan over unprovoked causes. I have thought for a long time that it's impossible to make Americans understand the spiritual aspects of the Japanese, but it was just plain wrong.
　　The name of Mr. Toshio Tamogami and Mr. Bun'yu Kou appears in his comment. This surprised me very much. Why does an American know them? They are conducting an educational campaign for brainwashed people with a masochistic view of the history of Japan. What's more, he knew the website of the Society of the Dissemination of Historical Facts (http://www.sdh-fact.com/). His comment was just what I wanted to affirm. Please check his comment. (Link)

(Vocabulary)
unprovoked 〈攻撃・非難などが〉 いわれのない, 正当な理由のない
plain まったく, すごく
(just) plain stupid/wrong/bad まったくばかげた［間違った，ひどい］
masochistic view of history 自虐史観
affirm
1 [他](フォーマル) …を断言する, 肯定する
2 [他](フォーマル) 〈考え・感情など〉 を支持する

Cherry Blossom Party

　　The Cherry Blossom Party is one of the seasonal cultural activities in Japan. Lots of people get together around the cherry trees and enjoy eating, drinking and chatting. I visited Dogo Park, which is well known as the best place for the party. I'll show you the picture of a cherry tree which is above me.
　　As you know, Japan is now struggling to get over the unprecedented disaster. Nearly 30,000 people were killed by the devastating tsunami and more than 300,000 people are now in shelters. In the non-affected area, some people insist that you should voluntarily refrain from doing something happy for the people who are suffering pain. Others say that you should behave as usual to stimulate the economy and it will eventually end in reviving the affected area.
　　I and my friends didn't know which was better and calmly enjoyed the beautiful cherry blossoms over a Japanese sake.

(Vocabulary from comments)
context (出来事・状況などの) 背景/ (文章の) 前後関係, 文脈
understand/view/place/see sth in the context of sth ＜…＞を＜…＞の背景［事情］とともに考える
outward 表面上の, うわべの/ 外へ向かう
introspection 内省, 自己反省
impermanence 非永続性, はかなさ, 無常
impermanent 不変ではない, はかない, 無常の
acutely ひどく, 痛切に
caring (人・態度などが)面倒見のよい, 思いやりのある, 優しい
the caring professions  福祉関係の職業, 人の世話をする職業
internal  内心の
his internal unease 彼の内心の不安 [同意] inner
turmoil 混乱, 騒動, 動揺
in this time of 今回の
engender〈感情など〉を抱かせる, 〈問題など〉を引き起こす
engender sth in sb ＜人＞に＜感情など＞を抱かせる
recharge [他]（電池）を充電する／[他]（人）に活力［元気］を回復させる
charge 充電する
assuage (フォーマル) 〈苦痛・怒り・心配など〉 を和らげる [同意] relieve
otherwise 違ったふうに, 別なように

 
 

Sprit of Japan

I'm writing about the spirit of Japan in reply to Mr/Ms YL's comment in my entry of "Resilience".
Japan was attacked by propaganda from China and Korea after the Greater East Asian War. Some people held out against them, but the Japanese Government did not take protective measures against them. They were desperately useless. Consequently lots of Japanese were brainwashed and came to think that Japan used to be an evil nation. I believe that all the Japanese will stand up against those critics when it is required.
Modesty or to be humble is a virtue for the Japanese. The DNA of the Japanese always tries to avoid conflict with others. The result of this virtue is the Russian unlawful occupation of the Kuril Islands and the southern half of Karafuto (Sakhalin in Russian). South Korea's unlawful occupation of Takeshima is the same. China is taking advantage of the Japanese virtue.
If you want to know Japan and the Japanese, read "Bushido: The Soul of Japan" written by Inazo Nitobe. It is written in English. I wrote some entries about Inazo Nitobe before. Additionally, I want you to access the website of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact. Lastly I'll show you the links to the society and my entries concerning Inazo Nitobe.

http://www.sdh-fact.com/

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/07/a-new-acquainta.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/nitobe-memorial.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/01/ski-schedule.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html

