Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Fort Cornwallis 2

　　The ruin of Fort Cornwallis was considerably big and there was no advisable sightseeing route. So I walked to and fro, but I think that I saw almost all the items such as the ruin of the church, barracks, and gunpowder magazines. The Diamond Princess was close at hand from the photographing point. I visited Fort York (link) in Toronto in 2012 where the War of 1812 had been fiercely fought between Great Britain and the US. The fort resembled Fort Cornwallis. The Porta de Santiago (link), which I had seen last summer in Malacca, had been fortified by Britain. It also resembled Fort Cornwallis.
　　As for Japan, the period from the 17th century to the middle of the 19th was the peaceful Edo Era, during which Japan made remarkable progress on the basis of arts and culture. I realized that Japan had been really lucky not to be involved in such international conflicts.
　　Goryokaku Fort (link), which had been built in the end of the Edo Era, was also tinged with the same characteristics as Fort Cornwallis. According to the explanation board, Fort Cornwallis seemed to be star-shaped.
　　In the fort, I came across a German group and I exchanged greetings in German. I'm now taking German lessons twice a month. My German teacher is patient enough with my clumsy speaking and listens to my words carefully, but I have no opportunity to talk with ordinary German people. I was so happy to chat with them.

(Vocabulary)
War of 1812 英米戦争（１８１２～１４、アメリカとイギリスの間の戦争)

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/07/fort-york.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2016/08/porta-de-santiago.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2016/03/goryokaku-1.html

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　コーンウォリス要塞　その２
　
要塞跡はかなり広い。順路は決められていないため自由勝手に歩いた。少し見逃したものがあるかも知れないが、すべての場所を見学できたと思う。要塞跡の記念撮影ポイントからダイヤモンド・プリンセスはすぐそこに見えた。教会跡、兵舎跡、弾薬庫なども保存されていた。２０１２年に訪れた英米戦争の激戦地トロントにもFort Yorkというよく似た砦があった。昨年秋に訪問したマラッカで見たサンチャゴ砦も同時期にイギリスによって強化されたもので、レンガで作られていた。
　
日本はといえば、この時代は天下泰平の江戸時代。芸術や文化の発展が著しい時代だった。こんな要塞は必要なかった。どれだけ恵まれていたのか実感する。その江戸時代の終わりにつくられた砦、五稜郭もまた上記要塞の特徴を帯びている。コーンウォリス要塞も星形の要塞のようだった。(自分で感じたのではなく、最後の写真の案内板にstar-shapedと書かれていた。）
　
ここでドイツ人の団体と出くわした。マインシフでやって来たのだろう。ドイツ語で挨拶をした。僕は月に２回、ドイツ人講師にプライベートでドイツ語を習っている。先生は一生懸命聴こうとしてくれるので何とか話が通じるが、日頃、一般のドイツ人と話すことはない。この団体の人たちと挨拶だけではあっても話ができたことがとても嬉しかった。この人たちには１時間後再会し、助けてもらったが、次の記事でそれは書く。

Penang

　　I overslept a little on the morning of 13th, when we arrived in Penang. I was going to see from which way of north and south the ship would approach the port. If it cruises up from the south, it must have run under two big bridges connecting the Malay peninsula and Penang island. When I went up to the deck, however, to my regret, the ship was moored. The cruise of the last night was really calm and comfortable.
　　I found a big cruise ship, which often had appeared even in Japanese magazines on global cruise ships and I knew its name, Mein Schiff, which means "my ship" in German. I was on the top of the Diamond Princess and there were few buildings higher than me around, so the deck was an ideal observatory. I was able to view the Malay Peninsula in the distance.
　　After taking a walk on the deck, I ate a considerable portion of breakfast. We picked up a half-day optional tour of Georgetown, because my wife wanted to avoid the scorching heat and ultraviolet rays. My wife was to enjoy afternoon tea with others from Japan, but I went out alone after lunch, because the tour didn't include my favorite places.
　　Getting through the security check and going out of the ship, several local people with ethnic outfits on were waiting for us, passengers. Their smiles, so pretty and full of hospitality, deserved applause. I found "Mein Schiff" again there, which had disappeared out of my sight during breakfast. If you look at the picture closely, you'll find it at the bows of the Diamond Princess. Additionally, I found another cruise ship in the distance, but I wasn't able to identify its name.

