Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Visit after 50 Years of Interval

　　Do you know who owns a Buddhist temple? It doesn't belong to the chief priest. He is only asked to stay and manage the temple by its patrons. If no one in his family inherits the temple, his family has to leave the temple when the priest retires. I visited a temple which used to be managed by my relative. I heard that the temple had no priest now and was managed by its patrons.
　　The brother of my grandmother had managed the temple until a few decades ago, but no one in his family wanted to become a Buddhist priest at his retirement as the chief priest. Consequently, his family left the temple. Since then, the temple has been managed by the local people around the temple, but I felt it went to the dogs. The name of the temple is Yamadayakushi, which is one of the three biggest Yakushi in Japan and honors Yakushi, the healing Buddha. This temple is said to have been built by Gyoki in the early 8th century.
　　By the way, when it comes to this temple, I can't skip the story of a big stone in the picture. I have only uncertain memories, but every time I visited this temple as a child, I played with friends in the grounds. A small building called "Daishi-Do", the hall with an enshrined statue of Kobo Daishi at a Shingon temple, stood just at the big rock.
　　My father hearing the incident in Yamadayakushi, he and I headed for there. Calculating my age, it was around the time I would turn 5. I remember that I was so surprised to see the rock. Torrential rain caused a landslide on a night and Daishi-Do was crushed, but the statue was thrown out and was able to avoid the damage. The color of the rock was red at that time, but became discolored. Sticking moss, weeds, crack due to weathering made me feel that as much as 50 years actually had passed.

(Vocabulary)
go to the dogs 荒れ果てる
weathering 風化（作用）

仏教寺院は誰の所有物かというと、檀家の所有であり、住職は雇われて住んでいるに過ぎない。住職の身内に跡を継ぐ者が居なければ一族は寺を出て行かねばならない。今日は少し遠出してかつて親戚であった寺に寄ってみた。今は専属の僧侶はおらず、檀家が管理していると聞いた。

かつて親戚と書いた。僕の祖母の弟が数十年前まで住職を務めていたが、引退に際し身内から跡を継ぐ者がおらず、一族は寺を出た。この寺は山田薬師という。日本三大薬師のひとつで仏教の薬師如来を祀る。この山田薬師は奈良時代の天平年間に行基によって創建されたと言われている。

写真にある大岩のことを書かねばならない。ぼんやりとした記憶しか無いが、この寺に来ると今ではこの大岩の下敷きになってしまった太子堂の周りで遊んでいた。中にはお大師様の像があり、太子堂を含めた境内全てが遊び場だった。

ある日、親父が山田薬師が大変なことになっていると聞いて、一緒について行った。計算すればちょうど５歳になる頃だった。岩を見てたいそう驚いたことを覚えている。豪雨に伴う山崩れで太子堂が潰れてしまった。しかし、お大師様は外に転び出て無事だった。当時は１個の赤い岩だったが、色は変わり、また、こびりついた苔や雑草、二つに割れた割れ目をみて５０年以上の年月の流れを感じた。

N95 Mask

　　Vicious Wuhan virus prevails around the world. I'm angry that China and WHO didn't take stern measures to confine it and stop spreading it. Lots of people, including my favorite comedian, who didn't need to die passed away. However, it's no use crying over that now.
　　The prevalence of Wohan virus is not so heavy in my hometown compared with Tokyo, but health care facilities are likewise fewer. Even a small localized epidemic would lead to a serious situation. Health care personnel are required to expect the worst-case scenario.
　　When I tidied up my room, a box of N95 masks came out. A few dozen masks were left in the box. I recalled that the local government or my office had offered it to medical personnel during the SARS pandemic back in 2003. Its expiration date for use is in 2013, but it would be no problem in daily life not for medical use even now. I'm using this in my daily commute.

