銀座で仕事をするだいご味
私の現在の職場は銀座にある。和光の時計台までは10分弱で行ける。高級でおしゃれで贅沢な街。
しかし、それよりも何よりも、私が銀座で働き出したときから頭に浮かぶのは、戦争が終わった後の銀座の姿だ。古い写真がいくつもあり、そこから得た知識だが、今も昔も憧れの銀座は、戦後すぐGHQに占領され、英語の看板が沢山街に建っていた。街は米軍人が溢れ、それに生活のために群がる女性たち、数寄屋橋には戦争から復員した負傷兵たち、戦争で親を失った孤児たちなどが沢山いた。戦前は、銀座の通りには両側に柳の木がずっと植えてあった。それが戦時中に全部刈られてしまった。
なぜ私がこんなに詳しく話すのかというと、以前介護保健施設で音楽療法士をしていたときに、回想法で戦後の銀座の写真や歌を沢山もっていき皆で懐かしんだからだ。ある高齢のおじいちゃんは、普段はもうぼんやりして意識がはっきりしてなかったが、ある時銀座の写真と歌を聞いて、「銀座4丁目の和光のビルの～件横には、こんな店があってね」と普通の人のように話し出してびっくりした覚えがある。音楽が終わると、再びぼんやりした状態に戻った。その人は、銀座の特定の店を知ってるような仕事や生活をしていたのだろう。
食事をしにいくとなかなか良い値段を払う羽目になることが多い、高級店が建ち並ぶ銀座。でも戦後は大変だった。戦前と今の良い時代と、戦後すぐの負傷兵と戦争孤児たちが同時に溢れていた時代の銀座を毎日歩けるのは、私にとって幸せなことだ。
認知行動療法士の心のダンス
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Bittersweet memories in Ginza
My work place is located in Ginza. It takes less than 10 minutes walk to the WAKO clock. It is brilliant to work near Ginza because of that town is famous with its luxury quality. I am so lucky that I have visited a various kinds of restaurants for meals, although it is more expensive than the ones in other places.
At the same time, I just imagine that how different the Ginza area was soon after WWII. Ginza was occupied by the US army and there were many sign boards written by English. There were also many injured soldiers near the Sukiya-bashi and they were begging and living around there. There were Japanese women getting along with the US military men for living as well. Because of that, there are some old type restaurants and cafes where the interiors and menus are very simple reflected to old days such as unfashionable Mont Blanc. Additionally, there were many willow trees along with both sides of the street such as around the Ginza 4 chome. They were the symbol of Ginza and cut down during the WWII.
The reason for remembering the old Ginza are is that I worked with the older adults for 4 years in providing music therapy at an elderly rehabilitation facility. I brought a lot of old pictures in order to facilitate their reminiscence, guide them to speak out their experiences. The reminiscence model for the elderly is effective, which is evidence based inside and outside of the country. One old man was always in low reality orientation. One day, he suddenly started speaking about the scenery around the Ginza 4 cho-me. He looked normal and happy. I was surprised at seeing it. The event finished, he got back to his usual states.
I also sang songs regarding Ginza such as Misora Hibari's "Ginza Can Can Musume". Those lyrics expressed how hard the time after WWII was. How struggled people were without enough food. How patients people were.
When I walk down the street in Ginza now, I remember their faces who had overcome the hardship. When I have an old-type meal in Ginza, I imagine the Japanese at that era might have enjoyed it. Therefore, I have mixed feelings at times in Ginza. I am honored to having such experiences because I really thank people who went through the bloody history, which might have constructed Japan.
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