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　ペナン島到着

ペナン島到着の朝、少々寝過ごした。マレー半島とペナン島を結ぶ２本の大きな橋をくぐって南から入港するのか、北を廻って橋を避けて南下してくるのか確認したかったが、起きたときにはもう着岸していた。昨夜は海の上とは思えないほど静かに船は進み、快適な船旅だった。

さて、朝一にデッキに上がるとすぐそばに一隻のクルーズ船がいた。クルーズ雑誌にはよく登場するドイツが誇るクルーズ船、マインシフだった。港周辺にはこのデッキより高い場所はほとんど無く、格好の展望台で、対岸のマレー半島まで見渡せた。

デッキを散歩してから朝食。カフェテリア方式で食べ放題。昼は食べなくて済むほどたくさん食べて部屋へ戻って外出の準備。今日はペナン島の中心地ジョージタウン観光。行きたい場所はオプショナルツアーに含まれていないので、後で個人的に散策するとして、まず一般的な観光地をツアーバスで巡ることにした。

セキュリティチェックを抜けて下船すると現地の人が民族衣装でお出迎え、、、微笑みに心が和む。そしてこの写真をよくみるとわかるように、ダイヤモンド・プリンセスの舳先にあのマインシフが着岸していた。食事中に視界から消えたのでどこかへ出発したのだろうと思っていたのだが、目の前に着岸していたのだ。さらに振り返ると遠くにもう一隻のクルーズ船を見つけた。これは南の方へ向かっていた。残念ながら船名は確認できなかった。じつはここでもう一隻、凄いクルーズ船を見つけたのだが、これは後の記事で書くことにする。

Oktoberfest

　　I don't remember when it started, but the German traditional event of "Oktoberfest" has come to take place every autumn in some big cities in Japan. I supposed that the event was held only in big cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo. However, it was held this autumn in my hometown, Matsuyama city. It was apparently its second year. This "Oktoberfest" is derived from Munich, and I was able to enjoy a variety of German beer with lots of kinds of sausages here in Matsuyama. I was so happy! I attended the event with my daughter, who had studied in Freiburg in Germany several years ago. She looked like she was remembering the nostalgic scenery of Freiburg.

 

Doppelte Grenzlinie

　　Ich sehe gern die Landkarte von Google Map auf dem Bildschirm und trinke Kaffee eine Weile bevor ich ins Bett gehe, nachdem ich alle Arbeit beendet. Ich habe viel Spaß am Internetsurfen als ob ich eine Weltreise mache.
　　Vor kurzem habe ich eine interessante Tatsache auf der Landkarte gefunden. Es ist die doppelte Grenzlinie zwischen Deutschland und Belgien. Belgien bricht ins Deutschland ein und eine Schiene liegt auf dem Land von Belgien in Deutschland.
　　Ich finde, dieses könnte vielleicht eine alte historische Ursache sein. Ich kann nicht mit dem Internetsurfen aufhören, seit ich diese Entdeckung gemacht habe.

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@50.6031238,6.2458572,11.79z

ドイツとベルギーの国境が2重になっている件

　一日の仕事を終えて寝る前の少しの時間、コーヒーを飲みながらグーグルマップを眺める。まるで世界旅行をしているようにあちこちの地形を見て楽しむ。
　先日テロのあったベルギーを眺めていて、おもしろい事実を見つけた。ドイツとの国境が妙である。ドイツの中にベルギー領が割り込み、そのベルギー領は線路が走るだけの狭い範囲なのだ。古い歴史的な原因があるのだろうが、実にややこしい。こんな発見があるから仮想旅行はやめられない。

Goryokaku 4

　　In the museum there were a lot of descriptions about Ayasaburou Takeda. He had evidently learned the updates on medicine, technologies and military affairs and made contributions to the national defence as well as designed the strongest fort of Goryokaku. I was so astonished to read descriptions of him. Additionally, he mastered the art of sea voyage and navigated a sailboat around Japan and even to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur which is known as the place of the Nikolayevsk Massacre. I didn't know him enough until today. His birthplace of Ozu City should familiarize local people with him. Though his life is considerably detailed in Japanese Wikipedia, it's not in English Wikipedia. I'm thinking that I'll translate the information into English Wikipedia.
　　The portraits and biographies of other excellent engineers were also exhibited. The leader of stonemasons was from my second hometown of Okayama City. I'll post his picture up respecting him. People with glorious skills were gathered from across the country and participated in the construction of Goryokaku.
　　European wall cities are shown in the last pictue, which are said to be the models of Goryokaku. Neuf-Brisach, which I happened to see on the way to Colmar, is also on the map. It's located near the border between France and Germany.

