英语访谈对话 512 Butsudan

 　　Todd: Now, Carla you have you own website.

　　Carla: Yes I, when I first came to Japan, I didn't learn languages because actually I'm quite terrible at learning languages. But I'm very interested in culture, and Japanese traditional culture is fantastic. So, little by little I got interested in butsudan. Now butsudan are Buddhist¹ family alters which the Japanese use in two ways. They pray to Buddha² by kneeling in front of them, but they also keep family memorabilia. That's like, wedding certificates, or graduation certificates, photographs, post cards from interesting places. They keep all these in the butsudan and they communicate with the ancestors this way. So they have a kind of dual³ purpose. And, but truthfully, I'm not particularly interested in Buddhism⁴, and I'm not interested in the finished butsudan because it's a little bit garish⁵, and not at all the way I imagined the understatement of Japanese culture. But, the making of them is fantastic and the traditional old-fashioned ways of craftsmanship⁷ are going out because Japanese craftsmanship is very expensive. And it can be made in China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea much cheaper than they can be made in Japan. So, a lot of the traditional craftsman⁶ are just not finding the work anymore. No new apprentices⁹ are training for the job, and it's difficult to find butsudan that are made in a traditional way. The traditionally made butsudan could cost as much as twenty to thirty million yen¹⁰. A butsudan made in China and imported into Japan and sold here could be, could sell for about three million yen. That just gives a ratio of the relative price. So, there is, there are three wood working crafts, two metal working crafts, and two lacquering crafts that go into the making of the butsudan. So, my aim really, is to document the traditional craftsmanship before it's completely gone. And no one has ever done this in English before. And it's hardly been done by the Japanese because it's one of these things that Japanese craftsman really don't talk about amongst themselves. So it's all kind of, it's not as if it's secret it's just that they have different vocabulary for the same thing. They do things in slightly different ways. They just never talk about it. When they train an apprentice⁸ they don't say do this do that the way we do in the West. The apprentice just has to watch the master and copy. So for many things they don't even have words for them. So it's been quite interesting to document that.

　　Todd: Well, sounds good. We'll have your URL on the bottom. And people will have to go and check out your website.

　　Carla: Ya, that would be good. I'd like that. It's being made now, it's not quite finished yet.

　　Todd: Oh ok.

　　Carla: But, little by little it will be and if anybody is interested it's more of a resource than something that you would sit and read. But you might be interested in the drawings. A friend does the drawings, and I did the photos and the text, and you know it's quite ambitious I think.

　　Todd: Ok, well thanks.

1 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

2 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

3 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

4 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

5 garish   

adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的

参考例句：

• This colour is bright but not garish.这颜色艳而不俗。
• They climbed the garish purple-carpeted stairs.他们登上铺着俗艳的紫色地毯的楼梯。

6 craftsman   

n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人

参考例句：

• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
• The craftsman is working up the mass of clay into a toy figure.艺人把一团泥捏成玩具形状。

7 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。

8 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

9 apprentices   

学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
• He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

10 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。