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发表于 2011-1-13 21:07:21
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VOX POPULI: Sizing up the first century of skiing in Japan
2011/01/13
The name Theodor von Lerch may not ring a bell with many people outside of snowy Niigata Prefecture, which boasts a mascot character wearing a Von Lerch costume.
Von Lerch (1869-1945), who held the rank of major in the Austro-Hungarian empire, introduced Japanese to snow-skiing. Wednesday marked the centennial of the memorable first ski lesson he gave.
The lessons were presented in response to a request by the Imperial Japanese Army, which thought of using skis in snowy battle conditions.
Apparently, the first lesson conducted in present-day Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, was dismal and funny at the same time. It is said that even hardened army soldiers were exhausted after the lesson in which many participants had their heads stuck in deep snow and legs up in the air as they struggled to get up.
Still, the occasion is marked as the origin of skiing in Japan, long before it became a national pastime.
In Joetsu, citizens offered flowers before Von Lerch's statue and lit the "fire of origin of Japanese skiing" Wednesday. I heard the city is in a festive mood with the appearance of "Lerch-san curry."
However, the popularity of skiing has been on a steady decline in recent years.
A key factor for the lack of interest among young people may have something in common with their waning enthusiasm for cars and foreign countries.
Or does it mean that more people would rather stay cocooned in the warmth of their homes because they don't like the cold? Packed trains and buses that hustled skiers to the slopes seem to be things of the past.
I hear the situation is more or less the same in Austria, where von Lerch was born. While Austria is a skiing powerhouse that has produced many Olympic medalists, in recent years, young people are turning their back on the sport, which they say is "old, cold and boring."
Von Lerch must be rolling over in his grave. The situation is all the more serious because ski-related businesses are a major industry in his homeland.
While I find it worrisome that boys have become more prone to inactivity, girls seems to be actively heading for the outdoors, enjoying pastimes like mountain climbing and fishing.
"Although I could not ski as freely as I liked/ The skies of youth in Hakuba are getting farther away" is a tanka by Takayuki Saigusa.
Decades from now, where will boys of today think of when they gaze up at the sky and reminisce about their youth?
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 12 |
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