Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

A Map

     My brother, a journalist, was travelling in France for his vacation. The picture shows the map and pamphlets that are written in Korean. I asked him to bring them back when he was just about to fly to Paris. I'd like to get anything official that is written in Korean. Anything was OK, for example maps, pamphlets, time schedule sheets for flights, trains or buses, information on hotels, theaters, museums, , , and so on. These are for free and my brother wouldn't feel any pain to collect them. If he couldn't find them, it was OK. Anyway, I sometimes look at this map of Paris over a glass of brandy. I've never been to France, but my imagination takes me to Paris. Besides it is good for learning Korean.
     Why Paris? It's because one of my daughters is learning French and I hope that my family can go skiing in Chamonix plus I'd like to get on the TGV and enjoy travelling under the Channel. Her French would help us enjoy travelling and skiing in Chamonix.
     I'm planning to visit Vancouver for skiing next March. I've been to Whistler 5 or 6 times, but I've never been to Europe. I'm really keen to visit some countries in Europe someday.   

Toyota Automobile Museum

     I called in at the Toyota Museum on the way to Nagoya Station. Toyota is that Toyota that is one of the biggest companies in the world. You can understand the history of automobiles and the wisdom of human beings there. I saw a Ford Model T that is known as the world's first genuinely mass-produced car.
     The first domestically built automobile was exhibited at the entrance. This car must be an achievement of Toyota and also the starting point of Toyota. I let my mind drift back over the early 20th century. All the Japanese were struggling not to be left behind by the developed countries in those days. Consequently present-day Japan exists now.
     I sometimes feel that present-day Japan might be inferior to that of 100 years ago in many ways. Present-day Japanese, of course, including me, have been living in secure and comfortable circumstances for a long time and became blind to the incidents of the world. Japan has no religious confrontation with any other country and keeps good relationships with all countries except China and both Koreas. I think that Japan must work for world peace from now on because Japan has enough power and modesty to do so.
     While I was thinking that way I found the first car that came to my house about 40 years ago. I remember my father, who was younger than me at the equivalent time, was delighted to be able to polish the car. I'm thinking that I'll take my parents there.

The signboard on the roadside

The truck that is powered by charcoal

The daily necessities in Showa era (30-50 years ago).

It's a portable gas station that supplies gasoline to automobiles, but it has already disappeared.

This picture shows a kind of car for single use. This car was demonstrated at the latest motor show in Tokyo.

(Vocabulary)
call in  ～を呼ぶ; 〔助け・援助などを〕求める; 〔場所に〕立ち寄る、訪問する、寄港する
domestically built automobiles 国産車
achievement [C] 業績, 成果, 偉業
let one's mind drift back over   ぼんやりと～のことに思いをはせる
present-day  現代の, 今日(こんにち)の
religious matter   宗教的な問題
religious confrontation  宗教的な対立
respect religious freedoms   宗教の自由を尊重する
equivalent  同等の, 同価値の

(KW: トヨタ自動車博物館)

University Festival

     I arrived at Nagoya station at about six o'clock on Nov. 3rd. I got on the subway to my daughter's apartment. I had two hours to go until the opening of the festival and could take a nap in her room.
     Have you ever seen the magnetic levitated train? We call it the "Linear Motor Car". Test runs of linear motor trains are currently under way. Linear motor trains will connect Osaka and Tokyo in about one hour, with a maximum speed of 500 kilometers per hour in the not so distant future. The first commercial linear motor line is in Nagoya City and my daughter uses it every day for commuting.
     The first two pictures show the train. The next two show my daughter making octopus dumplings at her class stall. The last is the octopus dumplings called "Takoyaki" which are very popular in Japan. They were delicious.
     I could walk around the campus and see a few facilities and bulletin boards. The best thing I could do was that I had the chance to talk with her friends. I could understand the atmosphere of the university and it made me feel happy.
     This time last year, I hoped that she would get into the local national university and I thought it was enough, but she didn't think so. She wanted to try a higher level of university and succeeded. I was afraid that she would have many dificulties away from home, but such a concern proved unfounded.

(Vocabulary)
levitate [自] 宙に浮かぶ; [他](まれ) …を宙に浮かべる
That concern proved unfounded.  その不安は杞憂に終わった。