(Vocabulary)
hold out against 対抗する
take advantage of people's misfortunes 人の不幸につけ込む

(From comments)
proletariat ［無産］階級, プロレタリアート [同意] working-class
See the 3rd comment of this entry! Very useful and highly suggestive!
manifest (感情・態度など)を表明する
be manifested in/through sth ＜…＞に［を通じて］はっきりと表れる
manifest itself（問題・症状などが) 現れる, 目に見えてくる
on a silver tray　　See the 3rd comment of this entry!
stature 評価
of stature  評価されている
the masses 《複数扱い》 一般大衆, 庶民
denominator 分母
lowest common denominator
(けなして) (万人にとっての) 共通項 (専門) 最小公分母
[同意] least common denominator(米)
lightweight (けなして) 取るに足らぬ人, 小者,軽薄な人,根性なし
class 一流の
demagogue 扇動政治家
demagogy (demagoguery とも) [名] [U]（民衆）扇動
demagogic  [形]扇動的な
statecraft 政治的活動, 政治的手腕
a school of thought  (ある集団の共有する) 考え方, 見解
There are two main schools of thought on the subject. その問題については2つの主流となる見解がある．
discredit
[他] …の信用［威信］を傷つける
《[他]通例受け身形で》 〈理論・報告など〉 の信憑(しんぴょう)性を失わせる
a discredited theory 信憑性を失った理論
venture an opinion 思い切って［あえて］意見を言う
in medical/scientific/advertising parlance 医学［科学，広告業界］用語で
in common/popular/ordinary parlance 平易な言葉で言えば
Joe Six-pack, the Great Unwashed    See the 3rd comment.

 

Christening of A Baby; Miyamairi in Japanese

　　The word, "Christening" doesn't exactly fit the event that I'm going to write about from now on, but I couldn't find a suitable word for it and chose it as the topic of this entry.
　　The first-ever visit to the shrine is called miyamairi. If the baby is a boy, miyamairi is commonly done on the 31st day after birth, and a girl formally on the 32nd day. However, the day of miyamairi is actually scheduled depending on the weather, the status of the baby and the schedules of the parents.
　　At the Ikutajinja shrine, the miyamairi ceremony was being held. I recalled each miyamairi of my daughter just like yesterday. At my daughter's miyamairi, I got up early and changed underwear into brand-new ones and dressed in a new shirt for the ceremony. The Shinto priests prayed for my daughters' healthy growth and happiness. Judging from their later life, the priests' spiritual power might have been strong enough to keep evil spirits away from them..

 

Kazamidori-no-yakata Under Renovation

　　As I'll show you the link to the official website of Kazamidori-no-yakata at the end of the entry, this building might be called the symbol of Kobe. I had visited there a few decades ago, and I was so delighted to know that it was located near my hotel. However, it was under renovation. The city personnel would like to complete the work this spring, the sightseeing season. Anyway, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the historic site in Kobe city. There remain several old houses around there which used to be owned by foreign diplomats, merchants and other overseas people.

http://www.kobe-kazamidori.com/history/index_04.html

 
 

Wedding Ceremony

　　There were a few lines of seats in the shrine and a newly wedded couple was given advice from the master of ceremony. The stage was perfectly ready as follows: it was not in the high season of sightseeing, but lots of people visit the shrine during their wedding ceremony. How did they feel? This stage was located on the way from the entrance to the main hall, so lots of people would witness the ceremony. This was a Shinto-style wedding, the most traditional one of Japan.
　　Nowadays, various kinds of wedding ceremonies are held in Japan. As for me, the style was the same and this encounter reminded me of our wedding of a-quarter-century-away.

