Saint Laurent: A man who could not be defined
French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died Sunday at 71. Once viewed as a Boy Wonder, the man rose to become a fashion king, with his business eventually expanding to include the licensing production of even such items as handkerchiefs and socks. In fact, the Yves Saint Laurent brand has become so popular that most people likely have one or two gift items bearing the familiar YSL logo in their homes.
When Saint Laurent won the confidence of fashion leader Christian Dior, he was still a design student. After Dior's sudden death in 1957, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent became chief designer of the house of Dior and worked to redefine that brand.
Saint Laurent continually challenged conventions, starting in Paris, which is divided down the middle by the river Seine. On the river's right bank lies the commercial district and on the left, enclaves*孤立した地域 of students, artists and varied cultural groups. For years, France's haute couture*オート・クチュール fashion house were all concentrated on the right bank. Defying*無視する、受け入れない that convention, in 1966, Saint Laurent opened "Rive Gauche"(left bank), his ready-to-wear既製服の women's clothing boutique, on the other side of Seine.
On its opening day, his close friend, actress Catherine Deneuve, came by立ち寄る and bought one of his new designs: a pantsuit. The menswear-inspired style spawned*物を生む a fashion revolution, becoming the uniform of a new generation of women who wore it to show they had no intention of being second-class citizens to men, Alice Rawsthorn writes in her book "Yves Saint Laurent: A biography."
When the designer was 35, he posed nude in an YSL advertising campaign for a men's fragrance. A smile man, he wore only his trademark black-rimmed glasses in the photo. He later said he had intended to create a scandal. Some say Saint Laurent was a man who "defied summation要約 and analysis."
The fashion industry, controlled by ingenuity創意 and financial power, is constantly changing. The house of Dior, where Saint Laurent used to work, has now been absorbed into the giant LVMH group, while the Saint Laurent brand continues its quest for beauty under the Gucci Group. Exquisite優雅な、繊細な style, vanity虚飾 and women's liberation are some of the ideas the YSL logo connotes本来の意味のほかにーを暗示する． Even after its founder's death, the YSL brand continues to defy summation. (Herald Asahi, June 4)
When Saint Laurent won the confidence of fashion leader Christian Dior, he was still a design student. After Dior's sudden death in 1957, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent became chief designer of the house of Dior and worked to redefine that brand.
Saint Laurent continually challenged conventions, starting in Paris, which is divided down the middle by the river Seine. On the river's right bank lies the commercial district and on the left, enclaves*孤立した地域 of students, artists and varied cultural groups. For years, France's haute couture*オート・クチュール fashion house were all concentrated on the right bank. Defying*無視する、受け入れない that convention, in 1966, Saint Laurent opened "Rive Gauche"(left bank), his ready-to-wear既製服の women's clothing boutique, on the other side of Seine.
On its opening day, his close friend, actress Catherine Deneuve, came by立ち寄る and bought one of his new designs: a pantsuit. The menswear-inspired style spawned*物を生む a fashion revolution, becoming the uniform of a new generation of women who wore it to show they had no intention of being second-class citizens to men, Alice Rawsthorn writes in her book "Yves Saint Laurent: A biography."
When the designer was 35, he posed nude in an YSL advertising campaign for a men's fragrance. A smile man, he wore only his trademark black-rimmed glasses in the photo. He later said he had intended to create a scandal. Some say Saint Laurent was a man who "defied summation要約 and analysis."
The fashion industry, controlled by ingenuity創意 and financial power, is constantly changing. The house of Dior, where Saint Laurent used to work, has now been absorbed into the giant LVMH group, while the Saint Laurent brand continues its quest for beauty under the Gucci Group. Exquisite優雅な、繊細な style, vanity虚飾 and women's liberation are some of the ideas the YSL logo connotes本来の意味のほかにーを暗示する． Even after its founder's death, the YSL brand continues to defy summation. (Herald Asahi, June 4)
Instead of ignoring pain, Dazai wrote about it.