Cheapest Way to Nagoya City

     My second daughter is living in Nagoya city. I was wondering which was the best way between an airplane, train or bus to visit her apartment, because the University Festival, which she belongs to, will be held on Nov. 2nd-4th and I wanted to see it.
     The airplane would cost me about 400 US$ for the round trip. Likewise, the train 300 US$ and the bus 180 US$. In comparing these fees the bus service seems to be the best.
     On the other hand, from the point of view of required time, the airplane is best and the bus seems to be worst. It takes only an hour and a half to fly between Matsuyama and Nagoya, but the bus needs 10 hours. However the number of flights is small and if I use the airplane I would arrive at her campus at 10 o'clock and leave there at 4 o'clock in the evening, that is to say, the time that I can stay on the campus would be only 6 hours.
     The bus starts here at 7 in the evening and arrives at Nagoya station at 6 in the morning. For the return it starts at 11 at night from Nagoya station and arrives in Matsuyama City at 9 in the morning. It takes a longer time than the plane, but I can stay longer in Nagoya.
     After all I decided to use the bus. It was the first time in about 15 years to get on a long-distance night bus. When I used it last time, a neighbor passenger was drunk and snored loudly and besides he leaned against me. It was extremely uncomfortable and this made me keep away from the night bus for a long time. I found by chance a brochure of the long-distance bus service. The seat was for single use and could be reclined a long way. Furthermore the bus had a lavatory in it. I thought it was wonderful and had completely changed from the bus that I had been on before. This brochure made me decide to use the bus this time.

(Vocabulary)
after all　（いろいろ言ってみたが）やはり、（何だかんだ言っても）結局のところ
brochure  (広告・販売促進用などの) パンフレット, 小冊子
a travel brochure  旅行パンフレット

Korean Letters 4

Continued from here.

    I learned Korean history by myself. I focused on before the 19th century this time because I know roughly about after the 19th century.
     The pictures show the books that I read for these past 3 weeks. Both books in the first picture are written by a Korea-hating person and a Japan-hating person. I compared them with each other.
     The book on the right was written by a Japanese historian. His opinions, based on reliable evidence, seemed to be perfect. On the other hand the book on the left was funny and ridiculous. For example, the author describes the issue of Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima in Japanese) this way: Japan can easily file a lawsuit to the International Court of Justice because Japan has nothing to lose when it loses the case, but Korea is tightly controlling the Rocks effectively now and if it loses the case it has to give it up...so, Korea won't go to the Court. See also here.
     What do you think about this excuse? It's literally nonsense. It's because the Korean administration officials know that they have no chance against Japan that Korea won't sit at the table of the International Court. The author continues ....  The Korean language is superior to Japanese because homonyms are fewer in Korean than in Japanese. I couldn't believe my eyes to read this. I think he is unqualified to write books. In Japan and China the written language is an ideogram. Korean is a phonogram. His opinion is completely wrong. Originally it's of no use to struggle for mastery between different languages.
     I really think that Korean is systematic and beautiful. I'm learning it like maths and listening to it like music. I like it though I'm sorry to hear that Korean is denying the usage of Chinese characters.
     Anyway, the book on the left was written emotionally and the evidence is vague. Reading this book was just like wasting time.
     See the second picture. These books are written by a history researcher after intensive research. I examined some evidence that the author took up in his book and I got to believe these books. I'd like to pay a tribute to Korean readers to give me a chance to learn about Korean history. I got shocked to know it. If I were the Korean president, I would be sure to hide the historical facts and never show it to Korean children. Korean history is such a history.
     When the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea was signed in 1965, Seoul didn't say anything about the issue of comfort women. Why did the issue show up now? It has been my biggest question. I know the book that triggered this issue, but the author of this book revealed later that he wrote it on speculation and no evidence. However the Koreans are continuing to blame Japan for this issue. Why? In fact there's a general idea on prostitution (sex for money) in Japan but no notion about obliged comfort women (kind of sex slavery).
     "Comfort women" was from the Korean culture. If you are Korean, please study your own history and culture. Examine every kind of record and figures sincerely. There remain many documents in China, your country and also Japan. Many travel writers left the documents for you. I don't want to offend you and write about this issue any more but I hope you'll stop shifting a lot of the responsibility on Japan. (和訳)

(Vocabulary)
homonym     同音異義語
phonogram  表音文字
ideogram     表意文字
pay a tribute to　（人）に賛辞を呈する、（人）に敬意を表する、（死を）哀悼する
the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea　日韓基本条約   한일기본조약
hift responsibility to　（人）に責任を転嫁する［なすりつける］

韓国からの手紙４

ここからの続き　http://ridiculouskcruelc.seesaa.net/article/141154175.html　朝鮮史の勉強をした。１９世紀以後は大体わかっているので今回はそれ以前に焦点を当てた。写真はこの３週間の間に読んだ本を示している。最初の写真の２冊の本は韓国嫌いの人と日本嫌いの人とによって書かれたものである。これらを比べてみた。　右側の本は日本人歴史家によって書かれている。彼の意見は信頼できる根拠があり、完全なように見える。一方、左側の本はおかしくてばかげている。例えば、竹島についてはこう書かれている。日本は何も失うものがないから簡単に国際司法裁判所に訴えることができるが、韓国は現在竹島を実効支配しており、もし裁判で負ければそれを諦めねばならないから、、、だから韓国は訴訟に応じないのだと言う。参考: http://ridiculouskcruelc.seesaa.net/article/141154384.html　この言い訳はどうだ？全くナンセンスと言わざるを得ない。韓国が司法の場につかないのは、日本に対して勝ち目がないことを政府が知っているからだ。著者は続ける、、、朝鮮語は日本語よりも優れている。なぜなら同音異義語が日本語に比べて少ないからだと。これには驚いた。この著者は本を書く資格はないと思った。日本や中共の書き言葉は表意文字である。それに対して朝鮮語は表音文字だ。彼の言葉は完全に間違っている。もともと、言語の優位性を論じるなど、何の意味もないことだ。朝鮮語はシステマティックで美しいと思う。数学のように学び、音楽を聴くように聞いている。ただ、朝鮮人が漢字を使わないようにしてしまったことを聞いてとても残念に思うが、朝鮮語は好きだ。とにかく、左の本は感情的に書かれており、根拠が希薄だ。この本を読むことは時間の浪費に過ぎない。 　２番目の写真を見て欲しい。これらの本は歴史家により十分な研究の後に書かれている。著者が取り上げている根拠のうちいくつかを自分でも調べてみて、これらの本が信頼できるものとわかった。朝鮮史を勉強する機会を与えてくれた韓国の読者に感謝したい。朝鮮史を知って驚いた。もし、僕が韓国大統領であったら間違いなく事実を隠し、子供達には教えないだろう。朝鮮史はそのような歴史である。 　日韓基本条約が１９６５年に結ばれたとき、韓国は慰安婦問題について何も語らなかった。なぜ今になってこの問題が出てきたのか？引き金となった本を知ったが、後にこの著者は単なる想像で書いたもの、何の根拠もないことを明かしている。しかし、朝鮮人はこの問題で日本を責め続ける。いったいなぜ？日本には当時から売春婦という概念はあったが、強制的な慰安婦（性の奴隷）という概念はなかったのだ。 　慰安婦という概念は朝鮮文化から来ている。もしあなたが朝鮮人なら自国の歴史や文化を勉強してみることだ。支那や貴国、日本にも多くの文書が残っている。多くの旅行作家の記録もある。あなた方を攻撃するつもりはなく、この問題でこれ以上書くつもりもないが、日本に多くの責任を転嫁するようなことはやめて欲しい。

(KW: 黄　文雄　嫌韓流　혐일류）

Korean Letters 3

Continued from http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/11/korean-letter-1.html

     To my surpirse, all of them are supporting my opinion written in the entry: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/10/korean-textbook.html

     Most e-mails acknowledge that my opinion is correct, but .... they change the topic and accuse Japan of doing various things. Some rebuttals were ridiculous and seemed to be kind of nursery rhymes, however a few criticisms raised some valid points that I couldn't answer promptly.
     Given this situation, I decided to study their history again. I studied world history in my high school days, but it was at the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) that Korea showed up on the stage of  world history. The relationship between Japan and Korea was taught in my Japanese history class, but it was just relations between both countries, not a part of the world and very regional issues. My knowledge about Korean history before the 19th century was very fractional and poor. I didn't know about their way of life. It took about 3 weeks to roughly learn about it and you might imagine how hard it was learning after my daily work. However, never! I didn't feel any pain, even one iota. It's fun to acquire knowledge.
     I replied to all the e-mails in English. I coudn't help writing strong opinions sometimes, but I am happy to exchange opinions with people from other countries. I really realized that mass medias are not always correct and we are easily brainwashed.

(Vocabulary)
nursery rhyme  童謡、わらべ歌
valid  (疑問・議論などが) もっともな, 妥当な
a valid point  もっともな点
given
【接続】 ～と仮定すると、～を考えると、～を前提として、～を所与として、～をかんがみて
【前】 〈文〉～と仮定すると、～を考える［考慮する］と、～を前提として、～を所与として
given this situation  このようなことから
not ~ one iota　少しも～ない、みじんも～ない

韓国からのメール３

ここからの続き　http://ridiculouskcruelc.seesaa.net/article/141154176.html 驚いたことに全てのメールがここで書いた僕の意見を支持してくれています。　http://ridiculouskcruelc.seesaa.net/article/141154189.html多くのメールが僕の意見は正しいと認めた上で、話題を変え、いろいろなことをしたと日本を非難しています。愚かな、寝言のような反論のある中で、すぐには答えられない的を射た批判もありました。このようなことから、朝鮮史を再び勉強してみることにしました。高校時代に世界史の勉強をしましたが、朝鮮が世界史の表舞台に登場するのは１８９５年の下関条約においてでした。日韓関係は高校時代、日本史の授業で教えられ、それは世界史の一部ではなく、限局された一地方の問題でした。僕の１９世紀以前の朝鮮史についての知識は貧弱でした。約３週間をかけてざっと勉強しましたが、何ら苦痛ではなく、知識を得ることは喜びでした。 全てのメールに英語で答え、時々は強い意見を書かざるを得ませんでしたが、外国の人々と意見を交換できるのはとても素晴らしいことです。日本のマスコミが常に正しいとは限らないこと、我々は簡単に洗脳されてしまうと言うことを実感できました。

Korean Letters 2

Continued from http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/11/korean-letters-.html

     I hit upon an intersting idea reading these e-mails. I wonder why they don't want to add comments openly. If they do so, everyone could read their opinions. I found their deep psyche in some e-mails. It looked like they didn't want to agree with me in every situation. Their pride doesn't seem to let them acknowledge Japanese opinions. Pride goes before, and shame follows after.
     However, I admire their attitude in another sense. Their nationalism and patriotism are awesome. Japanese self-appointed liberal intellectuals blame Japan for doing something bad despite not having any secure evidence and many people support them. I can't understand their way of thinking.
     Korean people who express their affinity for Japan tend to be condemned. Such kind of patriotism is not good, but it's also a serious problem that many Japanese don't even have such patriotism.
     Nationalism and patriotism are totally described by one word, "aikokushin," in Japanese. Left wing groups insist that the word "aikokushin" shouldn't be taught to children. They raise their voices that "aikokushin" leads Japan to war.
     I think this is wrong. Actually, "nationalism" might be harmful for most Japanese, but "patriotism" is essential and necessary to all peoples. The Japanese educational system, planned by Douglas McArthur, teaches young people that "aikokushin" is a bad thing. We Japanese are brainwashed here too. (和訳)

(Vocabulary)
deep psyche  深層心理
pride does not let  プライドが許さない
Pride goes before, and shame follows after. プライドが先を行き、恥が後に従う。／虚栄心が強すぎると失敗して恥をかく。
in another sense 別の意味では
awesome  重大な; 息をのむような, 圧倒されるような; (インフォーマル・話) すごくいい, 最高の
an awesome responsibility  重大な責任
self-appointed  独り決めの, 自ら任じた, 自薦の
liberal intellectual  進歩的文化人

韓国からのメール２

(続き) これらのメールを読んで奇妙な事実に気がついた。なぜ彼らはコメントを書かないのだろうと思っていたが、コメントとすると誰もが読むことができる。彼らは深層心理において僕に同意したくないようだ。日本人の意見を認めることは彼らのプライドが許さないようだ。虚栄心が強すぎて恥をかくのだが。しかしながら、別の意味で、彼らの態度を素晴らしいとも思う。彼らの愛国心は素晴らしい。日本の自称進歩的文化人は何の根拠もなく、日本が悪いことをしたと言っては日本を非難する。また多くが彼らを擁護する。彼らの考えが全く理解できない。日本に親しみを感じると表明する韓国人は非難されやすい。そんな愛国心はよくないが、一方でそんな愛国心さえも持たない多くの日本人がいることは、これもまた大きな問題である。"nationalism"と"patriotism"は合わせて愛国心と訳される。左翼は愛国心を子供達に教えるべきではないと説く。愛国心は戦争に繋がると声を上げる。しかし、これは間違っていると思う。実際問題、"nationalism"は多くの日本人にとって良くないかもしれないが、"patriotism"はすべての国民にとって必要不可欠なものである。ダグラス・マッカーサーによって計画された日本の教育システムは日本の子供達に「愛国心」は悪いものと教える。我々日本人はここでも洗脳されているのである。

Today's Night Meal

     I've got a lot of work these days and I have to stay in my hospital tonight. I called in a convenience store on the way to my office this morning and got some night meals. There were a lot of instant foods and I chose some that I've never had.
     The 1st picture shows an instant noodle. The reason why I chose it is that a famous governor and also a former comedian is illustrated on it. He was just a comedian only ten years ago. He seemed to get into Waseda University, one of the two most famous private universities in Japan and learn political science.
     I remember that I was so surprised to hear his first speech when he declared his candidacy in the election for Governor of Miyazaki prefecture. His speech was not that of a comedian. I was foolish enough to have looked down on him because he didn't look clever and committed a crime. However, his first speech was reasonable and understandable. My wife told me that he had learnt politics at Waseda University. I got it. He changed his way of life.
     The 2nd picture shows him with a signboard saying "Welcome to Miyazaki". This was taken by my friend at Miyazaki Airport. He must be a big salesman for Miyazaki Prefecture because most Japanese know him. He is one of the people whom I'd like to talk with.

(Vocabulary)
candidacy  立候補

(KW: 東国原英夫　宮崎県知事　そのまんま東)

Mr. Nagai Came Back To Ehime

     Mr. Kenji Nagai, a Japanese photo journalist who was killed by the crackdown of the Burmese junta returned to Japan dead. I'm sorry I didn't know what he was doing before his death. I guess many Japanese didn't know him.
     After he was shot, his reports and what he was doing for needy kids in Asia, the Mideast and eastern Europe were introduced by various medias. I was really sorry I didn't know him. He was from Imabari city which is located next to my city and I'm proud of being born in the same prefecture.
     I wonder what way of thinking the junta has. Why don't they think of others' sorrow? Burma is one of the pro-Japanese countries. It's time for us Japanese to help them.
     By the way, Japan invaded Southeast Asian countries during World War Two. Nevertheless, many Southeast Asian countries are pro-Japanese and seem to feel a strong affinitiy towards Japan. I'm very happy to hear that. The activities of Mr. Nagai might contribute to their life. On the other hand, how about China? China is behind the Burmese junta, which they call Myanmar.
     I'd like all of you to realize the specific nature of China. This country is getting more and more dangerous, not only to humans but to the planet.

http://www.projectumbrellaburma.com/default.htm

(Vocabulary)
needy  非常に貧しい, 困窮した
needy families   貧困家庭

The Family Tomb in Japan

     I had been working at a local clinic that was founded by the local government for three years until close to 10 years ago. At that time I had a favorite pub near my house and used to drop in there like once a week. I enjoyed local dishes there in every season with my drinking buddies.
     When two years had passed after I left the small village, one of them passed away. A week before his death I met him at the hospital where he was staying. He knew his death was near-at-hand and asked me not to forget him. I promised him that I was sure to visit his grave every year around the anniversary of his death.
     The picture shows his family tomb. I cleaned up around it and put skimmias on his grave.

(Vocabulary)
close to 10 years  １０年近く
boon companion / compotator / drinking buddy / drinking pal   飲み仲間
near-at-hand　すぐ手の届く所にある、手近にある、身近な所にある、間近に迫っている
put flowers on sb's grave　墓に花を供える

Korean Textbook for Japanese People

I wrote about South Korean policy in the following entry:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/12/international-s.html

     This entry was grammatically corrected by a native lady who agreed with my opinion. After I wrote that I had wanted to read the real Korean textbook because I thought it must be due to the education that Korean people had in their student days that they insisted on many things unreasonably. Eventually I found the book in the city library. This Korean textbook of history for junior high school students is translated into Japanese. The pictures show the front cover and some pages in it.
     More than 10 Korean people have often accessed this blog and I wanted to prepare one written in Korean for them, but I couldn't. Whatever, you Japanese would easily understand that it is not the individual Korean but the Korean government that is responsible for the deep division between both countries.
     I focused on 2 points in the textbook. One is about An Jung-geun (安重根 안중근) and the other is about Liancourt Rocks (竹島 다케시마(일본어)  독도  獨島)
     At first take a look at the second picture. You can magnify and read the textbook. What do you think about it? Some people whom we think of as terrorists from any angle are honored as kind of national heros. When such a biased education occurs during the low teens, the students would be brainwashed. I wonder why the Japanese government doesn't accuse them? On the other hand, the Korean government does the same with our textbook. I think they don't have room to criticize us. Japan shouldn't hold back against South Korea. I didn't know, but it looks like there was another terrorist act against an American. (written on the same page.)
     Next, I hope you'll access the following website if you can read Japanese or use the automatic translation system: (Korean people, I think, can easily read it, because Japanese grammar is extremely similar to Korean.
http://www.geocities.jp/tanaka_kunitaka/takeshima/
     The Korean government interprets their own historical documents in a distorted way many times, besides sometimes changing the content of their historical heritage, I mean, they are twisting things around. I'd like to describe only one thing here that I was the most afraid of.
     Take a look at the last picture. That is a page in the textbook. The content is like this: You can see Liancourt Rocks clearly from Ullungdo Island (鬱陵島 울릉도 うつりょうとう) with the naked eye if the weather is fine and that was written in an old document more than 100 years ago. (To tell the truth, these sentences indicate another island of the same name, but the government is twisting that fact.)
     By the way, is it possible? Liancourt Rocks (竹島 독도) is a rock rather than an island as you can see by the pictures of Liancourt Rocks on the above website. Its altitude is only 157 meters. Liancourt Rocks is 92 km away from Ullungdo Island(鬱陵島 울릉도). Can you clearly detect a rock 157 meters high in the ocean from a distance of 92 km with the naked eye. What do the students who live on Ullungdo Island think? They must have known that their government is officially lieing. Korean textbooks for teens acknowledges lying!
     I've found much more interesting things in this textbook, but I don't have enough time to show all of those. Anyway, I can declare with confidence that the Korean government has a serious responsibility about the Korean way of thinking against Japan.

To Korean people !

Please see the same page in the textbook written in Korean. You would understand my opinion. I mean no offense to you. I feel an affinity with you and your country, so I'm learning the Korean language.

(Vocabulary)
hold back 〔事実・本心などを〕隠す［秘密にする・しまっておく］、本当のことを言わない、
take in a distorted way / twist things around　曲解する
no offense  悪気はない

日本語版韓国歴史教科書

韓国の政策について下記の記事でも書いております。http://ridiculouskcruelc.seesaa.net/article/141154384.html　韓国人がここに書いたような非理論的な主張をするのは学生時代に受けた教育によるものに違いないと思ったのでこの記事を書いた後で本物の韓国教科書を読んでみました。たまたま市立図書館で教科書を見つけたのですが、中学生向けの韓国の歴史教科書で日本語に翻訳されています。写真は教科書の表紙と一部のページを示しています。　１０人以上の韓国の方がこのブログにしばしばアクセスされており、彼等のために韓国語でも記事を書きたいと思いましたが、うまく書けませんでした。いずれにせよ、日本と韓国の間の深い溝を作った責任は韓国人個人にあるのではなく、韓国政府にあるのだということがわかると思います。　争点を２つに絞ってみました。ひとつは安重根というテロリストについて、もう一つは竹島についての書き方です。　まず第一に２枚目の写真を見て下さい。拡大すると文字を読むことが出来ます。これをみてどう思われますか？どう見てもテロリストなのに国家的英雄とされています。このようなバイアスの掛かった教育を１０代の前半で受けてしまうと学生は洗脳されてしまうでしょう。これらの事実を非難しない日本政府はいったいどうなっているのでしょう。一方で韓国政府は教科書問題で日本政府を批判します。彼等には我々を批判する資格はないと思いますがどうですか？日本は韓国に対して我慢するべきではないと思います。　次に韓国の方へ、もし日本語が読めるか、自動翻訳システムを使うことが出来るなら次のサイトにアクセスしてみてください。http://www.geocities.jp/tanaka_kunitaka/takeshima/　韓国政府は自分たちの都合の良いように歴史を解釈し、歴史書を改ざん、つまり歪曲しています。僕が今一番心配していることをこれから書きたいと思います。　最後の写真を見てください。教科書の一ページです。内容はこんな感じです：竹島は天気が良ければ鬱陵島から肉眼で見え、このことは１００年以上前に書かれた資料の中にも書かれている。(実を言えば、この文献は同じ名前の別の島を表しているのですが、韓国政府はそれをわかっていて曲解しているのです。）上に紹介したサイトの写真で見る限り、竹島は島と言うよりは岩礁です。高さはたったの１５７メートルです。これが９２キロも離れた鬱陵島から肉眼ではっきりと見えるのでしょうか。双眼鏡でも使えば別ですが。鬱陵島に住む中学生には歴史教科書がウソをついているということがはっきりとわかっているはずです。　この本の中にはまだまだ多くのおかしな点がありますが、全てを紹介するには時間が足りません。とにかく、韓国政府は韓国人の対日感情について重大な責任があると自信を持って断言できます。 韓国の皆さんへ！韓国語版の同じページを読んでみてください。僕の意見を理解して頂けるでしょう。僕はあなた方を攻撃するつもりはありません。むしろ韓国人と韓国に対して親近感を覚えています。だから韓国語も読めるようになりました。

 

 

 

 

 

(KW: 韓国　歴史教科書　反日)

Matsuyama City Library

     I knew about the city library but I've never been there because I didn't expect much from it. In addition, I have to pay a parking fee if I go there by car. In other words, the city library wasn't necessary for me.
     Yesterday, I ran into the following article; http://mochi.blogs.com/happylife/2007/02/the_public_libr.html
     I have a scooter now. This scooter is very convenient to carry things. I dropped in at the city library and was surprised to see their system. To my surprise, you can search books via internet from your house and also can rent them out not only at the central library but any branch which you chose. It's just like the library in Vancouver which is written about in the above blog. I think I will sometimes drop in at the library on the way back home from now on.

(Vocabulary)
the above 《[名]の前でのみ》(書き言葉) 上記の, 前述の
Use the above data to make a graph. 前述のデータを使ってグラフを作成しなさい．

(KW: 松山市立図書館 コミセン)

Korean Cuisine (参鶏湯 삼계탕 Samgetang）

     I have been learning Korean for two years from TV or radio program on the NHK educational channel. I knew many things about the Korean culture on the program and got interested in them. One of them is Korean dishes. I happened to know about a cooking class of Korean dishes the other day and the dish that would be cooked in the class was samgetang. I immediately signed up for the course.
     I was expecting that I could cook samgetang by myself, but I couldn't because it takes more than four hours only to boil it and we didn't have enough time in the class. The instructor prepared the dish previously on our behalf, and we had only to boil it for an hour. I learned how to prepare the food while boiling it. The instructor was an elderly Korean lady who owns two restaurants. She was Korean but was not good at using Korean because she was born and grew up in Japan. However, she looked happy when I told her things about South Korea. Pictures show the boiling pot and served samgetang. It doesn't look so delicious, but the taste was very good. Anyway, I enjoyed not the cooking class but the eating class!
     Many Japanese people got intersted in the Korean culture and watch Korean TV dramas and movies now. Many artists of both countries visit each other. She repeatedly and happily said that she couln't imagine today's boom in Korean culture in Japan when she was a child. She seemed to have been living in Japan trying to avoid Japanese society.
     There's a Korean primary and junior high school near my high school. I used to belong to the soccer club in my high school and I knew the level of Korean soccer was relatively high. I wanted to play a friendly match with them, but I couldn't. I felt a kind of unvisible barrier between us and them. The direct distance between both schools was only 200 meters but there was no exchange of students. I didn't know why that happened in those days. See also here.
     I feel learning languages, including Japanese, makes me open-minded. I don't know when the next class will be held, but I'll try the next dish.

