Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

A Trail to the Site of an Old Castle

     I found a destination stone column near the parking lot of the Choushi Reservoir. The stone reads "To the ruin of the Senri Castle." According to the signboard near the column, there was a castle at the summit of the hill over the reservoir about 1000 years ago. What was the life like at that time? How did people get water or daily necessities? I was wondering about such questions over a canned coffee.

(Vocabulary)
destination board / destination screen   行き先表示板
stone columns   石柱

(KW: 大森彦七　足利尊氏　楠正成　千里城　砥部町)

Banana Case

     What is the hottest topic among girls in Japan? it's banana dieting. After mainstay TV shows and magazines featured the dieting technique of regularly eating bananas, bananas have become scarce on the supermarket shelves.
     I think this kind of stuff is ridiculous and if people want to lose weight, they should reduce their food intake or work out. Who on earth would believe that bananas are effective in shedding weight. I've been thinking like that.
     However, much to my surprise today, I found a lot of bananas in my kitchen. "Who bought them!", I shouted. It was my youngest daughter, A. I asked her the reason. Apparently, she eats bananas that are relatively low-calorie and bananas will occupy some part of her stomach. Bananas seem to decrease her appetite in this way. She become unable to eat much. Her story sounds agreeable, but she is in the midst of the growing-up period. There's no doubt that her body requires enough nutrition. I'm afraid of trends that pressure people into dieting.
     I'm showing the curious case below. As you see, it is the shape of a banana. It is a container of a banana. She took a banana with her lunch box to her school every day. Stupid! Inner beauty with health, integrity and kindness is far better than the artificial beauty.
     I'm a little mad papa tonight.

(Vocabulary)
get [become] scarce  品薄になる
tendency / trend  風潮
inner beauty  内面の美しさ
artificial  見せかけの

National Flag

     Every country has good things and bad things. One of what the U.S. has and Japan doesn't is the national flag in the original and proper sense. I believe that Americans mostly love and are proud of their national flag, but most Japanese don't think like that about their national flag.
     Nationalism and patriotism are expressed with one word "Aikokusin" in Japanese. I mean, these two notions aren't distinguished in Japanese. Therefore, the Japanese people often confuse patriotism and nationalism. The national flag that encourages the patriotism often symbolizes the nationalism in Japan. Leaders in the field of education are afraid that instilling patriotism in children lead to stir up the nationalism. Some groups of leftists show strong hostility against the national flag in various events or ceremonies, like a commencement ceremony.
     Besides, the Japanese children are taught that Japan was an evil country. The education system has been still influenced by the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals, which is already demonstrated as the travesty of justice today. The education of Japan is depriving children of confidence as Japanese. There has never been such funny country in the world.
     I hope that Japan become the country that could be proud of its national flag. Though northern territories and Takeshima (Liancourt Rocks) are obviously the traditional Japanese territory, Russia and South Korea are controlling them effectively. In order to repel invaders, first of all, every Japanese person should become one who can feel proud of his own national flag.

(Vocabulary)
original meaning of the word  その言葉の本来の意味
in the proper sense of the word  その語の本来の意味で
Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals   東京裁判
instill  人に感情などを植え付ける
commencement ceremony   卒業式
control effectively  実効支配する
travesty of justice  茶番劇の裁判
a travesty of   インチキの～～
repel invaders  侵略者を追い返す

McCain or Obama?

     The U.S. presidential race is getting hot. I don't have the right to vote, but I'm very interested in the election. The battle between Obama and Clinton was fun for me. Lots of political commentators were explaining both candidates' policies on T.V. or columns in the papers. Those explanations were good lessons for me. How is the social welfare system in the U.S.? What's racial discrimination like? How is the life of native Americans? I've never lived in the U.S., but I could feel the American life a little bit.
     McCain has been said to be outnumbered these days, but he seems to have come from behind since he picked a relatively unknown female governor from Alaska as his partner. When I heard this news, I really thought that the human resources are very rich in the U.S.
     McCain often emphasizes the importance of the relationship with Japan and has always been very hard on Russia and North Korea. I actually hope he will clinch the spot in the White House. There are two Obama City in Japan and so, some people hope Obama will win, thinking that something good might happen to the cities. However it's a stupid idea and most Japanese of good sense, I think, are cheering McCain and his partner Palin. 

