Thirty years ago today, an event that can’t be forgotten and shouldn’t be forgotten occurred in Kobe and its vicinity. Ten years ago, I posted both English and Japanese entries of what I had experienced, witnessed, and thought at that time; you can read them below:
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The Words of the Year 2024
The time has come to summarize what I’ve seen, done, and experienced over the past year in a few words. Unfortunately, I haven’t had many new experiences this year. As I’ve grown older, the opportunities to try new things have diminished.
The words of the year 2024 are Murasaki Shikibu and ChatGPT. As you know, Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese woman who authored The Tale of Genji, a novel written in the early eleventh century that later became world-famous. This novel is considered the oldest known work of fiction written by a woman. This year, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK produced a year-long drama (taiga drama), Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e), with this remarkable woman as its protagonist. The drama centers on the life of the woman who would later become Murasaki Shikibu and primarily explores her romance with Fujiwara no Michinaga, the nation’s most powerful figure during the era when she wrote the novel.
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Kudos to Flight Attendants
I have long been fond of airline flight attendants not only because of their charming appearance and graceful behavior on board but also because of their professionalism as security personnel who protect the cabin and passengers during emergencies. Their dignified appearance, backed up by their readiness to risk their lives to fulfill their duties in times of emergency, fascinates me.
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An Unhappy New Year
On New Year’s Day, as I do every year, I paid a New Year’s visit to a local shrine to pray to the deities enshrined there for the development and prosperity of the Imperial nation and the happiness of all the people, to buy a shrine calendar to check my good fortune around my star for this year and to draw an omikuji to predict my fortune for this year. Then, I gathered around a festive meal with my relatives to celebrate each other’s health and pray for a safe and peaceful year ahead…until we heard the news of the earthquake and tsunami centered on the Noto Peninsula in the afternoon.
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The Words of the Year 2023
It’s time to wrap up the words of this year. As I do every year at the end of the year, I’m looking back at what has happened to me and what I have encountered over the past year, and I’m listing them up in a few short words.
The words of 2023 are flight simulation, fitness, TOEIC, and voice recognition.
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Visiting Taipei and the National Palace Museum
I visited Taipei last week. It was the first time I had gone abroad in four years, as the coronavirus pandemic, which began in 2020, had prevented people from crossing borders. Since the border opened this year, I wanted to travel somewhere overseas. I chose Taiwan for this trip because I wanted to see the entire National Palace Museum exhibition in Taipei. I also wanted to enjoy Taiwan before it was too late, given the possible unrest in Taiwan in the near future.
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