Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Japan Defeated Vietnam in Soccer Asian Games 2007

     I admire the Vietnamese attitude in the stadium. Vietnam is one of the southeast asian countries. I hope that peoples of specific asian countiries (China and both Korea) emulate Vietnamese behavior.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/12/international-s.html

(Vocabulary)
emulate　まねる、模倣してしのごうとする、見習う
Some Europeans hope to emulate the American motto. アメリカのモットーを見習おうというヨーロッパ人もいる。
I wish I could emulate you. 私もあなたのようだったらいいのにな。◆【用法】相手の能力などに憧れて。

A Photo Collection

     I went to Kumakogen town that lies next to the south of Matsuyama city. "Kogen" of Kumakogen means highlands. Kumakogen is higher in altitude than Matsuyama city. The one-hour drive to Kumakogen was comfortable and the greens around me were shining with dew from the rain just after the passing of the typhoon.
     My climbing buddy is holding a photo exhibition here this month. He has been taking pictures of mountains in Japan for more than 20 years and released his first photo collection a couple of years ago. I'll show you his first photo album here. We and other guests were enjoying chatting about climbing and skiing over a cup of coffee. It was very relaxing. I hope that he will be popular in Japan.

(KW: Mr. Hiromi Hatta Photographer 八田博美　山岳写真家　写真展　松山市　八田さん)

Rodeoboy2

     I got an exercise machine, rodeoboy2 that you can see in the photo. As I wrote before, I'm on the border of the metabolic syndrome. I decided to exercise with it. It doesn't make noise, so I can use it while watching a TV.
     Japanese electronics giant, Panasonic, manufactures the similar machine, joba, which means "riding a horse" in Japanese. It costs more than 1000 dollars. To tell the truth, I'd like to use it because joba has various moving patterns and has reliable evidence that it can reduce the weight. On the other hand, the price of rodeoboy2 is 200 dollars. Though the rodeoboy2 has no research data, the movement of it is similar to joba, so I bought it.
     Some of my friends are waiting for my report. If it turned to be effective, they are supposed to buy it.

The Japan Rally Championship

     I left home at about 1 o'clock and headed for the skiing place where the Japan Rally Championship was held early Saturday morning. I attended the meeting as an official.
     When I reached the designated meeting place at 3 o'clock, I found my role on the staff members' list.
     To tell the truth, I wanted to watch rally vehicles moving at full speed at a viewing point set in the forest, but I was asked to stay at the starting point of the special stage in case an accident occurred. As a result, no accident that needed medical care occurred. I came to enjoy basking in the woods.
     As I expected, the Japan Rally Championship was more pomp-filled than local competitions. The cars were awfully fast. They must be expensive. There were many service trucks at the service point. Those trucks seemed to be like a factory.
     I posted some pictures in the album shown in the left column. Have a look at them.

(Vocabulary)
bask　日光浴する
bask in something　 ＜日ざしなど＞を浴びる
pomp-filled　華やかさに満ちた

 

Seven Years (2)

     I decided to throw my old skis away. I bought them 7 years ago. I didn't ski with them for these two seasons. I bought the latest model of skis after a lot of hesitation last year. I went skiing with them to Whistler last year. They were a little short and it was easy to turn. I felt comfortable on them on the Whistler ski trails.
     The old skis that are shown in the picture did the round trips over the Pacific Ocean two times with me. While I share many good memories with those skis, the length of those skis are 185cm, which is a little long and hard for me to handle now. I took the picture of them the night before the trash truck came to collect them. Thanks a lot!

Whistler Magazine

     I couldn't leave for Whistler this season. My friends have gone there today. I sent e-mails to them; "Have nice snow and happy days in Whistler!". Some of them replied to me from Narita International Airport. Though I couldn't see their faces, it seemed like I saw their joyful faces in their e-mails.
     I just enjoy looking at photos in the magazine this year. You can see the Whistler Magazine in the picture.

 

Gym

     My old friend, who lives in Aomori prefecture, sent me an e-mail. I wrote some entries about him in this blog last summer. http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/japan-self-defe.html He showed me some pictures of him wearing outfit for the cold weather and climbing up the snowy mountain with his skis. Moreover, he advised me to access a website that was created by his friends. http://wearehakkouda.fc2web.com/index1.htm I saw some movies on that website. They were really enjoying the snow on Hakkoda Mountain. I couldn't stand still.
However, I don't think that I have as much physical strength as I used to in my younger days. I made up my mind to start going to the gym.

