[At a Library in Early Summer] 初夏の図書館にて

So it's early summer now. I am currently living in a small town in Saitama, Japan. I love this season the best of all. I was in a local library, waiting for my family to come back from a dentist. They had gone there for a checkup, and only I wasn't there with them. Around the library are rice fields and there are waterways too, where I enjoy crayfishing with my little girl. It's really a small town. Everything you could catch here is "American" crayfish. Not a single "Japanese" one is out there anymore, which used to be the majority a long time ago. It reminds me of foreign companies that come into a Japanese market to give some influence. That's what the globalization is all about. At least on the globalization of the humans, I personally want to welcome that phenomenon as new idea to come into being. That's what might give me opportunities, which brings me hope.

The temperature reached almost to 30 degrees C on that day and it was very humid, too. I was wearing my T-shirt and jeans, and I was sitting on a chair to read a book on computer networking. The windows are open and the humid air stays there restfully, when I started to fall into a sleep in the quiet library of the early summer. As I woke up, I found myself that I had been asleep. I then started to walk along the shelves slowly to pick up some books that interested me. I was very much impressed by the sunlight that came into the quiet public space out of the transparent window, showing an azure sky. The humid air and the lazy feelings of that place made me more nostalgic. I somehow have this special feeling toward the early summer in Japan. If you look at the mountains, you could see thick green leaves that cover up the whole mountains to give out a great vitality. I have a feeling sometimes that they are growing rapidly everywhere as I look closer to those thick green mountains under the bright and deep summer sky. I also love walking along an avenue, on either side of which are early summer trees, creating huge shades on the street, while the dazzling sunlight reflects here and there on the leaves, and it moves with the breeze of air, which gives me a great deal of enjoyment of life.

About 2 months and a half have passed since I have been out of CATIA work. I miss that so much. I am currently out of project, having nothing to do specifically except that I do some translations or teach myself about computer networking in order to pass an IT exam.

I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity to attend a meeting of CATIA project work on mold & die designing process. I am also grateful for the opportunity that was able to I attend that forum, JCF 2009 so I became knowledgeable about CATIA V6 and how different it is from V5. It seemed like it is not meant just to create 3D models but manage the whole process. From purchasing to CAM process. I might be wrong but this is what I could understand about V6 during the JCF 2009 sessions.


今は季節でいえば初夏です。私は現在埼玉県の田舎に暮らしているのですが、先週土曜日、図書館におりました。その近くの歯医者で家族が検診を受けるというので、そのあいだ私は図書館で待っていたわけです。（自分だけは歯科検診を受けないのだった。）まわりは田んぼで、そばには用水路。そこで私は毎年この時期、ザリガニ釣りをします。日本の田舎ですが、取れるザリガニはどれも「アメリカザリガニ」。もはや日本ザリガニというのは見ることはありません。ここでも外資の影響がみられるようなわけで、まさにグローバル化というものです。人間の世の中でいえば、新しい価値観の創生という点で、私は個人的には歓迎しています。それによって自分にもチャンスが与えられるかもしれない、という希望と共に。

さて、初夏といっても気温は30度ぐらいに達し、しかも蒸し暑いのです。Tシャツ一枚にジーパン姿の私は、座席で少しの読書をすると、開け放たれた窓の静かな空気に誘われるまま、居眠りをしたのでした。目を覚ました私は、棚から棚へゆっくりと歩いていたのでしたが、蒸し暑い空気やら無造作に開け放った窓のゆるやかな初夏の光が、なんとも昔っぽくて、私はしみじみとした風流を感じたのでした。私はどういうわけか、日本の初夏というものに対して特別な思いを抱いてしまうのです。クッキリと縁取られた濃厚な緑色の山。並木道の葉っぱからこぼれる光。涼しい影とまぶしい光が揺れながら地上に注ぐ様子は、それを見る私の感覚に喜びを与えます。

