[A Zen Buddhist Sutra Translated by a Christian] お経の英訳

I am not going to discuss anything religious here in this page. I wanted to pick up this Buddhist sutra (scripture) because I am hoping to share some deep & serious Japanese writings with my translation in order to better understand their cultural background. See how different it appears compared to the Western Christianity. - I do not want to think this Eastern stuff and western stuff are just two different things. I want them to be connected in order that they will be one thing or let them coexist. I think it should be a good approach to see the differences in order to make it happen. That's what a bilingual or bicultural individual can pursue in his or her career. I personally feel I do not belong anywhere, but I'm so proud that I am able to stand between one culture and the other. With the globalized economy, the number of people with a bicultural (multi-cultural) background will even increase, and I think such people should be treated more importantly than ever.

To those of you who are interested in Zen, this time's post might be good to read.
This scripture, Shushogi (修証義) was published in 1890 which was intended to offer a simple & authentic digest from “Shobogenzo (正法眼蔵)” written by Dogen (道元: 1200-1253), who is the founder of the Soto sect of Buddhism in 1233. The original writing by Dogen was too huge & profound a masterpiece to be understood by the public, so only the essence was selected and regrouped to make it more familiar. Dogen, as the founder of the Buddhist sect, pursued his way with a Zen approach toward Buddhism, so his writings have a lot to with Zen perceptions. – This time, I have quoted only the first chapter of the sutra. (There are five chapters in total.)

I don’t know how this would work for a better business relationship but I felt this translation is worth trying in order to understand the Japanese of now today. I know most Japanese say they have no religious faith and they don’t even know much of this sutra, but I still think this idea or perception might have had some influence upon the Japanese in general on the deepest level.

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[1] 第一章　総 序　
生を明らめ死を明らむるは仏家一大事の因縁なり、生死の中に仏あれば生死なし、但生死即ち涅槃と心得て、生死として厭ふべきもなく、涅槃として欣ふべきもなし、是時初めて生死を離るる分あり、唯一大事因縁と究尽すべし。

[1] Chapter 1: Introduction
Having a clear understanding about life and death is one great achievement for all Buddhists. If you view the life and death with an eye of Buddha, there is no distinction between these two things. With a tranquil spirit, there is nothing to detest against the life or death. Nor is there any need to long for the tranquility of what death implies. It is at this moment that you will be free from life and death for the first time. So always seek after the chance to make it happen.

[2] 人身 (にんしん)得ること難し、仏法値ふこと希なり、今我等宿善の助くるに依りて、已(おのれ)に受け難き人身を受けたるのみに非らず遇ひ難き仏法に値ひ奉れり、生死の中の善生 (しょう)、最勝の生なるべし、最勝の善身を徒(いたず)らにして露命を無常の風に任すること勿(なか)れ。

[2] It is a rare opportunity to be born as a human, as well as to learn about the teaching of Buddha. Let it be known that encountering with a Buddha’s precept like this comes from your karma, and is a rare opportunity. This should be the greatest encounter you can expect. So you shall not live your life with idleness because a life can be compared to a single drop of dew.

[3] 無常憑 (たの) み難し、知らず露命いかなる道の草にか落ちん、身已に私に非ず、 命は光陰に移されて暫くも停め難し、紅顔いずこへか去りにし、尋ねんとするに蹤跡なし、熟 (つらつら)観ずる所に往事の再び逢うべからざる多し、無常忽ちに到るときは国王大臣親 (じつ) 従僕妻子珍宝たすくる無し、唯独り黄泉に趣くのみなり、己れに随い行くは只是れ善悪業等のみなり。

[3] Everything is transient. We do not know how this single drop of dew will go extinct. Our bodies are not in control of ourselves. The life goes on and will not remain at the same place. It does not even wait for one moment. Power of youth will disappear without a trace. There is nothing you can find, although you try to get your youth back. Ponder, and you will know that you cannot repeat the past. There is nothing to avoid it even if you ask the king, the prime minister, a servant, a housewife, a child or a treasure. You will approach the death with nobody to accompany with you except for your deeds – both good and bad - during the lifetime.