International Sensibility of South Korean Government

     China, along with North and South Korea have spent much time in recent years distancing themselves from Japan.  They view their anti-Japanese policies as a national virtue and this sentiment is encouraged in the heart of young people.  South Korea, in particular, has some egregious examples of treating Japan and its citizens poorly.

 

     On a banner that was brandished by Korea at the last soccer Asian Games, the face of "An Jung-geun 安重根" was boldly displayed. According to Japanese history, An Jung-geun is the terrorist who assassinated Mr. Hirobumi Ito, who had been elected Japanese Prime minister four times. An Jung-geun was arrested by Russian police and was turned over to the police of Japan. Then he was on trial for the assassination and was hanged. He is clearly a terrorist in Japan, but in South Korea he is honored as a hero. How can there be such varying opinions? This man was not a soldier. He murdered a citizen, not a military figure. He did this deed while in casual dress, not in a military uniform, and it was during peace time, not wartime. Is his conduct heroic? The Russian police arrested An Jung-geun; obviously the police thought of him as a terrorist at that time. Not only was he not a hero, he killed a man that was actually supportive of South Korea. Mr Hirobumi Ito was against the annexation of Korea and yet, An Jung-geun murdered him. He was not a brilliant man, but the South Korean Government honors him and constructed a memorial hall for him.

 

     There is a small rock reef called Liancourt Rocks （竹島、독도）in the Japan Sea. Both the Japanese and the South Korean Government claim sovereignty over these rocks. The South Korean Government runs a sensational campaign about this sovereignty across the country and occupies these rocks by force. On the other hand, the Japanese Government has been peacefully proposing that this issue should be filed in the International Court of Justice since Sep. 25 1954. However the South Korean government has avoided or evaded the court battle all the way and continues to occupy the rocks. Seoul always says, "We are confident about our historical data". If this is really so, they should put this issue to trial.

 

     A Korean fishing boat was caught by the Japanese Coast Guard in the Japanese exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The boat was stopped on May 31, 2005 because it intruded into Japanese territorial waters and the occupants were illegally fishing. When two maritime safety officials boarded the fishing boat, the crews of the fishing boat captured and abducted them. The fishing boat broke away into international waters, where the South Korean Coast Guard was waiting for them. After a 48-hour standoff and diplomatic negotiations, the Japanese Government avoided a military confrontation and obtained the release of the 2 abducted Japanese officials. The action by Korea was clearly an unacceptable violation of international law by the South Korean Government. Moreover, the South Korean Government added insult to injury by giving honorable recognition to the South Korean Coast Guard for the rescue of this fishing boat. (Chosun [Korean] Daily News, June 3, 2005).

 

     Yes, Japan is being demonized by the South Korean Government. After this incident, in the high-level conference between both Coast Guards in December of 2005, Korea requested that they'd like to have compulsory investigative authority on the fishing boats that intruded in Japanese territories. Such a suggestion is unbelievable. Japan, of course, rejected their request. Is there on earth any country that gives up its investigative rights on criminal acts that are done at home?

 

     We have to understand that South Korea is not a law-governed country. South Korea isn't one of the developed countries from any angle. What do you think about my opinion? (和訳)

(Vocabulary)
distance sb from sb  ＜人＞を＜人＞から遠ざける, 疎遠にする
view ~ as a national virtue ～を国是とする
sentiment  （ある事柄に対する）意見　感情
egregious  〈失敗・問題などが〉 はなはだしい, 目に余る
treat each other poorly  互いに嫌なことをする
brandish  〈武器など〉 を振り回す
boldly  大胆に, 堂々と  (色・形などが) 目立って, はっきりと
turn over ~ to  ～を…に引き渡す［引き継いでもらう］
figure   要人, 名士
annexation  (領土などの) 併合
military confrontation  軍事衝突、軍事的対立
add insult to injury  追い打ちをかける　さらにひどいことをする
make honorable recognition of  ～を表彰する
demonize  …を悪者扱いする
law-governed country  法治国家

 

韓国政府の国際感覚

(Corrected by Maria)