武漢ウイルスが世界的に蔓延している。早期に手を打たなかった支那やＷＨＯに怒りを覚えるが、今それを言ったところで仕方がない。このあたりでは武漢ウイルスの広がりは東京ほどではない、しかし、東京に比べ医療機関が少ないから、一度感染が拡がったら医療崩壊を起こすだろう。考えられる限りの対策を講じておこう。部屋の片付けをしていたらＳＡＲＳパンデミックの時に用意していたＮ９５マスクが大量に出てきた。使用期限は切れているが、通勤時にはこれを使うことにしよう。

Guinomi

　　I'm a thirsty soul. Every time I visit strange places across Japan, I drink local sake and buy "Guinomi", a small glass for Japanese sake, which is crafted by local potters as a memory of the trip. They are small and not bulky in my suitcase and they don't take up so much space in my house.
Today's sake is a gift from my second daughter's fiance and I feel happy and sad at the same time. I picked 4 guinomis up for this sake. I'm wondering which guinomi to use now.

僕は無類の酒好きで、日本各地を旅行するとその地方の地酒を飲み、記念に土地土地の土で出来たぐい呑みを買って帰る。小さいものなので、荷物にはならず、置き場所にもそう困らない。さて今日はどのぐい呑みで飲もうか、、、酒は次女のフィアンセが送ってくれたもの。嬉しいような悲しいような酒を飲むことにしよう。

First Super Charging

　　At the beginning of the New Year, the father of my sister-in-law passed away. My wife and I headed for Tsuyama city by car where the funeral would be held. As you know, I have a Tesla Model 3 named "Ryuseigo", which is driven by electricity.
　　The charging spots open to the public are becoming prevalent around my hometown, but the Tesla's Supercharger, which is specially and exclusively designed for Tesla cars, doesn't exist. The Tesla's charging network has been also expanding in Japan, but not enough yet. I had been eager to use the supercharger after I got my Ryuseigo.
　　The amount of charge of Ryuseigo was enough to reach the destination, but I went out of the toll road to try to use the Tesla Supercharger(link) in Kurashiki city on the way, though the highway toll become a little higher once you get out of the highway.
　　Then I dropped in at a Tesla charging spot in Kurashiki city and charged Ryuseigo from the Supercharger for the first time. Adding to the easy procedure, I was amazed at the speed of the charge! I usually charge it in my house. The speed of the Supercharger was 10 times faster than my usual charge. As the following pictures show, it can charge electricity for the drive of 336km in an hour.

https://www.tesla.com/supercharger

親戚に不幸があり、岡山県の北部の町まで流星号でドライブ。目的地までバッテリーに余裕はあったのだが、テスラスーパーチャージャーを試してみたくて倉敷で高速道路を降りて充電してみた。さすがにテスラ専用の充電器だけあり、速い!　写真が示すように１時間で３３６ｋｍを走行できる電力を充電できるようだ。

Machgo

　　Now, I'm writing about my former car, the Mercedes-Benz SLK200. When I showed it to my father, he uttered, "As the boy, so the man." He told me that I was playing with a toy of SLK200. The first generation of SLK was rolled out about 20 years ago, so his story seemed unreal to me, but I happened to know that he meant "Machgo" in the following picture. Seeing pictures of SLK200 and Machgo, I agreed with his words. I started to call my SLK200 Machgo since then, but my daughter told me not to use this name in front of other people in order not to make a laughingstock out of myself and I refrained from using it. Though I like this name,,.

Tesla Model 3

　　My highly anticipated Tesla Model 3 was delivered. Recalling last year, I test-drove a Tesla Model X in May in Hawaii and I became totally fond of it, but it was very expensive and I couldn't afford it. A year had passed since then, and I visited Tesla's showroom in Oahu again this June. There I saw another type of Tesla car, the Model 3, and I asked the same salesperson as I had met last year to test-drive it. I found the car was great and it captured my interest. The price was high, but wasn't so expensive as that of Model X. Model 3 had just started selling in Japan on May 31st. The salesperson told me that if I bought one, it would be delivered until the end of August. I didn't take a long time until I ordered one.
　　However, the car hadn't been delivered despite having waited a long time. It seemed that the production wasn't able to catch up with the demand as its popularity was soaring. Eventually, it was delivered on Nov. 29th. It was immediately taken to a car coating shop, which is specialized to make cars look beautiful. My car came to my home after its glass coating and attaching heat shielding insulation films to all the windows. The charging device which was installed in August has finally came into use.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/04/what-i-thought-after-witnessing-a-traffic-accident.html
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2019/08/charging-system-installation-.html