(Vocabulary)
coordinator / master of ceremony　〔【略】MC〕進行係
inner shrine / main hall / main sanctuary / main shrine / shrine chamber 本殿
Shinto-style wedding 神前結婚式

 
 

Kitano-tenmangu Shrine

　　As soon as I finished breakfast, I set out for the Kitano-Ijinkan area, which is one of the tourist attractions of Kobe. I had my smart phone in one hand and the map getting from the front desk in the other. The phone showed my position on its display panel every few seconds. I would never lose my way with this gadget. I came across a shrine which I'll show below. The name of the shrine was Kitano-tenmangu Shrine. What the word "tenmangu" means was written in the past entries of this blog. Please follow the links below. I remembered my daughters abruptly. They were struggling for exams and I visited the shrine to pray for their success in exams.
　　Now, I'll give you some trivia about visiting a shrine. Look at the people in the picture. The stairs are narrow, but people are climbing on the end of the stairs. Why don't they walk up in the center of the stairs? To tell the truth, the center of the stairs of shrines is supposed to be the pathway for the god. So, faithful people don't walk the center, though this rule is often violated during the first three days of the year packed with people.
　　Needless to say, I obeyed the rule and the formal way of praying for my daughters.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/05/dazaifu-tenmangu.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/01/dazaifu-tenmang.html

New Year Meeting

　　I have several good friends on the net and they have had a party at the beginning of the year for these last 10 years. January 22nd was the day of the party. The place for the party was the same as usual, Yokaro. This restaurant looked shabby, but the dishes were great. The chef's speciality was fugu, the fish which looked like a balloon, and had some poison in its organs. Cooks who deal with fugu are required to have a license because the fugu is poisonous, but fugu is delicious.
　　I almost forgot to write about the combination of fugu and Japanese sake. They match well. You can see hirezake everywhere in Japan in winter, which is a cup of Japanese hot sake with floating dried and roasted caudal fin of fugu. It warms us very much. If you have a chance to visit Japan in winter, be sure to enjoy fugu. I'm so sorry to show you pictures of fugu.

Bulk Trash

　　There are five PCs and several parts of PCs which are lying idle since long ago in my house. They are outdated. You might wonder why I hadn't done away with them. Honestly, I've wanted to throw them away, but I couldn't. The rules about garbage collection are strict and we are required to make a classification of garbage on the basis of materials. Especially, several items were rejected to be collected by the municipal collection service. PCs are one of those items. Just for your information, I wrote about such bulk trash before.
　　The system of recycling materials in Japan is thorough. I saw the plastic bottle return system in Germany last year and I thought it was good, but it was for recovering the deposit money added on the bottles. I also wrote about it before. Come to think of it, it's great for Japanese people to support the system voluntarily. Anyway, I decided finally to ask a junk dealer to collect them with a fee, though electronics emporiums receive them with the cost of disposal. Oh, I almost fogot, I have to erase their data on the HDD before passing them to the dealer.
　　By the way, modern life never avoids consuming materials and producing garbage. I think before my outdated PCs that I have to spend life with as less waste as possible for the next generation.

(Vocabulary)
bulk [bulky, big, huge] trash〔家具、冷蔵庫、テレビなど〕粗大ごみ
idle 《通例[名]の前不可》 使用されていない, 稼動していない, 遊んでいる
The factory has been idle since May. 工場は5月から稼動していない．
sit/stand/lie idle  放置されている, 遊んだままになっている
do away with  (不要なものを)捨てる
for your information　ご参考までに（申し添えておきますが）、ちなみに、後学のため◆【略】FYI　場合によってかなりキツイ言い方になる。
voluntarily  自発的に／無償で
junk dealer / rag collector / recycle service 廃品回収業者
fee（サービスに対する）手数料
an electronics emporium 大型家電店

Dream, Yume

　　"Yume" is the Japanese translation of "dream". I found something interesting today about "yume". I like reading Japanese poetry in Man'yoshu, the oldest existing literature, compiled in the 8th century. "Yume" is often used in poetry. In those poems, it means a series of thoughts, images, and feelings that you experience when you are asleep.
　　"I Have A Dream". As you know, it's a famous phrase from Martin Luther King Jr. and this "dream" is put into "yume" in Japanese. If this "dream" is simply a series of thoughts and images you can see only when you are asleep, don't you feel sad? Thinking of those, I consulted my dictionary. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, "dream" is a wish to do, be, or have something and used especially when this seems unlikely. However, "yume" had never meant a wish to do, be, or have something originally, at least before the Edo era. That is to say, the meaning of "dream" and "yume" doesn't coincide completely. This fact caught my interest and I examined the reason a little further.
　　In the Meiji era, the western culture flew into Japan like a flood. At that time, "yume" is designated as the translation of "dream". After that, "yume" got influenced by "dream" and obtained a new meaning from "dream" which it didn't have since then. Now, "yume" has mainly two meanings; one is vaporous, temporary, vain, useless stuff, and so on when you see only during sleep. The other is positive meaning like wish, strong will, intention, blueprint for future and so on. I really recognised that the words are alive.

