Cahier: Separated From The Precious (It never means that we have got divorced)
My wife's taking a trip to Nagoya with her mother and daughter for two days, leaving me alone behind. They will see their relatives, visiting one who has been seriously ill and expected not to have much time left. Today I'm taking a day off without my family, so that my house's filled with rare sile…
Cahier: Without Reliable Predictions
On a pleasant sunny day in late autumn, I was taking a day off, having received a dental checkup first thing in the morning, then seen a chiropractor, besides gone swimming after that. Several laps of crawling made my body heavier than usual, but I shouldn't hate such a burden considering I need to …
Having entered this November, it means that this year is nearly over, though the fact's quite unbelievable to me. Recently I'm working on the same way as ever, getting a bit busier, and I spent mostly the rest of time in being with my family, sometimes going to swim, still reading Harry Potter. A fe…
The Midnight Railway: Chapter 3
Surely, it must have been all my fault. The filthy sin, which we could always spot anywhere around ourselves, out of control, sliding down into the bottom looking out of bounds. It's also because of me this night was stuck in suffocating silence and discord, her face seemed covered by withered sadne…
The Midnight Railway: Chapter 2
The dark night sky, almost without any stars, covered over quiet streets, our breathing alone sounding slightly. She, whose name was Sena, was holding my hand a bit weakly, and her profile looked stiff. Not the same as usual, I felt that. Anyone else didn't walk anywhere around us, ominous deep sile…
My Re-Reading Record of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
Lord Voldemort had risen again. The fourth book of Harry Potter seems to be condensed into this brief phrase. Finally, the story began to enter into the most important, serious phase. The boy who once appeared to be innocent and ignorant was forced to get more confused, more distressed, more knowled…
The Midnight Railway: Chapter 1
The nightfall came down sooner than I had expected. It seemed always so, she was saying when she was beside me. The night was suitable for both of us. Signals on the road was flickering at the same intervals, just like our slightly pounding hearts. But it could be a bad sign, not that good for anyon…
Abruptly, the cold weather comes in as if this autumn were skipped over. Without the slightest recognition, all years are passing away swiftly in front of my eyes. Whenever reflecting how I has been for this year, usually I feel dazed how fast days has gone, how far away some remarkable events have …
It has been a long time since I swam last. Maybe, it's far beyond twenty years. About a dozen days ago, I registered my name as a member of the fitness club near my house, which also my daughter's attending to learn swimming once a week. The first day, I felt my shoulders aching as if tightly constr…
Cahier: They will say that was a sunny, noisy autumn day
Yesterday, the state funeral for the former prime minister Abe Shinzo was held. I don't have a thing for him, and I think that there's no need to hold the state funeral despite so many voices of objection. Maybe, it's a mistake for Kishida Fumio to have decided to force the funeral upon those who ar…
What makes you trustworthy is not your words, but your deed and behavior. Lately I'm thinking about that frequently, because words can deceive anyone in various ways, and they're just some kind of sign. Although all signs should indicate only a true destination, it's not unusual that false signs dis…
My Re-Reading Record of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
Sirius Black is an amazing man. He had been imprisoned for a false charge in the terrifying fortress called Azkaban, but never gone mad despite the Dementors roaming around near him at all times. What enables him to endure such a harsh state for twelve years is the thought that he's really innocent,…
Cahier: Emerging Out Of The Transparent Surface
While the summer getting nearer to the end, I have been as busy as usual with various things. For instance, I have made two trips during this summer. July of this year, I went to Ikaho-Onsen with my family alone, and a few days ago, I went to Atami-Onsen with my old parents, my wife and six-year-old…
My Re-Reading Record of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
Late last month, I finished re-reading the book "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" once again, and I was absorbed in it deeply. The suspense made my fingers keep turning the pages, and so many ingenious underplots got me dazed. I can't tell what the author had planned about Harry's tale befor…
Remarks for the 7th Anniversary of Saladboze Diary
On 25th August 2022, this blog Saladboze Diary celebrated the 7th anniversary of its opening. These days, I have been so busy with various things that I can neither write nor post any articles on this blog. First, my daughter has been enjoying her summer holidays since July 15th, therefore I have no…
My Re-Reading Record of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”
It's only when I had gone to a bookstore near Tokyo Station a few days ago that I got to know that this year, the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" celebrated its 25th anniversary since it had been published first. By chance, I have finished re-reading that novel a while ago, and now i…
My Reading Record of “The Alchemist”
Recent days, I have been so busy with working that I was not able to write my impressions on the book "The Alchemist" down. As a result, my memories about a content of The Alchemist is getting vaguer day by day, but even if it seems imprecise, I want to record a bit of my consideration on that novel…
Cahier: Keep Gradual Improvements Stacking Up
The same as ever, I keep reading some books in English, and "The alchemist" written by Paulo Coelho is one of them that I have been reading lately, that impressed me in many ways. Reading the novel, I feel that it resembles partly each of books that I read before, such as "The Artist's Way", "Who Mo…
My Reading Record of “The Story of Doctor Dolittle”
A few days ago, I finished reading "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" written by Hugh Lofting. When I was a kid, I had read this series translated into Japanese, and since then it had been the best one for a long time that I liked most among various books which I had met ever. Although now I forget the …
Cahier: Interpreting the Old Map, We Should Make the New One
