2026/1/24(Sat.)*SMC*

Lecture: SM Takahata

天声人語　2026.1.12

Fill in the blank with reference to the Japanese translation.

1)   According to the traditional Japanese calendar, this year is Hinoe-Uma, or the ^*1 (“F    Horse”) year, which recurs every 60 years.

The last time it came around in 1966, the number of babies born in that year shrank 25 percent from the preceding year, creating a sizable dent in Japan’s population pyramid. I am one of those Hinoe-Uma babies, and a woman, ² (to b   ). But contrary to society’s old, deep-seated superstition that Hinoe-Uma women are ³ (“fiery tem      ),” I personally do not recall ever being subjected to such ^*4  (g    less prejudice).

2)   That said, however, I grew up feeling always conscious of ^*5 (how few my con         were). In elementary school, our class was the smallest. And later, we were envied for the low competition ratio we had for school entrance exams. Perhaps that explains my interest in ^*6 (demo      and generational theory).

3)   In his recent work titled “Hinoe-Uma,” Toru Kikkawa, also born in 1966, discusses various phenomena related to this sexagenary (*once-in-a-sixty-year) occurrence. He ^*7 (theo    ) that if any drastic drop in birthrate is caused by ⁸ (“the power of social a        ),” then, understanding the latter’s mechanism may provide ^*9 (c     ) to resolving the current low birthrate.

4)   While there is no secret to raising the 0pbirthrate, Kikkawa’s observations concerning the year 1966 are ¹⁰ (quite in    ful). At the time, memories were still fresh of how women, born one cycle earlier in 1906, were made to suffer for the Hinoe-Uma superstition, and the media ^*11 (co    ) the subject extensively.

As well, ^*12 (pat   chy) still had influence then, and the public was

becoming more knowledgeable about contraception.

5)   Even then, however, the low birthrate of the year was explained away simply as, “It was Hinoe-Uma.” The chronic low birthrate today is caused by various complex, ^*13 (intert   g factors)—economic concerns, the challenges of working and raising children at the same time, ^*14 (d     values), and so on. By the way, even though 1966 was Hinoe-Uma, 1.36 million babies were born that year. But now, the number is less than 700,000.

6)   Superstitions no longer ^*15 (dic    ) people’s lives today. Those born in 1966 have ^*16 (lived through life’s u  and do   ), just like anyone else. I would like to affirm that there is no such thing as

 ^*17 (“the cu   ”) of negative memories.

Answer

*1 Fire *2 boot *3 temperament *4 groundless *5 contemporaries *6 demographics *7 theorized

*8 awareness *9 clues *10 insightful *11 covered *12 patriarchy *13 intertwining *14 diverse

*15 dictate *16 ups and downs *17 curse

(1)  今年は６０年に１度の丙午（ひのえうま）である。前回の１９６６年に生まれた赤ちゃんは前の年より２５％も減り、人口ピラミッドに大きなへこみをつくった。私はその年に生まれた一人で、しかも「丙午の女」だ。個人的には、「気性が激しい」といった根拠のない迷信で嫌な思いをしたことはない

(2)  とはいえ、自分たちの「数の少なさ」は、常に意識の中にあった。小学校のクラスは他の学年より少なかったし、受験では倍率が低いとうらやましがられた。人口動態や世代論が気になるのも、そのせいかもしれない

(3)  やはり６６年生まれの社会学者の吉川（きっかわ）徹さんは近著『ひのえうま』で、この現象の解明に取り組んだ。顕著な出生減が「社会意識の力」によるものなら、メカニズムを知ることで、現在の少子化の解決にもつながるのではと考えたという

(4)  出生数アップの秘策はなかったが、６６年をめぐる考察は鋭い。当時は一つ前の明治生まれの丙午女性が迷信に苦しんだ記憶が残っており、メディアも盛んに報じた。そこへ家父長制の圧力が加わり、さらに避妊の知識も浸透しつつあった

(5)  それでも数の少なさは「丙午だから」の一言で片付けられた。今の少子化は、様々な要因が絡み合った結果だ。経済的不安、仕事と育児の両立、価値観の多様化。丙午でも１３６万あった出生数は、７０万を切っている

(6)  もう迷信に振り回される時代ではない。６６年生まれも、まわりと同じ山あり谷ありの人生を送ってきた。負の記憶の呪縛はないと請け合いたい。

Table Topic Speech

(1) When you are 80-years-old, what will matter to you the most?

