["Classical Music as the Greatest Luxury" - Impressive Book!] 最高に贅沢なクラシック(許光俊)

The book starts off with an episode of a Japanese student in Paris who made this statement in front of his friends. “All of those guys eating here at the university cafeteria will never understand the Marcel Proust.”

Proust, the author of “In Search of Lost Time” was from a wealthy family who never had to suffer from poverty or hunger. He himself was also a wealthy man, who was said to have spent a large amount of money in a single night. The author of the book “Classical Music as the Greatest Luxury” states that you wouldn’t understand Proust’s feeling if you are the type of person who gets filled up with the food you eat at a school cafeteria.

Mozart and Beethoven were said to be the type of people who, even in financial difficulties, kept leading luxurious lives.

The point here is “Don’t think everyone is equal. Don’t even think an art can be understood equally by every group of people.” The author states that this may lead to a misunderstanding but it is a truth anybody hesitates to say openly.

The author extendedly states Japan had to be luxurious people but far from truly appreciating classical music, such as Beethoven or Mozart. He even says something fundamental is missing in the music the Japanese create. Even NHK symphony sounds "fishy."

There were times when they were seemingly rich and luxurious, but it was not a true richness. The Roppongi Hills, the status symbol of the riches in that country, had not produced any more true riches than the huge waste of garbage. Nothing beautiful or precious had been created throughout the period.

The author decides to take off the country to travel to multiple cities of overseas.

Chapter 1: Hong Kong, China
The first place he chose is Hong Kong, where he sees the people, stores, streets, and concert halls. He concludes that the music was fishy because of the streets outside the hall that were filled with smells, humid air, and sweating people, whereas the concert hall was kept so clean without allowing any bugs, noise, or smells inside. He states “Brahms in Hong Kong” is as fishy as when you see an ad such as “Beethoven in Tokyo.” No matter how passionate they are about classical music, they are out of it.

I think I can understand what he is talking about. Although I have never been to Hong Kong or anywhere in China, as far as Japan is concerned, I don’t feel the people who push others and rush to the narrow gate of a train station would ever be able to understand Bruckner’s symphonies. The same is true with those who can’t wait to share a space or say a word or two in a shopping center or on the trains.

Chapter 2: Vienna, Austria
Vienna is one of the notable cities of music. If you are fond of classical music, the city of Vienna might come up to your mind in the first place. The author introduces Vienna as the place of double standards just like the both sides of a coin. He states there are always “praises” and “betrayals” in that city. Here in the city of Vienna he decides to speak English instead of German, since he thinks it should be more comfortable to be treated as an outsider. He wants to avoid any local frustration out there but just focus on music.

The author introduces the concert hall of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra by explaining that the hall is not really good when it comes to terms with the sound effect. It may sometimes make a miraculous blend of sound when you least expect it, but he states it is not a product of what the designers had wanted.

The author then writes about Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He thinks this orchestra often doesn’t do its best to perform music. It is a very popular orchestra. You cannot get a ticket easily for their concert. They sometimes do poor performance. However, the author admits their music, like their concert hall, can be incredibly passionate and vivid when least expected. That music is what you could never be able to hear from other orchestras.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

【There Are Good Reasons To Fall Into DQN Names】DQNネームには理由（わけ）がある

It is said that baby names in Japan have increasingly become misguided. You have no clue how to read them in Kanji. Having inspected the tendency, I have come up with the following patterns when the parents will name their kids. They call them "DQN names."