(Vocabulary)
be far outnumbered   はるかに劣勢である
come from behind   劣勢を跳ね返す

アメリカの大統領選挙が白熱してきた。もちろん投票権はないのだが、非常に興味がある。オバマとクリントンとの選挙は面白かった。多くの政治評論家がテレビや新聞で両候補の政策を説明してくれた。とてもためになった。アメリカの福祉システムはどうなっているのか、人種差別の様子は？、アメリカインディアンの生活は？、、、アメリカに住んだことはないけれど、アメリカの生活を少し感じることができた。

マケインは最近劣勢を伝えられていた。しかし、副大統領候補にアラスカの女性知事を選んでからは劣勢を跳ね返したようである。このニュースを聞いたとき、アメリカは人材が豊富だなあと感じた。

マケインは日本との外交関係の重要性をしばしば強調してきた。また、ロシアと北朝鮮に対して厳しい態度を取ってきた。僕は彼が大統領になることを希望する。日本にはオバマ市が二つあり、何か良いことがあるかもしれないとオバマを推す人たちがいる。呆れた考えだ。多くの良識ある日本人はマケインを応援していると僕は思う。

Delegation Certificate

     Recently, a letter came to me asking me to work as an interpreter and an emergency doctor in the Rally Japan, one of the International Rally Championship Series. I'm showing the letter below. I have been eager to watch the professional run for decades, since I was a university student. At that time, I couldn't imagine that the championship would be held in Japan because Japan is such a small country and the people aren't so open-minded when it comes to motor sports. Anyway, I might have an opportunity to talk with some famous drivers and I'm on cloud nine now.

(Vocabulary)
be on cloud nine   うきうきしている

　ラリージャパン事務局から委嘱状が届きました。通訳兼救急医として参加します。国際ラリーに関わるのは学生時代からの夢でした。当時は日本で国際ラリーが開催されるなどということは想像も出来ませんでした。国土は狭いしモータースポーツに対して理解が得られていなかったのです。今からうきうきしています。

Idiot Box

     I found an interesting expression, "the idiot box", which means the T.V. Cable TV, satellite broadcasts and compucastings are getting popular, and there are a lot of channels on them 24/7. I think it is great, but it is also true that many of those channels are absurd and "for the birds."
     I used to have a TV in my office, but I put my TV away in the stockroom three years ago. I didn't want to waste time watching silly programs. Some of you might wonder if I never watch TV. If I want to watch a certain program, I've only to send an e-mail to my DVD recorder in my house. My recorder will faithfully record the program on DVD, and I can check it on the PC in my office later, sometimes skipping commercials, sometimes summing up.
     I don't remember what made me this way, but it gave me more time to do more things by throwing the TV away. Starting this blog might have been one of the reasons. I could even have enough time for reading books. Watching the TV without any special interest is just a waste of time, a portion of my lifetime, I believe. Plentiful programs will make people idiots.
     So the TV is called the idiot box. I'd like to clap my hands to the wit of the English speaking people.

(Vocabulary)
compucasting     インターネットテレビ
be for the birds   くだらない

　面白い表現を見つけた。「馬鹿の箱」、これはテレビを意味する表現だ。

　最近はケーブルテレビや衛星放送などが普及し、数多くのチャンネルが用意されている。素晴らしいことではあるが、その多くが実にくだらないものである。

　以前は職場の私の部屋にテレビを置いていたのであるが、３年ほど前にこれを片付けてしまった。くだらない番組を見て時間を浪費したくなかったためである。誤解の無いように付け加えておくと、テレビを絶対に見ないわけではなく、見たい番組があれば自宅のレコーダーにメールを送ると忠実に録画してくれるので後日、ＣＭをとばしてみたり、要約してみたりするのである。

　なぜテレビを片付けてしまったのか直接的な理由を覚えていないのだが、いろいろなことをするために時間が欲しかったのだろうと思う。このブログを書き始めるのもそのひとつだろう。特別な目的意識を持たずにテレビをだらだらと見るのは時間の、言い換えれば人生の一部分の浪費だと思う。多くの番組が国民を白痴化していると思うのだ。

　それにしても、このようなテレビが「馬鹿の箱」と呼ばれるのが面白い。英語をしゃべる人々の機知に拍手を送りたい。

Aug. 15th (War-end Anniversary)

     Aug. 15th is the War-end Anniversary in Japan. However, much to my surprise, there's no substantial reasons for it to be on this day.

