Aoi Hitorigoto - 27. Doubt - by Katô Shigeaki
I'm always somwhat in awe about Shige's writing in those essays, and love to read the translations.
Since I havn't seen this essay translated yet, I decided to give it a try . Maybe others like to read it as well, so here it is.
Aoi Hitorigoto - 27. Doubt
It was a day with nice weather. Refreshing and invigorating, without feeling the humidity, just right. I thought of wanting to
go outside that day, and decided to go to the gym for a workout. I was walking on my way home, while taking pictures with my
camera in one hand, because the light was so good it caught my attention. After I walked for a while, I came by a park in the
neighborhood. It's a perfect place for taking pictures, because it is a relatively big park. While aimlessly wandering through the
park, that was illuminated by the sunshine streaming through the leaves of trees, I began to take pictures. In the afternoon the
park is always crowded with children and their mothers, and only by looking at that, I got a warm feeling, similar to the light of
the shining sun. It was such a scene.
I had been taking photos for ten minutes, and thought of going to a camera shop in the neighborhood just like that, and after
I put many rolls of film and the favorite camera I just bought in the bag, I prepared to to go home. It was at that moment.
“Excuse me...”
When I turned around and went back, there was the police.
“Is that a camera?”
“Yes, it is...”
The newly bought camera had changed its appearance*, and the police officer might not have been able to recognize it as a
camera right away.
“I'm the officer from the police box over there, and people came to tell me, that a little while ago there was a suspicious person
with a camera, taking pictures of the children. Well, I don't think you're that person, but could you show me something that can
prove your identity, just to make sure? After that, please show me the content of your bag as well, just in case.”
I did as I was told and took out my license. It was also confirmed, that there was nothing but the sweaty T-shirt I wore at the
gym, my wallet and mobile phone inside my bag.
“Thank you very much for your cooperation. It's fine now.”
Being told this, I left the place.
Suddenly I became sad. It was a feeling of sadness and anger deep inside. I don't know whether I was the one suspected, or
whether there was another suspicious person, but if it seemed like I was that suspicious person, that's really mortifying.
Maybe it couldn't be helped, that I was suspected of having taken pictures of the children. Though I didn't take pictures of
children directly, there were actually children in the background of the photos. However, if by any chance it so happened, that
the children of the other people moved around, then that might be why. Did my action like that may have turned into
something bad?
At that moment, I remembered another incident. Previously, when I went to Hawaii for work, there was a cute foreign boy. I
thought that I want to take a picture, but I couldn't make myself understood, and suddenly I thought that I can get away with it,
if I point towards the camera, I was confused. Just then, the mother next to the boy gestured something like “Please take the
picture” to me. The boy also looked at me, while making the peace-sign with a smile on his face. Of course, I also pointed the
camera at him. All the photos I took was the one with the above-mentioned good feeling. As one would expect, they were
open minded foreigners. It was me who had doubts about the other person. I became embarrassed when thinking about that.
On the contrary, in Japan it will be suspected by the parents as something revolting, if you want to take a photo of other
people's children. Here, even if you point the camera at them with only pure feelings like “your child is cute, isn't it”, the police
will be called.
Certainly, if the pictures of the children appear everywhere at places that parents do not relate to, there is a possibility of
getting dragged into in an unexpected incident. Therefore it's natural that the parents are wary of complete strangers with a
camera. After something happens, it might be too late. However I was sad. More than me having been suspected, it's that
unfortunately it has become a society, where it is natural that unknown people are suspected for the time being.
In this day and age, the act of suspicion is something like a kind of vaccination. Nevertheless, I still want to believe. Whether
it's the other one, or maybe a friend, or maybe family, or maybe an unknown person, first of all, I want to believe them. In fact,
I think it's fine, even if I was betrayed. I would rather come down with an illness, than excessively injecting a vaccination
against people.
That's why I think like that. To begin with, what is it that you have to do for the other person? A peace-sign with a smile. It's
only just that. That's right. The boy from Hawaii.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*most likely because you take off the lenses and stuff when you put the camera away in the bag
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.
