藤原さんより、『オリンピアン幻想』の英語版の「まえがき」6㌻のうち、最初の一㌻目を公開いただきました。
残りは本が出てからのお楽しみということになりますが、「オリンピック精神、公正さ、紳士道」というテーマを
議論する場として、スレッド“Once upon an Olympian time”を設けますのでよろしくお願いします。
＜、『オリンピアン幻想』の英語版「まえがき」の一㌻目の貼り付け＞
Preface
**
It is said that a traveler goes abroad to discover himself, and that he discovers wisdom after making many journeys through wilderness and frontier territory that no one else can make for him. In this sense, my experience of studying abroad in my mid-twenties at the University of Grenoble in France blessed my life with fortune colored by rich substance.
When I got very tired after long days in the classroom, the best books to recreate my stressed brain were always books of Goethe’s poetry and Greek mythology. Since I was a young boy, I loved to read travel accounts and old legends from around the world, and I felt very excited whenever I saw a first chapter begin with “Once upon a time…” When I was growing up, my most admired hero was Apollo, who is the god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, prophecy, and truth.
Half a century later, it is a great pleasure to write a book preface with the sentence “Once upon an Olympian time, there was a group of twelve gods including Zeus, his wife Hera, and their family and relatives, who were said to live half way up Mount Olympus…”
After millions of years of cosmic time, the Greek people started the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. at the small village of Olympia. Originally, the Games were a religious festival to honor both Zeus, who is king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and the god of the sky, thunder, and justice, and his wife Hera and the other gods of Mount Olympus. The sanctuary of Zeus is Olympia, where there is the Olympic stadium and the temple of Zeus. The temple of Zeus once housed a gigantic ivory and gold statue of Zeus that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The ancient Olympic Games were only for male participants who spoke Greek and were held at Olympia from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D. The Olympic Games were hosted at four year intervals and used the term ‘Olympiad’ for the period between the Games.
Fifteen-hundred years later, the tradition of Olympic Games was revived in 1896 by the French nobleman Baron de Coubertin, who conceived of an international sport competition to promote athletes. Coubertin adopted the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means “Swifter, Higher, Stronger.” This wonderful sentiment inspires athletes from all over the world to achieve.
The current Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event comprised of the Summer and Winter Games. A celebration known as the cultural Olympiad was also established to include cultural events such as art, music, architecture in the modern Olympic movement. Thus the Olympic Games are much more than the world’s largest sporting event. They are also an international political and cultural colossus.
**
It is said that a traveler goes abroad to discover himself, and discovers wisdom, after making many journeys through wilderness and frontier territory, that no one else can make for him. In this sense, my experience of studying abroad in my mid-twenties at the University of Grenoble in France blessed my life with fortune colored by rich experience.
When I got very tired after long days in the classroom, the best books to recreate my stressed brain were always books of Goethe’s poetry and Greek mythology. Since I was a young boy, I loved to read travel accounts and old legends from around the world. I felt very excited whenever I saw a first chapter begin with “Once upon a time…” When I was growing up, my most admired hero was Apollo, who is the god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, prophecy, and truth.
Half a century later, it is a great pleasure to write a book preface with the sentence “Once upon an Olympian time. There was a group of twelve gods including Zeus, his wife Hera, and their family and relatives, who were said to live half way up Mount Olympus…”
After millions of years of cosmic time, the Greek people started the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. at the small village of Olympia. Originally, the Games were a religious festival to honor both Zeus, king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and the god of the sky, thunder, and justice and his wife Hera and the other gods of Mount Olympus. The sanctuary of Zeus is Olympia, where there is the Olympic stadium and the temple of Zeus. The temple of Zeus once housed a gigantic ivory and gold statue of Zeus that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The ancient Olympic Games were only for male participants who spoke Greek. The Games were held at Olympia from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D. The Olympic Games were hosted at four year intervals and used the term ‘Olympiad’ for the period between the Games. The Ancient Olympics were a great contribution by the Greek people and perhaps their most important invention.
The Olympics transformed humanity’s combative instinct into a sports competition. The Greeks changed the Olympic Games from wild fighting to regulated competition. The Olympics thereby replaced war.