The banks of the Tamagawa canal were covered with dokudami(houttuynia or fish mint) flowers. I could glimps*(ちらりと見る） through the shade of fatsia and palm leaves the water that writer Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) once described as "running deep and slow". As I strolled*散策する closer to JR Mitaka Station in western Tokyo, I noted that the banks on both sides of the canal had been turned into trim promenades. I could find few traces*面影 of former Musashino, as this part of Tokyo has been traditionally called.
This is the spot where Dazai ended his life 60 years ago. His existence was fragile*もろい, it can be likened to a sparkler that ignited and fizzled*5 out最後は失敗に終わる quickly. He drowned himself in a double suicide with his lover at midnight on June 13, 1948. Their bodies, tied together with a rope, were found in the lower reaches of the canal on the morning of June 19, which would have been Dazai's 39th birthday. Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of the incident, a special day known as Otoki. The name derives from his short story "Oto"(Cherry).
Next year is the centennial* of his birth and I hear there is renewed interest in Dazai, whose works continue to attract readers. Commentaries about him are also being published. The city of Mitaka opened a literary salon on the site of the liquor shop Dazai used to frequent.A paperback reissue of his 1948 novel, "Ningen Shikkaku" (No longer human), with a new cover by a popular manga artist, sold 210,000 copies in its first year, according to publisher Shueisha Inc.
Dazai, a drug addict, attempted suicide four times. His profile changes depending on how one views his "weaknesses." Yukio Mishima(1925-1970) harshly criticized him in "A novelist's holiday" "Sick people who do not wat to get well are not qualified to be really sick," Mishima wrote.
Commentator Takeo Okuno(1926-1997) defended Dazai in collection of works of Japanese literature. Okuno wrote that it takes strength to maintain the weakness of youth until one dies."(Dazai) was sensitive and easily hurt, and kept his inner shame to himself, where he could shrewdly*鋭く、抜け目無く feel the truth," Okuno wrote.
Instead of turning a blind eye to his anxiety about never fitting in with society, Dazai wrote about it. His "strong works," in which he exposed the hidden world that exists inside each human being, continue to be read passionately today. There may be things that only people who know their own weaknesses, as well as the weaknesses of others, inside and out can understand. Some young people cannot face up to their weaknesses squarely. We live in age of uncertainty. There are many things I wish I could ask Dazai, who I imagin is sitting in his grave with his chin thoughtfully in his hand. (Herald Asahi, June 19, 2008)
This is the spot where Dazai ended his life 60 years ago. His existence was fragile*もろい, it can be likened to a sparkler that ignited and fizzled*5 out最後は失敗に終わる quickly. He drowned himself in a double suicide with his lover at midnight on June 13, 1948. Their bodies, tied together with a rope, were found in the lower reaches of the canal on the morning of June 19, which would have been Dazai's 39th birthday. Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of the incident, a special day known as Otoki. The name derives from his short story "Oto"(Cherry).
Next year is the centennial* of his birth and I hear there is renewed interest in Dazai, whose works continue to attract readers. Commentaries about him are also being published. The city of Mitaka opened a literary salon on the site of the liquor shop Dazai used to frequent.A paperback reissue of his 1948 novel, "Ningen Shikkaku" (No longer human), with a new cover by a popular manga artist, sold 210,000 copies in its first year, according to publisher Shueisha Inc.
Dazai, a drug addict, attempted suicide four times. His profile changes depending on how one views his "weaknesses." Yukio Mishima(1925-1970) harshly criticized him in "A novelist's holiday" "Sick people who do not wat to get well are not qualified to be really sick," Mishima wrote.
Commentator Takeo Okuno(1926-1997) defended Dazai in collection of works of Japanese literature. Okuno wrote that it takes strength to maintain the weakness of youth until one dies."(Dazai) was sensitive and easily hurt, and kept his inner shame to himself, where he could shrewdly*鋭く、抜け目無く feel the truth," Okuno wrote.