Recently, I have been reading two books in turns. One is "Mate: Become the Man Women Want" and another is "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" which was my favorite book when I was a kid. They might seem very different from each other, and it's definitely true. However, both of them highly interest me, so…
Cahier: Education Resisting Against the Fate
Technologies exist for expanding human abilities to live better. As a rule, the ability is innate and limited. For instance, a human being can't fly like a bird because they don't have such an inherent function. However, we can fly over the world by airplane which a set of human technologies has inv…
My Reading Record of “The Farthest Shore”
Eventually, I have done it all. What have I done? It's perusal of "The Farthest Shore" which is the third book of the Earthsea Cycle written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This one is a classical masterpiece of fantasy novels about another universe, with Magic and Sword, and my heart is deeply impressed with…
Cahier: A Fragment On Recent Days
久々に日本語で文章を書いている。2021年の正月から思い立って英語の勉強を始め、主として関心のある洋書をひたすら読むという余り特筆すべき工夫のない方法論に固執して、分からない単語や文法は随時調べながら、実践至上主義の建前で進めている。ブログの記事を英語で書くのも実践に勝る修行はないという至極簡明な考えに基づいた方針である。そして徐々に読解力は増している。ハリー・ポッターの原書を全て読み、ゲド戦記にも手を出し、他方ではFactfulnessやAtomic HabitsやOutliersといったノンフィクションのジャンルにも手を広げ、目下はゲド戦記の第三巻に当たるThe Farthest Shor…
It seems to me that the word Abstract has two definitions opposed to each other. One meaning is Vague, and another is Essential. If we don't define strictly what meaning the word has each time we use it, our conversation about the idea of Abstract will go confused. When we use the term Abstract to c…
The more growing the intelligence of my daughter, the more often she uses indecent, dirty words, so that my wife's face tends to be darkened by concern. No doubt, decency is one among the most important virtues, and I can agree with her anxiety about our daughter's growth. She says that it should be…
My Reading Record of “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity”
I have just finished reading the book The Artist's Way written by Julia Cameron. When I had begun perusal of that book about a month ago, I was sick in bed due to an infection of COVID-19. Probably, at that time I had been tired and bored of my days working hard. It's rare for me to stay home all da…
Ever before, I have been told by so many people that I'm a cool-headed man. My current wife has the same opinion about my personality. Sometimes, I would become badly cold, behave so indifferently, and especially when I concentrate on criticizing someone's fault that I can't bear anymore, I would be…
My Reading Record of “Outliers: The Story of Success”
Having gone through a winding, stagnant way, I finished reading the book Outliers at last. It's a very interesting experience, which makes me think about various matters concerning life and fate. The author argues over the preconditions for social success, especially the one which seems to be a kind…
Cahier: A Man Who Is Indifferent
Sometimes I have felt myself get in a self-destructive tendency no matter whether it may indicate a negative meaning or not. I think that the hostility towards an unfavorable part of self causes such a phenomenon. An intense, persistent craving for self-destruction implies that there's a strong desi…
Cahier: Parallel Reading and Untiring Efforts
Other day, I conceived an idea named Parallel Reading. It's not a complicated concept, rather its meaning is quite simple. Until now, I have always read books one by one, not simultaneously because I would want to concentrate on each content deeply. However, I have a great deal of books which I want…
Cahier: My Social Resurrection
Over the latest ten days, I have suffered from COVID-19 and have been home to recover. As a result, my wife and daughter have been ordered to stay home too. This morning, my daughter begin to attend her primary school a week later than other children at the same age. My wife said that her face seeme…
Cahier: Who Cannot Be Named Precisely
Yukio Mishima was a strange man. He was a prominent writer of aesthetic, ironic and cruel tales, and who had a radically conservative thought about political issues of Japan in those years. He was as famous as known widely all over the world. Besides, despite of difficulty in understanding the true …
Time doesn't know any halt. Even when we are doing nothing, it keeps moving constantly. Our normal life seems unchanging in general, but just like the current state of Ukraine, hidden changes are always sneaking around, and gradually getting nearer to us. At some point, suddenly an unexpected revolu…
All over the world, there are various kinds of conflicts since the ancient age. We all have some thoughts that are different from others in general, and they include each own belief in many ways. Naturally, what I believe is not necessarily the universal justice, so that even when I behave based upo…
Cahier: Searching For Hidden Theorems
Recently, I have been reading the book named "Outliers: The Story of Success" which makes me highly interested. In particular, the so-called Ten-Thousand-Hour Rule seems relevant to contents of the book "Atomic Habits" which I have finished reading about a fortnight ago. Now I believe, or want to be…
Cahier: Gone with the Spring, Growing Offspring
About a dozen days ago, my daughter has got the age of six, and yesterday, she attended a graduation ceremony of her nursery school. These milestones of her sound growth make me and my wife reassured. Compared with her figure a few years before, I can't believe that she is the same person as that on…
My Reading Record of “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”
The other day, I finished reading the book "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" written by James Clear. It's highly interesting for me what the author says in the book, because I believe that eventually any habits construct our personality. We are inclined to u…
Cahier: Howling Gunfire Flooding over Kyiv
The political state in Japan might be quite healthier than Russia dominated by the cruel tyrant named Putin. Our prime minister is criticized and insulted by the people frequently due to his deficiency of the ability to govern our country well. We are used to be disgusted at our foolish politicians,…
Cahier: Complexity of Human Desire
People want social values such as honor, power, property, high status, and affectionate bonds with others. Surely, desire is necessary for us to be active, positive, and alive consistently. Even if it's true that we are so greedy that we always suffer from unsatisfactory feelings, and it's righteous…
My Re-Reading Record of “Who Moved My Cheese?”