Fifteen-hundred years later, the tradition of Olympic Games was revived in 1896 by the French nobleman Baron de Coubertin. He conceived an international sport competition to promote athletes. Coubertin adopted the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means “Swifter, Higher, Stronger,” This wonderful sentiment inspires athletes from all over the world.
The current Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event comprised of the Summer and Winter Games. A celebration known as the cultural Olympiad was also established to include cultural events such as art, music, architecture in the modern Olympic movement. Thus the Olympic Games are much more than the world’s largest sporting event. They are also an international political and cultural events.
＜このスレッドのほうが適当なので、この記事を『藤原絶版本オンデマンド』のスレッドから移しました＞
『オリンピアン幻想』の英語版の題名についてですが、プロの作家や編集者などに参考までに意見を聞いて審査した結果、副題がA Quest the Olympic Spirit として確定していることを前提にした場合は、スコットさんが提案したMountains of Dreamsが最良ということになりました。
そこでスコットさんの提案した題を使うということで、皮装版の『山岳誌』はスコットさんに贈呈することになったことについて、謹んで選定結果を皆様に報告すると共に、協力していただたことを感謝して、どうも有難う御座いしましたと厚くお礼申し上げます。
日本語に較べて格段に劣る読解能力の私が、英語のゲラの校正で丹念に一行ずつ読んで、三百ページ以上の原稿をチェックするのは、実に苦痛な仕事だが著者はそれをやらざるを得ません。しかも、視力がめっきり減退した目に目薬をさして、ダウンロード出来ないためにモニターでゲラを読み、誤植や文章の訂正をするのは地獄の苦しみでしたが、目はショボショボでものを見るのも苦痛だとはいえ、やっと数週間の地獄の苦難から開放されました。後は最後の編集作業が残っているだけで、図版なども外国人読者向けに大幅に付け加えたりして、寿命の長い本にする工夫をしているので、おそらくは一ヶ月か二ヶ月そこらで「Mountains of Dreams」は出版になるだろうと期待しています。
**
It is said that a traveler goes abroad to discover himself, and discovers
wisdom, after making many journeys through wilderness and frontier
territory, that no one else can make for him. In this sense, my experience
of studying abroad in my mid-twenties at the University of Grenoble in
France blessed my life with fortune colored by rich experience.
When I got very tired after long days in the classroom, the best books
to recreate my stressed brain were always books of Goethe’s poetry and
Greek mythology. Since I was a young boy, I loved to read travel accounts
and old legends from around the world. I felt very excited whenever I saw
a first chapter begin with “Once upon a time…” When I was growing
up, my most admired hero was Apollo, who is the god of the sun, light,
healing, music, poetry, prophecy, and truth.
Half a century later, it is a great pleasure to write a book preface with
the sentence “Once upon an Olympian time. There was a group of twelve
gods including Zeus, his wife Hera, and their family and relatives, who
were said to live half way up Mount Olympus…”
After millions of years of cosmic time, the Greek people started the first
Olympic Games in 776 B.C. at the small village of Olympia. Originally,
the Games were a religious festival to honor both Zeus, king of the gods,
the ruler of Mount Olympus, and the god of the sky, thunder, and justice
and his wife Hera and the other gods of Mount Olympus. The sanctuary
of Zeus is Olympia, where there is the Olympic stadium and the temple of
Zeus. The temple of Zeus once housed a gigantic ivory and gold statue of
Zeus that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The ancient Olympic Games were only for male participants who spoke
Greek. The Games were held at Olympia from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D. The
Olympic Games were hosted at four year intervals and used the term
‘Olympiad’ for the period between the Games.
The Ancient Olympics were a great contribution by the Greek people
and perhaps their most important invention. The Olympics transformed
humanity’s combative instinct into a sports competition. The Greeks
changed the Olympic Games from wild fighting to regulated competition.
The Olympics thereby replaced war.
Fifteen-hundred years later, the tradition of Olympic Games was
revived in 1896 by the French nobleman Baron de Coubertin. He
conceived an international sport competition to promote athletes.
Coubertin adopted the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means
“Swifter, Higher, Stronger,” This wonderful sentiment inspires athletes
from all over the world.