[4] 今の世に因果を知らず業報 (ごっぽう) を明らめず、三世を知らず、善悪を弁 (わき)まえざる邪見の党侶 (ともがら)には群す べからず、大凡因果の道理歴然 (れきねん)として私なし、造悪の者は堕ち修善の者は陞る、 豪釐 (ごうり)もたがわざるなり、若し因果亡じて虚しからんが如きは、諸仏の出世あるべからず、祖師の西来あるべからず。

[4] You shall not get along with wicked people who do not care about what they do and its consequences, or do not believe in the three-phase lives (previous life, present life and next life) without caring about what will be followed by good deeds or bad. Nobody can avoid this law of cause-and-effect. A person of bad deeds will fall, while a person of good deeds will be exalted. Every single hair is counted for this law to be applied. If this law were not true, there should have been no Buddha nature to exist, and Bodhidharma would not have needed to sacrifice himself to bring the teaching of Buddha all the way from India.

[5] 善悪の報に三時あり、一者順現報受(ひとつにはじゅんげんほうじゅ)、ニ者順次生受(ふたつにはじゅんじしょうじゅ) 、三者順後次受(みつにはじゅんごじじゅ、これを三時という、仏祖の道を修習(しゅじゅう)するには、其最初より斯三時の業報(ごっぽう)の理を効(なら)い験(あき)らむるなり、爾あらざれば多く錯りて邪見に堕つるなり、但邪見に堕つるのみに非ず、悪道に堕ちて長時の苦を受く。

[5] There are three patterns for a consequence to be manifested. One is a consequence of your deed that will be manifested in this present life. Two is a consequence of your deed that will be manifested in the next life. Three is a consequence of your deed that will be manifested in the second next life or later. Learning the Buddha’s way is to be enlightened with the rule of these three patterns of manifestations. Without knowing this, many people will be out of the right track. Not only will they be out of the right track, they will fall into a pit of wickedness and suffer a long time.

[6] 当に知るべし今生 (じょう)の我身二つ無し、三つ無し、徒らに邪見に堕ちて虚しく悪業を感得せん、惜しからざらめや、悪を造りながら悪に非ずと思い、悪の報あるべからずと邪思惟するに依りて悪の報を感得せざるには非ず。-- [第一章終わり]

[6] Let it be known that this life cannot be repeated twice or three times. It should be pitied that some have false views to perform evil deeds, thinking that there is nothing bad about it, and let them assume that there will be no pay back from an evil deed. You should learn not to be ignorant of the law followed by an evil deed. -- [The End of Chapter 1]
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Translation

[On Being Humble in Japan] 日本での謙遜とは

I had a conversation with my kid, a 13-year-old American, and she said why her Japanese friend said that way about all that. They are in the same class and are friends each other. I have seen her and her mom once the other day. They were shy people but they were very nice and decent.

But anyways, here's the conversation between the two teenage girls:

My daughter: "It's great you are always taking a highest score at the quiz every time."
Her Japanese friend: "No, I' m not good...!"
My daughter: "Can you tell me how you are studying everyday? Seriously, I am studying too but I don't think I'm getting much better."
Her Japanese friend: "I'm not good, either.... I don't even study at all, you know."
My daughter (In her head): [She is actually very good. Why does she say that...?]

I explained to her it was not because she didn't like you or she was mean, but just because she didn't want to stand out. It's a cultural thing.

I have found an interesting video post on YouTube (I have put it up on the bottom of the post) that is dealing with a similar topic. Look at the place where he's acting two different sets of conversations over their kids. The American parent brags about his kid, while the Japanese says his kid is extremely stupid.

The Japanese have a tendency that they don't want to be distinctly different from others. Even on the Internet, they are extremely negative about showing their names and faces. This is because they have a group-oriented culture. Extending it further, this can create a situation that if there's someone standing out, other people will tell about him or her behind the back. They don't tell it directly to the person who stands out even if there is anything to say. They don't do that because by doing it, he or she will have to stand out and become a target of being told by some others.
They are pretty much sensitive about that ever since they were born. Their "being humble" comes from that cultural background. - And the same thing is true with the case of the conversation between my daughter and her friend.