Over a week before, I finished re-reading the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" which I had read at the beginning of previous year. I wanted to test my ability to interpret each meaning of English sentences through the book, because it had been my first lesson of English to read the one. I thought that it…
A few days ago, I completed reading the book “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World - and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” produced mainly by Hans Rosling who was a famous Swedish physician. Although I bought the one translated into Japanese long before, I haven't read it yet. I …
Cahier: Craving For Someone Who Let Me Express Myself
I think almost everyone wants others to hear them explain something about themselves. It seems one among our primitive instincts. We usually want to share each internal phenomena with confidential people. Such phenomena as feeling, emotion, thought, image, swirling in our minds all the time, sometim…
Cahier: Admittedly, It’s a Blessed Evidence of Her Firm Growth
My daughter will be admitted to a primary school next spring. It feels like an instant to me that she has grown to a little girl, no longer been a baby. In Japan, they say that an attribute of a human soul is established at the age of three, and its characteristics will last even at the age of a hun…
Cahier: A Long Distance to the Conclusion
Recently, I still have kept reading the book "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We'Re Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think" little by little. It's quite interesting for me to peruse a succession of clear sentences on familiar realities around us, not about another universe based u…
Cahier: Give the Clear Sound to the Silent Voice of Soul
The omicron variant of Coronavirus keeps spreading across our country, so that sales of the company for which I work is decreasing acutely. However, I'm neither surprised nor perplexed because the current state is what we have been able to predict easily. A rapid reduction in sales is familiar to my…
Cahier: Multiple Aspects of the Only Truth
Just few days ago, I began to read "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We'Re Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think" known as one among worldwide bestselling books, having suspended a challenge of finishing all the Earthsea Cycle. I stopped halfway through the third book of the serie…
Cahier: Repeating the Same Crisis as ever
With the new year coming, the number of patients infected with COVID-19 in Japan is increasing explosively. There's deja vu which we have experienced so repeatedly that most people probably feel annoyed and disgusted. However, despair and disappointment don't avail us nothing to get over this remark…
Congratulating Remarks for the New Year 2022 from Saladboze Diary
It seems incredible that a new year has come without any hesitation. Last year, most people who live in this world have suffered from the influence of COVID-19 even if they had not ever been sick in bed. This year, I believe that we will be able to get over such a disgusting situation. We all are bo…
My Reading Record of “The Tombs of Atuan”
Few days before, I finished reading the novel named "The Tombs of Atuan" which belongs to the Earthsea Cycle composed by Ursula K. Le Guin known as one among the best high-fantasy authors. This work describes such themes as resistance to an old authority, release from mental slavery, overcoming igno…
Cahier: Seeking What I Can Do Right Now
It's always an important and valuable thing to begin something new, that we haven't ever done. About two weeks ago, my daughter started to learn swimming. It's not what her parents suggested. On the contrary, she herself stated abruptly that she wanted to try swimming. Not forced, she began to swim …
Cahier: Keep Awake Unless the World Falls Asleep
Surprisingly, this year will be over soon. At the time of its beginning, I planned to learn English and now I'm keeping the habit persistently. Gradually, width of my vocabulary extending, my knowledge of grammar growing enriched, I believe that such an improvement is due to reading all books of HAR…
My Reading Record of “A Wizard of Earthsea”
About a week ago, I finished reading the novel "A Wizard of Earthsea" written by Ursula K. Le Guin which is known as the first book of the Earthsea Cycle. Compared with the series of HARRY POTTER, which is regarded as the most successful one of fantasy fiction in English, the voice telling various a…
Only few days ago, the Omicron variant of Coronavirus has appeared in a certain part of the world. The unknown variant has been making all the world shocked and confused, spreading over rapidly now, our optimistic prospects that we might be able to get back to normal crushed into powder. Of course, …
Cahier: There’s Still a Margin Inside