1. The day of accepting the Potsdam Declaration was Aug. 14th, 1945.

2. The day that Imperial Headquarters issued an order to stop all military action was Aug. 16th, 1945.

3. The day that Japan sealed the formal capitulation was Sept. 2nd, 1945.

4. The actual end-day would be Apr. 28th, 1952, when the San Francisco Peace Treaty became effective.

      Aug. 15th was just the day that Emperor Hirohito declared the humiliating defeat on.
     GHQ led by McArthur had forced the Japanese media to broadcast or write that the Capitulation Memorial Day was Sep. 2nd. It was one of the media manipulations to implant American perception of history into the conquered nation. However, in the present, Sept. 2nd has nothing special to do with the war. The Japanese people look like having been brainwashed in many ways, but they have sticked to their ethnic resistance in very this point. Aug. 15th has been one of the special days for the Japanese over many centuries, the day for showing respect for the departed.

     In addition, one interesting thing is that in China and both Koreas, Aug. 15th has become the war's memorial day. I don't know why, but I guess this day must have been impressive to the people of those countries.
     All the people in the nation got quiet to listen to the voice of the Emperor to stop fighting immediately. Was there any other moment like this one since the beginning of recorded history?

(Vocabulary)
substantial reasons    根拠ある理由
Imperial Headquarters   大本営
formal capitulation   正式な降伏文書
San Francisco Peace Treaty   サンフランシスコ講和条約
become effective // come into effect   発効する
humiliating defeat   屈辱的な敗北
media manipulation    メディア操作
historical awareness // historical perception // perception of history  歴史認識
conquered nation // defeated belligerent // defeated country   敗戦国
stick to one's principles   主義を貫く

　日本では８月１５日が終戦記念日とされているが、驚いたことにこの日には何の合理的根拠もない。いったいなぜ？

１．　ポツダム宣言を受諾したのは８月１４日

２．　大本営が休戦命令を出したのは８月１６日

３．　降伏文書の調印が行われたのは９月２日

４．　本当の意味での終戦は昭和２７年４月２８日サンフランシスコ講和条約発効の日

　８月１５日は玉音放送で国民に日本の降伏が告げ知らされた日に過ぎないのだ。

　マッカーサー率いるGHQは９月２日を日本降伏記念日と報道していた。アメリカ本位の歴史認識を敗戦国に注入するためのGHQのメディア操作だった。しかし、現在９月２日は何の意味も持っていない。多くの点でアメリカ本位の歴史認識の注入に屈したかにみえる日本民族であるが、この一事に関する限り見事に民族的抵抗を貫いたのである。８月１５日は何世紀にもわたって死者に敬意を払う日として定着してきたのである。

　あとひとつ、面白い事実がある。実は中国、韓国でも同じ日を記念日としている、反日の国でなぜそうなったのかはわからないが、この日はこれらの国の人々にとっても印象深く映ったのではないだろうか。国中が静まりかえり、皇帝の声に耳を傾け、瞬時に戦いを終了する。昭和２０年８月１５日正午、こんな瞬間が有史以来他にあっただろうか？

(KW: 大東亜戦争　太平洋戦争　終戦記念日　マッカーサー　玉音放送　昭和天皇)

Aug. 15th (The Middle Day of The Bon Festival)

     The Bon Festival is definitely one of the important annual events for most Japanese. It's related to Buddhism. The souls of the dead are supposed to be back home during this festival. People build fires at the entrance of their houses as the landmark of their houses on the first day of the festival.
     When I was a child, I was taught that my ancestors would come back from the dead man's land, heading for this fire. And I remember that I was scared of that story. We would spend time with all the ancestors, and rebuild fires to light the return way for their souls on the last day of the festival.
     At the same time, many people who have been away from their original home move back to their original or parents' house during this season. How heavy the traffic jams are would often be the topics of the daily news. They have a good time in their hometowns. As for me too, I had very happy time with my cousins.
     Aug. 15th is the middle day of the festival season. This day is thus important and is deeply inscribed in Japanese people's mind.
     One more thing I have to tell you. This day has another significance and I'm going to write about this theme in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
in another article  稿を改めて
begin writing  稿を起こす
build a fire  火をおこす
inscribe in someone's mind clearly   （人）の記憶にはっきり残る
inscribe sth on/in sth   ～を～に記す(他動詞)

