How About A Walk in Tokyo with River View? 夜散歩で屋形船とクレーン

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I often enjoy a one-hour walk after having soba noodle dinner (not only soba, but also tempura and sake) at my favorite, but not fancy Japanese restaurant in the central Tokyo. On my way home from the restaurant, I have to go across three bridges, which are all over the Sumida River, and that day, the contrast between the darkness and the light was so beautiful, so I took several pictures. The boat in the photo below is yakatabune, a traditional Japanese boat, going down the river.

From Tsukuda Ohashi bridge
Traditional boat going down Sumida River

Clouds Taking A Walk 雲とお散歩

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Walking is good. It works for me. So, I left the office a bit early to walk home.

I was tired and lost confidence that day. I'd had a one-on-one meeting with a native English speaker in a higher position and at the meeting I was treated badly. Usually I handle situations nicely or don’t care, but the American guy was pretty aggressive. I tried to persuade him to accept something which I was correct, but he wouldn't listen...

Having people of diverse cultures usually make meetings more productive and effective as the attendees discuss things in a more straight forward manner. I prefer such an open atmosphere to a typical meeting of Japanese people of a "lecture type" where staff can't say a thing without approval from their superiors.

At the meeting, however, I felt like a second citizen, discriminated for not being an native English speaker. I like learning English, so usually enjoy speaking with English speakers, but his way of treating me as a second citizen hurt and angered me. What made matters worse is that I can't talk about this with anyone. I teach English. Who would want to learn from a teacher hurt when indicated that she doesn't speak English as fluently as native speakers do...?

So, I decided to walk, resulting in encountering these clouds which were also taking a walk. Just being together with them cheered me up, filling me with a sense of warmth and calmness...

落ち込むことがありました。1対1のミーティングがあって相手の方が自分より職位が上の米国人。理不尽なことを言われたのですが、うまく言い返せませんでした。嫌だったのは、英語ネイティブでないことを非難されている、もっと言うと二流市民として扱われている気がしたことです。実力不足と言われればそれまでですが｡｡｡ まだ立ち直っていません｡｡｡

というわけでその日少し早めに会社を出て歩いていて見つけたのが、写真の「お散歩雲」です。会社で打たれて、雲で癒されて、また頑張る｡｡｡ 最近の私です！

In Solitude Before Dawn 夜明け前 一人

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I sometimes get up early like at four a.m. I try to sleep again, but often in vain. I took these photos on one such day.

One hour before dawn

Thirty minutes before dawn

The time of dawn that day was at around six a.m. The sky and clouds, and their colors filled me with a sense of solitude.

Dawn

One hour after dawn

Japanese has no word meaning solitude, so uses "孤独 (kodoku)," the same term for loneliness to mean "solitude." Language shapes how we think, so if you are by yourself in Japan, people would find it to be sad and lonely. What I appreciate most about learning English is that that makes me aware of things that exist but are not verbalized in Japanese, expanding my channels to communicate with the world.

Looking at myself deep down alone in solitude, I ask myself what I am to rediscover myself with a little excitement....

朝4時ごろ目が覚めて、もう一度寝ようと思ったけどダメだった｡｡｡ そんな日に撮った写真です。朝焼けを見ていると痛烈に「一人」を感じますが「寂しい」わけではなく、「一人、空と直接つながっている」ように感じます。

大人になってから、英語に「lonely」の他に「solitude」という概念があるのを知りました。日本語では「ひとりぼっち」とか「独居」とか訳されているようですが、どちらかというと「本来の自分に戻るための静謐な時間」というのが私にはぴったりきます。日本にない概念を日本語にするのは難しいですね｡｡｡ Anthony Storr の「Solitude: a Return to the Self」という本。好きで時々読み返しています。

Proposal for Japan's "Work Style Reform" 働き方改革への提言

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

December 23 will no longer be a national holiday from 2019 in Japan because the date is no longer the emperor's birthday. Upon Naruhito's enthronement, the emperor's birthday is February 23.

So, here is my proposal to promote Japan's so-called "work style reform"; Why don't we make the birthdays of all the emperors (as well as empresses) so far national holidays?😜

Jinglish - Rugby vs. Baseball 和製英語の観点からのラグビーと野球の比較考察

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The 2019 Rugby World Cup is over. What surprised me most was that in rugby so many English terms are used as they are in the form of katakana with heavy Japanese accents, such as "nokku on (ノックオン)" for "knock on" and "mo-l (モール)" for "maul." They have no translated Japanese words.