[Why Recited Poems at the Imperial Palace Cannot be Translated?] なぜ歌会始の歌は英訳できないのか

Writing about seasons can be a great deal of fun because I feel I am part of the nature. Take Haiku poem (俳句) for example, which is comprised of 5-7-5 syllable patterns. Haiku is supposed to have one seasonal word in it. There are even books on seasonal terms for a reference , and it is fun just to read those books. When you start composing Haiku, you may feel it is a great refreshment for your mind.

This type of poem has a limitation of length. It should be very short but needs to depict something impressive and let go of readers' imagination. There are a few impressive scenes I wrote in my own book after getting a hint from one Haiku or two, where a little boy was with his big sister scooping goldfish in a summer festival of Japan.

There is another scene where an adult guy walks along a narrow backstreet, and some old lady is spreading water out with her own hands. This should have been a common view of summer in Japan, which is meant to prevent dust to blow off, or to make the place look cooler. People do it especially in front of a house, a narrow path, or a sidewalk.

There is also a description about a flower that is inside a water-filled goldfish bowl, while children are playing at a summer festival venue. Kids gather around a goldfish scooping stall, holding a water resolvable cup.

Haiku of winter is attractive, too. Winter can call a lot of imagination just like summer does. For example, "scattering roasted beans" doesn't mean just to scatter something. It is a traditional event in February, where family members scatter tiny roasted beans at home in order to drive evil spirit away. After finishing this, you will pick up the scattered beans and eat them. But the number of beans to pick up and eat should be the same as your age.

For those who have done all this in childhood should get a lot of imagination and memories when hearing about "scattering beans". Many might recall when he or she had a fight with a brother or sister over beans. Others might remember that a bean was found long after the event at the back of furniture, and it could be an occasion where someone in the family died and they were setting up a funeral ceremony when they moved the furniture.

When you think about it, "scattering roasted beans" means a lot more than it appears to be. There were more annual events taking place in Japan. That makes Haiku become meaningful and appealing, although it is extremely short.

The same thing is true with waka (tanka) poems (和歌、短歌), which are comprised of 5-7-5-7-7 syllable patterns. Every new year, there is "utakai hajime" at the Imperial Court, where civilians, emperor, emperess, and the families of the emperor present waka poems. I had a chance to look at the English translation of the pieces the other day, and the translation seemed to be far less than the original.

"Why these great waka poems cannot be translated into English?"
I was thinking about it, until I came to a conclusion that this type of poem does not necessarily require many things to say in words. Waka poem is meant to share the memory the people who are present have in common, so one symbolic word to exhibit can be just fine.


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季節について書くというのはとても心楽しいものです。それによって自分も自然の一員であるような気持ちになるからです。まずは、5-7-5の音節によって形成された俳句を例に取ってみましょう。俳句には季語が入っていなければなりません。その参考とすべき本（歳時記）が本屋では入手が可能です。俳句を作成していると、心のリフレッシュメントを得た心持になります。

俳句は非常に短いものでありながら、印象的な描写をし、読者の空想をかき立てなければなりません。好きな俳句の描写から敷衍された形で、私は散文を書いたことがあります。それは、少年が姉と共に夏祭りに出かけ、金魚すくいをやるといった場面です。

そしてもう一つ好きなものは、大人の男性が裏通りを歩いている時に、老女が手で水まきをしているといった場面。こうした風景はかつての日本ではよく見られたものに違いありません。水まきとは、特に軒先や狭い道や歩道で行なうもので、埃が舞うのを防いだり、その場を涼しく見せることを目的としたものです。

もう一つの場面は、水を張った金魚鉢の中の花の描写。夏祭りの会場で子供らが遊んでいたり、金魚をすくう水溶性のカップを持った子供らが金魚すくいの店に集まっているという場面です。

冬の俳句においても、夏と同様、空想を呼び起こします。たとえば、「豆まき」は単に何かをばらまくことではありません。これは2月の伝統的な行事であり、家族が小さい炒った豆をまいて、悪霊を退けるのを目的にしたものです。これが終わったら、まいた豆を拾って食べます。拾って食べる豆の数は、自分の年齢と同じである必要があります。子供時代にこういう経験をした人なら、「豆まき」と聞いていろんな思いが頭をよぎるに違いありません。多くの人は兄弟や姉妹と豆をめぐってケンカしたことを思い起こすかもしれません。または、その行事が終わって長い時間がたって、家の誰かが亡くなって、葬式の準備をしようと家具を動かした際に、家具の隅から豆を見つけることもあるかもしれません。