(For those of who don't know what DQN names are, here is a brief reference on that. http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/none/joy-and-pain-dqn-names-674680)

1. Traditional names are not preferred much, such as:

   Boys: 太郎 (Taro), 次郎 (Jiro), 武 (Takeshi), 正和 (Masakazu), 幸雄 (Yukio)
   Girls: 花子 (Hanako), 良子 (Yoshiko), 美智子 (Michiko), 康子 (Yasuko), 真理子 (Mariko)

2. Names taken after anime characters have become more popular, such as:

   Boys: 天空 (Rapyuta), 織賀 (Olga), くれあ (Clair), 騎士 (Knight)
   Girls: 莉音 (Lyon), 瑠南 (Lunar)

天空 normally reads "Ten-kuu" and is translated as "sky". For some reason, this will be pronounced "Rapyuta" because there is a movie titled "Rapyuta - Castle in the Sky". Rapyuta, by the way, is the name of the main character in the movie, and the name doesn't associate with "The Sky" (天空, Tenkuu) except appearing in the title. This is almost like pronouncing "World" as "Garp" after having been inspired by the movie (novel) "World According to Garp."
 

Or it might be similar to write "Michael" and let you pronounce it "Moonwalk."

After having written this far, I have just come up with "Moonlight Graham" in the movie "The Field of Dreams."

It seems like Japanese attempt to make nicknames be the legal names to their babies. Imagine many of the kids in schools have "Moonlight Graham" kind of names. That's what's happening.

About 莉音 (Lyon), I sometimes heard Japanese moms calling their daughter's names at a restaurant. They were yelling out, "Lyon! Lyon! Hurry up! Somebody else will get the seat over there!" This name seems kind of popular to be a girl's name.

Also, there was a boy classmate named "Clair" in my daughter's old elementary school in Japan.

Olga is a Russian name for girls and Lyon a French name for boys, but in Japan they will be opposite. Olga would much more likely be a boy's name out there, and Lyon should be a name for girls. 

3. Some are not originally human names, such as:

    Boys: Koshien 甲子園 (a ball park's name)

4. Some names don’t sound so bad but are spelled misguidedly in Kanji, such as: 

    Boys: 夢叶 (pronounced "You-toe")
    Girls: 駈姒 (Kumi)

5. Some parents get the idea of using complicated Kanji, such as:

    Boys: 煌凄 (Kousei), 露魅央 (Romeo)
    Girls: 圭遼 (Keito, Kate), 栞緒 (Kanon)

For 煌凄, the Kanji 煌 has never been included in the Kanji required to learn in schools.

Let me get back to the Kanji above. About 圭遼 (Keito), most Japanese most likely read it "Kei Ryoh." Nobody would be able to read that name correctly.

With the school curriculums, the Kanji "遼" has NOT been taught to read "Ryoh."
This parents used "遼" and read "To" because it might have been listed on some dictionary or encyclopedia. - One of the features of Kanji is that many are read multiple ways, so parents are able to find a cool Kanji that will be fitting with the sound they like.

6. Names sounding cute or cool (which might be meant) such as:

    Boys: 吐夢 (Cosmo)
    Girls: 苺 (Ichigo, meaning "strawberry"), 春愛人 (It is read "Heart" but the Kanji laterally means the "lover in spring"), 兎鈴魅 ("Do-Le-Mi" as in musical notes)

With Cosmo, 吐 means "vomit" and 夢 "dream". 吐 normally is not read "Cos" (or Kosu), and 夢 will not be read "Mo".

7. Bad names:

There was a public dispute in Japan when some parents named their new-born baby "悪魔” (which reads "Akuma" meaning Devil).

The name was turned down at the official facility but the parents insisted that it has to be accepted despite the fact that it seems not good on the appearance.

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It is true however that many people don't like these parents naming their kids like that. They say that it looks so crazy and stupid. Many of those misguided names which cannot be read at the glance of them are said to be originated from uneducated, delinquent parents. Typically they take "misguided inspirations" by using wrong or improper (even immoral or ominous) Kanji for their babies.

But here is the truth. Seemingly misguided names are as old as history. If you go back a little bit to the past, there are even some famous or historical people who have this sort of name, or named their kids just like the parents I have introduced so far.

1. Take an example of Reona Esaki (江崎玲於奈, 1925- ), a Japanese physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Esaki
 

His first name reminds me of "Leona," an English name for girls. And his Kanji cannot be read at the first glance. It looks just like the name of these days.