But it doesn't mean they are always "humble". None of us can stand the situation where we have to deny ourselves for eternity. I hear people bragging about purchasing a very rare baseball player item, or having been to New York or San Francisco to go shopping. - Anyone wants to appear different. That's why people put on nice watches, clothes with cool hair style. They expect others to talk about it behind their back. And this will satisfy their desire of appearing different.

But don't say, "That's a cool watch! Where did you buy it?" They would only say, "I forgot." - They don't like to clarify a thing because it means you will have to stand out. They want to be different but it is not what their community expects them to be. They don't expect others to stand out. - There is always a gap between what they have in their mind and what they say or behave.

On this YouTube video, by the way, he was acting a guy on a job interview, saying he is not good at anything. The Japanese don't do that way. They are taught to be different in that situation. They are taught or trained to "show off what you can do" or "show even bigger than you really are." - This is a moment they will switch to another mode of attitude.

This switch of attitude explains why election campaign cars run with loud voices, yelling, "I am here to ask you for a vote! This is my last day to ask you!" Candidates stand up in front of a station to loudly address their speech: "I'm so sorry to bother you during this busy morning time!! I'm here to ask you for a vote!!" Or if you go out on streets or stores, you will also see shop clerks yelling at passersby. - These are all cultural things and are publicly allowed. That's why they do these unusual things, and they will be switched back to their normal state once they are out of it.

My family and I have discussed this kind of issue all the time. I hope my 13-year-old will learn more and be better than I am. - I remembered as a highschool student I read "The Japanese Today" by Edwin O. Reischauer and I was pretty much impressed by it. I truly wish she might want to read this book when she became a highschool student or something. We might be able to discuss what have been changed about the Japanese, as well as what have been just the same since the time I read this book.

This guy's explanation is really good. I love that. It's even funny.

Translation

[From The Yomiuri Shimbun Newspaper]

From The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper (the Sept. 9th, 2011 issue)

"ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi - The family of an American woman who died in the March 11 tsunami has presented students at a primary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, with a collection of 40 of her favorite books.
'I hope you'll read these books, find your dreams and live with courage, like my daughter did,' Andy Anderson, 54, said Tuesday to a group of about 60 students during a presentation ceremony at Mangokuura Primary School.
Taylor Anderson, 24, was from the U.S. state of Virginia. She came to Japan in 2008 and worked as an assistant Engish teacher at several primary and middle school in Ishinomaki.
On the day of the Great Eat Japan Earthquake, she made sure her students at Mangokuura were safely evacuated. On her way home, she was killed by the tsunami...."

The article concludes: "Taylor's family plans to also present books to other six schools where Taylor worked."

I have heard not a few Japanese individuals saying foreigners (including Americans) have no kindness or consideration toward others, so I want to pick up this newspaper article, so it will help us realize we are actually sharing a lot (whether good or bad/ happy or sad), and interact with each other.

I want to say that this action Taylor's family has been taking is something that Japanese are most unlikely to do. But this, of course, doesn't mean the Japanese are not kind or considerate. They are very warm-hearted and mindful in different ways. One noticeable virtue they have is they show kindness in a reserved way, which often doesn't involve with direct actions or distinct words. And I would say this is one beauty the Japanese individuals can have.

The theme of this article is that there are different places to be focused on when showing kindness, consideration, or gratitude. So one cannot really say one culture is superior to another. The Japanese culture is as unique as all of the other cultures. It is just that we all have different backgrounds, while facing the same problems or issues.

So it could be said, from my own experience, that if one party starts complaining about another, this another side has complaints, too. This sort of gap has been a source of stress when doing business across the border or culture.

I have also encountered with bad guys in Japan and in the U.S. who, for example, didn't have any intention to pay off even if they should have, or guys who just get money to run away and would do me even more with evil intentions. - Rattle snakes are everywhere. But, well, that's another story.

I am writing this article because I wanted to say that people are standing on the same platform in this globalized economy, and without adapting to this rapidly growing trend there would be no favorable result to come out. I think this can be true with any country on earth.

Translation

[Globalized Economy & the Japanese] グローバル化と日本人

During my stay at home this summer break, my family and I went shopping at a large shopping center. I was hoping to buy a planner refill of the next year. For the past couple of years I have purchased an English version of it at the same store. I knew there were some stores dealing with an English one for my personal planner organizer.