(Vocabulary)
insulation 　絶縁体［材］, 断熱材, 防音材

待望のテスラモデル３が納車された。去年の５月ハワイでモデルＸを試乗し、とても気に入ったが手の届く価格では無かった。今年の６月再び、カラカウア通りのテスラのショールームを訪問すると、かなり価格が抑えられたモデル３が発売されていて、日本でも受付が始まり、８月末頃には納車されるとのこと。試乗してみて気に入り即注文。しかし、、、、待てど暮らせど届かない。

結局１１月２９日に納車された。すぐにコーティング工場に入庫。断熱フィルムを貼ったりコーティングをしたりして１２月５日我が家へ届いた。８月末にインストールした充電設備がやっと使えるようになった。

Seasonal Phenomenon

　　My office is located at the mouth of the Hijikawa River, which flows out of the Ozu Basin. Numerous clusters of mist which were formed on the basin flow on the surface of the river toward the mouth in the cold winter morning of the clear weather. This phenomenon is a kind of signal which tells us that winter is coming just around the corner. I'll upload two pictures, one of which was taken through the windshield and the other of which was shot on the opposite side of the office.
　　I'm going to go skiing this season. I haven't enjoyed skiing for 5 years after my mentor's death. He took me to Whistler in Canada for skiing, and moreover, he instructed not only me but my daughter's English and other various things required to build a good relationship with overseas people. I've been sorry that skiing always reminded me of my mentor, but I decided to restart skiing. He wouldn't be happy if I completely stopped skiing. I chose the 4-wheel drive type in the selection of my next car. The car will be delivered soon. I'll upload the pictures here.

Cinderella Story

　　You surely know the Cinderella Story. Also in Japan that surely existed in reality.
　　A poor girl who was born in a vegetable shop in Kyoto in the early 17th century married into the Tokugawa clan. She finally became the real mother of the 4th Shogun of Edo Shogunate (1603-1867). She went into the castle on a beautiful palanquin, which is called "Tama no Koshi" in Japanese and this phrase is now often used to describe a girl who got a good fortune in marriage.
　　She is said to have often visited a shrine to pray for happiness for her family. The shrine is now selling several kinds of charms and one of them is "Tama no Koshi" charm for girls who wish for affluent and happy lives. My friend has two daughters and I have three. We visited the shrine to get the charms. (grin)

(Vocabulary)
palanquin 　輿

 

 

Kinuyama District

　　One of the high-ranked preparatory schools in western Japan was transferred from the city center of Matsuyama to the outskirts 47 years ago. At the same time, the railroad station was built nearby for students and an increasing number of folk houses were built around the station. This district was originally the place where many poor populations resided and there was an elementary and junior high combined school for North Korean kids which had been built by North Korea or the municipal nursing facility for government welfare-payment recipients. The area was very inconvenient for living, so the price of land was cheap. Though the area was such a place, the housing land development started taking this opportunity. When the school was transferred, I carried something with my teachers and friends. I remember it just like it only happened yesterday. One of my daughters and I graduated from this school. I recall the rural and deserted scenery of half a century ago. When I think of those days, I feel I'm living in a completely different age.
　　However, there is something which didn't change for half a century one way or the other. I dropped in at one of them, the ruins of Kinuyama executing grounds, which is currently maintained by Matsuyama prison. I'd like to write about this site.