(Vocabulary)
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur ニコライエフスク・ナ・アムーレ
Nikolayevsk Massacre　尼港事件
stonemason  石工, 石屋

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/04/neufbrisach-.html

　旧箱館奉行所が再建され、資料館となっている。武田斐三郎についてはかなり詳しい説明があった。彼はヨーロッパの先端科学を学び、五稜郭を設計しただけではなく、国防に関しても多大な貢献をしていた。
　
　説明を読んで驚くことばかりで、想像を遙かに超えた人だった。自ら帆船を操船して尼港事件で有名な尼港（ロシア語名：ニコライエフスク）にも立ち寄っている。日本語版ウィキを見ると彼の業績が詳しく書かれているが、このような人物をこの歳になるまで知らなかったとは情けない。生誕地である大洲市はもっと広報活動に努めてはどうか。特に子供達に郷土の偉人として紹介すべきだと思う。ウィキ英語版は日本語版ほど詳しくないので日本語版を翻訳してやろうかと考えている。
　
　他にも五稜郭築城に関して功績の会った人たちの記録が並んでおり、第２のふるさと岡山県出身の技術者がいたので写真に納めた。日本中から技能の高い人たちを集め、当時の技術を結集してつくられた砦だった。
　
　最後の写真は武田斐三郎が参考にしたであろう、ヨーロッパの城壁都市が表示されている。僕が実際に見た街、ヌフ・ブリサックも含まれている。ドイツ南西部の街フライブルクからフランス国境を越えたところにある。

Goryokaku 1

　　I wonder when I became interested in Goryokaku, which was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo, which is the old name of Hokkaido. The name of Goryokaku is derived from its shape of a five-pointed star. I knew about the Boshin War (1868-1869) and Goryokaku since a long time ago. During my last visit to Hakodate City I didn't have time to see Goryokaku, but I always wanted to visit there in the not-so-distant future. It was in April in 2010 when my desire was strongly intensified.
　　When I made the second visit to Freiburg in Germany to see what the city was like, because my second daughter would stay there for her study, a Japanese young guy, who lived in Freburg, took us, me and my daughter, on a short trip to Alsace-Lorraine in France. Our destinations were Colmar, Riquewihr, and Strasbourg. On the way to Colmar, I happened to see a walled city. The walls of the city were vividly inscribed in my mind at that time. I wrote about it here(url).

(Vocabulary)
Republic of Ezo 　蝦夷共和国
Alsace-Lorraine アルザス・ロレーヌ地方
Colmar　コルマール
Riquewihr　リクヴィル
フランス北東部、アルザス地方、オーラン県の村。古くからワイン産地として知られる。第二次大戦の被害をほとんど受けなかったため、中世の城壁に囲まれた村内には同地方に典型的な木組み造りの家並みが残されている。
walled city 城郭都市



　五稜郭に興味を持ったのはいつだったろう、、。戊辰戦争はずっと前から知っていたし、五稜郭も知ってはいた。前回、函館に来たときには残念ながら寄ることはできなかったがいつか訪れたいと思っていた。その想いが強くなったのは、２０１０年４月。
　次女のドイツ留学に際して、留学先の街を見に行ったとき、地元在住の日本人に案内してもらって国境を越えフランスへ入った。目的地はコルマール、アルザス街道、ストラスブールだったのだが、フランスに入った直後に見た城郭都市に目が止まった。下記のエントリーでその街の写真がある。
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/04/neufbrisach-.html

Der Frühlingsurlaub

　　Der Frühling ist da. Ab April wird meine Tochter in Sapporo arbeiten. Weil ich ihren Arbeitsplatz und ihre Wohnung sehen möchte, habe ich mich entschieden, im Urlaub nach Sapporo zu reisen. Wenn ich das Flugzeug benutze, dauert es nicht so lange, bis ich in Sapporo ankomme. Aber ich möchte das Tohokugebiet besichtigen und will daher mit dem Auto fahren.
　　Auf der Hinfahrt will ich ab der Stadt Maizuru in Kyoto bis zur Stadt Otaru mit der Fähre fahren. Auf der Rückfahrt werde ich ins Tohokugebiet fahren und eigige Sehenswürdigkeiten besichtigen.