　お盆は多くの日本人にとって間違いなく重要な仏教に関連した年中行事の一つである。お盆の時期、死者の魂が自宅に戻ってくると考えられているのである。玄関で小さな火をおこし、死者が家に戻る際の目印とする。私が子供の頃、この日を目印に死者の国からご先祖が帰ってくると聞いて怖い思いをしたことを覚えている。お盆の時期、生者は死者とともに過ごし、最後の日に魂を安全に死者の国に送るべくその道を照らすために再びたき火をするのである。

　また、この時期には多くの人々が故郷へと移動する。いかにひどい交通渋滞が起こっているかというのがニュースになる。人々は故郷で楽しい時を過ごす。私にとってもいとこ達と過ごすとても楽しい時間だった。

　８月１５日はそのお盆の真ん中の日。この日はこのようなわけで大変重要なのであり、日本人の脳に深く刻まれている。

　そしてもうひとつお伝えしなければならないことがある。この日は別の意味でも大変に重要な意味を持っているのであるが、これについては稿を改めたい。

Evening Bazaar

     An evening Bazaar has been held in the summer for over 20 years in my hometown. The pictures were taken on 28th June, the first day of this season. This street is the busiest shopping street in the city.
     This bazaar is an opportunity to enjoy yukata, the Japanese traditional outfit in the summer. You can see some girls dressed fashionably in the picture. They look pretty, but they have to pay attention not to get their yukata stained by food or in the lavatory. It's not cheap to wash  yukata. Moreover, they have to walk slowly so as not to ruin their looks in their yukata. It sounds like it's not easy to enjoy yukata.

Material of My Chopsticks

     I'm writing about the material of my chopsticks that I got the other day and wrote about in the last entry.
     The material of my portable chopsticks is "susudake" in Japanese. I imagine that most subscribers don't know "susudake". Though I looked "susudake" up in my Japanese-English dictionary and on the internet, I couldn't find an exact translation in English. I'll explain "susudake" in the next paragraph.
     At first, take a look at the picture at the bottom. This is a Japanese traditional house topped by a thatched roof. In this type of house, there is an "irori", the traditional hearth, usually in the biggest room. I'm also showing the irori below.
     Irori is the sunken space for the fire and is designed to be in the center of the room. This space is used for cooking and heating the house. Pots and kettles are hung by the pot hook, or jizaikagi, over the irori. These hooks are generally hollow bamboo tubes with an iron rod penetrating the middle. The attached lever, which is often shaped like a fish, allows the pot or kettle to be raised or lowered. Bamboo is also used for the ceiling of the irori room. These hollow bamboos are called "susudake," which means bamboo with grime. It takes 100-150 years for susudake to be made and it can be produced only when the old houses are torn down. This material is very valuable. That's the reason for the high price. My chopsticks are handy and worth the price.

(Vocabulary)
an exact translation      ぴったりの訳語
handy 使い勝手がよい
tear down   引き下ろす、引きはがす  〔建物などを〕壊す、取り壊す、解体する
sunken  （名詞の前でのみ）　周囲より一段低くなった

　今回は、前回書いたマイ箸の材料について書こうと思います。

　材料はすす竹です。多くの読者はどのようなものかわからないと思います。辞書やネットで調べても適訳がわからなかったのでこれから説明します。

　最初に下の写真を見てください。日本の伝統的な藁葺きの家を示しています。この中に囲炉裏と呼ばれる煮炊きの場所があります。写真も添えます。

　囲炉裏は部屋の中央に配置された一段下がった場所にあります。煮炊きに使われたり、暖房に使われたりします。鍋ややかんをつり下げて使います。このつり下げるためのフックや天井に使われている竹をすす竹と呼びます。すすのこびりついた竹という意味です。この竹ができるまで１００年から１５０年ほどかかるといわれており、古い建物を解体したときに得られる材料なので高いのです。

　で、箸の使い勝手ですが、とても良いです。

(KW: すす竹)

