Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Ainu Cuisine

     I rushed my work until noon and as soon as I finished seeing the last outpatient I changed clothes into a casual outfit and went out of the office, before being caught and asked something by staff members. It was like a get-away from real life. I came by my house, picked up my baggage and left for the airport.
     About one hour's flight was comfortable in bright weather and a stable current of air. I arrived at Haneda airport (Tokyo) about four o'clock. Afterwards I deposited my baggage in a hotel and started out for Nakano station, which was the designated spot that my daughter and I would get together.
     Why Nakano? It's because the one and only restaurant in Japan that serves Ainu cuisine is near Nakano station. Since I visited Ainu Museum last summer, I got interested in the life of Ainu people. What was it like? http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/porotokotan.html

     The shortest answer was that the dishes were very good. One thing I was suspicious about was whether Ainu people had such good oil and seasonings. I put pepper on my venison steak and I wondered, "Is it the proper way to enjoy Ainu cuisine?" Either way, we enjoyed Ainu cuisine and the crafts that were displayed in the restaurant. http://kumo.typepad.jp/photos/ainu_cuisine_mar_2008/index.html

     I was going to put up at her dormitory. Her dormitory is only for women and has some guestrooms for men in the basement. However, she forgot to make a reservation and there was no vacancy, so I stayed at the nearest hotel.

(Vocabulary)
rush one's work    大急ぎで仕事をする
call in / come by  立ち寄る
an air current / a current of air  気流
one and only one   唯一の
The shortest answer is .....    一言でいえば、
I put some pepper on it.   コショウをかけた
either way　どちらにしても
craft [C] （手）工芸, クラフト
put up at 〔ホテル・家などに〕泊める、泊まる
venison  シカ肉

Venison Steak

（ＫＷ：レラ・チセ レラチセ アイヌ料理 ポロトコタン）

CANADA Again! See You Soon!!

     I'm going to visit Vancouver and Whistler in Canada tomorrow. I'll bring digital cameras and a DVD video camera. After coming back I'll post the diary, photos and motion pictures of the Canadian days.
     I'll stay in Tokyo and have dinner with my eldest daughter in an Ainu cuisine restaurant tonight. I have been eager to taste it after visiting an Ainu Museum last summer.
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/porotokotan.html

Samue (作務衣)

     These days I was wondering what the best present is for a teacher who reads and corrects my blog entries. He lives near Vancouver and I'm going to meet him for the first time. Something to eat or drink would soon disappear. Something that is difficult to get in Canada is better, I thought. I listed up many things and finally chose a pair of samue as a gift.
     Any idea about samue? If you'd like to see what it is, copy and paste this word "作務衣" into the Google search field in the right column of this blog. You can see many samues, though it would be written in Japanese.
     Originally samue was the work clothes of Japanese Zen monks, made from cotton or linen and traditionally dyed brown or indigo. Samue have been worn by monks when performing labour duties such as temples' maintenance work. In modern times they have become fashionable and popular among ordinary people as general casual wear or workwear.
     My father sometimes wears one when relaxing at home. The cooks of Japanese-style restaurants often wear one. Some writers or potters willingly dress in one. At any rate, you'd better try it if you have a chance.
     I called in at the biggest Iyo-Kasuri shop and found a nice one. Iyo-Kasuri is a very famous product of my prefecture, Ehime. http://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/lang/en/products/index.html I hope this is so him.

See here. (7th picture)

(Vocabulary)
indigo  濃い藍色(あいいろ), インディゴブルー
dress [自] (特定の) 服装をする
dress casually   カジュアルな服装をする
dress in sth  ＜…＞を着ている

(KW: 作務衣 伊予絣会館 伊予かすり会館)

Busy With The Prep

     My daughter's and my skiis returned from the repair shop after getting full tune-ups. We started to pack up our stuff. My daughter will leave a little earlier than I and she will use the transportation service for her baggage from my house to Narita International Airport (near Tokyo). For this reason she has to prepare her stuff and baggage a little earlier. Her bags will be checked-in with the service company until 16th.
     And one more thing. I bought some travellers' checks for her and exchanged some money from Japanese yen to Canadian dollars. I was so surprised to know the exchange rate. The Canadian dollar is higher than the U.S. dollar. I felt sad.

