Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Test Run

　　A marathon, named the "Bochann Run Run Run!", will be held on Dec. 7th, just 7 days later. I'll attend the category of half-marathon. Today, several runners got together and did their test run. I also joined them. The first picture is of the right feet of members. The single running shoe in the center is the photographer's. It's a nice idea. The foot with a blue shoe is mine.

Japanese Garden

　　We visited the Japanese Garden next after 10 minutes' walk from the ökostation through the park of late autumn. I'll show you several pictures below. The first one is the entrance of the garden. You'll see the flags of both cities of Freiburg and Matsuyama. Additionally, there was the logo of Matsuyama City on the ground. I was grateful for a favor from citizens of Freiburg. The entrance closely resembled the gates of Matsuyama Castle. Just after stepping in the garden, I found the stone monument on which "肝胆相照" in Tokio Nakamura's original handwriting was carved. For your information, he was the mayor of Matsuyama City when the sister city treaty was signed 25 years ago. If this Japanese phrase could be translated literally into English, let each other see to the liver and gallbladder. That is to say, say what you think without pulling your punches and be good friends. I admired that he chose this phrase as the words on the monument which stood there.
　　The present mayor of Matsuyama City was formerly a popular announcer of the local broadcasting company. He was well known and some people wanted to take pictures with him. I don't have permission to upload pictures from them, but it would be no problem. The last picture shows me and my daughter. Do you see that I wore a blue pin to express my opposition to the kidnapping by DPRK (North Korea)?

(Vocabulary)
in sb's original handwriting （人）の直筆の
original 《[名]の前でのみ》自筆の, 原画の, 真作の
not pull any punches (informal)  (反対・非難などで) 手かげんしない, 遠慮せずに述べる

Formal Visit

　　My usual overseas trips were always easygoing with old and tried friends. This trip, however, is a formal visit as a representative of citizens in Matsuyama City. I'm not so familiar with a half of the tour members. What would become of the trip? To tell the truth, it's the first time for me to attend such a group tour accompanied by a professional tour guide. Seemingly, I have only to follow her.
　　Let me explain the picture below, which was shot at Matsuyama Airport just before the departure. I'm a member of Matsuyama Chuo Lions Club and four of the members are going to join the tour. The second person from the left, my superior general surgeon, is my sponsor in the club and at the same time he is the former chairman of the Matsuyama Freiburg Friendship Association (MFFA). He pulled me into MFFA at the last anniversary event held in Matsuyama City five years ago. (http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/04/visitors-from-1.html) As a result, this event lead me to Germany three times and my second daughter came to stay in Freiburg for a year. Additionally I was invited into the Lions Club. He is really a precious one for me.
　　The plane soared into the clear sky just like my growing sense of expectations, heading for Tokyo, where we would change planes.

(Vocabulary)
old and tried ［trusted］ 気心の知れた
tried and tested (tried and true とも) 〈方法・技法などが〉立証済みの, 確立された
tried and tested research methods 確立された調査方法 [同意] well-tried
sponsor 〔…の〕引受人, 保証人〔of, for〕.

Notice

　　While this entry is shown on the blog, I am staying in Germany and Italy as a member of the official envoy to Freiburg, the sister city of my hometown. This blog system has a function of receiving e-mails and posting them at the same time. Using this function, I'll post my trip memos in English or German. Don't mind these articles. They are just trip memos and I'll write lots of entries detailing them later.

　 　松山市とドイツのフライブルク市が姉妹都市になって２５周年となります。松山市からの公式訪問団の一員として、フライブルク市で行われる交流会に参加してきます。この時期はかなり寒いので交流会が終わったら野志市長や市議会議員とは別行動でドイツを脱出して暖を求めてイタリアへ移動し、数日間の観光後、帰国します。いつものように帰国後に詳細な旅行記録を書くつもりです。それまでこのブログは単なるメモになります。帰国後に書く記事の参考とするためのものです。

　では！　Auf Wiedersehen!

(平成２１年、南朝鮮坡州（パジュ）市臨津閣にて撮影、後方は非武装地帯)

Uniform of Matsuyama Chuo Lions Running Club

　　I sometimes wrote about the Ehime Marathon in my blog, which has been held in my hometown for 50 years. It had been only for professional or semi-professional athletes for a long time, but now it is open to the public. Moreover it's getting more and more popular across Japan. About 8,000 city runners are permitted to join the marathon and the competition rate has been more than double every year recently. The other day, four members of my Lions Club, including me, were drawn to obtain permission to join the marathon. The president of the club is an enthusiastic supporter of the marathon and he instantly established the running club in the Lions Club.
　　As I attended the regular conference of the Lions Club today, several dozen uniforms, shown below, were prepared for not only the runners, but supporters. Seemingly, several club members will support the runners along the route wearing the same uniform. It's really cool, but I would never be allowed to retire from the race. I have to definitely pursue the completion of the marathon.