The Cherry Blossoms

     My sleep was disturbed by the wail of a siren this morning. I was on the night shift last night. I concluded the handover with a co-worker and left my hospital. The sky was clear and the cherry trees were in full bloom. In Japan, people customarily have a party underneath the cherry trees. This party is called Hanami.
     The biggest municipal park in my city is near my house and it's about five minutes' walk from my house. It is one of the best places for Hanami. This park is always crowed on holidays, but the parking lot is closed at five o'clock in the afternoon and so the park gets less crowded after five. A, my wife and I went to the park about five o'clock and I'll show you some pictures in the left column. The cherry blossom season will end in about ten days. That's why we Japanese value the cherry blossoms, I think.

(Vocabulary)
wail of siren サイレンが鳴り響く音
conclude the handover  引き継ぎを終える
customarily 通例, 通常
value …を重んじる，（高く）評価する
I value her opinion. 彼女の意見を尊重します．
He is valued highly by his colleagues. 彼は同僚に高く評価されている．
value sb/sth for sth ＜…＞を＜…＞の点で重んじる

（ＫＷ： 松山市総合公園)

Last Meal and Miscellaneous Thought

     The last meal on this trip was the turkey sandwich on rye that is shown in the picture below. I don't like this sandwich, but I couldn't choose anything else.
     Every time I eat a turkey sandwich I think about the food culture. Turkey sandwiches are popular in the U.S. and whale meat is the same in Japan. Korean and Chinese eat dogs in their daily life. Every country has their own food culture. I suppose it's not good for people to condemn other people just because the food culture is different. No matter what animals one people eat, it wouldn't be a problem if other people didn't put their noses into it.
     Anyway, I enjoyed skiing, the food, the culture and many things in Canada. There's something for everyone in Canada. My notes from this trip are over with this entry.

(Vocabulary)
turkey sandwich on rye   ライ麦パンの七面鳥サンドイッチ
put one's nose    干渉する

　旅行の最後を締めくくる料理は七面鳥のサンドウィッチだった。余り好きではないが、他に選べなかったので仕方なく食べた。

　このサンドウィッチを食べるときにいつも思うことがある。七面鳥のサンドウィッチはアメリカではよく見かけるものだが同様に鯨の肉は日本ではポピュラーなものだ。韓国人や中国人は日常的に犬を食べる。それぞれの国は独自の食文化をもっており、ある民族方の民族の食文化をとやかく言うのは間違っているのではないかと思う。

　今回で旅行記を終えるのであるが、スキーや食事、文化、そしていろいろなことを楽しむことが出来た。カナダには誰もが欲する何かがあると思う。

Shopping in Otaru

     The 1st picture shows the Otaru Canal Restaurant. I already found and knew about it from a guide book and it looked like a restaurant complex. I didn't have any appetite but I dropped in out of curiosity. I was surprised to see the inside because the inside was the world of a half-century ago. I don't know how to describe it in English. It's just like a backdrop for making movies. I'm 48 years old now. The world around me was just like it used to be 40 years ago, that is to say, my childhood. There was a mom-and-pop candy store that had many kinds of candies, tiny cheap toys and anything that little boys and girls are fond of. I keep remembering that I ran into such stores as soon as my parents or grandparents gave me small coins. I was so delighted and took lots of pictures to show to my parents. I posted some of them here. The girl in the picture is my daughter.

(Vocabulary)
backdrop (文) 背景, 光景
mom-and-pop 【形】〈米話〉家族経営の、夫婦だけで経営する、（店が）小さな
mom-and-pop candy store  駄菓子屋

(KW: 小樽)

Masked Yukichi and Turbaned Noguchi

     There's a special culture, Origami (Paper Folding), in Japan. I'll show you one of the websites that handle it.
http://www.origami.com/
     I can make some of them that are introduced in this website. The Origami crane is very famous and most Japanese can make it from a piece of paper. When they offer a special prayer on something, they often make 1000 cranes and connect them with strings (we call it Senbaduru). If you want to see it, search "Senbaduru" in the images database of Google. You can find many pictures of Senbaduru.
     By the way, take a look at the picture. What do you think is it? What do you think it's made from? The left is made from a 10,000 yen bill and the right a 1,000 yen bill. The 10,000 yen bill features Mr. Yukichi Fukuzawa and the 1,000 yen bill Dr. Hideyo Noguchi. Therefore, these are called Masked Yukichi and Turbaned Noguchi. They never even dreamed that they would be drawn on the bill and be the object of Origami.
     When I attended the beer party on July 28th, a friend showed me them and I asked him promptly to exchange my plain bills with them. It was so delightful to look at them and I showed them off to my wife and my staff members today. To my surprise and regret, my wife and many of my colleagues already knew about it. I might be out of style!
     At any rate, I wonder who figured it out?