Since I havn't seen this essay translated yet, I decided to give it a try . Maybe others like to read it as well, so here it is.
Aoi Hitorigoto - 27. Doubt
It was a day with nice weather. Refreshing and invigorating, without feeling the humidity, just right. I thought of wanting to
go outside that day, and decided to go to the gym for a workout. I was walking on my way home, while taking pictures with my
camera in one hand, because the light was so good it caught my attention. After I walked for a while, I came by a park in the
neighborhood. It's a perfect place for taking pictures, because it is a relatively big park. While aimlessly wandering through the
park, that was illuminated by the sunshine streaming through the leaves of trees, I began to take pictures. In the afternoon the
park is always crowded with children and their mothers, and only by looking at that, I got a warm feeling, similar to the light of
the shining sun. It was such a scene.
I had been taking photos for ten minutes, and thought of going to a camera shop in the neighborhood just like that, and after
I put many rolls of film and the favorite camera I just bought in the bag, I prepared to to go home. It was at that moment.
“Excuse me...”
When I turned around and went back, there was the police.
“Is that a camera?”
“Yes, it is...”
The newly bought camera had changed its appearance*, and the police officer might not have been able to recognize it as a
camera right away.
“I'm the officer from the police box over there, and people came to tell me, that a little while ago there was a suspicious person
with a camera, taking pictures of the children. Well, I don't think you're that person, but could you show me something that can
prove your identity, just to make sure? After that, please show me the content of your bag as well, just in case.”
I did as I was told and took out my license. It was also confirmed, that there was nothing but the sweaty T-shirt I wore at the
gym, my wallet and mobile phone inside my bag.
“Thank you very much for your cooperation. It's fine now.”
Being told this, I left the place.
Suddenly I became sad. It was a feeling of sadness and anger deep inside. I don't know whether I was the one suspected, or
whether there was another suspicious person, but if it seemed like I was that suspicious person, that's really mortifying.
Maybe it couldn't be helped, that I was suspected of having taken pictures of the children. Though I didn't take pictures of
children directly, there were actually children in the background of the photos. However, if by any chance it so happened, that
the children of the other people moved around, then that might be why. Did my action like that may have turned into
something bad?
At that moment, I remembered another incident. Previously, when I went to Hawaii for work, there was a cute foreign boy. I
thought that I want to take a picture, but I couldn't make myself understood, and suddenly I thought that I can get away with it,
if I point towards the camera, I was confused. Just then, the mother next to the boy gestured something like “Please take the
picture” to me. The boy also looked at me, while making the peace-sign with a smile on his face. Of course, I also pointed the
camera at him. All the photos I took was the one with the above-mentioned good feeling. As one would expect, they were
open minded foreigners. It was me who had doubts about the other person. I became embarrassed when thinking about that.
On the contrary, in Japan it will be suspected by the parents as something revolting, if you want to take a photo of other
people's children. Here, even if you point the camera at them with only pure feelings like “your child is cute, isn't it”, the police
will be called.
Certainly, if the pictures of the children appear everywhere at places that parents do not relate to, there is a possibility of
getting dragged into in an unexpected incident. Therefore it's natural that the parents are wary of complete strangers with a
camera. After something happens, it might be too late. However I was sad. More than me having been suspected, it's that
unfortunately it has become a society, where it is natural that unknown people are suspected for the time being.
In this day and age, the act of suspicion is something like a kind of vaccination. Nevertheless, I still want to believe. Whether
it's the other one, or maybe a friend, or maybe family, or maybe an unknown person, first of all, I want to believe them. In fact,
I think it's fine, even if I was betrayed. I would rather come down with an illness, than excessively injecting a vaccination
against people.
That's why I think like that. To begin with, what is it that you have to do for the other person? A peace-sign with a smile. It's
only just that. That's right. The boy from Hawaii.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*most likely because you take off the lenses and stuff when you put the camera away in the bag
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.