Matsuyama Garrison

　　I joined an annual event of the Matsuyama Garrison of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) today. The inside of the garrison was open to the public and lots of goods related with the JGSDF were sold at the event. It was one of the PR activities of JGSDF. I wanted to see the inside of the garrison and first of all, I was eager to get on the tank. In order to get on the tank, I had to get a numbered ticket as soon as the gate was opened because it was the most popular activity at the event. However, I didn't know that and I was too late to reach the ticket counter. Then, to the sound of cheers, the JGSDF and assumed invaders performed a mimic battle using blank ammunition. It was really impressive. I have no words to describe how big the sound was.
　　What impressed me most in the garrison is the tidiness of things. I've never seen other country's military garrison, but I felt that it implies the strength of the JGSDF.
　　I dropped in at the outdoor tea ceremony and outdoor stalls run by young SDF personnel and SDF support persons. I talked with several young SDF personnel in the stalls. Their attitude was really invigorating and it made me happy.

(Vocabulary)
garrison  (都市・要塞などの) 守備隊, 駐屯軍; 駐屯地
numbered ticket  整理券
to the sound of　～の音を聞きながら、～の音と共に
blank ammunition/blank shot  空砲
live ammunition  実弾
mimic battle/warfare; mock battle  模擬戦
invigorating  元気づける, すがすがしい
The weather was cool and invigorating.   空気はひんやりしていて爽快だった．

　
　
　
　

25th Anniversary of Sister City Treaty

　　My hometown, Matsuyama City entered into a sister city treaty with the southern German city of Freiburg 25 years ago, so this year is a quarter century anniversary. Several officials, including the mayor and city council members of Matsuyama City, and a few dozen citizens are planning to make official visits to Freiburg to attend the event comemorating the 25th anniversary.
　　Today, citizens of Matsuyama City who had an interest in Germany got together and enjoyed German wines and gorgeous dishes to get to know each other better. Some of them would visit Freiburg in November. Additionally three students from Freiburg were invited to the party. They could speak in Japanese and seemed to enjoy chatting with people who love Germany. So many topics were mentioned. One of them really wanted to climb Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan and recently listed as a World Natural Heritage Site. I'm not sure now, but if several people wanted, I'd arrange the climbing plan next summer. Climbing is one of my hobbies. Freiburg seemingly has a cold climate at this time of the year. I could imagine how cold it is from the latitude of Freiburg, which is no less than 4 degrees in latitude further north than Japan's northern city of Sapporo. For your information Matsuyama City is located in the southern part of Japan and is relatively warm except in January and February. I'm afraid my possessions will become more and more, because of lots of winter clothes.

(Vocabulary)
no less than 〔数詞などを伴って〕～ほども多くの
He speaks no less than five languages.  彼は５種類もの言語を話す。

　
　

German Fair

　　My hometown of Matsuyama City has been the sister city of the German city of Freiburg for 25 years, which is located in the south-western part of Germany. I've been to the city twice. The city is near the border with Switzerland and France, and so I visited Basel crossing into Switzerland and also Alsace-Lorraine Province and its capital of Strasbourg, stepping into France. Naturally I began to feel some affinity for Freiburg and southern Germany.
　　By the way, do you know Jazz Chor Freiburg, a chorus group consisting of the citizens of Freiburg. The group's Japan Tour was conducted this year and they dropped in at my city after a three years' interval. On the occasion of their visit, Matsuyama City held a PR event for Germany and particularly Freiburg. I was asked to take part in the event as a member of the Matsuyama-Freiburg Association. My task was to chat with people who were interested in Germany and if possible to collect new members. As you see in the following pictures, there were several concessions which sold various goods related to Germany. Some members of Jazz Chor Freiburg suddenly appeared at a corner of the event park and performed a few cuts from their concert just before the opening of the concert.
　　I heard that Matsuyama City would dispatch a municipal official envoy to Freiburg marking the 25th anniversary of their sister city treaty and recruit its members. I wonder if I should apply for it.