(2) Do you own your things do you things own you?

(3) What makes a person beautiful?

(4) How have you helped someone else recently?

(5) What is your biggest regret?

(6) If I gave you $1000 and told you that you had to spend it today, what would you buy?

(7) What specifi character trait do you want to be known for?

(8) What stresses you out?

Prepared Speech

(1) New Haiku Poem: SM Koizumi 

I enjoy watching the TBS program PreBat (Pressure Battle) every Thursday.  The MC is Masatoshi Hamada, and the haiku created by famous entertainers are evaluated by the instructor, Itsuki Natsui.

With her corrections, each haiku becomes much more beautiful and refined.  Whenever I hear her comments, I often think, “That’s it!” and I truly admire her guidance.

This program sometimes makes me think, “It might be interesting to try writing haiku in English.”   So, I searched the internet and found that haiku written in English is usually called a haiku poem.  It is generally defined as a short poem with three lines.

For example:

    fallen leaves

    come home  

    hiding in my father's overcoat

In English haiku, there are no strict rules such as the 5–7–5 structure or the use of kigo, seasonal words. It is simply a short, three-line poem.  To be honest, it didn’t quite match my image of traditional Japanese haiku.

So I began to think: what if we changed the rules a little?  I wanted to try creating a new kind of haiku poem.

First, I thought about focusing on syllables.  What about a poem with a total of 17 syllables and a seasonal word?

For example,   “土曜朝　英語で集うや　笑い初め” （Koizumi）

How can I change it to haiku poem?

17 syllables

　　Saturday morning (5 syllables)

　　English lovers gather again (8 syllables)

　　Laugh in New Year (4 syllables)

Well… when I focus only on syllables, the haiku feels unbalanced in length and rhythm.

Then I thought, what if we focus on rhythm instead?

　　Saturday morning (Tatatata ta---)　

　　English lovers (Tatatata tatata-)　

　　Laugh New Year(Tatatata ta---)

By reading it in three rhythmic bars with a 5–7–5 beat, it feels much closer to the spirit of Japanese haiku.

Then I'll show you the Haikus showed in the TBS "Pre Bat" this year and tried to change them into New Haiku Poem.

空だった　頃の記憶や  雪だるま（フルーツポンチ村上）

Snowman  previously  in the sky

砕氷船　遠めに白き　ものら何　（梅沢冨美男＆夏井添削）

Icebreaker  what that far  white one

いつもの手　いつもの鋏　 初鏡　（石井正則）

Usual hands & scissors  new year's mirror

Yes, nice to me.  It's important 3 bars with 5 7 5 rhythm for Haiku.

If we Japanese create Haiku poem, I highly recommend to use this rhythm-based approach.

(2) A movie whch I was moved: SM Eda

(3) Koreantown in Tokyo: SM Yoko Narisawa

 The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear “Koreantown” is Shin-Okubo. The other day, I went to Shin-Okubo with my daughter and my friend. It was the first time for both my friend and me. My daughter is a great fan of the Korean idol group BTS and travels to Seoul several times a year. My friend is very interested in Korean cosmetics. As for me, I didn’t have a strong desire to visit Shin-Okubo. If anything, I simply wanted to eat authentic Korean food.

 Do you know how Shin-Okubo became a Koreantown in the first place?

 According to my research, the migration of Korean residents to Shin-Okubo began in the 1950s, when the Lotte Corporation established its Shinjuku factory near Shin-Okubo Station. Lotte was founded by Takeo Shigemitsu, a South Korean national who migrated to Japan. The Lotte factory needed many laborers, which led to an influx of South Korean residents into the Shin-Okubo area. During the Japanese economic bubble in the 1980s, many South Koreans came to work in the area and began living in Shin-Okubo. The increase in Korean residents led to the establishment of several Korean restaurants and grocery stores.

