新しい時代の文化とは

「やまと」文化から「日本」文化へ

• 調和 [ちょうわ] /harmony/
• 真理 [しんり] /truth/
• 掲げる [かかげる] /to publish/to print/to carry (an article)/
• 寛容 [かんよう] /forbearance/tolerance/generosity/
• 衆性
• 貴重 [きちょう] /precious (an)/valuable/
• 要素 [ようそ] /element/
• 戦略 [せんりゃく] /strategy/tactics/
• 打ち出す [うちだす] /to begin/to beat/to end/to close/to set out (forth)/to work out/to hammer out/
• 多様性 [たようせい] /diversity/variety/
• 段階 [だんかい] /gradation/grad/stage/
• Summary: The truth of people and nature, people and people, generosity without having an absolute truth, an important element for the public entering into the 21st century is greatly contained within Japanese culture. We have now come to the stage of working out the great diversity with Japanese culture in a strategic and cultural manner.
• 出席者 [しゅっせきしゃ] /those present/attendance/
• 米本 [こめもと] /Komemoto (s)/
• 山崎 [やまざき] /Yamazaki (p,s)/
• 藤井 [ふじい] /Fujii (p,s)/
• 交流 [こうりゅう] /alternating current/intercourse/(cultural) exchange/intermingling/
• 西洋 [せいよう] /the west/Western countries/
• 古典 [こてん] /old book/classics/classic/
• 舞踊 [ぶよう] /dancing/dance/
• 意味合い [いみあい] /implication/nuance/
• 拡張 [かくちょう] /expansion (vs)/extension/enlargement/escape (ESC)/
• 在日 [ざいにち] /in Japan/
• 第三
• 国籍 [こくせき] /nationality/
• 次元 [じげん] /dimension/
• 独自性 [どくじせい] /uniqueness/
• 複雑 [ふくざつ] /complexity (an)/complication/
• 集合 [しゅうごう] /gathering (vs)/assembly/meeting/set (math)/
• 親しむ [したしむ] /to be intimate with/to befriend/
• Summary: (Yamazaki:) Up until now the places that Japan has had culture exchange (programs) with are the West and other various asian countries that have come to understand the different individuality of Japan. However, at this time when we are trying to make a cultural attraction at the Okinawa summit, at the same time that we chose Okinawa's classical dancing we also chose the modern music of Amuro Namie. In other words, the nuance of "Japan" is expanding. If I say more, the old "Yamato" culture is in a process of expanding to a wider "Japan" culture. If we think about it a bit more, the majority of the Japanese Koreans are searching for their (third?) identity. They are not Koreans, and they are not Japanese, and it points to a different dimension of uniqueness. Naturally, the Ainu are also like that. I believe that we have come to the stage of working out strategically and culturally the diversity within the Japanese culture. I believe that Japan (is of the type that) understands that Japan is complicated and there are many collections (of people).
• 伝統 [でんとう] /tradition/convention/
• 基金 [ききん] /fund/foundation/
• 動機 [どうき] /motive/incentive/
• 文献 [ぶんけん] /literature/books (reference)/
• 吸収 [きゅうしゅう] /absorption (vs)/suction/attraction/
• 魅力 [みりょく] /charm/fascination/glamour/
• 格好をつける [かっこうをつける] /to try to give a good first impression/
• Summary: (Fujii:) That is right. I don't think that there are many countries that have a traditional, modern culture like Japan. According to the International Exchange Fund's report, from 1993 to 1998 the percentage of people studying Japanese in the whole world increased 30%. In America there are almost 2 million (students). A big motive for studying Japanese is that people want to do an exchange in Japan, or they want to know more about Japanese culture. This is an example, studying Japanese that includes reading all classical Japanese, can also read classical Chinese and classical western literature, and can also relatively read modern western literature. There are not many other languages than English that let you read this much. In other words, since the Meiji period (Japanese) has absorbed so much (English), and that diversity is one large part of the charm (of Japanese). Without trying to (intentionally) make a good first impression, I would like for the modern Japanese culture to be understood just as it naturally is.