2. Ogai Mori (森鴎外, 1862-1922), a Japanese Army Surgeon, translator, novelist and poet named their sons 於菟 (Otto) and 不律 (Fritz). His wife was Japanese who was born, lived, and died in Japan. The Kanji used for these kids are not common to be person's names.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_%C5%8Cgai

3. Nobunaga Oda (織田 信長, 1534–1582), the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, named his children 大洞 (Oh-borah) and 小洞 (Coe-borah), which sound like “big lies” and “small lies” when you hear it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobunaga

I will not mention if I like it or not. That is not my intention here. I just want to inspect what is going on, why this is happening, what that really means, and what the perspectives are.

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The reason for all this (the baby names issue), I assume, is just because every one of those parents want (or want their kids) to be different from others. Japan is a group-oriented culture, where you can't stand out and act (or think) differently. You have to hide and be like everyone else. Otherwise, you will be hammered down and won't be able to join the group. Being out of group means you are outcast and even considered "wrong". Decisions in the group tend to be more powerful and influential than the laws in their culture, which I guess is a big difference from the one in the West.

When you think about it, if you officially have a different stuff (such as names), you will automatically have a chance to be treated or looked differently. You don't have to try standing out by yourself. Anyone has a tendency to be different or special. You want to be the center of something, and don't want to be part of the sand in the beach. What would you have to do in order to come up with a solution? - That is the answer I have for the naming preferences in such an environment. - Like it or not, being "Passive-aggressive" can be the way to go. And this has always been true throughout their history. It is generically different from seeking "American Dreams" but they love watching the Hollywood movies or soap operas. They will get fascinated when Lady Gaga visits Japan. Some love to sing Beyoncé's songs at a karaoke place.

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I don't think Japan is a special case. There is nothing unique about it. (They want to think they are more unique and more different than the uniqueness of all the others, though.) I imagine a similar tendency can be observed in other countries. Of course, they don't have to use Kanji or anything to their babies. It wouldn't be just about your babies.

 

Interesting thing here is their preference has long been directed to America. It is even true now today. Many people want to mention their culture has been "Americanized" in many ways.

 

However, being "Americanized" does not mean to be "American." - That's the point.

 

When using the website or software, I come up with a pop up which lets me do my environment settings. I prefer selecting "International" or "Global" rather than "English (US)". - Whatever you choose out of it, it's English anyway. (I don't select "Japanese," by the way.)

 

Even more people or countries, I assume, will be "Americanized" in their own way using English. I have a friend from Indonesia who speaks fluent English. He has never lived in the U.S. or anything except a couple of weeks. He is currently working in Japan as a system engineer and his work environment is 100% Japanese. I made friends with him out there. We would have some talks over lunch.

 

I am kind of anticipating what the globalization trend may bring about. We all use English, but it's not American or British. I think it's an interesting picture. If you focus on the positive side, it could be more fun and exciting. It reminds me of connecting the foreign pieces and American stuff together by using English. - Hope this cultural perspective will help you think differently.

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[Additional Note:] The YouTube video I have put up on top seems very silly but I find it is meaningful in many ways. The Japanese in general have inferiority complex toward their English accent. That is why that short drama came out. I also notice the teacher touches or points at one of the student's body. This mat be seen quite commonly in Japanese schools, which people of the Western culture may feel uncomfortable. The teacher even exaggeratedly coughs, clears his throat, and spits out. In the end they all say, "Oh, my God." They perceive these words differently than how English speaking people do. I have seen kids in Japan who go up to a foreigner and stick up the middle finger to say, "Fakku yuu! Hahaha!" and run away. They don't really know what they are doing. They know it's not good to say to someone else, but they think it may sound "funny" to foreigners. This is seemingly rude and nasty but they do that only because they want to break the ice and overcome with their shyness. (Of course, this still is not a pleasant experience to face.)
 