Instead of turning a blind eye to his anxiety about never fitting in with society, Dazai wrote about it. His "strong works," in which he exposed the hidden world that exists inside each human being, continue to be read passionately today. There may be things that only people who know their own weaknesses, as well as the weaknesses of others, inside and out can understand. Some young people cannot face up to their weaknesses squarely. We live in age of uncertainty. There are many things I wish I could ask Dazai, who I imagin is sitting in his grave with his chin thoughtfully in his hand. (Herald Asahi, June 19, 2008)
Ainu recognition opens the door to diversity*多様性
The preface*2 to the first edition of "Ainu Shinyoshu" (Collected songs of the Ainu godss), published 85 years ago, begins: " A long time ago, this big land of Hokkaido was land of freedom for our ancestors." Yukie Chiri(1903-1922), an Ainu who rendered*伝承する a collection of mythical Ainu songs into Japanese, called herself and her people a "dying race." She was in poor health, but forced herself to keep going, determined to save at least a small part of Ainu culture.
Chiri was a child prodigy*天才児 who could go back and forth between her mother tongue and standard Japanese with ease. She was discovered and groomed*訓練する by Kyosuke Kindaichi(1882-1971), an eminent linguist. Chiri died at tender age of 19, dreaming of the day when her compatriots-the Utari-would no longer be threatened by mainstream Japanese culture and be able to "fall into step*足並みを揃える with the rest of the world toward progress." Her book was published after her death.
On June 6, the Diet unanimously*満場一致で voted for resolution recognizing the Ainu as indigenous* people of Japan's northernmost region. The resolution noted, "Many Ainu were discriminated against and forced to live in poberty, even though they were Japanese citizens under the law." The resolution demands the government further implement履行する initiatives that will protect their right.
Until 11 years ago, this country had a law that referred to the Ainu people as Kyu-dojin-literally, former aboriginals. That law in effect had acknowledged the historical fact of their indigenous status. Given*考慮に入れると the international trend toward respecting the rights of indigenous peoples, it is Japan's non-Ainu society that ought to "fall into step" with the Ainu people. The new resolution represents the first move in that direction.
Society gains depth through encounters with foreign cultures and customs. In contrast* any society that believes in the fiction of a "single ethic entity" breeds misguided arrogance. The acknowledgment of diversity must always be fundamental to existence of any society.
The Kamui(god) of owl in Ainu mythology sings as it flies: "Silver drops fall, fall, all around; gold drops fall, fall, all around; This is the opening line in the collection of Ainu songs that Chiri translated into Japanese. The owl god dodges arrows of gold shot bu rich children, choosing instead to be pierced by wooden arrows shot by poor children. The Ainu were gentle, warmhearted people who lived amid mature and survived as hunters, fishers and farmers. I want to learn from the Ainu lifestyle and philosophy, which Chiri tried to teach us. (Herald Asahi, June. 16, 2008)
Chiri was a child prodigy*天才児 who could go back and forth between her mother tongue and standard Japanese with ease. She was discovered and groomed*訓練する by Kyosuke Kindaichi(1882-1971), an eminent linguist. Chiri died at tender age of 19, dreaming of the day when her compatriots-the Utari-would no longer be threatened by mainstream Japanese culture and be able to "fall into step*足並みを揃える with the rest of the world toward progress." Her book was published after her death.
On June 6, the Diet unanimously*満場一致で voted for resolution recognizing the Ainu as indigenous* people of Japan's northernmost region. The resolution noted, "Many Ainu were discriminated against and forced to live in poberty, even though they were Japanese citizens under the law." The resolution demands the government further implement履行する initiatives that will protect their right.
Until 11 years ago, this country had a law that referred to the Ainu people as Kyu-dojin-literally, former aboriginals. That law in effect had acknowledged the historical fact of their indigenous status. Given*考慮に入れると the international trend toward respecting the rights of indigenous peoples, it is Japan's non-Ainu society that ought to "fall into step" with the Ainu people. The new resolution represents the first move in that direction.
Society gains depth through encounters with foreign cultures and customs. In contrast* any society that believes in the fiction of a "single ethic entity" breeds misguided arrogance. The acknowledgment of diversity must always be fundamental to existence of any society.
