Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Business Trip

　　My wife set out for her business trip to Kobe City, which is located to the west of Osaka. I'd be happy to spend a single life for some time, but I don't like household chores. To tell the truth, I don't know exactly how to use the laundry machine. I'm thinking just to push the automatic button. During her last business trip, I used the dishwasher myself. I put several lacquer wares into it and those high-priced tablewares were damaged severely due to the abrasive compound contained in the cleanser. I didn't know that Japanese lacquer wares should be handled manually and elaborately.
　　Anyway, I'll enjoy everything free from the ball and chain.

(Vocabulary)
abrasive compound / ground / powder  研磨剤
cleanser  洗剤

Lunch (Shojin Ryori dishes)

　　We got off the highway some time after the short stop at the Shizugadake Service Area. The next destination was Eiheiji Temple. This temple is so famous that you can find its features in the English literature or on the internet.
　　When we reached a few kilometers before the temple, we decided to have lunch. The temple would be large in area and it would take more than two hours to see around. That's why we had lunch before visiting the temple.
　　My wife found a lavish restaurant by the roadside, which served tofu dishes. Originally Japanese Zen monks didn't eat meat and obtained protein from soybeans. As we all know, soybeans are the material of tofu. Several temples which have a long history often have their own recipe for tofu and now their original tofu became one of the main products of the region around the temples. So, my wife wanted to have them, but I don't like tofu.
　　Soba, buckwheat noodle, is also in the same position. Old temples were usually established deep in the forest or in an isolated place. In such places, not so many crops have been harvested. However, buckwheat could have been planted on deserted land or even in dry land. Zen monks raised buckwheat for their food and it has also become one of the products around the temples. Naturally, there were many soba restaurants around Eiheiji temple, but I hate soba too.
　　My wife pestered me for a choice between tofu and soba, both of which I hated. In such a case, if I didn't follow her, she would have continued to complain that she wished to have eaten tofu FOREVER. I gave up and stopped my car at the parking lot of the tofu restaurant.
　　The ordinary meals for Zen monks are called Shojin Rhori, which means vegetarian dishes. Shojin Rhori is actually the specialty of the temple, but,,,I don't like it. The menu was all tofu-related and awful for me, and I ventured to choose the dish in the first picture, which was soba soaked into soybean milk. There was no more terrible dish for me, but it was not bad. The second picture was my wife's. These were completely vegetarian dishes.

(Vocabulary)
specialty  自慢の品［料理］, 特産（品）, 名物料理

 

Short Domestic Trip

　　I took a week's leave the other day and had a short domestic trip. I'm writing this article on Aug. 6th, but I'll arrange it in chronological order later.
　　First of all, the purpose was to visit the original house of my eldest daughter's fiance. If you can see the map, check my route. It must be enjoyable. The destination was Toyama City about 600 km from my house by air. I dropped in at several tourist attractions on the way and I'll post pictures of them.
　　My wife and I decided to use a ferry service from Toyo City to Osaka. Until a few years ago, a convenient ferry service was availabe between my hometown, Matsuyama City to Osaka, but now it has been abolished due to one of the stupid policies of the present government, DPJ. Everytime I recall this party and the prime minister, I feel fed up. Anyway, we couldn't use the port 15 minutes from my house and had to drive to Toyo City for an hour and a half.
　　The ferry company's website is here(link). Our ferry was "ORANGE 8". For your information, orange is one of the main products of my prefecture. As you see from pictures on the website, it was comfortable. Much to my regret, I forgot to take pictures inside the ship. I was busy having a bath and drinking beer,,,,

(Vocabulary)
in chronological order  時系列で
by airline distance 直線距離で
The house is two hundred yards from here in an airline. その家はここから直線距離で200ヤードのところにある。

Clean Up Bookshelves

　　I had my house built 7 years ago and designed a big storage space for books that I had expected to be enough at that time. However, the space is getting small these days and I decided to throw some of my books away. During the tidying up, I found that not a few books remained untouched since I had placed them there when my family had moved from the previous house. I have not read for seven years and it meant that those books were useless. I sorted them out and placed them in the waste box. Finally the amount of books to be thrown away became three cardboard boxes. The bookshelves got neat, but I wondered where I would store these three boxes.
　　The next municipal collection of paper was scheduled two weeks later. My wife asked me why I didn't take them to a used book shop. I called and asked the shop if they could receive all the books no matter how useless and valueless the books were. The answer was OK. I took them to the shop, along with 10 year old maps, travel guides, dirty books with lots of personal notes on, and so on. (I knew that these were absolutely no use, though.)
　　I didn't want anything from the shop and I just wanted to throw them away, but I got 1000 yen. It was really nice work.