(Vocabulary)
on behalf of sb/on sb's behalf ((米)in behalf of sb/in sb's behalf とも)
＜人＞に代わって, の代理として, を代表して

From Herald Tribune

     I found two articles in the International Herald Tribune this morning. I was deeply disappointed to read one and was buoyed up by the next day's article.
     Pope Benedict held hands with the devil. He confirmed that the bishop, who had been installed as Bishop of Beijing by China's state-controlled Catholic Church, was the official bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. What a terrible pact made between the Vatican and China?
     On the other hand the German Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, invited the Dalai Lama as the nation's guest. In addition she strongly accused Wen Jiabao (温家宝) of a Chinese hacking attack on Germany and the U.S. when she visited China a few months ago. Her attitude is consistent and great and Japanese politicians should model themselves after her.

This is both troubling and sobering news.
I'm totally in favor of her policy.
His visit is embraced favorably by mainstream German media.

(Vocabulary)
buoy up = to make someone feel happier or more confident:
hold hands with the devil (何かをやり遂げるために)悪魔とも手を結ぶ
hacking  ハッカー行為, ハッキング
model yourself after sb(米) ((英)model yourself on sb とも)  ＜人＞を見習う
embrace  （人)を抱き締める　(フォーマル)（考え・意見など）を受け入れる, 採用する
mainstream  主流（派）の, 主要な
sobering  まじめにさせる, 考えさせられる
sober up 酔いが覚める
sober sb ↔ up ＜人＞の酔いを覚ます

My Birthday

     Today is the Autumnal Equinox Day and my birthday. This day is a national holiday in Japan. Some of my friends and my daughters gave me gifts. Besides, this year I got a new scooter. The last year in my 40s has just started.
     Some people say that I always look happy and vigorous. I don't know why, but it might be right. I really think I'm a lucky man to know nice people in my life.

(Vocabulary)
Autumnal Equinox Day   秋分の日

Flight Between Matsuyama and Sapporo

     I read a shocking news item in the newspaper this morning. ANA regular flights between Matsuyama and Sapporo will be discontinued next March. As I wrote in August, my youngest daughter is eager to enter Hokkaido University in Sapporo City and I allowed her to do so. It's because Sapporo is not so far from here by airplane.
     When there's no direct flight, however, I have to change planes at least once in Tokyo or Osaka. I'm afraid It will take 3 more hours to reach Sapporo.

(Vocabulary)
item　事項、項目； （新聞などの）記事

Baekdu Mountain Airport (Changbai Shan Airport 長白山空港)

     A sad story came along. China seems to be building a new airport again at the border of North Korea, near 長白山 (Changbai Shan). The Chinese authorities say that the airport is for sight-seeing and would be connected to Beijing, Tsingtao, Dalian and Changchun at least until next summer. However from any angle the aim of the hasty construction would be for the diversion of the airport to military use in case of military tension. I'm afraid one of the most beautiful places in China could be polluted. 長白山 (Changbai Shan) is called 白頭山 (Paektu-San or Baekdu Mountain) in North Korea. See also here.
     This area has a complex history. There are some important and beautiful Korean remains. China says those monuments are their own, as usual, but they are apparently Korean (Goguryeo 高句麗). Chinese authorities, I think, lie just like exhaling their own breath. Tong Hua City (通化市) is located in this area. I'd like you to know an incident that happened here on Feb. 3rd in 1946. We Japanese have to remember this incident for more than 3000 victims who were killed by the Chinese Communists. (see here in Japanese!)
     Let me explain this incident. The Pacific War is supposed to be over on Aug. 15th in 1945. In fact, unbelievably, all the fights were over by the voice of the Emperor in most battle fields. Japanese soldiers threw their guns away on this day. However it was not the case in Hokkaido and China. I write about the case in China here.
     In China the roundup of Japanese was still happening a half year from the end of the war. Genocide of more than 3000 Japanese was committed in Tong Hua City (通化市) on Feb. 3rd 1946 by Chinese communists. I hope this incident will be in the public eye. Chinese authorities insist that they fought Japan in the Pacific War, but it is not true. It was the Kuomintang Party that fought Japan. Chinese communists were just hiding in the mountain and they started to fight around the end of the war. Besides, it was the Chinese communists that organized massacres against Japanese after the war. Many Japanese who were waiting to go back to Japan were cruelly killed. I want all of you to investigate this incident. Let's have knowledge based on the true evidence.

