Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

A Picture from Yuri

     Yuri is my second daughter and 20 years old. She is a college student in Nagoya city, one of the biggest cities in Japan. She is learning German culture.
     A picture arrived today from her. A cell phone with a digital camera is really useful. Yuri is a girl with a green skirt at the furthest right in the picture. She was visiting a folk museum with her classmates. I was relieved to see her smile.

(Vocabulary)
folk museum   民族博物館

　yuriは次女の名前で、２０才。名古屋でドイツ文学を勉強しています。今日、写メが届きました。犬山市にあるリトルワールド(野外民族博物館)でドイツの民族衣装を着ています。一番右にいるのがそうで、元気そうなのでホッとしました。

 

School Trip

     A will leave for Hokkaido for the school trip next week. I hope she will have a good memory of it with her friends, but I have a concern. As you know, the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit will be held in Hokkaido at the same time. The Japanese Government will have elaborate plans against terrorist plots, but I'm afraid A could be involved in the terror. A group of parents were insisting that the trip be put-off for security reasons and to avoid the packed airport and jammed traffic. Their opinion is acceptable, at least for me. However, that wasn't the case in the eyes of A. She said they should visit there just now, because it is a rare chance to see what the summit meeting is like.
     Her way of thinking is just like me. Opportunities are not always in our reach. Her life will be active and aggressive in a good way.

Bucket List

     I often feel that I'm lucky to have learned English. While watching American movies, I really get the feeling. I caught the movie "Bucket List" starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. I think both are great, talented and are the people who were born to become actors. By the way, the original title is translated into Japanese with a different title. The Japanese title is 「最高の人生の見つけ方」. If retranslated into English the title would be "How to find the best way of life". Japanese and English are completely different languages and such a translation of the title might be inevitable.
     When Morgan wrote "Bucket List" on the memo pad, "棺桶リスト" which means "coffin list" in English, appeared on the Japanese subtitles. I wondered why bucket had the meaning of coffin or the translater might have made an association of ideas from bucket to basket and next casket. As soon as Jack found the note, he shouted "kick the bucket" blah, blah, blah. I dare to expound my opinion here to get the criticism of native speakers.
     There's a phrase "kick the bucket" that means "die". To tell the truth, I had an image about "kick the bucket" in which a man trips over a bucket and fall down and finally hits his head and dies. I investigated the real meaning of this phrase in the big etymological dictionary and found the origin of the phrase. The bucket indicates the stepstool of the hanging platform. If you kick this stepstool, you would be hung up from the tree or something. If so, "kick the bucket" would mean only suicide, but this phrase looks like it's used in any type of death, like death from illnesses, accidents, or even murders. It's funny, but coming back to the right track, let's think about the kicking. Just after kicking the bucket, the man will die. That is to say, kicking the bucket is the last intentional action in his life. This is my conclusion. Can I express things that we want to do at the end of our life as the buckets? 

(Comments from my teacher in Canada)
"To kick the bucket" does indeed mean to die in a general sense, but it comes from rhyming cockney slang.

(Vocabulary)
be translated into Japanese with a different title
原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される
make an association of ideas　連想する
trip over a log　丸太に蹴つまずく
etymologic(al) dictionary 　語源辞典
ladder // platform // step ladder // stepstool　踏み台

　英語を勉強していて良かったと思う瞬間がある。アメリカ映画を見るときがそうだ。
　先日、「Bucket List」というアメリカ映画を見た。邦題は「最高の人生の見つけ方」だ。これを更に英語に訳すと、「How to find the best life」とでもなるだろうか。映画のセリフは原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される。これは仕方のないことであろうが、残念なことだ。

　Morgan Freeman がメモ用紙にBucket Listと書いたとき、字幕では「棺桶リスト」と出た。bucket にそんな意味があったのか？bucket からbasket、そしてcasketというような連想で間違えたのではないかと。その直後にJack Nicholsonがbucketの意味を言っているのに翻訳者はその語感を訳出できていない。ネイティブの批判に晒すために敢えて英語で持論を述べてみる。

　"kick the bucket"という慣用句がある。バケツを蹴飛ばすということだが、これが死ぬことを意味する。数年前まで長い間、バケツにつまずいて転んで頭でも打って死ぬと言うことかと思っていた。この言葉がジャックの口から発せられたので改めて語源を確認した。バケツは首つりの踏み台であり、これを蹴飛ばすことで死ぬことになる。では自殺することを意味するのかというとそうでもなく、病死でも事故死でも使えるのが不思議だが。で、改めて語源を考えてみると、バケツを蹴ることはその直後に死ぬことを考えると、死ぬ直前に意志を持って行う最後の行為ではないか。つまりbucket listとは死ぬ直前にする最後の行為ではないのか。そして映画ではそのリストについて描かれている。きれいな理論ではないだろうか？