Rheinland

　　I wrote about the border between Germany and Belgium in March 13th's entry. This area is called the Rheinland. Does the Rheinland ring a bell with you? The Rheinland, which is German, is the western region of Germany and is located on the border with Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The area is a major hub of the economy and industries now.
　　Seeing the area from another point of view, the Rheinland was one of the important stages of history. Since the defeat in world war I, Germany had been burdened with astronomical reparations by the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler, who gained power in the chaos in the wake of the war, was trying to rebuild his country to become one of the superpowers again. The German Army made an entry into the Rheinland, which was the demilitarized zone then, in March in 1936, violating the Treaty of Versailles. At that time, other European nations went easy on this incident. In retrospect, this tolerance ended in leading to world war II.
　　The present invasion of China into islands in the South China Sea seems to be just like Hitler's occupation of the Rheinland. Hitler mentioned in later years that he had felt uneasy while he was staying in the Rheinland, because the army didn't have enough military strength then. China is now watching the reaction of other nations, while jabbing at other countries. I think it's high time to attack China, before Xi Jinping becomes Hitler. I'm expecting things from the new U.S. president who will replace Mr. Obama who was not able to do anything for global security.

(Vocabulary)
a major hub (文化・活動などの）一大中心地
reparation （敗戦国が払う）賠償金.
the Treaty of Versailles　ヴェルサイユ条約

National Boundary Between Belgium and Germany

　　I sometimes have to stay awake at midnight in my office. It's a fulfilling task to save the lives no matter what the circumstances are, but just waiting for the mortal moment of incurable patients is nothing but a pain and it makes me sleepy. Reading books isn't helpful in such cases.
　　Netsurfing is useful to me for warding the sleepiness off at midnight. I suppose that it's because netsurfing has something active in its nature whereas reading is a simply passive act.
　　I had such a time last night and found an amazing fact. Guess what!? I was viewing Germany on the Google Map. The boundary line between Belgium and Germany was double! There were two boundary lines and the train tracks were built between the two. The area in which train tracks run was the territory of Belgium, and the both sides of the tracks were German territory. Why on earth was such a situation born? Probably, it has some serious or historical issues. I'd really like to know the cause of the double boundary lines.
　　I'm learning German now and am attending a German class twice a month. I'm going to ask the teacher about this fact in the next class, but I have to explain it in German. It's another problem.

Guidebook

　　I consider a number of options about my summer vacation at this time of the year. You might feel it's early, but I have to apply for the leave to my boss at least two months before I actually want to go out for a vacation, and generally speaking, the earlier you book, the lower the price of the tour is. I picked Malaysia as the destination of the coming summer vacation.
　　I ordered a guidebook online at amazon and it was delivered yesterday in two days after the ordering. The online shopping is really handy. When I have no time to go to a bookstore, I can get the book that I want in a few days. Even if I could visit the bookstore, there might be nothing in stock. The guidebook that was delivered is shown in the following picture. I spent a slow night on duty last night, and I thumbed through it. Reading guidebooks makes me leave my stress behind and unwind.
　　Anyway, I go for trips in a big way. I'd like to go to various places, talk with local people, eat local foods, and learn their history and culture. I want to learn several languages to order what I want to eat and to move by public transportation measures. I attained that level in Korean, Mandarin, and German, but I wouldn't visit anti-Japan nations like both Korea and China any more. By the way, what language do I pick up next?

Das Ende Erziehung

　　Ich habe drei Töchter. Die jungste will die Universität im nächsten Monat absolvieren. Und ab April will sie als Ärztin zu arbeiten beginnen. Ich empfinde vermischte Gefühle mit Freude und Verlassenheit.
　　Vom 6-8. Februar hat das Staatsexamen für Ärzte stattgefunden. Für einen Monat bis zur Bekanntmachung der Ergebnisse fällt der Unterricht aus. Es sind Ferien für die Studenten, die ihre Examen abgelegt haben.
　　Sie will nach Südamerika in die Ferien mit zwei Freudinnen reisen. Also habe ich sie zum Flughafen begleitet. Ich habe ihnen eine gute Reise gewünscht.