(Vocabulary)
used book shop / used bookstore  古本屋

Oktoberfest

　　Oktoberfest (German word) is a well-known German event which is held in October. When I visited Germany in autumn 2009, I missed it though I really wanted to join the enthusiastic beer-people. I had to come back by Oct. 3rd. After the trip, I have been eager to attend the event.
　　The other day, an e-mail came to me from my second daughter, saying that she was chosen as one of the attendants of the "Nagoya Oktoberfest". Nagoya Oktoberfest? What's that? It's July, not October. Oktoberfest is not popular among Japanese. Why in Nagoya? Several questions came up and finally I was surprised to see the official website of the event.
　　Oktoberfest will be held in several places in Japan, and besides they seemed to have been held since a few years ago. I didn't know that.
　　Nagoya is one of the big cities in Japan. The event started on July 15th and continues to 24th. You can enjoy 24 kinds of German beer. Moreover German dishes which go well with beer are served. You can see them on the website. On the stage, German folk music is performed. If I had received the e-mail a few weeks earlier, I would have taken two days off and rushed to Nagoya. My daughter has enough German skills in such a casual situation. It would be the reason why she was chosen.

Private Train

　　I uploaded a map which showed my cycling route in the last entry. Did you notice that a part of the trace dropped on the map. It was due to an outage of the battery of my GPS receiver which was written about in this previous entry. After one hour's interval, I found it stopped working and replaced the battery.
　　By the way, my house is 50 km away from the starting point of the "Shimanami route" and it has been a problem for me. Surprisingly however, JR (Japan Railway) started a special service once a month. That is, a service for cyclists who live in Matsuyama City. They take up to 30 cyclists to the nearest station of the "Shimanami route" along with their bikes. I applied for this service and could enjoy cycling there.
　　The picture shows the inside of the train. In Germany, the train which accommodates bikes was made for that purpose, but this car is for just normal use. Each bike is simply fixed by a rubber rope to a handrail. In this way, I was transferred to Hashihama Station which is the nearest JR station to the "Shimanami route".
　　It took an hour and ten minutes to move the distance of 50 km. This line was single-track. So, our train frequently had to stop at small stations and let other regular trains overtake or oncoming trains to pass by.

(Vocabulary)
handrail　手すり
(Vocabulary from comments)
dividend  (株式の) 配当（金）
pay dividends  役に立つ, 実を結ぶ

Move

　　I decided to move to another hospital, which is located near my original home. Not only the head but all the staff members of the hospital, along with the local residents, had been asking me to work at their hospital for a long time. The hospital is about one hour and a half away from my house, but the highway to the hospital is getting improved; commuting time will be an hour next year.
　　The hospital is in a rural fishery village facing the Seto Inland Sea. Lots of new topics concerning the sea will be added in this blog from the autumn. For now, I'm thinking of taking a month off between the move. I have friends whom I haven't seen for more than 20 years and am now eager to see them again. I wonder if I could do a journey to visit them on my scooter. Just as I travelled across the country in my student days, I'm thinking of setting out with several pieces of camping gear. It's kind of an adventure. If this adventure became real, I'll be sure to take my PC and upload my trip memos on the net, which wasn't even imagined in my 20s.
　　I'll post the plan on the top page of this blog later and keep it there for a few months until the end of the trip, though it will be written in Japanese. The newest entry will be arranged on the second page.

(Vocabulary from comments)
embark on sth  ＜旅＞に出る
embark for sth  ＜場所＞に向けて旅立つ
embark on/upon sth  [句動詞]＜…＞に乗り出す, を開始する

Sudden Midsummer

　　My area of Japan should still be in the rainy season, but it has been unbelievably hot for June with uncomfortable humidity in the past few days. The rainy front is above my hometown and just over the 3.11 tsunami devastated area. When the front moves down south, the rainy season will finish, so my hometown is supposed to be in that season, but it's heavily hot.
　　Due to the nuclear crisis of the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, Japanese citizens are told to save electricity. Lots of people in lots of fields are trying to find ways of saving power. The authorities advise us to cultivate greens on the roof for keeping out the heat or outside the windows for making shade. Many types of clothes have been developed against the scorching heat. In most offices various casual wears are permitted. A number of business people have been freed from their neckties to raise the setting temperature of the air conditioners.
　　Fortunately, I could spend whole days in the building completely under the control of the air conditioner. I am really happy. I have a tendency to easily perspire a lot and get dripping wet. It's good for the health, but uncomfortable with underwear sticking to the skin.
　　The forecast for today's high is 34 Celsius.