そうしてみると、「豆まき」はそのもの自体よりも多くの意味があると言えるのです。日本にはもっと年間行事がありますし、そういったものが俳句を、見た目は極端に短いにもかかわらず、意味深くそして心を打つものとするのです。

同じことは、5-7-5-7-7の音節によって形成される和歌（短歌）についても言えます。毎年、新年を迎えると、「歌会始」が宮中で開催され、天皇皇后、皇族、一般市民が和歌を披露するのです。私はそこでの和歌の英訳を目にする機会を得ましたが、翻訳は原文よりはるかに劣ったものでした。

「あのすごい和歌がなんで英語に翻訳できないんだろう？」
私は考えましたが、結局、この種の詩歌には必ずしも多くの言葉は必要でないのだ、という結論に至りました。和歌はその場にいる人たちが共に歩んだ経験を分かち合うものであり、よって、一つ象徴的な単語さえ提示しておけば、あとは事足りるのです。

[J.D.Salinger "The Catcher in the Rye"] ライ麦畑で捕まえて』

Salinger, the author of "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Nine Stories" died at the age 91 on January 27.

I was feeling close to Salinger's works when I was a college student. I was in my early twenties. Although I have a family now today and I cannot spare time to read as many books as I used to, I was such a big reader in those days. I read Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" again and again, until the book had good thumb prints. I was carrying that book no matter where I went. I think I was trying to do away with my stress I had.

Now let me write out my most favorite authors at that time: Haruki Murakami, Jun-nosuke Yoshiyuki, Kenji Nakagami, Yukio Mishima, Naoya Shiga, Jun-ichiro Tanizaki, Motojiro Kajii, Osamu Dazai, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Soseki Natsume, and so on. I used to visit the nearest library so often to read all these great authors’ works, and I still remember it was such a great time for me. What a joy and blissful moment that was to stay there so long and read wonderful books. I let my imagination grow. It was a great luxury.

Back to the topic of Salinger, “The Catcher in the Rye” is still like my best friend. Bitter sweet one at that. For those of you who read that book would have thought that the narrator thinks and acts quite childishly. It is far from making you feel “elevated.” If you have a little kid, you would not let him/her read this book because there are bad words here and there, and that's what's happening in my house.

Is that a vulgar and bad book? – Not at all. It’s opposite. It’s friendly, painful and charming, and it’s even witty and ironical, too.

I was reading some of the reviews at amazon.co.jp and I found that there were some people that said they didn’t really understand it, or they couldn’t get absorbed into it, while other were so passionate to tell how great a book that was. It’s an interesting phenomenon because the opinion gets split into two extremes. The same reaction can be seen at reviews on Yukio Mishima’s “The Golden Pavilion (金閣寺).” Some people (including me) will be so shocked by the author’s great skills of depicting the twisted and obsessed inner self. They have something in common in that the both books are leading the reader to two extremes. Some really don’t feel anything about Mishima’s “The Golden Pavilion.”
I could imagine the author of “The Catcher in the Rye” must have tried to write about the inside himself (even his ugly or embarrassing part of his thoughts or feelings). If that’s so, then there is no wonder that there are two different groups of people – those who madly love it and those who don’t like that at all.

It is just like there are two different cultures. I am pretty sure that even if you explain about how great a book that is for hundreds of millions of times, those who don’t understand the book should not get what you were saying. I am not saying which side is good or bad. I’m talking about what is happening over a single book or anything of the sort.

Really, the Japanese translation by Mr. Takashi Nozaki is awesome. Even some other writers imitate the Japanese title “Rai mugi batake de tsukamaete.” I have seen similar book titles.

Mr. Nozaki’s translation is so amazing. I even think that the original work's spirit went into the translator's mind. I have heard about Yazawa Eikichi fans sometimes copy how he talks, but I think same thing will happen to those who madly love that book.