Home Ownership

　　I wrote about a Hungarian couple in the last entry. On the next morning when they lodged at my house, I had to go out for work and my wife took them to a highway interchange so that they could easily catch another car for hitchhiking. The woman of the couple was a very good Japanese speaker and my wife was very talkative. My wife told me what they chatted about on the way that night. According to my wife, they did away with their possessions which were large and they couldn't carry, like furniture, some thrown away, others were sold. As a result, their fortunes were packed in their only two backpacks! They hadn't even decided yet where they'd go and live.
　　It was simply astonishing for me. Working hard at a certain place and getting home ownership is a basic bargain of Japan, which if you work hard, you can get ahead - you can build a secure life for your family, and your kids will do even better someday. Ordinary people in Japan always think how they can build on the cornerstones of what it means to be middle class in Japan. It leads to a secure retirement even for those who aren't rich. How did they see my house, which is a little larger than average. I wonder if it might be a burden of life for them.

Sudden Visitors

　　A Hungarian married couple, who are my daughter's acquaintances, came to my house last night. They had been living in Okinawa for 5 years and were going to leave Japan at the end of September. They dropped in at my house on their journey through Japan. They were the first persons from Hungary who visited my house.
　　Yesterday was a weekday. I had to work as usual, and moreover their visit was on relatively short notice. If I'd had time for them, I'd like to have shown them around my hometown. My daughter, who was home during her summer vacation, could guide them to only a few tourist attractions. I had to attend a lecture last night and came back home late and so I couldn't talk much with them. It might be because of their modesty that I felt it regrettable that I didn't have enough time. I'm not writing about them in detail, but they were nice people.
　　They speak Japanese fluently and know a lot about Japan, but I know almost nothing about Hungary; the Hungarian rising and the name of the capital, Budapest, that was all. The man told me that he was born outside present-day Hungary and also talked about the transition of the territory of Hungary. A part of the Ukraine and Romania apparently used to belong to Hungary.
　　Perhaps someday I'll visit Hungary.

(Vocabulary)
at［on］short notice  急な依頼で
the Hungarian rising  ハンガリー動乱

Zero Fighter

　　I had another purpose in this trip to Tokyo. It was a visit to Tokorozawa Aviation Museum, which exhibits several planes of historic importance.
　　Now in the museum, a zero fighter went on display for a limited time until Aug. 31st. It was captured by the Allied Forces during the Greater East Asian War and has been preserved by them with great care. It's a single zero fighter that can fly even now. The museum borrowed it for the exhibition. My father-in-law frequently told me about Japan's fighters and bombers, when he was alive. The maintenance of them was his task on an isolated island in the military field in the southern Pacific Ocean. I was really eager to see it.
　　The zero fighter in the room looked like taking on the pride of the Japanese Imperial Navy. Japan strived to avoid using force for the settlement of international issues until the last minute. Lots of people believe that Japan started the last war, but it's wrong. Who would want to wage war on superpowers whose industrial products are ten times bigger. Japan, however, had to fight the Allied Forces against its will. The zero fighter was designed and produced with the cutting-edge technology at that time to survive the war.
　　The other day, a Buddha statue stolen from Tsushima island near Kyushu in Japan was found in South Korea. The owner expected that it would be returned to him soon, but the Korean court handed down a verdict that the statue had been crafted in Korea several hundred years ago and so the statue should be kept in Korea. What do you think of that? Incredible! What would become of Greek or Egyptian historical items such as carved statues, ancient mummies and so on preserved in British and French museums. I wondered if Korea might not return the fighter plane to the U.S.

(Vocabulary)
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum 所沢航空発祥記念館
on display  展示［陳列］されて
put sth on display  ＜…＞を展示する
go on display  展示される
hand sth down
＜伝統・技術など＞を後世に伝える, ＜財産・家業など＞を残す
＜衣服・おもちゃなど＞をお下がりとしてあげる
hand down a decision/verdict/ruling  〈裁判所などが〉 判決［評決，裁定］を下す

Firework Display

　　Firework displays are held across Japan at this time of the year. Lots of Japanese evoke summer images by them. My hometown is one of those cities which hold a firework display. I don't know the exact number of the fireworks, but the shooting off the fireworks continues for about two hours. It is a really fantastic view. This year, the weather of the day was not so bad. People enjoyed them even from far distant places. The fireworks are set off on the seashore and I'll show you some pictures taken at the airport a few kilometers away from the shooting point.
　　About 20 years ago, I've even seen a firework display overseas, in Butchart Gardens in Victoria in Canada. When I visited the garden, I knew about the event from a flier handed out at the gate. I was waiting for the start of the display at the outdoor table of a restaurant, imaging the Japanese style fireworks, but I couldn't see them. The fireworks were displayed in a slightly pitted place and the spectators had to sit on the slope looking down at the bottom. Was that the common type of firework displays in Canada?
　　You look up at the fireworks in Japan, but you look down on them in Canada. I wonder how the firework displays are in other countries?