CATIAの仕事を離れもう2ヶ月半が過ぎました。現在の私は雑務的に翻訳等をしながら、ネットワークの学習をしています。資格試験の合格を目標に、日々参考書等と格闘しております。

JCF2009というフォーラムを通じて、CATIAの目指すものを学ぶことができましたのは、私にとってありがたい経験でした。CATIA V6という言葉があって、CATIAはCADに特化したものではなく、業務全体を管理するツールという印象を受けました。あまり正しくないかもしれないですが、そういった印象を受けてきたのでした。

[JCF 2009: Meeting with Great Japanese Engineers]

In case you don't know what JCF is, it's a biggest event for CATIA (3D CAD) users and anybody that's related to it, which takes two days. I joined the first day and the second day of this JCF 2009. On the first day I had a great opportunity that I could hear people's talks who are influential in the CATIA or designing field. Every speech was so inspiring I never felt bored or tired. On the second day was even more fun. I could see familiar people here and there. I had such a great time with the end user guys from Gumma-ken. They are great engineers that are working for a plastic molding designing. There's no doubt that they should be positioned to the most top for plastic engineering. I am very proud that I could work with them.

One of the biggest characteristics about Japanese engineers is their teamwork. From 2008 to 2009, I had a privilege to work with plastic molding designers at a major automobile parts manufacturer in Gunma, Japan; and it was such a great experience for me. What I found out there was a good old Japanese teamwork, which was not American at all. There's an old saying in Japan that goes something like "We all share a single jar of rice to eat" (onaji kama-no meshi o taberu), which makes the group be like a family. One you have that kind of team, there's no need to have a regulation sort of thing. Imagine there is a father and son who don't talk much but pretty much understand each other by sharing hardships of life. That's a typical good old Japanese teamwork that was seen everywhere in this country until maybe 1970s or so. And this still remains in those guys at Gunma-ken as far as I could see. It's really great.

I am pretty sure that this Japanese teamwork made Japanese manufacturers successful after the World War II. Lots of people would imagine that as far as you work for technology, you have to stand on reason all the time. It might be true but not always. On the personal level, this good old we-all-share-a-single-jar-of-rice culture must have been a major factor to bring them to the highest quality of their work. And I personally think it still works. I am so proud that I could work with the people who still have this wonderful culture. I truly believe they are first-rate engineers, and I really had a great time out there at JCF not only because I could learn about CATIA but also I could see those great plastic mold designers who had worked together in the last project.


JCFというのは2日かけて行なうCATIA(3D CAD)業界の大規模な催しです。今回私はこのJCF2009に2日間出席いたしました。1日目はCATIAや設計等の分野で活躍されている方々の話を聞くという内容で、私のような何でも学ばねばならない者にとっては大変有意義なものでした。非常に刺激的で、面白く、そのあいだ私は決して疲れたり退屈したりしませんでした。個人的には通訳の方々の仕事ぶりにとても興味を持った次第です。イヤホンを通じていかに優秀な方々かを窺うことができました。

二日目は、先日まで一緒に仕事をしていた群馬県のエンドユーザー様やプロジェクトで指導してくださった方と再会し、昼食等、時を共にいたしました。ところで、群馬の彼らは世界一流の樹脂金型設計者として位置づけられる人たちだと私は思っており、こういう方々と仕事できたことについて非常に誇りとしています。

日本の技術者の特徴をひとつ挙げるとすればそれは「チームワーク」です。2008年から2009年私は日本の樹脂金型メーカーの方々と仕事をする機会に恵まれましたが、これは私にとって決して忘れることのできない素晴らしい体験となりました。私がそこで見たものは、まったくアメリカ的でない、古き良き日本のチームワークです。「同じ釜の飯を食う」という古い言葉がありますが、つまりこれは他人であっても家族のように付き合うということです。そこには規制とか何とか、そういうものを持ってくる必要はないでしょう。無口な父親と息子の関係を想像してみると、なんとなく分かるのですが、人生の苦難を共有してきていることで、お互い無口でありながら理解しあっているような関係。そういうものが日本の技術者を一流にしたのだと思います。今はそういったものはもはやそんなに無いのかもしれませんが、1970年代ぐらいまでの日本だったら、きっとどこにでもあったのではないかと思います。しかし、私が見る限り、群馬県の彼らには今でもそういう古き良き日本のチームワークが残っている印象を私は受けました。とても稀な、素晴らしいことだと思います。