The current Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event
comprised of the Summer and Winter Games. A celebration known as
the cultural Olympiad was also established to include cultural events such
as art, music, architecture in the modern Olympic movement. Thus the
Olympic Games are much more than the world’s largest sporting event.
They are also an international political and cultural events.
**
It was an unexpected, strange, yet excellent opportunity for me to
participate in the 1967 Pre-Olympics as an athlete for the Japanese luge
team and then become an Olympic official. I later become Olympic
attaché for the city of Grenoble in 1968 Winter Games. My observations
and experiences in these two different roles enriched me with behind-thescenes
knowledge of the Olympic movement. They also affected my view
of the politics in the Olympics. Most people believe that the Olympic
Games are an athletic competition and cultural festivity for youth.
However, the untold secret is that the Olympics are a time when special
salons are held behind closed doors for aristocrats and noble families as an
Olympian reunion.
There is an important rule of thumb that prohibits the disclosure of
any information about the kinds of private parties and salons that go on
Pat the Olympics. Consequently, the reader should look between two lines
of this book without missing its tacit knowledge. However, I would like
to suggest a hint: one secret of the aristocratic salons lies in the book cover
designs use the Olympic rings with crowns. Many princes and noblemen
disguised themselves as leaders, managerial advisors, and patrons of each
team during the Olympic competition, and they were also elegant hosts
and guests at the Olympics’ private evening parties.
This book is not Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic of the romantic
and stormy life of Wilhelm Meister, but just the story of my modest and
short apprenticeship years, along with an Olympic rhapsody in Grenoble,
during the late 1960’s.
The 1960’s were a wonderful period for the original Olympic vision of
Baron de Coubertin, who proclaimed that athletes should be gentlemen
who considered only amateurs as a qualified participants. At this time
sport professionals were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.
Professional athletes were deemed to have an unfair advantage over those
whose training was merely a pleasure and hobby. It was also a time when
Coubertin’s Olympic spirit was still respected and supported by the
majority of athletes. Coubertin’s belief was that the most important thing
in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part. It signifies life is less
about triumph than the struggle in life itself.
Commercial and media saturation were also less predominant than
today. The degrees of financial involvement and commercialism were far
more modest. I was very lucky to be an eye-witness at this turning point of
Olympic character and behavior.
The stories about the Winter Olympics described in this book are
gathered from my diary and records I wrote on memo pads during my
stay at the University of Grenoble. I arranged these stories in the style of a
semi-documentary novel from 1970 until the spring of 1971, and aimed to
have this book published before the start of the Sapporo Winter Olympics
in February 1972.
**
By fall of 1971, my publisher had nearly completed the preparations for
making the book. But when the book was going to press and being bound,
an emergency notice calling for cancellation of the book｡ｦs publication
came to me in Calgary, Canada, where I was living at the time.
In his explanation for the publication｡ｦs sudden discontinuation, the
chief editor said that because a potentially problematic detail within
the text had been discovered at the last minute, he had first tried to cut
the part in question to resolve his issue. Yet the publisher｡ｦs president got
wind of this trouble and read the book. It was because the president said
that the book｡ｦs publication could not be allowed, that determined the
publication had to be stopped. The president thought if a terrorist attack
harmed the Japanese imperial family and the culprit confessed that he
had read this book and picked up its suggestions, the publisher would be
unable to sufficiently apologize, even after bankruptcy. So, despite the
effort of a half-year of editing work and the money already invested, the
publisher｡ｦs president decided that he would rather avoid being entangled
in possible trouble.
The text did discuss both the prospect that revolt could occur as the
result of the athletes｡ｦ dissatisfaction, and the possibility of terrorism.
Nonetheless, the sudden suspension of the book｡ｦs publication was a
distressing experience for a young man who was in the midst of his own
spiritual evolution. My virgin work had been visited with a fate that was
tantamount to abortion. Its life was cut off before it could be born. It was
tucked away in the corner of my closet.
As it turned out, a boycott by athletes did occur at the Sapporo Games,
and there was an incident in which one country｡ｦs athletes returned home
after another country｡ｦs athletes imposed their flag on them. However, a
worse event took place six months later at the Munich Summer Olympic
Games. In September 1972, Israeli athletes were massacred by terrorists in
the Olympic Village.