Little by little, I have kept reading the novel "A Wizard of Earthsea" written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This novel which isn't merely a heroic tale but a deep tragedy describes difficulty in controlling the power which exceeds an ethical, human capacity of its owner. Sometimes, a prominent talent will …
Cahier: Her Suffering For Ages
Yesterday, I drunk a few glasses of whiskey and soda with some friends, congratulating a certain woman of them on her 29th birthday, who had been to tell us a summary of episodes happened to herself during a year since her last birthday. She's decent, kind, intelligent, but she has been without any …
A sense of nothingness, which can be seen in minds of so many people, appears to be one of the most universal suffering in human being. In other words, it means an aimless life which doesn't have any purpose so that we're unable to release our inner passions for some concrete actions. Without any mo…
Autumn Utopia, Another Universe
Last week I had a trip to Sendai and Akiu-Onsen, where at the latter I enjoyed both viewing a lot of red leaves in autumn mountains and soaking in a famous hot spring, with my family for three days. Fortunately, the number of COVID-19 patients in Japan keeps a low level lately, so that I thought now…
My Reading Record of “HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows” 2
At last, having spent about 10 months, now I have completed reading of the tale of "HARRY POTTER". At first, it seemed a very hard way to read all of the series, because its degree of difficulty about English sentences isn't low enough for me to understand precisely, or to interpret properly. Howeve…
Ordinary Fragments of Still Days
I still have been reading the last book of HARRY POTTER which is so amazing and impressive, and quite sorrowful. I don't attempt to write down my private impression on it here, because I have yet to make sure the last scene of the tale with my own eyes. However, I can't forbid myself to consider the…
A Note on the Universal Goodness
An idea of "Goodness" belongs to a category of ethical issues, and an idea of "Ethics" is developed through a process of consideration concerning relations with others. If there's no others in this world, such an idea will not occupy our human consciousness as an important matter. However, it's evid…
Today, I have received a second shot of vaccination for Coronavirus at last. Does it mean that I get invincible completely? Of course, no one can confirm that exactly, what we are able to do is only a vague deduction, or else a prayer for health. Anyway, vaccination will not make our life and circum…
Time is always passing away quickly by my side, my vigorous daughter will get a pupil of a primary school next spring. Certainly, she has got taller, bigger, wiser, and more assertive enough to graduate from a nursery school. Her limbs are lengthening gradually, her words are getting more logical, a…
My Reading Record of “HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows” 1
I still have been reading lately "HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows" which is the last book of a series of HARRY POTTER. At last, my private plan to read all the books of HARRY POTTER in English is about to finish. In other words, my effort from the beginning of this year will have been concluded…
Whatever our hardship is, we will accept it, moreover, love it
COVID-19 brings us down into a suppressed life all over the world, but I think that the current situation seems to get more improved gradually. Vaccination is progressing, even though a disparity in supply of vaccines between countries developed and developing has yet to be solved, so that the numbe…
Sometimes I consider vaguely what is human happiness. It doesn't imply that I'm an unfortunate man, because I have a healthy family consisting of a tender wife and a vigorous daughter. Moreover, I also have a job which I'm used to for many years, so that fortunately I have been able to avoid sufferi…
Recently, I still read a series of Harry Potter for a private pleasure and learning English. Probably, I will have finished reading it within a few months. It means that my aim which I planned at the beginning of this year will have been completed. I have already been feeling my growth of ability to…
Remarks for the 6th Anniversary of Saladboze Diary
About a dozen days ago, to be more precise, on 25th August 2021, my blog "Saladboze Diary" marked the 6th anniversary of its opening. In fact, I forgot such an important date because my job had been busy lately. Of course, the meaning of this anniversary belongs to very private things, so that my ob…
My Record of Reading about “HARRY POTTER and the Half-Blood Prince”