Plane-philia; Besessener Flugzeugliebhaber

　　I went to the local airport on account of some business. Today was the National Foundation Day of Japan and the airport was swarming with people. Some people were waiting for several celebrated conservative controversialists, who deliver addresses in the National Foundation Day Memorial Assemblies. I wanted to see them directly, not through the TVs or pictures, but I went up on the roof to see planes because the sky was clear without any clouds.
　　The airport of my hometown is not so big and people can see planes in the vicinity. An Boeing 787 of ANA was sitting in front of me. I noticed that I had not gotten on a flight for some time. The last overseas trip was a cruise.
　　I make it a point to list favorite places which I find as I see newspapers, magazines, or other media. Among this listing, I pick a place up for the next destination considering seriously the season, security and the cost of the trip. Northern Vietnam had been at higher rank of the list for the last several years, but the anti-China riots which broke out a few years ago held me back. I was wondering if I would go there, i.e. Ha Long Bay and some battle sites of Indochina Wars, next summer or not. However, a place jumped onto the top of the list. It is Kota Kinabalu! A Malaysian school girl was staying at my home for a week last December, and she told me about the Malaysian resort of Kota Kinabalu. She'd like to guide my family around the resort. I saw the pictures of the resort on the net, and became eager to visit there. One thing, however, I have to get on board the Malaysian Airlines,,,. I'll discuss carefully whether to go or not.

(Vocabulary)
on account of some business ちょっとした所用のため
on account of sth ＜…＞の理由で, ＜…＞のために
He doesn't play golf now on account of his health. 彼は健康上の理由で今はゴルフをしていない．
celebrated controversialist 著名な論客

 

Besessener Flugzeugliebhaber


Am 11. 2. Donnerstag bin ich nach Matsuyama Flughafen gefahren, weil das Wetter schön war. Ich sehe gern Flugzeuge starten und landen. Wegen des Feiertages gab es viele Leute im Flughafen. Ich bin die Treppe zum Dachgarten hinaufgestiegen und sah verschiedene Sorten Flugzeuge. Mein Lieblingsflugzeug, Boeing 787, war auch da. Ich bin lange nicht geflogen. Ich möchte, eine Reise unternehmen. Meine letzte Auslandsreise war eine Kreuzfahrt.

Ich habe eine Liste der Reiseziele aufgestellt und wähle eines davon mit Rücksicht auf Jahreszeit, Sicherheit, und Kosten.

Neuerdings hat ein Reiseziel auf den ersten Platz vorgerückt. Es ist Kota Kinabalu. Die malaysische Oberschülerin, die im Dezember bei mir zu Gast war, möchte uns Kota Kinabalu zeigen. Was mache ich?

Entdeckung

　　Es gibt das gekannte Manga, Lupin Ⅲ, in Japan. Der Held ist ein Dieb, der Wertsachen mit viel Witz stiehlt. Das Auto, das Lupin im Manga fährt, interessiert mich sehr persönlich. Ich habe den Namen des Autos im Internet gesucht und das war Mercedes Benz SSK. Ich dachte nicht, dass es dieses Auto wirklich gibt.
　　Mein Auto ist der Mercedes Benz SLK200. Die beiden Autos sind Cabriolets und haben "K" in ihren Namen. Schon lange habe ich gedacht, dass "K" das englisch Wort "Convertible" bedeutet, weil "C" in englischen Wörtern oft durch "K" in deutschen Wörtern ersetzt wird.
　　Das heißt, ich dachte, der SLK wäre der Cabriolet-Typ des SLs. Der Gedanke war völlig falsch und "K" bedeutet "kurz". Das heißt, der SLK ist der kurze Typ SL!

Ungewöhnlicher Vorfall

Ich wünsche Ihnen ein gutes neues Jahr!

Meine in Tokyo lebende Tochter ist nach Hause heimgekommen und wir haben ein ruhiges Jahresende und -anfang mit der ganzen Familie und meinen Eltern verbracht.