(Vocabulary from comments)
Luzan  Luzon? ルソン島
acclimate
[自] (新しい風土に) 慣れる, 順応する [＋acclimate to]
[他] …を慣れさせる, 順応させる
get acclimated  慣れる, 順応する

Threefold or One Third ?

　　I'm writing about my happy yet sad story this time. The parents of the fiance of my eldest daughter visited my house to see me and my wife. It was the first visit for them to my hometown. We prepared dinner for them and showed them some tourist attractions. They were just what we expected. I felt relieved to see my daughter's parents-in-law.
　　Next, I'll write about her fiance. His character is very nice and gentle. What's more, he is supposed to become one of the high-ranking officials in the future. He is too good a husband for my daughter.
　　However, it is not all good news. She will leave home and her surname will be changed in the not too distant future. I feel like being deprived of a valuable treasure.
　　I have three daughters. One of my friends who has a single daughter told me this; he has to send only one daughter off some day, but this engagement was just one of three for me, so that the trauma on me would be only one third compared with him. I can clearly deny his way of thinking, however. It's not one third but threefold. I have to send three daughters to someone who I don't know.
　　I'm having really complex feelings now though I keep rational. I do pray for her happiness.

(Vocabulary)
threefold  [形]〈増加・減少などが〉3倍の [副] 3倍に, 三重に

Rain Again

　　I'm sure to remember that only a month ago I was concerned about the summer drought, but now I'm tired of rain. I'm really self-served; I can't live without an air conditioner on such humid days. Japan goes through the rainy season from late May to early July, but Hokkaido, one of the four main islands of Japan, has no rainy season. Did you know that? If you travel to Hokkaido in this season of the year, you'll see the scenery as you see in the following picture. It was taken in the northern part of Hokkaido in 2001. I visited there by my motorcycle. Walking on Sarobetsu Moor with my riding jacket on, I'm fed up with the sunshine in the picture.

(Vocabulary)
moor  荒れ地, 荒れ野

(Vocabulary from comments)
intersperse 《[他]通例受け身形で》
be interspersed with/by sth  (行事などに) ＜…＞が織り交ぜられている, (物体などに) ＜…＞が散在［点在］している
luscious  (飲食物が) 実においしい, 風味豊かな [同意] delicious
greenery 青葉, 緑の草木
precipitation 1 [C,U](専門) 降水（量）, 降雨［降雪］（量）
must-see (インフォーマル) 必見のもの［場所］／[形] 《[名]の前でのみ》(インフォーマル) 必見の

 

Rainy Season Front

　　The rainy season front will travel up Japan about this time of the year. My hometown was already passed a week earlier than usual and it has been rainy or cloudy with partial sunshine since then. Today the front rose to the upper limit of Kyushu. By that, the whole of western Japan was covered with stagnant depressions. Some people don't like rain, but I don't think that way. It's my great pleasure to read books over listening to music in the garden, which is sensitive to seasonal changes. If my dog was alive, he would be sure to be relaxed at my side.

Rainy Season

　　The rainy season has just started in my hometown. We had been concerned about the little rainfall for the past few months. That's why we are now relieved, while feeling sorry for the victims of eastern Japan. A vast area of eastern Japan has been suffering from the ground sinking after the quake and heavy rainfall would be painful for the victims.
　　By the way, the general meeting of the Matsuyama-Freiburg association was held today and the clean-up of Freiburg Street was scheduled at first, but it was put off due to the heavy rain. The members got together at a coffee shop along the street and enjoyed chatting. As I heard various stories of trips to Europe, I got eager to travel abroad.

(Vocabulary)
ground sinking  地盤沈下

A Historic Island

　　I asked my parents to go on a short trip to a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. My parents have visited many places in the world, but don't know much about the islands near their hometown. I chose an island which they had never visited. Our ferry dropped in at an uninhabited islet on the way, and I recalled the role of this island before the Greater East Asian War. I'm writing about this tiny islet, Ohkunoshima island. You can find it in Wikipedia, but I'd like to revise the entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckunoshima

　　Japan was a signatory on the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of poison gas, but didn't ratify it. Additionally, it was also legal to develop and keep poisonous gas at that time. This island was the scene of the development of poisonous gas. This 4.3 km-around tiny island has now become a big tourist attraction with historic facilities concerned with the manufacturing of poisonous gas. We didn't get off the ferry today, but I felt like visiting this island some day.