At last, I have finished reading "HARRY POTTER and the Half-Blood Prince". I spend a much longer time to complete than I expected at first. However, it doesn't mean that this work is boring or tiring. On the contrary, a scene of ending is so impressive, particularly a funeral of Professor Dumbledore…
Consideration of What Humanity Should Be
Sakaguchi Ango, who has been known as one of prominent authors of japanese modern literatures, wrote a novel named "The Idiot" in a confused age after a miserable defeat of Second World War. In fact, this work seems to reflect a blighted aspect of the society in those days. Maybe, experiences in war…
Generally, Platonism was considered approving of the existence of something transcending our physical senses. Traditionally, it used to be called "Idea" or "Form". In other words, Platonism has usually accepted that the essence of things dominates over material objects. According to this theory, For…
Difficult Matters on Our Morality and Humanity
Ango Sakaguchi, who is one of my favorite authors, used to discuss various matters of our morality. He was not only an ordinary storyteller but also a profound thinker, even though his discourse didn't appear to be logical enough. He was neither a strict academician nor a religious philosopher. Actu…
Devotion to the Absolute Beauty
Junichiro Tanizaki, who has been considered to be a great author of Japanese modern literature, is known for a remarkable longing to a sexual joy and a beauty of woman. His sensitivity resembles Yukio Mishima who also had an intense interest in beautiful things, but to be precise, I think that Mishi…
I Want to Disguise and Disappear
To be suspicious of actuality of Myself, it's a particular theme of Kobo Abe, who has been known as a prominent writer having left so many works strange, mysterious, and attractive. It has been regarded as basis of our society that we keep shapes of ourselves evident and consistent. However, he refu…
A short story written by Yukio Mishima which was named "Yuukoku", of which title translated into English is "Patriotism", is a representative work reflecting his characteristic sensitivity as to death and sexual pleasure. Mishima himself told that this one was highly condensed essence of his literat…
Fight Against Filthy Adulthood
A novel written by Kenzaburo Oe of which title is "Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids", named in Japanese "Memushiri-Kouchi", was the first one of his so many long novels. It seems a work developed from "Shiiku" which was his prominent short story in an early age, both of them described a figure of boys c…
Aspiring after Appearance of the Tragic Miracle
A short story named in English "Sea and Sunset" which Yukio Mishima had written a long time ago, titled in Japanese "Umi to Yuuyake", has a significant worth in his literature. Both "Sea" and "Sunset" had been important images of Mishima, for instance he mentioned the privileged memory of a particul…
Honestly, I'm not knowledgeable about literary works of Kenzaburo Oe, because I have read only several books written by him in the past. However, I think it's not a proper behavior not to mention his enormous works at all, even though I have already written about Yukio Mishima and Kobo Abe who both …
Under the Confinement of Blood
Kenji Nakagami, who almost stay nameless over the sea, had described the repressive life resulted from unfair discrimination. His literary works were based on his experience and circumstance in childhood, which had forced him to endure complicated blood relations. In other words, he must have been s…
Nihilistic Desire for Self-Disappearance
Kobo Abe, who has been known internationally as the prominent Japanese novelist, had dealt with the matter of "Self-Disappearance". This term means desire to make the self dissolve into vague existence which has no name, no clear outline, no sustainable identity. For instance, his initial work title…
My Record of Reading about “HARRY POTTER and the Order of the Phoenix” 2
A few days ago, I had finally finished reading "HARRY POTTER and the Order of the Phoenix" which I had chosen to learn English. So that I'm going to write down my own thoughts and impressions of it. This story hasn't only described the fight with Dark Lord and Death Eaters, but also the conflict bet…
Literature which describes the Figure of Pretended Hermit
Choukitsu Kurumatani has been the best one of most important novelists of Japanese modern literature. But he hasn't been known enough among foreign countries. I don't recognize the nature of foreigner's interests in Japanese literature, therefore I can't unravel the mystery that he has remained almo…
The Memorandum on the Relation between Yukio Mishima and Platonic Idealism
Yukio Mishima's literally works have included an influence from Platonic Idealism. Especially Form of Beauty have the important meaning to him. His aesthetic desire of which will keep youthful beauty eternal had been the core of his whole life. His most remarkable wish had been what made himself mer…