I’m not going to write about what the book is written about but I like that so much. I recommend that if you became interested in the book. You can be Halden Caulfield if you can’t stand phony stuffs in human community or society and if you think you are young and rebellious. Some girls might think you are “So cute!” and you might become popular among girls.


"The Catcher in the Rye"や"Nine Stories"等で知られる米国人作家J.D.Salingerが1月27日に亡くなりました。享年91歳。

私がサリンジャーの作品に最も親しかったのは大学生の頃で、当時二十代前半の学生でした。今では仕事や家のことに追われ、小説を読むことはめっきり少なくなったのですけれども、あの当時の私は小説ばかり読んでいて、サリンジャーの"The Catcher in the Rye"は私の最も繰り返して読んだ作品でした。本は手垢がつくほど読んでいたのを思い出します。作品を読むことでストレス発散も兼ねていたのでしょうか。

私が好んだ作家は、このサリンジャーの他では、村上春樹、吉行淳之介、中上健次、三島由紀夫、志賀直哉、谷崎純一郎、梶井基次郎、太宰治、芥川龍之介、夏目漱石などで、これらの作家の本を読みあさっておりました。

それにしてもThe Catcher in the Ryeは今でも身近に感じてしまう本です。読んだことのある人なら分かるとおり、そんなに高尚な語り口ではありません。小学生ぐらいのお子さんをお持ちの方でしたら、Bad wordがたくさんあるということで読ませないようにと考えることと思います。（我が家がまさにそうなのですが･･･。）

といって下品な本かというと、そんなことは決してないです。それどころか、親しみやすく、しかも切実で、皮肉やウィットにも富んだ魅力ある本だと思います。

この作品のレビューをアマゾン等を通じて見ると、「何が面白いのかまったく分からない」というグループと「自分の気持ちを代弁する素晴らしい作品」というグループに二分されている感じです。興味深いことと私は思います。これに似たような現象は三島由紀夫『金閣寺』においても見受けられます。賛否両論を起こしやすい作品内容といえるのかもしれません。作者にとっても自分の内面（嫌なものも含め）を暴露するに近い作品だったのではなかったかと私は想像しますし、そういった内容であれば、共感を得る人間は熱烈にそれを歓迎するし、そうでない人は白けるしかない、といった極端な結果を生じるのも頷（うなず）ける話です。

じつに、二つの異文化のグループが生じると言えます。作品に共感しないグループが共感しているグループにその理由等を尋ねても、なかなか理解は出来ないでしょう。作品に共感できるのが良いとか悪いという話ではまったくありません。そこに生じる現象のことを言っているわけです。そして、こういったことを考えるにつけ、興味深いと私は思います。

サリンジャー『ライ麦畑で捕まえて』。これは日本語のタイトルです。魅力的な日本語タイトルです。これを真似たみたいの他の作家の著書をたまに日本の本屋等で見かけることがあるほどです。
野崎孝さんによる日本語は本当に素晴らしい。日本語そのものにも魅力があり、作品が乗り移っている感じを覚えます。矢沢永吉にハマッた人が矢沢の語り口調を思わず真似てしまうことを聞いたことがあります。野崎孝訳の『ライ麦畑で捕まえて』にハマッた人は野崎孝の日本語を知らず知らず真似てしまうかもしれません。

その中身についてはここでは触れず、私がその作品を好きだということのみ書いておりますけれども、もしもこれを読んだことがなく、読みたい気持ちになった方がいらっしゃれば、書店や図書館にての一読をお勧めします。人間や社会のインチキくささが我慢できない、うぶで反抗的な若い方が読めば、あなたはしばらくホールデン・コールフィールド（作品の主人公）として生きていくことが出来ます。それはそれで魅力的だと思います。若い男性がそういう感じに振舞っていたら、「可愛い！」と人から思われるかもしれません。それによって、もしかしたら一部の女の子たちにモテるようになるかもしれません。

[Society with No Connections : Deaths of Isolated Individuals] 無縁社会～“無縁死” 3万2千人の衝撃～

NHK program on Jan 31, 2010 (9:00 p.m.- 9:58 p.m.)

Society with No Connections
"Deaths of Isolated Individuals" - 32,000 people died this way

I watched this NHK program this week which was on deaths of individuals, the names and ages of which are unable to be identified.