　南北朝鮮、シナはこの数年間、日本と距離を置いてきた。反日を国是とし、反日感情は若者の中で鼓舞されてきた。特に韓国は日本と日本人に対して目に余る行動をしている。 　この前のサッカーアジアカップで韓国が掲げていた横断幕には「安重根」の顔がプリントされていた。日本の教科書では伊藤博文を暗殺したテロリストと紹介されている人物である。安重根はロシア警察によって逮捕され、日本側に引き渡された。その後裁判にかけられ死刑となった。日本の考えでは明らかにテロリストであるが、韓国では英雄と考えられている。 　どうしてこれほどの評価の違いが出るのであろうか。この男は兵士ではない。そして彼が殺害したのは兵士ではなく一民間人である。兵士の格好ではなく、平服での行為である。まして戦時でもない。ロシア警察が彼を逮捕したことは、明らかに当時テロリストと考えられていたことを示している。英雄などではないだけでなく、韓国併合は間違っていると主張していた伊藤を殺害したのである。まぬけな男である。しかし、なんと韓国政府は彼を讃えて記念館まで作っている。 　アメリカ建国の父ワシントンは宗主国のイギリスにとっては憎い存在だろう。見方によって評価が変わることがあるのは当たり前であるが、安重根の例は全く事情が違う。 　日本海に竹島と呼ばれる小さな岩礁がある。日韓両国が主権を主張している。韓国は国内で大々的なキャンペーンを行い、武力でこれを占拠している。一方、日本政府はこれを平和的に解決すべく国際司法裁判所への提訴を１９５４年から提案しているが、韓国政府は法廷闘争を拒否し不法占拠を続けている。歴史的文献に自信があると言っているが、それなら法廷でどうどうと発言して欲しいものだ。 　一隻の韓国漁船が海上保安庁によって日本の排他的経済水域で捕らえられた。２００５年５月３１日、日本領海に侵入し不法操業を行っていたため停止を命じられたのである。海上保安官二人が漁船に乗り込んだところ、漁船員は彼らを拉致し国際水域へ逃れた。そしてそこには韓国の沿岸警備隊が待ち受けていたのである。４８時間のにらみ合いとなり、平行して事態打開のための外交交渉が行われ、軍事衝突を避けるため、また拉致された海上保安官二人を救出するため、日本側が譲歩した。韓国のこの行為は明らかに国際法違反であり、決して認められるものではない。韓国政府はさらに追い打ちをかけるように、この沿岸警備隊を表彰しているのである。(朝鮮日報２００５年６月３日） 　日本は韓国政府により悪者扱いされているのである。この事件の後、２００５年１２月の両国の沿岸警備の高官による会議上、韓国は日本に侵入した漁船員を自国で調べさせて欲しいと提案している。信じられない要求である。いったいどこの国が自国で起きた犯罪の捜査権を放棄するのだろうか？ 　韓国は発展途上で、幼稚な国と言えるだろう。しかし、残念なことにそれでも隣国である。どのようなつきあいをすればよいのか。



Ski Schedule

     Today I took a short trip to Okayama City to see my ski friends. It was about 3 hours' drive by way of the Seto Oohashi Bridge over the Seto Inland Sea. At this meeting the schedule of our next ski trip to Whistler was decided to be from March 16th to 24th. We usually get discount air tickets 2 months before the tour, but this March is unpredictable.
     My eldest daughter might be in Seoul as an exchange student. My second daughter might go to university. My youngest daughter is going to visit Australia on a school trip in mid-March. Their school things are a drain on my wallet. This coming March would be an expensive time.
     Though all my family would like to enjoy skiing in Whistler in Canada, my wife is a college teacher and would not be allowed to stay away from her college at the time of graduation and the preparation for welcoming new students. As for me, I might have to use my paid leave to help my daughters.
     It seems that Whistler has the biggest snowfall this year since 1995. My friends egg me on to go skiing! What should I do?
     The photo shows the Seto Oohashi Bridge. This bridge links Honshu with Shikoku island. The location is 34 deg 23'19.71" N  133 deg 49'5.97" E.  If you have Google Earth in your computer, look at this place.