 The store didn't have what I wanted. I thought it just happened. Nothing more than that. There were several kinds of planner refills of the same company but everything was Japanese. I went to another big store in Tokyo remembering that these stores had what I wanted one year ago and two years ago. But there was no English version. I visited another big store, but there was no such thing.

Don't say "You are in Japan, right? What do you expect?" The problem is not that there is no English version of the item, but the things have changed.

Grown up bilingually in Japanese and English, I have always been sensitive about this sort of thing. I recognize English books sections have disappeared in many bookstores in Japan. It sometimes makes me feel, "Hey, it's almost like a scary science fiction by Osamu Tezuka!"

Looking back some years ago, I remember there were far more bookstores that shared an English books section. I know several bookstores dealing with English books have been closed. Many of the stores no longer deal with books in English. Meanwhile, so many people are dying to mention this language.

When I'm outside, I always overhear people talking about English speaking countries, such as the U.S., Canada, Australia or the U.K. So many Japanese kids go to an English conversation school from very small ages.

The IT age has made it to accelerate the speed of the globalized trend of economy, and the speed has been getting even faster. I remember I knew nothing about the Internet back in 1996 or a few years later. In 2006, about ten (10) years after that, there was nobody who don't use an e-mail or the Internet services. Five (5) years later, in 2010, much more business people in Japanese have been involved with opportunities in English. Before the internet age, there was no way to know about foreign countries. You had to actually travel abroad. Today there are YouTube videos. Living in Japan, information can be obtained in English via the Internet as much as in Japanese, or even more than Japanese. People use Twitter, facebook, skype and other social networking services in order to communicate with other individuals of different places. They made conducting businesses on a global scale an effective necessity for most organizations. This tendency will be accelerated to be even faster.

At the same time, the people of Japan, in my impression, seems to have become more xenophobic, while they brag about English or foreign countries they have traveled to with their fellows. There is an apparent tendency among Japanese that even a talkative person will turn dumb as soon as they face an English native speaker.

Online shopping might be a factor that the multiple stores didn't have an English version of the planner refills or books in English. The same can be true with the bookstores that closed the English books section.

Yohan, a Japanese books importer and distributor filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Some said it was not due to a migration trend to electronic publishing. I personally think this symbolizes something of a great change in terms of English for the Japanese. But the fact was the news didn't leave much impact on the society in general, and that was even more impressive to me than the bankruptcy.

IT is a funny thing. It allows an individual to have so much information on one hand, while it will let the person become more closed-minded on the other hand. It intensifies the characteristics of an individual or a group of people. Living and working in Japan while speaking English at home, this impression becomes stronger each year. So many Japanese love listening to songs in English without even knowing the words well. They love chatting away with friends over a topic of foreign countries they have traveled to. Or, they love letting their dearest kids attend an English conversation school. But when actually faced with an English speaking person, they will most likely turn shy all of a sudden, or they behave as if playing a knock-on-the-front-door-and-run-away sort of thing.

Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. Some Japanese media has been saying Japanese stuffs and people are "Galapagos-like" or "closed-minded" or "behind the speed of the globalized economy".

What's wrong with that? They can handle it that way. Japanese media should not just focus on their negative side. They should keep on being who they are, being perfectionists and being very careful about work. Their jobs are super cool. Eating rice cake on the new year's day is a cool culture. It is not a bad thing that a Japanese becomes like a dog with straight face in front of a non-Japanese, or treat them differently. Why even bother pretending to be open-minded or friendly? A Japanese literary giant Soseki Natsume who lived in the periods of Edo, Meiji and Taisho mentioned that a cultural opening including human behaviors and ideas should be encouraged to come out internally, otherwise it only ends up being mentally distorted.

What if a translation system was to be practiced, for example? I have thought of one thing on the company level or a department level. If this system has been adopted with the idea of "cloud computing", they wouldn't have to reply too much on one single translator in the office. Administration work position will be necessary in order to establish and maintain it, but that is meant to work for the system of company or department. Proofreading or correction will also be necessary. Human skills should be needed and respected in any advanced system or technology. - But it is totally different from a case when somebody asks a translator to work on a specific document and then wait.