First of all, there is statistics that over 30,000 people have committed suicide a year in Japan, which has kept the same pace for the past twelve years. And apart from that, for these couple of years, the number of people who are found dead are rapidly increasing with their names and ages unidentified. An NHK survey reports that 32,000 people ended their lives that way in 2008. The deaths are due to suicide or any disease, and there is no way to find the person's family or relative to take care of his or her death. There was a time in this country, the program says, that an each individual was strongly connected to another; such as family, relatives or community; which was a noticeable background of this country's culture. Not only this human bondage has become weaker but also even the employment system has become unstable, which created this phenomenon, the NHK program says.

An increasing number of companies or NPOs has emerged for these 2 or 3 years to take an overall process of the dead, including cleanup of rooms and burying of bones. The demand for the services is even increasing for people who are worried about after he or she died.

There is the man who the TV grogram focused on:
He was found dead in his apartment in Tokyo, and he was documented as the name unknown and the age estimated as 60 - 80. He died when he was watching television. The NHK crews tried to find where he was working at. From the his apartment contract, his name and his former workplace was known. He was working for a food center for 20 years, but since his retirement he became isolated. His resume was found in his former company and it turned out that he was from Akita prefecture. One of his old co-workers said he looked sad always and guessed that he might have wanted to get back to his hometown. So the reason why he was out of town for a long time should have been for work. The crew went to his old address when he was born but the place was no longer his family’s property but a building of commercial purposes. His parents had passed away already. - This was the first person to be introduced.

After that, two persons answered the NHK interviews, who had to say something about his/her own situation.

One was a man who used to work for a huge and famous company. He recollects that he was so busy that he used to come back home early in the morning everyday, until he was caught by disease and divorced his wife. His two children left him with their mother. He lives by himself and seems to have everyday things quite well enough, but he said he was worried about the time he died. He cries hard when talking about when he saw a family during a trip, which was mediocre but looked quiet and beautiful.

Another person was an old female who lives by herself in an apartment. She used to a nurse until her retirement. She didn’t have a chance to marry because she had to take care of her parents until they passed away. She looks very healthy and speaks with great intelligence. Everything looks very organized in her room – even in the refrigerator. But she says she is worried about the time she died and says she even cries about not being connected with anyone.

What a sad phenomenon. This is what’s happening, and this can happen to anyone.

So many things have become greatly advanced. Science, technology, customer services... each one is excellent but why does this all happen that a person dies alone with no one to take care of him or her? And no one can tell who the person was.
I am thinking this way: relationships are underestimated while each technology field is deepened and narrowed, and this is even true with people. Each individual became more self-seeking, but mutual connections turned a lot weaker.

So what are the antidotes? -- Getting back to an old time of history (like 100 years ago) to be more group oriented? Or create such jobs that will monitor an individual at a data center or something? (I know I am getting to extremes.) Or is it another new jobs or social systems that might work for that?

I don’t really have a good idea. But at least this TV program gave me an opportunity to think more deeply about it.

I realize an importance of working as a medium to connect one with other. I personally think it is even true whether it be for individuals or social stuffs. In order to be a good instrument to work for that, I ask myself, what specific skills or quality should be necessary? I don’t think it is a simple thing to do but I think that it is worth pondering. This is what I started to think about after I watched this program.


NHK 2010年1月31日(日) 9:00 p.m.- 9:58 p.m.

無縁社会
～“無縁死” 3万2千人の衝撃～

今週NHKで「無縁死」といったテーマを扱ったテレビ番組が放送されていました。死亡後発見されるも、名前や年齢が不明の人が近年増加しているのだそうです。

まず、統計によると日本の自殺者数は毎年3万人以上に及び、その数は12年連続で続いています。

それとは別に、ここ数年、名前も年齢も不明で死後発見される件数が急速に増加しているとのこと。NHKの調査によると、2008年におけるその数は3万2千人。死因は自殺・病死さまざまで、共通しているのは死後、親類・縁者と連絡を取る術がないこと。「無縁死」とここでは定義。

かつて個人は家族・親類・地域社会とつながっていたもので、それが日本文化の一つでもあった。しかし、最近はそういう繋がりも薄れてしまった。のみならず雇用不安によって会社との繋がりさえも弱まっていった。そのため今回の話題に焦点を当てるに至った、と番組は言う。