The Kamui(god) of owl in Ainu mythology sings as it flies: "Silver drops fall, fall, all around; gold drops fall, fall, all around; This is the opening line in the collection of Ainu songs that Chiri translated into Japanese. The owl god dodges arrows of gold shot bu rich children, choosing instead to be pierced by wooden arrows shot by poor children. The Ainu were gentle, warmhearted people who lived amid mature and survived as hunters, fishers and farmers. I want to learn from the Ainu lifestyle and philosophy, which Chiri tried to teach us. (Herald Asahi, June. 16, 2008)
You never know what flowers will bloom.
Being a physicist sounds like such a serious*1 profession it's hard to believe that such people have time for other pursuits. But in the case of Nobel Prize physicist Shinichiro Tomonaga(1906-1979), he enjoyed nature in his own backyard. In an essay, he wrote how he attracted birds by setting up a bird table in his yard and clloected various seeds from their droppings*2ふん.
He planted the seeds in pots in early spring and waited until around the beginning of the rainy season for them to bud. At first, it was difficult to tell what they were but soon, they become distinguishable*3区別できる. Those around him told him it would be interesting if some of them turned out to be*4 plants that can be found only in the Himalayas, he wrote.
It is true that it would be fun if unexpected flowers bloom but not if they are illegal. Some of the seeds that organizers of an annual flower festival in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, plamted, thinking they were harmless corn poppies, turned out to be of the variety prohibited*5 under optium law. Last week, the festival site was covered with the illegal poppies. City officials and volunteers rushed to uproot them.
The opium poppies called atsumi-geshi in Japan contain narcotic*6麻薬の properties. Since there were hundreds of thousands of them, they could not be burned in a day and had to be watched overnight. The flowers originally come from North Africa. There is no way the seeds were carried by birds, but haw they got mixed up remains a mystery.
Perhaps because they are illegal, opium poppies appear somewhat ephemeral*7つかのまの、はかない. Poet Tatsuji Miyoshi (1900-1964) said they remained*8(remainded--of--+=人にーを思い出させる）him of paintings by the French painter Marie Laurencin (1883-1956). But contrary to*9 their appearance, they have virulent*毒性の強い power. The narcotic effects of opium produce a strong euphoria*陶酔感 but make users a wreck*12.
When Tomonaga planted the seeds he collected from bird droppings, all of them grew into plants that were commonly found in the neighborhood. Why did atsumi-geshi, which is supposedly uncommon legally speaking, bloom in such a large number? If the mystery remains unsolved*13, I'm curious*14 as to what will happen next year. (Herald Asashi May 21)
He planted the seeds in pots in early spring and waited until around the beginning of the rainy season for them to bud. At first, it was difficult to tell what they were but soon, they become distinguishable*3区別できる. Those around him told him it would be interesting if some of them turned out to be*4 plants that can be found only in the Himalayas, he wrote.
It is true that it would be fun if unexpected flowers bloom but not if they are illegal. Some of the seeds that organizers of an annual flower festival in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, plamted, thinking they were harmless corn poppies, turned out to be of the variety prohibited*5 under optium law. Last week, the festival site was covered with the illegal poppies. City officials and volunteers rushed to uproot them.
The opium poppies called atsumi-geshi in Japan contain narcotic*6麻薬の properties. Since there were hundreds of thousands of them, they could not be burned in a day and had to be watched overnight. The flowers originally come from North Africa. There is no way the seeds were carried by birds, but haw they got mixed up remains a mystery.
Perhaps because they are illegal, opium poppies appear somewhat ephemeral*7つかのまの、はかない. Poet Tatsuji Miyoshi (1900-1964) said they remained*8(remainded--of--+=人にーを思い出させる）him of paintings by the French painter Marie Laurencin (1883-1956). But contrary to*9 their appearance, they have virulent*毒性の強い power. The narcotic effects of opium produce a strong euphoria*陶酔感 but make users a wreck*12.