Beautiful Kyoto

     Two pictures came to me from a medical doctor living in Kyoto who was a year my senior in my high school and medical school. I posted them here for dozens of my blog's subscribers.
     They show the Kinkakuji Temple, one of the most famous temples in Japan. I've only been there a couple of times and the season was summer both times. After seeing these pictures, I was eager to see the Kinkakuji in a snow shower.
     If you have a chance to visit Japan, be sure to enjoy sightseeing in Kyoto that weaves the traditional with novelty. Many tourists will be moved to feel the atmosphere of Kyoto.

(Vocabulary)
Kyoto weaves the tradition with the novelty.
京都には伝統と目新しさが混在している。(英辞郎) 記事の方が良いと思うがどうだろう。

(KW: 金閣寺 京都)

Koujien, Japanese Most Popular Dictionary

     I have been using Ichitaro, a word processing software, like the wordstar in English-speaking lands. In the DOS era, Ichitaro had a large market share, but as Windows became dominant, the share was considerably taken over by Microsoft Word. However, the ability to handle Japanese sentences is better in Ichitaro than in Microsoft Word, and moreover my fingers are much more used to Ichitaro than Microsoft Word. That's why I have used Ichitaro for 20 years.
     Ichitaro has been upgraded every year lately and I upgraded it this year for the first time in 4 years. The picture shows the package of the newest version of Ichitaro.
     Ichitaro has dozens of supporting softwares and Koujien's DVD version is one of them. This dictionary is the most popular dictionary of Japanese words and has a considerably dominant market share, but to my regret it is edited by people who have been heavily influenced by Chinese communism. I've never allowed my daughters to use this dictionary, especially in looking for current affairs so as not to be brainwashed.
     Nowadays this issue is coming to the surface. I hope many Japanese people have noticed this fact.
     If you are Japanese, try to look up "日中共同宣言, the mutual declaration between Japan and China" in Koujien. You will be surprised to know how Taiwan is described in it.

(Vocabulary)
English-speaking lands    英語圏の国々
upgrade the software    ソフトウェアをバージョンアップする
the mutual declaration between Japan and China　日中共同宣言

　この２０年一太郎を使っている。指が慣れていることもあるが、日本語を扱う能力は捨てがたい。その一太郎を４年ぶりにバージョンアップした。そのパッケージを写真に示しています。
　一太郎をサポートするソフトは数十にも及ぶが、広辞苑もそのひとつ。これは日本で最も人気にある日本語辞書である。しかし、残念なことにこの辞書は中共に強く影響を受けた連中が作成しており、娘達にはこれを使わないように言っている。徳に時事問題に関しては洗脳されないようにと。
　最近になって、この問題が表面化したが、多くの日本人がこの事実に気づくことを望む。もし読者が日本人なら「日中共同宣言」を引いてみるとよい。そこで台湾がどのように表現されているか、知ると驚くことだろう。

(KW: 広辞苑 反日左翼)

This Year's Big Events

1. Winter Vacation in Canada (English)
2. Welcoming Party for a Korean Postgraduate Student (Korean)
3. World Rally Championship in Sapporo (English, German)