I am writing about that today here because I wanted to reconsider what I have experienced a year and a half ago in order to make the Japanese companies system work better. As a fully bilingual CATIA specialist, I wish I could do something more to help this business field become even better.

There should be more ideas to let Japanese people or companies be more involved with the globalized economy. I am always thinking about what I can do, so they will tackle with that trend even better with my bilingual skills and background.

Translation

[Language barrier doesn't exist with these animals]

I was keeping my journal daily and this is one of them. It is the one I wrote on September 24, 2005. With that journal I want to deal with a topic about communication between humans and animals. I have been writing about bilingual or bicultural things, but I wonder how I put it this time. Should that be "bi-creature"...?
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I was letting Mathilda clean up her room and then study. After these things were finished, we went outside to go to the tennis court. She said she wanted to play soccer if nobody would be there. Right outside the door of our house, there was a fat cat. We saw that almost everyday. Mathie was 6 years old at that time and we were in America.

"Kittieee!!! I wanna pet it! Can I touch that kittie??"
She loves animals so much. Whenever she finds a cat or a dog she sticks to the place for a long time. When she sees someone taking a walk with a dog, she always goes there and asks the person if she can pet it. Or she asks the person if she can hold the leash. If I didn't say anything, she wouldn't let both the person and the dog leave the place for a long time.
"Don’t touch it. We’re not gonna play soccer if you do that." I didn’t want her to get hurt. I knew she didn’t know how to treat animals properly.

It was an ordinary cat that is walking here and there even in Japan.
She was letting the yellow haired (not trimmed well) adult cat sit or lie down on the ground. The cat rolled around while she was petting it. Next she started to hold the cat with her arms in order to stand up with that.
"Be careful! It will scratch!"

I gave a glimpse to the other way for a second, and then looked at her. Her face was pale just like she had a great shock or something. She was holding her arm with another hand.
"Daddyyyy!!!" Her voice was shaking. "Daddyy!!! Daddyyyy!!!!!"
She looked totally in desperate as if it was the end of everything.
I realized she had a scratch. “Just as I thought,” I spoke to myself.
"See, Mathie? I told you kitties will scratch you." I said to her. "Show me your arm."
"No!! Noooo!!!" She yelled out lout with her shaking voice. Her face was pale.
She wouldn’t let me see it.
I shouted, “Show me!”
I saw it was bleeding along her arm. I traced the bleeding line on the arm, and found four holes on her skin. I thought she might have got bitten.
We went back home. The soccer was cancelled.

At the time we came to the stairs before going up to our place (we lived on the 3rd floor), she started crying out loud. She seemed to be shocked to see much blood bleeding like that. Her other hand to hold the place was red, too.
"Come here, hurry!" I was saying strictly to her in order to let her go up the stairs. Our place was on the 3rd floor.
"Am I going to die??? I don’t want to die…!!!"

We came in front of the door, and she suddenly stopped moving like a statue.
She said to me with a loud voice, "Can you carry me, daddy?? Can you carry me??? I can’t walk…!!!!"
I took her shoes off, and carried her all the way to the shower room.
"What are you gonna do??" She was crying out so loud.
I said to her, "I need to wash your scratches, otherwise germs will go into your body and they will go all around your body.”
I turned the water on. “It won’t hurt you much because it’s warm.”
"Noooooo!!!!! Noooooooo!!!!!!" She cries. “Does it hurt me??? Does it hurt???? Does it hurt, daddy?????”
"No, it doesn’t,” I said, and I washed the scratches with the warm water.
At first she said, “It doesn’t hurt” but next she cried, “Ow! ow!! It’s coming to hurt me!!”
I kept on going.

After a wash, I looked more closely to it. There were 4 holes and 2 scratches on her.
She asked me, “When does the bleeding stop?” and then “Do the holes get bigger?”
On that evening, she had to take shower as usual. She always asked me to wash her hair, but this time she asked me to wash her body, even.
"You are not sick, Mathie," I said, but mommy said to me, “She wants you to do that.”
I washed her like when I wash a dog, and she was happy with that.
She had anti-biotic on the holes and scratches. Soon after that, we went out to the laundry room that was right across the lawn.