Tsingtao beer

     I was astonished to see the picture of Tsingtao in the Herald Tribune this morning. I didn't have permission from the Herard Tribune, but I'm putting up the picture from the paper below.
     My image of Tsingtao was like this; beautiful scenery and a suitable place for a holiday resort. In the early 20th century, Germany was holding this district by lease and gave the Chinese the know-how to run the brewery. Tsingtao beer originated with German brewery technology and has now become the most popular brand beer in China. The Germans at that time must have thought that Tsingtao's water was very clear and suitable for making beer. The quality of the water is the soul of alcoholic beverages.
     What do you say after looking at this picture? Here is the competition site for the water sports in the Beijing Olympic Games in a month. I am eager to know why the committee chose China.

青島ビール

　今日付のヘラルドトリビューン紙を見て驚いた。同紙の許可は頂いていないがここに転載する。まあ、ご覧あれ。　青島についての僕の印象は、美しい、澄んだ空、きれいな水、リゾート地、といったところだろうか。２０世紀初頭に青島がドイツの租借地であった時にドイツ人はシナ人にビールの醸造法を伝えた。そして今、青島ビールは最も飲まれるブランドとなった。当時のドイツ人は青島の水が上質でビールの醸造に適していると考えたのであろう。質の良い水は酒の命である。　ところがどうだ、この景色は！この場所でボート競技が行われるのである。オリンピック委員会がこの国を選んだ理由を是非とも知りたいものだ。

Lazarev

     Lazarev is a small town located on the Mamiya Strait between Sakhalin and the Asian mainland. Sakhalin is absolutely Japan's territory historically and also from the viewpoint of international law, but it has been occupied by Russia since the end of the Great East Asian War (the Pacific War). I'll skirt around this issue this time.
     I'm planning to ride my scooter around the Japan Sea in the future and I will visit Sakhalin by my scooter via Wakkanai in Hokkaido maybe in two years' time as the first step to the round-Japan-Sea tour.
     Now, I'd like to get to know someone who lives in Lazarev and can speak English. If I can, I will cross the Mamiya Strait to meet the person in two years' time. Is there anyone who can help me visit Sakhalin and Lazarev?

(Vocabulary)
skirt (skirt around とも) [動] [他]
1 〈場所など〉をぐるっと囲む, の縁沿いに通る
2 〈重要な問題など〉への言及を避ける
in 10 days'/five years'/a few minutes' etc. time  10日［5年，数分］後に
I have an appointment with the doctor in two days' time. 2日後に医者の予約を入れてある．

　ラザレフはサハリンとユーラシア大陸を隔てる間宮海峡に面した小さな町である。サハリンは歴史的にも国際法上も日本の領土であるが、大東亜戦争(太平洋戦争)以後、ロシアに占拠されている。が、この問題について今は触れずにおこう。

　ところで、いつか日本海をスクーターで一周しようと思っている。その環日本海一周ツーリングの第一段階として、北海道の稚内からサハリンへ行ってみようと思っている。

　そのため今、ラザレフに住み、英語を話せる人と知り合いになりたいと思っている。もし、知り合いができればその人に会うために間宮海峡を渡ってみたい。サハリンとラザレフ訪問の手助けをしてくれる人はいないだろうか？

(KW: LAZAREV  Lazaref  ラザレフ　間宮海峡　サハリン　ツーリング　バイク　スクーター　motorcycle)

Offline Meeting

     "Offline Meeting" might be a Japanese-made phrase. It means a real meeting at which people who usually meet on the internet meet in the real world. I joined an offline meeting today. A half of the members were new to me. I didn't know even their names. I only knew their nicknames and their way of thinking. I have just read their comments on the net.
     The motorcycle is our common language. We enjoyed chatting about our own motorcycles and other hobbies and jobs over local brand beers and distilled spirits. I had a fabulous time and got to know many things from other occupations apart from the medical services.
     One of them was planning to ride a motorcycle in the southwest islands, just on the border of Japan. As I talked with him, I grew eager to go for a long tour. The picture shows us lining up in front of the Dogo Onsen Spa, which is one of the national historic heritage buildings.