(Vocabulary)
desert ［deserted］ island // uninhabited island / islet  無人島

 

Towel Museum

　　Do you know the brand name, Imabari, which is also the name of the city near my home town. Imabari City is well known as the city of towels and a number of citizens are involved in the production of the towels. Recently an incident made this city more popular as follows: when the towel companies tried to open their shops in China on a conjoined basis, the trademark of the Imabari brand was already registered in China. The towels under the false Imabari brand were naturally far from the genuine ones. Imabari City officially accused the false company of fraudulent use of their trademark, but China didn't listen. This incident was carved in the Japanese mind as one of the symbols of China.
　　My family had a guest today and showed him the Towel Museum in Imabari City. Towels were actually being weaved in the museum and the visitors could see how the towels were made. In the exhibition hall, the Moomins were featured. There were lots of towels and I'll show you some of them. Do the Chinese know such beautiful artwork produced from a piece of cloth that you use for drying your skin.

(Vocabulary)
on a conjoined basis  共同で
conjoin…を結合させる, 連合させる
be conjoined with sth  ＜…＞と結合している
fraudulent use 盗用
fraudulent 詐欺（行為）の, 不正の
The Moomins

 
 
 

Mocha Cremated

　　I took the half-day off after lunch time today. My wife, both parents and I took Mocha's remains to the pet's crematory. His remains were cremated while a Buddhist monk chanted a sutra for him. The cremation took one hour and a half. We took a walk in the pet's graveyard waiting to finish at the crematorium. It was long enough to recall lots of memories with him. He was always with my daughters and a good friend of theirs. The smoke rising from his incinerator made me feel really sorry. I asked the monk to briefly give lessons about the sutra. As you know, Buddhism has the concept of the wheel of life. The sutra apparently was chanted for Mocha's comeback as a human. The monk continued. Dogs and humans are supposed to go to the next world separately and he prayed for Mocha's rebirth as a human. Mocha served us well, so he will be sure to come back to this world as a human next time, I believe.
　　By the way, I don't feel like having a new dog at least for some time. It's too sad to say good-bye. I decided to donate several things for Mocha, like cages, a kennel, a container for a dog, collars, unopened food to an NPO, which saves the lives of cats and dogs and looks for a foster home for abandoned animals.

(Vocabulary)
crematory 火葬場
chant a Buddhist sutra  お経を唱える
wait to do sth  ＜…＞するのを待つ
Are you waiting to use the phone?  電話の順番をお待ちですか？
crematorium 火葬場
incinerator  焼却炉
briefly  少しの間, しばらく/ 手短に, 簡単に/ 要するに, つまり
cycle of rebirth / the wheel of life 《仏教》 輪廻
transmigration / transmigration of souls
transmigration  (専門) (霊魂の) 転生, 輪廻(りんね) / 移住
transmigrate [自](霊魂が)転生する/(集団が)移住する/ [他](集団を)移住させる
collar 首輪
foster home 養家

 

Mocha Dies

　　Last night, Mocha, our dog, died at the age of 6 years and 3 months after an initial recovery. My wife and I have been taking care of Mocha for the past two weeks. He got back on his feet once, but eventually he couldn't come back to us. I'm writing about him in this entry.
　　He came to my house about 6 years ago from a breeder. He was small and cute. My daughters were so delighted to spend time with him. In due course, the eldest two daughters entered university and left home. Naturally, Mocha became most attached to the youngest daughter. She also loved him and was crazy about him. Shampooing Mocha was her task during his life. I've never shampooed him.
　　He was originally clever and in addition was trained by a professional trainer. His behaviour was perfect during his walks and I really enjoyed walking him around my house. He was popular among the neighbors. Every time I walked him, some strangers spoke to me asking something about him, like his age, name, character and so on. They were also dog-lovers. Walking on my day-offs was apt to get longer and it was good for my health.
　　Just after he expired, I hurried to the shop which sells dry ice. I bought some dry ice and flowers for him. My wife made a makeshift coffin and his body was put into it gently with dry ice and flowers. His remains will be cremated tomorrow and placed in a public pet's graveyard 30 minutes away from my house. I want to believe that he lived his own happy life with my family. He left good memories for us on our behalf.
　　Thank you, Mocha. We'll never forget you and will visit your tomb from time to time.
　　Additionally, I've left several e-mails and comments unreplied for a week. I'm sorry and I'll reply soon.

