2015-10-30

Practice -- Looking at the Castle on the Map

Sherry: I have a map of the castle.

Jun: Let's see it. They say it covers about a full square kilometer of land.


Tom: Wow. Those moats look as wide as the river.
[moat: 濠(ほり)]

Michiko: Leave your fishing pole at home, Tom.

Jun: Oh, c'mon. I'm sure no one would mind too much.

Sherry: Well, I'm not coming to bail you two out of jail.
[bail: 保釈金、 bail out: 救い出す]

Tom: Is this the main tower? I think I read that there are seven turrets.
[turret: 小塔・砲塔]

Jun:  There are at least five. Do we want to visit the museum?

Michiko: I don't think we have time.

Sherry: Let's make the time.

Jun: The website says there is an entrance fee.
[fee: 費用]

Tom: Let's take enough money for the fee, and if there is enough time after we tour the castle we'll check out the museum.

Jun: Are we all agreed?

Sherry: Sure.

Michiko: I guess that will work.

[Added 18 October 2016:

(Next 続き)

]

2015-10-29

For the Next Lesson -- The Castle

This one has been a kind of hard lesson to prepare for.
今回のレッスンは準備がちょっと難しかった。

I should have mentioned this much earlier, but I kind of hoped everyone would understand by telepathy and osmosis.
もっと早い内に伝えておいても良かったのに言っていないのですが、皆様が一心伝心でわかるかなという甘い思いに老けていたのです。申し訳ありません。

Anyway, there is a lot of English language material on the web for Osaka castle.
というのは、ウエブ上、大阪城の英語資料は充分あります。

For example:
例えば
Well, yeah, that's too much English at one bite, without a lot of help. I've been trying to work up a conversation example, but it's been hard to break time out and hard to focus. (Excuses, excuses. Sorry about that.)
まあ、ね。英語の量が一片に案内なしにして多すぎるでしょう。適切な対話例を練っているつもりですが、時間の割り振りや集中力、努力が足りなかった。言い訳ばかりして、お詫びします。

Please remember to come early if you can.
お早めにお出で下さい。

[Finally got time to post some of my notes:
やっと、ノートのいくらかを投稿できました。

And I must not have had time to link this practice from last year:
それに、練習用の投稿のリンクをここに貼るのを忘れたようです。
Also, we're doing it again in 2016.
そして、2016年にも、またツーアをします


Added 18 October 2016.]

2015-10-14

The Woman of the Snow -- a Japanese Folk Tale

[This my retelling of the Japanese traditional folk story,

雪女 (Yuki Onna)

or "Snow Woman", or "Woman of the Snow". It's a bit of a ghost story. 

My version picks and chooses from some of the many extant versions.]

Narrator: Two woodcutters were caught in a snowstorm.

Minokichi: Where is the ferryman?

Mosaku: We should take shelter in his hut.

Narrator: It was a very cold night, but the two men went to sleep.

Mosaku: Zzzzzz. Cough. Zzzzz.

Minokichi: Zzzzzz. Cough. Zzzzz.

Narrator: Minokichi woke up.

Minokichi: Zzzzzz. Cough. Mmm?

Narrator: Mosaku did not wake up. 

Mosaku: Zzzzzz. Cough. Zzzzz.

Narrator: A strange and beautiful woman was bending over Mosaku.

Mosaku: Zzzz  zz   z     z.

Narrator: Then the woman bent over Minokichi.

Snow Woman: You are young. I like you. I will not take you now.

Narrator: Minokichi was afraid.

Snow Woman: If you ever tell anyone, I will kill you.

Narrator: The woman left.

Minokichi: Mosaku?

Narrator: Mosaku did not answer.

Minokichi: Mosaku is dead!

Narrator: Minokichi made it home, but he was very sick for a long time.

Minokichi: Cough cough!

Narrator: A year passed. Minokichi was working again.

Minokichi: I’m lonely!

Narrator: He met a beautiful young woman on his way home.

O-Yuki: My name is O-Yuki.

Minokichi: My name is Minokichi.

O-Yuki: I’m going to Yedo to find work.

Minokichi: You can rest at my house for a while.

Narrator: O-Yuki and Minokichi got married.

Villagers: Congratulations!

Narrator: One night, O-Yuki was sewing.

Minokichi: O-Yuki, we have lots of children.

O-Yuki: Of course.

Minokichi: They are beautiful, just like you.

O-Yuki: Thank you. I think they are beautiful, too.

Minokichi: You know, it’s strange.

O-Yuki: What’s strange?

Minokichi: I’ve only seen one woman as beautiful as you.

O-Yuki: Oh? Who was that?

Minokichi: I don’t know if it was a dream or real.

O-Yuki: Sometimes reality seems like a dream.

Minokichi: Sometimes you remind me of her.

O-Yuki: Is that good or bad?

Narrator: And Minokichi told his wife about the night Mosaku died.

Minokichi: Do you think it was a dream? Did I see the Snow Woman?

O-Yuki: It was not a dream. But I told you never to tell anyone.

Minokichi: Was it you?

O-Yuki: Yes. I told you I would kill you. But I can’t kill the father of our children.

Minokichi: That’s a relief.

O-Yuki: But we can’t be together any more.

Minokichi: What? Why?

O-Yuki: Take very good care of our children. Good-bye.

Minokichi: No! Don’t go!

Narrator: But O-Yuki was never seen again.
    And Minokichi always took very good care of their children.