(Vocabulary)
egg sb on  ＜人＞にけしかける, をそそのかす

Hakkoda Mountains

     I ascended halfway up the mountain by the Hakkoda Ropeway. I show pictures of Mts. Hakkoda taken from the mountainside. As you can see, Mts. Hakkoda have gentle slopes, no rocks, no spires. The summits are like upside down bowls. I can't believe this was the scene of the most disastrous alpine accident. My friend (see the following URL) living in Mutsu city enjoys ski mountaineering here. I'd like to get together with him, but too far from my hometown. I'm very sorry. http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/japan-self-defe.html

(Vocabulary)
spire  尖塔

(KW: 八甲田山 ロープウェイ)

Monument of Death March

     Mount Hakkoda is featured with its gentle slope, but is also famous as the place where the worst accident in Japanese Army history occurred. Military leaders of the Japanese Army planned a training exercise against Russia troops during the Meiji Era, about 100 years ago. The plan was to go over the mountain pass at midwinter. Mount Hakkoda is famous for its abundant snow in winter. Over 90% of the soldiers missed the right route and died from the cold. The picture below shows the monument for them. After this alpine accident, the Japanese Army started the ski training under the instruction of the Norway Army. The roots of skiing in Japan comes from this.

(KW: 八甲田山 死の行進 冬山 遭難 雪中行軍)

Baseball Championship

     A perfectly ordinary day started this morning again. I am sitting and standing by in the consulting room. It's just the beginning of seeing patients. A short time later I noticed something different from usual about the atmosphere in the OPD.
     Yes, there are so few people in the waiting area. If it's always like this, my hospital will go bankrupt. A while later, one of the staff members found the reason why.
     There's a ballgame of high school students. Today's game is the semi-final of the championship in Ehime Prefecture. The winner of this championship will go to the national tournament as a representative of 60 high schools in Ehime. The National High School Baseball Championship is held at Koshien Stadium and most high school baseball players dream of appearing at Koshien.
     This championship evokes a summery image. Lots of people get crazy and feel themselves purified by watching the refreshing sight of fairplay.

(Vocabulary)
evoke　〔感情・記憶などを〕呼び起こす、喚起する、想起［連想］させる
summery  夏向きの　夏らしい
refreshing sight　爽やかな光景

To Korean Readers

한글  문자를  표시하기  위해서,  무엇인가  특별한  소프트가  필요하다고  생각했지만,   윈도우즈에  표준으로  부속되어  있었어요.
----------------------------------------
자기소개를  써봐요.
저는  KUMO(닉네임) 라고  합니다.  일본  사람  입니다.
에히메현  마쓰야마시에  살고  있습니다.  직업은  외과의  입니다.  위나 대장 간장 등을 수술 합니다.  가족이  다섯명  입니다.  딸이  세명  있습니다.  각각  대학생  고교생  중학생  입니다.  장녀는  동경의  대학에  다니고  있어서,  지금은  네명이  살고  있습니다.

저의  취미는  많이  있습니다.  먼저  등산  입니다.  삼십년전  부터  산에  오르고  있습니다.  최고도달고도 는 3954 미터 입니다.  산에서  먹는  식사  와  마시는  술은  맛있습니다.  산의  친구둘은  최고  입니다.  언젠가  히말라야에  오르는  것이  저의  꿈  입니다.  꿈은  클수록  좋거든요.

다음은  바이크  입니다.  대학생  시절에  운전면허를  따서,  계속  타고  있습니다.  결혼  하고나서  부터는  삼년에  한번정도  바이크로  여행하고  있습니다.

금년  여름은  아오모리현,  이년후에는  한국를  오토바이로　달립닐게요.

그리고  스키도  합니다.  삼월에는  카나다로  스키를  갔어요.  스키도  학생시절에  시작했어요.   그러니까  이제　20년  이상에  됩니다.

잘  부탁  합니다.

Boxing

     I attended the high school student annual boxing competition as a doctor. As you know, the specific power granted to the doctor is that he can stop the match. If I find anything bad in the boxer's body, I have the authority to stop the competition. In some situations this decision affects the future of the boxer.
     I had to stop the contest today. A boxer had serious nasal bleeding. Though the referee gave first aid to him in the ring, the nasal bleeding didn't stop. I couldn't help stoping the contest. If a doctor stops the contest it means a 3 month penalty. The boxer can't fight in a match for 3 months with the idea of protecting the students' health.
     His crying face was unforgettable. I hope he'll get strong and come back.

