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2006年12月21日
英語になったよ♪
先日、H先生からお預かりした『オーストラリアの人々へ』 の原稿を、このワンワンブログに載せましたが、社長は「よく考えたら普通のオーストラリアの人は日本語は読めないよねぇ」と、気が付き最近までオーストラリア方面で暮らしていたお友達のMさんに英訳をお願いしました♪
Mさんは「この英訳で良いですか？」と社長に問いかけてましたが、勿論英語も解らない社長は、「チョコはどう思う？」とふってきました。
そう言われてもわたしは「ウンウン」としか声が出ないので当然「ウンウン」と応えました。
「オーストラリアの人、一人でも読んでくれると良いね～」と、社長は遠くを見てました♪
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December 08, 2006
The day the war began ‥
I heard the Pacific War started today. Today is the anniversary of the
start of the Pacific War. Our president visited his very good friend,
Mr. H. The visit was actually in order to express his gratitude for our
peaceful life. Another purpose of the visit was to express his
gratitude for our life based on predecessors’ great sacrifices.
Also our president brought this letter below and showed it on his blog
web site.
I like mutton jerky. Actually, it is my very favorite food. It is from
Australia. The story in the letter is about Australia, so I listened to
it carefully. I was thankful to have a chance to hear it. Also, I am
happy with my favorite food.
-------------------------------
To the people of Australia
With love and thanks
Ishiku Kumaichi
First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My pen name is Ishiku
Kumaichi. This name is a kind of a pun. It sounds like “one, four,
nine, nine, zero, one” in Japanese. I use Chinese characters to write
my name. The Chinese characters I chose are these: Ishiku is “stone”
and “forever”, and Kumaichi are like “corner” and “city”.
This six-digit number is a prisoner registration number. The “14” of
the initial two numbers shows the prisoner was captured in the New
Guinea area.
I was captured on an isolated island in the eastern part of New Guinea
in September, 1944. I was kept in transit for a month. Finally, I was
sent to a camp in Hay city, New South Wales state, Australia.
I am not sure, but I think there were three camps there. I entered No.7
camp. I lived in the camp until March 1946. It took a year and some
months to get back to Japan.
I was born in 1926, so I was eighteen to nineteen years old then. I
spent the days of my youth there.
Hay city was 700 kilometers to the west of from Sydney. It was actually
a small town between tracts of green land and a desert. In winter, thin
ice was seen just once. In summer, the temperature was nearly 40
degrees. Although it was hot, it was not hard because of the dry
weather.
After I returned to Japan, I found out that many Japanese prisoners had
been kept by Russia, China, and the United States, etc.
Moreover, I found out how members of the Allied Forces captured by the
Japanese army had been treated.
Now I should be careful of simplistic comparisons but it is said that
Japanese soldiers captured by Russia had a very hard time. They were
forced to work in a very cold climate and suffered starvation. Around
20 to 30 % of them died before they could return to Japan.
Japanese army soldiers who were captured by the Australian army were
lucky. We were taken to Australia and we spent our prison time there.
When that is compared with the situation of the prisoners in Russia,
our camp seems to have been paradise. In No.7 camp, there were 700 to
800 people. However, three or four people died in a year and some
months, as far as I knew.
I think three or four is not unusual when compared with the society in
Japan.
For me, it seemed that our life in the camp was one of complete
autonomy. There was no forced labor. There were 36 wooden huts lined up
in the camp. There were just over 20 people in each hut. A leader was
chosen for each hut. Then, the leaders chose a supreme chief. They
composed an executive that was called the headquarters.
As a routine matter, we had a morning assembly at eight o’clock every
day. Everyone gathered in an open space. Australian officers also
attended with Australian soldiers and they checked the number of
Japanese people. Various announcements were made and then the morning
assembly broke up.
In the afternoon, there was an inspection in the huts. The buildings
were searched for arms and dangerous articles, and the hygiene
situation, etc was checked.
Except for this, the remaining time was completely free for everyone.
For outdoor exercise, baseball was popular. Many teams were made and
games were held in the base. Some skilled members made gloves and
mitts. Bats and balls were presented by the Australian army.
Inside the huts, playing mah-jongg was popular. The tiles were made of
very hard wood, normally used for fuel.
The patterns carved for the tiles were really elaborate and looked like
masterpieces made by skilled craftsmen. Cards and Japanese playing
cards were also popular. They were made of empty cigarette boxes. The
games of Go and Japanese chess were popular, too. Of course, the Go
boards, chessboards, stone Go pieces and pieces for Japanese chess were
all handmade.
Plays and dramas were also held. They included female parts and revue
groups. There were groups presenting Japanese poems and haiku. Even a
judo school was started. English classes were set up for each level,
from beginners to advanced students. Later, a periodical literature
magazine was published called “Kokorono Aozora (Blue sky in the mind)”.
