2014年8月29日金曜日

2014年8月29日金曜日 -

Andrew: Kyoto's Kimonos

Every so often I visit Kyoto, and a few weeks ago I went there and had a really special day. One of my friends took me to visit some historical kimono manufacturers. It was a very unusual tourist activity so I really enjoyed the chance to have such a unique experience.

We went to two different places. The first one produced Nishijin-ori (a style of textile manufacturing), although they had progressed to making all sorts of different things and didn't seem to actually produce kimonos nowadays. We met the owner, whose business had been in his family for generations, and he showed us around. The company had a really impressive client list – they had made kimonos for the Tokugawa Shoguns and the Thai Royal Family. More recently, they have made a renowned American pop star’s shoes, fabric for a certain famous designer, and furniture used in two of Kyoto’s fanciest hotels.


While viewing the female pop star's shoes, we were told that Caroline Kennedy, the current US Ambassador to Japan, had visited last month. Our guide then took us to the showroom and let us look around. It was all so impressive! The fabric they displayed costs around 30,000 yen per square meter. We were also shown furniture, some of which was used in the hotels. Apparently it is only found in the best suites, and one night’s stay would set you back more than a million yen – a bit beyond my price range. The last thing we saw was the factory. Even though it was just a room full of machines, I wasn't let down; the experience was actually quite fascinating.

Next we went to a place that uses the Yuzen-zome technique for dying its cloth. Although they primarily manufacture kimonos, they have also started to make things like tumblers and iPhone cases, which I thought was really interesting. They showed us the dyeing process and we got to watch people making kimonos. It was all quite fun. Something else I found interesting was that all of the employees there are women. (According to the owner, this is pretty rare as most of the workers are usually men.)

Afterwards, the owner showed us finished kimonos, including some that Princess Mako had bought. We then spent some time talking about the economics of kimono production. Apparently the market has shrunk dramatically. The owner told us that she sells kimonos to a distributor for around 500,000 yen each, and then they get marked up so that consumers pay around 3 million yen each. I asked her if she sold kimonos directly to people and she said of course they did, and not for 3 million yen!

I wanted to pay back my friend for such a great experience, so we went to Inayoshi for lunch. This restaurant, which is owned by our company’s president, specializes in Kyoto beef. Inayoshi is next to the Kamo River and has a great atmosphere. We decided to splurge and got the most expensive sets on the menu. It wound up being really nice, and was the perfect end to our day in Kyoto.

nowadays：昨今
for generations：何世代にもわたって
Ambassador：大使
per square meter：平方メートルあたり
set ～ back：～に費用がかかる
let down：がっかりさせる
shrunk：縮小している
marked up：値上げされる
pay back：お返しする
atmosphere：雰囲気
splurge：散財する
It wound up being ～：結局～になる

2014年8月22日金曜日

2014年8月22日金曜日 -

Thibaud : Annecy

Je souhaite vous présenter ma ville natale, Annecy, où ma famille vit encore actuellement. Annecy est située dans le sud-est de la France, dans les Alpes plus précisément. Cette ville de taille moyenne est le chef-lieu du département de la Haute-Savoie situé dans la région Rhône-Alpes.

 I would like to introduce Annecy, my hometown and the place where my family still lives. Annecy is located in south-eastern France, or more precisely in the French Alps. This mid-sized city is the capital of the department of Haute-Savoie located in the Rhône-Alpes region.

Historiquement Annecy faisait partie de la Savoie, un duché indépendant qui fut rattaché à la France en 1860. La ville est actuellement un site touristique majeur en France pour plusieurs raisons.

 Annecy was historically part of Savoy, an independent duchy, which was attached to France in 1860. Nowadays, this town is a major tourist site in France for several reasons.


Tout d’abord Annecy a été construite au bord d’un lac entouré de montagnes, appellé « lac d’Annecy ». L’eau de ce lac est réputée comme une des plus pures d’Europe, c’est pourquoi beaucoup de touristes français et européens viennent s’y baigner l’été. De plus la construction de grands bâtiments au bord du lac est interdite, ce qui préserve la beauté des lieux.

 Firstly, the city was built next to its namesake the beautiful Lake Annecy, which is surrounded by mountains. The water of this lake is known as some of the cleanest in Europe, so many French and other European tourists go there to swim in the summertime. Moreover, the construction of large buildings on the lakeside is forbidden, which preserves the natural charm of the site.

Ensuite, Annecy est une jolie ville historique qui a été construite au Moyen-Age. Le château a été construit au XII ème siècle, et la construction de la  vieille ville a été influencée par l'Italie voisine. Plusieurs canaux traversent cette vieille ville, c’est pour cette raison qu’Annecy est parfois appelée « la petite Venise des Alpes ».

 Annecy is also a beautiful, historic city established during the Middle-Ages. The castle was built during the twelfth century, and the architecture of the old town has been influenced by neighboring Italy. Several canals flow through that district, so Annecy is sometimes called “Little Venice of the Alps”.

Enfin plusieurs évènements intéressants ont lieu chaque année à Annecy. Le plus important est le Festival International du Film d’Animation qui a lieu pendant une semaine en juin. Il s'agit du plus grand festival au monde dans le domaine du film d'animation, c'est pourquoi chaque année des milliers de professionnels et d'amateurs du monde entier y participent ainsi que des personnalités telles que Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton ou Matt Groening, le créateur des Simpsons. La « Fête du Lac » est célébrée en août avec un grand spectacle qui mélange musique, éclairages et un grand feu d'artifice. Les autres évènements notables sont « la Fête des Alpages » lorsque les troupeaux de vaches redescendent dans les vallées en octobre, ainsi que le « Carnaval Vénitien » à la fin de l’hiver.

 Finally, several interesting events take place annually in the city. The most important one is the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which is held for one week in June. It is the world’s biggest festival in its field; thousands of professionals and amateurs from all over the world participate, as well as many famous people such as Miyazaki Hayao, Tim Burton and Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons. The “Lake Festival” is celebrated every August with a show that mixes music, lighting and big fireworks. Other notable events are “The Festival of Alpine Pasture” in October, when herds of alpine cows are led down into the valleys, and the “Venetian Carnival” which is held at the end of winter.

L'été est bien sûr la saison la plus touristique à Annecy étant donné qu'on peut se baigner dans le lac, mais la ville et sa région sont aussi charmantes pendant les autres saisons, si vous aimez les couleurs de l'automne, la neige hivernale ou la verdure printanière.

 Summer is obviously the most tourist friendly season, since people can enjoy Lake Annecy, but the city and its surrounding area are also charming during other seasons if you like fall foliage, winter snow or spring greenery.

             
précisément ： precisely ： ちょうど
chef-lieu ：capital ：首都
duché ： duchy： 公国
réputé ： known as： とみなされた
influencé ： influenced：影響された
monde ： world：世界
notable ： notable ：注目すべき
bien sûr ： obviously：もちろん
verdure ： greenery：緑樹

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