It surprised me that terrorism materialized in Munich and not Sapporo.
It also made me wonder if my virgin work had been published as scheduled
before the Sapporo Winter Games, if its warning about terrorism had seen
the light of day, the tragedy in Munich might have been avoided.
I totally abandoned this book｡ｦs publication because I was preoccupied
with the premonition that Japan would be struck with an oil crisis. In
1970, I penned an article entitled ｡ｧOil is Japan｡ｦs Achilles｡ｦ Heel｡ｨ. This was
targeted by general magazines. But no editor believed that an oil crisis
would come. The manuscript was finally printed a year later in 1971.
Around the time the Sapporo Winter Games ended in February 1972, I
completed the manuscript of a book called The Oil Crisis and Japan｡ｦs Fate.
I conducted publishing negotiations with more than ten publishers, yet I
was continually refused. This book became another virgin work, and came
out in April 1973. Because no one anticipated an oil crisis, this book sold
less than 1,000 copies during its first six months. But under the influence
of the oil crisis that broke out with the war in the Middle East in October
that year, the book quickly became a bestseller and sold close to 100,000
copies. I learned that a moment｡ｦs insight, coupled with a bewildered
premonition for a future shock, can sometimes be worth a life｡ｦs experience.
Twenty-six years after the Sapporo Games, it was decided that Nagano,
a mountain town in the so-called Japanese Alps, would host the Winter
Olympics in 1998. But these Olympic Games that were the first in Japan
for quite some time became an undertaking for national policy. Because
corruption was rampant in the large-scale construction for the Olympic
preparations and many projects turned into interests of grafters, Nagano｡ｦs
citizens grew increasingly discontent. Citizens｡ｦ movements appeared that
refused these Olympics.
In the presence of this situation I wanted to dig up the spirit of
Grenoble. I searched my closet for the manuscript of this book and tried
viii negotiations again, with the goal of having the book published before
the Nagano Winter Games. Every publisher said that the book｡ｦs subject
was too old, or that there was no interest in talk about a foreign country.
More than ten publishers turned down the book, while only time itself
progressed. Even so, one year before the opening in February 1998 of the
Nagano Games, a mere one thousand copies were printed. Thirty years
later, this book had gained back its vitality and finally come to life.
A considerable amount of work was involved before the book was
eventually published. The most publishing companies I have ever been
declined by for one work is 39. Even famous works that are read by many
readers in posterity have been refused for various reasons.
-The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck ｡V No Americans are interested in a Chinese story.
-The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells ｡V The story is a terrible nightmare that no one will accept.
-Animal Farm by George Orwell ｡V In America it is impossible to sell an animal story.
What is more interesting is the case of Friedrich Nietzsche. There was no publisher that would accept the fourth part of his masterpiece Thus Spoke Zarathustra. So Nietzsche printed only forty copies as private
editions and gave these to seven people. Compared to Nietzsche｡ｦs situation,
I was fortunate to have 1,000 copies of my work published. Even though
the number of copies was small, the book was published commercially, not
privately.
Also, in my case, welcome events were already piling up. In Asia, one’s sixtieth birthday is viewed as the age of zero that means new birth. The second coming of this book’s virgin publication also corresponded with the eternal recurrence (ewige Wiederkunft) spoken of in Zarathustra. This was an auspicious occurrence equivalent to the birth of new life, and it was a pleasure to feel that my work must have been blessed with words of affirmation.
In this happy train of thought, the decision to have the work translated into an English edition was born. The birth of the English translation would be linked to a French edition. The book｡ｦs description of the periphery of contemporary French political history makes it more than just a document about French politics in the time of de Gaulle. The Grenoble Games also served as a marker for observing movements in the world. Three months after the Grenoble Winter Olympics｡ｦ closing ceremony, the May Incident occurred that shook the whole of France. This incident signaled that the classical de Gaulle-style political system had arrived at its end, and that frustrations in France had reached a tipping point.