     Many of my good friends from my high school and medical school sometimes tell me that I must have nothing to regret in my career and life even if I died right now. They pre-supposed that I've done everything I wanted to do, but it's not true. I have many things that I'd like to do.
     At first, I'm planning to go skiing at Whistler in Canada in March. I'm learning English harder these days. I think I'm good at reading English, but not so good at speaking. I'm a slow starter in English conversation. It takes about 30 minutes to be able to think in English. The picture shows the DVD library in an English conversation school which I belong to. I have often borrowed and watched these for training to hear.
     After returning to Japan from Canada, I have to switch my priority of learning a language from English to Korean. It's because a Korean rider will come to my house on the last Saturday of June. He is a postgraduate student and his major is Japanese culture! He's going to travel across Japan on his motorcycle. I hope he will see what Japan is like.
     In October, I'll join the WRC as one of the medical staff. If I had an opportunity to talk with German drivers, I'd like to try to use German. I'd like to know how much I can make myself understood in German. During 4 months from July to October, I'll be immersed in learning German.

(Vocabulary)
pre-suppose …を前提とする
immerse …を熱中［没頭］させる
immerse sb in sth
＜人＞を＜…＞に熱中［没頭］させる
immerse yourself in sth
＜…＞に熱中［没頭］する

Valentine's Day

     I received an interesting present on Valentine's Day. The giver is a nurse in my hospital who has a cat. She is crazy about cats. The gift from her is a cookie for dogs, which is shown in the picture.
     Many women present chocolates to men on Valentine's Day in Japan. Originally they gave chocolates to their husbands, lovers or some people like those, but now they give chocolates to their co-workers or men around them. It seems like a rite.
     When I received this cookie, I thought she had had concerns about how many chocolates I accepted and she chose cookies instead of chocolates for me. However, it was not true. My dog, Mocha, is a male dog. The present was not for me but for Mocha. It was just a witty present. See also http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/02/lunch-on-valent.html

One of Preps for Canada

     A and I took our ski outfits out of the garden shed for the first time in two years. We cleaned them up two years ago and put them in the shed just after coming back to Japan from Canada.
     Two years have passed since then. A has got bigger, and she is fifteen years old now. (She'll turn sixteen in Whistler.) The skis that A used last time aren't suitable for her weight now. I decided to make her use her sister, Eri's skis.
     We went skiing today for A to try the new skis. Eri's skis were a better fit than A expected. We asked a repair shop to tune up them. Our skis will come back in the middle of March. We'll pack them as they are.
     The picture shows the nearest piste from my hometown. As you can see, this is a very small ski area. You'll easily understand why we are enchanted with Whistler & Blackcomb ski resort.

(Vocabulary)
outfit  装備［道具］一式
shed  物置, （物置）小屋
be sold as it is    そのままの状態で売られる
piste (スキーの) ゲレンデ
enchant (フォーマル) …を魅了する, うっとりさせる

Grammar Book

     The book in the picture is my grammar textbook that I used in my junior and high school days. It is worn and mended with scotch tape. My youngest daughter found it in the storage room and was checking inside the book that her father had used at the same age as her. I'd no idea about what she felt after seeing it, but she seemed to know that her father was struggling to acquire English skills and it was not easy to have entered the national medical school.
     She's looking forward to visiting Canada next month and also learning English very hard. Finding this book might be a good silent lesson for her.

Oversize Trash

     Trash separation is strictly required in almost all areas in Japan. We have to reuse as many things that can be reused as possible because Japan isn't well blessed with natural resources and we have to deal with environmental problems. I wonder how garbage is treated in other countries. I heard that all the trash is thrown into the incinerator in England. Is that right? If someone knows the answer send me an e-mail.
     If I wanted to throw away something big, I have to apply for its collection in my city. About a month later, the permission stickers will be sent to me. I am supposed to stick those on oversize trash and put the trash in front of my house on the prescribed day.
     The picture shows oversize trash that is put at the back of the gate. This trash was put in front of the gate the next morning.