Reflection Over a White Oak Leaf

Winter in Michigan is really cold. It is colder than Tokyo when the temperature hits the lowest of the year. But it is very much pleasant to live here. Every time I drive a car in the morning or in the afternoon, I feel some sort of joy coming up from inside. This is also true when speaking with a shop clerk or someone in your neighbor. This is the same feeling as I have had when I listen to the last movement of Beethoven's 6th Symphony, where people in a rural place becomes so grateful for the sun to reappear after the storm was gone.

One of my good friends in Japan who has lived there for a long time asked me to send a white oak leaf. He spent his boyhood years in Ann Arbor and said a white oak leaf would carry good memories going back to his good old days. I went outside during lunch time in order to take some pictures of the apartment complex. I found oak leaves there when I quickly thought of this friend in Japan. I collected some leaves and put them in my car. It brought me to a silent joy as I was doing that.

"You can tell a White Oak because the tips of the leaves are rounded, like a bullet. Red Oak have pointed tips on the leaves, like the tips of an arrow. That's how we learned the difference." He explained to me.

This sort of friendship will not be limited to my private life. I even have a chance to speak with a guy I worked with in Japan over the telephone. We still work together via e-mail. It is thankful that I am able to do that, even though I have changed the company I work for.

When it comes to term with convenience, Japan should be so much better. However, it is interesting, at the same time, to be realized that there is no other country has obtained a higher standard of living than Japan with respect to the social system, infrastructure or customer services, but it is one of the worst places in some sense, where people are incapable of being connected with others. This is not a question of good or bad, but just whether you like it or not.

I personally think that if their demanding service quality are exported to other countries, it would make both Japanese and other nation become happier together.

The 21st Century Drama

21st century is pretty much different from the 20th or even before that era in that we are working for the same goal. I let go of my imagination and was feeling this way. If the world will come to an end some day, it would happen not because of a war or disaster but because of reaching to the point where people have finally settled down to a certain conclusion after all those striffles and conflicts. There would be pains, exhaustion, honesty, perfect forgiveness, and convinction for hope. If all these things are shared among all of the people on earth regardless of race and sex, then what would be left?

I liked this You Tube video I watched tonight. This appealed to me so strongly specially because it is understandable that one of the episodes in the video really can happen (although it is rare) where a clerk at cafeteria treats an Asian individual as if he were transparent or invisible. One of the participants shares his experience at around 23:45, where he (Asian American) was ignored by a shop clerk in the restaurant, and another person making a line on his back was served first in the restaurant. Each one has many things to say. The status quo of problem sharing across the border and race reminds me of the current trend of global business.

Soseki Natsume 夏目漱石

Soseki Natsume. - For no particular reason, I often think of this author who died in 1916. The first encouter with his work was when I happened to read "Kokoro" by chance in my teens. I remember the book was secured by a thick paper box, and the Japanese letters used were old fashioned. This literary work published in 1914 gave some dull shock to my mind.

Some books can remain in your head a long time especially when you read them in your vulnerable years. Even if you think you have got much older and are not that sensitive anymore, the dull shock you once had can be retrieved inside of you to let you feel something more out of it.

The story is told by a student (the narrator) who start describing who Sensei was.

"It was at Kamakura, during the summer holidays, that I first met Sensei. I was then a very young student. I went there at the insistence of a friend of mine, who had gone to Kamakura to swim."

The narrator keeps an eye on this (presumably) middle-aged man who he doesn't really know of.

"Sensei had just taken his clothes off and was about to go for a swim when I first laid eyes on him in the tea house. I had already had my swim, and was letting the wind blow gently on my wet body. Between us, there were numerous black heads moving about. I was in a relaxed frame of mind, and there was such a crowd on the beach that I should never have noticed him had he not been accompanied by a Westerner."

Why does he do that? Does he like guys? - I doubt it.
It might be understandable if you start thinking that people of similar social backgrounds with no specific religious orientation can be lead to this tendency, when they have to identify themselves.