Nun, wie warm es jetzt ist! Diese Wärme ist für Januar nicht normal. Jedes Skigebiet hat aus Mangel an Schnee finanzielle Schwierigkeiten. Man vermutet, die ungewöhnliche Wärme stammt vom El Nino. Der Wettervorhersage nach scheint es am Wochenende kälter zu werden, aber wie wird das Wetter?

Das Auto mit Winterreifen ausgestattet, warte ich auf Schnee.

Jugendaustausch

　　Ich bin dem Matsuyama Chuo Lions Club angehörig. Der dient der Gemeinschaft auf verschiedenen Feldern und eins davon ist der Jugendaustausch. Dieser ist die Tätigkeit, die Jugend durch das Netzwerk des Klubs in Ausland die Möglichkeit zu bieten, mit Familien zusammenzuleben oder andere Kulturen zu erleben.
　　In diesem Monat wird eine Oberschülerin aus Malaysien zu Besuch kommen und für eine Woche bleiben. Ich freue mich, sie zu sehen.

松山中央ライオンズクラブに在籍している。いろいろな奉仕活動をしているが、そのひとつにＹＣＥがある。これはライオンズクラブのネットワークを使っていろいろな国から若者に集まってもらって共同生活をさせたり、また派遣された国の文化に触れさせる活動で、１２月に我が家へマレーシアから高校生が来ることになった。我が家への滞在は１週間。どのような高校生がやってくるのか、今から楽しみだ。

 https://www.lions.de/lions-youth-exchange

 

Osaka Marathon

　　I started jogging after seeing cheerful runners passing over the finish line at the Ehime Marathon in 2013. I usually jogged for a short distance when I started, but I made the distance longer and I joined the Ehime Marathon the next year. As for the result, I had to stop at the time control point of 40.5km. I learnt the technical word of DNF at that time. I wasn't able to finish my first full marathon, but I still kept my wish to finish it. I joined my fourth marathon, the Osaka Marathon, on Oct. 25th.
　　I had a slight convulsion in my left leg at 24km and did a stretch. I took some anti-convulsion medicine at 25km. After taking in salt at 25.2km which I was given from people along the street, the symptom decreased. However, I felt a foretaste of convulsion when I increased my pace, and I ran at the slowest pace that I could successfully finish the race. My record was 6 hours 50 minutes in gross. It took about 40 minutes to pass the start line after the gun.

(Auf Deutsch)
　　Als ich beobachtet habe, wie Teilnehmer am Ehime Marathon das Ziel erreichten, habe ich mich zur Teilname am nächsten Ehime Marathon entschlossen. Ich habe mit kurzem Jogging angefangen, und habe die Strecke, die ich auf einmal laufen konnte, verlängert. Nach einem Jahr habe ich am Ehime Marathon teilgenommen.
　　Das Ergebnis war, daß ich am Zeitkontrollepunkt von 40,5km wegen Zeitüberschreitung gestoppt wurde. Der offizielle Rekord war 5 Stunden 45 Minuten für 40km. Der Rest des Weges war nur noch 2km! Ich konnte nicht den Marathon zum Ende laufen.
　　Ich wollte den Marathon unbedingt erfolgreich beenden und habe seitdem geübt. Am 25. 10. habe ich am vierten Marathon, Osaka Marathon, teilgenommen.
　　Bei der 24-km-Marke habe ich im linken Bein einen Krampf bekommen und Stretching gemacht. Bei der 25-km-Marke habe ich chinesische Medizin eingenommen. Von den Zuschauern an der Straße habe ich an der 25,2-km-Marke Salz bekommen und dieses Salz hat mir den Krampf gemildert.
　　Wenn ich die Geschwindigkeit gesteigert hätte, hat der Krampf vielleicht wieder zu passieren gedroht. Also, mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 10 Minuten pro Kilometer, die langsamste Geschwindigkeit um die volle Strecke laufen zu können, konnte ich das Ziel in 6 Stunden 50 Minuten erreichen.

