2012年10月15日大日乃光第２０２４号の１
「親から子へと引き継ぐ良き伝統が人類の文化の根源」
親から子へと引き継ぐ良き伝統が人類の文化の根源
From Elders to Youngsters
Passing Down Our Heritage and Wisdom, the Foundation of Human Civilization
人道支援に奔走される 井本勝幸さん
Katsuyuki Imoto Esq.
The Front Runner of Humanitarian Assistance
去る九月二十五日、『読売新聞』の二面の「顔」の欄に、本誌九月二十一日号（二〇二二号）でお伝えしたＩさんが笑顔で掲載されていました。ですからこれからはＩさんのことを実名で、もう少し記してみます。
We have featured "Persona I. " in our September 21st, 2012 edition (No.2022), who has now gone to be interviewed by Japan's broadsheet daily, the Yomiuri Shimbun (September 25th, 2012 edition). His usual smiles were eminent in the picture that portrayed his true nature. Let us now go onto feed our curiosity by revealing a bit more about the man.
彼の名は井本勝幸さん（四七歳）です。若い時から国際協力の現場に身を置き、その後、日蓮宗の僧侶として二年間の修行に入られました。日行という僧名を持っておられます。二十年前からは、伯父様が御住職として日々衆生済度に挺身されている福岡県朝倉市の報恩寺の副住職として、御住職様を支えて来られました。しかし井本さんのそれまでの生き方からすれば、僧侶としての生活だけでなく、国際協力のための人材を育てながらも佛教的な立場から広くアジアに人的なネットワーク（人脈）を広げて行かれました。
"Persona I." - let us henceforth speak of him through his true name; Mr Katsuyuki IMOTO, aged 47. Since his youth he has placed himself in the world of international aid and co-operation, which was garnished with 2 years of adherence to the strict monkhood apprenticeship with the Nichiren Sect of Japanese Buddhism. Among his religious peers he is known to all as Nichigyo. For the past two decades, Rev. Nichigyo, most recently as the deputy chief priest of Hoh-on Temple in Asakura of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, had served the task of ushering the willing followers of the religious belief to "the path of enlightenment" (shujoh-saido as known to us in the field), alongside his uncle who is the head priest of the institution. This, however, did not limit his scope of action. He had dedicated his time, while being housed in the Temple as a monk, to the cause of international assistance. With his relentless determination and eagerness to harness and promote the teaching contained in Buddhist beliefs, Imoto went onto cultivating a grassroots network of like-minded people, mostly in Asia, that has now become the launch pad for his actions.
家族の理解を得た平成の志士
The Vanguard Samurai of Our Contemporary Times
Gets the Heads-up From His Folks
そして前々回の本誌にも記したように、保険を解約して単身ビルマの少数民族の地域に潜入されたのです。これがもし大東亜戦争前であったとすれば、陸軍の特務機関の諜報員として潤沢な資金と部下を何人か連れて潜入するところでしょう。当時であれば恐らく家族にも内密にしての出発になるのでしょうが、現代の井本さんの場合は、奥さんや二人のお子さん達に、何のためにビルマに行くのかなどを充分に説明し、家族全員から「お父さん頑張ってこんね!!」と言われて送り出されたそうです。
As highlighted in our newsletter 2 editions ago, the man was so resolute to the extent of actually cancelling his personal insurance contracts for liquidity and delved straight into the jungles of Burma where various indigenous races inhabited the land through their ancestral heritage. In the pre-WWII context, this is the equivalent of a military intelligence agent with his ample supplies of funds and men to submerge himself in the field of action; - but in his case, obviously as a standalone individual with no formal organizational backing nor funds, he was going it alone. Moreover, our WWII counterparts would have been forbidden from talking to their loved ones of the mission they were chosen to accomplish. However, in Imoto's case, he had chosen to actually go to great lengths to explain to his loved ones of what he was about to commit himself to and why he chose to do just that. Much to his delight, his folks cheered him saying "Go for it! Just do it!!" and sent him off.
その時の長男さんは高校受験に合格していたのですが、井本さんは長男さんの高校の制服姿を一度も見ていないとの事でした。井本さんが帰国する時、その長男さんは果たして高校生なのか、それとも大学生になっているのか今はわかりませんが、若い青年の心に父親の果たした歴史的なビルマ少数民族の和解に向けての働きや、今回の報道がどのように映り、その後の長男さんの人生にどんな影響を与えるのかを想像すると、心が湧き立つようで嬉しい限りです。
At the time of his departure his son had passed his exams and secured a place in a high school. The only thing amiss was the presence of Imoto when the teenager passed his arms through the sleeves of the brand new school uniform. The boy would never know whether he will have entered a college or still is with the high school by the time his father reemerges with his usual loving smile. As a bystander, we admire the picture of a father and a son whose relationship is founded on a mutual understanding for the decision. Moreover, the son's appreciation for the father's efforts in bringing the various factions of ethnicities of Burma, whom have now indeed been convinced by the mastermind of a dad of his own, will no doubt have tremendous influence on the character formation of the youngster. We are up in arms over the remarkable achievements and are sincerely enthused about the prospects for the young teenage son.