This story consistently describes this middled-aged guy, who is never a super hero or anything but just a mediocre individual with a negative mindset. Why this guy? Why this author wants to pick up this person? Why this story has been read for 100 years? What's in it, anyway?

I think this is because the readers have a desire to be different from others, or want to find what is so special about themselves through tracing the descriptions. It appears to be written about somebody, but the focus is on the readers themselves in order to be satisfied to deeply know that this mediocre passive fellow is an extraordinary individual in disguise.

Also, it is interesting to find that people of 1914 (including Soseki) thought of "Westerners" as frightening creatures as well as gorgeous celebrities. It might have something to do with how the Japanese today would think of "Westerners".

"The Westerner, with his extremely pale skin, had already attracted my attention when I approached the tea house. He was standing with folded arms, facing the sea; carelessly thrown down on the stool by his side was a Japanese summer dress which he had been wearing. He had on him only a pair of drawers such as we were accustomed to wear. I found this particularly strange. Two days previously I had gone to Yuigahama and, sitting on top of a small dune close to the rear entrance of a Western-style hotel, I had whiled away the time watching the Westerners bathe. All of them had their torsos, arms, and thighs well-covered. The women especially seemed overly modest. Most of them were wearing brightly colored rubber caps which could be seen bobbing conspicuously amongst the waves. After having observed such a scene, it was natural that I should think this Westerner, who stood so lightly clad in our midst, quite extraordinary."

"As I watched, he turned his head to the side and spoke a few words to a Japanese, who happened to be bending down to pick up a small towel which he had dropped on the sand. The Japanese then tied the towel around his head, and immediately began to walk towards the sea. This man was Sensei."

Reading up until this far, I feel the main character should be "I" the narrator, which most likely means the reader. - When I think about it, the dull feelings I had from this book in my teenage days might have been a process to recognize I was one in-dividual. If you replace this "self" with "your own country" or "nation", that would explain why many people (including myself) have a desire to mention different countries.

[Where the Poor Translations Are] 誤訳にまつわる問題

What is a Technical Translation? (技術翻訳って何?)

What is a technical translation? In all my years working as a translator (as well as a software engineer), this idea comes to my mind from time to time. Some people say it is easy once you get used to it, while some others say it is not the language skill that matters but a solid knowledge to any specific work field you are (will be) in.

The answer to this question should be as simple as this:

“Catch the ball, know what it is, and pass it to the next guy.”

Any professional translator is responsible for what he or she did. But, unfortunately, it is not the case sometimes. I recently came up with some Japanese-to-English translators who translated everything so wrong. They don’t even seem to know there are problems with it, but are proud to be able to turned in the translated documents earlier than the deadline. “This is it! Look! I did it fast!” It is meaningless to quickly pass along a totally wrong translation. - All 20 or 30 pages of it. I wish I were able to let them know of that. I would give them some advice.

I am not really sure what kind of negative impact it would cause if a translation is so poor. It would be up to how it will be used or who will be reading it. – An illegal pitch will not always make a dead ball. But once you give a dead ball, the problem will be made more explicit and worse, leaving even more negative impact not only to the batter but the fellow players as well as the audience.

When you translate a technical document, you don’t have to write it beautifully. (Of course, it is better if you can write it beautifully.) But it is much better to write it awkwardly but correctly, rather than translate it incorrectly using beautiful sentences. That translation I mentioned earlier was written incorrectly as well as awkwardly. Nothing can be done to it. All we are to do is to pass along any given information correctly to whom it will be delivered. That is one big difference between when you translate a novel and when you translate a technical document. - That’s what technical translation is about.