ここ2、3年で無縁死した人の部屋の掃除・遺骨の埋葬等、一連の手続きを行なう企業やNPOを相次いで出現しているとのこと。自分の死後を心配してこういったサービスを受けたいという人も増加しているとのこと。

ここで1人の男性が紹介：
この男性はアパートの一室で死亡しているのを発見。氏名・年齢不詳、と書類上の手続きをされる。テレビを見ている途中に死亡したらしい。NHKの番組スタッフは、アパートの契約書から名前と勤務先を洗い出し、彼の人生の軌跡を追うことに。男性は給食センターに20年勤務していたことが判明。定年を迎え、退職後、人とのつながりを無くした。その会社は男性の履歴書を保管しており、そこで彼は本籍地を秋田県に持つ人間であることが判明。以前の同僚によると、男性はいつもさびしそうに見えたことから、故郷に帰りたかったのではないか、と振り返る。そのことから、男性は仕事のためにあえて故郷から離れて暮らしていたと推察。番組スタッフはさらに男性の本籍地を訪問。しかしそこにあったのは男性の実家ではなく、商業用の建物。男性の両親はすでに他界。
以上が、最初に紹介された人物の足取。

この他に、2人の人物がNHKの取材に応じる。
1人目は、有名な大企業に勤めていた男性。仕事が多忙で帰宅は毎日日付を回った頃であったと振り返る。そんな中、男性は病に倒れ、その後離婚。2人の子供は母親に引き取られた。男性は1人暮らしで、物質的には十分満たされているように見える。しかし、自分が死んだ時のことが心配だと話す。旅行中に見た、何の変哲もない平凡な家族の光景を思い出しながら語る際、男性は激しく涙する。

もう1人は、アパートに一人暮らしをする年配の女性。定年まで看護士として活躍。両親の介護に追われ、自身は結婚をしないできた。女性は見るからに健康そうで、しかも非常に聡明な話し方をする。部屋は良く片付いており、冷蔵庫の中までしっかり管理している。しかし、女性は自分が死んだ際のことを心配する。そして自分に身寄りがないことを思い、泣くこともあるという。

なんという悲しい現実なのか、と私は思う。しかし、これは実際に起こっていることであり、しかも誰にでも起こりうることなのだ。

世の中のいろいろなものが進化した。科学・技術・顧客サービス等。1つ1つは確かに素晴らしい。しかし、なぜこういう無縁死が出てきたのか。独りで死んで、誰も身寄りがない。しかも、その死んだ人が誰なのかも分からない。
私はこんなふうに思っている。テクノロジー分野の各部門が細分化し、高度に進化した一方、「関係」というものが軽視されてきたのでは、と。人間についても同様のことが言えると思う。個人個人は自己の追及に邁進（まいしん）したが、その一方人間レベルでの繋がりは大きく弱まった。

対策はあるのだろうか。100年前の状態に戻って昔の日本人をやるべきか。それともデータセンターを設置し、各個人の様子についての監視・管理をすべきか。（極端な言い方をしていますが。）はたまた、そういった「繋がり」にまつわる仕事や社会システムを創出するのか。

さて、私には良い案がまだ思い当たりません。ただ、少なくともこのテレビ番組によって、より深く考えるきっかけを得たことは確かです。

人と人あるいはある立場と別の立場の中間に立つ役割の大切さを私は再認識しました。個人的なものであろうと社会的なものであろうと、いずれも同じく大切なことだと思います。自分がそこで良い役割を演じるためにはどんなスキルや資質を持っていなければならないだろう。言うほど簡単なことではないと思います。しかし、懸命に考えるだけの価値はあります。そういったことを今回のNHKの番組を通して私は考えた次第です。

[TV Show Review: EV Wars] ガイヤの夜明け/電気自動車ウォーズ（テレビ東京 Jan 5th, 2010)

The following are some notes on a TV program I watched by chance last night, which is "Gaiya-no Yoake." I didn't watch everything so my notes are not really complete.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes or anything that should be added. I started watching from the middle until I had to stop watching before it ended, and I don't have a device to record.