Rally

     Rallying is one of my hobbies. When I was a university student, I was addicted to driving a car as fast as possible on the forest roads. I'd like to join the competition that is held overseas, for example the Southern Cross Rally in Australia or the Safari Rally in Kenya, but I couldn't because I was a medical student and had an incredibe amount of work to do, so I couldn't spare the time for it.
     Though I didn't drive a rally car lately, I enjoyed a rally as an official. Today, a rally was held by DCR, a motorsports club which I belong to. The rally area was in the center of Shikoku, the highest area of Shikoku. That's the reason why this rally is called the "Summit of Shikoku" rally. It was raining all day long. I was head of the rescue staff because I am a surgeon. I mean I was one of the executives. I was expecting to stay in the headquarters where all the information of the rally was gathered. I could have avoided the rain and mud there.  However, I was asked to stand by at the starting point of some special stages that were thought to be the most dangerous. The course conditions were horrible. The road was muddy and slippery. Besides the course was on the cliff. As you can imagine, if an accident occurred, I had to zip to the scene and give some emergency care to the crews. I was so tired and wet to the skin.
     The photos show some rally cars that are waiting for inspection before starting.

The Last Ski Day

     Today was the last day in Whistler. Time flies when I am happy. I went up Blackcomb mountain until noon, and took a walk in the village and the forest in the afternoon. My youngest daughter, Annlie, wanted to join the ski school. I was so surprised to know that. She can't speak English very well. She certainly doesn't have a fearful bone in her body. She must have thought the way of teaching skiing at the Whistler ski school was completely different from that of Japan. We sometimes came across the ski school group when we were skiing or were on the ski lift. They sometimes showed up from the woods or somewhere we didn't think was a skiing place. They were really enjoying the snow. The instructors were showing not only how to ski but also how enjoyable the snow was. After getting back from school, Annlie said that she wanted to go back next year and get into the school, and she would learn English more and more to make friends with English speaking people. After a gorgeous dinner and a jacuzzi, I started packing the bags. I had to get back down to earth.

 

First Ski Day

     It's fine weather. I'm lucky. I went up Whistler mountain with my buddies, my daughters, and a video camera. I could take beautiful movies and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere to my heart's content. However, my jet lag is serious. I fell down twice on an easy course. Something is wrong with me.

     The photo was taken at the top of Whistler Mountain.

Winter Is Over

     I changed the tires of my minivan today. I removed tires for snow and fitted tires for summer. Yes, the ski season is over in Matsuyama city. But, there's lots of snow in Whistler. I'll fly to Canada the day after tomorrow. I usually clean up my skis and ski boots to put them into the storeage room when I change the tires every year. However, this year is unusual. I packed my skis and poles into my ski-bag. My heart is already in Canada.

Rechargeable Battery

     I have a plan to go to Vancouver at the end of this month for the first time in two years. I've been excited recently. I'm getting pleasure out of the preparations. However, I have only one concern for the trip. It's how to access the internet.
     As a result of mature reflection, I decided to use a cellular phone M1000, a product of Motorola, which can access the internet over phone lines and public wireless LAN. Though I thought it would be perfect a new problem occurred. It's a shortage of batteries. I'm going to post messages and pictures on this blog or some other places on the internet on the way to Whistler. You know, the battery of an M1000 won't be enough. I know I should have a backup battery for the M1000, but I don't need it in daily life, and moreover it's expensive.
     The other day I found the solution. The photo shows the multipurpose backup battery. I can use this as a backup battery for 2 kinds of digital camera, a cellular phone (M1000), a walkie-talkie,,,and so on. I'm very glad to find it.

(Vocabulary)
mature reflection  熟考

Ski

     I took 2 of my three daughters to the nearest piste today. The youngest daughter is better at skiing than the eldest. She skied in Whistler 2 years ago. The eldest one skied today for the first time in 6 years. I'm going to take the eldest one to Whistler this month, so I asked the youngest one to teach the eldest how to ski. I was wondering if my eldest daughter could enjoy skiing in Whistler. To my delight that concern proved unfounded. My eldest daughter was not so bad at skiing. Something obtained in childhood didn't disappear.