English-to-Japanese Translation

In Japan, when you hear about translation, most people will think it is an English-to-Japanese translation. In schools they spend most of their times in learning to translate from English to Japanese. Doing it to another direction (from Japanese to English) is not so common. This is because, historically speaking, they basically have been passive toward the western cultures. From ancient times, they would import goods, thoughts or religion from overseas. That is how they have become developed and prospered. Even more than 1,000 years ago, for example, highly-ranked government officials would take the risk of travelling to China across the sea to import foreign materials or thoughts. Buddhism is said to have imported to Japan in 538. The sutras (scriptures), of course, were not written in Japanese, so they needed to be translated into Japanese. Kanji (Chinese character) was imported from China to Japan. - There are currently other forms of characters in Japanese such as Hiragana and Katakana but it came into being through the process of simplification or customization of Kanji (Chinese character).

[PATTERN 1:]

Import => Translate it into Japanese => Customize

The pattern as shown above has been basically true until recently (or even up until now today). There is a classical anatomy book translated by Sugita Genpaku and other fellows in 1774, and it was a translation from Dutch to Japanese.

After the shogun era (the Edo period) was over in 1867, Japan took off to take the path to the modernization. Politicians adopted British or German concepts, and authors studied European literary works. Learning European ideas or purchasing foreign items was apparently a status symbol.

To summarize, things were imported and then customized according to their needs and taste. I think this “import” can involve “translation” in many ways. It also reminds me of the translation pattern carried out from English to Japanese.

Japanese-to-English Translation

This has seemed to be an "opposite" pattern to those who have believed an “English-to-Japanese” translation to be the "standard." The globalized economy is getting even more tremendous. Like it or not, Japan is facing the urge to shift their paradigm. (The same is true with any other countries.)

Facing the fast growing globalization trend and the necessity to compete with other countries, the traditional “Import => Translate it into Japanese => Customize” pattern is not almighty any more. The translation of the direction has become even much more necessary, and this pattern can be written as below.

[PATTERN 2:]

“Products, thoughts, ideas (made in Japan) => Export => Translate it into another language”

Although Japan has been said that they are not good at doing all this, this design is nothing new to be performed. They even performed this pattern during the World War II. I personally relate the today’s globalization to the situation of 70 years ago when Japan tried to be extended toward overseas.

It is generally considered that Japan during that war time was not doing things either well or right, but I think that experience will teach us something greatly important to let us think how this country will be successful in the globalized economy.

Now, getting back to the very poor translation, the following are the problems I have found:

1. The translator (and his/her supervisor) will not notice if there is a problem about the translated document or information. (They even think they are doing fairly well.)

2. So they are unable to predict or understand any impact that their translation may cause.

3. This may mislead them to a totally wrong direction, resulting in bad consequences to those who concerned.

I know it is much of a challenge to translate something into another language because it is not your first language. But there is no choice; it is unavoidable. Those translated documents from Japanese to English just reminded me how they were doing during the World War II. I believe, however, we will be made great if these issues are overcome. I want to stick to it.

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技術翻訳とは何か？翻訳(またはソフトエンジニア)の仕事をずっとやっていると、しばしばそのことが頭に浮かびます。「一旦慣れてしまえば簡単だ」という人もいれば、いや、「語学力は問題ではない。その専門の領域に関してしっかりした知識が物をいうのだ」という人もおります。

答えは単純で下記のようなものです。

「受けとる。しっかり分かる。正しく次に渡す。」

翻訳を仕事としている人であれば、自分の仕事に関して責任を負っています。しかし残念なことに、そうでない場合もあります。先日、他人がやった日英翻訳を目にしたのでしたが、あらゆる箇所が間違いでした。翻訳者本人からしたら、無自覚でありましょう。「英訳終わりました！ご覧ください、こんなに早く仕上がりました！」

ただ、間違った翻訳を早急に渡されても意味がありません。しかも、20～30ページがズラーっと間違いだらけでは。そのことを翻訳者に知らせ、何かアドバイスができたら、と思いますが、現在の立場上、私にそれができません。

質の悪い翻訳がどのような悪影響を及ぼすのか、私にはよく分かりません。それは翻訳がどのようにその後使われるのか、または誰がそれを読むのか、によるとは思います。- 暴投したからといって必ずデッドボールになるとは限りません。ただ、実際デッドボールを起こすと、問題はさらに明示的になり、悪い方向に行くでしょう。打者のみならずその仲間や観客にまで影響を及ぼすといったような。