　２０１３年の愛媛マラソンでゴールする人たちを見て、翌年の愛媛マラソンに参加しようと決心しました。短いジョギングからスタートして、走る距離を伸ばしていき、１年後に愛媛マラソンに挑戦。結果、４０．５ｋｍの関門で時間切れでストップ。公式記録は４０ｋｍで５時間４５分。マラソンのフィニッシュはかなわなかったけれど、完走したいと思い、それ以後も練習を続け、１０月２５日に４回目のマラソンを走りました。大阪マラソンです。
　２４ｋｍ地点で左足にけいれんがあり、ストレッチをして、２５ｋｍでは薬を服用。そして２５．２ｋｍで沿道の人から塩をもらい、症状は軽快。スピードを上げると再びけいれんが起こりそうだったのでゴールできるぎりぎりのゆっくりとしたスピードで走り、なんとか６時間５０分で完走しました。

Review of the Karafuto Tour

　　Karafuto is now called Sakhalin worldwide, but it's undoubtedly Japan's territory. Japan received the southern part of Karafuto (Sakhalin in Russian) starting at a longitude of 50 degrees north and the associated islands from Russia in the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905 in the wake of the Japanese-Russo War (1904-1905). However, Russian troops invaded it in the summer of 1945, after World War II and they are even now keeping it occupied. I didn't want to show my passport to the Russian immigration officers, but I made a trip to Karafuto on Sep. 6th, the day when Karafuto became Japan's territory 110 years ago, which is the next day of the treaty.
　　There were extremely few signs for tourists nor English-speaking local people. Waitresses in the restaurant were arrogant and there was no explanation for dishes. Gagarin park, one of the main tourist attractions, used to be the Japanese garden until 1945, but there were no comments about the historical facts. The museum on Karafuto's history and culture had no English description on their displays. Various things were simply placed in the showcase. The holy Karafuto shrine was destroyed and renovated to the War-related museum. Unbelievable!
　　Karafuto is located in an isolated area seeing it from Moscow and looked deserted. I had a plan of riding my motorcycle on the soil of Karafuto, but I barely saw a motorcycle even in the capital city of Toyohara. I didn't see any repair shops and assumed that there was no motorcycle culture to enjoy motorcycle-riding itself. Motorcycles must be a means of transportation.
　　I couldn't help imagining what would have become of Karafuto if it wasn't occupied by Russia. I would never visit Karafuto at least while Russian people are dominant on the island.


（Auf Deutsch）
　　Die Südhälfte von Karafuto wurde an Japan unter dem Vertrag von Portsmouth im Jahr 1905 abgetreten. Aber Russland hat Karafuto im Jahr 1945 nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg überfallen und es ist immer noch besetzt. Es war mir sehr unangenehm, den russischen Beamten den Reisepass zeigen zu müssen, aber ich bin nach Karafuto am 6. 9. 2015 gereist. Der Vertrag von Portsmouth, nämlich Frieden mit Russland, wurde am 5. 9. 1905 geschlossen. Das heißt, die Geschichte von Karafuto als japanisches Territorium hat an diesem Tag vor 110 Jahren angebrochen.
　　Ich will meinen Eindruck und meine Meinung über die Besichtigung von Karafuto mitteilen. Es gibt nicht genügend Schilder für die Touristen. Nur wenige können Englisch sprechen. In einem Restaurant waren die Kellnerinen überheblich. Es gibt keine Erklärung zu den Speisen. Der Gagarinpark war früher ein japanischer Garten, aber es gibt kein Schild, das zu zeigen. In dem Heimatmuseum wurden verschiedene Gegenstände ausgestellt, aber ohne japanische oder englische Erklärung. Der ehemalig Karafuto Schrein ist zum Kriegmuseum geändert worden.
　　Karafuto liegt im Grenzland von Russland und ist mir kulturell rückständig erschienen. Ich hatte einen Plan, dort Motorrad zu fahren. Aber ich habe nur einmal, ein Motorrad gesehen. Ich habe kein Motorrad Geschäft in der Straße gesehen, und ich dachte, daß es keine Kultur gibt, Motorradfahren zu genießen.
　　Ich mußte mir vorstellen, wie Karafuto geworden wäre, wenn es japanisch geblieben wäre. Wahrscheinlich will ich russisches Karafuto nicht noch mal besuchen.