In general, the disturbances that emerged in the ｡･May Crisis｡ｦ in May 1968 were based in student rebellion against university reform. Because these disturbances paralyzed French society, there are some people who conceive the May Incident as France｡ｦs version of the Cultural Revolution. However, from the viewpoint of civilization, the May Incident was actually a precursor to the information revolution. Intellectuals and students raised opposition flags against the administrative system that monopolized information and the organization of politics. Part of the movement revolved around the axis of Grenoble｡ｦs citizens｡ｦ party, as well as the opposition of the Olympic athletes to COJO, the French Olympic Committee.
De Gaulle’s opposition to the Cold War system of America and Russia actually began in the form of the regions｡ｦ desire for autonomy from de Gaulle’s rule. This desire was manifested in a structural movement whose focus was decentralization from centralized government. In its climax, it caused a spasm in France’s autocratic politics and led to the domino-like collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet system.
Because having a skilled opponent is more educative than having a weak ally, de Gaulle was a statesman whom I was both proud and fortunate to have opposed. De Gaulle said that he always thought he was Jeanne d｡ｦArc and Napoleon Bonaparte, which caused me to learn the attitude and behavior of the English and Russian people who were the
major enemies of Jeanne d｡ｦArc and Napoleon. Furthermore, because de Gaulle was a gifted statesman, revolution did not accompany the May Incident. The disturbances came to an end. Revolution is not simply an uprising against the existing order. The May Incident did not set up a new order that contradicted the de Gaulle regime. The baton of the French presidency was then passed along by George Pompidou (1911-74), Valery Giscard d’Estaing (1926- ), Francois Mitterand (1926-1996), and Jacques Chirac (1932-Present). Eternal return has been perpetuated in a small-scale spiral pattern, and a clear-headed meta-structure has been preserved in French culture.
It is wondeful when you said "Because having a skilled opponent is more educative than having a weak ally, de Gaulle was a statesman whom I was both proud and fortunate to have opposed. "
The story of this book ends on the night of the closing ceremony of the X Winter Games at Grenoble on February 18, 1968. I have omitted the epilogue portion from the unpublished 1971 version for this book because of its troubled and obsolete prediction of a terrorist attack at the Sapporo Games. Moreover, everyone already knows what happened at Munich in September 1972.
The year 1968 went on to be very interesting. Less than three months after the closing ceremony, the May Incident exploded in France and ignited many student revolts all over the world. Four years later, at the next Olympiad, a terrorist act at an Olympic event became a terrible reality and drastically changed the character and behavior of the Olympics. The most inspiring ideal of the Ancient Olympics was a moratorium on war during the Games. We should respect and adopt this sublime principle.
Until the end of the 1960s, the modern Olympic Games preserved the wonderful spirit of amateurism and chivalry embodied in the traditional motto of English public schools, ｡ｧA sound mind in a healthy body. It was during the 1970s that the Olympics’ character changed entirely under the influence of American businessmen｡ｦs free market-philia and commercialism. Now the Olympics have become a money-making show business, and most people, including the athletes and spectators, consider winning more important than taking part with fairness. Hugh financial stakes and strong commercial interest have since come to saturate the Olympic stadium with the television screens in every home. The temple of Zeus has a new tenant: Mammon.
Consequently, it now feels better to end my story at the closing day of the X Winter Olympics at Grenoble on February 18, 1968. This was a day that was a turning point in Olympic history. I believe that I gave my best efforts at that moment. I now need to pass the baton to the next generation so it can meet its own challenges and define its own experiences. When I try recalling the memory of my brief engagement in Olympic-related activities when I was a young foreign student, I feel like a magician who has emptied his hand and yet still possesses everything.
Before closing this preface, I would like to extend my appreciation to Mr. Scott Wilbur and Miss Remie Fujiwara for their achievement in translating my book from Japanese into English. Without the zeal and wishful cooperation of these two young people, the essence of my experience would never have reached the next generation of the world.
出版社からPublisher's MDとして次のようなものが届いたので貼り付けます。
Mountains of Dreams
――― A Quest for the Olympic Spirit
Hajime Fujiwara
Product Details
- Deluxe Binding: 312 pages
- Publisher: Creation Culture Co., Ltd.