(Vocabulary)
poetry  [U] (文学の一形式としての) 詩
catch sb's attention/interest/imagination  ＜人＞の関心をひく, 注目を集める
LDOCE  Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ロングマン現代英英辞典
consult [他] 〈本・リスト・地図など〉 を調べる

Lottery Incorporated Into Post Card

　　An African subscriber sent me an e-mail asking me about the number on the footer of the postcard which I wrote about the other day. She says, "Is it a kind of serial number like on bills?" I thought that her inquiry might be universal, and decided to write this entry not the private reply.
　　To tell the truth, this officially-issued New Year Greeting Post Card contains the lottery called "Otosidama". In the middle of January, several designated people are supposed to draw lots. The best award is several 2-3 days' domestic or overseas trips for two persons as your choice or home electric appliances like the TV, PC, and so on. The lowest award is stamps worth 130 yen (1.50 US dollar). The lowest prize is decided from the last two numbers. For instance, it is announced like 11, 33, 57. These indicate the last two numbers of the serial number, and the possibility of the lowest prize is 3/100. I get 200-300 greeting cards every year, but I've never won a better prize than the lowest before. What will become of this year?

(Vocabulary)
incorporate  [他] (全体の一部として) …を取り入れる
incorporate sth into/in sth  ＜…＞を＜…＞に取り入れる
She incorporates a lot of history in her books. 彼女の著作には史実が多く盛り込まれている．
home electric appliances  家電製品

Archaeological Museum

　　When I wrote the entry about the Sican civilization, I remembered a museum near my house. Its name is Matsuyama City Archaeological Museum. The picture was a signboard and was shot to make a note of the word "archaeology". When I see something during a walk, I often wonder how to describe it in English. I could imagine the meaning of "archaeology" from the Japanese subtitle, but took a picture instead of writing it down in my memo pad. Needless to say, I looked the word up later in my dictionary. This museum is about 10 minutes' walk from my house and I frequently pass it walking my dog. I've never visited it, however. I'll go and see the inside before very long.

(Vocabulary)
make a note of sth　 ＜…＞を書き留める, メモする
keep a note of sth　 ＜…＞をメモしておく
before very long  そのうちに

Exhibition of Sican Culture

　　I visited the Museum of Art, in Ehime with my family to see the exhibition of Sican Culture. I didn't know even the name Sican until the exhibition started in the prefectural museum. Sican is one of the civilizations in ancient Peru. It had been unrecognized until a Japanese researcher started excavating a few decades ago. The researcher found lots of evidence that indicated the existence of an unknown civilization in the northern part of Peru. He devoted himself to research of the Sican civilization, which was named by him.
　　I was moved to know that a nameless young man went all the way to the U.S., was a member of Southern Illinois University and continued his effort, and finally discovered the 1000-year old long-sealed historical facts.

New Year Greeting Card

　　In western countries, the exchange of Christmas cards is common and in many cases they have new year's greetings. On the other hand, in Japan, Christmas cards aren't so popular as in western countries. Instead, new year greeting cards are very popular. The picture shows the officially-issued postcard and this is the basic version. Some are an added donation on its price, some are printed advertisements on it with a price cut. Most photo shops make postcards with pictures you have taken. There are a wide variety of New Year Greeting Cards.
　　Many people used to write them one by one before, when the end of the year was coming near. But now, they use their PCs and can write lots of post cards easily. I sometimes feel obliged, but I think that it's not bad to inform each other of their updates once a year.

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