４７年前、西日本有数の進学校が松山市中央部から郊外に移転した。それと同時に生徒の便を考え電車の駅が作られ、周辺には住宅が建ち並ぶようになった。 僕の母校であり、長女も通った学校だ。４７年前、移転時に荷物を運んだ覚えがある。また、発展する前のこの地域の様子もはっきりと覚えている。朝鮮学校、生活保護受給者のための介護施設などの施設があった貧しい地区で、元々人の住むような場所では無かったのだが、学校の移転により地域の開発が本格化したのだ。 隔世の感がする。
しかし、この半世紀に変わらなかったものもある。その一つ、衣山刑場跡地にジョギングの途中寄ってみた。なんら変わっていなかった。この場所のことは、いずれ書きたいと思っている。

Typhoon Hagibis Leaves More Than 70 Dead In Japan

　　The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 74 with 10 people missing and at least 200 injured. The search and rescue efforts are continuing in flood and landslide-hit areas now. As far as I remember, Hagibis was the worst typhoon. The 24 hour rainfall in Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, had set a highest amount record in recorded history in Japan. The area around my house was windy, but no rain. Some people raise money for devastated areas. I will donate some money to them. It will take a considerable period of time to fully restore things, but I believe that they shall get through.

(Vocabulary)
get through ＜つらい経験・時期など＞を乗り切る
It's going to be hard to get through the next couple of days. この数日間は試練となるだろう．

Typhoon No.19, Hagibis

　　Typhoons are numbered in the occurrence order every year in Japan, so the current typhoon on the northern Pacific Ocean is called No. 19th Typhoon, but I'll call it Hagibis following the international manners in this entry. Hagibis was born near the equator last weekend. Its size and power rapidly got bigger and bigger in a few days, and it ended up reaching the strongest rank.
　　The weather forecast says Hagibis would land between Tokyo and Nagoya on the 12th. If the forecast proves right, it would veer off my house, but I'm afraid that Hagibis would devastate a considerable range of Japan. As personal countermeasures, I'll prepare drinking water and easy-to-ready food for two days, radio and batteries. On top of that, I have to move bicycles, flowerpots and other stuff on the garden into the house. I was to join the Ryoma-Dappan marathon on 13th in Kochi Prefecture, but it would be cancelled.

Home Party

　　My wife made a funny suggestion that we had to hold a home party for a rescue team. Rescue team? I wasn't able to understand what she meant. She continued, "You are going to join a marathon in Shimonoseki, aren't you?", then "If you drop out of the race, who'll take you home?" I got her story finally at that time. "Rescue team" meant my marathon companions. She seemed to ask my friends to take care of me face to face. Anyway, as the pictures show, we had a wonderful time at my house.

Last Drive

　　I drove my car for fun in the central region of Shikoku. This mountainous area has the biggest dam in Shikoku, which sustains the population of Kagawa Prefecture. Japan is listed as one of the industrial countries, but Japan is rich also in such rural scenery. I'm going to part with my Mercedes SLK200 soon and this will be the last long drive with it. When driving, an unfamiliar sound from the air suddenly caught my ear. My car was open at that time. I pulled up my car and looked up and found 3 or 4 ospreys were flying from south to north. I've seen more than 10 ospreys parked in the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. I wish I could ride on them!

Replacement of Battery

　　I visited a car dealer of Daihatsu to replace the battery of my second car of BOON, which was originally owned by my youngest daughter who is now studying in Oxford. It's a little small and my wife usually uses it, but it's my obligation to keep it in good condition during the daughter's absence.
　　The following picture shows the waiting room of the car dealer. The customers spend some time waiting for the maintenance work to finish. Non-alcoholic beverages and Wi-Fi are offered here for free. I like the relaxing atmosphere around here in contrast to the waiting room of the Mercedes dealer, where I get restless with its luxurious feel.
　　

Charging System Installation

　　I had the Tesla's charging system installed. The electricity line to my house is put together with that of cable TV, internet and security service into a single pole which is connected to the house via underground and is shown in the first picture. This pole is designed to make the appearance of the house better. I don't know its name in English, but I hope you'll understand my words from the picture.
　　The problem was how to connect between the pole and the wall of the garage on which the charging system was to be installed. The ground is concreted and digging up would be costly. The solution was to put up another pole near the garage and to make the electric line train in the air. You can see the electric line connecting two poles loosely in the 5th picture. This line doesn't come in sight when you stand in front of the house. It's nice that it doesn't affect the appearance of the house. The line was buried from the second pole and reached the wall. The installation work took two days and I'm fully satisfied with their work. I'm just waiting for the delivery of Tesla Model 3.