 By the early 2000s, Shin-Okubo already had a sizeable Korean community, but it was not yet the popular tourist area that it is today. As you know, after the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, many Japanese people became interested in Korean culture and started visiting Shin-Okubo. Japanese interest in pop culture increased even more in 2003, when Korean TV dramas such as “ Winter Sonata” became big hits in Japan. This “Korean boom” eventually led to the establishment of Shin-Okubo as a prominent Koreantown where both locals and tourists can enjoy Korean food and culture.

 Today, Shin-Okubo is a trendy neighborhood and a popular hangout spot. We can enjoy Korean food, cosmetics, music, and other cultural aspects.

 As soon as we arrived at the station, we headed straight to the Korean restaurant where my daughter had made a reservation. We enjoyed some Korean dishes such as samgyeopsal （ サムギョプサル） ( sliced pork belly cooked on a tabletop grill ), Korean pancakes （チジミ)　, kimch and so on. The sauces and spices were unique and delicious. The restaurant had Korean movie posters on the walls and Korean music was playing. We were able to fully experience the atmosphere of Korea.

 South Korea is a world leader in the cosmetics industry. There are so many cosmetics stores lined up along the streets. We stopped at five of them. Each store sells a wide range of South Korean cosmetic brands. What all the stores have in common is that the staff have beautiful skin regardless of age. Furthermore, they were very skilled at selling cosmetics, touching customers’ skin without permission and applying recommended creams. I felt an instant change in my skin , but I didn’t buy anything.

 After that, we went to Seoul Ichiba ( Market ) which is a grocery store that sells a wide range of Korean food products. It’s a great place to buy ingredients for Korean dishes. I bought chige hotpot base, tteokbokki, kimpa ( Korean-style seaweed rice rolls ) and so on. Shopping there made me feel as if I were in South Korea.

 The three of us really enjoyed exploring Shin-Okubo and ended our tour with tea at a cafe.  

(4) A Neighbor's Cat: SM Kaneko

(5) Bus Ride: SM Kei Narisawa

It’s understandable not to want to downgrade your standard of living even though your income has decreased. However, after retirement, you have to reconsider the cost of owning two cars instead of one. After all, the maintenance costs of a car are a major issue and can drain what little savings you have. So owning just one car and sharing it with your wife may be the best choice. The problem is that the times when I can use the car are far outnumbered by the times when my wife uses it.

I tried to change my lifestyle and use bus services more often as a means of transportation. However, I was dissatisfied because buses don’t take me exactly where I want to go. Worse still, bus fares are extremely expensive.

About a week ago, the navigation system in our car broke down. We took the car to the dealer and were advised to come back a couple of days later. On that day, I drove to the dealer, left the car with them, and had no choice but to take a bus back home. The bus ride felt comfortable—perhaps because I seldom use buses—and I enjoyed watching the passing scenery. But I was appalled by the fare. It came to 570 yen for a distance that could be covered by car in at most 20 minutes. Our hybrid car consumes far less gasoline and could cover the same distance at about one-tenth the cost of the bus fare.

The tragedy continued. A couple of days later, the dealer informed us that the problem with the navigation system was beyond their ability to fix and that it would have to be replaced with a new one. To proceed, they asked me to come to the dealer again to fill out some paperwork to cover the cost. Once again, I took a bus.

This time, I didn’t know the name of the bus stop where I should get off. As the bus approached the dealer, I carefully watched the surroundings. The problem was this: if I pressed the stop button and later found that the stop was far from the dealer, I would have to walk a long way. If someone else pressed the button first, I could judge how close the stop was to the dealer. If it was close enough, I would get off; if it was a little far, I would stay on the bus as if nothing had happened.

There was a man who looked as though he was about to press the button, but he took an unusually long time. I had no idea why he hesitated. It felt like a game of chicken between him and me. Finally, he pressed the button, and it was up to me to decide whether to get off the bus after him or stay on and wait for the next stop.

In the end, I was able to drive back home in our car, since it would take about two weeks for the new navigation system to arrive. The only consolation is that when the new unit is installed, we can drive to the dealer and wait there. Thank goodness—no more bus rides.

If everything had gone wrong, we would have had no choice but to take buses to last week’s SMC meeting—or play hooky.

Meeting Schedule

In-person: 9:30 AM on Feb. 14 at Oyama Community Center (cooking practice room)

(Coordinator: SM Noro)