テクノロジーというと、どこまでも合理的にやっていくかのような印象を持ってしまいますが、個人レベルにおいては「同じ釜の飯を食べる」的なこの日本のカルチャーこそが彼らを最高レベルの成果へ導いた大きな要因ではなかったかと私は思います。この素晴らしいカルチャーをまだ持ち続ける世界的に一流の金型設計者の方々と一緒に仕事をできたことについて、私はとても誇りに感じております。JCFは純粋にCATIAを知るということもさることながら、こういう方々と再会できた点で、本当に楽しい催しでした。

[Say it or not, it is about a cultural difference]

I watched "Tonari-no Totoro" (translated as "My Neighbor Totoro"), a Japanese anime movie, and came up with a scene that a guy stopped his car to ask a boy who was stacking the hay in front of his house, saying, "Is your parent home?" The boy raises his right hand and points to the rice field a little far away. He said nothing to the guy. Then the guy, a new comer to the village says, "Thank you!"

Some years after that, I had a chance to see the same movie in English and there came this scene. The guy stops his car and asks the boy, "Is your parent home?" And the boy raises his right hand, pointing to the rice field in the distance and says clearly, "Over there! Right in the field!"

I learned what translation was about at that point. So if this movie should be created in English originally and somebody had to translate it into Japanese, this "Over there! Right in the field!" should be translated as mute.

So it is very interesting to know that most of the salarymen on the train in Tokyo are reading just the same newspaper as I read, but we think and act differently. I personally think I have to speak up at public places when necessary. But it's not common here. They keep mute even when they push the people to get to where they want to go, or bump somebody, or have to ask something such as "May I sit down?" or "Would you like me to move a little?" I am saying this kind of thing because I have experienced with multiple (three) cultures. I have a Japanese background and had a family in the U.S. being involved with a Mexican community, and I speak English at home.

Again, this is not about good or bad. It is about a cultural difference, or about "the same input and the different output." With the same business information to share between Japan and the U.S. (for example), one side thinks and acts differently from another to create a gap between them. I think it is very interesting to pursue for bilingual personnel, myself; so I might be able to provide better solutions for the both sides. - And I think that's who I am.


「となりのトトロ」というジブリ映画があります。主人公の女の子たちとお父さんが、小さな村にトラックに乗って引っ越してくる場面があります。運転者であるお父さんは車を止めて、田舎の少年にこんなことを言います。「おうちの方はどなたかおられませんか？」。すると少年は、何も言わず、少し向こうの田んぼを指差します。無言です。それからお父さんは、少年の無言を気にするでもなく、指を差された向こうに大人がいるのを認め、少年に「どうもありがとう！」とお礼を言って通り過ぎるのです。

それから数年たって、英語吹替え版の「となりのトトロ」を見る機会がありました。まったく同じ映画です。そして、まったく同じ場面が来ました。お父さんは車を止め、日本語版では言葉を発しない少年に向かって「おうちの方はどなたかおられませんか？」と聞きます。すると少年は、少し向こうの田んぼを指差します。それからハッキリと「あっちですよ！そこの田んぼの中！」と言ったのでした。

このとき私は翻訳というのがどういうものなのか、ということを学んだ気がしました。つまり、こういうことです。逆にもしもこの映画が英語で作製されているとします。少年は「あっちですよ！そこの田んぼの中！」と英語で言いますが、これの日本語訳は？となったら、それは「無言」です。

