だれも日本人になりたくない
Nobody wants to be “Japanese people”
文字数 1,150字
みなさんは日本を愛し、日本に生まれたことを感謝しても、だれも『日本人』になりたくない、とクリックベイトみたいに書きましたが、そのままの意味です。
Even if you love Japan and feel grateful that this is your home country, nobody actually wants to be looked upon as “Japanese people” …And although it looks very much like a clickbait title for what I wrote, I really meant so.
これはどの国でものことですが。
This is actually the case for people in other countries too.
要は自分の国が注目されることが嬉しい私たちが、文化などで国の美しさを宣伝しようとするのは、まもなく私たちもその『国』と離れない、『一部分』にならなければならないことです。
The point we often failed to look is that while we feel proud when foreigners to become interested in our country, and thus try to promote our beautiful culture to them, in the meantime we would also unavoidably become a “single entity” with the “country,” to the point that we are no longer being distinguishable from it.
日本の場合なら、着物などは外国で尊重されるくらい、いいねと感じても、気づくのは一年で何回私たちは物を着るのか。日本なら着物だしほかの文化的な物と関連されて、ある程度『日本人はこう』だとステレオタイプにされても、そういう文化に関わらないし、若干そのステレオタイプに当てはまらないと自分は思いますが。
In case of Japan, even though it is pleasant to know that culture such as kimono wearing is highly regarded among foreigners, wouldn’t we soon come to think that actually most of us do not wear it at all in an entire year? Despite the fact that kimono along with other arts and culture are the first things that would come to foreigners’ minds when thinking about Japan, to the point that they formed a stereotype of who “Japanese people” might be, we certainly feel that such stereotype does not fit well with who we really are.
しかし、作った国のイメージを支えるために現実にない、期待されるステレオタイプを利用するように何かのごっこ遊びをしてます。
However, in order that beautiful image of the country may live on, it is as if we have decided to make use of the stereotype by playing along with it.
忙しい日々で、普段観光客を見かけないと『文化』の存在を思い出さない私たちは、自分の魂を変わらずに提示するみたいです。例えばうちは『サムライの国』と見られても、今の時代に恥をかかず切腹するのを選ぶ人の国より、相手を責めたり、自分の便利なときだけに正義の味方と主張したりする社会しか見ないのはどの現実に当てはまるだろうか。
In our hectic lives, we who might be reminded of the existence of “our culture” only when we happen to see tourists, started to present it in a way that it is as if being our souls to foreigners. For example, despite of our country is being called “the Land of the Samurai,” in this age instead of it being full of people who would rather commit seppuku rather than to live on in shame, what we see in the society is that how people just keep blaming everyone but themselves, and cry for justice only when being sure they are snug in the majority of self-righteous mob, to the point that we should wonder how much reality the said image does portray.
「We are proud to be Japanese」と私たちは言っても、それはどの「Japanese」ですか？それは外国人から見て満員電車に乗り真面目に働いて、週末にオタク（多分変態な）の趣味で過ごすステレオタイプですか、ちょっと何か違うと感じて、そんなに当てはまらないと感じますか。
When we say we are “proud of being Japanese,” what exactly “Japanese” do we mean by that? Is that the Japanese who rides a fully packed train with serious businessman expression each morning, and then spends weekends for otaku and (other perverted) hobbies as how foreigners see us? Or do we feel that we are somewhat different from that?
結局人のことが個人的で、だれも自分の国と一緒の存在ではないと思います。
Perhaps it can be said that each of us is their own person, and that no one is really part of the country.
多分それはジレンマも言えます。
And with that comes a dilemma.
そうしたら、ステレオタイプの『日本人』の私たちは、ステレオタイプもある国の人と文化交流したら、多分料理をしたり言語を教えたりして、もらうのはお互いの『殻』以外なにをもらうだろうか。
Thus, when we that live as a stereotype of “Japanese people” come to exchange culturally with people from other countries that are being stereotyped too, there, even if we show each other various aspects of the country such as how to cook our traditional dishes or teaching languages, is there anything else we are to take from other than the “shell” of each of us?
どの国の人でも私たちは彼らの外見しか見ていない、例えばフランス人はこうだろうねとか、自分は一般的な『日本人』よりそのままの自分を見てほしいというのは求めすぎることではないだろうか。
And since we tend to look superficially at foreigners, for example that we might cling to our ideal image of how France is a romantic wine-loving country etc., don’t you think that it is somewhat too much also when we likewise ask others not to look at us stereotypically?
なので私たちはどのくらい『日本人』のステレオタイプと似ても、遊園地の『マスコット』のように、永遠に忍者や侍などのレッテルを持ちたくないし、外国人に話をかけられたらアニメのことがほしくないと思います。
For the reason, I think that nobody even the ones closest to being stereotypical “Japanese people” would want to be like a theme park “mascot,” that is someone whose job is to deliver lines such as “Doumo arigatou. Ninja. Samurai…” there forever. And I am quite sure that nobody just wants every single conversation with foreigners to be about anime also.
自分は『日本人』でも、『日本』のことをどれくらい主張したら、『自分』のこともなくなりそうです。
Although we are “Japanese” to begin with, the more we try to embrace “Japan” as to become the meaning of our existence, at the same time, the more “ourselves” as we know would also give way and disappear.
もしみなさんは外国人に注目されていると感じたら、それは自分のことだと思いますか、『日本人』だということだろうか。そうすれば嬉しいことですが、まだ自分は自分で、その『日本人』ではないと心の底から、自分にしか聞こえない響きがあるようではないですか。
Have you ever wondered that when you are showered with attention from foreigners, is it because of your personality or simply just because of your being “Japanese”? Even if that is something to feel nice about, as we are still being who we are, isn’t there as if some voice that only you can hear from the depth of your heart, which tells maybe you are not that “Japanese people”?