Wall Connector

　　I have stayed in Honolulu for a week every year recently. While staying last year, I happened to see and enter the Tesla shop in the International Marketplace on Kalakaua Avenue without any special reason. Tesla Model S and X were exhibited. A salesman suggested I drive one. I had driven a left-side steering car about 20 years ago, but hadn't driven one since then. Though I had a little anxiety, he encouraged me to drive their car and test-drove a model X. The car was out of this world. It was my first time to drive an electric car. No engine meant no noise. Its power was beyond my expectation. The salesman was a nice guy and told me lots of interesting stories about Hawaii just like a tour conductor. The drive with him was fun. I wanted to have a Tesla car, but its price was also beyond my purchasing power.
　　By the way, this year. I visited Hawaii in June and dropped in at the shop. I found a model 3 which they had started to offer into Japan's market on June 1st. I test-drove it and was captivated by its overall function. On top of that, I was barely able to afford to do it, but I decided to buy a Tesla model 3. It became the most expensive souvenir to me in my life.
　　Today, I got its charging equipment, Wall Connector. I can't wait for the delivery of my model 3.

An Old Friend

　　My old friend who lives in Tokyo came back after a long interval. I called up other friends and held a welcoming party for him.
　　He is still single and I'm sometimes envious of his independent, freewheeling life. He often visits unsafe areas where Japan's Foreign Ministry warns to take extreme care. This announcement is on the brink of issuing travel bans. His last trip's destinations were East European countries, but I remember he had stepped in Iraqi Kurdistan or Chernobyl on former trips.
　　He gave us souvenirs from his recent trip to East European countries. It's an armenian brandy, shown below. We opened each bottle at once and tasted it! That's why the amount is a little reduced. We talked forgetting the time.

(Vocabulary)
Iraqi Kurdistan イラク北部に設けられたクルド人自治区





東京に住む古い友人が帰省した。最近行った旅行のお土産ということでアルメニアの酒をもらった。彼は独り者で時々羨ましくなるが、少し危険と思われるところへ旅行する。外務省のウェブサイトを見ると渡航には注意をと指摘されているところにも平気で出かける。今回は東欧だったが、中東の普通の旅行者はあまり立ち入らない地域にも出かけていく。ＦＢでたくさんの記事を書いてくれるので出かけるたびに楽しみにしている。写真は古い仲間が集まった場所で配ってくれたお土産。少し減っているのはその場で皆で少しずつ呑んだから。時間を忘れて痛飲。再会を期して別れた。

Street Terrace

　　While wandering in the European streets, you often find street terraces, but I was afraid if it was too hot or too cool, or I hated them as an obstruction for pedestrians. Today, my family went out for dinner. The restaurant was already occupied, but outside seats were open. We preferred an air-conditioned room, but we seated at the outside terrace. My eyes often met other's who were walking by us, but it was not bad to eat on the busy street.

Jogging

　　Japan has a rainy season called "tsuyu" in the areas other than Hokkaido and a hot summer will come after tsuyu. It's in the midst of tsuyu, but the weather was unusually clear today. I went out jogging. I'm going to run a few marathons this autumn and winter and started practice.
　　My house is located in the suburbs of Matsuyama City and there is a big park nearby, which is designed for exploiting the natural terrain of a hill, so the jogging route in this park is abundant in slopes. It's tough for me to jog here for the start of the practice of this season, but I ran. There are enough public washrooms in the park and I can get enough drinking water from the faucets there for free.
　　Then I visited the military cemetery adjacent to the park on the way home. I'll show you some pictures of the cemetery. Military horses and dogs are also honored there.

　

Memorial Services

　　I'm writing about "Houji", the traditional Buddhist rite. My parents are barely alive, but my wife's parents are already in heaven. They went to heaven 12 and 27 years ago respectively. My wife and I visited my wife's original home today to attend the memorial meeting.
　　Generally, in Houji, a monk chants a sutra for the departed and then his/her descendants get together and have dinner. If you ask me, I think this custom is for connecting the bereaved for now on forever and it's one of the good old traditions of Japan. The picture was shot behind the original house. As you see, the weather was clear. I spent a wonderful time with my brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces.