Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Greenland

　　There was no green land on Greenland. This huge island is said to have been named "Greenland" to invite people to settle there. I deeply agreed with this idea as soon as I looked down through the window. Take a look at the following pictures. I'm sure you'll feel as I did. On the other hand, the name of Iceland which I'll pass over soon is for fighting off the newly coming people.
　　Anyway I assumed that there was nothing worthy of gazing at on the ground of Greenland and I didn't look out of the window over Greenland. When the plane was about to go out over the Atlantic Ocean, I looked down and found a few beautiful glaciers. I took some pictures to know their name later, but I couldn't identify their name on the net.
　　After coming back, I visited a few websites concerning the cryogenic science and learned that Greenland along with Antarctica are the principal research objects for scientists. I learned the technical term of "ice sheet". It apparently is distinguished from glaciers.

　デンマーク領グリーンランドに緑の場所は無かった（笑）。人の移住を促すためにこの名が付いたと言うがなるほどである。反対に次に通過するはずのアイスランドは人を寄せ付けないようにするためにアイスという名前が付けられたと聞いた。もうすぐ上空に至る。どんな大地なのか、楽しみ。
　さて、真っ白の大地に見るべきものはないと思い下を見なかった怠慢が残念、ふと下を眺めると巨大な氷河が海に流れ込んでいる雄大な景色が見えた。
　帰国後調べてみるとグリーンランドは南極大陸とともに氷床と氷河の研究のメッカだという。この氷河にも名前が付いていると思うが、よくわからなかった。

(Vocabulary)
ice sheet 氷床
cryogenic 超[極]低温(貯蔵)の.
Cryogenic Research Center 低温科学研究センター

Second Meal

　　The second meal was served. I'd already changed the time of my watch to that of the U.K. at take-off, but I didn't know whether this was lunch or supper.
Anyway, I had to continue to fly at least eight hours more and ordered another kind of red wine. My choice was boiled chicken in chili sauce and my wife chose Udon noodles as shown in the following pictures. I tasted the Udon. Its taste was tailored for the western style.
　　My seat was an economy seat and cramped, but the flight was smooth and comfortable. I was going to the U.K. traveling more than halfway round the earth.

　二食目が配られた。これはランチなのか夕食なのか、良くわからない。時計は出発時にイギリス夏時間に設定しているが。家内は焼きうどん、僕はチキンのチリソース煮をチョイス。まだ８時間は乗っていないといけない。違った種類の赤ワインをオーダー。ちなみにうどんは西洋風。これはこれでおいしかった。
　エコノミーシートは狭いが、ほとんど揺れない快適なフライト。地球を一気に半周以上回ってイギリスに向かっている。

Yukon Territories, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

　　My plane flew over the northern part of Canada transversely from the Pacific side to the Atlantic ocean. I'm not so familiar with the geography of these areas. I only knew the name of Whitehorse and Yellowknife as tourist destinations wanting to view the aurora. In addition to those, I knew about Resolute in Nunavut where the Japanese adventurer Uemura Naomi got trained how to drive a dogsled. Relying on the location map, I looked for the village, but in vain. It might be because Resolute was too tiny of a village to be identified from an altitude of 36000 feet or my window was on the right side of the plane. The location of Resolute is shown in the 9th picture below. Take a look at the last picture. My plane went out over Baffin Bay and finished the crossing of Canada.

　飛行機はカナダ北部を太平洋側から大西洋側へ横断。この辺りの地理には余り詳しくない。ホワイトホース、イエローナイフを知っている程度。そしてイヌイットの地区ではレゾルートresolute という町くらい。偉大な日本人探検家が犬ぞり訓練をした場所だから。
　ルートマップでみると、レゾルートの上空を飛んだはずなのだが左側の窓からなら眺められたかもしれないけれど、僕の右側からは無理だった。9枚目の写真にレゾルートの場所が書かれている。10枚目で飛行機はバフィン湾Baffin Bayへ抜け、カナダ横断完了。グリーンランドへ向かう。

(Vocabulary)
dogsled 犬ぞり

Anchorage

　　The sea of clouds rolled below and I wasn't able to view the ground, but the screen in front of me showed that my plane was reaching Alaska in a few minutes. I'd pass over Anchorage soon. The flight between Europe and Japan was formerly this route and Anchorage was an important stopping point and passengers took a rest and the plane was refueled here. I've not been to Europe in this time, but I've heard so. The development of aircraft seems to make it possible to fly directly between Japan and Europe. The function of Anchorage as a connecting point disappears. The name of Anchorage might be from "anchor" of ships, such an idea suddenly came up.
　　This flight took 14 hours with two sets of pilots - two captains and two co-pilots - were on board accordingly. I felt that the airline ticket was considerably expensive when I bought it, but I took it in order to know this flight route.
　　I suddenly remembered a famous Japanese adventurer of Uemura Naomi, who was lost sight of in 1984 on Mt. Mckinley(Mt. Denali). I searched outside of the window for the mountain, but in vain due to the thick sea of clouds. And another thing I remembered was the movie "Into The Wild", in which a wealthy young man threw all his money away and made his way into the wilderness of Alaska with insufficient equipment. There's no way that he could survive. Why did he attempt such a reckless endeavor?

　眼下は雲海で、地上の様子は見えないが、飛行機はアラスカにさしかかっている。もうすぐアンカレッジ上空だ。かつて冷戦時代はロシア上空を避けるためにヨーロッパと日本を繋ぐ路線は全てこのルートを使用し、アンカレッジで燃料の補給をしていた。その時代にヨーロッパへ行ったことが無いが、そう聞いている。今は、飛行機の発達により一気にヨーロッパまで飛べるようである。中継地としてのアンカレッジは消滅している。
　そういえば、この飛行機には機長と副操縦士が二人ずつ乗務しているとのこと。１４時間も連続勤務はきついだろうからなあ。
　このルートを通るのなら、是非マッキンレー山（デナリ山）を見たい。日本の偉大な探検家を奪った悪魔の山。そう思ってずっと外を眺めていたが、雲に遮られてしまった。もう一つ思い出したのが映画「Into The Wild」 こんな過酷な環境の中へ不十分な装備で入っていくのは自殺以外の何ものでも無い。若者はどんな気持ちでこの厳しい環境の中に分け入ったのだろうか？

(Vocabulary)
The sea of clouds rolled....
be in order
1 〈書類などが〉 合法である, 有効である
Is your passport in order? あなたのパスポートは有効ですか．
2(フォーマル) 〈言動などが〉 ふさわしい, 適切である
lose sight of 〈人･物〉を見失う;〈人〉の消息がわからなくなる
attempt, endeavor





(July 12th) 

Flight Route

　　Having a meal, looking down through the window, I was surprised. Under my eyes, there was a vast expanse of ocean. The sea of Japan couldn't be that wide. We should have flown over the southern part of the Korean Peninsula averting the threat of North Korea. I made sure where I was on the backseat screen and found that I was flying over the Pacific Ocean. The plane was headed to the east. I knew the route should be diverted avoiding the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and I assumed that the plane would have passed over or around India. I recalled a Malaysian aircraft which had been shot down flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014. I understood this eastbound route would be the most secure way to avoid Russia and Ukraine.
　　Soon after, I hit upon a good idea. I decided to take snapshots of the screen which told the location. I've never flown east of Canada and wanted to record the route and the pictures of the ground for later consideration. I didn't know much about the northern part of Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. As for Greenland, I didn't even know its capital city. As for cities of Iceland, I only knew Reykjavik because it's the city in which a historic talk between the U.S. and USSR took place. It is said to have been the commencement of the end of the Cold War. Some journalists from Japan reported its possibilities as a tourism country at that time. Several hot spas in the land literally called "ice"land....Fantastic! People in Iceland apparently started the Spirit Boat Procession just like those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6th and 9th every year since the talk. I'm eager to visit the country just on these days some day.
　　If the plane had flown a little south, I would have been able to see the sweet scenery of Canadian mountains. I tried to change the configuration of the location map on the screen, but I couldn't find anything about British Columbia in Canada on the map. Vancouver was far away from my location at that time.