When Tomonaga planted the seeds he collected from bird droppings, all of them grew into plants that were commonly found in the neighborhood. Why did atsumi-geshi, which is supposedly uncommon legally speaking, bloom in such a large number? If the mystery remains unsolved*13, I'm curious*14 as to what will happen next year. (Herald Asashi May 21)
Enlightenment*1 means living with equanimity*平静、平常
May is the glorious month of gentle breezes, but Masaoka Shiki(1868-1902), a haiku poet of the Meiji Era(1867-1912) who suffered chronic spiral caries, dreaded*3ひどく心配する this month. His condition invariably*4いつも決まって worsened every May.
As if to give his own flagging*5気力などが衰える sぴりt亜簿おst、Shiki began writing serial*6 essays in a newspaper in May 1902. It was titled "Byosho 6-shaku". Struggling with pain, he once wrote about satori, or enlightenment. He had always believed that the state of enlightenment freed one from all fear of death, but he was mistaken, he noted. On the contrary*7, he observed,"(being enlightened) means being able to keep living with perfect equanimity under all circumstances."
Permanently bed-ridden, Shiki could not do without his mother or younger sister who cared for him devotedly. Until his death at age 35, he wrote prodigiously from his sickbed while living with "equanimity." Shiki's situation may well apply today to elderly people requiring constant nursing care at home, except that their caregivers*8介護者 are more likely visiting professionals, not their mothers or younger sisters.
But in this day and age, it has become difficult for the elderly to live with the sort of peace of mind attained by Shiki. I hear that caregiver-dispatch operations, which form the core of today's nursing care services for the elderly living at home, are on the decline*9. Concerns are being voiced that this could invite the collapse of our country's nursing care insurence system.
Care service fees paid under the insurence were lawered two years ago. Nursing care operators have gone south*悪化する financially; their staff have had their incomes slashed; and many have switched jobs. This vicious cycle*悪循環 seems to be eroding*次第に減ずる everyone's sense of security. Nobody can escape eventual aging and infirmity*虚弱 Steps must be taken now to prepare for the future, including measures to update the health care system.
Thanks probably to the devoted ministrations*世話・援助 of his mother and sister, Shiki never lost his sense of humor or cheefulness. One poem he penned in bed goes: "An edamame bean/ Tossed three sun(9 centimeters) into the air/ Pops into my month." There is no question that everyone needs this kind of peace of mind every day of their lives. (Herald Asahi, May 17)
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As if to give his own flagging*5気力などが衰える sぴりt亜簿おst、Shiki began writing serial*6 essays in a newspaper in May 1902. It was titled "Byosho 6-shaku". Struggling with pain, he once wrote about satori, or enlightenment. He had always believed that the state of enlightenment freed one from all fear of death, but he was mistaken, he noted. On the contrary*7, he observed,"(being enlightened) means being able to keep living with perfect equanimity under all circumstances."
Permanently bed-ridden, Shiki could not do without his mother or younger sister who cared for him devotedly. Until his death at age 35, he wrote prodigiously from his sickbed while living with "equanimity." Shiki's situation may well apply today to elderly people requiring constant nursing care at home, except that their caregivers*8介護者 are more likely visiting professionals, not their mothers or younger sisters.
But in this day and age, it has become difficult for the elderly to live with the sort of peace of mind attained by Shiki. I hear that caregiver-dispatch operations, which form the core of today's nursing care services for the elderly living at home, are on the decline*9. Concerns are being voiced that this could invite the collapse of our country's nursing care insurence system.
Care service fees paid under the insurence were lawered two years ago. Nursing care operators have gone south*悪化する financially; their staff have had their incomes slashed; and many have switched jobs. This vicious cycle*悪循環 seems to be eroding*次第に減ずる everyone's sense of security. Nobody can escape eventual aging and infirmity*虚弱 Steps must be taken now to prepare for the future, including measures to update the health care system.
Thanks probably to the devoted ministrations*世話・援助 of his mother and sister, Shiki never lost his sense of humor or cheefulness. One poem he penned in bed goes: "An edamame bean/ Tossed three sun(9 centimeters) into the air/ Pops into my month." There is no question that everyone needs this kind of peace of mind every day of their lives. (Herald Asahi, May 17)
