Zoo

sasanqua
【山茶花・サザンカ】

My garden has some sasanqua trees
and this one is in (full) bloom.
You can also say that
it is in (full) blossom
or that
it is blooming or blossoming.

In a week or so this flower will wither
or shrivel
before it falls and litters the garden.

Other buds have already come out
and they will open [unfold] before long.

咲く、満開である：bloom, blossom, be in bloom [blossom]
散る：wither, shrivel
散らばる：litter

litter を「ゴミ」という意味でよく用いられる：
No littering. （ゴミを捨てないで！）

つぼみ： bud

• Posted at 23:53
• compositions
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Cherry blossoms

in fall

I know you can see cherry blossoms in spring and in fall,
but this fall the flowers looked more beautiful
than in an average year.

• Posted at 00:45
• culture
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You might say
there is no need for the ultra-fast shutter speeds
recent cameras feature.
Who would ever use them anyway?

Well, I did!


I let a balloon filled with water fall
from a height of about 1 meter
onto (into) a cone shell
and took photos of it,
at a rate of 8 frames per second.
Here is the result, 3 photos taken at 1/5000 second.

　Photo 1
About 50 cm are left between the cone (at the bottom) and the red balloon.

Photo 2　The big bang?

Contrary to what I had expected, the water did not splash up upon impact.
The shape of where the balloon was is still visible in the shape of the water.

Photo 3　　　　　　　　　

Only some sparkling waterdrops remain.
The cone was completely pushed away by the water.

• Posted at 07:03
• culture
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• Posted at 07:22
• opinion
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Oh no!
Not even 5 o’clock and the sun starts to rise.
Why does it have to wake so early?
まったくまったく！
５時にもなってないのに、もう日が昇ってる。
なんであんな早く起きなければならないの？

Can’t it just wait a little bit longer, until everyone else gets up, too?
Everyone else?
Forget about the fishing fans… they seem to imitate convenience stores, awake 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Do they ever find time to sleep?
みんなが起きるまでもうちょっと待ったって、いいじゃん！
みんな？
釣り人を忘れた．．．コンビニみたい！一日２４時間起きてて、一週間７日も同じ調子。
寝る暇ある？


Ouch! My back hurts!
Maybe the load I carry in my belly is getting too heavy for me.
Or last night might have been a bit too rowdy for someone my age.
Who cares about age? Only the people around you!
痛ッタッタッタ！腰が痛い！
お腹の荷物が俺にとって重いかも。
それとも夕べはあまりにも騒いだせいか？
もう年だし．．．
年、気にすることない！
周りだけが気にするもんだ。

No fun, no life!
Mine doesn’t quite look like a life suitable for an ordinary citizen in this port.
With all the stones I won’t go far, mortals assume.
What a useless boat, they think, nothing more than a counter to put some stuff on.
What a blunder!
楽しみのない人生は人生とは呼ばない。
まあ、俺はこの港の極普通の一般市民じゃないけどね。
人間様は　「この石で遠く行かない」　と思ってるらしい。
「なんて無駄なボートなんだ！」　しか思ってない、「物を置くのにピッタリだけどね。」
それは大間違いなのよ！


City dwellers may enjoy their barbecue, we don’t!
The smell of charcoal frightens the living daylights out of us.
We all disgust the idea of burning wood or fire.
A fire on board would mean the end of us.
都会人はここでバーベキューを楽しんでるかもしらないけど、
俺たちは嫌い！
木炭の匂いが怖くて死にそう。
船上の火事なんて、終わりだよ！

Kids find fun in returning the heartless stones to the sea.
They make a game of it, throwing them far out.
They only give me a hard time plucking them to safety again at night.
That’s when I come to real life, fired up by my army of honorable guests.
ガキたちは心のない、冷たい石を海に返すのが好きみたい。
ゲームにして、遠く投げるのよ。
まったくまったく、夜俺の仕事を増やして。安全な場所に拾わなきゃならないだろう。
夜、客の軍団（＝石＝幽霊）に引っ張られて、生まれ変わる（生き返る）。

As the sun sets, we set out.
日が暮れるとともに、我々は出発する。

My guests awaken and we set sail.
俺の客（＝石＝幽霊）は起きて、出発だ！

Off to nowhere.
目的地もなく、出発。

Just for the fun of it.
ただ楽しいから。

We fire up our barbecue.
今度我々のバーベキューの番だ。

And have drinks.
たくさん飲んで、

My guests enjoy singing.
客は歌を楽しむ。

And dancing.
踊りもね！

Some grow merry as a grig and in such high spirits that they brighten up,
talking about the good old times.
何人かが明るくなる（＝光る；英語では「陽気」も「光る」（明るい）も区別しない）ほど陽気になる、
古き良き時代を語る。