(Vocabulary)
fabulous  すばらしい

Medical Service System In Japan

     Jessica.Y, one of the frequent subscribers to this blog, asked me about the medical service system in Japan.
     The prices of medical services are regulated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Every diagnostic approach and method of treatment is reasonably priced by the authority. When a cutting-edge medical technology is developed, it would be investigated for a few years and if it turn out to be effective, the new technology is listed in the coverage of official medical insurance.
     All the methods and approaches of medical service that have their official prices are covered by the official medical insurance. There are different kinds of official medical insurance and all the Japanese have a certain official medical insurance. Have you ever seen the movie "John Q"? The situation of "John Q" would never happen in Japan. No matter how rich or how poor people are, they can receive the same level of medical service across the country. Moreover, people of low income who get welfare payments are completely exempt from the medical charge.
     Japanese medical doctors have better incomes than the average people, but their incomes are lower than those of medical doctors in the western countries. However, I think that this system is good and can be the model for other developed countries.
     What Jessica.Y wrote on the comment column of Apr. 27th is true.

(Vocabulary)
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare  厚生労働省
cutting-edge  〈研究・芸術などが〉 最先端［最前線］の
cutting-edge technology  最先端技術
exempt  免除された (+ from)

(KW: 日本の医療システム 医療保険)

This Week's TIME Magazine

     The picture shows the cover of this week's TIME magazine. It tells us how miserable Burma's situation is.
     The Japanese media call Burma Myanmar, in spite of the fact that refugees from Burma call themselves Burmese not Myanmese. The Japanese media are disgraceful.
     Time magazine has consistently used Burma not Myanmar since the coup d'etat in 1989. The writer in the magazine puts it like this, "Burma, also known as Myanmar." Such an attitude that acts according to their principles is honorable. It might be one of the reasons why I read this magazine.

(Vocabulary)
act according to one's principles    筋を通す

(和訳)
写真は今週号のタイム誌である。ビルマの現状が如何に無残なものであるか物語っている。日本のメディアはビルマをミャンマーと呼ぶ。亡命ビルマ人が自らをミャンマー人ではなくビルマ人と呼ぶにもかかわらず、である。日本のメディアは本当に恥ずかしい。タイム誌は１９８９年のクーデター以来一貫してビルマと書いている。この記事のライターもミャンマーととしても知られるビルマという言い方をしている。筋を通すこのような態度は素晴らしい。僕がタイム誌を講読する理由の一つである。

Last Meal and Miscellaneous Thought

     The last meal on this trip was the turkey sandwich on rye that is shown in the picture below. I don't like this sandwich, but I couldn't choose anything else.
     Every time I eat a turkey sandwich I think about the food culture. Turkey sandwiches are popular in the U.S. and whale meat is the same in Japan. Korean and Chinese eat dogs in their daily life. Every country has their own food culture. I suppose it's not good for people to condemn other people just because the food culture is different. No matter what animals one people eat, it wouldn't be a problem if other people didn't put their noses into it.
     Anyway, I enjoyed skiing, the food, the culture and many things in Canada. There's something for everyone in Canada. My notes from this trip are over with this entry.

(Vocabulary)
turkey sandwich on rye   ライ麦パンの七面鳥サンドイッチ
put one's nose    干渉する

　旅行の最後を締めくくる料理は七面鳥のサンドウィッチだった。余り好きではないが、他に選べなかったので仕方なく食べた。

　このサンドウィッチを食べるときにいつも思うことがある。七面鳥のサンドウィッチはアメリカではよく見かけるものだが同様に鯨の肉は日本ではポピュラーなものだ。韓国人や中国人は日常的に犬を食べる。それぞれの国は独自の食文化をもっており、ある民族方の民族の食文化をとやかく言うのは間違っているのではないかと思う。

　今回で旅行記を終えるのであるが、スキーや食事、文化、そしていろいろなことを楽しむことが出来た。カナダには誰もが欲する何かがあると思う。

Navigation System

     When I took the flight between Canada and Japan last time, the personal-use screen wasn't set. Even if I wanted to watch movies, I couldn't choose my favorite title. I had to watch the one that was shown on the screen for all the passengers. However I could choose movies out of more than 20 titles this time. I could enjoy four movies. One of them was "August Rush". My friend's kids were enjoying TV games all the time. We left Vancouver at 11 o'clock and they didn't get sleepy. I don't know if that was good or bad, but anyway I didn't feel bored.
     This screen could show where we were, how fast or high we were flying and how cold the outside was at any time. I'm showing the navigation screen.