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Nissan officially says their EV "leaf" should become such an important product to celebrate the company building's relocation. Mr. Carlos Ghosn states that they are aiming to win a two million sales result by the year 2020.

EVs are different from gasoline-fueled vehicles in that they run with batteries, which were once heavy and big. The distance they run is more limited.

e-zone:
mafca visited a factory in Korea. A golf cart maker manufactures EVs, e-zone. In spite of much manual labor, there are only 14 steps for the production they need only vehicle parts. There is no need of a factory process of a skilled worker. - Some emplyee says it is a "McDonald's method." They have another factory in China to produce hundred-thousands of vehicles both in Korea and China.

Venture company for a buisiness chance in Japan:
CT&T. - Operations are quite simple. Shows the crash standard is cleared.

Brief history of EV:
EV has been on development for 60 yrs, starting from the max speed of 35 km/h. The quality of EV improved along with the batteries being developed.

Taxi company in Matsuyama-shi:
A Mitsubishi EV is adopted. The company owner says the fuel fee is less expensive than gasoline vehicles by 1/10, which is a big advantage. He says he wants to adopt more of it.

Vehicle factory in Okayama-ken:
Lithium is an important material to produce EV batteries but the problem is that they do not have good enough amount. They have only nine pieces of batteries for the day. A single personal computer contains 14 grams of litheum ion, while a car 4 kilograms (4,000 grams).

A rare metal importer:
A rare metal importer dealing with cobalt, nickel and tungsten was confident about lithium's becoming the most profitable item in their business. The president of the company paid a visit to China for having an exclusive contract. Lithium was there in China - at that huge salty lake in the midst of a desert that is 5800 meters above sea level.

South America region shares the highest percentage for Japanese companies to obtain the lithium.



ガイヤの夜明け:電気自動車ウォーズ（テレビ東京 Jan 5th, 2010)

たまたまこの番組を放送していたのを発見し、途中から見ました。我が家には録画機材もなく、また家の用事等で最後まで見ることもできなかったのですが、非常に興味深く、メモを取っておきたく思い、ここに書き留めておくこととしました。（補足の必要・間違い等ありましたら、E-mailまたはお会いした際等にお知らせください。）

メモ

日産の表明：リーフ。
e-zone：ゴルフカートのメーカー。韓国の会社。加工工程なし。
ベンチャー企業の参入：
EVの以前と現在：
EVを採用しているタクシー会社（松山）の例：
生産工場（岡山）：リチウム電池の不足
レアメタル輸入業者の例：

[Disaster Recovery] ディザスタリカバリ

I have posted an article the other day about an increased number of trucks since the economic downturn. I thought it was a good sign of the economy's getting better. I had an opportunity to speak to a young guy at a bus stop. He was waiting for the same bus with me. I often see him there on the way back home. He said he was working for a transportation company. Then I said to him that there are more trucks than before that are running across the bridge. He said, "There ain't nothing inside, but you see many. Dey are just runnin," he said.

The situation has been like this here in the Tokyo area (including Saitama, Chiba and Tochigi). I have had no project to be engaged with for the past 8 months since this April. What I can do now in my office is to do some translation on legal documents, notices, presentation materials, etc.

I am also learning about disaster recovery/application hosting solutions. This is because my company is about to launch services on that. Many of you here may have heard about "cloud computing" or "SaaS." That is exactly what our compnay is going to deal with.

Disaster recovery is to have your data replicated as your second storage at a remote location, which is far enough from your production site. Your data is updated either up to date or periodically according to your needs. By doing this you will have your business continue even if your site was struck by a disaster (i.e. flood, eathquake, fire, computer virus, or a physical attack). The good news is that you don't need to purchase your own server, which eventually cuts down your maintenance cost. This service is often explained that it is like utility services, such as electricity or water that you don't need to have your own power plant at your company. Some say it is like you deposit your cash in a bank system instead of keeping it in your house. Other good thing about cloud computing services is you don't need to worry about your pc spec (thin client pc). So don't think about how much memory your pc has. Your application is out there at a remote datacenter, which is under control by 24/7/365.

