英語トレーニング

Ayaka Wada during an interview

Calling attention to one's mistakes indirectly works wonders

Today, many Japanese entertainers have multiple skills
to add value to their profession.
For Ayaka Wada, a member of teenage pop idol group
S/mileage, art is her favorite subject, regardless of
whether it will eventually become her second career.

"You can't be friends with the painting if you don't show
interest in the subject or open up your mind to it.
You'll learn nothing from the painting if you do that,"
said the 19-year-old idol, adding that she visits exhibitions
in smart attire to show respect for the art.

At the end of January, Wada visited "Ukiyo-e:
A Journey Through the Floating World," which is currently
under way at the Tokyo Metropolitan Tokyo-Edo Museum.

Wada is the leader of the six-member group S/mileage.
The group made its debut in 2010 as "the Japanese idol
group who wear the shortest skirts" under Hello!Project
--a group of female vocalists and idol groups such as
Morning Musume produced by veteran record producer Tsunku.
S/mileage won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist
in 2010 and has released 15 singles since the group
made its major debut.

Wada has trained in dancing and singing since she was
9 years old after winning an audition.
She became interested in art when she was a high school
student and since then, she has taught herself about
the subject and chosen to major in art history at college.

Her unique insight and sensibility toward appreciating art
grabbed the attention of an editor and a producer who
believed that she could write something substantial about art.
Currently, Wada writes a series of art reviews titled
"Otome no Kaiga Annai" (A guide to paintings by a young maiden)
on the website of PHP Inc., including reviews of such artists
as Vermeer and Monet.

Wada provides reviews of her favorite artists and their work
through questions and answers she writes herself.
Her writing style is easy to follow for those who are not really
sure how to appreciate paintings.
A collection of her art reviews, including those posted online,
will be published as a book this spring.

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The Yomiuri Shimbun

Ayaka Wada during an interview

"I wasn't sure if it's OK for me to write such a column,
" Wada said. "I've read that kind of column for my study,
so I just couldn't believe that I'd be writing art reviews.
But at the same time, I thought I could do it as I have
the support of many people."

Love at 1st sight

Her interest in art started three years ago with love at first sight
at JR Tokyo Station.
Wada was early for a meeting that day and was looking to
kill time.
That's when a poster for a Manet exhibition caught her eye.
So she casually stopped by.

And she was shocked.

"The image of paintings I had for a long time was that
they're always colorful.
But I was shocked to see Manet's exhibition filled with black.
'The Dead Toreador' was particularly impressive.
It was simply a man lying down.
I was overwhelmed by the fact that this kind of scary motif can be
the subject of a painting. I could rarely find colorful,
cheerful paintings in Manet's work," she recalled.
"Then I thought 'Why is that?'
From that moment, I gradually became interested in art," she said.

She was intrigued by dark, somber paintings for a while and
became fascinated with Rembrandt.

"At that time, I was simply viewing art and had no idea that
some have a religious context behind them.
I broadened the focus of my interest and began liking
Impressionism," she said,
adding that her interest now has spread to Japanese art.

Spreading fun of art

Despite her busy schedule, Wada visits exhibitions
as much as possible and
even goes to the same one again if she really likes it.

"It's not hard to make time for it. No problem," she said.
"I love art and want to keep studying it."
She said being an idol is not a burden, but "rather,
there are things I can do as an idol to make more people
more aware of the appeal of art.
I should take advantage of my career," she said.

Wada may have a chance to perform abroad some day,
just like other senior senpai Hello!Project members
who have wowed overseas fans in Paris and Bangkok.

"I never intended to juggle my career and write art columns.
However, in both my careers, I find it can be really difficult
to put my emotion and excitement into words
[to communi-cate to the audience effectively].
I need to practice conveying my feelings effectively.
It'll be great if I can introduce Japanese art when I get
a chance to perform abroad," Wada said.

Mt. Fuji (読むのに苦労した文章)

An American friend said to me,

"I heard that the Japanese revere Mt.Fuji so much that they put 

a 'san'  at the end of its name to show respect to the mountain, 

like Sasaki-san or Tanaka-san."

This misconception is commonly held by people unfamiliar with 

Japanese.

For people who know a little kanji, this suppositin obviously seems 

far-fetched but for the Average Joe using some deductive reasoning,

it dose make sense.

I felt a little bad having to break the news to him that he had been

misinformed. "'San' simply means mountain, and in Japanese the 

'san' comes after rather than before the name of the mountain,"

I explained, "so instead of Mountain Fuji we say Fuji Mountain."

Then I got to thinking that some mountain names in Japanese

end with "yama"and "take" or "dake".

I asked my Japanese friends for mauntain naming rules and while

I got many theories, all of them had exceptions to the rule.

How I always complicate things!

I should have left the topic at Fuji Mountain but now my head

is spinning trying to find logic in something that might in the end,

not be clear cut.

get out of the New Year’s resolution rut,

false hope syndrome ; 空頼み症候群
                                        

（自分が変われるというむなしい希望を持つ傾向）

Every year you make up your mind to study English　this year
and then gradually lose interest.

たしかに毎年4月号だけ教材が売れてるような。

There's a lot to be said for preparing.

Prevention is the best cure, after all

A stitch in time saves nine

Fighting obesity より

eating one meal outside of the home each week can cause
the average person to put on additional two pounds a year.

What a relieve I don't eat outside! That's why.

Our DNA is partly to blame.
Our bodies are designed to store calories when there's lots of 

food available.

And when there's not so much food to be had, our bodies cut down 

on the amount of calories we use up.

Trouble is, we're no longer
hunter-gatherers for whom that kind of biology works.

That's yet another factor in the equation.
Some foods activate pleasure centers
in our  brain just like a drug.

This may be the best resignation letter ever

A councilman from Indian Trail, N.C., submitted a resignation letter written 

in Klingon on Thursday, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Full text in the language of a warrior race used in the Star Trek TV series

 is on the newspaper’s website. The translation reads:

Teach (the) city (the) constitution
I will return next time to (witness) victory.
Resignation occurs in 2014 the 31st of January.
Perhaps today is a good day (to) resign.
David Waddell

Waddell told the Observer that he was trying to be funny,

 but Indian Trail Mayor Michael Alvarez did not get the joke, 

calling the letter “an embarrassment.”

Read more: North Carolina Pol's Klingon Resignation Letter | TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/03/north-carolina-politician-writes-resignation-letter-in-klingon/#ixzz2pd11QeSQ

思うこと

I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't talk with English speaker.

If it's any consolation,other people feel the same way,

you're not alone.

The reason is you don't need to use English in everyday life.

If you go abroad by yourself and live a life for a while,

I'm sure you can talk with　in English.