(Vocabulary)
offer prayers for the souls of the victims  犠牲者のめい福を祈る
offer prayers to God  神に祈りをささげる
out of style →out-of-style
out-of-style  流行遅れの

(KW: 福沢諭吉 野口英世 日本 紙幣)

Koban

     Japan is a very safe country, though some shooting incidents occured recently and the number of crimes that are committed by foreigners is increasing. That is something that the Japanese people can be proud of. The crime rate in Japan is exceptionally low among the industrial nations. The fact that the crime rate constantly decreased during the 50s, 60s and 70s, the most hectic years of industrialization and urbanization, is a "miracle" to the eyes of foreign observers.
     There are a number of reasons. The Japanese are ethnically and culturally a homogeneous people. They are not divided into classes. They have a high educational standard. The dropout rate in secondary education is as low as 2%. Gun control is strict and effective and there is virtually no availability of firearms among ordinary citizens. The drug problem is minimal. They live in a society of collective responsibility, so to speak, where one person's disgrace is the disgrace of those who are related to that person.
     This picture shows a koban that covers the area that my house is located in. Every Japanese knows the koban, but I think that the koban is not familiar to foreigners.
     A koban is a police box or a fixed police post. David Bayley, who did an excellent comparative study of police in Japan and the United States wrote: "Unlike the United States, police operations in Japan have not been organized in terms of the patrol car. Fixed posts outnumber patrol cars...almost five to one."
     The kobans are all over the country. Again according to Bayley, "There are about 5800 kobans in Japan....kobans serve small, very densely populated areas. In metropolitan Tokyo, for instance, where there are approximately 1000 kobans, the average area covered is about 0.22 square miles containing a population of 11500 people."
     In rural areas there are fixed posts called chuzaisho. The major difference between koban and chuzaisho is that the personnel of kobans changes its shift, whereas the chuzaisho is both a fixed post and home for the police officer on duty. He lives in the community with his wife and family.

(Vocabulary)
collective responsibility　集団責任、共同責任、連帯責任
so to speak　いわば、言ってみるならば
So to speak.　いわば（そうですね）。／強いて言うなら（そうですね）。
in terms of　～を単位として；　～に関して、～の観点から
outnumber　【他動】～に数で勝る、数で凌駕する、～の数を上回る、～より数が多い
・We are not outnumbered. : 私たちは、数では負けていない。
・We were outnumbered more than two to one. : 相手の人数はこちらの2倍以上だった。

(KW:松山　駅前　交番　駐在所　おまわりさん　お巡りさん)

Wonderful Meeting (Corrected by Maria)

     A famous Japanese poet, "Machi Tawara (俵万智)," describes a lovebird's meeting in her poem:
     The meeting would have been impossible if their births didn't coincide in history. Only 100 years of difference in their birthdays would have made it impossible to meet each other. The probability of their meeting is extremely small because they have to live in the same era before they meet in this world. The poet sings of a glorious life experience that only occurs by chance. The poet's words make us realize how many experiences we miss. As may be expected of the poet, her way of thinking is different from that of ordinary people.
     Just the other day, I found myself wishing I could pass through history and touch those that went before me when a discovery was made at Matsuyana Castle. Matsuyama Castle is in the heart of my home town. It was constructed 400 years ago, taking 25 years. The original features of the castle have been maintained by timely restorations and fundamental reconstructions in every century. The castle has been under reconstruction these past 2 years. During the renovation, a lot of the castle was replaced in order to conserve the original features for the next 100 years. In the process of replacement, to my surprise, two pictures were found on the ceiling. A samurai was painted on the wooden ceiling. It is estimated that it was drawn 200 years ago. It was big, local news. Who painted it? Who is in the picture? One picture is an overhead view of a samurai's head. It might have been drawn by a carpenter who worked on the ceiling. That samurai might have been a kind of official of the renovation committee in those days. The other picture is a portrait of a samurai. I felt close to this unknown painter and the picture of the samurai. I felt a sense of fun for the painter to see the picture and thought he and I might have been good friends if I had been born in the same era.
     The painter and the samurai disappeared into history. I can't meet nor talk with them but if I had enough imagination, I might be able to exchange feelings with them. Human history flows all around me and I cannot touch what already happened before I was born. I happened to be born after World War 2. I am caught in the big stream of history. I'd like to visit various historical sites all over the world and talk with those who have gone before me. Can I hear the voice of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo? Can I hear the voice of Robert Scott at the South Pole? Can I see famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Renoir drawing or walking at Le Bateau-Lavoir on the hill of Montmartre?
     What lessons can I learn from my forbearers?