There was that yellow cat. I said to Mathie, “Wanna play with that?”
She ran after the cat to let it go away.

The next day, she found this cat once again.
"Kittieee!!!"
She went to it in order to pet it as if nothing had happened.

"She doesn't learn anything!" I said to mommy.

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Years passed, and we are in Japan. Mathilda is turning 13 this year. She loves to be with animals still. She doesn’t get tired of doing that. She stays outside with dogs or cats even on a cold snowy day. She was 6 years old when she was bitten and scratched by a cat.

It was when she was 10 or 11 years old when she was playing with two dogs. She was with them the whole day. She has become the kind of girl to be the leader of a class. She was honest and didn’t like when somebody was behaving rudely or badly.

The dogs started to fight. They didn’t seem to stop it. Mathie went to them to stop them to fight.
She got bitten by one of the dogs by accident. She stood between the fighting dogs and the dog’s teeth cut her foot.
Her jeans were ripped and she has bleeding. She came back to me and said:
"Dad, do you have a disinfection thing? I need to wash it."

I said to her: “Don’t go near the fighting dogs. You have to think of other ways. Splash water or use a bar. Or use an air gun. Don’t do anything if you can’t pick any of them.”

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Today I asked her if she still remembers that cat in that old town in America. She said she does. Mommy said "Yeah, I remember that! ...That's a good old memory!" We shared some photos when Mathilda was with that fat cat.
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There are things that language or culture doesn’t matter, but happen across the border in the same way.


ここで紹介するのは、2005年の秋に書きとめたものです。ここで取り上げるのは、動物と人間とのコミュニケーションについてです。
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その日、私はマティに部屋の掃除をさせ、それから勉強を一緒にしたのでした。それが済んだら、二人でテニスコートに行こうとしたのです。テニスコートに誰もいなければ、そこでサッカーをしようという心づもりでした。

我々が家を出てみると、そこにはネコがいました。いつも見かけるネコです。
マティは当時6歳。ここはアメリカです。

「Kittieee!!! 触ってみたい！！ネコに触ってもいい？？」
マティは動物が大好きです。一旦動物を見かけたらそこから離れようとしません。
誰かが犬の散歩をしているのに出くわしたら最後、必ず飼い主に
「この犬、なでてもいいですか？」
とか
「鎖を持ってみてもいいですか？」
などとお願いするのでした。
私が止めない限り、いつまでも飼い主と犬をそこに留（とど）まらせ、ペットを相手にしてしまいます。

「そのネコに触ってはだめ！触ったらサッカーはナシだぞ！」
私としてみたら、動物の扱い方を知らない彼女に怪我などしてもらいたくないわけです。

さて、それは日本でも良く見かけるような平凡なネコです。
彼女は、その毛並みの良くない大人のネコを座らせたり横にしたりします。
ネコは地面をゴロンゴロンして、彼女はなでたりしています。
それから、腕で抱っこして、立ち上がろうとしました。

「ひっかかれるぞ！」
私は別の場所に目をやりました。それから彼女の方を見ました。
その時の彼女の顔は、ショックで受けたみたいに蒼白になっていました。
手で他方の腕を掴んでいます。

「Daddyyyy!!!」彼女の声は震えています。「Daddyy!!! Daddyyyy!!!!!」
全てが終わったかのような、完全に途方に暮れた様子になっていました。

引っかかれたな、と私は思いました。
「だから言わんこっちゃない」
私は一人で言いました。
「な、マティ？ネコは引っかくんだって」私は言いました。「その腕を見せなさい」
「No!! Noooo!!!」
震える声で彼女は声をあげました。顔は真っ青です。
しかも、彼女は私に腕を見せようとしません。

「見せなさい！」私は大声で言いました。
腕から血が流れていました。血の流れをたどると、4つ穴が開いていました。ネコに噛まれたなと私は思いました。

家に引き返すことになりました。
サッカーはキャンセルです。

上階の部屋に上ろうと階段の所に来た時になって、彼女は声をあげて泣き出しました。
多くの血が出ていることにショックを覚えたようでした。
やられていない他方の手も、傷を手で押さえながら血で染まっていました。