We were able to get local newspapers and even the New York Times. Some
articles were translated into Japanese immediately and posted up on the
wall. The biggest shocking news was about the atomic bomb used on
Hiroshima. We heard that “The power of the bomb was devilish. All
creatures died within 100 kilometers in Hiroshima. For the next 100
years, no plants will put out their buds in the area.” The news had a
big impact on us. However, that news had been spread in our camp as a
rumor before it was officially reported.
When it came to meals, breakfast was bread and oatmeal. Jam, butter or
cheese were also available. For lunch, we could have rice. For dinner,
we had curry and rice or ketchup flavored fried rice with chicken and
steak. At 10 am and 3 pm, coffee or tea and cakes were served.
A lot of lamb and mutton was brought to our camp every morning and we
could eat a lot of this food. However, the custom of eating lamb and
mutton did not exist in Japan. The people in charge of cooking never
seemed not to be able to get the hang of cooking it and did not want to
use it. Nevertheless, we were able to eat beef and pork once or twice a
week as well.
We ate steamed rice at lunch. We wondered where the Australian army
obtained the rice for us. Maybe they knew about Japanese food habits
and provided the rice out of a sense of hospitality. Fish dishes were
served to us every day.
We did not have soy sauce or miso and could not get used to eating
Japanese food without Japanese seasoning. Secretly we made instant
Japanese pickled vegetables.
We received food of good quality and in sufficient quantity. We ate
only the soft inner part of loaves and we threw away the crusts.
Therefore, the leftovers overflowed. I think pigs were reared on these
leftovers somewhere away from the camp. Moreover, we made sake secretly
and opened a Japanese style bar.
On August 15th, 1945 the atmosphere in the camp was somewhat different,
although we were still cheerful. At the morning assembly, we were told
that Japan had surrendered. Only that day, there was a silent air
everywhere in the camp.
Germany, under the rule of Hitler, was about to continue to fight
although their capital city, Berlin was occupied. I was thinking, if
Tokyo was occupied, the Japanese army would also try to keep fighting
out of devotion to the emperor of Japan. I thought the Japanese army
would escape to the borderland belt of Korea and China and fight even
in the mountains and resist the enemy. Although we never had a chance
to win, I did not think Japan would surrender easily.
The feelings of the Japanese soldiers were complicated after we became
prisoners. Most of us tried to conceal our military careers and used
aliases. We heard it was possible for us to send letters to our
families in Japan, but nobody did it.
In March 1946, we came back to Japan at last.
The repatriation ship left Sydney Harbor. It took a week to leave
Australian waters and in that time the land was constantly visible on
the left side. I realized how big the Australian continent was. I knew
that about 6 million people lived there at that time. This was the same
number of people as lived in Tokyo. I also knew the Australian people
were spread over a land 20 times as large as Japan. It was said that
about one million people had been mobilized. Older soldiers were used
to guard the camp.
In Japan, there were riots by Korean people. It was said that one
million Japanese people would die because the harvest was really bad.
We reached Japan with a sense of uneasiness.
Since then, a long time has passed. Ex-prisoners from No.7 camp in Hay
city set up a comrade-in-arms association called “Nana go kai (Seven
Australia Association)”. We held meetings once or twice a year in
Japan. We talked about our memories of the terrible battlefields and
our nostalgic memories of the camp. The magazine, “Kokorono Aozora” was
re-published. It continued for more than 40 issues. However, we were
all getting older and in 1999 we dissolved the association.
Although I am the youngest of all, I am now over eighty. I think I do
not have much time left.
I hear recently that there are many exchanges between Japan and
Australia, mainly involving young people. Many tourists visit
Australia. However, I do not think anybody visits the ruins of the camp
in Hay city.
The number of tourists from Australia to Hokkaido where I live has
increased. I want to tell Australian people this. I want young
Australian people to tell their grandfathers and grandmothers this.
Sixty years ago, we Japanese prisoners received a warm reception from
the Australian government and army. We thank them for the kind
treatment they showed us.
Thank you very much sincerely.
>
投稿者 choko : 2006年12月21日 17:00
コメント
オーストラリア人の友達にこの文を薦めるようにいたします。
私の出来ることはこれだけです
投稿者 埼玉の岩 : 2007年01月11日 00:34
ブログに英文が挿入されて、ついにワンワンの会社勤務のブログも国際的になりましたね。ただ、海外からのコメントが届くと、読んだり書いたりせねばならなくなるので、チョコもこれから英語の勉強をする必要があります。海外からのコメントは真面目なものであればよいのですが、怪しいものがＵＲＬをつけてコメントしたりしてきて、これには困ります。
投稿者 私のなかの歴史 : 2006年12月24日 08:41