　　

　　

(Vocabulary from comments)
pyrotechnics ［U］［単数・複数扱い］
花火の打ち上げ［使用, ショー］；　花火製造術；　（弁舌・機知・演奏などの）華々しさ.

Holland

　　I've been writing this blog for about 8 years and it's probably the first time to handle Holland as a topic. That's because my youngest daughter set out for Holland a short while ago. She was dispatched to The Hague in Holland through the Youth Camp Exchange Program organized by the International Lions Club. Young exchange people from Japan to Europe are supposed to leave Japan tomorrow morning from three principal airports of Japan, i.e. Narita, Chubu and Kansai Airport. My daughter flew to Kansai Airport to get on-board tomorrow's flight LH741. All of them will get together at Frankfurt Airport when they arrive. Then they'll head for everyone's destination, like Amsterdam, Zurich, Helsinki, and so on.
　　Back to my daughter's story, it's her 7th time to go abroad, but the first time to visit Europe. She can speak English really fluently, but will be puzzled by other countries' unfamiliar customs. I hope those experiences will help her grow up. She is a budding doctor and wants to work in an international organization like WHO in the future.
　　She is due to stay with a Dutch family for 2 weeks and spend another 2 weeks in the countryside near the border with Germany with young people from all over the world. In the camp, she apparently seems to be a single Japanese and co-campers will ask her lots of things associated with Japan and vice versa. I'm looking forward to hearing her story about the camp.

(Vocabulary)
be due to do something  ＜…＞する予定である
The theme park is due to open next year. そのテーマパークは来年オープンする予定です．

Community Work

　　In my hometown, a day of the year is designated as the clean-up day of the whole city every year. July 14th was the day this year. Lots of people take part in the task of cleaning up their own neighborhood. It's not an obligatory activity and those who have some other work or something don't have to attend the event. All of them are voluntary. In general, Japanese people tend to keep tidy around their houses, but it has some limitations. The cleaning which requires much labor is usually done on this day. The pictures show a group of people who cut the weeds alongside the road. Those who have grass cutters got together with them and others including me collect the weeds cut down. It was early morning, but it was terribly hot.

Beer Train

　　My commute route is really nice, running between the downtown and a rural town, through the forest, along the seaside, and it has a wide variety of scenery. One of those beautiful scenes is the setting sun on the Seto Inland Sea.
　　The transportation company, JR, recognized that it has a commercial potential and prepared a special type of train, which is shown in the picture. Though I don't know what I should call it in English, this car has no windows and not even walls. Just a roof was provided. The train makes a round trip from Matsuyama City to Nagahama Town in two and half hours, which is my commute route, and passengers are served as much as they want beer or soft drinks with a packed supper. You are allowed to bring nibbles or anything into the car. It was really fun to have a beer party, viewing scenery from the train.

No, Never, Drugs Campaign

　　A campaign was held in the busiest shopping street in my hometown today. More than 500 people from across the political, educational, and governmental spectrum gathered. Naturally, several volunteer bodies like Matsuyama Chuo Lions Club, which I belong to, joined. Over chatting with high school students, carrying a placard and passing out flyers, we walked along the street for an hour. Much to everybody's regret, crimes associated with drugs are still happening in Japan. The flyers we delivered point out the hazards of using drugs.

Rainbow

　　The pictures show the rainbow which I saw this morning on the way to work. It's the first time I've seen such a beautiful and complete rainbow in my life. The most part of the rainbow was above the sea and nothing concealed any part of it. Then I couldn't pass the scene and pulled over my car to have a short break and take pictures.
　　Ehime Prefecture in which my hometown is located got into the rainy season yesterday. During this season, it's a rare chance to see a blue sky. This morning, it was a little cloudy and I didn't hope to see such a beautiful rainbow. My commuting route is full of changes of views from urban streets via mountainous district to the seaside. The instant I got through the forest, I found a beautiful rainbow starting to be formed on the sea called Iyonada. As I drove the car, the formation of the rainbow gradually developed and completed really beautifully. I couldn't help stopping my car.

