The world's eyes will be on the World Cup in France in which Japan will be participating for the first time this year. (今年日本が初めて参加するフランス・ワールドカップに世界の目が集まっている。) That's what we talked about the other day when I had the opportunity to speak with a politician up for election in the House of Councilors election next month. (先日、来月に実施される参議院選挙に立候補するある政治家と話をする機会があったが、このことが話題になった。)
"Nicus, do you know the saying, 'If victorious, a national army; if defeated, a band of traitors.'?" (「ニカスさん、『勝てば官軍、負ければ賊軍』という格言をご存じですか?」)
"Yes, it means that if you're the winner of a battle you're lionized, but if you lose you're looked down on, right?" (「ええ、戦いに勝てばもてはやされ、敗れれば世間から冷たい目で見られるという意味ですね?」)
"Exactly. (「その通りです。) This phrase first came into use during the Meiji Restoration when the Kangun(a group that supported the Emperor)brought down the Tokugawa shogunate. (この言葉は明治維新のときに官軍(天皇を支持するグループ)が徳川幕府を破ってから使われるようになったのです。) This phrase fits the Japan team that won the qualifying round of this year's World Cup to a tee. (今度のワールドカップ予選を勝った日本チームにもそのことわざが当てはまりますよ。) It's illustrated perfectly by the popularity of Okano after the Asian zone play-offs. (アジア予選のプレイオフ試合後の岡野への評価が端的にそのことを証明しています。) During 'sudden-death' extra time, he missed as many as three surefire shots that would have meant a win for the team. (サドンデスの延長戦で彼は3回ほど決定的なシュートチャンスをミスしました。) If the team had lost that game and missed out on their chance to play at the World Cup, he might have been treated by the people of Japan like a war criminal, and it could have meant the end of his soccer career. (あの試合に負けてワールドカップに出場できなかったら、彼はA級戦犯として日本国民から非難され、彼のサッカー人生はそれで終わっていたかもしれない。) But, luckily for him, the ball bounced off the other team's goalkeeper falling in front of Okano who was able to get the decisive winning goal. (ところが、その後、相手キーパーがはじいたボールが幸運にも岡野の前に転がってきて彼は決勝ゴールを決めることができた。) With that shot he instantly became a hero, becoming so popular he even got his own TV commercial. (それで、彼は一躍ヒーローとなり、テレビのコマーシャルにも出るほどの人気者になってしまった。) It just goes to show that winning really is everything." (やっぱり勝負には勝たなければ駄目だわ」)
The politician sighed and seemed to be musing on his own election campaign. (政治家は自分の選挙戦に思いを寄せてか、ため息をついた。)
"Aren't you considered a sure thing in this election?" (「先生は今度の選挙でも当選確実と予想されているじゃないですか」)
"Just the same Nicus, the last election was a close race. (「ニカスさん、そうは言っても前回は接戦で当選したのです。) There's no telling how this one will turn out. (今回はどう変わる分かりません。) If I lose this election, my world will fall part. (選挙に落ちたら世間は私のことをボロクソにいいますよ。) So all I can do is 'trust the gods and do my best.'" (だから、『天命を信じて人事を尽くす』しかないんです」)
"Umm, isn't the saying supposed to go, 'Do your best and leave the rest to Providence?'" (「あの、その格言は、『人事を尽くして天命を待つ』の間違いではないのですか?」)
"Nicus, that is better. (「ニカスさん、これでいいんですよ。) The first person to rephrase it that way was a certain president of a large corporation, but I like i, too. (最初にこのように言い換えたのはある大手企業の社長ですが、私も同感なんです。) The latter phrase is saying that in the end the gods may turn down your wish, but you should try your best anyway, right? (『人事を尽くして天命を待つ』では、最後に神様にノーといわれるかもしれないが、頑張りなさいということですよね。) How is that supposed to motivate someone? (誰がこれでやる気が出ると思いますか?) Obviously, you won't be prepared to give it your all if you can't believe that the gods will be smiling down at you in the end." (やはり、最後は神様が自分にほほ笑んでくれると信じなければ、一生懸命になれません」)
This politician's pet saying certainly does make a lot of sense. (確かにこの政治家が愛好する格言は人間の心理にかなっている。) But I like the more positive saying of Uesugi Yozan, who carried out bold administrative reform and revived Yonezawa-han (present day Yamagata prefecture) during the Edo Period. (でも、私は江戸時代に大胆な行政改革を行い見事に米沢藩(現在の山形県)を再興した上杉鷹山のもっと積極的な格言が好きだ。)
"Where there is a will, there is a way." (「意志あるところに道あり」(なせば成る、なさねば成らぬ何事も、ならぬは人のなさぬなりけり))
Yoroku: Looking back at the past for clues to a better future
I'd like to introduce a story from around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the hope that it will be passed down to those who do not have a feel for that time in Japan's past. The story comes from a baby boomer, who as an elementary school boy used to bike with friends to a local barber's to watch TV -- something that was not yet a common household appliance in the region where he's from, where the effects of the country's rapid economic growth were felt much later than in other areas. It was only when he was a high school senior, or shortly before the Tokyo Olympics, that his family finally got a television set. He was enamored by the Japanese women's volleyball team, memorizing all the names and faces of players by the time the team clinched the gold medal. Other Japanese athletes also impressed him and left him with unforgettable memories. American sprinter Bob Hayes, who won the gold medal in the men's 100 meter dash, also took his breath away with a performance that people today might describe as "a run in another dimension." The 1964 Olympics likely offered many Japanese their first taste of the rest of the world. The man recalled that that time in Japan's history was filled with a sense of excitement. He said that people back then commonly subscribed to the belief that "where there is a will, there is a way," that anything was possible if one tried hard enough. Indeed, one of his classmates who landed a job at a soba noodle restaurant in Tokyo after graduating from junior high school eventually became the owner of the restaurant. Another classmate who did brilliant work at a leading trading house returned to his hometown and has been commanding an increasing presence there. That said, however, he and his contemporaries are not without worries. He has a grandchild who he hopes will grow up with the same excitement he did, but he's not too optimistic. After all, we no longer live in a world in which dreams come true as long as one tries their best, and it is difficult to prepare children for such a world. "At the very least, I want (my grandchild) to live decently and peacefully, making ends meet, in a world with no wars," the man said. That same wish, one commonly held by the public today, is something that policymakers should keep in mind. ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun) January 04, 2014(Mainichi Japan)