スクリプトは事前提出されたものですので、ビデオの音声とは異なる場合があります。

My Grandmother's Precious Gift

TAKAMURE Aya (Kagoshima National College of Technology)

Last April I was invited to participate in the recitation division of the speech contest by my advisor. But the performing trip of Brass Band Club was scheduled at the same time as the speech contest. I thought it would be very hard to do both, so I was worrying about what I should do.

Then I happened to visit my grandmother and told her my trouble. As she listened to me carefully and held my hands, she said, “Nakokai, Tobokai, Nakoyoka, Hittobe!” with a smile. It sounded like a foreign language, so I said to her, “What's that? Are you speaking Chinese?” She said, “No, I speak Japanese, but it is an old saying of the Kagoshima dialect.” Today I'm very busy because I have to translate this saying twice. OK! First in standard Japanese, ‘Nakoka, Toboka, Nakuyori, Omoikitte Tondemiyo!' Then in English, ‘When you hesitate whether to do something or not, try first before worrying too much.' My grandmother learned it from her mother as a child. Whenever she encountered difficulties, it helped her get over them. She said, “Aya, I'll give you this saying passed to me by my mother as my gift. I want you not to run away from difficulties and to be positive. When you feel difficulties or hardships, it will support you. Overcoming hardships will make you confident and courageous. Not to worry!. Do both. You can do it, I believe.” Finally I decided to participate in the speech contest.

Actually it was much harder, to practice for both the speech and the brass band, than I expected. Every morning I practiced the recitation with my advisor for 30 minutes and after class I practiced for the brass band for two hours. On weekends I practiced both all day. It was so hard that I wanted to give up again and again, but I went on practicing both, silently singing her precious gift to myself. On the very day of the contest I performed my speech as hard as I could. I was satisfied with it. When the MC announced my name as a winner, I couldn't believe my ears. Tears of joy ran down my face. After the recitation contest was finished, I joined the brass band club and started visiting facilities such as nursing homes and preschools to perform. Everywhere we were welcomed. They were pleased with our performance and gave us big applause. My efforts finally paid off.

I was curious about the old saying. First I asked my grandmother about it, but she just said, “I learned it from my mother but I don't know its historical background.” So I visited several libraries to research it and finally found out. It is the basic philosophy used to educate children in the youth organization of the Satsuma clan of the Edo period, about 200 years ago. Its concept is that people should be simple and sturdy and practice comes first. Don't you think it wonderful that its educational philosophy was passed on from generation to generation for about 200 years? It encouraged me to overcome hardship.

In the future, I may encounter more difficulties, but I will face and get over them one by one, silently singing my grandmother's precious gift in my heart. Everyone, you are not Kagoshimaites, are you? But you may encounter the same difficulties as I do and feel worried. How about singing this old saying from Kagoshima in your heart? It will surely encourage you to overcome difficulties. Lastly I would like to give my grandmother's precious gift to you as a present for your future. Not in English, or in standard Japanese, but in Kagoshima dialect, “Nakokai, Tobokai, Nakoyoka, Hittobe!”