(Vocabulary)
come along　やって来る、現れる； 〔宿題などが〕進む； 現実になる
My homework is coming along nicely [smoothly]. : 宿題は、はかどっています。
A chance like this doesn't come along too often. : こういうのは、そうそうないチャンスだ。
hasty (行動・判断などが)性急な, 軽率な
diversion　排水路、迂回路； 脇へ反らせること、転換、移転、転用; 気晴らし、娯楽、気分転換; 《軍事》けん制（作戦）、陽動（作戦）; 目的地外着陸
Tom never saw you as anything but a diversion. : トムにとってあなたはただの遊び相手なのよ。
any way you slice it〈米話〉 // from any angle　どう考えても
military tension  軍事的緊張
exhale 発散する、蒸発する、消散する、息を吐く、息を吐き出す; 吐き出す、発散させる
roundup 一斉逮捕［検挙］、手入れ
roundup of vagrants　ホームレス狩り
Kuomintang Party　中国国民党

A House Visit

     I go out for some house visits on Friday every two weeks. The patient that I visited today is an 80 year old gentleman. He is being cared for by his wife. It is not easy to believe this story, but he survived two kinds of serious malignant diseases in his 50s. After that, he has been suffering from rare diseases one after another. His wife says that it must be due to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.
     He was a teenager when the bomb was dropped. Hiroshima is three hours away from our town by ship. He seems to have gone to Hiroshima with his teachers and schoolmates to rescue people the day after the bomb. His role was to recover numerous bodies out of the river and find things to show their ID. If he could find the name of the body, he carried them to some places for the people looking for their relatives, friends and acquaintances. If he couldn't, however, he carried them to the Body Dump Station. The bodies were thrown into the fire. He and his group were working in Hiroshima for a few days. They wanted to work more, but they didn't have enough food to continue their volunteer work.
     People at that time didn't have any knowledge about the radiation. They didn't mind being exposed to residual radiation. Many people got invisibly injured like this. This fact is not widely known to the public.
     Researchers and developers of the atomic bomb seemed to predict that no trees and grasses could grow in Hiroshima for the next 50 years. This prediction was fortunately wrong, but was it necessary to drop such a cruel bomb on Hiroshima? If the U.S.  only wanted to stop the war, they should have dropped the bomb in the Tokyo Bay area. The Japanese authorities, including the Emperor, would directly have seen the mushroom cloud. One more thing, I'd like to ask Mr. Truman the reason why the U.S. chose Hisoshima and Nagasaki as victims of the atomic bomb; a wide city around which they could draw concentric circles in the horizontal area and a city that is closed by mountains on one side and open in the direction of the sea. Both geographic locations must have been attractive for the researchers of radiation.

(Vocabulary)
residual radiation　残留放射線
concentric circle　同心円

Finding Forrester

     I make it a rule to watch one DVD movie a week. It's because I like movies, of course, and I have one more reason. Every DVD movie has subtitles of many languages. I usually watch movies in English with Japanese subtitles. If I come across some good or witty expressions, I watch the same scene again with English subtitles and I always try to memorize the lines as much as possible. I feel delighted to see the same expressions as I learned from books. The words that I found in the lines or in the pictures of movies are always imprinted clearly and surely on my mind. I think that watching movies might be one of the good methods to increase vocabulary. When there are many slang words or words that need background knowledge of American history, show business, current common affairs and a background as an American, it is extremely hard to understand the story. However, even in such a case, I have begun to be able to figure out the rough story.
     "Finding Forrester" is the title of the movie I watched today. At about 1 hour and 9 minutes from the beginning, I found the good thing.
     Most entries of this blog are getting corrected by a native speaker. He always advises me not to use "And", "But" and such conjunctions at the beginning of each sentence. I have wondered why? When I speak Japanese, I often use conjunctions at the beginning of the sentences. I wouldn't have found the answer to his remarks in my grammar book for a long time.
     Sean Connery is starring in this movie and discussing with his student about conjunctions at the beginning of sentences. It was just the answer I wanted to hear. He is acting the role of a famous novelist, the professional writer in the movie. He said that the sentences will give a run-on feeling if you use conjunctions at the beginning of sentences. By the way, why do you think I reacted to this scene? It's because it's the second time I've met this word "run-on". A Korean-American? was using the word "run-on" in the following blog. I'm deeply honored to be written to as above. Anyway, I felt I fully understood the meaning of "run-on" this time.
     When I started to learn English, the purpose of it was only to enter university. In the entrance examinations we were required to translate Japanese sentences into English, but the question was only one or two sentences. You know, we didn't practice writing essays or long stories. I figured out why I didn't mind using conjunctions at the beginning of each sentence. This movie was greatly profitable to me.

One of my favorite lines is:
Sean Connery's line:
Do you know what the absolute best moment is?
It's when you've finished your first draft and you yourself read it.
It's just my feeling at this time.

(Vocabulary)
run-on sentence　カンマ・セミコロン・ハイフンなどを使って複数のセンテンスをつなぎあわせたセンテンス

Welcome Back Party

     I wrote about a female medical student in Romania in another entry.
     She came back to Japan during her summer vacation the other day. Acquaintances of her parents got together and had a welcome back party for her, though her parents were on a business trip to the U.S. and were absent.
     She had just finished her medical practice in a hospital in Bulgaria. I could hear many things about Romania and Bulgaria from her. Almost all of her stories were new to us and enjoyable. The picture shows us together.
     When Ceausescu was alive, Romania seemed to be just like North Korea. However, Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007. Romania, along with Bulgaria, might be the poorest countries in the EU now, but they seem to be developing at a remarkable pace. I wish her success in the EU.