- Language: English Edition
- Published date: 1st edition in 2008
- ISBN: 978 957-9567-79-4
- Product Dimensions: 15 X 21 cm
- List Price: US$ 29.95
- Weight: 430gw
Spotlight Reviews
When Yutaro Mizoguchi arrives in Grenoble, France, at the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the young geologist’s first thought is to explore the mountains encircling this city in the French Alps. But as Grenoble begins to prepare for its own Olympics in 1968, Yutaro unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of the battle to control the Games’ message.
With politicians, aristocrats, athletes, and ordinary citizens all competing to define Grenoble’s Olympic moment, Yutaro’s position as both outsider and participant in the Olympic preparations gives him a unique perspective on the true meaning and potential of the Games. Whether he is debating French journalists about their Olympic coverage, meeting with European royalty at nightly parties during the Games, or himself racing down a mountain atop a luge, Yutaro maintains a sense of adventure that is not only inspiring but insightful about the real story behind the world’s biggest sporting event.
Based on actual events, this is an inspiring tale of one young man’s fateful encounter with one of the most important cultural phenomena of modern times. Along with providing a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the true nature of the Games, it describes the actual conditions that affected the 1968 Grenoble Olympics. It can be read as both memoir and history.
Contents
CHAPTER 1− In the Time of the Tokyo Olympics
CHAPTER 2− Grenoble, Olympic City
CHAPTER 3− A Stranger in the Midst of Grenoble
CHAPTER 4− Grenoble Activism and the Inspection Group from Sapporo
CHAPTER 5− The Dirty Tokyo Olympics and the Prize of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Chief
CHAPTER 6− A Yearning for Adventure
CHAPTER 7− Candles and the Shining Snow
CHAPTER 8− The Twister from Sapporo
CHAPTER 9− The Pulsing Pre-Olympics
CHAPTER 10−The Pre-Olympics amidst the Confusion
CHAPTER 11−The Transforming Olympic City
CHAPTER 12−The Quiet before the Olympics
CHAPTER 13−On the Eve of the Olympics
CHAPTER 14−The Grenoble Winter Olympics
POSTSCRIPT−A Quest for the Olympic Spirit
ただし費用氏の写真はここに載せられないのと、イントロダクションは次回に続けて貼り付けます。
続けてイントロダクションを貼り付けます。これはバックカバーにある文章です。
Introduction
LES JEUX OLYMPIQUES D’HIVER EN PLEIN ETE
(Once upon an Olympian Time)
Grenoble, France, 1968. A young man’s fateful experience in the Winter Olympics reveals the true meaning of the world’s largest sporting festival.
The summer and winter Olympic Games are the largest transnational multi-sport events in the world.
This book centered on the politic of Olympic preparation and more than simply being a spectator, a Japanese student finds himself becoming involved in the competition to use the Olympics for national prestige or civic improvement. With President de Gaulle trying to use the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics to show off French vigor and glory, young student’s beliefs in the ideals of the Olympics are challenged.
The Olympic Games grew in importance as an arena of international politics during the twentieth century. The nation-state and nationalist movements, on the other hand, are products of the nineteenth and twentieth century. With the information revolution, national borders and the concept of the nation-state have become less significant.
Yet forceful interventions by state governments have persisted. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the German government under Hitler manipulated the Olympic torch relay for military reconnaissance work and wielded the Games as a stage to display the strength of Nazis regime to the world. Even in this new century, the Chinese government is now making the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics look like the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Olympic torch’s journey has been surrounded by battalions of patriotic Chinese students waving China’s red national flag with yellow stars but not the Olympic flag..
The Beijing Olympics give the déjà vu sensation of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Unions were military-oriented authoritarian regimes and nationalistic states like China is today. Both one-party undemocratic states collapsed and disappeared within ten years after their Olympic pageants. The Olympic god Zeus does not accept Olympic festivities with authoritarians and warmongers.
Based on a real story, this is an inspiring tale of a young man’s encounter with one of the most important cultural phenomena of modern times. Along with providing a stunning behind-the-scenes glimpse of the true nature of the Games, it documents the actual conditions that affected the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics. It can be appreciated as both memoir and history. Readers can also enjoy its tacit predictions in the style of the ancient Greek prophet Cassandra.