(Vocabulary)
change-of-day line / date line  日付変更線

Return Flight

     I don't know why, but every time I left Vancouver, the sky was always clear and sunny. I wished I could stay there a few more days.
     I looked for some magazines about skiing and motorcycles for my friends in the airport. A was trying to talk in English in several shops. On this trip, seeing A, I realized that her will was strong and the will was as good as the deed. She'd like to study abroad after getting her veterinarian's license in Japan.
     This is the dinner on the 29th.

(Vocabulary)
deed [C,U](文) 行為, 行動, 行い
The will is as good as the deed. 意志の力は行動と同じぐらい大切です。

Nitobe Memorial Garden (Japanese Garden)

     It is the third time I've written about Mr. Inazo Nitobe here. He was one of the people who has influenced me. I read some of his books and knew a little about his life. Victoria in BC is famous also as the place of his death. I knew and got interested in Vancouver and Victoria while reading his biography and so I visited both cities several times. I have known about the Nitobe Memorial Garden near UBC in Vancouver, but didn't have a chance to visit there. I was going to drop in at the garden during this trip.
     This morning I got up earlier than the other members to drop in at the garden on the way to the airport. I asked a taxi to take us to the garden, but this garden might not be so famous judging from the fact that the taxi driver didn't know where it was. I handed the map to the driver, but he couldn't reach there directly.
     We ended up driving to and fro in the campus of UBC. I thought we were unlucky to catch this driver. However, to my surprise, this driver was very familiar with the geography of UBC and showed us a few places like the domitories, the library, some departments, playgrounds, shops and so on. It was also fun.
     After we finished sightseeing at UBC, we started for the airport. Just at the time we started, we found the garden. As we had lost time in the campus, we could stay there only 10 minutes.
     Mr. Nitobe said, "I wish to be a bridge across the Pacific Ocean." I visited Hokkaido University last summer, so I've managed to visit both abutments of the bridge; the east is Vancouver and the west is Hokkaido. I completed one of my purposes of the trip.

See also;
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/01/ski-schedule.html

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html

(Vocabulary)
abutment piece / bridge column / bridge footing  橋脚

　新渡戸稲造についてこのブログに書くのはこれで３回目です。過去２回については最下部にリンクを載せておきます。彼は僕に影響を与えた人の一人で、学生時代に彼の本を読み、彼のことを知りました。カナダのブリティッシュ・コロンビア州の州都ビクトリアは彼の終焉の地としても有名です。彼の作品だけでなく、彼の伝記を読み、バンクーバーとビクトリアに興味を持つようになり、この地に何度も訪れるようになりました。バンクーバーにあるブリティッシュ・コロンビア大学のそばにある新渡戸記念公園は以前より知っていて立ち寄りたかったのですが機会が無く、今回やっと訪れることが出来ました。

　今朝、他のメンバーよりも早起きして娘と一緒にホテルを出ました。空港への途中で公園に立ち寄るためです。タクシーに立ち寄るよう頼んだのですが、運転手はこの公園を知らず、大学の中をぐるぐると回る羽目に。しかし、大学の中はいろいろと案内してくれました。広い大学でした。これはこれで面白かったのですが、公園を諦めて空港へ向かおうとしたその時に目当ての公園を見つけましたが１０分ほどしか時間が無く駆け足で見て回りました。

　稲造は太平洋の架け橋となりたいと言葉を残しています。北海道大学には英文で、バンクーバーのこの公園には日本語でその言葉が残されています。これで、この架け橋の東の橋脚であるバンクーバーと西の橋脚である北海道の両方を訪れたことになります。この旅行の目的の一つを達成できました。

It says, "I wish to be a bridge across the Pacific Ocean."

(KW: 新渡戸稲造　武士道)

A Dropout Dog

     This dog is always sitting near the concierge. It was being trained at a guide dog school, but it dropped out of the school for some reasons. It was so adorable that many tourists wanted to touch it. A is crazy about animals and was so happy to be with it.
     She wondered about its sex. I made her ask someone. I was interested in what words she would use. Did she know the words, male, female, or something like those. Annlie just said, "She or he?" pointing to the dog. Great! A simple question which was enough. These experiences would make her confident.

A Signboard

     It's a nondescriptive signboard that shows the street is closed due to the construction of the Canada Line. I found this sign just when I was looking for what indicates the date or the year. It shows that today is between April 2006 and April 2009. When A or A's kids take a look at these pictures long afterwards, I mean after my death, they will know that it was just before the Vancouver Olympics in the early 21st century.
     At the hotel, I saw several pictures on the wall of the lobby. They were taken in the 19th and early 20th centuries, that was to say, the history of the hotel. Seeing them, I thought I needed some pictures telling the year. That's why I took this nondescript picture.

