Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Living Sculpture


In the Willow's Shadow - News from Flower City
柳の陰で花街新聞
(10/01/27) Living Sculpture

Again and again, here in this Flower City, I encounter ikebana.

Characters for ikebana spell "living" and "flower," but I often wonder how to properly interpret this art. As discussed in this week's lesson, "living" has many shades of meaning in English. Likewise, "flower" or "blossom" seems to have many shades of meaning in Japanese.

I wonder if "living sculpture" could be a translation that echoes strongly in European culture.

When I think of "living sculpture," the image of Pygmalion of Cyprus comes to mind. He is remembered as the artist who fell in love with the statue he carved. He was pitied by the goddess of love and she brought the statue to life as a living woman. The Pygmalion story is related to stories of Adonis (Greek) and Osiris (Egyptian), gods of life, death, and vegetation from the Mediterranean region.

Ultimately, the living sculpture dies.

The question is:

How does it live?

この花街で何回に生け花会っています。

生の文字は英語でlivingと言えるですね。花の文字は英語でflowerと言える。そうだけど生け花と言う芸術はどうやって訳しましょうか?今週の練習でも英語のlivingと言う言葉で喋っていると色々の意味が入っているですね。花も日本語で色々の意味が入っているかな。

多分英語でliving sculpture (生きている彫刻)と訳せばEuropean文化で響き渡る事が出来るだと思います。

Living sculptureと思えばキプロスのPygmalionと思い出します。Pygmalionの話で彼は自分の彫刻作品と愛してしまいました。愛の神が哀れみました。次に彫刻女が本物の女の子に成りました。Pygmalionの話は地中海のAdonisやOsirisの話と似ています。Adonis はギリシヤの神。Osirisは エジプトの神。両方は死ぬ物と生きる物と植物の神です。

やっぱり生きている物が死にますね。

質問は:

何の生き方でいました?

(For more Kinse English News go to http://inthewillowsshadow.blogspot.com/
or flavoraware.com)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Happy New Year! Are you warm enough?

In the Willow's Shadow - News from Flower City
柳の陰で花街新聞
(10/01/20)

Happy New Year!
I'm excited about for the year ahead!

Are you warm enough?
How do you stay warm?

Winter is cold in the eastern US and people heat the air in their houses in order to stay warm.

In traditional eastern American houses, people don't take off their shoes when they go inside. Yet, it is clear when Americans enter a house. Outside, in "nature," it is cold; inside, in the house, it is significantly warmer.

The traditional building style of many houses in the eastern US can be traced to traditional houses in Europe. There, walls are very thick and made of stone or brick, or wattle and daub (a mixture of soil, straw, and animal dung, held in place by wooden strips). The houses of commoners were very small, often one room; one hearth could heat the whole room. The houses of the rich had large rooms that, even with fireplaces, were often cold.

In the twentieth century, with the use of electric, gas, or oil powered air conditioners, houses were built with thin walls and large rooms. Cheap energy meant that houses could be heated with large rooms and thin walls.

Here, in Kyoto, many old houses have thin walls made from wood, paper, or glass. The walls easily slide open, and there is often a gap above the wall. The garden is also mixed in with the house. For many Americans on their first trip to Japan, it seems hard to know where "inside" starts or "outside" ends.

People here in Kyoto do use gas, oil, and electric heaters and air conditioners, but in a house designed in the traditional style, heating all the air of the room is very difficult. The warm air escapes very quickly!

Instead, people heat the floor, the carpet, the blanket, the table, and themselves with baths and personal "kairo" heat packs. After going to the bath, even a very cold house seems warm!

明けましておめでとうございます!
今年も宜しくお願いします!

寒くないですか?

どうやってあつくなりますか?

USの東の冬は寒いですが人は元気のように家の空気をheatしますよ

アメリカの東の伝統的な家で入り時に靴をぬぎません。でも、アメリカ人は入りの時わかりますよ。外は自然と言う場所。そこは寒いです。内は家の中の場所。内の方があたたかいです。

大抵USの東の伝統的な家の建築はもともとヨーロパの建築ですね。ヨーロパの伝統的な建築で壁はあついです。壁の材料は石やブリックや wattle and daubと言うまぜた事。ふつの人の家はちさいーひとつのへやはふつでした。一つのストーブがそのへやheatできます。お金持ちの家は広くてさむい。

20せきで安いgasやoilや電気でエアコンの使いかたで家の壁はうすく成っていてへやは広くなっていました。

ここ、京都で古い町家の壁はたいてい木か紙かglassで作っているだと思います。壁は開けやすい。壁の上にも空館があります。庭と家はまぜています。多分、アメリカ人は日本の始めて旅行で外と内の所あまりわかりません。

京都の人もエアコンとストーブ使っているけど伝統的な家の空気のあつく成る事は本当にむずかしい。あたたかい空気はつぐ出そうするし!

けども、ここで人は床もカーペットも毛布もこたつも自分の体もheatしていますね。かいろとお風呂で自分はつぐheatできます。お風呂の後で寒いな家でも暖かい感じですね!

Monday, January 18, 2010