The English translation is below
前回の平成編に続き、今回は令和編です！
令和 自分も相手に支えられている
共働きは7割を超え、日本社会では圧倒的な
マジョリティとなりました。結婚しても3組に1組は離婚する上、そもそも男性の3人に1人、女性の5人に1人近くは未婚となっています。
「運命の人と結婚して幸せになる」のはもはや
ゴールではなく、「おひとり様・ソロ社会」の
定着で、結婚は選ぶもの、に変わってきました
菅田将暉 「虹』
この曲はドラえもんの映画の主題歌でした
…最初に聴いた時「重っ！」って感じました〜
「一生、一生」ってかなりもたれかかってくるようで、逆に逃れられない閉塞感が襲ってきた（汗）私には『花束』くらいの軽やかさがちょうどいいみたいですね♪
歌詞は弱い自分を受け入れてくれた感謝から始まり、特別なことをしなくても、二人で日常を過ごすことそのものが幸せだと歌っています
こうして見ると「男が女を守る」から「男も女に支えてもらう」という変化が見えてきます
昔は「男が弱音を吐く＝男らしくない」だったのがだんだん「自分も弱いから、君にいてほしい」と言えるようになってきたんですね。男女どちらにとっても喜ばしいことだと思うのですが
どうなのでしょう。女性が男性の庇護から解放
されるだけでなく、男性もまた、いつも強くて、いつも稼げて、いつも頼りになる自分であることから解放されたほうが、絶対楽になると思うんですよね
お互いが「二人で支え合う」という価値観に
なれたら、どちらか一方がずっと責任を背負わなくていい、男性が弱ってもいいし、女性が稼ぎ頭になってもいい。一人でも生きていけるけど、そんな関係なら二人の方が安心だし、居心地もいい！そう思って結婚することを選ぶなら、結婚は素晴らしい制度になるのでしょうね
結婚ソングの変化は、単なる結婚観の変化だけ
じゃなくて、生き方の自由、という社会の変化とつながっているのかもしれない、
と思った次第です
★オマケ画像
Gemini に画像頼んだら、令和なのに
カセットテープ出てくるし、おまけにスマホ
よりデカい！じわじわきたので載せときます♪
さてさて、10月26日でこのブログも2周年を
迎えました！ただ私の中では100記事達成の方が大きなマイルストーンと言えるかな、と思ってるので今回はサラッといきます♪ でもまた、お祝いに自分でワインは買いました！飲むための嬉しい口実は、多いほどいいのです！
1周年のときは記事に訪れてくれた方にお茶と和菓子を（写真で）お出ししたので、今回は本格的な抹茶を振る舞いつつ、感謝をお伝えしたいと思います。
日本や日本語には関係はあるものの、ちょっと
マニアック気味になっていく記事に付き合って
くださってありがとう！日本語の文法や
日本文化、社会生活においても「日本人は当たり前だと思っているけど、よく考えると変なコト」はまだまだ紹介し足りません。どうぞこれからもこのブログを通して、
「なんか憎めない国、日本」を堪能していただければ幸いです
インターネットの片隅で、世界とつながる自分の場所が育ってきていること、嬉しく思っています
Following the Heisei edition, here’s the Reiwa edition!
Reiwa: Realizing That I, Too, Am Supported by My Partner
More than 70% of married couples now both work, making dual-income households the overwhelming majority in Japanese society. Meanwhile, one in three marriages ends in divorce, and marriage itself is becoming less common, with one in three men and nearly one in five women remaining unmarried.
Finding your soulmate and living happily ever after is no longer the ultimate goal. With solo living and the “single-person society” becoming increasingly established, marriage is shifting toward something you choose, rather than something you’re expected to do.
Masaki Suda – “Niji” (Rainbow)
This song was the theme song for a Doraemon movie.
【“It’s okay to cry.”
Those simple words
were what saved me.
Thank you, truly.
I may be pathetic,
I may be a bit of a mess,
but just thinking of you
makes tomorrow shine.
We can be just the way we are.
Let’s find a sunny spot
and spend some time together.
As you water the plants on the balcony,
a tiny rainbow appears at your feet.
Hey…
I’ll stay by your side for life.
Stay by my side for life, too.
I’ll do everything I can
to make sure we never part.
I’ll hold you tight,
so the knot we’ve tied
will never come undone.
I’ll never let go
of the hand I’ve clasped in mine.】
…When I first heard it, my reaction was, “Whoa, that’s intense!”
The repeated promise to stay together for life felt like someone leaning way too heavily on their partner.Instead of feeling reassured, I was overwhelmed by a sense of suffocating entrapment, as if there were no way out. (Sweat)
Maybe something as lighthearted as “Hanataba” (A Bouquet) is more my style. ♪
The lyrics begin with gratitude toward someone who accepted the singer’s weaknesses. They go on to express the idea that happiness doesn’t require anything extraordinary; simply sharing everyday life together is happiness in itself.
Looking at these changes, we can see a shift from “men protect women” to “men, too, can rely on women for support.”
In the past, showing vulnerability was often seen as unmanly. Gradually, however, men have become more able to say, “I’m not strong all the time, either. I need you by my side.”
I think this is a positive change for both men and women. What do you think?
Women are not the only ones who benefit from being freed from traditional gender roles. Men, too, would surely have an easier time if they were freed from the expectation that they must always be strong, always earn enough, and always be someone others can depend on.
If we can embrace the idea that two people should support each other, neither has to carry the burden of responsibility all the time. Men can have their vulnerable moments, and women can be the main breadwinners.
You can live on your own, but if you find a relationship like that, life might feel safer and more comfortable with someone by your side. If that’s why you choose to get married, then marriage can be a wonderful institution.
It occurred to me that the evolution of marriage songs may reflect more than just changing attitudes toward marriage. Perhaps it is also connected to a broader social shift toward greater freedom in how we choose to live our lives.
Bonus: An AI-Generated Image
I asked Gemini to generate an image, and it gave me a cassette tape in the Reiwa era—and it’s ridiculously oversized!
The more I look at it, the funnier it gets, so I decided to include it.
Well, October 26 marks the second anniversary of this blog!
Personally, though, reaching 100 articles felt like a much bigger milestone, so I’ll keep this celebration short and sweet. ♪
That said, I did buy myself a bottle of wine to celebrate! There are never too many good excuses to enjoy a glass of wine!
For my first anniversary, I treated visitors to some tea and traditional Japanese sweets (in the form of a photo). This time, I’d like to serve you some proper matcha and express my gratitude.
Thank you for sticking with me as the articles on this blog have gradually ventured into more and more niche territory, even if they are still related to Japan and the Japanese language!
There’s still so much more I’d like to share about Japanese grammar, culture, and everyday life in Japan, especially those things that Japanese people take for granted but that seem rather odd when you stop and think about them.
I hope you’ll continue to enjoy discovering the quirks of Japan through this blog—a country that’s somehow hard not to like!
It makes me happy to see my little corner of the internet growing into a place where I can connect with the world.