(Vocabulary)
expect sth of/from sb/sth   ＜…＞に＜…＞を期待する
Good behavior is expected of all our students.
本校の生徒は生徒としての本分をわきまえて行動すること．
forbearer 先人
forbear   慎む, がまんする
forbear from doing sth (forbear to do sthとも) ＜…＞するのを慎む

(KW:松山城)

Wonderful Meeting

     A famous Japanese poet, "Machi Tawara (俵万智)," describes the lovebird's meeting in her poem like below:
     The meeting must have been impossible if their births didn't coincide in history. Only 100 years of difference in their birthdays would make it impossible to meet each other. The probability of their meeting is extremely small because they have to live in the same era before they meet in this world. The poet sings of a glorious life like this. As may be expected of the poet, her way of thinking is different from that of ordinary people. However, I was vaguely thinking that her tale might be true.
     The other day, this happened:
     There's Matsuyama Castle in the heart of my home town. It was constructed 400 years ago, taking 25 years. The original features of the castle have been maintained by timely restorations and fundamental reconstructions in every century. The castle has been under reconstruction these past 2 years. During the renovation, a lot of parts of the castle were replaced in order to conserve the original features for the next 100 years. In the process of replacement, to my surprise, two pictures were found on the ceiling. A samurai was painted on the wooden ceiling. It is estimated that it was drawn 200 years ago. It was big, local news. Who painted it? Who is in the picture? One picture is an overhead view of a samurai's head. It might have been drawn by a carpenter who worked on the ceiling. That samurai might have been a kind of official of the renovation committee in those days. The other picture is a portrait of a samurai. I felt close to this unknown painter and the drawn samurai. I felt a sense of fun for the painter to see the picture directly and thought he and I might have been good friends if I had been born in the same era.
     They disappeared into history. I can't meet and talk with them but if I had enough imagination, I might be able to exchange feelings with them. Human history had already begun and I happened to be born after World War 2. I really feel that I am in the big stream of history. I'd like to visit various historical sites all over the world and talk with those who have gone before me. Can I hear the voice of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo? Can I hear the voice of Robert Scott at the South Pole? Can I see famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Renoir drawing or walking at Le Bateau-Lavoir on the hill of Montmartre?
     What lessons can I learn from my forerunners?

(Vocabulary)
lovebird  仲の良い恋人同士、おしどり夫婦
sing  〈人・功績など〉 を詩で賛美する
sing of somebody/something  ＜…＞を（詩で）賛美する
tale  (架空・伝説上の) 話, 物語
enovation　〔古い建物・部屋・家具などの〕修復、修理、リフォーム：　革新、刷新
if I had enough imagination　想像をたくましくすれば
Le Bateau-Lavoir　洗濯船
パリのモンマルトルにあった安アパートの名前。 1904年から1909年まで、パブロ・ピカソが恋人のフェルナンド・オリビエと共にここに住んだ。
the hill of Montmartre　モンマルトルの丘
forerunner　先駆者、先人；　前兆、前触れ、兆候

Matsuyama Castle      (KW:松山城 改修)

Walking in Tokyo

     I'm in Tokyo. My second daughter will take a university entrance exam, but she is not familiar with Tokyo. I took her there. I'm going to stay in Tokyo until tomorrow.
     I took a walk around Ueno Park for the first time. This area of Tokyo forms a kind of hill. Because I thought the topography of Tokyo was flat, I was a little surprised. Come to that, I had never walked a lot in Tokyo. I always use trains. I enjoyed looking around Ueno Park.
     The photo shows the statue of Takamori Saigoh in the Park. He is an architect of the transfer of power back to the Emperor in 1868. I think it is the one and only revolution of all ages and cultures that didn't exact any toll. Tokyo remained intact. It might be one of the reasons that Japan could develop in such a short period.

