Japanese with anime voice: episode51
Hello, I’m Sachi.
13 May, today is Aiken Day. Mr. Ogawa, the founder of the Japanese publisher Seibundo Shinkosha, organized an event about dogs on this day in 1956 in the hope that people would become more interested in dogs. It was unusual for an animal-related event to be held in Japan so soon after the war, and so 13 May has been designated Dog Day and is still celebrated to this day. At this event, there was not only consultation on pet dog diseases and rabies prevention, but also a photo session with pet dogs, awards for good owners, and even a performance by pet dogs. I also heard that a fashion show was also held, but I thought that dogs had already been dressed in clothes since this time, but it was an event to show off clothes suitable for walking with dogs. It wasn’t for dogs. It was a fashion show for the owners. What the hell kind of clothes are suitable for a walk? But the idea is interesting. Even in this era, everyday clothes were still kimono, weren’t they? The first thing that came to mind was a gentleman with glasses wearing a dark brown kimono, black gloves, and a black hat with a pipe in his hand. Isn’t it amazing that I can picture this image so clearly in an instant, just from this historical background and the words ‘clothes suitable for walking with a dog’?
By the way, I checked if it was Cat’s Day and found out that 22 February is Cat’s Day, which can be read as nyan nyan nyan with three two’s. Then I thought if that’s the case, why not also for dogs, and found out that 1 November is also Dogs’ Day because it has three 1s, which can be read as wan wan wan. Then I thought that 11 January would also be Dogs’ Day, but, well, there’s no end to it, is there?
I thought there were two dog days in a year, but today, you know, it’s Aiken Day. There’s a bit of a difference between dogs in general and pet dogs, you see.
So, are you a dog person? Are you a cat person? I am a cat person who likes dogs. That means I like them both after all. Both dogs and cats are irresistibly cute. I want to have pets too. A Shiba Inu and a black cat. My boyfriend is a business traveler, so I’m alone a lot. Being alone in a house is quite uncomfortable… So, you know, having something moving around makes me feel safer. But I can’t keep them because I don’t stay at home all year round, I travel sometimes and I can’t take care of them.
When you are a child, you want to get an animal because they are cute, but your parents are usually against it because you don’t walk them every day. In the past, I didn’t think anything of it, so I thought that having a pet meant that as long as I could walk it every day, the rest wouldn’t matter. Looking back now, I realize how shallow I was. You realize when you get old. You realise that even animals age. They become deaf, and blind and need to be taken care of. Some years ago, I saw a video of an old cat that was being cared for with great care. In the video, the owner was saying that this is what it means to have a pet and that the owner has a responsibility to take care of them until the end of their life. When I saw it, I was ashamed to admit that I couldn’t do what she did. I am not qualified to keep a pet. Well, the fact that I thought it was to fill my loneliness in the first place was selfish and self-centered.
So now we have a large stuffed Pooh from Claw Crane that acts as a pet. My partner also told me that keeping a pet involves responsibility and that I should think of Pooh as a pet. When he said that, I felt surprisingly secure just having Pooh. I don’t have to look after him, I don’t have to pay for feeding him. Moreover, he is my only friend. Even if I throw him on the floor or use him as a pillow, he never complains, but rather always accepts everything with a smile. He’s a friend like a bodhisattva. Sometimes I talk to my stuffed pooh, and every time I do, my partner says how old you are. I know what you mean. I know what you mean. But he said I should just think of Pooh as a pet. For me, the only difference is whether it moves or not, and I don’t think stuffed animals and pets are much the same. Everyone who has pets talks to them, don’t they? Why is it that when it comes to stuffed animals, people think they are crazy? You can’t even talk to animals, can you? Even if you can have a conversation with an AI robot, robots, and stuffed animals are in the same category. If you can’t have a conversation, then pets and stuffed animals are the same. What’s the difference?