Dwelling In the Dim and Opaque World
Please get my article corrected. I don't know whether or not Ango Sakaguchi has been known in foreign countries as well as in Japan. Considering that some studies on him have been conducted by foreign scholars, it's not exact to comfirm that he's completely nameless. At least those who would like to…
Cahier（Observe Everything Carefully to Avoid Falling into Foolishness and Madness）
＊人間は愚かであることから逃れられない。どんなに賢明な選良であっても、あらゆる種類の愚行を回避することは不可能に等しい。立場が違えど、その立場に固有の愚行に陥って様々な弊害を惹起するのが人間の性というものである。 愚行という言葉が包摂すべき範囲は果てしなく広い。例えば法律に違反する犯罪行為は悉く愚行に違いないが、その愚かさの性質には無限のニュアンスがある。痴漢の愚かさと、詐欺師の愚かさと、殺人犯の愚かさには、色調や温度、意味合いの差異がある。そもそも、愚かさという性質は、人間の内部で、あらゆる分野に均等に浸潤する要素であるとは限らない。社会的地位や名声に恵まれ、自己の仕事において卓越した才覚を…
Cahier（Could you confirm there’s no wrongness of me?）
＊人間は誰でも間違いを起こす。過ちを犯し、誤認と錯覚に操られ、事実を曲解し、現実的な判断よりも希望的観測を重んじる。つまり、客観的事実に対して欲望に基づいた想定や期待を優先する傾向を生得的に備えている。これは人間の度し難い悪癖の一つである。 新型コロナウイルスを巡って惹起された諸々の艱難は、国民的な不満と議論を呼び覚まし、生活の窮迫に喘ぐ人々の怨嗟の訴えは日増しにその勢威を募らせている。菅総理を筆頭に政府や自治体の首脳は悪し様に罵られ、オリンピックの開催強行や生温い入国制限に対する排外的な憤怒が巷間を席捲している。確かに総理大臣の意思決定の遅滞、表現力の欠乏は深刻な水準に達しているように見える…
＊引き続き、英語の文章を読むことに日月を費やしている。言葉を読んだり書いたりすることに熱中するのは、奇特な慣習である。別に文字を読まずとも死にはしない。文字を持たない社会というのは、古今東西、幾つもあったし、地域によっては今も存続しているだろう。けれども、文字が発明され、言葉が音声という軛を免れ、時間と空間の制約を超越するようになってから、人間の知性が爆発的な発展を遂げたことは疑いを容れない。今日では、言葉は音声であろうと文字であろうと、瞬時に通信技術の力を借りて、全世界へ飛躍することが可能となった。 言葉は、人類の知性的な成長に多くの豊かな貢献を果たしてきた。言葉の運用に熟達することは直ちに…
My Record of Reading about “HARRY POTTER and the Order of the Phoenix” 1
英語学習の一環として取り組んでいる J.K.Rowling,HARRY POTTER and the Order of the Phoenix について、未だ読了には至らないが感想の断片を書き遺しておきたいと思う。 英文のペーパーバックで概ね800頁に及ぶ本書は、シリーズ全篇を通じて最大の分量を誇っている。今年の一月下旬に注文したiPadが四月下旬に漸く入荷し、念願の購入に至ったので、最近はKindleの簡便な辞書機能に頼りながら、果てしない繙読の旅路を辿っている。私の錯覚に過ぎないかも知れないが、巻数を追う毎に英文の難易度が徐々に上昇しているような印象を受ける。それは物語そのものの内容が、着…
Cahier（A Significant Difference between Ruin and Decay of Yukio Mishima）
＊自分自身が徐々に年齢を重ねて、まだ致命傷には至らずとも、肉体の随所に色々な不具合、或いはその予兆のようなものを感じる機会が増えてくると、否が応でも「若さ」というものの価値を考えずにはいられない。これは誰もが経験する不可避の通り道であり、重要な岐路であって、生まれてから当面の間は、右肩上がりの眩い成長を何の疑問も持たずに受け入れ、その奔流に呑まれながら漂うのだが、或る時点から、そういう無条件の発展や、無尽蔵の活力の蕩尽、無思慮と情熱だけを糧に行動し、多少の負荷ならば平然と踏み躙ってしまえる、あの比類のない異様な生命力のようなものが、確実に目減りしつつあることに早晩気付かされる。少なくとも一定の…
Cahier（Praying for the miraculous rain, We must have been home alone）
＊三度目の緊急事態宣言が東京都、大阪府、兵庫県、京都府に対して発令され、「人流の抑制」という御題目の下に、政府及び自治体は広範囲の業種に対する休業要請に踏み切った。大阪と兵庫で猛威を揮う英国型の変異株が全国的に拡大し、深刻な医療危機を惹起することを懸念すると共に、巨費を投じて準備を進めてきた国威発揚プロジェクトたる東京オリンピック・パラリンピックの強行に、感染爆発が支障を来すことを怖れたのだろう。感染制御に失敗し、国際的なイベントの開催を断念した極東の二流国という不名誉な称号を冠せられることを、政府首脳は危惧しているのではないか。 新型コロナウイルスの鎮圧が容易ならざる難業であることは、世界的…
Cahier（A Man who has been dry, without compassion for others）
＊自分はどういう人間なのか、それを客観的に査定し、評価し、把握することは容易ではない。自分で自分の感情や信条や、抑圧された無意識の想念を適切に解剖し、その構造を闡明するのは一朝一夕に為し遂げられる些事ではない。何処まで突き進んでも、人間の認識は畢竟、主観性の監獄を突破出来ないし、自分自身の言動を綜合的な視野の下に一望することは極めて困難である。 だからこそ、自分の内なる漠然とした、曖昧模糊たる情動や思念を明確で理性的な言葉の列なりに置換する営為は地道に繰り返されなければならない。人間が文章を書くのは、単に他者との回路の開拓を求めているからに留まらない。自分自身の思考を整理し、首尾一貫した理路を…
Cahier（After all, Nobody knows the Rightest Answer, Anyone has never been a Reliable Prophet）
＊既に言い尽くされたことばかりだが、個人的備忘の為に書いておきたい。 ＊新型コロナウイルスの英国型変異株の蔓延が急拡大し、大阪府は完全なる医療崩壊の危殆に瀕している。感染者の抑制に成功し、関東圏よりも一足先に緊急事態宣言を解除したのは二月末、それから未だ二箇月も経過していないのに状況は悪しき方向へ急変している。東京やその近県においても、変異株の検出が増加傾向にあるとのこと、何れ大阪の二の舞になることは確実であるように思われる。二度目の緊急事態宣言を解除して未だ一箇月も経たぬうちに三度目の緊急事態宣言発令の気配が漂うというのは、不穏な雲行きである。 副作用の懸念は全く消滅していないとはいえ、ワク…
＊「時分の花」という言葉がある。能楽の大成者である世阿弥の遺した古典『風姿花伝』に登場する用語で、その年齢に固有の魅力、一過性の魅力を指す。 私は今三十五歳で、人生百年時代と言われる昨今の風潮を鑑みれば充分に青臭い若造の部類に属する年代であろうと思われるが、自らの加齢に加え、職場で十代や二十代の社員、従業員と接する機会が多い所為か、若さというものの絶対的な価値、或いはその稀少な価値に就いて想いを巡らすことが増えている。或いは五歳の娘を見ていても、その漲る活力、疲れを知らぬ幅広い好奇心、片時も大人しくしていない筋金入りの能動性に眩暈のような感覚を懐くこともある。若く、無限の未来を備え、心身共に無…
My Record of Reading about HARRY POTTER and the Goblet of Fire
英語学習の一環として取り組んできた J.K.Rowling, HARRY POTTER and the Goblet of Fire, London, 2014 を漸く読了したので、感想文を認めておきたい。 英文で617頁に達する分厚い書物であるから、全篇の通読には骨が折れた。しかし、明らかに自分の英語読解力が向上しているという喜ばしい手応えを実感している。無論、細部に亘って悉く英単語やセンテンスの精確な意味を審らかに把握し、理解しているとは言えない。けれども、少なくとも全く意味の分からない箇所というのは確実に減りつつあるし、記憶している語彙や定型的表現の数は徐々に増え、私の海馬に蓄積されつつ…
＊春である。新入社員の配属が始まり、大規模な人事異動が実施され、昨年度の実績を踏まえた人事考課の面談が各所で行われている。私の勤め先は毎年五月が期初である。過去一年間の勤務の成果や各自の成長を振り返り、来期の方針や目標達成に向けて銘々が自身の行動計画を練る時期なのだ。 過日、私も本部のオフィスで直属の上司と一次考課の面談の機会を持った。期初に設定した成果目標及び行動目標の評価と、個人の能力評価の二本柱で、夏の賞与と来期の給与の査定を行なうのである。その席上、強みと弱みの話に到った。人事考課は、個人の能力の棚卸や客観的な分析を実施する貴重な機会である。他人の眼を通して自己の姿、振舞い、特徴などを…
Cahier（Hybrid Language as Historical Heritage）
＊引き続き、英語学習に明け暮れている。今読み進めているハリー・ポッターの第四巻 HARRY POTTER and the Goblet of Fire は、手許のペーパーバックで617頁という途方もない破壊力で、現時点で漸く約400頁まで辿り着いたところである。しかも、これまでの巻に比べて頁当たりの印刷された字数が明らかに多い。純然たる異国の言葉だけで綴られた、こんなに分厚い書物を、純然たる個人的趣味として繙読している自分の奇矯さが時々怪訝に感じられることもあるが、ハリー・ポッターの数奇な運命、魅惑的な細部、緻密な構成に助けられて、遅々たる歩みとはいえ、語学的冒険の旅路は順調である。 言語とい…
Cahier（A Burning Desire for Approval）
＊四月から私の直属の部下となる問題児と会社のオフィスで二時間ばかり面談をした。話頭は多岐に亘り、その仔細を悉くここに明示することは出来ない。そもそも業務及び個人の事情に関連する話柄であるから、妄りに公開して許されるような種類の内容ではない。ただ書き記しておきたいのは、私がそのときに感受した、怠惰で聊か奇矯な性格の持ち主である彼の抱え込んでいる根深い承認欲求の熱量であった。 彼は会社から有能な人材として評価されていない。それゆえに複数回に亘って降格の憂き目に遭っている。そのこと自体は、彼も自覚していない訳ではない。しかし、深刻な承認欲求、満たされずに燻っている承認欲求が、冷遇されている自分という…