(Vocabulary)
topography  [U] 地勢, 地形
the island's topography  その島の地形
exact  (フォーマル) 〈承諾・服従など〉 を強要する, 〈税など〉 を取り立てる
exact sth from sb  ＜人＞に＜…＞を強要する
exact a high price/heavy toll  大きな犠牲をもたらす

(KW:上野公園 西郷隆盛 明治維新 大政奉還)

Riders' House

     Hokkaido is almost a sacred place for vagrants who travel by bike, bicycle, train or on foot. Hokkaido is a vast land and people who live in Hokkaido are broad-minded for vagrants. Many people visit Hokkaido every summer. These vagrants had spent every night in a station, a park, the underground if rained, or somewhere like that. They were not rich and had to save money. People who live in Hokkaido got to give them a night's lodging, using their empty house. Vagrants were very happy to avoid being exposed to the elements and night dew.
     Riders' houses were generated almost spontaneouly like this. There are no baths in most riders' houses. But it's no problem because there are hot springs everywhere in Hokkaido. No beds. It's ok because all vagrants have a sleeping bag. Every riders' house has its own specialty. Owners are unique. I know that 2 Korean bike freaks are reading this touring diary. How about going riders' house-hopping. I proudly assure you that you'll be happy. I have stayed more than 20 nights at riders' houses, but I didn't meet any foreign people. If you visit one of them, you'll be welcomed.
     See the 1st photo. An aged lady who is in the center of the photo is the owner of this riders' house called "Rider House Chitose". She is a retired beautician. After her retirement, she converted her beauty salon into this riders' house. There are a public bath, coin laundries, convenience stores and some eating houses around here within 10 minutes' walk. She said that she was happy to talk with many young people and felt they were like her sons and daughters.
     Strangers get together by chance and spend a night in the same house. I spent a wonderful time. I could share their life. I don't remember how late I slept.

(Vocabulary)
vagrant  放浪者、路上生活者
the elements   《複数扱い》 悪天候

(KW: ライダーハウス千歳 ライダーハウスちとせ)
                               

Takashi Hosokawa

     After we left Fukidashi Park, we ran around Mt.Youtei and Niseko Highland in a counterclockwise direction. The road was wide, except in the forest of Niseko Highland, and not busy. I enjoyed riding to my heart's content. This area is famous for many ski places in winter.  Australians more than Japanese come to this area in winter these days. It seems that people feel like being in Australia. I have never been here in winter. I'd like to be back here in winter, of course, with my ski gear. We rode slowly, enjoying the clear scenery. In about two hours after starting we got to the place on the 1st photo. This photo shows the statue of Mr. Takashi Hosokawa, one of the representative singers of Japan. He was born and raised in Makkari village where we are now and the epitaph on this monument says he introduced Makkari village and its products across Japan. Consequently the number of tourists who visit Makkari village increased and sales of local products grew rapidly. He is an honorary villager of Makkari village. His skill as a singer is there for all to see. The handprints that the 2nd photo shows are on the base of the monument. Each handprint is a switch for playing each representative song. If you touch one of these handprints, you can hear one of his masterpieces. We restarted after a coffee break over his voice. It began to rain after a short time. We ran on route 276 along the lakeside of Shikotsuko Lake and entered Chitose city.
     There are deep forests in the west of Chitose city. The paths in the forest are one of the best places for off-road bike freaks. I'd like to have run on the forest road, but it was closed for some repairs or construction or something. What a pity! We ran through the heavy rain and reached a riders' house "Chitose". I'll write about this riders' house in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
epitaph　墓碑銘　(人などに対する）最終的評価
honorary  〈肩書・地位・学位などが〉 名誉として与えられる
out for all to see 《be ～》みんなの目にさらけ出されている
The results are there for all to see.  その結果は誰もが認めるところだ。

(KW: 細川たかし 真狩村 羊蹄山 ニセコ)