　食事をしながら下を見て驚いた。北を避けて韓国上空にさしかかっているはずが、大海原だったから。日本海がこれほど広いはずがない。前席のシートの後ろに付いているディスプレイで位置を確認すると飛行機は東へ向かっていた。ロシアとウクライナの戦争地域を避けて飛ぶとは聞いていたが、インド辺りを飛ぶのだと思っていたので東へ向かっていることを知って驚き、かつ安心した。２０１４年にマレーシア航空機が撃墜されたことを思い出した。
　位置を確認したと同時にルートを記録しておこうと考えた。カナダより東を飛んだことがなく、北部カナダ、グリーンランド、アイスランド上空を飛ぶはずだ。これらの地域をほとんど知らない。グリーンランドはその首都も知らない。アイスランドはレイキャビクだけは覚えている。東西冷戦を終わらせるレーガンとゴルバチョフの歴史的な会談が行われた場所。余り知られていないが、長崎、広島のような灯籠流しがそれぞれの原爆投下の日、８月６日と９日に行われている。知っているのはこれくらい。
　もう少し南を飛んでくれたら懐かしいウィスラーの山々を眺めることができたかもしれないのが少し残念だが、遠回りは出来ないから仕方ない。ルートマップの設定を変えながらBC州の方角を眺めて見たがバンクーバー辺りは遠すぎて見えない。

British Airways

　　My wife and I started an overseas trip after an interval of three years. I chose British Airways this time for the first time. There was no specific reason for the choice, but I just wanted to pay respect to the U.K.
　　One of the amusements during the flight was every meal. After taking-off, we were served drinks and I asked for a red wine, which will be shown below. We toasted to have fun staying in the U.K. For the meal I asked for chicken.

Travel Guidebook

　　The last visit was with my second daughter just after my youngest daughter had started living in Oxford. I was anxious about her; What place did she live in? or Could she get along well?
　　I hardly had the background knowledge of Oxford, London, and the U.K. at that time. I had just thumbed through a few travel guidebooks during the outward flight. My youngest daughter who had just started her life in Oxford didn't have any room in her heart to welcome us or guide us around the city. There was no building named Oxford University and I noticed a few dozen colleges in the city. Because of that reason, I just visited some tourist spots in Oxford on the last visit.
　　While I had been seeking a useful guidebook for understanding the history of Oxford City and the education system of Oxford University, an ad in the newspaper caught my eye. The ad said that the memoir about life in the U.K. written by the present Ten-noh would be republished with a new book design 30 years after the original publication. Promptly I uttered "That's it!" and I ordered it from Amazon. I read the memoir repeatedly taking notes, writing in the margin what came up in my mind, and attaching postits. Lastly I compiled my destination list. The memoir was one of good reference materials, though the contents were basically of nearly 40 years ago.

(Vocabulary)
preliminary [background] knowledge 予備知識
outward flight 行きのフライト
because of that reason そのようなわけで
memoir [C](フォーマル) 思い出の記, 追想録 [＋memoir about]
publication [U] 出版, 刊行

Second Visit to Oxford

　　I decided to visit Oxford City in the U.K. for the first time in 5 years to attend the Degree Day Ceremony of my daughter. She finished her postgraduate course last year and works as a physician in the U.K., but the ceremony was postponed until the end of the pandemic.
　　Last time I had difficulties listening to the English of local people. I wonder how it would be this time. I didn't utilize the public transportation so much. I didn't know about the oyster card. To tell the truth, I didn't know how to get on the vehicles. However, my daughter advised me and my wife about the public transportation and the oyster card this time. We'll fly into Haneda (Tokyo) International Airport by the last flight tonight.

 

Yashima Hill

　　Utilizing the opportunity of my business trip, I dropped in at the medieval battle field of Yashima Hill. A famous battle between the then most powerful political powers and a war genius took place there in the 12th century.
　　My late father took me there in my childhood. He was a primary school teacher and told me about the old battle. I remember that I wasn't able to fully understand his words at that time, but I remember that I had felt that numerous people had lived before my time and I had realized the stream of time. Now I'm interested in history. Small talk from people around me might exercise influence on my character.
　　Few families had their own car in those days in Japan and we climbed up the hill by the cable car, but the cable car was abandoned a few decades ago due to the decrease of passengers. Family cars became common in Japan. I visited the abandoned cable car station. The cable car was there as is. I got the sense that my father and I were there with happy faces. Time goes by securely.