誰も新著のMountains of Dreams をどうやって手に入れられるかとか、入手法はこうだとかいう反響が皆無なので、出版の実現を一日も早くと気負っていただけに落胆しています。本は出来上がっていて、私はフランス語版を出すための工作に忙殺されていますが、閉塞状態の中での日本人の無気力さは政治の低迷に対応し、アメリカ市場で日本の商品がものすごい勢いで姿を消し、韓国や中国製によって駆逐されているという現状に、不思議なほどのりずむで呼応しているとの印象を強めています。
シイラ・ジョンソンは政治学者のチャルマーズ・ジョンソンの夫人であり人類学者として、『アメリカ人の日本人観』（サイマル出版会）という名著を書いていて、『理は利よりも強し』の第五章の記事にある会議に招いてくれたりしています。
彼女とチャルマーに近著を送ったら以下のような返事が届きました。チャルマーズの「ネクサス」の鋭い政府批判の政治書であり、私と夫が共に権力批判に力を注ぎすぎていることについて、彼女が心配していることが良く分かりますが、末期症状を呈している体制に立ち向かう男は、女性からみるとナゼという異常性が強いのかも知れません。
「Ｂｌｏｗｂａｃｋ」（アメリカ帝国への報復）はなかなか興味深い本でしたが、「ネクサス」も読破していませんが迫力がある感じでした。
Dear Mr. Fujiwara,
Thank you for the copy of your new book, which arrived yesterday. I have read the preface and postscript, which I found quite interesting, about your own background and how you came to write this book. I've also looked at the website below, and your remark that "The Beijing Olympics give the deja vu sensation of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Unions were military-oriented authoritarian regimes and nationalistic states like China is today. Both one-party undemocratic states collapsed and disappeared within ten years after their Olympic pageants." My husband uses a different comparison: he thinks that China, like South Korea, has somewhat mouse-trapped itself by staging the Olympics, which have had (and may have in the future) some beneficial impacts on its regime. To be sure, the protests of the Tibetans have been harshly dealt with, but the regime has been much more humanitarian and open in its response to the devastating earthquake than it might othewise have been. It will be interesting to see how it balances its desire for for tourists and foreigners to come to the Olympics with its fears of disruption.
My husband's rheumatoid arthritis remains a painful problem, but since his last book Nemesis he has continued to write some interesting book reviews. These can be found at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174925/chalmers_johnson_teaching_imperialism_101
and http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/print/20080515_chalmers_johnson_on_our_managed_democracy/
I'm afraid that just as you continue to be obsessed by the Japanese government, he is obsessed with the U.S.'s.
With best wishes from both of us, Sheila & Chalmers Johnson
千々松さんの指摘をとても興味深く読み、自分がこんな悟ったようなことを書いたのかと考え、英文でどんな具合に表現してあるかとチェックしてみました。とりあえず最初の引用ですが、284ページの記事についてはこんな英訳でした。
These meditative breaks brought him unexpected breakthroughs of wisdom.Although these moment in human life were few, rests with deep states of relaxation were ssential to creative work.
Yutaro learned that his instincts would come to him if he painted images in his mind and then suddenly tried to stop thinking about them.