(Vocabulary)
after an initial recovery  一度は持ち直したが
get back on one's feet （病気などの悪い状態から）回復する
attached  《[名]の前不可》 愛着［愛情］を感じた, 情がわいた
[＋attached to]
We are careful not to let the animals become too attached to us. 動物が人間に甘えすぎないように注意しています．
in addition その上
cremate 火葬する

 

Fifty-three Stages of the Tobe-tokaido

　　An old route between Tokyo and Kyoto, called Tokaido, was built in the Edo era about 400 years ago. Tokyo was called Edo and the center of Japan. Kyoto was the place where the royal family lived. That is to say, Tokaido was the most prosperous and busy road at that time. Numerous people utilized this route both in business and in private. Naturally, lots of inns were built along the route and the cluster of inns formed small villages for a certain time. My dictionary says that these villages are translated into "post stations" in English. The number of these villages was, 53 and they were named, "Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido" by a famous painter. "To" of "Tokaido" means "east" and "kaido" means "road". This route is located to the east from Kyoto, and is called "Tokaido".
　　By the way, there's a small town of Tobe to the south of my hometown, which is famous for its original earthenware called "Tobeyaki". This district is one of the bedroom suburbs of my city and a very peaceful area. It has a long history as a town of earthenware and it has also historical and geological attractions at the every corner of the area. The town office picked 53 spots out of those attractions and set up the 53 stages of the Tokaido. "To" of this "Tokaido" means "to" of "toki", which means earthenware in Japanese. Japanese letters, kanji, are ideographs and these plays on words are often seen in Japan. People who understand Japanese would feel something witty about this naming.
　　I heard that the town office issued a guidebook for the town, which has blank pages for collecting stamps at each one of the 53 attractions. If you finish the collection after visiting all of the 53 spots, the town will give you something. I made up my mind to visit all the spots and collect these stamps with my bicycle.

(Vocabulary)
Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido  東海道五十三次
post station 宿場町
earthenware  陶器（の）
bedroom suburb  ベッドタウン
ideogram / ideograph / ideographic character / ideographic writing 表意文字
a play on words 語呂合わせ

Mocha Came Back

　　As I wrote about my dog, Mocha in the last entry, he had been critical for some time, but he began eating something he liked. Additionally, he had a bowel movement on 14th. He had been given drip infusions for fluid replacement, antibiotics, diuretics and vitamins for the past week. I think he'll become what he used to be. I don't know the exact reason of his illness, but it's enough for him to recover. It will take a few weeks more to be able to walk with me.

(Vocabulary)
fluid replacement therapy　補液療法

 

Lovely Mocha

　　A phone call from the dog training center, where our dog Mocha was staying, surprised us this morning. The trainer told us that Mocha's behavior was considerably different from what he used to be. We informed him of Mocha's vet's contact information and asked him to take Mocha to the vet.
　　He had apparently developed a sudden fever 4 days ago, and the contract vet gave him an injection of antibiotics and the fever went down the next morning. After that, Mocha has been in good condition. This morning, however, his way of walking was feeble and he rejected his feed. He tended to veer to the left with his head sideways to the left. His mind looked like it was absent and he didn't show any response to my call when I saw him in the afternoon.
　　His vet didn't make an exact diagnosis about his symptoms, but those signs were compatible with encephalitis. The vet prescribed remedies for poison, thinking of him possibly eating agricultural chemicals, because he showed slight myotic pupils. If those chemicals are the cause of his symptoms, he might be saved by the remedies. However, in case some viral infection is involved, he could die soon. We just hope for his recovery.
　　I couldn't believe such an idea that dogs could become one of the family, or just like a family member before beginning to keep my dog, but now such dog-lovers's feelings are in my heart, too. I'm so sorry, and all my family is the same.

(Vocabulary)
contact information  連絡先
develop (a) fever 発熱する
contract surgeon 嘱託外科医
organic phosphorus compound 有機リン系化合物
miosis / miotic pupil 縮瞳

 

Mocha To School Again

　　A Dalmatian is in my house. I have written a dozen entries about this male dog, Mocha. He is really nice and smart. He looks like he can tell the exhaust sound of my scooter from others', so my family members know that I'm coming home several tens of seconds before my arrival, because he stands up with one forefoot on the bar to see me. His style is very unique and it became one of the reasons why he is famous and popular in my neighborhood.
　　By the way, Dalmatians are supposed to be calm and gentle dogs due to the Disney Film, "One Hundred and One Dalmatians", but it's not true. This kind of dog usually barks frequently. Mocha used to be like such a dog. My house is located in a calm housing district and the noisy sound of dog-barkings bothers the neighbors. Consequently, he was confined into a dog-training facility for two months. I wrote about it here(LINK 1). He went totally straight after the training. Two years later, however, he started barking again and was taken to the same facility again. He came back home at that time too, as though he was born again.(LINK 2)
　　He began barking meaninglessly again. It seems that he became delinquent again in the spring and he was sent to the same facility. It might be like a jail for him, but this rehab as we speak is really great. He will be a good boy.

(Vocabulary)
go straight (インフォーマル)(前科者などが)足を洗ってまっとうに暮らす
delinquent  非行の, 非行を働く