Thursday, April 14, 2011
I'll look up when I walk so that my tears won't fall from my eyes.
After the devastating earthquake, we often hear the phrase "頑張ろう、日本” on TV. 頑張る/ganbaru is a little hard to translate into English. It depends on the context. In this context, you could translate it as "to stay strong" or "to keep a stiff upper lip." 日本/nippon means Japan. Since Japanese people have really realized that Japan won't overcome the crisis unless every single person seriously prepares themselves to work hard to overcome it, the phrase is often used as a slogan.
However, although it's been more than a month since the earthquake hit Japan, about 15,100 people are still missing (the death toll is about 13,400). They are only those who have been reported to the police as missing. Since some small towns were entirely washed away and all the databases on their residents were also washed away, it's been reported that the accurate number of missing people is much higher. In many tsunami-stricken areas, time stopped after the earthquake. The scenes which we saw right after the tsunami hit the areas are still there. Frequent strong aftershocks, unlikely circumstances like a boat on a building and other things complicate removal of the wreckage.
Many of the victims are fighting as hard as possible to live and move on at shelters. Some of them honestly say, "I always hear the slogan, "stay strong/頑張ろう". However, I don't know how I can do that". As their words show, the slogan is crucial for the victims.
About a week ago, Suntory, a well-known Japanese beverage company, started broadcasting a special TV commercial (Please see the right YouTube video). Some celebrities are singing the popular song ”上を向いて歩こう/I'll look up when I walk" in the commercial. The song has been very popular since it was released in the 1960s. The lyrics are touching. Not only the victims but also other people, including myself, are encouraged by the song. The phrase "I'll look up when I walk so that my tears won't fall from my eyes" describes what many people are feeling now. The song is well known in western countries as Sukiyaki song.
The singer of the song, 坂本九/Kyu Sakamoto, died in the JAL(Japan Airlines) crash in 1985. JAL was a government-run corporation until 1987. t's has been said that the company's culture was partially responsible for the crash. Now, every time I hear the song, I'm moved. At the same time, I remember the crash and think that there seems to be things in common between the crash and the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant since I think that TEPCO is similar to JAL.
English translations of the lyrics