(Vocabulary)
nondescript  ごくありふれた
nondescriptive  非記述的な、何の変哲もない、ごくありきたりの

Sushi Restaurant

     We chose sushi as the last dinner in Canada this year. We went to a splendid sushi restaurant near our hotel, the Kamei Royale. We each ordered different dishes to enjoy as many kinds of sushi as possible. I could have a taste of more than 20 kinds. As for beer, in the same way I tried several kinds of beer.
     My parents always say, "the sushi that they eat in Japan is the best in the world," but I don't agree with them. Some kinds of Canadian sushi are a whole lot more delicious than Japanese ones. I took a picture of the bag of disposable chopsticks to record the name of the restaurant. A digital camera is useful as an alternative to a memopad.

BC Roll and Spider Roll

OK Shop

     We called in at a famous gift shop, the OK Shop. I wrote it is famous, but it might be so only among Japanese, for the owner is Japanese and an entertainment personality. His name is Ohashi Kyosen. OK stands for his name.
     Every time I visited Vancouver, I had always dropped in at a souvenir shop, the "New Tokyo Gift," the owner of which was Mr Saburo Iura. I introduced him in this blog: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/brockton-point.html
He was a rival of Mr. Ohashi.

Brockton Point Lighthouse & Grouse Mountain

     We happened to pass a lighthouse that seemed to be active. The mountain covered with mist is Grouse Mountain, also known as a great skiing place. I like skiing, trekking across mountains, fishing, kayaking and yachting so there's everything for me in this city. I suddenly recalled Mr. Saburo Iura who told me "There's everything for you so how about leading a happy life here?" He had run a big gift shop, "New Tokyo Gift," for more than 20 years and passed away 3 years ago at the age of 65. He would often tell me to live in Vancouver. He could find me a job as a surgeon.
     Any chance will go away soon, if it isn't caught when it is in front of us. I was walking as I was contemplating such a thing.

(Vocabulary)
lead [他] 〈…な生活〉 を送る
lead a normal/busy/quiet life  普通の［忙しい，平穏な］生活を送る
lead a charmed life  恵まれた生活を送る
contemplate
1 [他] …を（しようと）考える, もくろむ
  [同意] consider
2 [他] 〈可能性など〉 を受け入れる, 認める
He refused to contemplate the possibility of defeat. 彼は敗北の可能性については考えようとしなかった．

Lovely Daughter and Lion's Gate Bridge

     Annlie is in the center of the picture and the background is West Vancouver and Lion's Gate Bridge that we passed over by bus several hours before.
     We walked from Vancouver Aquarium to the coast of Burrard Inlet. You can see the area that is called West Vancouver behind Annlie. The upper portion of West Vancouver was covered with mist and invisible. A great skiing place is located here, though it is not so famous worldwide. The name of it is Cypress Mountain. The mogul competition of the Winter Olympics in 2010 is going to be held there. http://www.cypressmountain.com/index.asp
There are some reasons why I like this city. One of them is the easy accessibility to great skiing places, like Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains, Cypress Mountain and Grouse Mountain. The last two mountains are within 30 minutes of downtown.

A Squirrel

     We found a row of cherry trees which were 50% in blossom during walking. Then suddenly I recalled my hometown. Our hometown was in the midst of the full bloom of cherry trees during this time of the year. When three children were lining up under the cherry tree for some pictures, a ground squirrel passed in front of them. As soon as they found it, they started to run after it, but the squirrel disappeared. We realized the richness of the forest in Stanley Park. I wish I could have taken a picture of the squirrel.

Police Car and Horse Riding

     We had some choices after the aquarium to go straight back downtown by taxi, or walk around in Stanley Park. The children selected the second choice and we took a walk along Burrard Inlet. A seemed to be surprised to see the closeness between the city and nature.
     We came across a police car with nobody inside. It looked nice, like a rally car. Japanese police cars are colored white and black. The canadian one is brighter than that. Anyway where was the police officer? We looked around for him.
     The police officer who I thought was the crew of this police car that we found was riding a horse. I was not sure, but he might come here after lunch to enjoy riding. This is within 10 minutes' drive from the police station. If I was a police officer, I would have felt envious of him.

There is more to it. I heard from my teacher that the mounted police officer was on patrol in Stanley Park. I'm sorry, he was not enjoying riding but doing his duty.

(Vocabulary)
There is more to it. （この話には）まだ続き［後日談］がある。
mounted 〈警官・兵士などが〉 騎馬の