Cahier（My situation will partly change into a harsh state with new spring coming soon）
＊先日、娘が五歳の誕生日を迎え、家でささやかな祝宴を催した。古い写真と比べて眺めると、随分と顔つきが凛々しくなった。弁舌は頗る達者で、自己主張に関して物怖じを知らない。昔は定期的に風邪を引いたりアレルギー性の咳に苦しんだりしていたが、最近は発熱も全くない。身体が発達して免疫の機能が向上してきたのだろうか。 時々、私が子供の頃に親から叱られた挿話を聞かせると、娘は興味津々に歓ぶ。幼少の砌、夕食のテーブルに出された苦手な卵豆腐を嫌がる私に、母親が堪忍袋の緒を引き千切って激昂し、全部平らげるまで席を立つなと言い出し、泣きながら匙で黄色く顫える豆腐を抄い続けたエピソードを話すと、満面の笑みを浮かべて立…
Cahier（Days when I was younger so much）
＊元旦以来、一年の計として英語学習を志し、毎日洋書を読んでいる所為もあり、学習するとは何なのか、どういう本質や特徴を備えているのか、ということを時折考える。他人が未知の物事を学ぶ際にどういう方法論を採用しているのかということに対しても関心が湧出してくる。英単語の暗記にしても、知り合いに尋ねると、単語帳を繰り返し読んで覚えたという人もいれば、書き取りをしないと覚えられないという人もいる。インターネットの世界を渉猟してみれば、多様な人々が実に多彩な方法で語学に取り組んでいることが分かる。何を学ぶかという対象は状況と必要に応じて千変万化するが、何れにせよ自分の個性に適した学習の方法を案出することが肝…
Cahier（Various Changes Increasing in Our Lives）
＊引き続き、洋書の繙読を続けている。先日「ハリー・ポッター」シリーズの第四巻に当たるHARRY POTTER and the Goblet of Fireを、幕張新都心のイオンモールにある蔦屋書店で買い求めた。眩暈を覚えるような分厚さである。本文だけで600頁以上、外観は完全に国語辞典のボリュームで、活字のサイズが明らかに従来より縮んでいる。本来ならばiPadを駆使して電子書籍で読む予定だったのが、生憎肝腎のiPadが予約して一箇月以上経つのに未だ入荷しないので、止むを得ず紙で購入することに決した次第である。 仮に日本語であっても600頁の分量を、生活の隙間に転がっている切れ端のような時間を凝…
My Record of Reading about HARRY POTTER and the Prisoner of Azkaban
英語学習の一環として J.K.Rowling,HARRY POTTER and the Prisoner of Azkaban,2014,London を読了したので感想文を認める。 シリーズ三作目に当たる本書では、ハリー・ポッターの亡父の親友であったシリウス・ブラックに纏わる一連の騒動が、物語の中核を成している。その根底には、ジェームズ・ポッター、シリウス・ブラック、リーマス・ルーピン、ピーター・ペティグリュー、そしてセブルス・スネイプたちの過去の因縁が蟠り、遠景には絶えず、史上最も邪悪な魔法使いヴォルデモートの犯罪と陰謀が隠見している。物語の陰翳は徐々に深まり、暴力と悪意の荒廃した投影が少…
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My wife's taking a trip to Nagoya with her mother and daughter for two days, leaving me alone behind. They will see their relatives, visiting one who has been seriously ill and expected not to have much time left. Today I'm taking a day off without my family, so that my house's filled with rare sile…
On a pleasant sunny day in late autumn, I was taking a day off, having received a dental checkup first thing in the morning, then seen a chiropractor, besides gone swimming after that. Several laps of crawling made my body heavier than usual, but I shouldn't hate such a burden considering I need to …
Having entered this November, it means that this year is nearly over, though the fact's quite unbelievable to me. Recently I'm working on the same way as ever, getting a bit busier, and I spent mostly the rest of time in being with my family, sometimes going to swim, still reading Harry Potter. A fe…
Surely, it must have been all my fault. The filthy sin, which we could always spot anywhere around ourselves, out of control, sliding down into the bottom looking out of bounds. It's also because of me this night was stuck in suffocating silence and discord, her face seemed covered by withered sadne…
The dark night sky, almost without any stars, covered over quiet streets, our breathing alone sounding slightly. She, whose name was Sena, was holding my hand a bit weakly, and her profile looked stiff. Not the same as usual, I felt that. Anyone else didn't walk anywhere around us, ominous deep sile…
Lord Voldemort had risen again. The fourth book of Harry Potter seems to be condensed into this brief phrase. Finally, the story began to enter into the most important, serious phase. The boy who once appeared to be innocent and ignorant was forced to get more confused, more distressed, more knowled…
The nightfall came down sooner than I had expected. It seemed always so, she was saying when she was beside me. The night was suitable for both of us. Signals on the road was flickering at the same intervals, just like our slightly pounding hearts. But it could be a bad sign, not that good for anyon…
Abruptly, the cold weather comes in as if this autumn were skipped over. Without the slightest recognition, all years are passing away swiftly in front of my eyes. Whenever reflecting how I has been for this year, usually I feel dazed how fast days has gone, how far away some remarkable events have …
It has been a long time since I swam last. Maybe, it's far beyond twenty years. About a dozen days ago, I registered my name as a member of the fitness club near my house, which also my daughter's attending to learn swimming once a week. The first day, I felt my shoulders aching as if tightly constr…
Yesterday, the state funeral for the former prime minister Abe Shinzo was held. I don't have a thing for him, and I think that there's no need to hold the state funeral despite so many voices of objection. Maybe, it's a mistake for Kishida Fumio to have decided to force the funeral upon those who ar…
What makes you trustworthy is not your words, but your deed and behavior. Lately I'm thinking about that frequently, because words can deceive anyone in various ways, and they're just some kind of sign. Although all signs should indicate only a true destination, it's not unusual that false signs dis…
