ILC-Japan

  Mrs. A: “I should start buying ingredients for Osechi Ryori pretty soon. Stores must be crowded next weekend, and I’d rather avoid that.” Mrs. B: “Wow, you’re making Osechi yourself? That’s a lot of work to do. How nice of you! It that because you’re having a family gathering?”   Mrs. A: “No, we aren’t getting together. But my husband now has no one to visit and enjoy Osechi together for New Year. So I kind of feel sorry for him.” Mrs. B: “But it sounds like life is much easier now. You no longer need to visit your husband’s parents’ house, helping prepare Osechi and acting as “good daughter-in-law” every minute. What a relief! It must feel as if you were in heaven.”   I overheard this conversation with big laughs between two women, probably in their mid-70s, at the sauna of a local gym. They went on and on, talking about how painful it had been as daughter-in-law to visit the husband’s parents’ house for New Year.   While listening to this conversa...

  A さん「そろそろお節の材料なんかの買い出しよね、来週末だと混みそうだし … 」 B さん「あら、お節をつくるの？面倒なのによくやるわね … 、家族が集まるから？」   A さん「集まらないんだけどね、うちの夫、お節を食べに行く先も無くなってかわいそうだから」 B さん「でも、楽になったわよね、大晦日から夫の実家に行ってお節を手伝って、気を遣って、それがないだけで天国よね」   と、スポーツクラブのサウナで目を合わせて大笑いするのは 70 代真ん中くらいの女子 2 人。 ここからはずっと、嫁として夫の実家に年末年始に行く辛さが語られていたのだけれど … 。   そんな会話に耳を傾けながら気になったのは、 A さんの言葉と表情のミスマッチ。 親がなくなり実家での集まりも消滅、年始の訪問先もなくなった夫のためにお節をつくるのが面倒と言いながらも、 A さんの表情は少し嬉しそうなのである。   夫の実家でいいお嫁さんをやるのがいかに大変だったか、 40 年頑張った自分を褒めたいというトークに耳を傾けながら、ミスマッチの背景を想像。 多分、定年退職してからは出る先や付き合いは家族がらみのみになった夫と、子育てが一段落し、仲間を増やしていく妻の組み合わせ。   今までは夫の実家で、お節を手伝い、気を遣うばかりだった自分にくらべ、お酒を飲み、なにも動かない夫にイライラしてきたけれど … 。 今になってみれば、自分は楽しんでいるけれど、夫はひとり家で過ごす毎日に、復讐とまでいかないけれど、少しだけニヤニヤしている？   これまでより時間も気持ちも余裕のある今、丁寧に作ったお節をだしながら感じるのは小さな優越感？ いや〜、お節を誰かに作るというプロダクティブの裏にある悲喜交々、複雑だわ … 。   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 東海大学健康学部健康マネジメント学科 ウェルビーイングカレッジ 澤岡詩野（ SHINO SAWAOKA ） jzt1864@tokai.ac.jp 健康学部公...

  In FY2024, about 11,200 people aged 65 or over died (indoor and outdoor) due to falling, more than five times as many as road traffic deaths (about 2,100). You can say the number is quite significant as a cause of deaths other than illness.   Number of deaths among people aged 65+ due to traffic accidents (blue) and falls (orange): 2024 Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2024 Vital Statistics (definite figures).   One day, as I got off an escalator at a station on my way home from work, I found an older man lying face down. People around him also noticed him and kept looking from a distance. It seemed like he tripped on the escalator and hit his face. His glasses were cracked, and blood was coming out of his forehead. His mouth was also cut. As I approached him to ask if he was all right, a young man, maybe in his 30s, smoothly came over and sat down in front of him. “Are you all right? Can you hear me? Does anything hurt?” The young man c...