「早くしなさい」
私は強い口調で言いながら、彼女に階段をのぼらせました。
「私は死ぬの？？？私、死にたくない・・・！！！」
 とマティは言いました。

家のドアの前に来たところで、彼女の体は、急に銅像のように硬直しました。
そして大声で言いました。
「抱っこしていって！！抱っこしてくれる、Daddy？？？私、歩けない・・・！！！」

私は彼女の靴を脱がせました。そしてシャワールームまで運んで行きました。
「何するの？？」彼女は大声で叫びました。
私は言いました。
「傷を洗う。でないと、バイ菌が入っていって、体中を回っていくんだぞ」
私は蛇口をひねりました。
「ぬるま湯だからそんなに痛くないはずだ」
「Noooooo!!!!! Noooooooo!!!!!!」彼女は叫びます。「痛いんでしょ？？？痛いの？？？痛いの、ねえDaddy？？？？」
「いいや、痛くない」
私は言い、傷にお湯をかけました。
「うん、痛くない」と彼女は言いましたが、次に声をあげました「アォ！アォ！！痛くなってきた！！」
私は、そのまま洗い続けました。

洗い終わってから、私はよくよく見てみました。
穴が4つあいていて、引っかき傷が2か所でした。

彼女は私に言います。
「いつになったら血が止まるの？」
「この穴は大きくなったりするの？」

夕方、いつも通りシャワーを浴びなければならない時間です。
いつも彼女は髪の毛を洗ってくれと頼むのですが、この日は体も洗ってくれ、と言います。
「病気なわけじゃないだろ、マティ？」
私は言いました。
しかしマミーが、
「彼女はあなたに洗ってほしいのよ」
と言います。

私は犬を洗うみたいに彼女を洗ってやりました。
本人はそれで満足していました。
ネコに開けられた穴と引っかき傷に抗生物質を塗り、そのあと芝生の向こうの洗濯場に行きました。
その際、またあの黄色いネコがいました。私はマティに言いました。
「一緒に遊ぶか？」
すると、彼女はそのネコに走って行き、追い立ててやりました。

とはいえ、次の日も彼女はそのネコを見たのですが、
「Kittieeee!!」
と何事もなかったかのようにそのネコをなでに行ったのでした。

「全然、懲りていない！」
と私はマミーに言いました。


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

数年が過ぎ、我々は日本に住んでいます。マティは今年13歳になります。
今でも動物が大好きです。動物と一緒なら飽きません。
犬や猫と一緒なら、雪が降る寒い時でも外にいたりします。
ネコに噛みつかれ、引っかかれたのが6歳の時。

彼女が10歳か11歳の時のことです。犬二匹と遊んでいました。一日中犬と遊んでいました。
ところで、彼女はクラスではリーダー的な存在になりました。
素直な性格で、行ないの悪い者を見るのが嫌いです。

犬がケンカを始めました。やめる気配がありません。
マティはケンカを止めに入りました。
その時、彼女は運悪く、犬にかまれました。
争っている犬の間に割って入った時、どちらかの犬の歯が足に当たったのでした。

履いていたジーンズは、やぶけ、出血しました。
彼女は私のもとに来て、言いました。
「Dad、消毒ある？ここ、洗わないといけない」

私は言いました。
「ケンカ中の犬に近寄ってはだめ。水をかけるとか棒を使うとか、エアガンを使うとか、別のやり方をしなさい。そのどれも嫌なら、何もしないこと」

---------

今日、マティに聞きました。
「アメリカのあのアパートの敷地にいた黄色いネコ、まだ覚えている？」
彼女は、
「 Yeah、覚えている」と言いました。
マミーも、
「覚えている！懐かしいねえ！」
と言い、我々はマティと太った黄色いネコとが映った当時の写真を見たりしていたのでした。

---------
言語も文化も関係なく起こるようなこともあります。おんなじようなことが国境を超えても起こる、という例です。

[My 12-year-old Has a Dream] 12歳の夢

My 12-year-old girl has a dream of working as a veterinarian at Disney World in the U.S.