実は日本語の「オリンピアン幻想」の本文については、十年近くの時間の中で読み返していないので、どんなことを書いたかの記憶もないし、英訳されたものも若い翻訳者たちを信頼したのと目の都合で゛、英文も叮嚀に読み直してはいなかったのです。
だから、直観の訳語としてはinstinctではなくてintuitionが正しく、その点では訳語の選択がずれていたわけであり、こんな過ちを訂正しなかった軽率さについて、著者として慙愧に耐えないという気分になっています。
自分で英訳を担当していないので生意気なことは言えませんが、意味論についての訓練が若い時代には不足しており、それでも英訳に挑戦した若い人に対して、若い頃の失敗は仕方がないしそれを教訓にすることで、より完璧になって欲しいと声援を送ることにします。
P359の文章の英訳については、私に代わって誰かがやってくれたら嬉しい限りです。
そのような流れの中、開会式では４種類の先住民の方々が４人ずつ出てきて、各々4つの大きなトーテムポールの下でオリンピックへの賛辞を呈しておりましたが、このセレモニーに何か不思議なものを感じ取った小生は、現地の友人知人らをはじめ若干調べておりましたが、まだ完全に裏が取りきれたわけではないものの、あまり時期を経てしまうと「六日の菖蒲、十日の菊」になりかねないことからアーカイブ的に書き留めさせて頂くことにしますと、カナダの先住民（部族）は正確には４種類ではなく100種類以上いることは当地に居住している方々でしたら周知の事柄であること、開会式に招かれた4種類の先住民である、リリワット（Lil'wat）、マスクエアム（Musqueam）、スコーミッシュ（Squamish）、ツレイル・ウォウトゥス（Tsleil-Waututh）、を、日本のTVでは、First Nations、Metis、Inuit、などという順番で（カナダの先住民族を）紹介していたようですが、招かれた先住民族の方々はいずれもFHFN（Four Host First Nations）という形にオーガナイズされていたことは、前回トリノ閉会式のときに次回バンクーバーに向けて紹介されていたことに端的に表わされていたのではないかと思います。
「Mountain's of Dreams 」の「あとがき」の一節に（Ｐ．２８９）、次のような記事があったのを覚えている読者がいたら、その人のためにこの文章を書いたと思って欲しい。
・・・California pop culture does not suite a near sixty-year old who meditates part-time.But it has been my great pleasure to talk with people in Claremont and Pasadena who enjoy discussing Trevanian's neat and deep expression.
Trevanian writes :Shibumi is understanding, rather than knowledge. Eloquent silence. In demeanor, it is・・・・
ここに追想の気持ちをこめて記述したのは、ロスとパームスプリングスの中間に位置して、素晴らしい蔵書を誇る古本屋を持つクレアモントの町がある。そにはドラッカー夫妻が寛ぎと長寿を満喫する感じで住み、そこを訪れるのは私の秘かな楽しみだったから、アメリカに３０年も住んでしまった遠因の一つになった。
そして、今年の１１月は先生が亡くなって７年目であり、その七回忌の追悼と先生の遺徳を偲び、ダイヤモンド社で先生の本の出版を担当した斉藤さんを相手に、「ニューリーダー」の十月号と十一月号に対談を連載することになったので、心からの期待と追悼を請う次第である。
彼の著作で私が最も愛したのは「傍観者の時代」であり、そこにはヨーロッパ人としての彼の精髄がある。
この本のテーマはオリンピック準備であり、主役は開催する都市とその住民であり、国家が国威発揚や宣伝に利用するのを防ぎ、いかに主権在民を実現しながら準備を進め、オリンピック精神を生かすかが決め手になっている。
その点で国家の威光の誇示ために、オリンピックの機会を利用したいドゴール大統領が、ポンピドウ政権の権力を最大限に生かして、成功に持ち込もうとしてのがグルノーブル大会で、それは５０年前の１９６８年のことだった。それに対して町の知識層が市民党を作り、一般市民とともに住民の福祉と世界平和のために、力を合わせて準備を進めた過程が、この本に具体的な形で記述されている。
政治宣伝と利権確保を狙う国家権力が、財界を動員して金力で強引に進めようとする立場で、都知事の椅子を手に入れようとしている日本の現実は、腰の定まらないまま原発反対を主張するだけの中間勢力と、反対姿勢の強い共産党を軸にしたものが、三つ巴になっている状況の相似象は実に興味深い歴史のデジャビュ現象である。
ただ、当時のフランスには市民意識があったが、今の日本には愚民政策で呆けた政治意識しか持たない、奴隷根性に毒された国民しかいない。それが残念だ。また、それは４５年も昔のことであり、onece upon an Olimpic time…とここで書くのは悲しいことである。
オリンピック準備を通じて蓄積した知識とエネルギーが、閉会式の三か月後にあったフランスの五月事件に続き、どのような効果を世界史に与えたかについては、各人でじっくりと考えることが望まれる。それにしても、それを日本語でも記録している「オリンピアン幻想」が存在しているのに、誰もそれに気づいていないと知ることは寂しい限りである。
