January 25, 2024

The Stain, the Chopsticks, and the Resilience of Tradition

11 minutes

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: The Stain, the Chopsticks, and the Resilience of Tradition
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.org/the-stain-the-chopsticks-and-the-resilience-of-tradition

Story Transcript:

Ja: 東京のとある一角、仰々しく広がる伝統的な日本庭園を隔てた先に、ヨシヒロは片手に微妙な表情を浮かべながら、桜木製の長い箸を持っていました。今日は大切な茶会の日、しかし彼の安堵は一瞬にして雲散霧消した。
En: In a corner of Tokyo, Yoshiihiro stood with a complicated expression on his face, holding a long pair of cherry wood chopsticks. Today was an important tea ceremony, but his relief dissipated in an instant.

Ja: 彼の視線の先には、鮮やかな色彩が彼の肩から滴り落ちている裾模様の着物。正確には、滴り落ちていると言うよりもむしろ滲み込んでいる。それは彼の愛するラーメンのスープだ。
En: In front of his gaze, the vibrant colors of the pattern on his kimono were dripping and seeping down from his shoulder. More accurately, they were seeping rather than simply dripping. It was the soup of his beloved ramen.

Ja: "Hmm...", 彼がため息をつきながら箸でスープをかき集めようとした。彼は箸の先端に絡まった緑色の海苔を見つめながら考えました。包み込んだ薄い布で丁寧に拭き取っても、肝心のシミは消えてくれません。
En: "Hmm..." Yoshiihiro sighed as he tried to gather the soup with his chopsticks. He stared at the green seaweed tangled at the tip of his chopsticks, thinking. Even when he carefully wiped it with a cloth, the stubborn stain would not disappear.

Ja: しかしヨシヒロはあきらめませんでした。彼は彼が愛する東京の街からこれ以上見込みのない状況に立ち向かう力を得ていました。彼は、伝統と現代が混ざり合うこの街の鼓動を感じ、それが彼を鼓舞してくれます。
En: But Yoshiihiro did not give up. He gained the strength to face this seemingly hopeless situation from the city he loved, Tokyo. He could feel the pulse of this city, where tradition and modernity intertwined, and it inspired him.

Ja: 一計を案じた彼は、庭の泉で着物を軽く洗い、太陽の下で自然乾燥させました。驚くべきことに、これがうまくいきました。シミはすっかり消え、いつものように裾模様の美しい着物に戻っていたのです。
En: He devised a plan, lightly washing his kimono in the garden's fountain and letting it air dry under the sun. Surprisingly, it worked. The stain completely disappeared, and the beautiful pattern on his kimono returned as usual.

Ja: この事件が彼を揺さぶったと同時に、それは彼に大切な教訓を教えてくれました。全ては見方次第、どんな困難な状況でも解決策を見つけられるということ。そして何よりも、彼の愛するラーメンはやはり、箸で食べるべきだということを。
En: This incident shook him but also taught him an important lesson. Everything depends on perspective, and there is a solution to any difficult situation. And above all, his beloved ramen should, indeed, be eaten with chopsticks.

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