(Vocabulary)
separating trash // trash separation    ごみの分別
be not well blessed with natural resources    資源にあまり恵まれていない
incinerator ｼ  焼却炉

Invitation from Europe

     At first look at the picture. These leaflets on ski resorts in Europe came to me a couple of days ago. These are from my friend in Switzerland.
     I become friends with a few people in Whistler every time I go there. I think it's because all the visitors are on vacation and also happy. It makes us talkative. Especially if they are from other countries, it means they are kind of sophisticated and nowhere near committing criminal offenses. This provides some sense of security. I'm going to visit Canada next March for the first time in two years and I feel my mind has already gone to Whistler.
     By the way, I cannot afford to go on a ski trip to Europe now, but my eldest daughter can communicate with people in French and my second daughter in German. That is to say, my family can move in Europe easier than usual. I'm sure to visit France, Switzerland and Austria in five years. My youngest daughter would be a student of veterinarian science and we would have enough time at that time. My wife has just started to learn French to enjoy French dishes.

(Vocabulary)
sophisticated 〈人・言動などが〉 洗練された, 教養のある
nowhere near
1 …からだいぶ離れて
The hotel was nowhere near the station.  ホテルは駅からだいぶ離れていた．
2 とうてい…ない
We have nowhere near enough time.  時間はとうてい十分とはいえない．
criminal offense 犯罪（行為）
provide some sense of security / provide the sense of security  安心感を与える

Heavy Snow

     The Buddhist memorial service for my late father-in-law was held in my wife's original house which is in the north of Okayama prefecture. I got up at about 4:30 and started at five o'clock. It was four hours' drive to the house.
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/01/my-father-gone.html
     His picture and offerings were put on the altar and the Buddhist monk recited a sutra. This ceremony was without doubt for my late father, but I thought that this ceremony was for us. After the parents pass away, their children will drift apart from each other. I felt that this ceremony might be wise of us to unify the relatives. My wife and I enjoyed talking and having lunch with people who got together. Some of them took more than a half day to attend the ceremony. It will be two years later for us to see them again when the next ceremony will be performed.
     We left Okayama about three o'clock P.M. and hoped to arrive at our house before 7:00, but we were caught by a heavy traffic jam caused by the snowfall. Our hometown has a relatively warm climate and most drivers aren't accustomed to snow. Though our car had winter tires and was ready to run on the snow, we ended up getting to our house at about 10:00. So exhausted!

(Vocabulary)
Buddhist memorial service    法事
recite (人前で) …を暗唱する, 朗唱する
sutra 《ヒンドゥー教・仏教》経典
drift apart (人が) 疎遠になっていく, 離れ離れになっていく

Ski Schedule

     Our next ski trip to Canada has been scheduled. All members but me will visit Whistler on Mar. 21st. I couldn't take enough days off and will leave here on Mar. 23rd alone. I'll enjoy skiing in Whistler and Blackcomb for four days and stay in Vancouver on 28th and go back to Japan on the next day. Our plan in Vancouver is up in the air yet, but I'd like to visit the statue of Mr. Inazo Nitobe which is near UBC.
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html
     These pictures were taken in Hokkaido University which has the oldest department of veterinary science in Japan. My youngest daughter is eager to become a veterinarian and wants to be a student of this university. She'd like to proceed to higher education like UBC Postgraduate School and become a researcher. I'm going to ask a taxi to drive slowly in the campus of UBC.
     She's also looking forward to joining the ski school in Whistler.
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/04/the-last-ski-da.html
     This time her English is better than two years ago and she's going to try talking to lots of people on the slopes and in the village. It would be a great experience for her.

(Vocabulary)
proceed to something  (フォーマル) ＜…＞に進む
= move on to something

     My mother, Eri, Yuri and me in front of one of UBC's domitories in 1995.