Sirius Black is an amazing man. He had been imprisoned for a false charge in the terrifying fortress called Azkaban, but never gone mad despite the Dementors roaming around near him at all times. What enables him to endure such a harsh state for twelve years is the thought that he's really innocent,…
While the summer getting nearer to the end, I have been as busy as usual with various things. For instance, I have made two trips during this summer. July of this year, I went to Ikaho-Onsen with my family alone, and a few days ago, I went to Atami-Onsen with my old parents, my wife and six-year-old…
Late last month, I finished re-reading the book "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" once again, and I was absorbed in it deeply. The suspense made my fingers keep turning the pages, and so many ingenious underplots got me dazed. I can't tell what the author had planned about Harry's tale befor…
On 25th August 2022, this blog Saladboze Diary celebrated the 7th anniversary of its opening. These days, I have been so busy with various things that I can neither write nor post any articles on this blog. First, my daughter has been enjoying her summer holidays since July 15th, therefore I have no…
It's only when I had gone to a bookstore near Tokyo Station a few days ago that I got to know that this year, the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" celebrated its 25th anniversary since it had been published first. By chance, I have finished re-reading that novel a while ago, and now i…
Recent days, I have been so busy with working that I was not able to write my impressions on the book "The Alchemist" down. As a result, my memories about a content of The Alchemist is getting vaguer day by day, but even if it seems imprecise, I want to record a bit of my consideration on that novel…
The same as ever, I keep reading some books in English, and "The alchemist" written by Paulo Coelho is one of them that I have been reading lately, that impressed me in many ways. Reading the novel, I feel that it resembles partly each of books that I read before, such as "The Artist's Way", "Who Mo…
A few days ago, I finished reading "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" written by Hugh Lofting. When I was a kid, I had read this series translated into Japanese, and since then it had been the best one for a long time that I liked most among various books which I had met ever. Although now I forget the …
Recently, I have been reading two books in turns. One is "Mate: Become the Man Women Want" and another is "The Story of Doctor Dolittle" which was my favorite book when I was a kid. They might seem very different from each other, and it's definitely true. However, both of them highly interest me, so…
My wife's taking a trip to Nagoya with her mother and daughter for two days, leaving me alone behind. They will see their relatives, visiting one who has been seriously ill and expected not to have much time left. Today I'm taking a day off without my family, so that my house's filled with rare sile…
On a pleasant sunny day in late autumn, I was taking a day off, having received a dental checkup first thing in the morning, then seen a chiropractor, besides gone swimming after that. Several laps of crawling made my body heavier than usual, but I shouldn't hate such a burden considering I need to …
Having entered this November, it means that this year is nearly over, though the fact's quite unbelievable to me. Recently I'm working on the same way as ever, getting a bit busier, and I spent mostly the rest of time in being with my family, sometimes going to swim, still reading Harry Potter. A fe…
Surely, it must have been all my fault. The filthy sin, which we could always spot anywhere around ourselves, out of control, sliding down into the bottom looking out of bounds. It's also because of me this night was stuck in suffocating silence and discord, her face seemed covered by withered sadne…
The dark night sky, almost without any stars, covered over quiet streets, our breathing alone sounding slightly. She, whose name was Sena, was holding my hand a bit weakly, and her profile looked stiff. Not the same as usual, I felt that. Anyone else didn't walk anywhere around us, ominous deep sile…
Lord Voldemort had risen again. The fourth book of Harry Potter seems to be condensed into this brief phrase. Finally, the story began to enter into the most important, serious phase. The boy who once appeared to be innocent and ignorant was forced to get more confused, more distressed, more knowled…
The nightfall came down sooner than I had expected. It seemed always so, she was saying when she was beside me. The night was suitable for both of us. Signals on the road was flickering at the same intervals, just like our slightly pounding hearts. But it could be a bad sign, not that good for anyon…