When we had fun during daytime.
昼間楽しんでた時代。（＝生きていたころ）

Not only at night.
夜だけでなく。

However bright some of us may be by then,
without lights we can’t risk going too far offshore.
あれくらいのころ数人（＝幽霊）は明るくて（陽気＋光る）しょうがないけど、
ライトなしじゃ陸から遠く離れるのが怖い。

We might ram another boat.
他の船と衝突するかも。

What if we got lost on the way home?
帰り道の途中道に迷ったら、どうなる？

We’d sink under the weight of our great time if we didn’t get home before curfew.
門限時間（＝日が昇るまで）戻らないと、自分のあまりの楽しさで沈むだろう。
（楽しさがあまりにも重くて沈むだろう。日が昇ると幽霊は再び石に化けるから、重くて船が沈む。）

We’d never be able to return from nowhere.
どこも行ってないけど、そこから戻れなくなるだろう。
（大して遠く行かないけど、戻れないかも）

We’d never be able to surprise passers-by anew.
Or kids.
もう二度と通りがかりの人や子供を脅せないだろう。（石がいっぱい積んであるボートなので、それを見るみんなが驚くが、沈めば、驚かせなくなる）

Or charcoal lovers.
No fire would ever scare us again.
木炭が好きな人も驚かなくなるだろう。
火なんて、もう怖くないだろう！

Maybe that’s where we belong...
Or maybe not.
もしかして、我々はそこのものか？（海底にいるべきか？）
違うだろう。

We’d crave the lush evergreen leaves dancing to the gentle tunes of the sea breeze, trying until the end of time to please us.
And appease us.
永遠の緑の葉っぱが恋しくなるだろう。だって、我々を喜ばせるためほのかな海風に揺らされて、永遠に（ときが終わるまで）踊ってくれてるのよ。
そして我々をなだめてくれる。

Or the brick altar, decorated with brightly colored ornaments, constantly keeping an eye on us, this invisible shield protecting us from the forces of even greater evil.
お寺だってそうだよ。
うちらを　ますます大きな悪力から　目に見えない盾（たて）で　守ってくれているじゃん。
あんな派手な飾りつけをして．．．

Our bamboo shower, this spring not hot but cold ― we don’t care a bit, faucetless for whatever reason, would no longer be of use.
我々の竹で出来たシャワー、温泉、いや、冷泉、あったかくなくて冷たいけど関係ないじゃん。何だかの理由で蛇口（注ぎ口）のないけど、（我々はいなくなったら）使い道はなくなるだろう。

What’s more, they’d all long for us.
それに、皆恋しいだろう。

They’d wonder where the phantom boat had gone.
幽霊船はどこへ行ってしまったか不思議に思うだろう。

They’d all wonder what fate had befalllen the phantom flagship.
この立派な幽霊船はどういう運命に合ったのか、皆心配するだろう。

They have yet to realize that fate lies in their own hands.
人間は知らないよね、運命は自分で決めるもんだと。
（人間って、運命というものはないということにいまだに気づないよね。）

• Posted at 11:55
• short story
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One early summer day
in the life
of a phantom ship

日本語版（英語付き）　


Oh no!
Not even 5 o’clock and the sun starts to rise.
Why does it have to wake so early?
Can’t it just wait a little bit longer,
until everyone else gets up, too?

Everyone else?
Forget about the fishing fans... they seem to imitate convenience stores, awake 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Do they ever find time to sleep?

Ouch! My back hurts!
Maybe the load I carry in my belly is getting too heavy for me.
Or last night might have been a bit too rowdy for someone my age.
Who cares about age? Only the people around you!
No fun, no life!
Mine doesn’t quite look like a life suitable for an ordinary citizen in this port.
With all the stones I won’t go far, mortals assume.
What a useless boat, they think, nothing more than a counter to put some stuff on.
What a blunder!

City dwellers may enjoy their barbecue, we don’t!
The smell of charcoal frightens the living daylights out of us.
We all disgust the idea of burning wood or fire.
A fire on board would mean the end of us.

Kids find fun in returning the heartless stones to the sea.
They make a game of it, throwing them far out.
They only give me a hard time plucking them to safety again at night.
That’s when I come to real life, fired up by my army of honorable guests.