This is her presentation material she surveyed in her school about the Tokyo Disney Resort. She says that the reason she wanted to pick the Disney Resort in Japan is because she is in Japan now.

With this project she earned 46 points out of 50. She prepared well and practiced a lot in front of me when I was back home. She does it better than me on MS Power Point or Word.

She concludes the presentation by saying, "I want to work there in Florida or California. That's my dream."

Translation

[Calling a person with a title] 英語で「●●先輩」と言うには？

My 12-year-old girl had a club activity last Saturday, and she had asked me something like this the previous day: "Daddy, can you go to H station with me tomorrow?" This H station is the nearest stop to her school. I said ok.

The next morning we got on the train together until we went to the station near her school. She was to see one of her friends out there. Having arrived there a bit earlier, we stayed inside the station to have a chat until her friend would show up. Trains came along one after another, and several club members passed in front of us. My daughter said to me, "She's an 8th grader" or "He's in highschool."
As she was explaining to me about the students who she waved her hand at, there was an expression that went: "She is also Senpai."

"Senpai" is an expression often used in Japan when you call somebody who is older than you. It is like a title, which is used to show respect. She knew that word because she had heard it so often at her old Japanese school, as well as in TV dramas.

I asked her, "How do you usually say 'Senpai' in English when you are at school?"
I was just curious. There are Japanese kids out there in her school, and we are in Japan.

"Mmm..." My 12-year-old starts thinking. "We just say, 'Hi, Scott' or something. There is no such thing in English like Senpai.'

In that evening, she was walking around the station after her activity was done. There were two Japanese elementary school kids, who are attending my daughter's old Japanese elementary school. They belonged to the same club as my daughter until she was graduated from that school. As soon as these two girls found my 12-year-old, they raised their voices, "Sub-leaderrrr!!!"

It was at this moment that I reassured that calling somebody with a title is very important in a Japanese-speaking community in order to show respect. In an English-speaking community, on the other hand, there is no such thing because there are other ways to show respect.

I was thinking for a while about that difference between Japanese and English on the way back here to Toyota city today.

========================
先週の土曜日は12歳の娘がクラブ活動に出かける日でした。前日彼女が「ダディ、H駅まで一緒に行ってきてほしい」と言いました。H駅とは学校から最寄りの駅です。私はOKと言ったのでした。

翌朝、我々はその最寄り駅まで二人で電車に乗っていきました。彼女は駅で友達と会うことになっていました。少し早く着いたので、駅の中でずっと話をして、その友達が来るまで待ちました。電車は次から次へと到着し、5～6人の部員たちが我々の前を通り過ぎました。娘は私に「あの人は8年生」とか「あの人は高校生」などと私に言いました。手を振って挨拶した生徒たちについてそうやって説明しているうち、彼女はこんな日本語交じりの言い方をしました。「She is also Senpai.」

Senpai（先輩）というのは、自分より年上の人を呼ぶ際日本でよく使用される表現です。それは敬意を示すための肩書きのようなものです。娘がその言葉を知っているのは、以前日本の学校に通っていてそれをよく聞いていたのだろうし、TVのドラマを見ていてもよく耳にするためでしょう。
「学校で会話する時、Senpaiは英語で何て言う？」
と私は娘に尋ねました。
私はちょっと興味がありました。学校には日本人がたくさんいます。しかもここは日本です。
「うーん」12歳の娘は考えはじめました。「私たちの場合、ただ"Hi, Scott"とかそういった風に言う。Senpaiといった言い方は英語ではしていない」

夕方、クラブ活動を終えた娘は駅の近くを歩いていましたが、そこに二人の日本人の小学生がおりました。彼女らは娘が通っていた日本の小学校に今も通学している子たちです。娘が卒業するまで同じクラブの部員でした。娘の姿を見つけるや否や、女の子たちは「副部長さぁ～ん!!!」と声をあげたのでした。

そこで私は、日本では肩書きは、人を呼ぶ際、その人に敬意を示すためにはとても重要だと再確認しました。一方、英語の場合だと、そういったものはない。それというのも、それ以外の方法で人に敬意や尊重を示すことが可能だからです。

豊田市に戻ってくる道中、私はそういった「日本語と英語の違い」について、すこし考えたりしました。