東京の通勤電車でのサラリーマンの多くは私が読んでいるのと同じ新聞を読んでいます。しかし、考えとか行動規範は違います。公共の場において、必要の際はきちんと声を発するべきだと、私は個人的には思っています。（もっとも、それは現在の日本の文化に沿ったものではありませんが。）たとえば、自分が前に行くことで頭がいっぱいで、人にぶつかっても「すみません」と言うことはあまりありません。「ここに座ってもよろしいですか？」とか「あ、わたし、こちらに移動しましょうか？」と言うこともないでしょう。こういったことを私が気にしているのも、そもそも自分は日本人のバックグラウンドを持ち、アメリカでファミリーを持ち、メキシコ人らと関わって生活をして来ている、といった多文化の環境で暮らしてきたというためかもしれません。（ちなみに私が家で話す言語は英語。）

繰り返しますが、これは良い悪いの問題ではありません。文化の違いのことです。つまり、同じインプットを入力しても、違ったアウトプットが出てくるという現象のことです。たとえば日本とアメリカでビジネスをした場合、同じ仕事の情報を共有しているにもかかわらず、両者にギャップが生まれます。面白い現象だと思います。そして、自分は両者にとってより良いソリューションを提案する架け橋的な存在になりたいと、常日頃意識しながら仕事をしておりますし、それこそが自分の存在価値なのだと思っております。

CATIA V5: Created an Outlook of Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas

This is a free activity I was allowed to do in CATIA. The first thing that came to my mind was this church building in Las Vegas. I really wanted to make this with CATIA.

As the specification tree in CATIA shows, the geometry was not created well enough. It is just that the rough outlook of the building was created in 3D. There is no such thing as intelligence about it.

Let me tell you about some memory my family and I have about this church. My partner used to work for a restaurant that was pretty close to this place. Our little girl and I would wait for her inside the church building until she finished her work.

I still remember one day when we were praying together in three and we walked out the place before a Mass was about to start, when a priest came down to us at the door to say why not attend the Holy Mass. Mommy (I call my parner "mommy" just the same way as our girl calls her) and I said we had to go. We had to walk a long way back home. On the way, mommy was saying, "Why he had to stop us? There were plenny of peopo. Maybe we should've been there, so we might have heard a great message during the Mass. What if that priest was a person who only we could see? I don't feel like that was a real person." But our girl wanted to go on that day. It was becoming dark outside. - Don't laugh at what Mommy said that time about the priest. It was an everyday thing that we had to feel and talk about such an experience. We were very poor. Our girl was 6 or 7 at that time. I still remember the hot summer days in Las Vegas. On the way out there, I let her drink water every 10 minutes. I would take out a water bottle in my backpack. We poured water on our heads.

Most of the time, we couldn't even afford a bus fare. We still remember the day when mommy prepared oranges for us, so we shared them together, while walking along the Strip avenue in Las Vegas. We couldn't buy anything in most cases but stayed in Walgreen or something just to see things. It was a great time for all of us.

On the way back home, our girl was saying again and again, "Today was fun!!!" We really felt we were so happy. We didn't do anything expensive. Our biggest luxury was to go to a 99 cent store or Smith's or Albertson's. It was fun just to stick around, or walking along the streets together.

When I was on this CATIA course training in 2008, I had waited for a chance to create whatever I wanted, and there was a chance. I created that building shape on the computer with much enthusiasm. It was fun.

My business card (private one) has had this image on it.

CATIA V5: PartDesign workbench #3 (Achievement Test)

I had an achievement test during the course period, and I was able to pass it. This is the one I created in CATIA.

CATIA V5: AssemblyDesign workbench

I entered the 2nd month of the CATIA course training, when I was expalined by an instructor that the AssemblyDesign is another work area CATIA V5 offers, where multiple PartDesign geometries are allowed to exist and managed. This workbench enables one PartDesign geometry to interact with another PartDesign geometry which is not possible to be done in the PartDesign workbench. The beauty of this workbench is that each part feature is able to join just like machine parts in order to make them move or turn according to the rules (constraints) you create.

CATIA V5: PartDesign workbench #2

The PartDesign workbench can create these things.