#27　英語と写真でバーチャルツアー②～大阪・中央公会堂～

今回訪れるのは、大阪の中之島にある「中央公会堂」。レトロな外観の公会堂で、写真で見たことがある人も多いのではないでしょうか。（私は近くを通ったことはありますが、中に入ったことはありません…）

お洒落な外観の建物の中が一体どうなっているのか、内部見学ツアーに参加した人が書いた英文と写真でちょっと覗いてみましょう！

※中央公会堂の公式サイト（https://osaka-chuokokaido.jp/）を見た後で英文を読むと分かり易くなると思います。

Osaka City Central Public Hall, which celebrated its 100 anniversary in 2018, symbolizes Nakanoshima ― a vibrant area dating back to ancient times when Osaka was a thriving merchant city.

ダッシュ記号は「イコール関係」を表しています（☞ブログ#15の①）。Nakanoshima＝a ～ area ～。vibrant「活気に満ちた」。ここのancient timesは江戸時代あたりを言っていると考えればよいでしょう。中之島は、米市場で有名だった堂島とともに商都大阪の基礎を築いたと言われています。

The building is still used as a public facility, and it is designated as an “Important national cultural property” for its artistic looks and architecture in 2002.

public facility「公共施設」。Important national cultural property「重要文化財」。

The building was completed in 1918.

It has various rooms inside, including a large meeting hall that can accommodate up to 1,160 people.

You can take a guided tour with a staff member to look around the inside of this historic building.

historic「歴史的に重要な」。historicalとの意味の違いに注意。

The tour takes approximately 30 minutes.

There are two options to choose from: either the Basic Course with guided tour only (500 yen incl. tax) or else the Special Course, which includes the tour and an exclusive set lunch (2,000 yen incl. tax).

内部見学には２種類のコースがある。incl.＝including。exclusive set lunch「特別なランチ定食」とは、そのコースに申し込んだ人しか食べられない、特別メニューのランチのこと。

The building has three floors and a basement.

floorは「地上階」、basementは「地階」。デパートなどで見かける「５F」「B１」のような表記を思い出すと分かり易い。

The large assembly hall on the ground floor has a high ceiling, stretching up two stories.

ground floorは「１階」。first floorとも言う。storiesの元の形storyは「建物の階数」を表す単語。実はこの語、「物語」のstoryと関係があります！

a ten-story hotel「10階建てのホテル」。ここでは吹き抜けの高さが2階分あることを言っている。a hotel with a three-story entrance hall「玄関が3階まで吹き抜けになっているホテル」。

On the top floor, there are small meeting rooms and a VIP room.

top floor「最上階」。VIPはvery important person「重要人物」の略。

The guided tour takes you around the exhibition room in the basement and the VIP room, which is normally out of bounds.

out of bounds「立ち入り禁止の」。

Many people see the Public Hall from the outside and think to themselves, “This building looks familiar. I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.”

中央公会堂を初めて見た人は既視感（デジャビュ）に襲われる。

Kingo Tatsuno, the architect who worked on Tokyo Station, known for its red brickwork, was also involved with designing the Public Hall.

辰野金吾は日本の建築家。東京駅丸の内駅舎、日本銀行本店、両国国技館、中央公会堂などの設計に携わった。brickwork「建物のレンガ」。

▲The brickwork, lighting and curved ceilings give the corridors a retro feel.

Starting in 1999, repairs were carried out, and the building was restored back to its original state, as well as being updated for modern-day use.

老朽化のため、1999年から改修工事が行われた。

The work took three and a half years to complete.

改修工事には３年以上かかり、完了したのは2002年。

Furniture and internal pillars around the building were reused as part of the process.

pillar「屋根を支える支柱」。around ～は「～の周りに」ではなく「～のあちこちに」。

▲Wooden seat in the basement corridor.

▲This column (made from pine) in the stairway hall in the basement is one of 4,000 foundation columns removed during the preservation and renovation works.