Bando POW Camp Ruins

　　The Bando POW Camp Ruins isn't so far from my hometown, but I've never been there. I dropped in at the ruins on the way home from my business trip. The about 1000 of POWs who were accommodated in this camp were German who had been captured in the battle in Qing dynasty in China during World War I. The camp was run from April in 1917 to March in 1920.
　　What images do you have for the PWO camp? I read several experience documents written by Japanese people who had been confined into POW camps after the Great Eastern Asian War. I often wanted to avert my eyes from their description, but the Bando POW Camp was utterly different.
　　The POWs fought Japan on the behalf of Germany, not from their personal hostility against Japan. The authorities felt sorry for the POWs and allowed them to spend leisurely and free hours without any labor. Some of the POWs started to bake bread for their fellow POWs who wanted to eat German fresh bread. Some played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for fellow POWs and Japanese camp officers. This fact made the site the birthplace of the Ninth Symphony in Japan. They were allowed to go in for sporting and artistic activities. At present, a nearby museum with regard to the camp collects a steady stream of visitors. I've visited the museum before, but dropped in at the real ruin for the first time. Climbing up the backside hill, I found two monuments along the path, honoring German who passed away during detention. I felt sorry and paid a short silence. One of the monuments was built by the German Government.
　　I had been reading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Emil Frankl (Holocaust survivor, Austrian psychiatrist) by chance. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. The book intends to answer the question "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" It's not easy to express my opinion precisely in English, but anyway, we've had enough of war.

(Vocabulary)
Bando POW Camp 坂東俘虜収容所
Man's Search for Meaning（邦訳：夜と霧）

The Awa Earth Pillars

　　The Awa Earth Pillars, which is called one of the three biggest scenic beauties the world over "by the local people". The other two scenic beauties are apparently the Earth pyramids of South Tyrol and the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park. Is the story of the three biggest scenic beauties true? I've long been skeptical about this story. I visited the Awa Earth Pillars for the first time and I was disappointed at the scene. Actually there was a strange terrain, but in my opinion, it can't be paralleled to the other two spots. I favorably understand the locals' passion for the Pillars, but this description isn't acceptable for me.

(Vocabulary)
scenic beauty 奇勝、名勝
bizarre 奇妙な, とっぴな
hoodoo
((米))縁起の悪い人［もの］，疫病神；不運の連続
((米西部))《地学》（浸食作用による奇形の）岩柱
((米))＝voodoo 《宗教》ブードゥー教（◇西インド諸島や米国南部の黒人に信仰されている多神教）
[動]他…を不運にする；魅惑する
skeptical 疑い深い, 懐疑的な

A Business Trip

　　To be charged with an easy task in a tiny island, I'm here in a small shabby unassuming hotel along the coast. Through the window I can see the island which I'll visit tomorrow morning. A ferry will take me to the island in only 6 minutes. The following picture shows the scene which I'm viewing. You might take this channel as a river, but actually this is the genuine sea which even connects to the U.S.A. There are so many islands in the Seto Inland Sea and those islands became hot spots for scenic photo opportunities. If I have some free time tomorrow, I'm thinking of wandering around my workplace.

Tomonoura, An Historic District

　　Japan seems to have been held as an industrialized country, and this speculation isn't wrong, but what do you make of the following pictures? These pictures were shot in a small fishery port, which is 2 hours' drive away from my house. This district is rich in historical heritage. The arrangement is like a few hundred years ago, and lots of houses can't be accessed by car.
　　This district, which is located in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea, was a shelter port for lots of trading ships in the pre-modern era which didn't have engines and relied on winds for their moving power. When the wind wasn't ideal, those ships stayed in this district until a favorable change of the wind.

Due to its local property, visits of several celebrities including people from other countries are documented. I roved around the area with my electricity-assisted bicycle, viewing the same scene which our predecessors must have seen.