As the sun sets, we set out.
My guests awaken and we set sail.
Off to nowhere.
Just for the fun of it.
We fire up our barbecue.
And have drinks.
My guests enjoy singing.
And dancing.
Some grow merry as a grig and in such high spirits
that they brighten up,
talking about the good old times.
When we had fun during daytime.
Not only at night.

However bright some of us may be by then,
without lights we can’t risk going too far offshore.
We might ram another boat.
What if we got lost on the way home?
We’d sink under the weight of our great time
if we didn’t get home before curfew.
We’d never be able to return from nowhere.
We’d never be able to surprise passers-by anew.
Or kids.
Or charcoal lovers.
No fire would ever scare us again.

Maybe that’s where we belong...
on the bottom of nowhere.
Or maybe not.
We’d crave the lush evergreen leaves,
dancing to the gentle tunes of the sea breeze,
trying until the end of time to please us.
And appease us.

Or the brick altar,
decorated with brightly colored ornaments,
constantly keeping an eye on us,
this invisible shield protecting us
from the forces of even greater evil.

The bamboo shower, this spring not hot but cold ― we don’t care a bit, faucetless for whatever reason, would no longer be of use.

What’s more, they’d all long for us.
They’d wonder where the phantom boat had gone.
They’d all wonder what fate had befalllen the phantom flagship.
They have yet to realize that fate lies in their own hands.



imitate 真似る
load ... belly　お腹の中に抱えている荷物（＝石）
rowdy　騒がしい、騒々しい
ordinary citizen ...　この港のごく普通の一般市民
mortals assume　（神に対して；命に限りのある）人間
blunder　大失敗
city dwellers　都会人
frightens ...out of us　死ぬほど怖い
disgust = hate, dislike
pluck to safety = rescue
set out = set sail 出発する
fire up 火を熾す
grow merry　陽気になる
brighten up　明るくなる（性格が〜；輝く）

however bright　いくら明るくても（ここでは性格よりも明かり、光）
ram = hit, run into　衝突する
sink under ... time　楽しく過ごしている時間のあまりの重さで没する
before curfew 門限時間までに　（日が暮れるまでに）
passers-by 通りがかりの人々　☆a passer-by の複数は passers-by
anew = again

crave = miss ほしがる
lush evergreen leaves 青々と茂った、みずみずしい常緑の葉っぱ
appease なだめる
altar 祭壇
ornaments　飾り、装飾
faucet 蛇口、注ぎ口　faucetless 蛇口（栓）のない
for whatever reason 何らかの理由で
protecting ... evil 我々を益々大きな危険から守ってくれる
long for = yearn for ほしがる
fate befalls　運命（不幸）が起る
flagship 旗艦、主要船
have yet to ... いまだに（気づいていない）


[日本語版]

• Posted at 07:22
• short story
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Memories seem to revive (1 * 2) as it get colder.
Or ... as people get older???

I won’t deny I am immune to aging,
and ― as proof ― recount one of my memories,
something that happened at the beginning of this year.

I teach at a junior high and high school.
That building has 9 floors and 4 elevators.
The higher you go, the older the students.

One day,
I was on my way to teaching an English composition class
to 6th graders (=3rd year of high school)
with a Japanese teacher in his fifties.
We used the elevator.

A bunch of high school girls,
crammed like canned sardines,
took the same elevator,
to one of the upper floors.

One of them was clearly wearing make-up.
To tell the truth,
I don’t really care,
... as long as they study.
Neither does the other (Japanese) teacher.
(Let’s call him “Mr. K”.)

Somehow,
that very day,
I had the impression
that Mr. K was going to say something.
I won’t say
he was going to complain,
or make a scene ,
but at least give his opinion
on “proper behavior at school ”.

This particular girl ,
however,
was a split second faster.
She said (in Japanese):

“Don’t stare at me like that
just because you think I’m pretty!”

　　　　　　

　　　　　　　OMG! 　　　 　　　　　　OMGって？
Mr. K was ― read “we were” ― so surprised ,

amazed,
astonished,
astounded,
startled,
speechless,

that he (we) couldn’t even give a decent reply
before she got out of the elevator
on a different floor.

Hardly had the elevator doors closed
before both of us burst out in laughter.

We enjoyed a fantastic class ― with other students.

Facing defeat has never been more fun!

• Posted at 07:16
• short story
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