Wearing your favorite outfit at ceremonies is fine Saturday, January 10
お気に入りの服でいい
●outfit （特定の目的のための）服装ひとそろい
Many young women were left in the lurch when a Japanese kimono retail and rental business halted its operations just before Coming-of-Age Day on Jan. 8, preventing them from picking up garments they had planned to wear at ceremonies.
●leave in the lurch 見捨てる ●retail 小売り ●halt 止める、停止させる
●coming-of-age 成人式 ●pick up 受け取る
振りそでの販売やレンタルを行う業者が１月８日の成人式の直前に営業を停止し、多くの女性が被害にあった。
Comments that victims posted online underscored their plight.
●victim 被害者 ●underscore 不当に低い ●plight 非常に苦しい、悲痛な
ネットにはといった被害者の悲痛な声があふれた。
"I went to get dressed up in the rental kimono I had reserved, but there was no one there," one post said. "I couldn't attend my coming-of-age ceremony," another comment read.
「レンタルの予約をしていて着付けに出かけたら誰もいなかった」「成人式に出られない」というコメントを読んだ
I tried to think all the way back to my coming-of-age ceremony, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what I wore. After some pondering, I finally realized, "That's right, I was in Tokyo waiting for another chance to take a university entrance exam, and so I couldn't attend the ceremony in my hometown."
●ponder あれこれ考える
私はどうだったかな、と遠い昔の成人式を振り返ってみたが、何を着ていたか思い出せない。しばらく考えて、「そうだ、東京で大学受験浪人をしていたので、故郷の成人式に出なかったのだ」と気づいた。
If I had attended the ceremony, I wonder what I would have worn. When I was young, I was the kind of person who didn't want to do the same thing as others, and I get the feeling I would have made it a point to wear ordinary clothes.
もし出ていたら、何を着ていただろう。私は若いころ、「ひとと同じにはしたくない」と思う方だったので、あえてふだん着で出かけたような気がする。
Quite a few years ago, I was talking with a group of students at the university where I worked before their graduation ceremony, when one female student divulged, "I can't go to the graduation ceremony."
もう何年も前になるが、教えていた大学で卒業式を控えた学生たちと話していたら、その中の女子学生が「私は卒業式に出ない」と言った。
"Why not?" I inquired.
●inquire 尋ねる、問う
「どうして？」と聞くと、
"I don't have the money to rent a hakama," she replied, referring to the traditional long skirt or skirt-like trousers that are often worn over a kimono at formal events in Japan.
「はかまのレンタルをするお金がないから」。
It was true that at graduation ceremonies, many female students wore hakama with their kimonos, and they would set their hair in a completely different style from normal. One time I asked someone, "Did you do that yourself?" and they laughed at me. "No way," they replied, "I went to the hair salon at 6 in the morning and had it done."
たしかにいまの卒業式では、女子学生の多くが着物にはかまをつけ、髪もいつもとはまったく違うスタイルにセットしている。「それ自分でやったの？」と聞いて、「とんでもない！ 朝６時に美容室に行ってやってもらいました」と笑われたことがあった。
When female students who normally wear jeans don a kimono and hakama, looking a little nervous, it's a refreshing sight and they shine in those outfits. Having said that, there are no rules about the type of clothes a person has to wear at graduation. Many male students wear navy blue suits or other such attire, while others wear jumpers that are a little less formal.
いつもはジーンズ姿の女子学生が着物やはかまに身を包み、ちょっと緊張した面持ちをしているのは新鮮で輝いている。とはいっても、「卒業式にはこういう服装で」という決まりがあるわけではない。男子学生の多くは紺などのスーツで、中にはもっとくだけたジャンパーなどを着ている人もいる。
When the student told me she would be absent from the ceremony because she couldn't borrow a hakama, I asked her, "What would you wear when going out somewhere different to enjoy yourself?"
「はかまを借りられないから欠席する」と言った女子学生に、「いつもと違うところに遊びに行くときは何を着るの？」と聞くと、と笑顔になった。
"I guess I'd wear the dress I bought with the money from my part-time job," she ventured.
●venture 思い切って言う
「バイトのお金で買ったワンピースかな」と言うので、
"Well please attend and wear that," I said. "The best item is the one that you bought, thinking it suits you. We'll take a photo together."
「じゃ、それで出席してね」と伝えた。「自分で似合うと思って買ったものが一番だよ。いっしょに写真撮ろう」と誘うと、
"What about you?" she asked. "Are you going in a normal suit? In that case, I'll attend." She then broke into a smile.
●break into … 急に～にある
「先生は？ ふつうのスーツなの？ じゃ私も出ます」彼女は笑顔で答えた
I think the feeling young people have, of wanting to dress up on a special occasion, is wonderful. But people don't need to feel they have to dress the same. There are no differences in a person's radiance that depend on whether they have money or not.
●radiance 輝き ●depend on whether … ～かどうかによる
はれの日におしゃれをしたい、という若い人の気持ちは、とてもすてきだと思う。でも、同じ格好をしなければならないということはない。お金のあるなしで、晴れがましさに差がつくなどということもない。
This year, we have again approached the university graduation season. Hakama are fine but it would also be good to have female students wear suits or their favorite shirts at ceremonies. I'm looking forward to taking photos with everyone again this year, too. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
今年も大学の卒業式が近づいてきた。はかまもいいけれど、スーツやお気に入りのシャツの女子学生がいてもよい。みんなと写真を撮るのが今年も楽しみだ。（香山リカ 精神科医）
先週瀬田の唐橋から京都の京阪三条、三条大橋まで歩きました。ここは唐橋西詰で大神楽を見ました。