Einosuke Iwamoto, the building's creator, was an investor on the Osaka stock exchange during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

ここからは、中央公会堂を作った岩本栄之助についての説明。

On a business trip to the US in the early 1930s, he was deeply impressed by how American businessmen provided philanthropic support for public services.

philanthropic「慈善の」。お金の無い人のために自分のお金を差し出すこと。

So when he returned to Japan, he donated a million yen to the city of Osaka (equivalent to around 5 to 10 billion yen nowadays).

岩本は、当時の金額で100万円を大阪市に寄付した。

The city decided to use the donation to fund the building of the Central Public Hall.

However, Iwamoto ran into difficulties with his investments and sadly took his own life at the age of 39 before the building was completed.

しかし岩本は株の取引で失敗し、中央公会堂の完成を見ることなく自殺をしてしまう。

Numerous concerts by famous artists and celebrity lectures have been held here.

celebrity「有名人」。日本語の「セレブ」と違って「お金持ち」のニュアンスは無いので注意。

‘Aida’ was performed by a Russian opera group in the Taisho era.

Aida「アイーダ」はヴェルディ作のオペラ。

Since the Second World War, the Public Hall has hosted events such as a lecture by Helen Keller and a celebration for Yuri Gagarin.

Yuri Gagarinはソ連の宇宙飛行士。1961年に人類最初の宇宙飛行を成し遂げた。

At last, we entered the VIP room on the third floor.

The room was used as a VIP room when the Public Hall was first built.

Nowadays, it’s used for meetings, ceremonies or location shoots.

location shoot「写真（映画）撮影」。

As soon as we entered, our eyes were drawn to the high ceiling with its beautiful paintings, as well as the large stained glass window.

We all let out gasps of wonder and admiration.

let out gasps of ～「～のために息をのむ」。 

▲We can’t stop taking photos!

▲The modern city skyline seen through the glass window

The figures painted on the ceiling are gods from Japanese mythology: Izanagi, Izanami, and three deities from the Japanese pantheon, the Amatsukami.

mythology「神話」。deity「神」。Japanese pantheon「日本の神々」。Amatsukami「天津神」。

The east-facing window with its fan-shaped stained glass patterns is spectacularly beautiful!

fan-shaped「扇風機の形をした」。

It’s made up of 5,000 different pieces of glass.

The whole building is like a museum, so I’m continually surprised that it is still actively used for public functions.

Events are held there from time to time, even in the rooms we weren’t allowed into. I would have loved to see inside these.

would have loved to ～「～したかったのに（できなかった）」。

The Osaka Central Public Hall is lit up at night all year round, but don’t miss the seasonal illumination events held there.

The Osaka Festival of the Lights, a seasonal winter event, is held from November to December every year.

In addition, the Special Performance Wall Tapestry features beautiful light paintings projected onto the west wall of the Public Hall and is held in the latter half of December.

tapestry「タペストリー、綴れ織り（つづれおり）」とは、色の付いた糸を縫い込んで模様を描いた壁掛け・カーテンなどの布のこと。

タペストリーのような美しい模様を、光を使って中央公会堂の壁に映し出すイベントが毎年12月に中央公会堂で行なわれているようです。中央公会堂100周年の記念の年である2018年に開催された「OSAKA光のルネサンス2018　ウォールタペストリー・大阪市中央公会堂開館100周年記念公演〜百年の輝き〜」の動画は☞https://youtu.be/YAkMpVB75Io

▲Osaka Central Public Hall Wall Tapestry.

The Central Public Hall has stood here for over 100 years, fulfilling Einosuke Iwamoto’s wish for the prosperous development of Osaka and Japan itself.

The building is full of artworks and features by leading artists and artisans, with its retro architecture depicting the ups and downs of its long history over the years.

artisan「職人」。ups and downs of ～「～の浮き沈み」。

If you want to try something a little different from the usual entertainment and amusement that Osaka has to offer and to sample the city’s chic and trendy side, then why not visit the Osaka Central Public Hall?

Osaka has to offer「大阪が提供してくれる」。助動詞have toではない点に注意（to offerは形容詞的用法でthe usual entertainment and amusementを修飾）。to sample「実際に経験する」はwantにつながる。chic「垢抜けた」。trendy「流行っている」。why not ～?「～してみてはどうですか？」。