Oriental Machu Picchu

　　I'm going to tell you about one of the tourist destinations located deep in the forest in my prefecture. It's a cultural and industrial heritage which recently earned the nickname of "Oriental" Machu Picchu. This spot closely resembles Machu Picchu, which is the name of the ruins of an ancient Inca city in southern Peru, as you all know.
　　Four hundred years ago, three thousand people, at its most prosperous period, lived there, engaging in mining copper in the present Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. Copper dug out from the mine had been the resources for remarkable development of Japan after World War Two, but now the mine is closed and the area didn't have a proper name but the simple name of the place, "Tohnaru". However, once someone named it as Oriental Machu Picchu, things changed. The spot became well-known and popular.
　　I visited the site with my wife. It was in a sequestered region. Without preliminary information on the ruins, you would be so astonished to see it like the explorer, Hiram Bingham III, who found Machu Picchu in 1911. Incidentally, Indiana Jones is supposedly modelled on him. Like Indiana(!), in the midst of the dense forest, we found traces of a kindergarten, a clinic and a theater for performing arts. They barely revealed their past existences.

(Vocabulary)
Machu Picchu　マチュピチュ〔ペルー南部にあるインカ帝国の都市遺跡〕
earn 　[他] (当然の)〈名声・地位など〉を得る,〈尊敬・称賛など〉を受ける
I think you've earned a rest! そろそろ休んだらどうだい！
earn sb sth  ＜人＞に＜尊敬・称賛など＞をもたらす
His hard work earned him the respect of his co-workers. 彼は勤勉な働きぶりで同僚の尊敬を集めた．
dense 〈植物・葉などが〉密生した,〈人口が〉密集した
areas of dense vegetation  植物が生い茂っている地域
dense forest/jungle/undergrowth  うっそうとした森林［ジャングル，下草］

Boys' Festival

　　The fifth of May is traditionally known as Tango no Sekku. It's a day to pray for the healthy growth of boys. In households across Japan, parents display suits of armour and dolls modelled after legendary warriors, wishing that their sons will be strong. There are some other customs related to Tango no Sekku. You might see several "koinobori" carp-shaped streamers flapping in the breeze. Or, you might eat "kashiwamochi" rice cake, which is stuffed with sweet bean paste and wrapped in "kashiwa" oak leaves, and is steamed to give the "mochi" a nice leafy aroma.
　　To my regret, I didn't have any boys so I haven't celebrate this day, but I have put "shobu" sweet flags in the bath sometimes. It became a good toy for my daughters in the bath. When steeped in hot water, sweet flags give off a strong scent, and this is believed to have the power to ward off evil and prevent disease. The Japanese have always used seasonal plants as part of their lives in an attempt to harness the power of nature. Now, all my daughters have moved out, but I still put "shobu" in the bath, recalling their childhood.
　　By the way, an interesting wordplay of "shobu" exists, with the meaning of martial spirit and the "shobu" in the bath representing swords. The Japanese seem to love that kind of symbolism and wordplay. I'll post the link to pictures of "shobu".

Asagiriko Lake Marathon

　　Asagiriko Lake Marathon took place today and I joined the category for the 10km road race. It was the first time for me to run more than 100 meters in the last 30 years, so it was epoch-making stuff in my life. The lake is located an hour's drive south of my hometown and the route was arranged around Asagiriko Lake. The route was surrounded by serene rural scenes which was a nice place for relaxing and feeling the nature.
　　Lots of people were registered to run in the event, as you can see in the first picture. There were about 2800 runners and this event is undoubtedly one of the biggest events for this tiny village. The start of the half marathon was coming and the runners moved to the starting point.
　　My friends and I were going to join the 10km road race, which started 30 minutes after the start of the half marathon. We took pictures of ourselves during the 30 minutes which was given for people to see the start of the half marathon. The man wearing number 1428 in the picture is me.
　　I finished the 10km road race keeping the pace as previously scheduled. Generally speaking, the record was not good, but I found it very satisfying. I'll try other races and complete a full marathon some day.

(Vocabulary from comments)
applaud  ［正式］…を賞賛する（praise）；…を支持する（support）
I ～ your decision to quit smoking.  よく禁煙を決意しましたね
We ～ed him for his courage to attack the difficulty.  我々はその困難と戦う彼の勇気を賞賛した.
sideline 〈負傷などが〉〈選手〉を試合に出場できなくする; 〈病気・状況などが〉〈人〉に仕事をできなくする
Plantar Fasciitis  足底筋膜炎
nagging  〈痛み・悩みなどが〉しつこい, 絶えずつきまとう; 〈声・親などが〉口うるさい, いつも小言を言う
a ～ cough  （なかなか治らない）長引く咳
a ～ doubt   つきまとって離れない疑念
have a ～ pain in one's arm  慢性的に腕が痛む.