Okinawa Prefecture’s governor and Itoman mayor laud newly 100 year old Yoshiteru Ishikawa with, “May you be healthy till 120!”, and he counters, “Let’s all do our best to hit 120!”

Splendor of Okinawa: Milky Way, roadside Uruma, 21se25.


Yoshiteru Ishikawa was born on Henza Island. His father was a Yanbarusen (Ryukyuan: sailing ships doing trade around northern Okinawa) carpenter and sailor. He learned the craft from his father and settled in Itoman after the war.


At 23,  Mr. Ishikawa started work at Itoman Shipbuilding where he plied his skills as a ship carpenter, building traditional wooden ships, until his 50s.


Mr. Ishikawa’s breakfast consists of bread, salad, and fruit. He also has some affection for a bit of sake or beer. He claims, “There’s nothing I really like or dislike, but I won’t eat spicy curry!”


When Governor Tamaki urged him, “Please stay healthy till 120, better yer 150!”, Mr. Ishikawa countered with a laugh, “Let’s all, please, do our best to hit 120!”


After retiring from ship carpentry, Mr. Ishikawa  put his hand to model wooden ship construction. He passed the governor a model sailing sabani (Ryukyuan: a long sleek wooden canoe) which he had personally constructed, requesting, “I’d like to present this to the Prefectural Office!”


Original Japanese article: Okinawa Times, published Monday 22 September at 07:02. Byline: Satoshi Nizaki.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/0d8e4c3e82c60911acca53e37d4d722bff2da4ab


Denny in the News:

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 


This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 


Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.


Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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