技術書の翻訳にあたっては、美しい文章を書く必要はありません。（確かに美しく書ければそれに越したことはありません。）不正確な情報を美しく書くよりは、不格好でも正しく書いたほうがずっとマシです。情報を不正確にかつ不格好に書いたものが、その翻訳でしたから、残念なことです。

翻訳者がすべきことは、与えられた情報を正しく読み手に渡す、ということです。これが小説の翻訳と技術翻訳との違いかと思います。- 技術翻訳とは、結局そういうものです。

英日翻訳

日本で「翻訳」と聞くと、ほとんどの人からは英語から日本語への翻訳だと思われています。学校ではほとんどの場合、英語から日本語に翻訳するのを学習します。その反対の方向（日本語から英語への翻訳）はそれほど一般的ではありません。これは、歴史的にいって、日本人が西洋文化に対して受け身で来たためでしょう。古来より、海外から物品、思考、宗教を輸入してきました。これによって日本は発展、繁栄してきたわけです。たとえば1,000年もの昔、身分の高い役人が危険を冒してまで海を渡って中国に行き、物資や思想を持ってきたのです。仏教が日本に輸入されたのは538年と言われていますが、お経は当然日本語で書かれていないため、日本語に翻訳する必要がありました。漢字は中国から輸入されたものです。ひらがなやカタカナといった別の形式文字がありますが、これらは漢字の簡略化やカスタマイズを経て今日の形になっているわけです。

[パターン1:]

輸入 => 日本語訳 => カスタマイズ

上記のパターンはつい最近まで（あるいは、この今も）基本的に有効でした。杉田玄白その他が解剖学についての古典的書物を日本語に翻訳したのが1774年でした。それはオランダ語から日本語への翻訳でした。

1867年に江戸時代という将軍の時代が終わり、日本は近代化への道を歩み始めました。政治家はイギリスやドイツの考えを取り入れましたし、作家は西洋の文学を研究しました。西洋の考えや物品を取り入れることは、同時に、分かりやすいステータス・シンボルでした。

以上をまとめると、物事は輸入され、必要と趣味に応じてカスタマイズされてきた、といえます。この「輸入」はいろんな意味で「翻訳」をも含んでいると私は思います。それは私に「英=>日」パターンによる翻訳を連想させます。

日英翻訳

英日翻訳を「正」としてきた人々には、このパターンは「逆」パターンだと思われるかと思います。グローバル化はすさまじいものです。好むと好まざるとにかかわらず、日本はパラダイムの変更を迫られています。（他の国においてもそうですが。）

急速に進むグローバル化と他国との競争に際して、従来の”輸入 => 日本語訳 => カスタマイズ”というパターンがすべて、というわけには、もはやいかなくなりました。「逆方向」の翻訳がさらに必要となりました。つまり、下のような形です。

[PATTERN 2:]

“製品・考え (国産) => 輸出 => 多言語への翻訳”

日本はこういったことが不得手だといわれています。しかしこの様式は何も新しいことではありません。第二次大戦の際にこういったことを実行していました。私は今日のグローバル化社会が、海外に進出しようとした70年前の日本と重なります。一般的に戦争当時の日本はうまく正しくやれなかった、という認識となっています。ただし、その時の失敗経験は、このグローバル化経済戦争で成功するための重要なことを教えてくれると思います。

さて、あのひどい日英翻訳に戻っていきますが、私は次のことに気が付きました：

1. 翻訳者(とその上司)は自分が翻訳したドキュメントや情報の翻訳の質について問題があると気づかない。(むしろ、良くやっていると誤認識する。)

2. よって、その翻訳が引き起こす負の影響を予測することが出来ない。

3. これが完全に誤った方向や結果につながり、関係者に不利益をもたらす。
.