(Vocabulary)
heritage Uncountable

Renovation Under Way

　　At first, take a look at the following pictures. I wondered how to describe this condition. What happened was, renovation workers covered a part of the exterior to avoid damage from their painting work. I looked up in the Japanese-English dictionary a suitable word to depict this covering work, and found "cure". As a model sentence, "cure concrete" was raised, but I doubted that "cure" didn't match in my case.
　　A Japanese word of "youjou" has two meanings; preserving concrete until it gets enough rigidity and protecting the area around the working space from damage. How about in English? Does "cure" have both meanings?
　　Anyway, my house seems to be choked. The circulation of air was stopped and my wife complained that her cooking was limited not to discharge smoke.

(Vocabulary)
discharge [他] 〈気体・液体など〉 を排出する, 放出する
discharge sth into/in sth ＜…＞を＜…＞に排出する
Raw sewage was discharged into the ocean. 下水は未処理のまま，海に放出されていた．

Kan-onji City

　　I made a business trip to Kan-onji City. The city's appeal points are Kan-onji Temple, which gave its name to the city, and the historic sand sculpture whose motif is a coin used 400 years ago. Kan-onji Temple is listed as one of the temples of the "Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage" and has a long history. The sand sculpture has been restored every year since its birth to now. It is said to have been made in 1633 as a token of gratitude to the lord of the district from commoners.
　　I roamed around the city with my electricity-assisted bicycle without any positive purpose and I was able to visit wherever I wanted. I woke up to the fact that I stood in front of a monument for the departed devoted to Japan through the past wars. I paid a short silence for them. The present peaceful Japan stands on their shoulders, of which I am strongly convinced. I hope from the bottom of my heart that all the wars on the globe will disappear.

FYI:
https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/09/ishite-ji-temple.html

Germany Day

　　Uchiko Town and Rothenburg in Germany have struck a sister city treaty for about 10 years. A variety of events concerning Germany take place in this town every year, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic has prevented them from planning those events for three years. After the pandemic, a German Fiesta took place today and I joined the event.
　　People from abroad centering on the German got joined and showed their traditional things to the public. The musical band performed several music of Germany and the EU, and I spent a very relaxing holiday. The kinds of German dishes and beers were the only downside of the event.
　　In my home town of Matsuyama City, the October Fest has taken place every year in recent years. I wonder if it would be held this autumn. I wish that society would return to its original situation as quickly as possible.

Short Drive

　　I'm purchasing camping gear bit by bit nowadays and I dropped in at a camping site to see how it was. The site was equipped with a communal outdoor kitchen and lavatory, but the scenery was terrible. The camping ground was surrounded by low bushes. I didn't like it. I continue to look for my best place to camp from now on.
　　On the way back, I came across a considerably old sake brewery which was full of atmosphere. I chatted with the owner for a short time. The sake brewing seemed to have been suspended due to the pandemic. People were strictly regulated not to get together for parties or events. The sales of the products of the brewery declined, but he kept lots of stocks of old sake in its storehouse and showed them to me. One of them was sitting there for 39 years. Even the owner didn't know its taste. I bought it from curiosity. What taste does it have? What's the best occasion to taste it?

(Vocabulary)
sake brewery 造り酒屋

A Tree House

　　A strange construction, which comes into sight on the way of the house visit, has been on my mind for a long time. It is located at a place which is hard to approach by car and I went to see it by my bicycle. It was a tree house which was reinforced with steel and looked nice. Anyone might be able to get in, but I didn't get permission and I observed it from outside. I wondered who built it and what vistas would be seen through the trees. I'd like to identify the owner and visit the house.

(Vocabulary)
reinforce 〈建造物・衣類など〉を補強する

Renovation of My House

　　20 years have passed since my house was built. Nothing serious has happened with regard to its fundamental structure after its completion, but my wife and I decided to renovate it to endure a longer time as my daughter and her husband told me that they'd like to live in it in the future. The renovation came with 30 years' guarantee against harsh conditions like typhoons, earthquakes, extraordinary hotness and coldness, and so on though we will need to take precautions against termites every 10 years.
　　And one thing that I have to say, I got a loan that would afflict me for the next 10 years. It seems that I can't stop working for the time being.

(Vocabulary)
termite シロアリ
for the time being 当分の間

Wine Party

　　My friends got together at my house. After the wine tasting, we had a blast. We exchanged personal updates with each other. One of us will turn 60 soon. The age of 60 is considered as a milepost of life in Japan. We toasted for his birthday two weeks in advance.