From Higashiosaka to Matsubara

I often mention Matsubara because it was a place where I had lived for a longest period in my life. That’s why it was my second hometown but Higashiosaka is a place where I was born and lived until I was a high school student. 

私は東大阪、当時布施市で生まれて高校生のときに松原に来て60年以上住んで現在はまた東大阪市に住んでいます。両地域とも故郷と呼べそうです。初めて松原に来た頃は池以外何もない田舎町という印象でした。でも初めての引っ越しは高校生の私にとっては新鮮で歴史好きの私には楽しかった。暇あったら自転車で古墳巡りや近くの池で釣りをしたり楽しみました。
When our family moved from Higashiosaka to Matsubara, we didn’t have a road called Chuo Kanjyosen.
We needed to go a road called Yaokaido by taxi passing an underpass of Yao airport and crossing Yamatogawa river. It took nearly one and a half hours. My first impression of Matsubara was a rural place with a lot of ponds. There were two large ponds near my house.
Seening the ponds, my grandmother said, “This place looks like a hot spring resort Katayamazu.” In fact, it was a nice and wide view. But no shops and restaurants in the place.
As for me, I was very curious about the new place so I enjoyed exploring the area by bike. I was excited to find those ancient key-hole shaped tomb mounds here and there.
My father and I would often enjoy fishing at a large ponds just behind our house.
To tell the truth, after having lived in Matsubara for more than 60 years, we moved back to Higashiosaka.

This is a huge ancient keyhole shaped tomb mound called Kawachi Otsukayama kofun in Matsubara. It’s said it was built about 16 centuries ago.

これは松原にある巨大な前方後円墳です。最近はグーグルで見ることが出来るのでこれ以外にも古墳跡らしきものが散見されます。この辺りは難波と大和を結ぶ古代ルートだったのでシルクロードとも言えそうです。大陸からの使節や遣唐使も通った道です。

50 years ago

Compared with 50 years ago, technology has been rapidly advancing.
We didn’t have cellphones, laptop computers, prepaid train tickets, SNS , even CDs , DVDs in those days.
It used to cost more than 3,000 yen to make a phone call to Malaysia for 3 minutes. Our wedding was taken 8 mm film move camera. We didn’t have air-conditioners in our house, cars and trains.
What kind of world will we have 50 years later?

50 年前と比べると科学技術の進歩は素晴らしい。私たちは携帯もパソコンも電車のプリペイドカードもCD,DVD、SNSすらなかった。マレーシアに3分間の国際電話をかけるのに3,000円以上かかりました。私達の結婚式は8ミリフィルム式のカメラで撮ってもらいました。当時は一般家庭にも車にも電車にもエアコンは付いてなかった時代でした。
50年後はどんな世の中になるんでしょうか？

Unforgettable person

It was lucky that I’ve met many good people in my life.
After graduating from college, I started my first career as a sales clerk of a securities company.
But soon I learned it was difficult to speculate the stock prices.
Some of the people so called “analysts of securities” would often make some comments after seeing the result.
My father said to me, “Who can tell the business with several year experience? They are so called ‘Monday morning quarterback’.”My father used to be a dealer of the textile futures in Senba that was a town of textile trading.
I realized that I was not cut out for the job. A few days later, I went to the head office to hand in my resignation. I happened to meet an old staff of the company who had been nice and kind to me during the training period for the newcomers.
He said to me, “You might have bad news today.” I replied, “I feel I’m not cut out for this job.”
He said gently, “If you think so, you might as well quit early and find a suitable job. Good luck!“
I guess he was the same age as my father. It’s very regretful I didn’t ask his name. But I still remember his gentle face and kind words.
“Thanks to you, since then I’ve been doing my best throughout my life.”
This is my word to you now. Thank you.
私は今までに多くの素晴らしい人たちに出会えてたことはラッキーでした。
私は学校を出た後は証券会社の営業社員として最初の職歴をスタートしました。
しかし株価を予想するのは難しいということを悟りました。いわゆる証券アナリストと呼ばれる人々もたいては結果をみてからのコメントだった。私の父は「数年の経験で誰がそのビジネスが分かるのか。彼らは後付けの評論家やな」と言っていました。私の父は船場で何十年も繊維の先物取引きをしてきました。
私はこの仕事には向いていなことを悟りました。その数日後、私は辞職届を出しに本社に出向きました。そのビルの前で新入社員研修時に大変親切にして頂いた年配の社員の方に会いました。彼は言いました「今日は良い話ではなさそうやな」私は答えました「この仕事向いてないように感じています」　彼は穏やかな口調で言いました「君がそう思うなら早く辞めて君に合った仕事を見つけたらいい。頑張りなさい！」　私の父の年代の人だった。彼の名前すら聞かなかったことが悔やまれます。でもその優しい顔と親切な言葉を覚えています。
「あなたのおかげでそれ以来、私は人生を通して精一杯生きてきました」
これが今、私からあなたへの感謝の言葉です。 ありがとうございました。