家族愛に溢れるお父さん・お母さんの詩
Love and Affinity Overflows in a Family
Poems Dedicated to Mums and Dads
去る九月二十二日には、このような親の後ろ姿を一人でも多くの子供達に見つめてもらいたいとの思いから、先代の真如大僧正様が始められた「親を大切にする子供を育てる会」と熊本朝日放送の共催による、「子供の詩コンクール」の二十三回目の表彰式が開催されました。その中の一つを紹介します。
The 23rd Children's Poetry Contest, an event which began over two decades ago by the organization "Kids Treasure Parents" conceived by the Venerable Shin-nyo Daisohjo (the Buddhist Priest of the Highest Order), co-hosted by Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting Co., Ltd., was held on September 23rd, 2012. The event was created to foster children's admiration for their parents to act as role models for their own set of standards, as seen in the previous section of this newsletter that spoke of the Imoto family. Here, we shall introduce one of many a great works produced and performed in front of a crowd that had gathered for the award presentation.
熊本朝日放送賞
The Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting Prize
「会いたくて」
"My Longing"
合志市立西合志南小学校 六年
6th Grader, Nishigohshi Minami Primary School, Kohshi City, Kumamoto Pref.
高澤 明日香
Asuka Takazawa (Ms)
会いたいな
毎日笑顔が絶えないお父さん
毎日おいしいご飯を作るお母さん
How are you,
Dad? Your smiles never fade, from day to day, always there in my heart
Mum? Your yummie food dished out in the dining, always there in my heart
会いたいな
あの大震災の影響で避難してきた私
お父さんとお母さんは茨城で頑張る日々
Where are you?
Me? Away from the scenes of that terrifying jolt (Mega Earthquake of 2011)
Dad, Mum, you're still in Ibaraki, our home, just hanging in there on your own
一緒にいればよかったのかな
何度も何度も涙があふれてきた
だけど
Shouldn't I have stayed with you?
I wept my sorrows, wiped off my tears.
Many a nights. But then
おじいちゃんとおばあちゃんのおかげで
熊本の生活が楽しい日々になった一年間
Grandpa and Grandma, they are a fab, my home for today
Kumamoto greets me with joys of life and now a year's gone by
お父さんとお母さん
今も私は熊本で楽しく元気に
暮らしていますよ
Father. Mother.
I'm here, no worries
I'm having a whale of a time
だけどね
やっぱりお母さんの声を聞くと
たまらなくなってくるよ
But then...
You call me, your whispers caress me
It... it makes me cry
お母さんからの電話
なつかしいお母さんの声
いつも明るく話すお母さん
励ましてくれるお母さんの声
Your calls
My mother's voice
Always so chirpie
Cheering me up, I know you are, Mum
お父さんの懐かしい声
いつも笑わせてくれるお父さん
また今日もたくさんの元気をもらった
そしてやっぱり思うよ
Dad, your voice, I so adore
You make me chuckle, I laugh and I...
I charge my batteries, thanks to your words
But yet, it's not the same
会いたいよ
だけど心配しないで
私は大丈夫
大好きなおじいちゃんとおばあちゃんと
元気に暮らしているから
But still I miss, so much I do
No worries, though
I'm really just fine
Lovely and cuddly, Grandpa, Grandma
We are just fine, we're all OK
この夏にまた会える
お父さんとお母さんに
元気な私を見てもらうために
今日も精一杯に頑張るからね
Won't we? We'll meet during the summer
Dad, Mum and, of course, Me
You'll see me so happy, so full of life
I'll swear, again and again, I'll do all I can
会いたいよ
お父さん お母さん
そしてすぐに伝えたいよ
大好きだよ
I miss you, you both
Dad. Mum.
Now I can say this
I love you both.
井本さんのご家族も同じようなお気持ちで、彼の無事の帰りを待っておられることでしょう。
These words of a young family member separated by circumstances, though of different causes, most possibly resonate amongst the members of the Imoto family who yearn for his safe journey back home in times to come.
大日新聞（月3回発行）を購読されたい方は、
右の「お申し込みはこちら」からお申し込みいただくか、
郵送料（年1,500円）を添えて下記宛お申し込みください。
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