2009年07月30日
今も昔も『都市伝説』
ニュースによれば最近の子供たちの多くは、『生まれ変わり= reincarnation』を信じているそうです。彼らはリアルな世界よりもファンタシーの世界に浸る傾向がある、それはアニメやゲーム、漫画の影響が大きいという指摘があります。でも、子供がファンタジーの世界が好きなのは今も昔も変わらないと思うのですが・・・。
According to recent news, many children in Japan believe in reincarnation. Some education critics have pointed out that this phenomenon is a reflection of the effects of video games, TV programs, movies and comics (or so-called “Manga”) on kids. Stories linked to these forms of media often tell tales of many heroes or heroines who are invincible or can even be resurrected. As a result, kids who are exposed to these forms of media tend to indulge themselves in their own fantasy worlds. However, I’d say this is not a recent phenomenon. Children have always been influenced by tales of mystery and the supernatural. Half the time, they are living n a fantasy world.
『リング』の写真版・・・なんて(笑）
ワタシが子供の頃は、『口裂け女伝説』にワタシを含め多くの児童が恐れおののきました。
In my childhood, kids were truly terrified of the rumour that they would have the possibility of coming across a woman wearing a mask with long hair. It was rumoured that this woman would ask, “Am I beautiful?” Then she would take off her mask. At that moment, you would see her mouth stretched from ear to ear! It was recommended that you should immediately answer her question by saying, “Yes!” Failure to do so would result in her stabbing you with a big knife under her trench coat! After hearing this story, I couldn’t walk alone until the rumors had died down. While these rumors were running rampant, we heard about this woman on the news almost everyday. A student at a neighboring school was chased and cut from behind by this woman, and some saw this woman on the top of a building laughing loudly “hahahahahaha.” This legend continues to live on in the minds of kids today.
『こっくりさん』も流行って、気持ちが悪くなった生徒もいました・・・(笑)
The next story is about a ritual widely carried out by teenagers when I was a junior high school student. Actually some schools banned this ritual because some students fell down during the initiation and were taken to hospital. The ritual was as follows… 3-4 people got together and put their forefingers on a coin placed over a piece of paper with mysterious words written on it. They cast a spell and called the name of the spirit “Kokkuri-san”, to invite him to come and answer some questions. Surprisingly, the coin would automatically start moving over the letters on the paper. Even more surprising, you could see the answers to the questions by following the movement of the coin and looking at the letters over which it passed! What are the secrets of this practice? Why were the coins moving? Probably, they had fallen into some kind of hypnotic trance through this ritual.
私たちは成長すれば、きびしい現実社会を行く抜くために『常識』『法律』『道徳』などを身に着けていきます。では、大人はそのファンタジーへの感受性を失ってしまうのでしょうか？
As we grow up, our senses or cognitive skills most likely become more focused on things that affect our reality such as common sense, social norms, economics, policies, laws, technologies, etc. So, are we losing our innate senses?
高度に情報化された社会。 『真』と『偽』の情報が一緒くたになったまま、たえまなく世界中、大量に駆け巡っています。 『情報』はあるとき人々をパニックに至らせるような怪物にもなりえます。（とくに投機的なものは。）しかし、その情報がいつ、何処から生まれたのか誰も知らないのです。これって、太古の昔、得体の知れない情報に振り回されていた人類の姿と何も変わらないような気がします。
Due to the information intensive society we now live in, information has become a valuable asset to us. But information communicated through the media in itself has the potential to become a monster making all of us panic. But where are those stories coming from originally? Nobody knows. The true cause of our panic might be due to people’s imaginations, fears, and other anxieties since ancient times.
Thank you for reading this
Written by Ikkyou-Eisaku
また長くなってしまった・・・。（英文は３．４年目に書いたものです。）
According to recent news, many children in Japan believe in reincarnation. Some education critics have pointed out that this phenomenon is a reflection of the effects of video games, TV programs, movies and comics (or so-called “Manga”) on kids. Stories linked to these forms of media often tell tales of many heroes or heroines who are invincible or can even be resurrected. As a result, kids who are exposed to these forms of media tend to indulge themselves in their own fantasy worlds. However, I’d say this is not a recent phenomenon. Children have always been influenced by tales of mystery and the supernatural. Half the time, they are living n a fantasy world.
『リング』の写真版・・・なんて(笑）
ワタシが子供の頃は、『口裂け女伝説』にワタシを含め多くの児童が恐れおののきました。
In my childhood, kids were truly terrified of the rumour that they would have the possibility of coming across a woman wearing a mask with long hair. It was rumoured that this woman would ask, “Am I beautiful?” Then she would take off her mask. At that moment, you would see her mouth stretched from ear to ear! It was recommended that you should immediately answer her question by saying, “Yes!” Failure to do so would result in her stabbing you with a big knife under her trench coat! After hearing this story, I couldn’t walk alone until the rumors had died down. While these rumors were running rampant, we heard about this woman on the news almost everyday. A student at a neighboring school was chased and cut from behind by this woman, and some saw this woman on the top of a building laughing loudly “hahahahahaha.” This legend continues to live on in the minds of kids today.
『こっくりさん』も流行って、気持ちが悪くなった生徒もいました・・・(笑)
The next story is about a ritual widely carried out by teenagers when I was a junior high school student. Actually some schools banned this ritual because some students fell down during the initiation and were taken to hospital. The ritual was as follows… 3-4 people got together and put their forefingers on a coin placed over a piece of paper with mysterious words written on it. They cast a spell and called the name of the spirit “Kokkuri-san”, to invite him to come and answer some questions. Surprisingly, the coin would automatically start moving over the letters on the paper. Even more surprising, you could see the answers to the questions by following the movement of the coin and looking at the letters over which it passed! What are the secrets of this practice? Why were the coins moving? Probably, they had fallen into some kind of hypnotic trance through this ritual.
私たちは成長すれば、きびしい現実社会を行く抜くために『常識』『法律』『道徳』などを身に着けていきます。では、大人はそのファンタジーへの感受性を失ってしまうのでしょうか？
As we grow up, our senses or cognitive skills most likely become more focused on things that affect our reality such as common sense, social norms, economics, policies, laws, technologies, etc. So, are we losing our innate senses?
高度に情報化された社会。 『真』と『偽』の情報が一緒くたになったまま、たえまなく世界中、大量に駆け巡っています。 『情報』はあるとき人々をパニックに至らせるような怪物にもなりえます。（とくに投機的なものは。）しかし、その情報がいつ、何処から生まれたのか誰も知らないのです。これって、太古の昔、得体の知れない情報に振り回されていた人類の姿と何も変わらないような気がします。
Due to the information intensive society we now live in, information has become a valuable asset to us. But information communicated through the media in itself has the potential to become a monster making all of us panic. But where are those stories coming from originally? Nobody knows. The true cause of our panic might be due to people’s imaginations, fears, and other anxieties since ancient times.
Thank you for reading this
Written by Ikkyou-Eisaku
また長くなってしまった・・・。（英文は３．４年目に書いたものです。）
Posted by いっきゅう
at 10:24
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