良い目利きはいるか？

• 目利き
• 知識人 [ちしきじん] /intellectuals/
• 貪る [むさぼる] /to covet/to indulge in/to deeply desire/to lust insatiably for/
• 文明 [ぶんめい] /civilization/culture/
• 価値観 [かちかん] /values/
• 分析 [ぶんせき] /analysis (vs)/
• 亨受 [きょうじゅ] /enjoy/
• 博覧会 [はくらんかい] /fair/exhibition/exposition/
• 仰天 [ぎょうてん] /being amazed (vs)/being horrified/being taken aback/
• 実現 [じつげん] /implementation (vs)/materialization/realization/
• 必死に [ひっしに] /frantically/desperately/for one's life/
• 客体 [きゃくたい] /object/
• Summary: (Komemoto:) What Japanese intellectuals desire is that people not analyze the values and so on of the lifestyle of the tokyo people, who on top of the culturally diverse civilization have entered an exceedingly changed stage (like, theatre). Within the sphere of Tokyo's 30,000 people who spend time the same way, who have the same cycles of feelings, they enjoy the same culture. But up until now there have not been any people that drop out. This is a very different stage from even racial (? don't know a good way to translate 人類) civilization. In the past when Tokyo tried to have a city exhibition, when the concept of "Suramu" was somehow not there, foreign city (urban-planning?) researchers were horrified. Japanese think that foreign cities and universities have the same name and various systems as in Japan, and so are the same as in Japan but but the implementation of the Japanese lifestyle is somewhat different. The problem is that the intellectuals are not desperately objectively theorizing. (? What does this mean?)
• 客観 [きゃっかん] /objective/
• 普遍性 [ふへんせい] /catholicity/universality/
• 個性 [こせい] /individuality/personality/idiosyncrasy/
• 作業 [さぎょう] /work/operation/manufacturing/fatigue duty/
• 著しい [いちじるしい] /remarkable/considerable/
• 辛うじて [かろうじて] /barely/narrowly/just manage to do st/
• 構造 [こうぞう] /structure/construction/
• 論 [ろん] /opinion/theory/
• 柔らかい [やわらかい] /soft/tender/limp/
• 議論 [ぎろん] /argument (vs)/discussion/dispute/
• 複合 [ふくごう] /composite (vs)/complex/
• 過大 [かだい] /excessive/too much/unreasonable/
• 憧れる [あこがれる] /to long for/to yearn after/to admire/
• 偏見 [へんけん] /prejudice/narrow view/
• 恩を受ける [おんをうける] /to be indebted to/
• 贔屓 [ひいき] /favour/patronage/partiality/
• 贔屓の引き倒し [ひいきのひきたおし] /to do ... a disservice by showing too much partiality/
• 褒める [ほめる] /to praise/to admire/to speak well/
• やがて /before long/soon/at length/
• 高度成長 [こうどせいちょう] /advanced maturity/
• Summary: (Yamazaki:) Certainly, if you look at the modern Tokyo lifestyle objectively, the operation that worked out universality and individuality is remarkably late. Just within the theory of a city (urban planning?), the argument about confirming Tokyo's soft structure has been going on for a long time. However, in a composite manner (?) if you take an everyday Tokyo'ers life, how do you translate that into words, the operation of universality and individuality is late. At the same time, Japan is getting weaker throughout the world, the real meaning of which is that Japanese people are leaving for overseas, and are not looking back at Japan. (I think.) I think, even though the number now is still small, you can anticipate new foreigners coming into Japan. Especially young people are going to come to enter Japan without longing for anything or any prejudices. In the past Japan has done the West that they are indebted to a disservice by showing them too much partiality, and while Japan is praised for it's traditional culture, before long they say very bad things about the less advanced Japan.
• 賛美 [さんび] /praise/adoration/
• 嘆く [なげく] /to sigh/to lament/to grieve/
• 遷 [せん] /change/remove/
• 生き延びる [いきのびる] /to survive/to live long/
• 危機 [きき] /crisis/
• 工芸 [こうげい] /industrial arts/
• 携わる [たずさわる] /to participate/to take part/
• 維新 [いしん] /restoration (e.g. Meiji)/
• 継承 [けいしょう] /inheritance (vs)/succession/accession/
• 調和 [ちょうわ] /harmony/
• 逆説 [ぎゃくせつ] /paradox/
• Summary: When you come in contact with the people that lament that Japan is losing the praise for its exoticism, you feel complicated feelings. On the other hand, us Japanese must change out culture to be more traditional. It is important for the purpose of survive within the extreme international competition. The time that I remember feeling like it was, for example, when people who take part in (as part of work) artistic handicrafts (handicrafts?) start to decrease. Because Japan denied its past, during the Meiji restoration and after the war, I wonder if it is possible for there to be a succession of Japanese culture. It is important to look (and correct) once again the good points of the natural and harmonious Japanese culture. At that time, it is very important for foreigners to help build the Japanese culture, and explain their help. Also, in order to make Japanese culture charming, even wine or anything is like this but, good judges are important. At the same time, the people that economically and mentally support that are important. Until now, for a husband that has been women and young people, (??) but from now on that will include the elderly and foreigners I think. Japanese culture is not just for the Japanese. That is clearly the case in (the culture of) cuisine. In that kind of area, everybody can enjoy it, and it is made by everybody. But in the globalized world, paradoxically, the area where it is occurring has become very important. In Japan, more and more, we have to make Japanese culture more charming.