Disaster recovery is not just about the 9/11 or wars that have happened across the ocean. We are living on an IT economy. It is true that IT based society has become highly developed as well as its effectiveness can be lost all at once. It is even said a large scale of earthquakes are expected to hit anywhere in Japan. What if this causes a huge scale of power outage or destruction? What if a huge tsunami hits on your company or the area you live? As the climates have changed noticeable, there is an apocalyptic mood here and there. Even if a disaster will not hit on you, there is an aspect on the comuter networking society as being unreliable or fragile. Anyone can delete by mistake the most important folder that covers a company group's information. Computer virus or crackers can destroy a corporate operation or a corporate trust.

[It is as same as the real!] 本物と同じ！

I went to the Asakusa Sensoji Temple with my family. We have been there several times in the past 3 years and a half. We don't really go out to Tokyo except when we go to church, simply because we don't really have time and money to make it. It's a far place from here in the small town in Saitama. What we can do at most is playing baseball around our place or go shopping at a place we can walk to or within easy access by bus.

I was walking down the street at Ueno, Tokyo with my family. We went into the Ame-yoko district, which is one of the most famous market places in Tokyo. There were sea foods, fruits, shoes, watches I could find. It was so cheerful and there were so many people that I wanted to stay around there a lot more.

We were still walking here and there, when we finally found a temporary store that was selling watches. The tags and signs were writing, "Rolex: You can never buy Rolex watches at these reasonable pricings!" It was all handwriting. There was even a message like this:

"More Real than the Real One."

I laughed. I said to my family, "It's fishy. Anybody can tell these are not real. A Rolex watch can't cost 9 dollars or something."

The temporary shop owner heard me say this in English and understood what I meant. He looked at me and said upsetedly, "It is as same as a real one!!"

"Sorry," I said to him. "She and I have a watch and both are working fine. Maybe some othertime when ours are broken."

It was a funny experience on that spot in Tokyo. There was a strong accent in his Japanese, and I like seeing non-Japanese people do business like that here and there in Japan. They are much more motivated than average Japanese and I really look up to that sort of person.

[My Review on the Current Economy] 景気をみてみる

I normally leave home at 6:02 am to catch the bus. I then take the trains to get to my workplace in Tokyo. I am having this early time schedule just because I want to avoid getting involved with the super crowded train a little later. I have never got used to it and I don't think I will. It's more than just being crowded.

I take 3 different trains. The toughest is the second one, which is already crowded when I get in. It's 6:33 a.m. I then say to myself, "It's much better than when I'm here 30 minutes later." - This time, I am not going to write about how stressful it is being on the trains in Japan. I'm sure it'd be a like a huge human drama or history documentation of the century. I am serious. You would agree with me if you have ever taken a train in/around Tokyo during the rush hours.

What I want to write today is about my review on the economy. I'll be doing that from my point of view. I see a bridge from inside the morning train. It is 6:30 a.m. and there are vehicles running on that bridge to cross a river.

I started watching this since one year ago or so. It was July or August 2008. I was working with a project on a mold designing with CATIA V5. I remember I saw that bridge and spoke to my parner who were with me on the same train. "Look at that. Gosh, it's already crowded even though it's still 6:30." - And that condition remained until around the time of Lehman Brother's bankruptcy.

In March 2009, I saw that cross bridge once again to find the number of vehicles on that had been decreased. It was about half the number I had seen in 2008. In the previous year it was like a traffic jam. Cars are running smoothly. It was a great shock to me. Then I thought that this change is really reflected on by the current economy.

I started watching it a bit more closely. What sort of vehicles have been decreased? Would that be only about trucks? I have come up with the following result:

1. Almost all the running vehicles are standard-sized cars. (Not commercial use cars.)
2. Almost no trucks are running on the bridge.

The worst time when the number drastically dropped was March or April 2009, and it has become a little better now as of September 2009.

But wait, I say to myself. It is not always the same. For example, more trucks are running on Monday, but there are none on Tuesday. It is like this March or April. On Wendnesday, there are none also. Thursday, none. Friday, I see some trucks.

What kind of trucks are they? There are two kinds (roughly). One is a long distance transportation truck. The other is a little truck to work at a local construction site.

So my review on the current economy is:
1. It can be better sometimes. But it doesn't continue.
2. When there is a bad day, the level drops down to the state of March or April 2009.
3. #1 & #2 above take place back and forth.