Completely Screwed

     A terrible stomachache started this morning. I had no recollection of having had bad food the previous night and I was afraid I had gotten some malignant disease in the abdomen. While I was wondering if I had some medicine in my house, a severe diarrhea started and at the same time I was relieved to see that it was just because of a gastrointestinal infection, not a malignant disease. Though I felt relieved, my severe stomachache was continuing.
     I had some appointments with patients today and had to make a general round in the wards. I got to my office anyway, but I felt a disabling fatigue from dehydration and I got drip infusion.
     As you know, a drip infusion needs at least a few hours and it means that I had to cancel all of my schedule today. Since I had a stomachache, I was being pressed to think that I had to work today as usual, but I gave them up. I had medication in my office. Peculiarly, there's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed because you know things can't get any worse. I could enjoy a DVD movie titled "FRESHMAN" starring Marlon Brando in the daytime of a weekday. I found the phrase "There's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed because you know things can't get any worse" in this movie, and I thought that it was really true.

(Vocabulary)
have no recollection of  ～した覚えはない
disabling 障害をもたらす, 無力にする
There's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed because you know things can't get any worse.
不幸も限界を超えると開放感がある（映画Freshmanで気に入ったフレーズ）

Toaster Oven

     I bought a toaster oven today. I found it in the flyer of a new year bargain sale. It cost only 1800 yen. This price is just like four cups of coffee in regular coffee shops. The manufacturer is SANYO, which is famous and reliable.
     I can't understand why this is made for only 1800 yen. It's good to get it at a low cost, but I couldn't help thinking about people who work for this toaster oven. Can they make enough salary?

(Vocabulary)
flyer, flier  ちらし, びら広告/パイロット, 飛行士/飛行機の乗客

New Year's Visit to A Shrine

     The pictures were taken on Jan. 3rd. Eri, my eldest daughter, is living in Tokyo now and Yuri, my second daughter, is in Nagoya city now. Both are university students. A, the youngest, is with me and my wife.
     Because it's not so common that three daughters get together, my wife wanted them to dress in kimonos and have their pictures taken by a professional photographer. I'm going to show you some of those pictures here in Feb. or Mar.
     The pictures below were taken by me with my digital camera.

 

Traditional New Year's Dishes

     My family visit my parents' house on Jan. 1st every year. We drink a small dose of New Year's spiced sake that is called "Otoso" and pray for the peace of our families and relatives this year. My father always wants us to tell our own new year's resolutions. I don't like to say anything because I would be required to do something hard, but he wants all of us to say something, so I replied that my new year's resolution was to pass the third grade of Korean. See also: http://kumo.typepad.com/weblog/2006/12/hangul_test.html

     The picture shows the new year's dishes prepared on the table in my parents house. It was taken on Dec. 31st. These new year's dishes are called "Osechi". Osechi includes a lot of food that can be kept for a few days and is all prepared before New Year's Day. We and our visitors will have it for the first three days of the year. Dishes that were made were carried to the back table shown in the second picture.

     Traditional Japanese room. The visitors are usually shown into this room first, but during the new year's first three days this room is used as a storage room for foods and is kept cool without any air heating. As the foods in the living room get short, these foods are taken into the living room.

     However I like king crabs rather than traditional foods.
(King Crab Party on Jan. 1st)

Card Case

     It's common sense in Japan that the wallet which you got at the beginning of the year brings you good fortune. Lots of famous brand shops like Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Ferragamo display their products during this season.
     My card case in which I put my name cards, credit cards, driver's license and membership cards is beginning to wear out. It fits comfortably in my hand and I'd like to use it from now too, but it looks bad and my wife told me that I should change my card case. So, I went out shopping to the biggest department store in my city.
     I don't like to shop around for the best deal because it takes a lot of time. It was not the case today, though. It was not easy to find a replacement for my card case. I had to visit five shops to find it. The picture shows the old and new card case.

(Vocabulary)
wear out  (長期の使用で) すり切れる［減る］, だめになる
fit comfortably in one's hand  手になじむ
have a feeling that something good is going to happen
be of good omen
bring someone good fortune  縁起がいい

A Happy New Year

My daughters at Ishite-ji Temple

At Shimokita in Aomori Pref.