(Wortschatz)
Vertrag von Portsmouth　ポーツマス条約
die Hälfte  半分
j3 et4/et4 an j4 ab/treten  譲り渡す
ein/fallen  思いつく；侵攻する
der Eindruck 印象
die Meinung 意見
überheblich 傲慢な

樺太雑感

　樺太の南半分はポーツマス条約（１９０５）により、日本領となった。しかし、１９４５年夏、ソ連が侵攻し、現在も占領を続けている。パスポートを呈示して樺太に渡るのは抵抗があったが、ポーツマス条約の翌日、つまり１９０５年９月６日からちょうど１１０年目に当たる今年の９月６日に樺太へ旅行した。

　案内標識が極端に少なく、英語を喋る人が少ない。レストランでのウェイトレスの態度は傲慢で、料理のメニューもない。ガガーリン公園はかつての日本の庭園だが、それに言及した看板もなければ、英語表記さえない。観光地にはほど遠い環境だ。樺太歴史博物館にも日本語はもちろん英語表記さえない。単にいろいろなものが並べられているに過ぎない。神聖な樺太神社は戦争博物館と化していた。

　ロシアの辺境の地にあり、寂しい土地のように思えた。オートバイを持ち込んで樺太を走る計画を持っていたが、オートバイを見たのは一台だけ。修理工場のようなものも見かけず、オートバイを趣味とする文化はここにはないように見えた。

　もし日本のままだったらどうだったろうかと考えずにはいられなかった。ロシアに占領されている樺太を訪れることはもうないだろう。

Folding Fan

　　It's very muggy now in Japan. One of the necessities in this season is a folding fan. My office is comfortable thanks to the air conditioner, but I always carry a fan during a house visit.
　　When I took my car to the car dealer for its 6-months' regular maintenance the other day, they gave me their novelty goods item of a folding fan, on which the logo of the Mercedes-Benz was inscribed. As I have one, I decided to keep it in my desk drawer for future use. At that time, I found a broken one deep in my desk drawer, and I'll show it to you. It was also one of the novelty goods from a pharmaceutical company.
　　As you see, lots of Korean letters are written on it. Around the time when I received this folding fan about probably 10 years ago, I was learning Korean and using the fan as a memo pad. Korean fundamental sentences are noted down on it. I attained to a certain proficiency level with Korean and am learning German now.
　　By the way, a folding fan is called "sensu" or "ougi" in Japanese. "Ougi" is a part of "hiougigai" which I wrote about in the previous entry. A word, "hiougigai" is constructed of three parts, "hi", "ougi", and "gai", which stand for "scarlet", "a folding fan", and "clam" respectively. You would say "Exactly!", if you saw pictures of it.

(Vocabulary)
novelty goods  販促品

German Proficiency Test

　　German used to be an essential subject in Japan's medical school. It's the traces of the fact that Japanese medicine was introduced from Germany in the latter half of 19th century and several German technical terms are popular even now in my department, general surgery. Not a few German words are used in our daily work, though it is not in the form of sentences, but simply words only, i.e. it doesn't require German skills.
　　I used to hate German due to its complex inflections of words. Moreover every noun has its own gender. I failed grammar and had to attend the same lecture twice. It was really humiliating for me. This fact was deeply inscribed in my mind and has always been psychological trauma since then. When my second daughter started learning German several years ago, I made up my mind to master German to some extent and began to learn it again. My daughter lived in Germany for a year to experience the German way of life, and I had opportunities to visit her city or to join the reception for the guests from Germany in my hometown. It might be a good motive for
continuous learning.
　　I took the official level check on German in June and the report came to me today. It was successful and I got the certification of middle class, that indicates I graduated at beginner level! Naturally, I'll aim for advanced level, though it might take a long time.

(Vocabulary)
traces of ～の名残
inflection [C](専門) (語の) 変化形, 活用形

Reception

　　My second daughter and I joined a reception which welcomed a German from Freiburg. He has been working in the city office in Freiburg for 20 years and has been involved in the development of the sister-city relationship with my hometown, Matsuyama City.
　　The party was held at the usual restaurant. I'm learning German and was going to speak to him in German, but I was too shy to do so. Instead of me, my second daughter talked with him so much, because she lived her student days in Freiburg. On the other hand, as for me, I enjoyed delicious dishes mainly. My German skills still leave a lot more to be desired.