母国語でない言葉に訳すことは大変な課題であることは私も分かります。しかし、それは避けられないことであり、選択の余地はないと思います。最近個人的に目にした間違いを多く含んだ日英翻訳で、第二次大戦当時の日本の状況を連想した次第です。
しかしながら、このことが克服されれば、とても素晴らしい方向にむかうと私は信じています。私はこのことを追及していきたいと思います。

[What Ryoma Sakamoto Means to the Japan Today] 坂本竜馬と最近の日本

Japan has been subject to the changes of the surroundings more than others. The people & the government have encountered with the changes quite passively. People feel that it is against their culture or tradition that they speak directly to someone, ask questions to someone, or express your opinions clearly. It doesn't mean they are quiet or modest. - They are aggressive people, but it is more like being “passive aggressive.” For example, they don’t look at another person and say, “Don’t sit beside me.” They would most likely ignore, be preoccupied or pretend not seeing anybody so as not to let anybody in.

They will hear or listen in order to learn things. But they are not good at debating with someone or persuading someone. Because of the group-oriented culture, it is considered well-mannered to be shy and not to say things so well.

The person I want to pick up this time is Ryoma Sakamoto (坂本竜馬), one of the popular activists in Japanese history, who lived from 1836 to 1867. He was engaged with political activities until he was assassinated a little before the shogun era came to an end.

I actually didn’t have a keen interest toward this historical person, but hearing a lot about him through media made me think I wanted to look up some information on him. I began to think it understandable why this man has been regarded as one of the heros.

Wikepedia describes as the following:
When Ryoma finished his schools, he returned to Tosa, his hometown. One of his friends, Takechi organized the Tosa Loyalist Party with a political slogan "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Foreigners." This group was not accepted by the Tosa lord, so they plotted to an assassination. Ryoma is said to have participated in name only. Ryoma thought Takechi demanded a revolution for only the Tosa clan, but not for Japan.

Due to this fact, “(h)e decided to leave Tosa and separate from Takechi. In those days, nobody was permitted to leave their clan without permission, on penalty of death. One of Ryoma’s sisters committed suicide because he left without permission.

It is incredible that nobody was permitted at that time to leave their clan without permission, on penalty of death. But similar kind of atmosphere can be observed even now today. There are many should-dos and should-not-dos that don’t stand on reason.
 
The last part of the shogun period and Ryoma are relatively described like this:
"While a ronin, Ryōma decided to assassinate Katsu Kaishū, a high-ranking official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a supporter of both modernization and westernization. However, Katsu Kaishū persuaded Ryōma of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan’s military strength. Instead of killing Katsu Kaishū, Ryōma started working as his assistant and protégé."

I like what he did here. Once he was going to kill Katsu but he became an assistant to him after some persuasion.

Wikepedia continues:
"In 1864, as the Tokugawa shogunate started taking a hard line, Ryoma fled to Kagoshima in Satsuma domain, which was developing as a major centre for the anti-Tokugawa movement. Ryoma negotiated the secret alliance between Chōshū and Satsuma provinces. Satsuma and Chōshū historically had been absolute enemies, and Ryoma's position as a "neutral outsider" was critical in bridging the gap in trust."

I personally liked the following description most. He tries to stand out so as to make a change. He is really a Samurai. A real Samurai will not just hide yourself to be like everyone else, and follow and obey how everyone does. He or she will have to be determined and courageous.

“Ryoma was a visionary who envisioned a Japan without any feudal trappings. He read about and was inspired by the example of the United States where "all men are created equal". He realized that in order to compete with an industrially and technologically advanced outside world, the Japanese people needed to modernize. He has also been seen as an intriguing mix of the traditional and modern, symbolized by his preference for samurai dress while favoring western footwear.”

I don’t think the same concept or idea should be followed this time today. We are in 21st century, where people and societies are connected to the internet. We will have to do more than that with more thoughts and ideas. – We need to start from stopping to wear a T-shirt with weird or wrong English, or from playing English pop music without even knowing what it‘s all about and what’s really there.