The Suffering Is Yet to Come: A Record of Animal Disease Diagnosis in Okinawa
Preface
The keywords for this book are "veterinary medicine," "Okinawa," and "cinema."
It was none other than myself who came up with this unusual combination. This is because, before I entered my current profession, I had intended to make a living in the world of film.
I was born across from a movie theater called the "Yurakuza" in the old capital of Shuri, and thanks to a mother who was unfamiliar with the story of "Mencius's mother moving three times," I was never forced to move since then, and was placed in an environment where I could enjoy movies—those palaces of entertainment (a bit old-fashioned, aren't you?). This theater, which focused mainly on Japanese films, sometimes screened foreign films and also frequently hosted "Okinawa plays" during their heyday, but it finally met its end along with the trends of the times when I was in junior high school.
In the translator's note for James Herriot's "Dr. Herriot's Funny Experiences" (Shueisha), translated by Natsuki Ikezawa, an Akutagawa Prize-winning author who lived in Okinawa for a long time, it is written: "Everyone has a profession, and as they get older, they accumulate various experiences through that profession, so perhaps they could write at least one book. However, it is unlikely that what is written in that way will become an interesting book for the average reader... When I first read this book, I was first impressed by the fact that a veterinarian is in such a good position to write a book. Since they are with countless animals every day, there must be many funny ones among them, and even if you just collect the particularly amusing ones, you have plenty of material... Thinking about it this way, it's a wonder that not all veterinarians in the world write books."
It is not because I was inspired by this, but I have been making a living for a quarter of a century now in animal health and disease diagnosis work at livestock hygiene service centers and animal health laboratories. I asked myself if there might be some kind of surplus from these years.
In recent years, the environment surrounding our industry has become noisy with issues such as O157, research on botulinum toxin by Aum, newspaper reports on BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in Chiba Prefecture, which became the domestic version of the 9/11 shock, and highly pathogenic avian influenza, which is rampant in neighboring Southeast Asia. In addition to these pandemic-related topics, I have summarized the content focusing on cases I encountered in my daily work. As the subtitle suggests, most of the entries describe things I was directly or indirectly involved in, but for some, I asked predecessors to reminisce, and I also referred to cases from across the country to deepen understanding.
In recent years, so-called collaborations have become popular in various fields, and this book might also be considered a cross-genre performance. The title of the book is, of course, an homage to Makoto Wada's "The Best Is Yet to Come: Famous Movie Lines." Just as films are formed in various genres, I have tried to express the content of each story by changing the narrative style according to its theme. I have interspersed stories styled as "courtroom dramas," "rakugo," "erotic tales," "mysteries," and "comedies."
At the end of the volume, I have listed the real movie titles that could be called the original titles of each story. I hope that both movie lovers and those who are not will enjoy reminiscing. Looking at them lined up like this, I am surprised that there are so many old movies. However, the old Japanese titles were better after all. I mean, there is nothing one can do with titles like "Dances with Wolves" or "Once Upon a Time in America."
I recently discovered that when I turn the page of the aforementioned translator who encouraged me, the following text continues: "However, in reality, to write an interesting book, you need talent in addition to good material. If you are an amateur in literature, you are bound to be self-indulgent, and the readers will not follow."
It is too late now. I am in a state of mind that represents the title, but I have decided to push through with it as is.
Perhaps because of the concept of this book, stories about "movies" are suddenly inserted into the main subject of each episode, but this is similar to a musical where the performers suddenly start singing or dancing. I hope you will treat it with a "beautiful mind" and a tolerant spirit, as it was caused by an outpouring of emotion.
Regarding the descriptions in the field of veterinary bacteriology, which is my specialty, I have tried to be as accurate as possible as an author, but there must be shortcomings and unexpected mistakes. I pray that no one will rely on this book for the veterinary national examination or use the sixth episode as a reference for the bar examination.
If I could ask for the teachings of a learned person after reading this, it would be more than I could hope for.
March 2007
While listening to "Koharu Obasan" sung by Naomi Chiaki
Author
Table of Contents
Episode 1: Men Who Grab the Cow's Tail
Episode 2: The Autopsists
Episode 3: The Short Absence
Episode 4: LOCKJAWS
Episode 5: Cycads of Youth
Episode 6: The Grapes of Staphylococci
Episode 7: What Ever Happened to June!
Episode 8: Vengeance Is Mine
Episode 9: O157 Is the Number of the Kill
Episode 10: 9 1/2
Episode 11: The Mystery of Rocky
Episode 12: The Wet Floor of August
Episode 13: Black Cow, White Cow
Episode 14: The Life of a Hated Spore
Episode 15: Poison and the Warrant
Episode 16: Rats and Men
Episode 17: The Lament of the Honeybee
#Movies #CreativeRakugo #VeterinaryMedicine #Okinawa