I'm not a economist. I'm just a humble CATIA engineer who has been out of that software application for half a year. So do not take it seriously. I am doing it because I like doing it. - But I think it is a good trial because I'm seeing things with my own eyes, instead of websites or newspaper or television news.


普段私は、毎朝6:02ごろに家を出て、バスに乗り、職場に向かいます。こういう早い時間に出勤するのは、なによりも通勤電車の最も混雑する時間帯を避けたいという理由があってのことなのですが、どうも私はいつになっても電車の混雑に慣れることができないという次第です。きっと、この先も、こんな感じなのかな、などと思ったりもしております。それにつけても、こちらの電車の混雑ときたら、実にすさまじく、「混雑以上の混雑ぶり」と申し上げたいほどです。

私は3つの電車を使って出勤いたしますが、もっとも大変なのが2番目の千代田線という電車です。私がその電車に乗り込むのは6：33なのですが、すでに電車は混んでおります。とはいえ、そこから30分とか1時間後の状態と比べたら全く良いほうだとは思いますが。そこでの苦労話とか愚痴のようなものは、この記事ではあえて行なわないようにしておきます。なにしろ、それはもう、書き出したら最後、それこそ壮大な人間ドラマ、歴史ドキュメントみたいになるに違いありません。（結構、真面目にそう思っています。）

というわけで、ここでは私がその電車内から観察する「外の風景」について申し上げることといたします。つまり、途中で見る交通量についてです。時刻でいうと朝6:30ですが、私は鉄橋を通ります。向こうにはまた別の橋が架かっていて、自動車が走っております。

1年ぐらい前から、その交通量を気にしてみるようになったのですが、その頃の自分はCATIA技術者として金型設計支援のプロジェクトに参加していました。出勤途中の私はそこの混雑ぶりを見て、一緒に電車に乗っているパートナーに「見てみなされよ。まだ6時半だっていうのにこんなに混雑してるよ」と言ったりしたものです。そして、それがリーマンブラザーズの破たんの時期ごろまで続いたのでした。

2009年3月、私はやはりいつものようにその橋の前を電車で通ったのでしたが、交通量は激減していました。だいたい半分ぐらいに減ったでしょうか。以前は慢性的に渋滞していたのですが、この時になると、ガラガラで、実にスムーズに車は流れ、さびしいほどに変化していました。驚くべきこと、と私は感じました。 「これは景気悪化の写し鏡」と私は受け取ったためです。

次に私は、どんな車が減ったのかを思い、こんな傾向の変化を感じました。

１．今現在、走っているのは普通乗用車が、ほとんどすべてである。
２．トラックがすっかりいなくなった。

こういう観察をしていて、今のところ最悪の（交通量の少ない）時期は、あの鉄橋に限り、2009年3月か4月ごろです。そして、2009年9月現在は、少し交通量は増えたような感じがします。 ん、でも待てよ。どうも楽観はできないみたいようです。というのも、「トラックの数が増えたな」と思った次の日には、また交通量が減って、まるで3月4月のような状態に戻ることもあったからです。たとえば、月曜日はあの鉄橋に活気があったとする。でも火曜日は、閑散。水曜日も、閑散。木曜日も同様。そして、金曜日になって、ちらほらトラックの往来が見える、と言った具合です。

さてトラックスの種類は何なのか。私は実はよく分かっていません。しかし、大まかにはこのような風に考えております。ひとつは、長距離運送トラックのような大型のトラック。もうひとつは、工事現場に運ぶ中型のトラック、です。

さて、こういう自分の観察で、もしも今現在の経済状況を言うとすると、こういう具合なのだろうか、と個人的に思っております。

１．時々、良い兆しが見える。でも、続かない。
２．悪い状態の日に陥ると、最悪時期（3月ないし4月）の状態のようになる。
３．上記１と２が行ったり来たりする。


私は別に経済の専門家ではないので、まあ、真には受けずにどうぞ参考にしてみてください。もっとも、これをやっている本人は面白いと感じてはいるのですが。自分の中だけの調査みたいなものです。しかし、こういうのも良いことと自分では思っています。ネット、新聞、テレビから得る情報ではなく、自分の調査で得る生きた情報である、という意味において、良いと感じております。